Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

A method for detecting a control channel, and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: a base station sends configuration information to a terminal, the configuration information being used for indicating a first reference position and offset information, the offset information being used for indicating an offset between a starting position of a period of detecting a control channel and the first reference position, and the configuration information being associated with a subcarrier interval of the control channel; and the terminal detects the control channel on the basis of the configuration information. In the method, the configuration information used for configuring the period of detecting a control channel is associated with the period of the control channel, and compared with using a time slot as the unit of a period in case of different subcarrier intervals, the solution allows the configuration information to be flexibly determined on the basis of the frame structure of the control channel, thereby avoiding limitation by boundaries of time slots, and broadening application scenarios.

Description

Method and communication apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202410697151.0, filed on May 30, 2024, and entitled "Method and communication apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication, and more particularly, to a method and communication apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] Physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind detection plays a key role in a wireless communication system. Through PDCCH blind detection, a terminal can reliably obtain downlink control information, implement dynamic management and scheduling of resources, and improve communication efficiency.

[0004] Currently, a base station configures a blind detection period in units of slots. This method is not flexible due to the influence of slot boundaries. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a method and communication apparatus for communication, which can configure a detection period of a control channel according to a subcarrier spacing, and has higher flexibility.

[0006] In a first aspect, a method for communication is provided. The method can be applied to a terminal side, such as a terminal or a communication module in the terminal, or a circuit or chip (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system on chip (SoC) chip or a system in package (SIP) chip containing a modem core) responsible for communication functions in the terminal. Alternatively, the method can also be applied to a network side, such as a network side device or a component (such as a circuit, a chip or a chip system, etc.) in the network side device.

[0007] In an implementation manner, the method includes: receiving configuration information from a first communication apparatus, the configuration information being used to indicate a first reference position and offset information, the offset information being used to indicate an offset between a starting position of a detection period of a control channel and the first reference position, the configuration information being associated with a subcarrier spacing of the control channel; and detecting the control channel based on the configuration information.

[0008] Based on the above scheme, the configuration information for configuring the period of the detection control channel is associated with the period of the control channel, and compared with the case that the time slot is used as the unit of the period under different subcarrier spacings, the scheme makes the configuration information flexible to be determined according to the frame structure in which the control channel is located, avoids being limited to the boundary of the time slot, and has a wider application scenario.

[0009] In another aspect, the configuration information can also configure the first reference position, so that the starting position of the period can be determined based on the configured first reference position, so that the starting position of the period can be flexibly indicated.

[0010] Exemplarily, the first communication device can be a terminal-side device, a network-side device, or a functional module capable of invoking and executing a program in the terminal-side device or the network-side device, such as a processor, a circuit, a chip, or a chip system.

[0011] Exemplarily, the above method can be executed by the second communication device, which can be a terminal-side device, a network-side device, or a functional module capable of invoking and executing a program in the terminal-side device or the network-side device, such as a processor, a circuit, a chip, or a chip system.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations, the configuration information further includes first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a symbol position of the control channel in the period, and the configuration information being associated with a subcarrier spacing of the control channel, including that the first indication information is associated with the subcarrier spacing.

[0013] Based on the above scheme, the first indication information is used to indicate the symbol position of the control information in the period, and the first indication information is associated with the subcarrier spacing, so that the indication of the symbol position of the control information in one time slot can be avoided, and stronger flexibility is achieved.

[0014] Exemplarily, the offset information is used to indicate the number of symbols between the starting position and the first reference position, or the offset information is used to indicate the number of subframes between the starting position and the first reference position.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations, the configuration information further includes length information, the length information being used to indicate a length of the period, and the configuration information being associated with a subcarrier spacing of the control channel, including that the length information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel.

[0016] Exemplarily, the length of the period is N1 symbols, or the length of the period is N2 subframes, where N1 and N2 are positive integers.

[0017] Based on the above scheme, the configuration information can further include length information indicating a length of the period, and the length information is associated with the subcarrier spacing, so that the length of the period for detecting the control information can be indicated more flexibly.

[0018] Specifically, the configuration information is associated with a subcarrier spacing of the control channel, and includes at least one of the following: an association relationship between a value range of the configuration information and the subcarrier spacing; an association relationship between a bit number of the configuration information and the subcarrier spacing; and an association relationship between a bit meaning of the configuration information and the subcarrier spacing.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations, the method further includes: receiving second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a second reference position, the second reference position being different from the first reference position.

[0020] Based on the above scheme, when the reference position changes, the updated reference position can be indicated by the second indication information, so that the detection period of the control channel can be configured using a fixed reference position, and the configuration of the period is more flexible.

[0021] Optionally, the method further includes: determining a starting position of the period according to the second reference position and the offset information.

[0022] Based on the above scheme, when the reference position changes, the starting position of the period can be determined using the updated reference position, so that the starting position of the period can be updated, and the detection of the control channel is more flexible.

[0023] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations, the configuration information is used to indicate detection of a common control channel.

[0024] Based on the above scheme, the configuration information is used to indicate detection of the common control channel, so that the detection positions of the plurality of second communication devices can be aligned, thereby avoiding the first communication device from transmitting the control channel at a plurality of different positions, and reducing the complexity of scheduling of the first communication device.

[0025] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations, the configuration information is applicable to one or more carriers, and the control channel is detected based on the configuration information, including: detecting the control channel based on the configuration information on the one or more carriers.

[0026] Based on the above scheme, the configuration information is applicable to one or more carriers, so that the detection positions of the second communication devices on different carriers can be aligned, thereby reducing the processing complexity of the second communication device, and avoiding the first communication device from transmitting the control channel at a plurality of different positions, and reducing the complexity of scheduling of the first communication device.

[0027] In a second aspect, a method of communication is provided. The method can be applied to a terminal side, such as a terminal or a communication module in the terminal, or a circuit or chip (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core) responsible for communication functions in the terminal. Alternatively, the method can also be applied to a network side, such as a network side device or a component (such as a circuit, a chip or a chip system, etc.) in the network side device.

[0028] In an implementation, the method comprises: transmitting configuration information, the configuration information being used to indicate a first reference position and offset information, the offset information being used to indicate an offset between a starting position of a period of detecting a control channel and the first reference position, the configuration information being associated with a subcarrier spacing of the control channel; and transmitting the control channel based on the configuration information.

[0029] Exemplarily, the method can be performed by a first communication device.

[0030] The first communication device can be a terminal side device, a network side device, or a functional module capable of invoking and executing a program in the terminal side device or the network side device, such as a processor, a circuit, a chip or a chip system, etc.

[0031] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations, the configuration information further comprises first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a symbol position of detecting the control channel within the period, wherein the configuration information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel, and the configuration information comprises: the first indication information is associated with the subcarrier spacing.

[0032] Exemplarily, the offset information is used to indicate a number of symbols between the starting position and the first reference position, or the offset information is used to indicate a number of subframes between the starting position and the first reference position.

[0033] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations, the configuration information further comprises length information, the length information being used to indicate a length of the period, wherein the configuration information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel, and the configuration information comprises: the length information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel.

[0034] Exemplarily, the length of the period is N1 symbols, or the length of the period is N2 subframes, wherein N1 and N2 are positive integers.

[0035] Specifically, the configuration information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel, comprising at least one of the following: there is a correlation relationship between a value range of the configuration information and the subcarrier spacing; there is a correlation relationship between a number of bits of the configuration information and the subcarrier spacing; there is a correlation relationship between a bit meaning of the configuration information and the subcarrier spacing.

[0036] In some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a second reference position, the second reference position being different from the first reference position.

[0037] In some implementations of the second aspect, the configuration information is used to indicate detection of the common control channel.

[0038] In some implementations of the second aspect, the first reference position is applicable to one or more carriers.

[0039] In the third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which has the functions of implementing the first aspect, for example, the communication apparatus includes modules or units or means corresponding to the operations of the first aspect, which are specifically implemented by software, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0040] For example, the communication apparatus can be a terminal device, or a network device, or a functional module capable of invoking and executing programs in the terminal device or the network device, for example, a processor, a circuit, a chip or a chip system.

[0041] In one implementation, the apparatus includes: a transceiver configured to receive configuration information, the configuration information being used to indicate a first reference position and offset information, the offset information being used to indicate an offset between a starting position of a period of detecting a control channel and the first reference position, the configuration information being associated with a subcarrier spacing of the control channel; and a processing unit configured to detect the control channel based on the configuration information.

[0042] In some implementations of the third aspect, the configuration information further includes first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a symbol position of detecting the control channel within the period, wherein the configuration information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel, and the configuration information includes that the first indication information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel.

[0043] For example, the offset information is used to indicate a number of symbols between the starting position and the first reference position, or the offset information is used to indicate a number of subframes between the starting position and the first reference position.

[0044] In some implementations of the third aspect, the configuration information further includes length information, the length information being used to indicate a length of the period, wherein the configuration information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel, and the configuration information includes that the length information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel.

[0045] For example, the length of the period is N1 symbols, or the length of the period is N2 subframes, where N1 and N2 are positive integers.

[0046] Specifically, the configuration information is associated with a subcarrier spacing of the control channel, including at least one of: a value range of the configuration information has a correlation relationship with the subcarrier spacing; a bit number of the configuration information has a correlation relationship with the subcarrier spacing; a bit meaning of the configuration information has a correlation relationship with the subcarrier spacing.

[0047] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations, the transceiver is further configured to receive second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a second reference position, the second reference position being different from the first reference position.

[0048] Optionally, the processing unit is further configured to determine the starting position of the period according to the second reference position and the offset information.

[0049] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations, the configuration information is used to indicate detection of the common control channel.

[0050] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations, the configuration information is applicable to one or more carriers, and the detecting the control channel based on the configuration information comprises: detecting the control channel based on the configuration information on the one or more carriers.

[0051] The fourth aspect provides a communication apparatus, which has the functions of the second aspect, for example, the communication apparatus includes modules or units or means corresponding to the operations of the second aspect, which can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0052] In one implementation, the apparatus includes a transceiver configured to: transmit configuration information, the configuration information being used to indicate a first reference position and offset information, the offset information being used to indicate an offset between a starting position of a period of detecting a control channel and the first reference position, the configuration information being associated with a subcarrier spacing of the control channel; and transmit the control channel based on the configuration information.

[0053] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations, the configuration information further includes first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a symbol position of detecting the control channel within the period, wherein the configuration information is associated with a subcarrier spacing of the control channel, including that the first indication information is associated with the subcarrier spacing.

[0054] For example, the offset information is used to indicate a number of symbols between the starting position and the first reference position, or the offset information is used to indicate a number of subframes between the starting position and the first reference position.

[0055] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, the configuration information further includes length information, the length information being used to indicate a length of the period, and the configuration information is associated with a subcarrier spacing of the control channel, including that the length information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel.

[0056] For example, the length of the period is N1 symbols, or the length of the period is N2 subframes, where N1 and N2 are positive integers.

[0057] Specifically, the configuration information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel, including at least one of the following: there is an association relationship between a value range of the configuration information and the subcarrier spacing; there is an association relationship between a bit number of the configuration information and the subcarrier spacing; there is an association relationship between a bit meaning of the configuration information and the subcarrier spacing.

[0058] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to: transmit second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a second reference position, the second reference position being different from the first reference position.

[0059] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, the configuration information is used to indicate detection of a common control channel.

[0060] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first reference position is applicable to one or more carriers.

[0061] In the fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes an interface circuit and one or more processors. The one or more processors are coupled with a memory. The memory is used to store necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing functions related to the first aspect or the second aspect. The one or more processors can execute the computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication apparatus implements the method in any possible design or implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect. The interface circuit is used to implement communication functions within the communication apparatus and / or communication functions between the communication apparatus and other apparatuses or components.

[0062] In a possible design, the processor is configured to communicate with other apparatuses or components through the interface circuit.

[0063] In a possible design, the communication apparatus can further include the memory.

[0064] In the sixth aspect, the present application provides a processor configured to execute the method provided in the above aspects.

[0065] For the sending and obtaining / receiving operations involved by the processor, if no special description is made, or if it does not conflict with the actual role or internal logic in the related description, the output and receiving, input operations of the processor can also be the sending and receiving operations performed by the radio frequency circuit and the antenna, and the present application does not limit this.

[0066] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores program codes for execution by a device, and the program codes comprise codes for executing the method provided by any one of the above aspects or implementation manners thereof.

[0067] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the computer program product is run on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method provided by any one of the above aspects or implementation manners thereof.

[0068] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a chip, which comprises a processor and a communication interface, and the processor reads instructions stored on a memory through the communication interface and executes the method provided by any one of the above aspects or implementation manners thereof.

[0069] Optionally, the processor can be a processing circuit or a logic circuit, and the communication interface can be an input or output interface. The processing circuit or logic circuit is used for information processing, and the input or output interface is used for receiving or transmitting information or data.

[0070] Optionally, as an implementation manner, the chip further comprises a memory, and the memory stores a computer program or instructions, and the processor is used for executing the computer program or instructions stored on the memory, and when the computer program or instructions are executed, the processor is used for executing the method provided by any one of the above aspects or implementation manners thereof.

[0071] It should be understood that the beneficial effects of the second aspect to the ninth aspect and any implementation manner thereof can refer to the first aspect and any implementation manner thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0072] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system 1000 to which embodiments of the present application are applied.

[0073] FIGS. 2 and 3 are schematic diagrams of a communication system suitable for embodiments of the present application.

[0074] FIGS. 4 and 5 are schematic diagrams of application scenarios suitable for embodiments of the present application.

[0075] FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 400 provided by the present application.

[0076] FIGS. 7 to 10 are schematic diagrams of detection positions of control information provided by embodiments of the present application.

[0077] FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are schematic block diagrams of a communication apparatus provided by embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0078] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0079] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system 1000 to which embodiments of the present application are applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100. Optionally, the communication system 1000 can also include a core network 200 and an Internet 300.

[0080] The RAN 100 can include at least one RAN node (e.g., 110a and 110b in FIG. 1, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (e.g., 120a-120j in FIG. 1, collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 can also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in FIG. 1). The terminals 120 are connected to the RAN nodes 110 in a wireless manner. Terminals and terminals, and RAN nodes and RAN nodes, can be connected to each other in a wired or wireless manner. The RAN nodes 110 are connected to the core network 200 in a wireless or wired manner. The core network devices in the core network 200 and the RAN nodes 110 in the RAN 100 can be independent and different physical devices, or can be the same physical device integrated with part or all of the logical functions of the core network devices and part or all of the logical functions of the RAN nodes.

[0081] The RAN 100 can be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a new radio (NR) system, a 6th generation (6G) wireless access system, and a future wireless access system defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 100 can also include two or more different wireless access systems. The RAN 100 can also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0082] A RAN node, also referred to as a network device, a radio access network device, a RAN entity, or an access node, is used to help a terminal to access a communication system through a wireless way. In one application scenario, the RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next generation NodeB in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. The RAN node can be a macro base station (such as 110a in FIG. 1), or a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in FIG. 1), or a relay node or a donor node.

[0083] In another application scenario, a terminal can access a communication system through wireless ways by cooperation of multiple RAN nodes, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of functions of a base station. For example, the RAN node can be a central unit (CU), or a distributed unit (DU) or a radio unit (RU). Here, the CU implements functions of a radio resource control (RRC) protocol and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of a base station, and can also implement a function of a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU implements functions of a radio link control layer and a medium access control (MAC) layer of a base station, and can also implement part of functions or all functions of a physical layer; and specific descriptions about the protocol layers can be referred to related technical specifications of the 3GPP. The RU can be used to implement functions of transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals. The CU and the DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or can be integrated in a same RAN node, for example, integrated in a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device, for example, included in a remote radio unit (RRU) or an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes, i.e., a CU-control plane and a CU-user plane.

[0084] The RAN node can have different names in different systems. For example, in an O-RAN system, the CU can also be referred to as an open CU (O-CU), the DU can also be referred to as an open DU (O-DU), and the RU can be referred to as an open RU (O-RU). The RAN node in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. For example, the RAN node can be a server loaded with a corresponding software module. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the RAN node. For ease of description, the network device or base station is taken as an example of the RAN node below.

[0085] The terminal is a device with wireless transceiver function, which can send signals to the base station or receive signals from the base station. The terminal can also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. The terminal can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, remote medical treatment, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, wearable device, vehicle, airplane, ship, robot, mechanical arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the terminal.

[0086] The base station and the terminal can be fixed in position or movable. The base station and the terminal can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water surface; can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons and artificial satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the terminal.

[0087] The roles of the base station and the terminal can be relative. For example, the helicopter or the drone 120i in FIG. 1 can be configured as a mobile base station, and for the terminal 120j that accesses the wireless access network 100 through the 120i, the terminal 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, the 120i is a terminal, that is, the 110a and the 120i communicate through a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, the 110a and the 120i can also communicate through a base station-to-base station interface protocol, and in this case, the 120i is also a base station relative to the 110a. Therefore, the base station and the terminal can be collectively referred to as a communication device, and the 110a and the 110b in FIG. 1 can be referred to as a communication device with a base station function, and the 120a-120j in FIG. 1 can be referred to as a communication device with a terminal function.

[0088] The base station and the terminal, the base station and the base station, and the terminal and the terminal can communicate through a licensed spectrum, can communicate through an unlicensed spectrum, or can communicate through both the licensed spectrum and the unlicensed spectrum; can communicate through a spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), can communicate through a spectrum above 6 GHz, or can communicate through both the spectrum below 6 GHz and the spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0089] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station can also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station or by a control subsystem containing base station functions. The control subsystem containing base station functions herein can be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. The functions of the terminal can also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal or by a device containing terminal functions.

[0090] In the present application, the base station sends a downlink signal or downlink information to the terminal, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel; the terminal sends an uplink signal or uplink information to the base station, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. In order to communicate with the base station, the terminal needs to establish a wireless connection with a cell controlled by the base station. The cell that establishes a wireless connection with the terminal is called a service cell of the terminal. When the terminal communicates with the service cell, it will also be interfered by signals from neighboring cells.

[0091] In the embodiments of the present application, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and the like are only examples of downlink control channel, uplink control channel and sidelink control channel respectively. In different systems and different scenarios, data channels and control channels can have different names, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0092] In the embodiments of the present application, the time domain symbol can be an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or a discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbol. If not specified, the symbol in the embodiments of the present application refers to a time domain symbol.

[0093] As an example, the RAN node can be a satellite base station or a satellite, which is described below in conjunction with FIGS. 2-3. FIGS. 2 and 3 are schematic diagrams of communication systems suitable for use with embodiments of the present application.

[0094] As shown in FIGS. 2(a) and (b), the satellite base station provides communication services for terminals. For example, the satellite base station transmits downlink data to the terminal, where the data is encoded using channel coding, and the channel-coded data is transmitted to the terminal after constellation modulation. For another example, the terminal transmits uplink data to the satellite base station, where the uplink data can also be encoded using channel coding, and the encoded data is transmitted to the satellite base station after constellation modulation. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2(b), the satellite base station can also communicate with a ground base station, i.e., the satellite can act as a base station, or as a terminal.

[0095] In the present application, the satellite can refer to a drone, a hot air balloon, a low-orbit satellite, a medium-orbit satellite, a high-orbit satellite, and the like. The satellite can also refer to a non-ground base station or a non-ground device, and the like.

[0096] As an implementation manner, the present application can be applied to a satellite inter-satellite link communication system. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, communication between satellite #1 and satellite #2.

[0097] As shown in FIG. 3, the satellite inter-satellite link communication system can be divided into two parts: an acquisition pointing tracking (APT) subsystem (including an APT module and an APT transmitter / receiver) and a communication subsystem (including a communication module and a transceiving antenna). Among them, the communication subsystem is mainly responsible for the transmission of inter-satellite information, and the communication subsystem is the main part of the inter-satellite communication system; the APT system is mainly responsible for the acquisition, alignment and tracking between satellites. Among them, the direction of arrival of the incident signal can be determined, which is used for acquisition, and the direction of the transmitted wave is adjusted to aim at the receiving direction, which is used for alignment. In the whole communication process, the APT is constantly adjusted to align and acquire, which is used for tracking. In order to reduce the influence of attenuation and interference in the channel as much as possible, while requiring high confidentiality and transmission rate, the APT must be adjusted in real time to constantly adapt to changes.

[0098] It should be understood that the current APT system is an optical system, which has the disadvantage of difficult optical alignment and the need for mechanical adjustment of the pointing direction. The existing communication subsystem is mostly an optical communication system, and there are also some microwave band systems, mostly using a single high-gain antenna. The existing APT system and communication subsystem are independent systems. The disadvantage is that optical communication is easily affected by vibration and the like, and the rate is unstable; the frequency of millimeter waves is low, the communication capacity is low, and the antenna needs to be mechanically adjusted to point.

[0099] As another implementation manner, the present application can be applied to the scenario of terminal device-to-terminal device communication, for example, an Internet of Things communication system.

[0100] FIG. 4 is a typical application scenario of Internet of Things wireless screen projection. A terminal device (for example, a smart phone) establishes a network connection with a television, the smart phone transmits content that needs to be projected and displayed on the television to the television device, and the television device displays the content on the display screen after receiving the content transmitted by the smart phone. This scenario can also be regarded as an example of communication between terminal devices, in which the smart phone and the television can both be regarded as a terminal device.

[0101] As another implementation manner, the present application can be applied to an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) system.

[0102] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of an IAB system. As shown in FIG. 5, the IAB can include an IAB donor, an IAB node and a terminal device. The link between the IAB donor and the IAB node is a backhaul link, and the link between the terminal device and the IAB node is an access link. The present application can be applied to both parties of communication in the backhaul link, and can also be applied to both parties of communication in the access link. In this scenario, the communication in the backhaul link can be regarded as the communication between network devices, and the communication in the access link can be regarded as the communication between a network device and a terminal device.

[0103] It should be understood that the above system application scenario is only an example, and the present application can also be applied to other scenarios, which are not listed one by one here.

[0104] PDCCH blind detection plays a key role in a wireless communication system. Through PDCCH blind detection, a terminal can reliably obtain downlink control information, implement dynamic management and scheduling of resources, and improve communication efficiency.

[0105] Specifically, in NR, the frequency domain scheduling range information and the time domain symbol number information of the PDCCH are encapsulated in the control resource set (CORESET), and the time domain starting symbol information and the detection period information are encapsulated in the search space. The terminal does not explicitly know the specific time-frequency location of the PDCCH transmission, so it needs to search for the PDCCH on different control resource sets and different search spaces in a blind manner. Specifically, the terminal can obtain the time-frequency resource information, scheduling period, PDCCH control channel element (CCE) aggregation degree and the number of blind detections required for each aggregation degree, etc. of the PDCCH according to the search space and the control resource set associated with the search space, and determine the candidate set of each PDCCH according to the information and the blind detection formula. Each candidate set is decoded. Once decoding is successful, the downlink control information (DCI) can be obtained. The DCI includes control information such as data transmission time-frequency resource and coding modulation mode, which is crucial to the terminal because it determines how the terminal receives or transmits data.

[0106] At present, the period of control information blind detection is in units of slots, which is not flexible enough due to the influence of slot boundaries.

[0107] Therefore, the application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can control the detection period of a control channel according to a subcarrier spacing configuration, and has higher flexibility.

[0108] It should be understood that the embodiments shown below do not particularly limit the specific structure of the subject performing the method provided by the embodiments of the application, as long as the subject can communicate according to the method provided by the embodiments of the application by running a program in which the code of the method provided by the embodiments of the application is recorded. For example, the subject performing the method provided by the embodiments of the application can be a terminal-side device, such as a terminal device, or a network-side device, such as a network device, or a functional module in the terminal-side device or the network-side device that can invoke and execute the program.

[0109] It should also be understood that the embodiments of the application can be applied to communication between a network-side device and a terminal-side device, communication between a terminal-side device and a terminal-side device, and communication between a network-side device and a network-side device, and the application does not limit the same. The following will be described by taking the communication between a network device and a terminal device as an example.

[0110] FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 600 provided by the application. As shown in FIG. 6, the method 600 includes the following steps.

[0111] S610, the network device sends configuration information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the configuration information.

[0112] In the application, the configuration information can be understood as information used for configuring the period of detecting a control channel.

[0113] The configuration information is used to indicate a first reference position.

[0114] Specifically, the first reference position can be referred to as a timing reference point, which can be any position, any time or any time unit in the time domain, for example, any slot boundary, or any subframe boundary, or any symbol boundary, or the position where any symbol is located, or any frame boundary.

[0115] Optionally, the network device can directly indicate the position to the terminal device through the configuration information. For example, one or more of the subframe index, the slot index and the symbol index of the position. For another example, the position is indicated as a1 hours a2 minutes a3 seconds a4 milliseconds a5 microseconds, etc.

[0116] Optionally, the network device can also indicate the first reference position by a time period in the configuration information, the time period being a time length between the first reference position and a fixed position, the fixed position being a predefined position, such as a subframe boundary, a frame boundary, etc., and the time length being b1 seconds, b2 milliseconds, b3 microseconds, etc.

[0117] It should be understood that the first reference position is determined by the network device itself, and is mainly used for configuring a period of the detection control channel. For example, the network device can determine the first reference position according to one or more of a synchronization timing point, a service requirement, or a device synchronization clock.

[0118] It should also be understood that in the NR system, the unit in the time domain includes a symbol, a slot, a subframe, a half frame, a frame, etc., wherein the time of one frame is 10 ms, one frame can be divided into 10 subframes with indexes 0-9, wherein the subframes with indexes 0-4 form one half frame, and the subframes with indexes 5-9 form another half frame. The time of each subframe is 1 ms. In addition, each subframe can include one or more slots, and each slot includes 14 symbols under a normal cyclic prefix (CP), and one slot includes 12 symbols under an extended CP. Specifically, the number of slots included in each subframe is related to a subcarrier spacing (SCS), as shown in Table 1.

[0119] Table 1

[0120] The configuration information is also used to indicate first offset information, the first offset information being used to indicate an offset between a start position of the period of the detection control channel and the first reference position.

[0121] For example, the offset is a number of symbols between the start position of the period and the first reference position, or a number of subframes between the start position of the period and the first reference position.

[0122] It should be understood that the first offset information is a time period, which refers to a time length between the start position of the period and the first reference position, such as c1 seconds, c2 milliseconds, c3 microseconds, etc.

[0123] It should also be understood that the period of the detection control channel can be multiple, and the first offset information can be used to indicate an offset between the start position of any period and the first reference position, or an offset between the start position of the first period and the first reference position.

[0124] The configuration information is associated with a subcarrier spacing of the control channel. In other words, for two control channels, when the subcarrier spacings of the two control channels are different, the configuration information used to configure the period of detecting the control channel is different. For example, the period start position of the control channel #1 and the control channel #2 is symbol 0, and the period length is 10 symbols, but the subcarrier spacing of the control channel #1 is 16 kHz, and the subcarrier spacing of the control channel #2 is 30 kHz. Therefore, the configuration information #1 used to configure the period of the control channel #1 is determined according to the frame structure of 16 kHz, and the configuration information #2 used to configure the period of the control channel #2 is determined according to the frame structure of 30 kHz.

[0125] Specifically, the configuration information is associated with a subcarrier spacing of the control channel, and at least one of the following is associated with the subcarrier spacing: a value range of the configuration information, a bit number, and a bit meaning.

[0126] The value range refers to a set of values that the configuration information can take, the bit number is the length of the field carrying the configuration information, and the bit meaning refers to the meaning represented by the field carrying the configuration information.

[0127] Exemplarily, the configuration information can be carried in a search space of the terminal device.

[0128] S620, the network device sends the control channel based on the configuration information, and the terminal device detects the control channel based on the configuration information.

[0129] Specifically, the network device can send the control channel according to the position corresponding to the configuration information, the terminal device can determine the position of detecting the control channel according to the configuration information, and blind detect the control channel at the position. When the control channel is successfully detected at a certain position, the terminal device can receive the control information carried on the control channel.

[0130] In this application, the position refers to a time domain position, which can also be referred to as a time, or an occasion. For example, the first reference position can be replaced by the first reference time, and the position of detecting the control channel can also be referred to as the time of detecting the control channel or the detection time of the control channel or the detection occasion of the control channel.

[0131] Exemplarily, the control channel can be a PDCCH.

[0132] Optionally, when the method 600 is applied to a terminal device and a terminal device, the control information can be a PSCCH.

[0133] Optionally, when the method 600 is applied to a network device and a network device, the control information can be control plane information of an X2 interface.

[0134] Based on the above scheme, the network device can configure the terminal device with the period of detecting the control channel through configuration information, and the configuration information is associated with the period of the control channel. Compared with the case where the period is a unit of time slot under different subcarrier spacings, the scheme makes the configuration information flexible to be determined according to the frame structure in which the control channel is located, avoids being limited by the boundary of the time slot, and has a wider application scenario.

[0135] In another aspect, the configuration information can also configure a first reference position, so that the starting position of the period can be determined based on the configured first reference position. In this way, the starting position of the period can be flexibly indicated.

[0136] Optionally, the configuration information further includes first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a symbol position of detecting the control information in the period, and the first indication information being associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel.

[0137] Specifically, the first indication information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel, and at least one of the value range, the number of bits, and the meaning of bits of the first indication information has a correlation relationship with the subcarrier spacing.

[0138] For example, the value range of the first indication information is 0~(T -1). Wherein, T

[0139] For another example, the value range of the first indication information is 0~(T sym -1), T sym is the length of the period, the length of the period is N1 symbols, and the maximum value that N1 can take depends on the subcarrier spacing of the control channel.

[0140] In this application, The relationship between the first indication information and the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is: in the case where the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is (15+x)·2 μ kHz, 14·2 μ , x is greater than or equal to 0 and less than 15, and μ is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

[0141] It should be understood that “·” in this paper represents multiplication, which can be replaced by “×” or “*”.

[0142] It should also be understood that 14 in the formula refers to the number of symbols included in a time slot under normal CP. Under extended CP, the number of symbols included in a time slot is 12, and 14 in the formula can be replaced by 12.

[0143] Exemplarily, the value of μ is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel. The relationship between the values of the first indication information and the values of the second indication information can be shown in Table 2.

[0144] Table 2

[0145] For example, the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 30 = 15 · 2 1 kHz, in the frame structure of 30 kHz, one subframe can include 28 symbols, i.e. Therefore, the value range of the first indication information can be 0-27. For another example, the subcarrier spacing is 16 = (15 + 1) · 2 0 kHz, in the frame structure of 16 kHz, one subframe can include 14 symbols, i.e. Therefore, the value range of the first indication information can be 0-13.

[0146] Exemplarily, the first indication information is a bit map, and the number of bits of the bit map (or the number of bits of the first indication information) is related to the value range of the first indication information.

[0147] For example, the value range of the first indication information is 0-27, and the bit map is 28 bits, and for another example, the value range of the first indication information is 0-13, and the bit map is 14 bits. In the bit map, the bit position with 1 can be the symbol position where the control information is detected, and the bit position with 0 can be the symbol position where the control information is not detected.

[0148] Based on the above scheme, the network device can indicate the symbol position where the control information is detected in the period through the first indication information, and the first indication information is associated with the subcarrier spacing, so that it can avoid being limited to indicating the symbol position where the control information is detected in one time slot, and has stronger flexibility.

[0149] Optionally, the configuration information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel, including: the first offset information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel. For example, at least one of the value range, the number of bits, and the bit meaning of the first offset information is associated with the subcarrier spacing.

[0150] As an example, the first offset information is used to indicate the number of symbols between the starting position and the first reference position, i.e., the first offset information is used to indicate M1 symbols, and M1 is a positive integer.

[0151] In this example, the unit of the offset is a symbol, and the value range of the first offset information (i.e., the value range of M1) can be The number of bits of the first offset information can be

[0152] Optionally, the value range of the first offset information can also be Wherein, X1 can be predefined by protocol, or indicated by the network device to the terminal device.

[0153] Optionally, the value range of the first offset information can also be Wherein, Z1 can be predefined by protocol, or indicated by the network device to the terminal device.

[0154] As another example, the first offset information is used to indicate the number of subframes between the starting position and the first reference position, i.e., the first offset information is used to indicate M2 subframes, and M2 is a positive integer.

[0155] Optionally, M2 can be predefined by protocol, or indicated by the network device to the terminal device.

[0156] Optionally, the value range of M2 can be associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel.

[0157] For example, when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 15 kHz, M2 takes the value of 2; when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 30 kHz, M2 takes the value of 4. Or, when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 15 kHz, M2 takes the value of 3; when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 30 kHz, M2 takes the value of 2, etc.

[0158] Based on the above scheme, the offset information is associated with the subcarrier spacing, so that the starting position of the detection control information period can be indicated more flexibly.

[0159] Optionally, the configuration information further includes length information, which is used to indicate the length of the period. Wherein, the configuration information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel, including: the length information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel. For example, at least one of the value range, the number of bits, and the bit meaning of the length information is associated with the subcarrier spacing.

[0160] In this application, the length of the period refers to the time domain length between the starting position and the ending position of a period.

[0161] As an example, the length information is used to indicate the number of symbols of the period, i.e., the length of the period is N1 symbols, and N1 is a positive integer.

[0162] In this example, the configuration of the period is in units of symbols, and the value range of the length information (such as the value range of N1) can be The number of bits of the length information can be

[0163] Optionally, in this example, the value range of the length information can also be Wherein, Z2 can be predefined by protocol or indicated by the network device to the terminal device.

[0164] Optionally, in this example, the length of the period determined by the terminal device has a corresponding relationship with the length of the period indicated by the network device, for example, the network device can indicate the length T of the common period sym-0 , and the terminal device determines the actual length of the period according to the subcarrier spacing of the control channel, for example, the length of the period determined by the terminal device is T sym = T sym-0 · 2 u .

[0165] For example, T sym-0 is 7, when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 15 kHz (i.e. μ = 0), T sym is 7 symbols; when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 30 kHz (i.e. μ = 1), T sym is 14 symbols; and when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 60 kHz (i.e. μ = 2), T sym is 28 symbols.

[0166] For example, T sym-0 is 14, when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 15 kHz (i.e. μ = 0), T sym is 14 symbols; when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 30 kHz (i.e. μ = 1), T sym is 28 symbols; and when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 60 kHz (i.e. μ = 2), T sym is 56 symbols.

[0167] Optionally, the value range of the length information (such as the value range of N1) is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel, for example, when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 15 kHz, the value of N1 can be 1 ~ Z3, when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 30 kHz, the value of N1 can be 1 ~ Z4, and when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 60 kHz, the value of N1 can be 1 ~ Z5, wherein Z3, Z4, Z5 can be predefined by protocol or indicated by the network device to the terminal device. For example, when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 15 kHz, the value of Z3 is 7 or 14, when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 30 kHz, the value of Z4 is 28 or 20, and when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 60 kHz, the value of Z5 is 56, 30 or 20, etc.

[0168] As another example, the length information is used to indicate the number of subframes of the period, i.e. the length of the period is N2 subframes, and N2 is a positive integer.

[0169] In this example, the period is configured in units of subframes, and the value range of the length information (e.g., the value range of N2) can be any positive integer.

[0170] Optionally, N2 can be predefined by a protocol or indicated by a network device to a terminal device.

[0171] Optionally, the value range of N2 can be associated with a subcarrier spacing of the control channel.

[0172] For example, when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 15 kHz, N2 takes a value of 2; when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 30 kHz, N2 takes a value of 4. Alternatively, when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 15 kHz, N2 takes a value of 3; when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 30 kHz, N2 takes a value of 2, and so on.

[0173] As another example, the length information is used to indicate a number of mini slots of the period, i.e., the length of the period is N3 mini slots, where one mini slot can include one or more symbols, and N3 is a positive integer.

[0174] In this example, the period can also be configured in units of mini slots, and the value range of the length information (e.g., the value range of N3) can be any positive integer.

[0175] Optionally, N3 can be predefined by a protocol or indicated by a network device to a terminal device.

[0176] Optionally, the value range of N3 can be associated with a subcarrier spacing.

[0177] For example, when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 15 kHz, N3 takes a value of 2; when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 30 kHz, N3 takes a value of 4; alternatively, when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 15 kHz, N3 takes a value of 3; when the subcarrier spacing of the control channel is 30 kHz, N3 takes a value of 2, and so on.

[0178] Based on the above scheme, the configuration information can further include length information indicating the length of the period, and the length information is associated with the subcarrier spacing, so that the length of the period for detecting the control information can be indicated more flexibly.

[0179] In addition, the length of the period can also be in units of subframes or mini slots, so that the overhead of indication can be reduced.

[0180] For example, the configuration information indicates that the first reference position is T pointA , the length of the period T sym is a plurality of symbols, and the first offset information S offsetFor multiple symbols, S620, the terminal device detects the control channel based on the configuration information, including: the terminal device can start detecting the PDCCH on a symbol with a symbol index l satisfying (T pointA +l-S offset )modT sym =0, the symbol index l being the starting position of the period. Wherein, mod represents the modulo operation.

[0181] Optionally, the detection range can be within one subframe, within a half frame, or within one frame.

[0182] Exemplarily, the configuration information indicates that the first reference position is T pointA , the length of the period T subframe is multiple subframes, and the first offset information S offset is multiple subframes, S620, the terminal device detects the control channel based on the configuration information, including: the terminal device can start detecting the PDCCH on a symbol with a subframe index l subframe satisfying (T pointA +l subframe -S offset )modT subframe =0, the subframe index lsubframe being the starting position of the period. Wherein, mod represents the modulo operation.

[0183] Optionally, the detection range can be within one subframe, within a half frame, or within one frame.

[0184] It should be understood that at least two of the first indication information, the first offset information, and the length information can be located in the same configuration information or in different configuration information, without limitation. In other words, the network device can send the first offset information, the first indication information, and the length information to the terminal device through one configuration information, in which case the network device sends one configuration information to the terminal device, and S610 includes only one step. The network device can also send the first offset information, the first indication information, and the length information to the terminal device through multiple configuration information respectively, in which case the network device sends at least two configuration information to the terminal device, and S610 can include at least two steps, each step including configuration information carrying the first offset information, the first indication information, and the length information respectively.

[0185] Optionally, the configuration information can also include the symbol length occupied by one detection of control information, for example, the symbol length is the number of symbols N sym . For example, N sym is 1-3 symbols.

[0186] The method 600 will be described below in conjunction with FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.

[0187] As shown in Figure 7, the length of the configuration information indication period is in symbols. First reference position T pointA The offset S between the subframe start position of subframe 0, the start position of the period, and the first reference position. offset The length T of the period indicated by the base station is 0. sym-0 It consists of 14 symbols.

[0188] Specifically, in Figure 7(a), the subcarrier spacing of PDCCH#1 (an example of a control channel) is 15 = 15·2. 0 kHz, therefore, UE#1 determines the length T of the period of PDCCH#1. sym 14.2 0 =14, the starting position of each cycle is: the symbol index l that satisfies lmod14=0, that is, the symbol 0 of each subframe under the subcarrier interval of 15kHz detection position.

[0189] Additionally, in Figure 7(a), the length of indication information #1 (an example of the first indication information) is 14 bits, for example, 10100001010010, indicating that the position (S) of the PDCCH detected in one cycle is symbol 0, symbol 2, symbol 7, symbol 9 and symbol 12, and the length of each detected symbol is 1 symbol, as shown in the shaded area of ​​Figure 7(a).

[0190] In Figure 7(b), the subcarrier spacing of PDCCH#2 (another example of a control channel) is 30 = 15.2. 1 kHz, therefore, UE#2 determines the length T of the period of PDCCH#2. sym 14.2 1 =28, the starting position of each cycle is: the coincidence index l that satisfies lmod28=0, that is, the symbol 0 of each subframe under the subcarrier interval of 30kHz detection position.

[0191] Additionally, in Figure 7(a), the length of indication information #2 (an example of the first indication information) is 28 bits, for example, 1010000100001001010001001000, indicating that the position (S) of the PDCCH detected in one cycle is symbol 0, symbol 2, symbol 7, symbol 12, symbol 15, symbol 17, symbol 21 and symbol 24, and the length of each detected symbol is 1 symbol, as shown in the shaded area of ​​Figure 7(b).

[0192] As shown in Figure 8, the configuration information indication period is measured in subframes. First reference position T pointA The offset S between the start position of time slot 0, the start position of the period, and the first reference position. offset The length T of the period indicated by the base station is 0.subframe is 1 subframe.

[0193] Specifically, in (a), (b) and (c) of FIG. 8, the length T of the period of PDCCH#3, PDCCH#4 and PDCCH#5 subframe is 1 subframe, and the start position of each period is: the index l satisfying l mod 1 = 0 subframe , i.e., the start position of detection is the start of each subframe. subframe

[0194] In addition, in (a) of FIG. 8, the subcarrier spacing of PDCCH#3 (an example of a control channel) is 15 kHz, and the number of symbols included in one subframe is 14, and thus the length of the indication information #3 (an example of the first indication information) is 14 bits, for example, 10100001010010, indicating that the positions (S) of PDCCH to be detected within one period are symbol 0, symbol 2, symbol 7, symbol 9 and symbol 12, and the length of the symbol to be detected each time is 1 symbol, as shown by the hatched portion of (a) of FIG. 8.

[0195] In (b) of FIG. 8, the subcarrier spacing of PDCCH#4 (another example of a control channel) is 30 kHz, and the number of symbols included in one subframe is 28, and thus the length of the indication information #4 (an example of the first indication information) is 28 bits, for example, 1010000100001001010001001000, indicating that the positions (S) of PDCCH to be detected within one period are symbol 0, symbol 2, symbol 7, symbol 12, symbol 15, symbol 17, symbol 21 and symbol 24, and the length of the symbol to be detected each time is 1 symbol, as shown by the hatched portion of (b) of FIG. 8. In (c) of FIG. 8, the subcarrier spacing of PDCCH#5 (still another example of a control channel) is 60 kHz, and the number of symbols included in one subframe is 56, and thus the length of the indication information #5 (an example of the first indication information) is 56 bits, for example, 10100001000010010100010010100000100010001010001000101010, indicating that the positions (S) of PDCCH to be detected within one period are symbol 0, symbol 2, symbol 7, symbol 12, symbol 15, symbol 17, symbol 21, symbol 24, symbol 26, symbol 32, symbol 36, symbol 40, symbol 42, symbol 46, symbol 50, symbol 52 and symbol 54, and the length of the symbol to be detected each time is 1 symbol, as shown by the hatched portion of (c) of FIG. 8.

[0196]

[0197] ​​​​It should be understood that FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 show the position of detecting PDCCH in subframe 0, and the position in other subframes is the same as that in subframe 0.

[0198] Optionally, the method 600 further includes: S630, the network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second indication information.

[0199] The second indication information indicates the second reference position.

[0200] Exemplarily, similar to the first reference position, the second reference position can also be referred to as a timing reference point, which can be any position, any time or any time unit in the time domain, for example, any slot boundary, or any subframe boundary, or the position of any symbol, or any frame boundary, or the position of any symbol, or any frame boundary.

[0201] Optionally, the network device can directly indicate the position to the terminal device through configuration information. For example, one or more of the subframe index, the slot index and the symbol index indicating the position. For another example, the position is indicated as d1 hours, d2 minutes, d3 seconds, d4 milliseconds, d5 microseconds, etc.

[0202] Optionally, the network device can also indicate the second reference position by a time period in the configuration information, and the time period is the time length between the second reference position and a fixed position, for example, the fixed position is a subframe boundary, a frame boundary, etc., and the time length is e1 seconds, e2 milliseconds, e3 microseconds, etc.

[0203] The second reference position is different from the first reference position, or the second reference position is used to update the first reference position.

[0204] It should be understood that the network device can determine whether the current reference position needs to be updated according to the current scheduling situation, and when the update is needed, the second indication information is sent to the terminal device.

[0205] Based on the above scheme, when the reference position changes, the network device can indicate the updated reference position to the terminal device, so that the use of a fixed reference position to configure the detection period of the control channel can be avoided, and the configuration of the period is more flexible.

[0206] Optionally, in an implementation scenario, after S630, the method 600 further includes: S640, the terminal device determines the starting position of the period according to the second reference position and the first offset information.

[0207] Specifically, when the reference position changes, the terminal device can determine the starting position of the period according to the updated reference position and the first offset information indicated by the network device.

[0208] Based on the above scheme, when the reference position changes, the terminal device can use the updated reference position to determine the starting position of the period, so that the starting position of the period can be updated, so that the detection of the control channel is more flexible.

[0209] Optionally, the second indication information is applicable to multiple terminal devices, or the second indication information is effective for multiple terminal devices.

[0210] Specifically, in the case that the offset information of multiple terminal devices is the same but the length of the period is different, after a period of time, the detection positions of different terminal devices are in a misaligned state, and by updating the reference position, the detection positions of these terminal devices with the same offset information can be aligned.

[0211] For example, as shown in FIG. 9, each square represents a time domain unit (such as a symbol, a time slot, a subframe, etc.), and the shaded part represents the detection time of the PDCCH. The base station configures the same offset information (such as offset = 0) for UE1, UE2 and UE3, but the period lengths are different. Before the reference point, due to the different period lengths, the detection positions of UE1, UE2 and UE3 change from alignment to misalignment, and the base station scheduling is complex. The base station can update the reference point for UE1, UE2 and UE3 at the same time (such as the reference point being time domain unit a), and UE1, UE2 and UE3 all determine the starting position of the detection based on the updated reference point and the offset information. Since the offset is 0, UE1, UE2 and UE3 all start detecting the PDCCH from the first time domain unit of the reference point, which can ensure that the detection positions of UE1, UE2 and UE3 are aligned.

[0212] Optionally, after the reference position is updated, the network device can also configure second offset information for the terminal device, for example, by sending the second offset information and the second indication information through another configuration information, and at this time S640 can be replaced by: the terminal device determines the starting position of the period according to the second reference position and the second offset information.

[0213] In other words, when the network device configures new offset information, the terminal device can determine the starting position of the period based on the new offset information, and when the network device does not configure new offset information, the terminal device can determine the starting position of the period based on the offset information configured last time.

[0214] Optionally, in an implementation, the first reference position can also be applicable to multiple terminal devices.

[0215] For example, the network device and multiple terminal devices perform S610, so that the first reference position and the offset information of the multiple terminal devices can be the same.

[0216] In this implementation, the network device can configure different cycle lengths for the plurality of terminal devices, or can configure the same cycle length, without limitation.

[0217] Based on the above scheme, the reference position (such as the first reference position or the second reference position) in this application can be applicable to a plurality of terminal devices, so that the detection positions of the plurality of terminal devices can be aligned, thereby avoiding the network device from transmitting the control channel at a plurality of different positions, and reducing the complexity of network device scheduling.

[0218] Optionally, in yet another implementation scenario, the configuration information is used to indicate detection of the common control channel, or to indicate a search space of the common control channel, or to indicate a candidate of the common control channel.

[0219] Specifically, the configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal device in S610 can be configuration information of the common control channel, in other words, the configuration information can be applicable to a plurality of terminal devices. The terminal device detects the control channel based on the configuration information in S620, which means that the terminal device detects based on the configuration information of the common control channel.

[0220] Optionally, in this implementation scenario, S630 can be executed before S620.

[0221] Specifically, when the reference position is updated, the terminal device can detect the control channel based on the configuration information of the common control channel, in other words, a plurality of terminal devices detect the control channel based on the same configuration information.

[0222] Based on the above scheme, the configuration information is used to indicate detection of the common control channel, so that the detection positions of the plurality of terminal devices can be aligned, thereby avoiding the network device from transmitting the control channel at a plurality of different positions, and reducing the complexity of network device scheduling.

[0223] Optionally, in any of the above implementation scenarios, the configuration information is applicable to one or more carriers of the terminal device.

[0224] The configuration information applicable to one or more carriers includes: the first reference position applicable to one or more carriers, or the offset information applicable to one or more carriers.

[0225] In this application, applicable to one or more carriers can be replaced by: effective to one or more carriers, or valid to one or more carriers.

[0226] When the configuration information is applicable to one or more carriers, the terminal device can detect the control channel based on the same configuration information on different carriers. Specifically, the terminal device detects the control channel based on the configuration information in S620 includes: the terminal device detects the control channel based on the configuration information on one or more carriers.

[0227] For example, the carrier to which the configuration information is applicable can be predefined by a protocol or indicated by the network device to the terminal device, such as the network device indicating to the terminal device which carriers the configuration information is applicable to.

[0228] Based on the above scheme, the configuration information is applicable to one or more carriers, so that the detection positions of different carriers of one terminal device can be aligned, thereby reducing the complexity of processing of the terminal device, and avoiding the network device from sending the control channel at multiple different positions, thereby reducing the complexity of scheduling of the network device.

[0229] Optionally, when each carrier has one or more bandwidth parts (BWP), the above scheme can also align the detection positions of multiple BWPs of one terminal device.

[0230] For example, as shown in FIG. 10, each square represents a time domain unit (such as a symbol, a time slot, a subframe, etc.), the shaded part represents the detection time of the PDCCH, one UE has three carriers, denoted as f1, f2 and f3, and each carrier has one BWP. Before the reference point, due to different periodic lengths, the detection positions on f1 and f2 are not aligned, f3 is in a dormant state, and the UE processing is relatively complex. The base station can configure a first reference position (such as time domain unit b) and offset information (such as offset = 0) for the UE, the first reference position is applicable to multiple carriers, and therefore the UE detects the PDCCH from the first time domain unit of the reference point on f1, f2 and f3, which can ensure that the DCI detection time of multiple carriers or multiple BWPs of one UE is aligned.

[0231] It should be understood that in some embodiments described above, devices in the existing network architecture are mainly exemplarily described (such as network devices, terminal devices, etc.), and it should be understood that the specific form of the devices is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, devices that can realize the same functions in the future are also applicable to the embodiments of the present application. In each method embodiment described above, the methods and operations implemented by the devices (such as network devices, terminal devices) can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) of the devices.

[0232] The above describes in detail the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application in combination with FIGS. 1 to 10. The above communication method is mainly introduced from the perspective of interaction between the terminal device and the network device. It can be understood that the terminal device and the network device contain corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function in order to realize the above functions.

[0233] It should be noted that, to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal device and the network device comprise hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the functions. Those skilled in the art can easily understand the units and method steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed in the present application. The present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or hardware and computer software in combination. Whether a certain function is implemented in hardware or computer software driven hardware depends on the specific application scenarios and design constraints of the technical solutions.

[0234] FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are schematic block diagrams of communication apparatuses provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication apparatuses can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or the network device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication apparatus can be the terminal 120 as shown in FIG. 1, or the RAN node 110 as shown in FIG. 1, or the IAB parent node or the IAB node as shown in FIG. 5, or a module (such as a chip or a chip system) applied to the terminal, the RAN node, the IAB parent node or the IAB node, etc.

[0235] As shown in FIG. 11, the communication apparatus 2000 comprises a transceiver unit 2020. Optionally, the communication apparatus 2000 further comprises a processing unit 2010. The communication apparatus 2000 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device or the network device in the above method embodiments shown in FIG. 6.

[0236] When the communication apparatus 2000 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 6, the transceiver unit 2020 is configured to send configuration information to the terminal device, and send a control channel based on the configuration information.

[0237] When the communication apparatus 2000 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 6, the transceiver unit 2020 is configured to receive configuration information, and the processing unit 2010 is configured to detect a control channel based on the configuration information.

[0238] For more detailed description of the processing unit 2010 and the transceiver unit 2020 and more functions, please refer to the method embodiments shown in FIG. 6.

[0239] As shown in FIG. 12, the communication apparatus 3000 includes a processor 3010 and an interface circuit 3020. The processor 3010 and the interface circuit 3020 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 3020 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication apparatus 3000 can further include a memory 3030 for storing instructions executed by the processor 3010 or storing input data required by the processor 3010 to execute instructions or storing data generated after the processor 3010 executes instructions. Sometimes, the interface circuit 3020 can also be understood as a part of the processor 3010, and the communication apparatus 3000 includes the processor 3010.

[0240] When the communication apparatus 3000 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 6, the processor 3010 is configured to implement the functions of the processing unit 2010, and the interface circuit 3020 is configured to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 2020.

[0241] When the communication apparatus is a terminal chip, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from a base station, which can be understood as that the information is first received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal, and then transmitted to the terminal chip by the modules. The terminal chip transmits information to the base station, which can be understood as that the information is first transmitted to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal, and then transmitted to the base station by the modules.

[0242] When the communication apparatus is a base station chip, the base station chip implements the functions of the base station in the above method embodiments. The base station chip receives information from a terminal, which can be understood as that the information is first received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station, and then transmitted to the base station chip by the modules. The base station chip transmits information to the terminal, which can be understood as that the information is first transmitted to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station, and then transmitted to the terminal by the modules.

[0243] In the present application, the sending of information from entity A to entity B can be directly from A to B, or indirectly from A to B via other entities. Similarly, the receiving of information from entity A by entity B can be directly from A by B, or indirectly from A by B via other entities. The entities A and B can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules within RAN nodes or terminals. The sending and receiving of information can be the information exchange between RAN nodes and terminals, e.g., the information exchange between base stations and terminals; the sending and receiving of information can also be the information exchange between two RAN nodes, e.g., the information exchange between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can also be the information exchange between different modules within one apparatus, e.g., the information exchange between a terminal chip and other modules of the terminal, or the information exchange between a base station chip and other modules of the base station.

[0244] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0245] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware, or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, so that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a base station or a terminal.

[0246] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by 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 programs or instructions. When the computer programs or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment or other programmable apparatus. The computer programs or instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transferred from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer programs or instructions can be transferred from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center through wired or wireless manner. 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, data center and the like integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; or an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state disk. The computer readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile storage media.

[0247] In the above various embodiments, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referred to each other if there is no special description and logical conflict. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0248] "at least one" herein means one or more. "more" means two or more. "and / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the literal description of the present application, the character " / ", generally represents that the front and rear associated objects are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B. "including at least one of A, B and C" can represent: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0249] In addition, the numerical range a~b in the present application means that a and b and all integers between a and b are included. For example, 0~13 means 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.

[0250] It should be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the first, second and various numerical designations are merely used for convenience of description and do not limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The magnitude of the serial numbers of the processes does not mean the order of execution, and the order of execution of the processes should be determined according to their functions and inherent logic.

[0251] In the embodiments of the present application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration, at 99 least. Any implementation described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. The term "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner, to facilitate understanding.

[0252] It can be understood that the "embodiments" mentioned throughout the specification mean that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiments are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It can be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the magnitude of the serial numbers of the processes does not mean the order of execution, and the order of execution of the processes should be determined according to their functions and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0253] It can be understood that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented independently in some scenarios without relying on other features, such as the scheme currently based on, to solve the corresponding technical problems and achieve the corresponding effects, or can be combined with other features according to the needs in some scenarios. Correspondingly, the devices given in the embodiments of the present application can also realize these features or functions, which will not be repeated here.

[0254] In the present application, the same or similar parts between various embodiments can be mutually referred to, unless otherwise specified. In various embodiments of the present application, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent, and can be mutually referred to, unless otherwise specified and logically conflicted. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship. The implementation modes of the present application described below do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present application.

[0255] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0256] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working processes of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0257] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are only schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0258] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

[0259] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically independently, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0260] If the functions are implemented in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially or the parts that contribute to the prior art or parts of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

[0261] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive configuration information, the configuration information being used to indicate a first reference position and offset information, the offset information being used to indicate the offset between the start position of the period of the detection control channel and the first reference position, the configuration information being associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel; The control channel is detected based on the configuration information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The configuration information further includes first indication information, which is used to indicate the symbol position of the control channel detected within the period, wherein the configuration information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel and includes: The first indication information is associated with the subcarrier spacing.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The offset information is used to indicate the number of signs between the starting position and the first reference position, or; The offset information is used to indicate the number of subframes between the starting position and the first reference position.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The configuration information also includes length information, which indicates the length of the period, wherein the configuration information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel and includes: The length information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The length of the period is N1 symbols; or the length of the period is N2 subframes, where N1 and N2 are both positive integers.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The configuration information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel and includes at least one of the following: The value range of the configuration information is related to the subcarrier interval; The number of bits in the configuration information is related to the subcarrier interval; The bit meanings of the configuration information are related to the subcarrier interval.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive second indication information, which is used to indicate a second reference position, which is different from the first reference position.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: The starting position of the cycle is determined based on the second reference position and the offset information.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The configuration information is used to indicate the detection of the common control channel.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The step of detecting the control channel based on the configuration information includes: The control channel is detected on one or more carriers based on the configuration information.

11. A method of communication, characterized in that, include: Send configuration information, which is used to indicate a first reference position and offset information, wherein the offset information is used to indicate the offset between the start position of the period of the detection control channel and the first reference position, and the configuration information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel; The control channel is sent based on the configuration information.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The configuration information further includes first indication information, which is used to indicate the symbol position of the control channel detected within the period, wherein the configuration information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel and includes: The first indication information is associated with the subcarrier spacing.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, The offset information is used to indicate the number of signs between the starting position and the first reference position, or; The offset information is used to indicate the number of subframes between the starting position and the first reference position.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that, The configuration information also includes length information, which indicates the length of the period, wherein the configuration information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel and includes: The length information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The length of the period is N1 symbols; or the length of the period is N2 subframes, where N1 and N2 are both positive integers.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that, The configuration information is associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control channel and includes at least one of the following: The value range of the configuration information is related to the subcarrier interval; The number of bits in the configuration information is related to the subcarrier interval; The bit meanings of the configuration information are related to the subcarrier interval.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second indication message, which is used to indicate a second reference position, which is different from the first reference position.

18. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 17, characterized in that, The configuration information is used to indicate the detection of the common control channel.

19. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 18, characterized in that, The first reference position applies to one or more carriers.

20. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes modules or units for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or includes modules or units for performing the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 19.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a processor for running a computer program or instructions to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 10, or to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 11 to 19.

22. The communication device according to claim 21, characterized in that, The communication device further includes a memory for storing the computer program or instructions.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 19.

24. A computer program product, characterized in that, Includes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 19.

25. A chip, characterized in that, Includes a processor configured to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 19.

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