Communication method, related device, and system

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are a communication method, a related device, and a system. The method comprises: a network device indicating to a terminal device slots or beams in an SMTC window which are used for monitoring for scheduling information; and the terminal device monitoring for the scheduling information in the slots or beams without performing SSB measurement, such that the network device normally schedules, in the slots or beams in the SMTC window, the terminal device to transmit uplink and downlink channels and / or signals. By means of implementing the present application, scheduling restriction can be reduced, and the system capacity can be improved.

Description

Communication method, related equipment and system

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on February 6, 2024, with application number 202410169691.1 and application name “Communication Methods, Related Equipment and Systems”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, related equipment, and system. Background Art

[0003] Currently, network equipment configures a synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) window for terminal devices. Terminal devices measure synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) within the configured SMTC window and are unable to respond to the normal scheduling of network equipment, resulting in scheduling restrictions. Scheduling restrictions affect the system capacity of the communication system, and this impact is more significant in some business scenarios where the system capacity itself is relatively small. For example, in extended reality (XR) scenarios, the amount of transmitted data is large and sensitive to latency. Therefore, the system capacity in XR scenarios is relatively small, and scheduling restrictions will further reduce the system capacity in XR scenarios.

[0004] How to reduce scheduling constraints and increase system capacity has become one of the urgent issues to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method, related equipment and system, which can effectively reduce the scheduling restrictions of network equipment on user equipment, thereby improving system capacity.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the method comprising:

[0007] Receive first information from a network device; the first information indicates a first time slot in at least one time slot within an SMTC window; the start time of the SMTC window is later than the reception time of the first information; monitor scheduling information in the first time slot, where the scheduling information is used to schedule transmission of uplink and downlink channels and / or signals.

[0008] When implementing the method described in the first aspect, the terminal device may, based on the first information, not measure the SSB in the first time slot within the SMTC window, but instead monitor the scheduling information of the network device. This allows the network device to normally schedule the terminal device for uplink and downlink channel and / or signal transmission in the first time slot, thereby reducing scheduling constraints and improving system capacity.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the first information further indicates a second time slot, where the second time slot is a time slot other than the first time slot in the at least one time slot; and the method further includes: measuring the SSB in the second time slot. In this way, the terminal device can monitor the scheduling information in the first time slot in the SMTC window based on the first information, and measure the SSB in the second time slot in the SMTC window.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates multiple bits, where a time slot corresponding to bit i is used for monitoring scheduling information or for measuring SSB; bit i is any one of the multiple bits, and i is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. In this way, the value of each bit can indicate whether each time slot in the SMTC window is used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information or for the terminal device to measure SSB.

[0011] In one possible implementation, bit i takes a first value, indicating that the time slot corresponding to bit i is used to monitor scheduling information; or, bit i takes a second value, indicating that the time slot corresponding to bit i is used to measure SSB.

[0012] In one possible implementation, in response to bit i taking the second value, the first information further indicates a first symbol among at least one symbol; the at least one symbol is a symbol in the time slot corresponding to bit i, and the first symbol is used to measure the SSB. Thus, when the terminal device measures the SSB in the time slot corresponding to bit i based on the first information, it may measure the SSB occupying the first symbol and not measure the remaining SSBs. The terminal device may monitor scheduling information using the symbols occupied by the remaining SSBs and symbols not originally used to transmit the SSB.

[0013] In one possible implementation, in response to bit i taking the second value, the first information further indicates a first beam among at least one beam; the at least one beam is the beam in the time slot corresponding to bit i, and the first beam is used to measure the SSB. In this way, when the terminal device measures the SSB in the time slot corresponding to bit i according to the first information, it can measure the SSB corresponding to the first beam and not measure the SSBs corresponding to beams other than the first beam. The terminal device can monitor scheduling information using the symbols occupied by these remaining beams and symbols not originally used to transmit SSBs. In addition, a time slot includes two SSBs (i.e., a time slot includes two beams, and at most two bits are required to represent all measured beams in a time slot). Therefore, this method of indicating the first beam can save bits compared to the above-mentioned method of indicating the first symbol.

[0014] In one possible implementation, in response to bit i taking the second value, the first information further indicates a first panel, where the first panel is used by the terminal device to measure the SSB within the SMTC window corresponding to bit i. In this way, the terminal device can use the first panel to measure the SSB in the time slot corresponding to bit i.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving second information from the network device, the second information indicating a third time slot and / or a fourth time slot; the third time slot is used for monitoring scheduling information, the fourth time slot is used for measuring SSB, and the second information is received later than the end time of the SMTC window. In this way, the terminal device can adjust its behavior of measuring SSB / monitoring scheduling information within the time slots in the SMTC window based on the received second information.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: in response to receiving the first information, starting a timer; the timer is pre-configured by the protocol or configured by the network device; in response to the timer expiring, measuring the SSB within a first SMTC window, where the start time of the first SMTC window is later than the timeout period of the timer. In this way, the terminal device can, based on the protocol pre-configuration or the configuration of the network device, perform corresponding actions according to the instructions of the first information when the timer has not timed out; when the timer times out, fall back to the traditional mode in which all SMTC windows are used to measure SSB, and measure SSB in all time slots configured with SSB in the first SMTC window.

[0017] In one possible implementation, before receiving the first information from the network device, the method further includes: sending third information to the network device; the third information indicates the timeslots within the SMTC window that the terminal device desires not to measure SSB. In this way, the terminal device pre-indicates to the network device the timeslots in which it desires not to measure SSB, so that the network device sends the first information according to the terminal device's instruction.

[0018] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried by radio resource control RRC signaling, or the first information is carried by media access control element MAC-CE signaling, or the first information is downlink indication information DCI.

[0019] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another communication method, the method comprising:

[0020] Receive fourth information from the network device; the fourth information indicates a second beam in at least one beam corresponding to the SMTC window; the start time of the SMTC window is later than the reception time of the fourth information; and measure the synchronization signal block SSB in the second beam.

[0021] When implementing the method described in the second aspect, the terminal device can measure the SSB in the second beam within the SMTC window based on the fourth information. Accordingly, the terminal device can monitor scheduling information from the network device in symbols occupied by beams other than the second beam within the SMTC window, as well as symbols within the SMTC window that are not originally used for transmission beams. This increases the network device's opportunity to schedule the terminal device, thereby reducing scheduling constraints and improving system capacity.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the fourth information further indicates a third beam, where the third beam is a beam other than the second beam in the at least one beam corresponding to the SMTC window. The method further includes: monitoring scheduling information in symbols occupied by the third beam, where the scheduling information is used to schedule transmission of uplink and downlink channels and / or signals. In this way, the terminal device can directly monitor the scheduling information in symbols occupied by the third beam based on the fourth information.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the fourth information indicates multiple bits, where bit j indicates whether the beam corresponding to bit j is used for SSB measurement or not; bit j is any one of the multiple bits, and j is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. In this way, the value of each bit can indicate whether each beam in the SMTC window is used for SSB measurement by the terminal device, and symbols occupied by beams not used for SSB measurement can be used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the fourth information indicates multiple bits, and the beams corresponding to the multiple bits are used for SSB measurement. In this way, the multiple bits can indicate the second beam used for SSB measurement without indicating the remaining beams used for monitoring scheduling information. When the second beam and the remaining beams are included in the middle beam of the SMTC window, this approach can reduce the amount of data in the fourth information.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the beams corresponding to the multiple bits include a target beam used by the terminal device. The value of the bit corresponding to the target beam is different from the values ​​of the bits corresponding to beams other than the target beam in the multiple bits. In this way, in a scenario where the multiple bits indicate the second beam but not the remaining beams, the target beam used by the terminal device and the beams other than the target beam in the second beam can be distinguished by the different bit values.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the fourth information further indicates a second panel, where the second panel is a panel used by the terminal device to measure the SSB in the second beam. In this way, the terminal device can use the second panel to measure the SSB in the second beam.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: in response to receiving the fourth information, starting a timer; the timer is pre-configured by the protocol or configured by the network device; in response to the timer expiring, measuring the SSB within a first SMTC window, where the start time of the first SMTC window is later than the timeout period of the timer. In this way, the terminal device can, based on the protocol pre-configuration or the configuration of the network device, perform corresponding actions according to the instructions of the fourth information when the timer has not expired; and when the timer expires, fall back to the traditional mode in which all SMTC windows are used for SSB measurement, and measure the SSB in all beams within the first SMTC window.

[0028] In one possible implementation, before receiving the fourth information from the network device, the method further includes: sending fifth information to the network device; the fifth information indicates the beam that the terminal device desires to measure SSB within the SMTC window. In this way, the terminal device pre-indicates the beam that it desires to use for SSB measurement to the network device, so that the network device sends the fourth information according to the terminal device's instruction.

[0029] In a possible implementation manner, the fourth information is carried by radio resource control RRC signaling, or the fourth information is carried by media access control element MAC-CE signaling, or the fourth information is downlink indication information DCI.

[0030] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another communication method, the method comprising:

[0031] A first message is sent to a terminal device; the first message indicates a first time slot in at least one time slot within an SMTC window; the start time of the SMTC window is later than the sending time of the first message; the first time slot is used by the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, and the scheduling information is used to schedule the transmission of uplink and downlink channels and / or signals.

[0032] In implementing the method described in the third aspect, the network device transmits the first information so that the terminal device does not measure the SSB in the first time slot within the SMTC window, but instead monitors the scheduling information of the network device. In this way, the network device can normally schedule the terminal device to transmit uplink and downlink channels and / or signals in the first time slot, thereby reducing scheduling constraints and improving system capacity.

[0033] In one possible implementation, the first information further indicates a second time slot, which is a time slot other than the first time slot in the at least one time slot; the second time slot is used by the terminal device to measure the synchronization signal block (SSB). In this way, the network device can use the first information to instruct the terminal device to monitor scheduling information in the first time slot in the SMTC window and measure the SSB in the second time slot in the SMTC window.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates multiple bits, and the time slot corresponding to bit i is used by the terminal device to monitor scheduling information or to measure the SSB; bit i is any bit among the multiple bits, and i is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. In this way, the value of each bit can indicate whether each time slot in the SMTC window is used by the terminal device to monitor scheduling information or to measure the SSB.

[0035] In one possible implementation, bit i takes a first value, indicating that the time slot corresponding to bit i is used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information; or, bit i takes a second value, indicating that the time slot corresponding to bit i is used for the terminal device to measure SSB.

[0036] In one possible implementation, in response to bit i taking the second value, the first information further indicates a first symbol among at least one symbol; the at least one symbol is a symbol in the time slot corresponding to bit i, and the first symbol is used by the terminal device to measure the SSB. Thus, when the time slot corresponding to bit i is the second time slot, the network device may further, through the first information, instruct the terminal device to measure the SSB occupying the first symbol in the second time slot and not to measure the remaining SSBs. The terminal device may monitor scheduling information using the symbols occupied by the remaining SSBs and symbols not originally used to transmit the SSBs.

[0037] In one possible implementation, in response to bit i taking the second value, the first information further indicates a first beam among at least one beam; the at least one beam is a beam in the time slot corresponding to bit i, and the first beam is used by the terminal device to measure the SSB. Thus, when the time slot corresponding to bit i is the second time slot, the network device may further instruct the terminal device, through the first information, to measure the SSB corresponding to the first beam in the second time slot, and not to measure the SSBs corresponding to the remaining beams. The terminal device may monitor scheduling information using the symbols occupied by the remaining SSBs and symbols not originally used to transmit SSBs. Furthermore, a time slot includes two SSBs (i.e., a time slot includes two beams, and a maximum of two bits are required to represent all measured SSBs in a time slot). Therefore, this method of indicating the first beam can save bits compared to the above-mentioned method of indicating the first symbol.

[0038] In one possible implementation, in response to bit i taking the second value, the first information further indicates a first panel, where the first panel is the panel used by the terminal device to measure SSB within the SMTC window corresponding to bit i. Thus, when the timeslot corresponding to bit i is the second timeslot, the network device may further instruct the terminal device, through the first information, to use the first panel to measure SSB in the second timeslot.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending second information to the terminal device, the second information indicating a third time slot and / or a fourth time slot; the third time slot is used by the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, and the fourth time slot is used by the terminal device to measure SSB, and the second information is received later than the end time of the SMTC window. In this way, the network device can instruct the terminal device to adjust its SSB measurement / scheduling information monitoring behavior after the SMTC window ends by sending the second information.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the first information further indicates a timer, and the timer is used for the terminal device to measure the SSB in the first SMTC window in response to the timer timing out, and the start time of the first SMTC window is later than the timeout time of the timer. In this way, the network device can, through the first information, also instruct the terminal device to listen to the scheduling information in the first time slot in the SMTC window according to the instruction of the first information when the timer has not timed out (or, it can also measure the SSB in the second time slot in the SMTC window); at the same time, instruct the terminal device to fall back to the traditional mode in which the SMTC window is used to measure the SSB when the timer times out, and measure the SSB in the time slot configured with the SSB in the first SMTC window.

[0041] In one possible implementation, before sending the first information to the terminal device, the method further includes: receiving third information from the terminal device; the third information indicating that the terminal device desires not to measure SSB timeslots within the SMTC window. Thus, the network device may send the first information based on the third information.

[0042] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried by radio resource control RRC signaling, or the first information is carried by media access control element MAC-CE signaling, or the first information is downlink indication information DCI.

[0043] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another communication method, which includes: sending fourth information to a terminal device; the fourth information indicates a second beam in at least one beam corresponding to the SMTC window; the start time of the SMTC window is later than the sending time of the fourth information; the second beam is used by the terminal device to measure the synchronization signal block SSB.

[0044] In implementing the method described in the fourth aspect, the network device transmits the fourth information, causing the terminal device to measure the SSB in the second beam within the SMTC window. Accordingly, the terminal device can monitor the network device's scheduling information in beams other than the second beam within the SMTC window, as well as in symbols not originally used for transmitting beams. This increases the network device's opportunities to schedule the terminal device, thereby reducing scheduling constraints and improving system capacity.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the fourth information further indicates a third beam, and symbols occupied by the third beam are used by the terminal device to monitor scheduling information. The third beam is a beam other than the second beam in the at least one beam corresponding to the SMTC window. Thus, the network device may further instruct the terminal device, through the fourth information, to monitor scheduling information in symbols occupied by the third beam. The scheduling information is used to schedule the transmission of uplink and downlink channels and / or signals.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the fourth information indicates multiple bits, where bit j indicates whether a symbol occupied by a beam corresponding to the bit j is used by the terminal device for SSB measurement or not; bit j is any one of the multiple bits, and j is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. In this way, the network device can indicate, by the value of each bit, whether each beam in the SMTC window is used by the terminal device for monitoring scheduling information or for measuring the SSB.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the fourth information indicates multiple bits, and the beams corresponding to the multiple bits are used by the terminal device to measure the SSB. In this way, the network device can use multiple bits to indicate the second beam used for SSB measurement without indicating the remaining beams used for monitoring scheduling information. When the second beam and the remaining beams exist in the middle beam of the SMTC window, this approach can reduce the amount of data in the fourth information.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the beams corresponding to the multiple bits include a target beam used by the terminal device, and the value of the bit corresponding to the target beam differs from the values ​​of the bits corresponding to beams other than the target beam in the multiple bits. In this way, in a scenario where the multiple bits indicate the second beam but not the remaining beams, the target beam used by the terminal device and the beams other than the target beam in the second beam can be distinguished by the different bit values.

[0049] In one possible implementation, the fourth information further indicates a second panel, where the second panel is a panel used by the terminal device to measure SSB in the second beam. In this way, the network device can also instruct the terminal device to use the second panel to measure SSB in the second beam through the fourth information.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the fourth information further indicates a timer; the timer is used for the terminal device to measure the SSB within the first SMTC window after the timer expires, and the start time of the first SMTC window is later than the timer expiration time. In this way, the network device can use the fourth information to instruct the terminal device to measure the SSB within the first beam in the SMTC window according to the instruction of the fourth information when the timer has not expired, and to monitor scheduling information in the remaining beams and symbols not originally used for transmitting beams; when the timer expires, it falls back to the traditional mode in which all SMTC windows are used for SSB measurement, and the SSB is measured in all beams within the first SMTC window.

[0051] In one possible implementation, before sending the fourth information to the terminal device, the method further includes: receiving fifth information from the terminal device; the fifth information indicating that the terminal device desires to measure an SSB beam within the SMTC window. Thus, the network device may send the fourth information based on the fifth information.

[0052] In a possible implementation manner, the fourth information is carried by radio resource control RRC signaling, or the fourth information is carried by media access control element MAC-CE signaling, or the fourth information is downlink indication information DCI.

[0053] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a function / unit for executing the communication method in the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or comprising a function / unit for executing the communication method in the above-mentioned second aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or comprising a function / unit for executing the communication method in the above-mentioned third aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or comprising a function / unit for executing the communication method in the above-mentioned fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0054] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a terminal device comprising a processor, a memory, and a communication interface; the communication interface is used to implement communication between the processor and the memory, the memory storing one or more computer programs, and the one or more computer programs comprising instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the terminal device executes the communication method of the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or executes the communication method of the above-mentioned second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0055] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network device, comprising a processor, a memory and a communication interface; the communication interface is used to realize communication between the processor and the memory, and one or more computer programs are stored in the memory, and the one or more computer programs include instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the network device executes the communication method in the above-mentioned third aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or executes the communication method in the above-mentioned fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0056] In the eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, which is applied to a terminal device / network device. The chip system includes a processor and an interface, and the interface is used to receive or output signals and transmit them to the processor; the processor is used to implement the communication method in the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or to implement the communication method in the above-mentioned second aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or to implement the communication method in the above-mentioned third aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or to implement the communication method in the above-mentioned fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0057] In the ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is called by a computer, the computer executes the communication method in the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or executes the communication method in the above-mentioned second aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or executes the communication method in the above-mentioned third aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or executes the communication method in the above-mentioned fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0058] In the tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product. When the computer program product is run on a computer, it enables the computer to execute the communication method in the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or execute the communication method in the above-mentioned second aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or execute the communication method in the above-mentioned third aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or execute the communication method in the above-mentioned fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0059] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes a terminal device and a network device. When the terminal device and the network device are running in the communication system, they are used to execute any one of the methods described in the first to fourth aspects above.

[0060] It can be understood that the beneficial effects that can be achieved by the communication device, terminal equipment, network equipment, chip, computer-readable storage medium, computer program product and communication system provided above can be referred to the beneficial effects in the first aspect / second aspect / third aspect / fourth aspect and any possible implementation methods, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an SSB transmission format under Case B provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG3 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG4 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG5 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG6 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0069] The following is a clear and detailed description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " means or, for example, A / B can mean A or B; "and / or" in the text is only a description of the association relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, in the description of the embodiments of the present application, "multiple" means two or more than two.

[0070] In the following, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood to imply or suggest relative importance or implicitly indicate the number of the technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0071] The embodiments of the present application can be applied to a fifth generation (5G) system, which can also be called an NR system; or can also be applied to a sixth generation (6G) system, a seventh generation (7G) system, or other future communication systems; or can also be used in a device to device (D2D) system, a machine to machine (M2M) system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, and the like.

[0072] For example, but not limited to, the method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system scenario. The communication system may include, but is not limited to: one or more network devices (such as network device 101) and one or more terminal devices (such as terminal device 102). The number and form of devices shown in Figure 1 are for example only and do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

[0073] In the embodiments of the present application, terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, user agent, or user device. For another example, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, an extended reality (XR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a wireless terminal in Internet of Vehicles, etc. Among them, XR terminal devices may include virtual reality (VR) terminals, augmented reality (AR) terminals, and mixed reality (MR) terminals. For example, XR terminal devices may also be wearable devices. Wearable devices can also be called wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for everyday wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device worn directly on the body or integrated into a user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are more than just hardware; they achieve powerful functionality through software support, data exchange, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are full-featured, large in size, and can function completely or partially without relying on a smartphone, such as smartwatches and smart glasses. They also include those that focus on a specific application function and require integration with other devices, such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0074] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device may include but is not limited to: evolved node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home network equipment (for example, home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), baseband unit (BBU), access point (AP) in wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, wireless relay node, wireless backhaul node, transmission and reception point (TRP), transmission point (TP), etc.; it can also be a device used in 5G, 6G or even 7G systems, such as gNB in ​​NR system, or transmission point (TRP or TP).

[0075] In the embodiment of the present application, the network device uses the time slot within the synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) window as the granularity, and indicates to the terminal device the time slot within the SMTC window for monitoring scheduling information. According to the instruction of the network device, the terminal device does not measure the SSB in the time slot used for monitoring scheduling information, but monitors the scheduling information sent by the network device. Alternatively, the network device uses the beam within the SMTC window as the granularity, and indicates to the terminal device the beam used for measuring the SSB within the SMTC window. According to the instruction of the network device, the terminal device monitors the scheduling information sent by the network device in the symbols occupied by the remaining beams except the beam used for measuring the SSB.

[0076] First, some of the terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0077] 1. eXtended reality (XR)

[0078] In recent years, with the continuous development of the fifth-generation (5G) communication system, data transmission latency has been continuously reduced and transmission capacity has been increasing. 5G communication systems have gradually penetrated into some multimedia services with strong real-time requirements and large data capacity requirements, such as video transmission, cloud gaming (CG) and XR, among which XR includes virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

[0079] With the rapid increase in communication transmission rates, real-time video transmission has gradually become one of the core services in current networks. The continuous advancement and improvement of extended reality technology has also led to the rapid development of related industries. Today, VR technology, as a type of XR, has entered various fields closely related to people's production and daily life, such as education, entertainment, military, medical care, environmental protection, transportation, and public health. Compared with traditional video services, VR offers advantages such as multiple perspectives and strong interactivity, providing users with a brand new visual experience.

[0080] In addition to smartphones, people are increasingly looking to enhance their XR experience through terminal devices such as head-mounted displays (HMDs) or smart glasses (such as VR glasses and AR glasses). Unlike smartphones, head-mounted displays and smart glasses require more consideration of power consumption. Smart glasses, in particular, are very small in size, similar to prescription glasses, and are expected to be worn for long periods of time, so power consumption control is significantly higher than that of smartphones. In cloud gaming, the UE can be a smartphone or a tablet. For long-term cloud gaming experiences, the power consumption of the device and the battery life are also important aspects to consider. Therefore, as XR devices become increasingly lightweight, the power consumption of the device has become a key issue in current research while ensuring user experience.

[0081] 2. Synchronization Signal Block (SSB)

[0082] The synchronization signal block (SSB) consists of the primary synchronization signal (PSS), the secondary synchronization signal block (SSS), and the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block. It is used for uplink synchronization and mobility management such as cell selection and handover. One SSB can be carried by one beam, so there is a one-to-one correspondence between SSBs and beams.

[0083] 3. SSB transmission method

[0084] The network device periodically sends SSBs to the terminal device. Within one period, multiple SSBs sent by the network device to the terminal device are called an SSB burst. For example, the period of sending the SSB burst can be 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms or 160ms. The network device can configure the period of the SSB burst based on the system information block (SIB).

[0085] The total duration of an SSB burst set is limited to one half frame (i.e., 5ms). Depending on the subcarrier spacing (SCS) and carrier frequency, the number of SSBs in an SSB burst set and the number of time slots occupied by SSBs vary.

[0086] The following describes the SSB transmission format under Case A to Case F. The transmission format in the embodiments of the present application can be any of the following Case A to Case F, and the present application does not limit this:

[0087] Case A: 15 kHz SCS, the index of the first symbol occupied by any SSB in a half-frame is {2, 8} + 14·n. For operation without shared spectrum channel access: for carrier frequencies less than or equal to 3 GHz, n = 0, 1, and a maximum of 4 SSBs are transmitted in a half-frame; for carrier frequencies greater than 3 GHz in FR1, n = 0, 1, 2, 3, and a maximum of 8 SSBs are transmitted in a half-frame. For operation using shared spectrum channel access: as described in [15, TS 37.213], n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and a maximum of 8 SSBs are transmitted in a half-frame.

[0088] Case B: 30 kHz SCS. The index of the first symbol occupied by any SSB in a half-frame is {4, 8, 16, 20} + 28·n. For carrier frequencies less than or equal to 3 GHz, n = 0, resulting in a maximum of four SSBs transmitted in a half-frame. For carrier frequencies greater than 3 GHz within FR1, n = 0, 1, resulting in a maximum of eight SSBs transmitted in a half-frame.

[0089] Case C: 30 kHz SCS, the index of the first symbol occupied by any SSB in a half-frame is {2, 8} + 14·n. For operation without shared spectrum channel access: For paired spectrum operation, for carrier frequencies less than or equal to 3 GHz, n = 0, 1, a maximum of 4 SSBs are transmitted in a half-frame; for carrier frequencies within FR1 greater than 3 GHz, n = 0, 1, 2, 3, a maximum of 8 SSBs are transmitted in a half-frame. For unpaired spectrum operation, for carrier frequencies less than 1.88 GHz, n = 0, 1, a maximum of 4 SSBs are transmitted in a half-frame; for carrier frequencies within FR1 greater than or equal to 1.88 GHz, n = 0, 1, 2, 3, a maximum of 8 SSBs are transmitted in a half-frame. For operation using shared spectrum channel access: n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, a maximum of 20 SSBs are transmitted in a half-frame.

[0090] Case D: 120 kHz SCS. The index of the first symbol occupied by any SSB in a half-frame is {4, 8, 16, 20} + 28·n. For carrier frequencies in FR2, n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18. Therefore, a maximum of 64 SSBs can be transmitted in a half-frame.

[0091] Case E: 240 kHz SCS. The index of the first symbol occupied by any SSB in a half-frame is {8, 12, 16, 20, 32, 36, 40, 44} + 56 n. For carrier frequencies in FR2-1, n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8. Therefore, a maximum of 64 SSBs can be transmitted in a half-frame.

[0092] Case F: 480 kHz SCS. The index of the first symbol occupied by any SSB in a half-frame is {2, 9} + 14 n. For carrier frequencies in FR2-2, n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31. A maximum of 64 SSBs can be transmitted in a half-frame.

[0093] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of SSB in a half frame in Case B when the carrier frequency is greater than 3 GHz:

[0094] As shown in Figure 2, 5ms consists of 10 slots: slot0, slot1, slot2, slot3, slot4, slot5, slot6, slot7, slot8, and slot9. The first four of these 10 slots are used to transmit SSBs. Specifically, taking slot0 as an example, slot0 contains 14 symbols, symbol0 through symbol13. A maximum of two SSBs can be transmitted in slot0, and each SSB occupies four symbols. For example, if two SSBs are transmitted in slot0, they occupy symbols2 through symbol5 and symbols8 through symbol11, respectively. Each slot in slots 1 through 3 also transmits a maximum of two SSBs, each occupying four symbols.

[0095] In the above Case A to Case F, each SSB in an SSB burst set can be indicated by an SSB Index, and the terminal device can obtain the SSB Index from the pilot of the PBCH or from the master system information block (MIB).

[0096] 4. Synchronous Signal Block Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) Window

[0097] The network device instructs the terminal device to measure the SSB time by configuring the SMTC window for the terminal device. Since the SSB burst set is sent periodically and the total duration of an SSB burst set is usually limited to 5ms, the protocol stipulates that the network device can configure the period of an SMTC window to be equal to the period of an SSB burst set, and the window length (i.e., duration) of an SMTC window can be configured to be 1ms, 2ms, 3ms, 4ms, or 5ms. For example, the network device can configure the period of an SMTC window to be 5ms and the window length of an SMTC window to be 5ms. Taking Figure 2 as an example, the window length of the SMTC window configured by the network device is exactly the length of half a frame.

[0098] After the network device configures the SMTC window for the terminal device, the terminal device will measure the SSB in the SMTC window. Therefore, the network device cannot send scheduling information to the terminal device within the SMTC window, and there are scheduling limitations. For example, when the period of an SMTC window is configured to 20ms and the window length is configured to 5ms, if there are 64 SSBs to be measured in an SMTC window, the network device will be unable to schedule the terminal device nearly 20% of the time. This type of scheduling limitation will further reduce the system capacity of the communication system in specific business scenarios. Taking the computer graphics (CG) scene, AR scene, and VR scene in the XR scene as an example, Table 1 shows the loss of system capacity in these three scenarios under different SMTC window configurations. The system capacity in Table 1 is represented by the maximum number of UEs that can be served simultaneously by a network device.

[0099] Table 1

[0100] As shown in Table 1, in the absence of scheduling restrictions, the system capacity of the CG scenario is 9 UEs, and the system capacity of the AR / VR scenario is 7 UEs; when the SMTC window period is configured as 20ms and the window length is configured as 5ms, the system capacity of the CG scenario is 6.2 UEs (system capacity loss is 31%), and the system capacity of the AR / VR scenario is 3.1 UEs (system capacity loss is 56%); when the SMTC window period is configured as 20ms and the window length is configured as 3ms, the system capacity of the CG scenario is 8 UEs (system capacity loss is 11%), and the system capacity of the AR / VR scenario is 5.1 UEs (system capacity loss is 27%); when the SMTC window period is configured as 20ms and the window length is configured as When the length is configured as 2ms, the system capacity of the CG scenario is 8.5 UEs (system capacity loss is 6%), and the system capacity of the AR / VR scenario is 6.5 UEs (system capacity loss is 7%); when the SMTC window period is configured as 40ms and the window length is configured as 5ms, the system capacity of the CG scenario is 7.3 UEs (system capacity loss is 19%), and the system capacity of the AR / VR scenario is 4.1 UEs (system capacity loss is 41%); when the SMTC window period is configured as 40ms and the window length is configured as 2ms, the system capacity of the CG scenario is 8.6 UEs (system capacity loss is 4%), and the system capacity of the AR / VR scenario is 6.6 UEs (system capacity loss is 6%).

[0101] To reduce scheduling constraints and increase system capacity, the present application proposes two communication methods. In the first method, the network device instructs the terminal device using the time slot within the SMTC window as the granularity, and uses the time slot that could have been used for SSB transmission to monitor scheduling information. In the second method, the network device instructs the terminal device using the beam within the SMTC window as the granularity, and uses the beam that could have been used for SSB transmission to monitor scheduling information. This allows the network device to normally schedule the terminal device within these time slots or beams, thereby reducing scheduling constraints and increasing system capacity.

[0102] The following describes these two communication methods:

[0103] Method 1: FIG3 shows a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, which includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0104] Step 301: A network device sends first information to a terminal device, where the first information indicates a first time slot in at least one time slot within an SMTC window. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first information.

[0105] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device sends a first message to the terminal device to indicate which time slots in the SMTC window are not used to measure SSB (or called skipping measurement of SSB), and the time slots not used to measure SSB can be used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information. The start time of the SMTC window here is later than the time when the network device sends the first information and later than the time when the terminal device receives the first information, and the number of SMTC windows here is not limited. In other words, the network device notifies the terminal device based on the first information which time slots in any of the next SMTC windows are not used to measure SSB, so that the terminal device does not measure SSB in which time slots in any of the next SMTC windows according to the received first information.

[0106] Specifically, the first information indicates the first time slot in at least one time slot within the SMTC window, and the first time slot is used for the terminal device not to measure SSB and to listen to scheduling information. Among them, the at least one time slot is all the time slots within an SMTC window, and the number of at least one time slot can be determined by the sub-carrier space (SCS). For example, when the window length of the SMTC window is configured to be 5ms, if the SCS is 30kHz, then the at least one time slot includes 10 time slots, and if the SCS is 120kHz, then the at least one time slot includes 40 time slots. Optionally, the first time slot may include a time slot in at least one time slot that was originally used for the terminal device to measure SSB (that is, a time slot originally used to transmit SSB). Alternatively, the first time slot may include a time slot in at least one time slot that was not originally used for the terminal device to measure SSB (that is, a time slot that was not originally used to transmit SSB) and a time slot that was originally used for the terminal device to measure SSB. For example, taking Figure 2 as an example, when the SCS is 30kHz, at least one time slot is slot0 to slot9 (a total of 10 slots) shown in Figure 2, and in the scenario of a carrier frequency within FR1 greater than 3GHz, slot0 to slot3 in slot0 to slot9 are slots that can be used to measure SSB, and slot4 to slot9 are slots that are not originally used to measure SSB; assuming that the first time slot indicated by the first information is slot4 to slot9, it means that slot4 to slot9 are not used to measure SSB, but are used to monitor scheduling information, so that the terminal device can use the slots in slot4 to slot9. Instead of measuring SSB on ot9, the scheduling information is monitored; assuming that the first time slot indicated by the first information is slot1 and slot4~slot9, it means that slot1 and slot4~slot9 are not used to measure SSB, but are used to monitor scheduling information, so that the terminal device does not measure SSB on slot1 and slot4~slot9 but monitors scheduling information. In this way, the terminal device can not only monitor scheduling information on slot4~slot9 that are not originally used to measure SSB, but also monitor scheduling information on slot1 that is originally used to measure SSB, thereby further reducing the scheduling restrictions of the network device on the terminal device. It can be understood that, assuming that the first time slot indicated by the first information is slot0~slot9, it means that the entire SMTC window is used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information.

[0107] Optionally, the first information also indicates a second time slot in at least one time slot, and the second time slot is used for the terminal device to measure SSB. The second time slot is a time slot other than the first time slot in at least one time slot, and the second time slot is a time slot that can originally be used for the terminal device to measure SSB. For example, still taking Figure 2 as an example, in slot0 to slot9 (a total of 10 slots), slot0 to slot3 are slots that can originally be used to measure SSB, then the second time slot can be a slot in slot0 to slot3 that does not belong to the first time slot; assuming that the first information indicates that the first time slot is slot4 to slot9, then the first information also indicates that the second time slot is slot0 to slot3, that is, the first information indicates that slot0 to slot3 (the first 4 slots in 10 slots) in an SMTC window are used for the terminal device to measure SSB, slot4 to slot9 (the first 4 slots in 10 slots) The last 6 slots) are used for the terminal device to monitor the scheduling information; assuming that the first information indicates that the first time slot is slot1 and slot4~slot9, the first information also indicates that the second time slot is slot0 and slot2~slot3, that is, the first information indicates that slot0 and slot2~slot3 in an SMTC window (the 1st slot, the 3rd slot and the 4th slot in 10 slots) are used for the terminal device to measure SSB, and slot1 and slot4~slot9 (the 2nd slot and the last 6 slots in 10 slots) are used for the terminal device to monitor the scheduling information.

[0108] Here are several ways to implement the first information:

[0109] 1. The first possible implementation method: the first information indicates the above-mentioned first time slot, or the first information indicates the above-mentioned first time slot and the above-mentioned second time slot. Specifically, the network device can instruct the terminal device to monitor the scheduling information in the first time slot of any next SMTC window through the first information; or, instruct the terminal device to monitor the scheduling information in the first time slot of any next SMTC window and measure the SSB in the second time slot. In the specific implementation, the first information can be implemented in the form of a bitmap, such as the first information indicates multiple bits, the time slot corresponding to bit i is used to monitor the scheduling information, or to measure the SSB, bit i is any bit among the multiple bits, i is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, such as when bit i takes the first value, indicating that the time slot corresponding to bit i is used to monitor the scheduling information (then the time slot corresponding to bit i is equivalent to the first time slot); or, when bit i takes the second value, indicating that the time slot corresponding to bit i is used to measure the SSB (then the time slot corresponding to bit i is equivalent to the second time slot). For example, corresponding to Figure 2, the first information indicates a bitmap consisting of 10 bits. Assuming that the first value is "0" and the second value is "1", "0" means that the time slot corresponding to bit i is used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, and "1" means that the time slot corresponding to bit i is used for the terminal device to measure SSB.

[0110] For example, if the bitmap value is "0000000000", it means that slot0 to slot9 (a total of 10 slots) are all used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information; if the bitmap value is "1111000000", it means that slot0 to slot3 (the first 4 slots of the 10 slots) are used for the terminal device to measure SSB, and slot4 to slot9 (the last 6 slots of the 10 slots) are used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information; if the bitmap value is "1011000000", it means that slot0 and slot2 to slot3 (the first slot, the third slot and the fourth slot of the 10 slots) are used for the terminal device to measure SSB, and slot1 and slot4 to slot9 (the second slot and the last 6 slots of the 10 slots) are used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information.

[0111] 2. The second possible implementation: the first information, in addition to indicating the first time slot and the second time slot, also indicates the first symbol in the second time slot. Specifically, in response to the above-mentioned bit i taking the second value (i.e., the time slot corresponding to bit i is equivalent to the second time slot), the first information also indicates the first symbol in at least one symbol; at least one symbol is a symbol in the time slot corresponding to bit i (for example, a time slot includes 14 symbols, then at least one symbol is 14 symbols), the first symbol is used to measure SSB, and accordingly, the remaining symbols except the first symbol can be used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information. The network device can be indicated in two levels, the first level indicates the time slot (for details, please refer to the above-mentioned first possible implementation), and the second level indicates the symbol in the time slot.

[0112] For example, corresponding to Figure 2, the first information can still indicate the first symbol in the form of a bitmap, then the first information can indicate a bitmap of up to 10+10*14 bits, that is, 10 bits are used to indicate that each of the 10 slots is used to monitor the scheduling information / measure the SSB, and 10*14 bits are used to indicate that each symbol in each slot is used to monitor the scheduling information / measure the SSB. For each slot, 14 bits can be used to indicate that each symbol of all symbols corresponding to the slot is used to monitor the scheduling information / measure the SSB; optionally, for the slot indicated by the first information for monitoring the scheduling information, since the terminal device does not measure the SSB on the slot, the slot does not need to have a second-level indication. In other words, for the first time slot, the above-mentioned second-level indication is not required, which can save bits.

[0113] For example, the bitmap may take the value of “1111000000 00111100111100 00111100111100 00111100111100” or “1 00111100111100 1 00111100111100 1 00111100111100 1 00111100111100 0 0 0 0 0”. The difference between the two values ​​is that you can first uniformly indicate that each of the 10 slots is used to monitor scheduling information / measure SSB, and then indicate that each symbol on the slot used to measure SSB is used to monitor scheduling information / measure SSB (that is, when the value of the first-level indication slot is "1", further indicate the symbol), or you can separately indicate that each slot is used to monitor scheduling information / measure SSB and each symbol on the slot is used to monitor scheduling information / measure SSB. The values ​​of these two bitmaps can both indicate that slot0 to slot3 in an SMTC is used for the terminal device to measure SSB, slot4 to slot9 is used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, and further, symbol2 to symbol5, symbol8 to symbol11 in each slot in slot0 to slot3 is used for the terminal device to measure SSB, and symbol0 to symbol1, symbol6 to symbol7, symbol12 to symbol13 is used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information.

[0114] Optionally, if in multiple second time slots, the symbols occupied by the measured SSB have the same position in each second time slot, there is no need to indicate all the symbols in each second time slot separately. It is sufficient to indicate one second time slot as an example. For example, the value of the bitmap can be "1111000000 00111100111100", where the first 10 bits indicate the first time slot and the second time slot in the SMTC window, and the last 14 bits indicate symbol2~symbol5, symbol8~symbol11 in each second time slot for the terminal device to measure SSB. In this way, the number of bits can be further saved.

[0115] 3. A third possible implementation: In addition to indicating the first and second time slots, the first information further indicates the first beam in the second time slot. Specifically, in response to bit i taking the second value (i.e., the time slot corresponding to bit i is equivalent to the second time slot), the first information further indicates the first beam in at least one beam; the at least one beam is the beam in the time slot corresponding to bit i, and the first beam is used to measure the SSB. Accordingly, all symbols in the second time slot, except those occupied by the first beam, can be used by the terminal device to monitor scheduling information. The network device can provide indications at two levels: the first level indicates the time slot (for details, refer to the first possible implementation above), and the second level indicates the beams in the time slot. For example, if a time slot includes two SSBs, which is equivalent to a time slot including two beams, the second level can indicate which of the two beams in the time slot is the first beam, and the first beam is the beam used to carry the SSB, so that the terminal device can measure the SSB in the first beam.

[0116] For example, corresponding to Figure 2, the first information can also indicate the first beam in the form of a bitmap, then the first information can indicate a bitmap including a maximum of 10+10*2 bits, that is, 10 bits are used to indicate that each of the 10 slots is used to monitor scheduling information / measure SSB, and 10*2 bits are used to indicate whether each beam on each slot is used to measure SSB (the symbols occupied by the beam not used to measure SSB are used to monitor scheduling information). For each slot, 2 bits can be used to indicate whether each beam in the two beams corresponding to the slot is used to measure SSB. Optionally, for the slot indicated by the first information for monitoring scheduling information, since the terminal device does not measure SSB on this slot, there is no need for a second-level indication for this slot, which can save bits.

[0117] For example, assume that "10" indicates that the first beam is used for SSB measurement by the terminal device, and the second beam is not used for SSB measurement; "01" indicates that the first beam is not used for SSB measurement, and the second beam is used for SSB measurement by the terminal device; and "11" indicates that both the first and second beams are used for SSB measurement by the terminal device, wherein the beam not used for SSB measurement can be used by the terminal device to monitor scheduling information. In this case, the bitmap value can be "1111000000 01 11 11 10" or the indication information can be "1 01 1 10 1 11 1 10 0 0 0 0 0 0". The difference between the two indication information is that each of the 10 slots can be uniformly indicated as being used for monitoring scheduling information / measuring SSB, and then the individual beams in the slots used for SSB measurement can be indicated as being used for SSB measurement. Alternatively, each slot can be individually indicated as being used for monitoring scheduling information / measuring SSB, and each beam corresponding to that slot can be individually indicated as being used for SSB measurement. The values ​​of these two bitmaps can indicate that slots 0 to 3 in an SMTC are used for the terminal device to measure SSB, slots 4 to 9 are used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, and further, the second beam of slot 0, the two beams of slot 1 and slot 2, and the first beam of slot 3 are used for the terminal device to measure SSB, and the symbols occupied by the remaining beams in slots 0 to 3 are used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information.

[0118] Optionally, if in multiple second time slots, the symbols occupied by measuring SSB have the same position in each second time slot, there is no need to indicate each beam in each second time slot. It is sufficient to indicate one second time slot as an example. For example, the value of the bitmap can be "1111000000 01", where the first 10 bits indicate the first time slot and the second time slot, and the last 14 bits indicate that the second beam in each second time slot is used for the terminal device to measure SSB. In this way, the number of bits can be further saved.

[0119] It can be understood that in the third possible implementation method, the first information indicating the first beam may also indicate the SSB corresponding to the first beam during specific implementation, that is, when the first information indicates the first time slot and the second time slot, it also indicates the SSB corresponding to the first beam in the second time slot. This application does not limit this.

[0120] In one embodiment, the first information is carried by radio resource control RRC signaling, or the first information is carried by media access control element MAC-CE signaling, or the first information is downlink indication information DCI.

[0121] In one possible implementation, after the network device sends the above-mentioned first information, the network device may also send second information, and the second information indicates the third time slot and / or the fourth time slot; the third time slot is used for the terminal device to monitor the scheduling information, and the fourth time slot is used for the terminal device to measure the SSB, and the time when the network device sends the second information is later than the end time of the SMTC window and the time when the terminal device receives the second information is later than the end time of the SMTC window. In other words, after the network device sends the first information, the terminal device may perform corresponding actions according to the instructions of the first information; then, the network device may send the second information to re-instruct the terminal device, and the terminal device may perform corresponding actions according to the instructions of the second information. The second information can be implemented according to the three possible implementation methods of the above-mentioned first information, and this application does not limit this. Since the second information may be different from the first information, the behavior of the terminal device can be adjusted.

[0122] In one possible implementation, as shown in FIG4 , step 301 is preceded by step 300 : In step 300 , the terminal device sends third information to the network device, the third information indicating the time slots in which the terminal device desires not to measure SSB; accordingly, the network device receives the third information. In this way, the network device may select a first time slot from the time slots indicated by the terminal device as not to measure SSB, or may select a time slot other than the time slot indicated by the third information as the first time slot. The implementation of the third information may refer to the three possible implementations of the first information described above, and this application does not limit this. The third information may carry RRC signaling, MAC CE signaling, or UCI information.

[0123] Furthermore, optionally, when the first information indicates the above-mentioned first time slot and the above-mentioned second time slot, the first information may also indicate the panel (panel) used by the terminal device when measuring the SSB in the second time slot. Specifically, in response to the bit i taking the second value, the first information further indicates the first panel, which is the panel used by the terminal device to measure the SSB in the time slot corresponding to the bit i. For example, still corresponding to Figure 2, the multiple bits indicated by the first information take the value of "1111000000 01", or the multiple bits indicated by the first information take the value of "1111000000 01 01 10 10". The difference between these two values ​​is that one panel can be indicated for multiple second time slots so that the terminal device does not change the panel used when measuring the SSB, or a corresponding panel can be indicated for each second time slot, and the panels corresponding to each second time slot can be the same or different. When the panels corresponding to different second time slots are different, the terminal device can change the currently used panel when measuring the SSB, such as switching to a panel with a better signal, to improve communication quality. For example, "1111000000 01" instructs the terminal device to use the panel corresponding to "01" (e.g., panel-A) in slots 0 to 3 of an SMTC to measure SSB, and to monitor scheduling information in slots 4 to 9. "1111000000 01 01 10 10" instructs the terminal device to use the panel corresponding to "01" (e.g., panel-A) in slots 0 and 1 of an SMTC to measure SSB, and to use the panel corresponding to "10" (e.g., panel-B) in slots 2 and 3 to measure SSB, and to monitor scheduling information in slots 4 to 9. Optionally, if the terminal device has multiple panels, the terminal device can pre-send capability information of the multiple panels to the network device so that the network device can select an appropriate panel for the terminal device.

[0124] Furthermore, optionally, the first information may also indicate a timer, so that when the terminal device receives the first information, it may first start the timer and perform corresponding actions according to the instructions of the first information before the timer times out; after the timer times out, the terminal device responds to the timer timeout and falls back to the traditional mode in which the SMTC window is used to measure SSB, and measures SSB in the time slots configured with SSB in the first SMTC window (the first SMTC window is the SMTC window detected after the timeout) until the terminal device receives an indication sent by the network device again (such as receiving the above-mentioned second information), and the terminal device can restart the timer to start a new round of timing.

[0125] Step 302: The terminal device monitors scheduling information in the first time slot.

[0126] Among them, after receiving the first information, the terminal device can first determine the transmission form of the SSB according to the carrier frequency and SCS (such as Case A to Case F mentioned above, only Case A to Case F are used as examples here, and with the continuous development of technology, there may be more Cases). The transmission form indicates the number of time slots in an SMTC window, the number of beams, and the symbols occupied by the beams. Then, according to the transmission form and the indication of the first information, the corresponding behavior is performed, which is to monitor the scheduling information and / or measure the SSB. Specifically, the scheduling information is used to schedule the transmission of uplink and downlink channels and / or signals. For example, downlink channels and / or signals include but are not limited to physical downlink control channels (physical downlink control channel, PDCCH), physical downlink shared channels (physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH) and / or channel state information reference signals (channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS), etc. Uplink channels or signals include but are not limited to physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and / or sounding reference signal (SRS). If the terminal device monitors the scheduling information sent by the network device within the SMTC window, it can respond to the scheduling information and further transmit uplink and downlink channels and / or signals. In this way, the network device can increase the opportunity to schedule the terminal device, thereby reducing scheduling restrictions and improving system capacity.

[0127] Specifically, corresponding to the first possible implementation method in the above step 301, when the first information indicates the first time slot, or the first information indicates the first time slot and the second time slot, the actions performed by the terminal device include: not measuring SSB in the first time slot but listening to the scheduling information, or the terminal device listening to the scheduling information in the first time slot and measuring SSB in the second time slot. Corresponding to the example shown in the above first possible implementation method, when the multiple bits indicated by the first information take the value of "0000000000", slot0 to slot9 (a total of 10 slots) are equivalent to the first time slot, and the terminal device listens to the scheduling information in slot0 to slot9; when the multiple bits indicated by the first information take the value of "1111000000", slot0 to slot3 (the first 4 slots of the 10 slots) are equivalent to the second time slot, and slot4 to slot9 (the last 6 slots of the 10 slots) are equivalent to the first time slot, then the terminal device measures SSB in slot0 to slot3. The terminal device measures SSB in slot 0 and slot 2 to slot 3, and monitors the scheduling information in slot 4 to slot 9; when the multiple bits indicated by the first information take the value of "1011000000", slot 0 and slot 2 to slot 3 (the 1st slot, the 3rd slot and the 4th slot in the 10 slots) are equivalent to the second time slot, and slot 1 and slot 4 to slot 9 (the 2nd slot and the last 6 slots in the 10 slots) are equivalent to the first time slot, then the terminal device measures SSB in slot 0 and slot 2 to slot 3, and monitors the scheduling information in slot 1 and slot 4 to slot 9.

[0128] Specifically, corresponding to the second possible implementation method in the above step 301, when the first information indicates the first time slot and the second time slot, and the first symbol in the second time slot, the actions performed by the terminal device include: listening to the scheduling information on the first time slot, measuring the SSB on the first symbol of the second time slot, and also listening to the scheduling information on the remaining symbols except the first symbol. Corresponding to the example shown in the above second possible implementation method, when the multiple bits indicated by the first information take the values ​​of "1111000000 00111100111100 00111100111100 00111100111100" or "1 00111100111100 1 00111100111100 1 00111100111100 1 00111100111100 0 0 0 0 0 0", slot4 to slot9 (the last 6 slots of 10 slots) are equivalent to the first time slot, and the terminal device monitors the scheduling information in slot4 to slot9, and slot0 to slot3 (the first 4 slots of 10 slots) are equivalent to the second time slot, symbol2 to symbol5 and symbol8 to symbol11 are equivalent to the first symbol, the terminal device measures SSB in slot0 to slot3, and further measures SSB in symbol2 to symbol5 and symbol8 to symbol11 in each slot of slot0 to slot3, and monitors the scheduling information in symbol0 to symbol1, symbol6 to symbol7 and symbol12 to symbol13 in each slot of slot0 to slot3.

[0129] Specifically, corresponding to the third possible implementation manner in the above step 301, when the first information indicates the first time slot and the second time slot, and the first beam in the second time slot, the actions performed by the terminal device include: listening to the scheduling information in the first time slot, implementing SSB measurement on the first beam in the second time slot, and also listening to the scheduling information on the remaining symbols except the symbols occupied by the first beam. Corresponding to the example shown in the above third possible implementation manner, when the multiple bits indicated by the first information take the value of "1111000000 01 11 11 10" or the indication information is "1 01 1 10 1 11 1 10 0 0 0 0 0 When the signal level is set to 0, slots 4 to 9 (the last 6 slots of the 10 slots) are equivalent to the first time slot, and the terminal device monitors the scheduling information in slots 4 to 9. Slots 0 to 3 (the first 4 slots of the 10 slots) are equivalent to the second time slot. The second beam in slot 0 is equivalent to the first beam, the first beam in slot 1 is equivalent to the first beam, the two beams in slot 2 are equivalent to the first beam, and the first beam in slot 3 is equivalent to the first beam. The terminal device measures SSB in slots 0 to 3, and further measures SSB on the second beam of slot 0, the two beams of slots 1 and slot 2, and the first beam of slot 3. It monitors the scheduling information in the symbols occupied by the remaining beams in slots 0 to 3.

[0130] In one possible implementation, after receiving the above-mentioned first information, the terminal device may also receive the above-mentioned second information, where the second information indicates the above-mentioned third time slot and / or the above-mentioned fourth time slot, and the terminal device performs corresponding actions according to the instructions of the second information, for example, the terminal device listens to the scheduling information in the above-mentioned third time slot, and / or measures the SSB in the above-mentioned fourth time slot.

[0131] In one possible implementation, as shown in FIG4 , step 300 is further included before step 301: In step 300, the terminal device sends third information to the network device, the third information indicating the time slots in which the terminal device desires not to measure SSB; accordingly, the network device receives the third information. This allows the network device to select a first time slot from the time slots indicated by the terminal device as not to measure SSB, or the network device may select a time slot other than the time slot indicated by the third information as the first time slot.

[0132] Furthermore, optionally, when the first information indicates the first time slot and the second time slot, the first information may also indicate a panel to be used by the terminal device when measuring the SSB in the second time slot. Accordingly, when measuring the SSB, the terminal device uses the indicated panel for measurement. In this way, the terminal device may not change the panel used when measuring the SSB according to the instruction, or may change the currently used panel according to the instruction.

[0133] Further, optionally, when the terminal device receives the first information, it may start a timer in response to receiving the first information. The timer is pre-configured by the protocol or the timer is configured by the network device (such as the above-mentioned first information may also indicate the timer). The terminal device may perform the above-mentioned behavior in accordance with the instructions of the first information before the timer times out; after the timer times out, the terminal device responds to the timer timeout and falls back to the traditional mode for measuring SSB in the SMTC window, and measures SSB in the time slots configured with SSB in the first SMTC window until the terminal device receives an indication sent by the network device again (such as receiving the above-mentioned second information). The terminal device may restart the timer to start a new round of timing.

[0134] Based on the method described in Figure 3, the network device can notify the terminal device, based on the first information, of which time slots within any subsequent SMTC window to monitor for scheduling information. Accordingly, the network device can send scheduling information in these time slots to schedule the transmission of uplink and downlink channels and / or signals. Compared to the traditional configuration in which the terminal device measures the SSB within the SMTC window, this method can increase the network device's opportunities to schedule the terminal device, thereby reducing scheduling constraints and improving the capacity of the communication system.

[0135] Method 2: FIG5 shows a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, which includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0136] Step 501: A network device sends fourth information to a terminal device, where the fourth information indicates a second beam in at least one beam corresponding to an SMTC window. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the fourth information.

[0137] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device sends the fourth information to the terminal device to indicate which beams in the SMTC window of the terminal device are used to measure the SSB (that is, the SSB in which beams will be measured in the terminal device). Accordingly, the symbols in the SMTC window other than the beam occupied symbols to be measured can be used for the terminal device to monitor the scheduling information. The start time of the SMTC window here is later than the time when the network device sends the fourth information and later than the time when the terminal device receives the fourth information, and the number of SMTC windows here is not limited. In other words, the network device notifies the terminal device based on the fourth information which beams in any next SMTC window are used to measure the SSB, so that the terminal device measures the SSB in which beams in any next SMTC window according to the received fourth information.

[0138] Specifically, the fourth information indicates the second beam of at least one beam within the SMTC window, the second beam is used for the terminal device to measure SSBs, and symbols other than symbols occupied by the second beam can be used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information. The at least one beam is all beams within an SMTC window, and the number of the at least one beam can refer to the contents in Case A to Case F above. For example, when the window length of the SMTC window is configured to be 5ms, if it is a scenario with a carrier frequency within FR1 greater than 3GHz in Case B, then an SMTC window includes a maximum of 8 SSBs, which is equivalent to a maximum of 8 beams within an SMTC window; if it is a scenario with a carrier frequency within FR2 in Case D, then an SMTC window includes a maximum of 64 SSBs, which is equivalent to a maximum of 64 beams within an SMTC window.For example, taking the scenario of the carrier frequency within FR1 greater than 3 GHz in Case B as an example, assuming that an SMTC window includes 10 slots (as shown in Figure 2), and the second beam indicated by the fourth information is 8 beams, and the 8 beams are beam0, beam1, beam2, beam3, beam4, beam5, beam6 and beam7, then the symbols occupied by these 8 beams are symbol2 to symbol5 in slo0, symbol8 to symbol11 in slot0, symbol2 to symbol5 in slot1, symbol8 to symbol11 in slot1, symbol2 to symbol5 in slot2, symbol8 to symbol11 in slot2, symbol2 to symbol5 in slot3, and symbol8 to symbol11 in slot3. These 8 beams can be used for the terminal device to measure SSB. Accordingly, symbol0 to symbol1, symbol6 to symbol7 in slo0 to slot3 Symbol7, and symbol12~symbol13 can be used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, and slot4~slot9 (the remaining 6 slots) among these 10 slots can also be used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information; assuming that the second beam indicated by the fourth information is beam0, beam1, beam2 and beam3 among the above 8 beams, and the symbols occupied by these 4 beams are symbol2~symbol5 in slo0, symbol8~symbol11 in slot0, symbol2~symbol5 in slot1, and symbol8~symbol11 in slot1, it means that these 4 beams can be used for the terminal device to measure SSB, and accordingly, symbol0~symbol1, symbol6~symbol7, and symbol12~symbol13 in slot0~slot1 can be used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, and slot2~slot9 (the remaining 8 slots) among these 10 slots can also be used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information. Compared with the method of indicating time slots in method 1, this method of indicating the beam to be measured indicates less data and can reduce the amount of transmitted data.

[0139] Optionally, the fourth information further indicates a third beam, which is a beam in at least one beam other than the second beam mentioned above, and the symbols occupied by the third beam are used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information. For example, taking the scenario of a carrier frequency in FR1 greater than 3 GHz in Case B as an example, assuming that an SMTC window includes 10 slots (as shown in Figure 2), and 10 slots can transmit a maximum of 8 beams, if the second beam indicated by the fourth information is beam0, beam1, beam2, and beam3 among the 8 beams, the fourth information may also indicate that the third beam is beam4, beam5, beam6, and beam7 among the 8 beams.

[0140] Here are several ways to implement the fourth information:

[0141] 1. In the first possible implementation: the fourth information is implemented in the form of a bitmap, and the bits in the bitmap are used to indicate that the beam is the second beam and / or the third beam. Specifically, the fourth information indicates multiple bits, the beam corresponding to bit j is used by the terminal device to measure SSB or is not used by the terminal device to measure SSB, and the symbol occupied by the beam not used for the terminal device to measure SSB is used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information; bit j is any bit among the multiple bits, and j is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. The number of multiple bits is equal to the maximum number of beams in an SMTC window. For example, when bit j takes the third value, it indicates that the symbol occupied by the beam corresponding to bit i is used to monitor scheduling information (then the beam corresponding to bit i is equivalent to the third time slot); or, when bit i takes the fourth value, it indicates that the beam corresponding to bit i is used to measure SSB (then the time slot corresponding to bit i is equivalent to the second beam). For example, corresponding to Figure 2, an SMTC window includes a maximum of 8 beams, then the fourth information indicates a bitmap consisting of 8 bits. Assuming that the third value is "0" and the fourth value is "1", "0" indicates that the symbol occupied by the beam corresponding to bit i is used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, and "1" indicates that the beam corresponding to bit i is used for the terminal device to measure SSB.

[0142] For example, if the bitmap value is "11111111", it means that beam0 to beam7 (a total of 8 beams) are all used for the terminal device to measure SSB, which is equivalent to symbol2 to symbol5 and symbol8 to symbol11 in slo0 to slot3 being used for the terminal device to measure SSB. Correspondingly, symbol0 to symbol1, symbol6 to symbol7 and symbol12 to symbol13 in slo0 to slot3 are used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, and slot4 to slot9 (the remaining 6 slots) are also used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information. ; If the value of this bitmap is "11110000", it means that beam0 to beam3 in beam0 to beam7 are used for the terminal device to measure SSB, which is equivalent to symbol2 to symbol5 and symbol8 to symbol11 in slo0 to slot1 being used for the terminal device to measure SSB. Correspondingly, symbol0 to symbol1, symbol6 to symbol7 and symbol12 to symbol13 in slo0 to slot1 are used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, and slot2 to slot9 (the remaining 8 slots) are also used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information.

[0143] 2. In the second possible implementation, the fourth information is implemented in the form of a bitmap, and bits in the bitmap indicate that the beam is the second beam. This differs from the first possible implementation in that this method only indicates the beam for which SSB measurement is required, and does not indicate the beam used for monitoring scheduling information, thus saving bits. Specifically, the fourth information indicates multiple bits, and the beams corresponding to the multiple bits are all used by the terminal device to measure SSB.

[0144] Optionally, the beams corresponding to the multiple bits include a target beam used by the terminal device, and the value of the bit corresponding to the target beam is different from the values ​​of the bits corresponding to beams other than the target beam in the multiple bits. For example, each bit in the multiple bits corresponds to a beam, and the multiple beams corresponding to the multiple bits include the target beam currently used by the terminal device and beams adjacent to the target beam. For example, for the above-mentioned scenario of beam0 to beam7 (a total of 8 beams), if the network device in the connected network knows that the target beam currently used by the terminal device is beam3, the value of the bitmap indicated by the fourth information can be "11011", where the "0" in "11011" corresponds to beam3, the first two "1"s in "11011" correspond to the first two beams in beam3 (i.e. beam1 and beam2), and the last two "1"s in "11011" correspond to the last two beams in beam3 (i.e. beam4 and beam5). "11011" means that beam3 is used as the benchmark among beam0 to beam7, and beam3 and the two beams before and after beam3 are used for the terminal device to measure SSB, that is, beam1 to beam5 are all used for the terminal device to measure SSB.

[0145] Optionally, the beams corresponding to the multiple bits do not include the target beam, but only include adjacent beams other than the target beam. For example, in the above-mentioned scenario of beam0 to beam7 (a total of 8 beams), if the network device in the connected network knows that the target beam currently used by the terminal device is beam3, the value of the bitmap indicated by the fourth information can be "11 11", where the "11" and "11" in "11 11" are separated based on beam3, so "11 11" can also indicate that beam3 is used as the reference in beam0 to beam7, and beam3 and the two beams before and after beam3 are all used for the terminal device to measure SSB, that is, beam1 to beam5 are all used for the terminal device to measure SSB.

[0146] Optionally, the first possible implementation method and the second possible implementation method can be combined to implement: For example, it is predefined that the number of multiple bits that the fourth information can indicate is 8, and the target beam is always used as the reference for indication. For example, for a scenario where Case D includes up to 64 beams (such as beam0 to beam63), the multiple bits indicated by the fourth information can take the value of "0011 1100", where "0011" and "1100" are separated by the target beam beam3, and the "1" in "0011 1100" represents the beam used to measure SSB, and the "0" represents the beam used to monitor scheduling information, so "0011 1100" "1100" can also indicate that among beam0 to beam63, beam3 is used as the reference, and beam3 and the two beams before and after beam3 are used for the terminal device to measure SSB, that is, beam1 to beam5 are all used for the terminal device to measure SSB. Accordingly, the symbols occupied by beam0 and beam6 to beam63 in beam0 to beam63, and the symbols in the time slot other than the beam occupied symbols, can be used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information. The number of multiple bits is a predefined arbitrary value that is less than the maximum number of beams in a time slot, and this application does not limit this. For this method and the second possible implementation method mentioned above, since the terminal device may switch beams to adjacent beams of the target beam, signaling overhead can be saved by only instructing the terminal device to measure the target beam and the adjacent beams of the target beam, rather than all beams.

[0147] It can be understood that, for the implementation shown in Figure 5, if the network device expects the terminal device not to perform measurements in the entire SMTC window, it can only indicate the third beam in the fourth information. For example, according to the first possible implementation method, the multiple bits indicated by the fourth information take the value of "00000000", which allows the terminal device to listen to the scheduling information in any subsequent SMTC window.

[0148] In one embodiment, the fourth information is carried by RRC signaling, or the fourth information is carried by MAC-CE signaling, or the fourth information is DCI.

[0149] In one possible implementation, as shown in FIG6 , before step 501, step 500 is further included: in step 500, the terminal device sends fifth information to the network device; the fifth information indicates that within the SMTC window, the terminal device desires to measure the beam of the SSB; accordingly, the network device receives the fifth information. In this way, the network device may select a second beam from the beams indicated by the terminal device as the beams for which the SSB is desired to be measured, or the network device may select a beam other than the beam indicated by the fifth information as the second beam. The implementation of the fifth information may refer to the two possible implementations of the fourth information described above, and this application does not limit this. The fifth information may carry RRC signaling, MAC CE signaling, or UCI information.

[0150] Furthermore, optionally, when the fourth information indicates the second beam, the fourth information also indicates a second panel, where the second panel is a panel used by the terminal device to measure the SSB in the second beam. Accordingly, when measuring the SSB, the terminal device uses the indicated panel for measurement. The manner in which the fourth information indicates the second panel and its beneficial effects can be referred to the manner in which the first information indicates the first panel, and are not further described here.

[0151] Furthermore, optionally, the fourth information may also indicate a timer, so that when the terminal device receives the fourth information, it may start the timer and perform corresponding actions according to the instructions of the fourth information before the timer times out; after the timer times out, the terminal device responds to the timer timeout and falls back to the traditional mode for measuring SSB in the SMTC window, and measures SSB in the time slot configured with SSB in the first SMTC window until the terminal device receives an indication sent by the network device again, and the terminal device may restart the timer to start a new round of timing.

[0152] Step 502: The terminal device measures the SSB in the second beam.

[0153] Among them, after receiving the fourth information, the terminal device can first determine the transmission form of the SSB according to the carrier frequency and SCS (such as Case A to Case F mentioned above, only Case A to Case F are used as examples here, and with the continuous development of technology, there may be more Cases). The transmission form indicates the number of time slots, the number of beams, and the symbols occupied by the beams within an SMTC window. Then, according to the transmission form and the indication of the fourth information, the corresponding behavior is performed, which is to monitor the scheduling information and / or measure the SSB. Specifically, the scheduling information is used to schedule the transmission of uplink and downlink channels and / or signals. For example, downlink channels or signals include but are not limited to PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS, etc. Uplink channels or signals include but are not limited to PUCCH / physical uplink shared channel PUSCH / channel sounding reference signal SRS, etc. If the terminal device monitors the scheduling information sent by the network device within the SMTC window, it can respond to the scheduling information and further transmit uplink and downlink channels and / or signals. In this way, the network device can increase the opportunity to schedule the terminal device, thereby reducing scheduling restrictions and improving system capacity.

[0154] Specifically, corresponding to various implementations of step 502 above, the terminal device may measure the SSB in the second beam (ie, the terminal device measures the SSB in the second beam) and monitor scheduling information in symbols other than the symbols occupied by the second beam within the SMTC window.

[0155] Corresponding to the example shown in the first implementation method above, if the bitmap value indicated by the fourth information is "11111111", beam0 to beam7 (a total of 8 beams) are equivalent to the second beam, and the terminal device measures SSB in beam0 to beam7 (that is, the terminal device measures SSB in symbol2 to symbol5 and symbol8 to symbol11 in slo0 to slot3). Accordingly, the terminal device listens to the scheduling information in symbol0 to symbol1, symbol6 to symbol7 and symbol12 to symbol13 in slo0 to slot3, and also listens to the scheduling information in slot4 to slot9 (the remaining 6 slots). If the bitmap value indicated by the fourth information is "11110000", it means that beam0~beam3 in beam0~beam7 are equivalent to the second beam, beam4~beam7 are equivalent to the third beam, and the terminal device measures SSB in beam0~beam3 (that is, the terminal device measures SSB in symbol2~symbol5 and symbol8~symbol11 in slo0~slot1). Accordingly, the terminal device listens to the scheduling information in symbol0~symbol1, symbol6~symbol7 and symbol12~symbol13 in slo0~slot1, and listens to the scheduling information in slot2~slot9 (the remaining 8 slots).

[0156] Corresponding to the example shown in the second implementation mode above, if the bitmap value indicated by the fourth information is "11011" or "11 11", beam1 to beam5 in beam0 to beam7 are equivalent to the second beam, beam0, beam6 and beam7 are equivalent to the third beam, and the terminal device measures SSB in beam1 to beam5 (that is, the terminal device measures SSB in symbol8 to symbol11 in slot0, symbol2 to symbol5 in slot1, symbol8 to symbol11 in slot1, symbol2 to symbol5 in slot2, and symbol8 to symbol11 in slot2). Accordingly, the terminal device monitors scheduling information in symbol0 to symbol1 and symbol12 to symbol13 in slo0, monitors scheduling information in symbol0 to symbol1, symbol6 to symbol7 and symbol12 to symbol13 in slot1 to slot2, and monitors scheduling information in slot3 to slot9 (the remaining 7 slots).

[0157] In one possible implementation, as shown in FIG6 , step 500 is further included before step 501: In step 500, the terminal device transmits fifth information to the network device, the fifth information indicating the beam for which the terminal device desires to measure the SSB; accordingly, the network device receives the fifth information. This allows the network device to select a second beam from the beams indicated by the terminal device for which the SSB is desired to be measured, or the network device may select a beam other than the beam indicated by the fifth information as the second beam.

[0158] Furthermore, optionally, when the fourth information indicates the second beam, the fourth information may also indicate the panel used by the terminal device when measuring the SSB in the second beam. Accordingly, when measuring the SSB, the terminal device uses the indicated panel for measurement. In this way, the terminal device may not change the panel used when measuring the SSB according to the instruction, or may change the currently used panel according to the instruction. Optionally, if the terminal device has multiple panels, the terminal device may send capability information of the multiple panels to the network device in advance so that the network device can select an appropriate panel for the terminal device.

[0159] Further, optionally, when the terminal device receives the fourth information, it may start a timer in response to receiving the fourth information. The timer is pre-configured by the protocol or the timer is configured by the network device (such as the network device may also instruct the timer when sending the fourth information). The terminal device may perform the above-mentioned behavior in accordance with the instructions of the fourth information before the timer times out; after the timer times out, the terminal device responds to the timer timeout and falls back to the traditional mode for measuring SSB in the SMTC window, and measures SSB in the time slot configured with SSB in the first SMTC window until the terminal device receives an instruction sent by the network device again. The terminal device may restart the timer to start a new round of timing.

[0160] Based on the method described in FIG5 , the network device can notify the terminal device in which beams within the SMTC window to measure the SSB according to the fourth information. Accordingly, the symbols within the SMTC window other than the symbols occupied by these beams are used by the terminal device to monitor scheduling information. The network device can send scheduling information in these symbols to schedule the transmission of uplink and downlink channels and / or signals, thereby increasing the opportunity for the network device to schedule the terminal device and improving the capacity of the communication system. Moreover, compared to method one, this method does not require indicating the time slot, nor does it require indicating through a two-level indication method of time slot and symbol or time slot and beam, which can save bits and reduce the amount of transmitted data.

[0161] The following introduces the software structure of the above network equipment and terminal equipment.

[0162] As shown in Figure 7, Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein the communication device 700 shown in Figure 7 may include a sending unit 701, a receiving unit 702 and a processing unit 703. Optionally, the communication device may further include a processing unit.

[0163] In one example, the communication device 700 shown in FIG7 can be used to perform some or all of the functions of the terminal device described above. The communication device 700 can be a terminal device, a device in a terminal device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a terminal device. The communication device 700 can also be a chip system.

[0164] In one embodiment, the receiving unit 702 is used to receive first information from a network device; the first information indicates a first time slot in at least one time slot within an SMTC window; the start time of the SMTC window is later than the reception time of the first information; and the processing unit 703 is used to monitor scheduling information in the first time slot, where the scheduling information is used to schedule the transmission of uplink and downlink channels and / or signals.

[0165] In a possible implementation, the first information further indicates a second time slot, where the second time slot is a time slot other than the first time slot in at least one time slot; the processing unit 703 is further configured to measure the SSB in the second time slot.

[0166] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates multiple bits, and the time slot corresponding to bit i is used to monitor scheduling information or to measure SSB; bit i is any bit among the multiple bits, and i is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0167] In one possible implementation, bit i takes a first value, indicating that the time slot corresponding to bit i is used to monitor scheduling information; or, bit i takes a second value, indicating that the time slot corresponding to bit i is used to measure SSB.

[0168] In one possible implementation, in response to bit i taking the second value, the first information also indicates a first symbol in at least one symbol; the at least one symbol is a symbol occupied by the beam in the time slot corresponding to bit i, and the first symbol is used to measure SSB.

[0169] In one possible implementation, in response to bit i taking a second value, the first information further indicates a first beam in at least one beam; the at least one beam is a beam in a time slot corresponding to bit i, and the first beam is used to measure SSB.

[0170] In one possible implementation, in response to the bit i taking the second value, the first information further indicates a first panel, where the first panel is a panel used by the terminal device to measure SSB within the SMTC window corresponding to the bit i.

[0171] In one possible implementation, the receiving unit 702 is also used to receive second information from the network device, where the second information indicates a third time slot and / or a fourth time slot; the third time slot is used to monitor scheduling information, the fourth time slot is used to measure SSB, and the reception time of the second information is later than the end time of the SMTC window.

[0172] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 703 is further used to: start a timer in response to receiving the first information; the timer is pre-configured by the protocol or the timer is configured by the network device; in response to the timer expiring, measure the SSB within the first SMTC window, and the start time of the first SMTC window is later than the timeout time of the timer.

[0173] In one possible implementation, before the above-mentioned receiving unit 702 is used to receive the first information from the network device, the sending unit 701 is used to send third information to the network device; the third information indicates that within the SMTC window, the terminal device expects not to measure the time slot of SSB.

[0174] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried by radio resource control RRC signaling, or the first information is carried by media access control element MAC-CE signaling, or the first information is downlink indication information DCI.

[0175] In another embodiment, the receiving unit 702 is used to receive fourth information from the network device; the fourth information indicates the second beam in at least one beam corresponding to the SMTC window; the start time of the SMTC window is later than the receiving time of the fourth information; the processing unit 703 is used to measure the synchronization signal block SSB in the second beam.

[0176] In one possible implementation, the fourth information also indicates a third beam, where the third beam is a beam other than the second beam in at least one beam corresponding to the SMTC window, and the processing unit 703 is also used to: monitor scheduling information in the symbols occupied by the third beam, and the scheduling information is used to schedule the transmission of uplink and downlink channels and / or signals.

[0177] In one possible implementation, the fourth information indicates multiple bits, and the symbol occupied by the beam corresponding to bit j is used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, or for the terminal device to measure SSB; bit j is any bit among the multiple bits, and j is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0178] In one possible implementation, the fourth information indicates multiple bits, and the beams corresponding to the multiple bits are used by the terminal device to measure SSB.

[0179] In one possible implementation, the beams corresponding to the multiple bits include a target beam used by the terminal device; the value of the bit corresponding to the target beam is different from the value of the bit corresponding to the beam other than the target beam in the multiple bits.

[0180] In a possible implementation, the fourth information further indicates a second panel, where the second panel is a panel used by the terminal device to measure SSB in the second beam.

[0181] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 703 is further used to: start a timer in response to receiving the fourth information; the timer is pre-configured by the protocol or the timer is configured by the network device; in response to the timer expiring, measure the SSB within the first SMTC window, and the start time of the first SMTC window is later than the timeout time of the timer.

[0182] In one possible implementation, before the above-mentioned receiving unit 702 is used to receive the fourth information from the network device, the sending unit 701 is used to send the fifth information to the network device; the fifth information indicates that within the SMTC window, the terminal device expects to measure the SSB beam.

[0183] In a possible implementation manner, the fourth information is carried by radio resource control RRC signaling, or the fourth information is carried by media access control element MAC-CE signaling, or the fourth information is downlink indication information DCI.

[0184] In another example, the communication device 700 shown in FIG7 can be used to perform some or all of the functions of the network device described above. The communication device 700 can be a network device, a device within a network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a network device. The communication device 700 can also be a chip system.

[0185] In one embodiment, the sending unit 701 is used to send first information to the terminal device; the first information indicates the first time slot of at least one time slot within the SMTC window; the start time of the SMTC window is later than the sending time of the first information; the first time slot is used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, and the scheduling information is used to schedule the transmission of uplink and downlink channels and / or signals.

[0186] In one possible implementation, the first information also indicates a second time slot, which is a time slot other than the first time slot in at least one time slot; the second time slot is used by the terminal device to measure the synchronization signal block SSB.

[0187] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates multiple bits, and the time slot corresponding to bit i is used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, or for the terminal device to measure SSB; bit i is any bit among the multiple bits, and i is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0188] In one possible implementation, bit i takes a first value, indicating that the time slot corresponding to bit i is used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information; or, bit i takes a second value, indicating that the time slot corresponding to bit i is used for the terminal device to measure SSB.

[0189] In one possible implementation, in response to bit i taking the second value, the first information also indicates the first symbol of at least one symbol; the at least one symbol is the symbol occupied by the beam in the time slot corresponding to bit i, and the first symbol is used by the terminal device to measure SSB.

[0190] In one possible implementation, in response to bit i taking the second value, the first information also indicates a first beam in at least one beam; the at least one beam is a beam in the time slot corresponding to bit i, and the first beam is used for the terminal device to measure SSB.

[0191] In one possible implementation, in response to the bit i taking the second value, the first information further indicates a first panel, where the first panel is a panel used by the terminal device to measure SSB within the SMTC window corresponding to the bit i.

[0192] In one possible implementation, the sending unit 701 is also used to send second information to the terminal device, where the second information indicates the third time slot and / or the fourth time slot; the third time slot is used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, and the fourth time slot is used for the terminal device to measure SSB, and the reception time of the second information is later than the end time of the SMTC window.

[0193] In a possible implementation, the first information further indicates a timer, and the timer is used for the terminal device to measure the SSB within a first SMTC window in response to timer expiration, and the start time of the first SMTC window is later than the timeout time of the timer.

[0194] In one possible implementation, before the sending unit 701 is used to send the first information to the terminal device, the receiving unit 702 is used to: receive third information from the terminal device; the third information indicates that within the SMTC window, the terminal device expects not to measure the time slot of the SSB.

[0195] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried by radio resource control RRC signaling, or the first information is carried by media access control element MAC-CE signaling, or the first information is downlink indication information DCI.

[0196] In another embodiment, the sending unit 701 is used to send fourth information to the terminal device; the fourth information indicates the second beam in at least one beam corresponding to the SMTC window; the start time of the SMTC window is later than the sending time of the fourth information; the second beam is used by the terminal device to measure the synchronization signal block SSB.

[0197] In one possible implementation, the fourth information also indicates a third beam, the symbols occupied by the third beam are used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, and the third beam is a beam other than the second beam in at least one beam corresponding to the SMTC window.

[0198] In one possible implementation, the fourth information indicates multiple bits, and the symbol occupied by the beam corresponding to bit j is used for the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, or for the terminal device to measure SSB; bit j is any bit among the multiple bits, and j is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0199] In one possible implementation, the fourth information indicates multiple bits, and the beams corresponding to the multiple bits are used by the terminal device to measure SSB.

[0200] In one possible implementation, the beams corresponding to the multiple bits include a target beam used by the terminal device, and the value of the bit corresponding to the target beam is different from the value of the bit corresponding to the beam other than the target beam in the multiple bits.

[0201] In a possible implementation, the fourth information further indicates a second panel, where the second panel is a panel used by the terminal device to measure SSB in the second beam.

[0202] In a possible implementation, the fourth information further indicates a timer; the timer is used for the terminal device to measure the SSB within the first SMTC window after the timer expires, and the start time of the first SMTC window is later than the timeout time of the timer.

[0203] In one possible implementation, before the sending unit 701 is used to send the fourth information to the terminal device, the receiving unit 702 is used to: receive the fifth information from the terminal device; the fifth information indicates that within the SMTC window, the terminal device expects to measure the SSB beam.

[0204] In a possible implementation manner, the fourth information is carried by radio resource control RRC signaling, or the fourth information is carried by media access control element MAC-CE signaling, or the fourth information is downlink indication information DCI.

[0205] It should be noted that the specific implementation and beneficial effects of the operations performed by the communication device 700 can be found in the corresponding description in the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0206] The hardware structure of the above network equipment and terminal equipment is introduced below.

[0207] As shown in FIG8 , FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 800 may be a terminal device or a network device in the above content.

[0208] For example, the communication device 800 includes one or more processors 110, one or more memories 120, and one or more communication interfaces 130 (or universal serial bus interfaces). The one or more memories 120 are coupled to the one or more processors 110. Coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units, or modules.

[0209] The processor 110 may include one or more processing units. For example, the processor 110 may include an application processor (AP), a modem processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), an image signal processor (ISP), a controller, a video codec, a digital signal processor (DSP), a baseband processor, and / or a neural-network processing unit (NPU). The different processing units may be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors.

[0210] In some embodiments, the processor 110 may include one or more interfaces. The interfaces may include an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) interface, an inter-integrated circuit sound (I2S) interface, a pulse code modulation (PCM) interface, a universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter (UART) interface, a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI), a general-purpose input / output (GPIO) interface, a subscriber identity module (SIM) interface, and / or a universal serial bus (USB) interface.

[0211] Memory 120 is used to store program code and data. In some embodiments, memory 120 is a high-speed cache memory. This memory can store program code or data that has just been used or is being recycled by processor 110. If processor 110 needs to use the program code or data again, it can directly call it from memory 120. This avoids repeated accesses, reduces processor 110's waiting time, and thus improves system efficiency.

[0212] The processor 110 may operate in conjunction with the memory 120 , or at least one of the one or more memories 120 may be included in the processor 110 .

[0213] The communication interface 130 may optionally include a standard wired interface or a wireless interface (such as a mobile communication interface), and is controlled by the processor 110 to transmit and receive data. The communication interface 130 may also optionally enable data or signal communication between internal devices of the device. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication interface 130 is used to transmit and receive the first to fifth information mentioned in the above embodiment.

[0214] It should be understood that the structure illustrated in the embodiments of the present application does not constitute a specific limitation on the communication device 800. In other embodiments of the present application, the communication device 800 may include more or fewer components than shown, or may combine or separate certain components, or arrange the components differently. The components shown in the illustrations may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0215] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a processor, the method flow of the above method embodiment is implemented.

[0216] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the method flow of the above method embodiment is implemented.

[0217] It should be noted that for the aforementioned method embodiments, for the sake of simplicity, they are all expressed as a series of action combinations, but those skilled in the art should be aware that this application is not limited by the order of the actions described, because according to this application, certain operations can be performed in other orders or simultaneously. Secondly, those skilled in the art should also be aware that the embodiments described in this specification are all preferred embodiments, and the actions and modules involved are not necessarily required by this application.

[0218] The descriptions of the various embodiments provided in this application can refer to each other. The descriptions of each embodiment have their own focus. For parts not described in detail in a particular embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments. For the convenience and brevity of description, for example, the functions and operations performed by the various devices and equipment provided in the embodiments of this application can refer to the relevant descriptions of the method embodiments of this application. The various method embodiments and the various device embodiments can also refer to, be combined with, or quote each other.

[0219] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present invention are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid-state drive (SSD)).

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receiving first information from a network device; the first information indicates a first time slot of at least one time slot within an SMTC window; a start time of the SMTC window is later than a time when the first information is received; Scheduling information is monitored in the first time slot, where the scheduling information is used to schedule transmission of uplink and downlink channels and / or signals.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information further indicates a second time slot, where the second time slot is a time slot other than the first time slot in the at least one time slot; and the method further includes: The SSB is measured in the second time slot.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information indicates multiple bits, and the time slot corresponding to bit i is used to monitor scheduling information or to measure SSB; the bit i is any bit among the multiple bits, and the i is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The bit i takes a first value, indicating that the time slot corresponding to the bit i is used to monitor scheduling information; or the bit i takes a second value, indicating that the time slot corresponding to the bit i is used to measure SSB.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that In response to the bit i taking the second value, the first information also indicates a first symbol in at least one symbol; the at least one symbol is a symbol in the time slot corresponding to the bit i, and the first symbol is used to measure SSB.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that In response to the bit i taking a second value, the first information also indicates a first beam in at least one beam; the at least one beam is a beam in the time slot corresponding to the bit i, and the first beam is used to measure SSB.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that In response to the bit i taking the second value, the first information also indicates a first panel, which is a panel used by the terminal device to measure SSB within the SMTC window corresponding to the bit i.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive second information from the network device, where the second information indicates a third time slot and / or a fourth time slot; the third time slot is used to monitor scheduling information, the fourth time slot is used to measure SSB, and the reception time of the second information is later than the end time of the SMTC window.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: In response to receiving the first information, starting a timer; the timer is preconfigured by a protocol or configured by the network device; In response to the timer expiring, the SSB is measured within a first SMTC window, where a start time of the first SMTC window is later than a timeout time of the timer.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that Before receiving the first information from the network device, the method further includes: Sending third information to the network device; the third information indicates that within the SMTC window, the terminal device expects not to measure the time slot of SSB.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that The first information is carried by radio resource control RRC signaling, or the first information is carried by media access control element MAC-CE signaling, or the first information is downlink indication information DCI.

12. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving fourth information from a network device; wherein the fourth information indicates a second beam in at least one beam corresponding to an SMTC window; and a start time of the SMTC window is later than a time when the fourth information is received; The synchronization signal blocks SSB are measured in the second beam.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The fourth information further indicates a third beam, where the third beam is a beam other than the second beam in the at least one beam corresponding to the SMTC window. The method further includes: Scheduling information is monitored in symbols occupied by the third beam, where the scheduling information is used to schedule transmission of uplink and downlink channels and / or signals.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The fourth information indicates multiple bits, and the beam corresponding to bit j is used to measure SSB or not to measure SSB; the bit j is any bit among the multiple bits, and the j is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

15. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The fourth information indicates a plurality of bits, and the beams corresponding to the plurality of bits are used to measure SSB.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The beams corresponding to the multiple bits include a target beam used by the terminal device; the value of the bit corresponding to the target beam is different from the value of the bit corresponding to the beam other than the target beam in the multiple bits.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, characterized in that The fourth information also indicates a second panel, which is a panel used by the terminal device to measure SSB in the second beam.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: In response to receiving the fourth information, starting a timer; the timer is preconfigured by a protocol or configured by the network device; In response to the timer expiring, the SSB is measured within a first SMTC window, where a start time of the first SMTC window is later than a timeout time of the timer.

19. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 18, characterized in that Before receiving the fourth information from the network device, the method further includes: Send fifth information to the network device; the fifth information indicates that within the SMTC window, the terminal device expects to measure the SSB beam.

20. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 19, characterized in that The fourth information is carried by radio resource control RRC signaling, or the fourth information is carried by media access control element MAC-CE signaling, or the fourth information is downlink indication information DCI.

21. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending first information to a terminal device; the first information indicates a first time slot in at least one time slot within an SMTC window; the start time of the SMTC window is later than the sending time of the first information; the first time slot is used by the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, and the scheduling information is used to schedule the transmission of uplink and downlink channels and / or signals.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The first information also indicates a second time slot, which is a time slot in the at least one time slot other than the first time slot; the second time slot is used by the terminal device to measure the synchronization signal block SSB.

23. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The first information indicates multiple bits, and the time slot corresponding to bit i is used by the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, or to measure SSB by the terminal device; the bit i is any bit among the multiple bits, and the i is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein The bit i takes a first value, indicating that the time slot corresponding to the bit i is used by the terminal device to monitor scheduling information; or the bit i takes a second value, indicating that the time slot corresponding to the bit i is used by the terminal device to measure SSB.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that In response to the bit i taking the second value, the first information also indicates a first symbol in at least one symbol; the at least one symbol is a symbol in the time slot corresponding to the bit i, and the first symbol is used by the terminal device to measure SSB.

26. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that In response to the bit i taking the second value, the first information also indicates a first beam in at least one beam; the at least one beam is a beam in the time slot corresponding to the bit i, and the first beam is used by the terminal device to measure SSB.

27. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 26, characterized in that In response to the bit i taking the second value, the first information also indicates a first panel, which is the panel used by the terminal device to measure SSB within the SMTC window corresponding to the bit i.

28. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 27, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending second information to the terminal device, the second information indicating a third time slot and / or a fourth time slot; the third time slot is used by the terminal device to monitor scheduling information, the fourth time slot is used by the terminal device to measure SSB, and the sending time of the second information is later than the end time of the SMTC window.

29. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 28, characterized in that The first information further indicates a timer, which is used by the terminal device to measure SSB within a first SMTC window in response to timer expiration, and the start time of the first SMTC window is later than the timeout time of the timer.

30. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 29, characterized in that Before sending the first information to the terminal device, the method further includes: Receive third information from the terminal device; the third information indicates that within the SMTC window, the terminal device expects not to measure the SSB time slot.

31. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 30, characterized in that The first information is carried by radio resource control RRC signaling, or the first information is carried by media access control element MAC-CE signaling, or the first information is downlink indication information DCI.

32. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending fourth information to the terminal device; the fourth information indicates the second beam in at least one beam corresponding to the SMTC window; the start time of the SMTC window is later than the sending time of the fourth information; the second beam is used by the terminal device to measure the synchronization signal block SSB.

33. The method according to claim 32, characterized in that The fourth information also indicates a third beam, and the symbols occupied by the third beam are used by the terminal device to monitor scheduling information. The third beam is a beam other than the second beam in at least one beam corresponding to the SMTC window, and the scheduling information is used to schedule the transmission of uplink and downlink channels and / or signals.

34. The method according to claim 32, wherein The fourth information indicates multiple bits, and the beam corresponding to bit j is used by the terminal device to measure SSB or is not used by the terminal device to measure SSB; the bit j is any bit among the multiple bits, and the j is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

35. The method according to claim 32, wherein The fourth information indicates a plurality of bits, and the beams corresponding to the plurality of bits are used by the terminal device to measure SSB.

36. The method according to claim 35, characterized in that The beams corresponding to the multiple bits include a target beam used by the terminal device, and the values of the bits corresponding to the target beam are different from the values of the bits corresponding to beams other than the target beam in the multiple bits.

37. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 36, wherein: The fourth information also indicates a second panel, which is the panel used by the terminal device to measure SSB in the second beam.

38. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 37, wherein: The fourth information also indicates a timer; the timer is used by the terminal device to measure SSB within a first SMTC window after the timer expires, and the start time of the first SMTC window is later than the timeout time of the timer.

39. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 38, wherein: Before sending the fourth information to the terminal device, the method further includes: Receive fifth information from the terminal device; the fifth information indicates that within the SMTC window, the terminal device expects to measure the SSB beam.

40. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 39, wherein: The fourth information is carried by radio resource control RRC signaling, or the fourth information is carried by media access control element MAC-CE signaling, or the fourth information is downlink indication information DCI.

41. A terminal device, characterized in that: It includes a processor, a memory and a communication interface; the communication interface is used to realize communication between the processor and the memory, one or more computer programs are stored in the memory, and the one or more computer programs include instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the terminal device executes the method as described in any one of claims 1-11 or claims 12-20.

42. A network device, characterized in that: It includes a processor, a memory and a communication interface; the communication interface is used to realize communication between the processor and the memory, one or more computer programs are stored in the memory, and the one or more computer programs include instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the network device executes the method as described in any one of claims 14-23 or claims 32-40.

43. A communication system, characterized in that The method comprises a terminal device and a network device, wherein the terminal device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 or claims 12 to 20, and the network device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 14 to 23 or claims 32 to 40.

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