Communication method, communication apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications, and provides a communication method, a communication apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium. The method comprises: receiving first information, wherein the first information is used for determining a plurality of frequency domain positions, and the plurality of frequency domain positions comprises a first frequency domain position; and detecting a downlink control channel in the first frequency domain position. The method can reduce the power consumption overhead of terminal devices.

Description

Communication method, communication apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202411127770.2, filed on August 15, 2024, and entitled "Communication method, communication apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, a communication apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0003] With the increase of the bandwidth of the upper 6GHz (U6G) spectrum, the new generation of communication networks will be able to provide wider network coverage and higher network capacity. For the downlink data transmission service of the existing network, since the U6G generally uses mini-slot to schedule the user equipment (UE), there can be multiple scheduling opportunities within a slot; for example, the network device can select different scheduling occasions to send downlink data to the UE within a slot according to the load status in the cell.

[0004] In order to realize short-slot and low-latency scheduling, the control resource set (CORESET) may need to be configured as a short slot, such as 1 to 3 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols; since the UE is uncertain whether there is a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sent to itself on each symbol and the transmission parameters (such as transmission bandwidth, etc.) of the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) scheduled by the PDCCH, it is necessary to cache all air interface data in the entire downlink bandwidth to detect the PDCCH and the PDSCH; this method of caching all data will increase the power consumption of the terminal device. SUMMARY

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, a communication apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium, which can reduce the power consumption overhead of the terminal device. The embodiments of the present application provide the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be performed by a terminal device, a module (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied in the terminal device, or a logic node, a logic module, or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the terminal device. The method comprises:

[0007] receiving first information, the first information being used to determine a plurality of frequency domain locations, the plurality of frequency domain locations including a first frequency domain location; and detecting a downlink control channel in the first frequency domain location.

[0008] In the above method, the terminal device receives the first information, and detects the downlink control channel in the first frequency domain location according to the first information, without performing a large-scale blind detection (i.e., without trying to decode possible downlink control channels without a target) in the plurality of frequency domain locations to find possible downlink control channel transmissions, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the first information includes the number of the plurality of frequency domain locations and the bandwidth length of each frequency domain location in the plurality of frequency domain locations.

[0010] In some scenarios, a control resource set can be divided into a plurality of frequency domain locations; the configuration of the plurality of frequency domain locations can be completed by configuring the number of the plurality of frequency domain locations and the bandwidth length of each frequency domain location in the plurality of frequency domain locations, without separately configuring each frequency domain location, which is not only simple and efficient, but also has a small signaling overhead.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the first information includes the starting position and the bandwidth length of each frequency domain location in the plurality of frequency domain locations, or the first information includes the starting position and the ending position of each frequency domain location in the plurality of frequency domain locations.

[0012] In some scenarios, when the available frequency domain resources can not be continuously distributed, but present as a plurality of discontinuous and scattered frequency band locations, the network device can optimize the use of these non-continuous frequency domain resources through a fine configuration method. For example, the network device can independently configure each discontinuous frequency domain location, including setting specific starting positions and ending positions of each frequency domain location, and other parameters. Through such independent configuration, the network device can more effectively utilize these scattered frequency domain resources, and avoid waste caused by the discontinuity of the resources; for example, in the case of tight spectrum resources, by accurately configuring each available frequency domain segment, the segments can be maximally utilized to transmit data, thereby improving the overall resource utilization and communication efficiency.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the plurality of frequency domain locations are discontinuously distributed in the frequency domain.

[0014] In some scenarios, the multiple frequency domain locations can be discontinuously configured. Such discontinuous configuration not only can make full use of fragmented frequency domain resources, but also can reduce transmission errors caused by frequency selective fading or interference.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the multiple frequency domain locations are continuously distributed in the frequency domain.

[0016] In some scenarios, the multiple frequency domain locations can be continuously configured. Such continuous configuration can reduce fragmentation of frequency spectrum resources, and is conducive to more efficient management of frequency domain resources by the network side and improvement of resource utilization.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving a downlink control channel at the first frequency domain location; and receiving a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) according to scheduling of the downlink control channel, wherein a time interval between the PDSCH and the downlink control channel is greater than or equal to a preset time, and the preset time is a positive integer.

[0018] In some scenarios, the network device transmits the downlink control channel at the first frequency domain location and transmits the physical downlink shared channel after the preset time. In this way, after receiving the downlink control channel, the terminal device does not need to immediately buffer data in the subsequent preset time (for example, in L symbols), thereby avoiding unnecessary buffering operations and reducing power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0019] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a network device (for example, a base station), can be performed by a module (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the network device, and can also be implemented by a logic node, a logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. The method includes:

[0020] Determining first information, the first information being used to configure multiple frequency domain locations, the multiple frequency domain locations including a first frequency domain location, and the first frequency domain location being used to transmit a downlink control channel; and transmitting the first information.

[0021] In the above method, the network device transmits the first information, so that the terminal device detects the downlink control channel at the first frequency domain location according to the first information, without needing to perform a large range of blind detection at the multiple frequency domain locations to find a possible downlink control channel, thereby reducing power consumption overhead of the terminal device.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the first information includes a number of the multiple frequency domain locations and a bandwidth length of each of the multiple frequency domain locations.

[0023] In some scenarios, the control resource set can be divided into multiple frequency domain locations; the configuration of the multiple frequency domain locations is completed by configuring the number of the multiple frequency domain locations and the bandwidth length of each frequency domain location in the multiple frequency domain locations, without separately configuring each frequency domain location, which is not only simple and efficient in configuration, but also small in signaling overhead.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the first information includes the starting position and the bandwidth length of each frequency domain location in the multiple frequency domain locations, or the first information includes the starting position and the ending position of each frequency domain location in the multiple frequency domain locations.

[0025] In some scenarios, when the frequency domain resources of the control resource set can not be continuously distributed, but present as multiple discontinuous and scattered frequency band locations, the network device can optimize the use of these non-continuous frequency domain resources through fine-grained configuration means. For example, the network device can independently configure each discontinuous frequency domain location, including setting the specific starting position and ending position of each frequency domain location and other parameters. Through such independent configuration, the network device can more effectively utilize these scattered frequency domain resources and avoid waste due to the discontinuity of the resources; for example, in the case of tight spectrum resources, by accurately configuring each available frequency domain segment, the segments can be maximally utilized to transmit data, thereby improving the overall resource utilization and communication efficiency.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the multiple frequency domain locations are discontinuously distributed in the frequency domain.

[0027] In some scenarios, the multiple frequency domain locations can be discontinuously configured, which not only can make full use of fragmented frequency domain resources, but also can reduce transmission errors caused by frequency selective fading or interference.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the multiple frequency domain locations are continuously distributed in the frequency domain.

[0029] In some scenarios, the multiple frequency domain locations can be continuously configured, which can reduce the fragmentation of spectrum resources and is conducive to the network side to more effectively manage the frequency domain resources and improve the resource utilization.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: transmitting a downlink control channel in the first frequency domain location; and transmitting a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) according to the scheduling of the downlink control channel, wherein the time interval between the PDSCH and the downlink control channel is greater than or equal to a preset time, and the preset time is a positive integer.

[0031] In some scenarios, the network device transmits the downlink control channel at a first frequency domain position and transmits the physical downlink shared channel after a preset time; in this way, after the terminal device receives the downlink control channel, since the transmission of the physical downlink shared channel is delayed by the preset time, the terminal device does not need to immediately buffer data in the subsequent preset time (such as L symbols), thereby avoiding unnecessary buffering operations and reducing the power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0032] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a terminal device. The method can be executed by the terminal device, or by a module (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the terminal device, or by a logic node, a logic module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the terminal device. The method comprises:

[0033] detecting the first downlink control channel in a plurality of monitoring occasions in a preset period, the plurality of monitoring occasions comprising at least two monitoring occasions for transmitting the downlink control channel; and stopping detecting the downlink control channel in the remaining monitoring occasions in the preset period when the first downlink control channel is detected in a target monitoring occasion.

[0034] In the above method, when the terminal device detects the first downlink control channel in the plurality of monitoring occasions, if the first downlink control channel is successfully detected in the preset period, the terminal device stops detecting the downlink control channel in the remaining frequency domain positions in the preset period. This reduces unnecessary detection of the downlink control channel in the preset period, which is conducive to reducing the time delay of data transmission and reducing the power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0035] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a terminal device. The method can be executed by the terminal device, or by a module (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the terminal device, or by a logic node, a logic module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the terminal device. The method comprises:

[0036] detecting a first downlink control channel at a first time, determining a first aggregation level, and detecting a second downlink control channel according to the first aggregation level at a second time, the second time being later than the first time, and the interval between the second time and the first time being less than or equal to a first time interval.

[0037] In the above method, from the perspective of the terminal device, the terminal device detects the first downlink control channel at the first time, and can determine that the aggregation level used by the network device to send the first downlink control channel is the first aggregation level; in a short time, the channel quality does not change greatly; therefore, the network device can use the same aggregation level (such as the first aggregation level) as the last time when sending the second downlink control channel to the terminal device; in this way, the terminal device can directly perform detection at the first aggregation level when performing the second downlink control channel detection at the second time, without the need to detect all possible aggregation levels. In this way, the detection efficiency can be improved, and the power consumption of the terminal device can be reduced. From the perspective of the network device, in the case that the channel quality is relatively stable, using the same aggregation level as the last time to send the downlink control channel is beneficial to the terminal device to quickly and accurately detect the downlink control channel, so that the terminal device can respond to the control instruction of the network device more quickly, and the overall response speed of the communication system is improved.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the detecting the second downlink control channel according to the first aggregation level at the second time includes: determining at least one aggregation level from the plurality of aggregation levels according to the first aggregation level, the number of the at least one aggregation level being less than the number of the plurality of aggregation levels, and the at least one aggregation level including the first aggregation level; and detecting the second downlink control channel according to the at least one aggregation level at the second time.

[0039] In some specific scenarios (such as in the case that the channel quality is relatively stable), when the network device schedules the downlink control channel multiple times in a short time, the aggregation level of the downlink control channel is usually flexibly adjusted within a small range; by limiting the floating range of the aggregation level of the downlink control channel, the terminal device can focus on this aggregation level range when detecting the downlink control channel, without the need to detect all possible aggregation levels; this detection manner can not only reduce the number of blind detections of the terminal device, but also improve the detection efficiency and reduce the power consumption of the terminal. For example, if the aggregation level of the first detected downlink control channel (such as the first downlink control channel detected by the terminal device at the first time) is the first aggregation level, considering the stability of the channel quality in a short time, the terminal device can perform detection within a limited set constituted by the first aggregation level and its adjacent aggregation levels in subsequent detection (such as the detection of the second downlink control channel performed at the second time), without the need to detect all possible aggregation levels.

[0040] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus, which can be a network device (e.g., a base station), a module (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied in the network device, or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the network device functions, is provided. The communication apparatus includes at least one processor and optionally a memory. The memory is configured to store a computer program or instructions, and the at least one processor is configured to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the at least one processor executes the computer program or instructions stored in the memory, the communication apparatus performs the method performed by the network device in the method embodiments.

[0041] In a sixth aspect, a communication apparatus, which can be a terminal device (e.g., a UE), a module (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied in the terminal device, or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal device functions, is provided. The communication apparatus includes at least one processor and optionally a memory. The memory is configured to store a computer program or instructions, and the at least one processor is configured to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the at least one processor executes the computer program or instructions stored in the memory, the communication apparatus performs the method performed by the terminal device in the method embodiments.

[0042] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product includes computer program codes. When the computer program codes are executed, the method performed by the network device (e.g., a base station) in the aspects described above is performed.

[0043] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product includes computer program codes. When the computer program codes are executed, the method performed by the terminal device in the aspects described above is performed.

[0044] In a ninth aspect, a chip system is provided. The chip system includes at least one processor configured to implement the functions of the network device in the methods in the aspects described above. In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory configured to store program instructions and / or data. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0045] In a tenth aspect, a chip system is provided. The chip system includes at least one processor configured to implement the functions of the terminal device in the methods in the aspects described above. In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory configured to store program instructions and / or data. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0046] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, which includes computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or instructions are executed, the method performed by the network device in the above aspects is implemented.

[0047] In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, which includes computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or instructions are executed, the method performed by the terminal device in the above aspects is implemented.

[0048] In a thirteenth aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication system, which includes the communication device of the fifth aspect and the communication device of the sixth aspect.

[0049] Any of the above-mentioned devices or computer storage media or computer program products or chips or communication systems are used to execute the corresponding methods provided above, and thus the beneficial effects achieved can refer to the beneficial effects of the corresponding solutions in the corresponding methods provided above, which will not be described here again. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0050] FIGS. 1A to 1C are PDSCH and PDCCH scheduling diagrams provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0051] FIG. 2 is an architecture diagram of a communication system 1000 provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG. 3 is a CU-DU architecture diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG. 4 is another PDSCH and PDCCH scheduling diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG. 5 is an interaction diagram of a communication method 500 provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIGS. 6A to 6D are frequency domain position distribution diagrams provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG. 7 is another PDSCH and PDCCH scheduling diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG. 8 is a diagram of a communication method 800 provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG. 9 is another PDSCH and PDCCH scheduling diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG. 10 is a structure diagram of a communication method 1000 provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of PDCCH scheduling according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 1200 according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0063] In the description of the present application, "at least one of" or similar expressions refer to any combination of the items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, a and b and c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple. In addition, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the same items or similar items with basically the same function and role are distinguished by "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can understand that "first", "second", etc. do not limit the quantity and execution order, and "first", "second", etc. do not necessarily mean different.

[0064] It should be understood that in the present application, "in the case of", "if", "when", "if", and similar descriptions can be used interchangeably. In addition, " / " in the text means "or".

[0065] It should be noted that in the present application, "exemplarily" or "such as" and the like are used to represent examples, examples or descriptions. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplarily" or "such as" in the present application should not be interpreted as a more preferred embodiment than other embodiments or design schemes. The use of "exemplarily" or "such as" and the like in the present application is intended to present the relevant concept in a specific way.

[0066] In order to facilitate understanding of the present application, some technical terms related to the present application are explained below.

[0067] (1) PDCCH and PDSCH

[0068] When a new radio (NR) scheduled UE receives downlink data, the UE can be instructed to receive PDSCH carrying data by sending downlink control information (DCI) on PDCCH, where the receiving parameters include the time domain and frequency domain resource location of PDSCH, the bandwidth size, the modulation and coding scheme used by PDSCH, the port and format of the reference signal in PDSCH, etc.

[0069] There are two scheduling modes for PDCCH scheduling PDSCH:

[0070] Mode 1): PDSCH mapping type A, also known as slot-based scheduling, i.e. PDSCH is scheduled in a time slot as the basic unit, i.e. in terms of time resources, each transmitted PDSCH will occupy the entire time slot (such as 14 symbols); for example, as shown in FIG. 1A, the PDCCH scheduling PDSCH can be transmitted in the same time slot as the PDSCH, and the PDSCH transmission area needs to avoid the PDCCH, and this transmission mode can be referred to as same-slot scheduling; for another example, the PDCCH and the PDSCH can also be transmitted in different time slots; as shown in FIG. 1B, the PDCCH is transmitted in time slot n, and the PDSCH is transmitted in time slot n+k0, k0>0, and this transmission mode can be referred to as cross-slot scheduling.

[0071] Mode 2): PDSCH mapping type B, also known as mini-slot / short slot scheduling, under which PDSCH is not scheduled in a time slot as the basic unit, but in a symbol number as the basic unit; in the existing NR system, the network device can allocate 2-13 symbols to the UE in one scheduling; the PDCCH scheduling PDSCH and the PDSCH are transmitted in the same time slot, as shown in FIG. 1C.

[0072] (2) Control resource set CORESET

[0073] CORESET is used to carry PDCCH; CORESET includes a resource block (resource block, RB) set and a set of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM) symbols located on the RB; these parameters can be configured through the corresponding PDCCH search space, which involves frequency domain, time domain, etc. In NR, PDCCH is transmitted in the frequency domain range specified in CORESET; the frequency allocated in CORESET can be continuous or non-continuous. Generally, the time domain span in CORESET can be 1-3 consecutive OFDM symbols.

[0074] (3) Search space set

[0075] The search space set has a preconfigured bandwidth and a transmission period on time-frequency resources; the PDCCH can be transmitted in the preconfigured search space set; the search space set is configured in a CORESET, which defines the frequency resources (i.e., bandwidth) and time domain resources (such as the number of symbols that a PDCCH can occupy) that the search space set can use; and in the time domain, the transmission period of the search space set can be configured to 1 slot to 2560 slots, and in each period, one or several consecutive slots can be used to transmit the PDCCH; in each slot in which the PDCCH is transmitted, the base station (gNB) can also configure the specific symbol position of the PDCCH in each slot in which the PDCCH is transmitted.

[0076] (4) Aggregation level (AL)

[0077] To adapt to different channel environments, the PDCCH transmission also has the concept of aggregation level, which is generally divided into (1, 2, 4, 8, 16). The number of RE resources used by PDCCHs of different aggregation levels is different; for example, the number of REs used by PDCCH of aggregation level 2 is twice that of PDCCH of aggregation level 1; the number of REs used by PDCCH of aggregation level 4 is twice that of PDCCH of aggregation level 2, and so on. Although the number of REs used by PDCCHs of different aggregation levels is different, the number of information bits carried by PDCCHs of different aggregation levels is the same or close, so the code rate of PDCCH of a larger aggregation level is lower and the performance is better, and it is more suitable for use in an environment with poor channel conditions.

[0078] When receiving the PDCCH, the UE usually does not know the actual aggregation level used by the PDCCH, so it needs to assume different aggregation levels and blindly detect whether the PDCCH is transmitted in the entire CORESET bandwidth according to the frequency domain position in which the PDCCH of different aggregation levels can appear. The more blind detection times, the higher the power consumption and complexity of the UE.

[0079] The above briefly introduces the technical terms that the present application can involve, and the following introduces the communication system to which the present application is applicable.

[0080] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system or NR, and the technical solutions provided by the present application can also be applied to future communication systems.

[0081] The network architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. It can be known by those skilled in the art that, with the evolution of network architecture and the appearance of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0082] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system 1000 to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 2, the communication system 1000 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100, wherein the RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (such as 110a-110e in FIG. 2, collectively referred to as 110), and can also include at least one terminal 120 (such as 120a-120d in FIG. 2, 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. 2). The terminal 120 is connected to the RAN node 110 (such as the RAN node 110b) 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 communication system 1000 can also include a core network (CN) 200. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 in a wireless or wired manner. The core network device in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 can be independent and different physical devices, or can be the same physical device integrated with the logical functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the RAN node. The communication system 1000 can also include the Internet 300.

[0083] The RAN 100 can be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a NR system, or a future wireless access system defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). The RAN 100 can also include two or more different wireless access systems. The RAN 100 can also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0084] The RAN node, also referred to as a network device, a radio access network device, a RAN entity, or an access node, is configured to help a terminal to access to the communication system through a wireless manner.

[0085] 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 base station in a future mobile communication system, an access point (AP) in a WiFi system, etc. The RAN node can also be a macro base station (such as 110a in FIG. 2), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110e in FIG. 2), or a relay node (such as 110b and 110c in FIG. 2).

[0086] In another application scenario, a terminal can be helped to implement wireless access through cooperation of multiple RAN nodes, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of functions of a base station. For example, a RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). Here, the CU completes functions of a radio resource control (RRC) protocol and a packet data convergence layer protocol (PDCP) of a base station, and can also complete a function of a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes functions of a radio link control (RLC) layer and a medium access control (MAC) layer of a base station, and can also complete part of a physical (PHY) layer or all of the PHY layer; for specific descriptions of the above protocol layers, reference can be made to relevant technical specifications of the 3GPP. The RU can be used to implement functions of transceiving radio frequency signals. The CU and the DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or can be integrated in the 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), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0087] The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: a control plane CU (central unit control plane, CU-CP) and a user plane CU (central unit user plane, CU-UP). As shown in FIG. 3, the CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, mainly including RRC and control plane PDCP (PDCP-C). The PDCP-C is mainly responsible for encryption and decryption of control plane data, integrity protection, and data transmission, etc. The CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions, mainly including SDAP and user plane PDCP (PDCP-U). Among them, the SDAP is mainly responsible for processing the data of the core network and mapping the flow to the bearer. The PDCP-U is mainly responsible for encryption and decryption of the data plane, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, and data transmission, etc. The CU-CP and the CU-UP are connected through an E1 interface. The CU-CP is connected to the core network through a next generation (NG) interface. The CU-CP is connected to the DU through a control plane F1 interface (F1-C). The CU-UP is connected to the DU through a user plane F1 interface (F1-U). Of course, there is also a possible implementation that the PDCP-C is also in the CU-UP.

[0088] In different systems, the RAN node can have different names, for example, in the O-RAN system, the CU can be referred to as an open CU (O-CU), the DU can 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 the embodiments of the present 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 the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the RAN node. For ease of description, a base station is taken as an example of the RAN node in the following description.

[0089] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver function, which can send signals to a base station or receive signals from a base station. A terminal can also be referred to as a terminal device, a UE, a mobile station, a mobile terminal, etc. A terminal can be widely applied in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, automatic driving, remote medical treatment, smart power grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. A terminal can be a mobile phone (such as 120a and 120b in FIG. 2), a tablet computer (such as 120c in FIG. 2), a printer with wireless transceiver function (such as 120d in FIG. 2), a wearable device, a vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a smart home device, etc. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the terminal.

[0090] A base station and a terminal can be in a fixed position or movable. A base station and a 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 an airplane, a balloon and a man-made satellite. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of a base station and a terminal.

[0091] The roles of a base station and a terminal can be relative, for example, 110b in FIG. 2 can be configured as a mobile base station, which is a base station for those terminals accessing to the wireless access network 100 through 110b; but for 110a, 110b can be a terminal, that is, 110a and 110b communicate with each other through a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 110b can also communicate with each other through an interface protocol between base stations, in which case, 110b is also a base station relative to 110a. Therefore, a base station and a terminal can be collectively referred to as a communication device, 110a-110e in FIG. 2 can be referred to as a communication device with base station function, and 120a-120d in FIG. 2 can be referred to as a communication device with terminal function.

[0092] The above describes in detail a software and hardware system structure suitable for the communication system 1000 of the present application. Before introducing the communication method suitable for the present application, the problem to be solved by the present application is introduced in combination with a specific application scenario.

[0093] Since the bandwidth of the 6G Upper (U6G) spectrum band is relatively large, only a small number of symbols (e.g., 1 to 2 symbols) are usually needed to complete data transmission under the U6G spectrum band. In downlink data transmission services, the U6G generally uses mini-slot to schedule terminal devices (e.g., UEs), so that there can be multiple scheduling opportunities in one time slot; the network device can select different scheduling opportunities to send downlink data to the terminal device according to the load status in the cell. As shown in FIG. 4, the network device (e.g., base station) configures PDCCH at 4 positions on 14 symbols of a time slot; the search space set corresponding to the 4 positions of PDCCH is a single symbol, which is located at the 0th, 4th, 7th and 11th symbols, respectively; accordingly, the terminal device has 4 opportunities to receive PDCCH scheduling PDSCH data, as shown in the 4 possible cases of scheduling PDSCH in FIG. 4; in addition, PDCCH and PDSCH in FIG. 4 can be transmitted on the same symbol, such as can be transmitted on the 0th symbol at the same time; or can be transmitted on different symbols, such as PDCCH is transmitted on the 4th symbol and PDSCH is transmitted on the 5th symbol.

[0094] Since the terminal device is uncertain whether there is PDCCH sent to itself on each symbol, and is uncertain about the transmission parameters of the PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH, it is necessary to cache all air interface data in the entire downlink bandwidth to detect the PDCCH and the PDSCH; however, since PDCCH is not transmitted on some symbols, caching all air interface data will increase the power consumption of the terminal device. Therefore, the present application proposes a communication method which can reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0095] The communication method 500 proposed by the present application will be described below in conjunction with FIG. 5; the communication method 500 can reduce the power consumption of the terminal device. Before introducing the method 500, the execution subject of the method 500 will be briefly described.

[0096] The terminal device (or network device) involved in the method 500 can also be a chip, chip system or processor applied in the terminal device (or network device), or can be a logic node, logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the terminal device (or network device). For example, the network device can be the RAN node 110 in FIG. 2; the terminal device can be the terminal 120 in FIG. 2.

[0097] The following embodiments take the terminal device (e.g., UE) and the network device (e.g., base station) as examples to describe the execution subject of the communication method 500. The method 500 includes the following steps:

[0098] Step 501: The network device determines first information, the first information being used for configuring a plurality of frequency domain positions, the plurality of frequency domain positions including a first frequency domain position, the first frequency domain position being used for transmitting a downlink control channel.

[0099] The first information can be configuration information of a control resource set, and can be carried in RRC signaling or a control element (CE) of a media access control (MAC) layer or other signaling. The carrying manner of the first information is not limited in the present application.

[0100] It should be noted that the plurality of frequency domain positions can be located on the same symbol or a plurality of same symbols. The symbol can refer to an OFDM symbol. For example, the plurality of frequency domain positions can be located on a single symbol X, or the plurality of frequency domain positions can be located on 2 or 3 symbols.

[0101] In some scenarios, the plurality of frequency domain positions can be understood as that the network device (such as a base station) divides the CORESET into a plurality of different sub-frequency bands or sub-regions in the frequency domain according to needs. Each of the plurality of frequency domain positions (such as the first frequency domain position) can be used for transmitting a downlink control channel, i.e., for carrying data and control information. The control information includes but is not limited to scheduling information (such as a time resource on which the UE will receive or send data), a power control command, and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ). For example, the network device can divide the CORESET into a plurality of frequency domain positions in the frequency domain according to network planning, spectrum resource allocation, and the needs of the UE. The frequency domain positions can be continuous or discontinuous, depending on network configuration and spectrum usage.

[0102] It should be noted that in some scenarios, the frequency domain position can be alternatively described as one of a sub-region (sub-CORESET), a sub-frequency band, a sub-frequency domain, or a narrowband CORESET. Of course, it is not limited to these alternative descriptions, and other descriptions can also be used in actual applications. The carrying manner of the first information is not limited in the present application.

[0103] Step 502: The network device transmits the first information. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information.

[0104] After determining the first information, the network device can transmit the first information to the terminal device. The network device (or the terminal device) can transmit (or receive) the first information by using an RRC signaling or a MAC CE manner, or by using other manners. The carrying manner of the first information is not limited in the present application.

[0105] Step 503: The terminal device detects the downlink control channel in the first frequency domain position.

[0106] The downlink control channel can be a PDCCH or a downlink control channel in a future communication system, which is not limited in the present application.

[0107] It should be noted that the manner in which the terminal device determines the first frequency domain position according to the first information includes but is not limited to the following manners: manner 1) the network device indicates to the terminal device that it detects the downlink control channel in a specific frequency domain position (such as only in the first frequency domain position) by sending indication information; manner 2) a protocol preset manner, the terminal device can determine to detect the downlink control channel in the first frequency domain position from a plurality of frequency domain positions according to a protocol preset rule.

[0108] As can be seen, after the terminal device determines the first frequency domain position, it can detect the downlink control channel in the first frequency domain position without performing a large range of blind detection in a plurality of frequency domain positions to find a possible PDCCH transmission, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0109] In a possible implementation, the first information includes the number of the plurality of frequency domain positions and the bandwidth length of each frequency domain position in the plurality of frequency domain positions.

[0110] The number of the plurality of frequency domain positions can be understood as the number of sub-regions into which the network device needs to divide the CORESET.

[0111] In some embodiments, the network device can divide the CORESET into a plurality of frequency domain positions by the number of the plurality of frequency domain positions and the bandwidth length of each frequency domain position in the plurality of frequency domain positions. For example, if the first information is carried in the CORESET configuration information of RRC, the following configuration parameters can be added (or added) in the CORESET configuration information:

[0112] The frequencyDomainResources represents the entire downlink bandwidth of the CORESET, the numberOfSubfrequencyRange represents the number of frequency domain positions into which the entire CORESET is divided, and the bandwidthOfSubfrequencyRange represents the bandwidth length of each frequency domain position (or the bandwidth of each frequency domain position).

[0113] In this embodiment, the CORESET is divided into a plurality of frequency domain positions by the number of the plurality of frequency domain positions and the bandwidth length of each frequency domain position, and is configured without separately configuring each frequency domain position. This not only simplifies the configuration manner, but also reduces the signaling overhead.

[0114] In some embodiments, the plurality of frequency domain locations are distributed continuously in the frequency domain.

[0115] For example, the network device can configure a series of continuous spectrum resource blocks (RBs) as the frequency domain locations of the CORESET. In this way, when the network device configures the CORESET into a plurality of frequency domain locations, the CORESET configuration information can be configured by configuring the number of the plurality of frequency domain locations and the bandwidth length of each frequency domain location to complete the configuration of the plurality of frequency domain locations. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the CORESET is divided into four regions (i.e., frequency domain location 1 to frequency domain location 4), and the four regions are continuously distributed. This continuous configuration manner can reduce the fragmentation of spectrum resources, and is conducive to the network side to more effectively manage the frequency domain resources and improve the resource utilization.

[0116] In a possible implementation, the first information includes a starting position and a bandwidth length of each of the plurality of frequency domain locations, or the first information includes a starting position and an ending position of each of the plurality of frequency domain locations.

[0117] The starting position can be alternatively described as a starting point or a starting frequency point. The bandwidth length can be alternatively described as one of a bandwidth, a frequency range length, or a frequency domain length, which are not limited in the present application.

[0118] In some embodiments, the network device can divide the CORESET into a plurality of frequency domain locations by configuring a starting position and a bandwidth length of each frequency domain location. For example, if the first information is carried in the CORESET configuration information of the RRC, the following configuration parameters can be added (or added) in the CORESET configuration information:

[0119] The frequencyDomainResources represents the entire downlink bandwidth of the CORESET, the startingPositionOfSubfrequencyRange1 represents the starting position of the frequency domain location 1 (i.e., an example of the plurality of frequency domain locations), and the bandwidthOfSubfrequencyRange1 represents the bandwidth length of the frequency domain location 1.

[0120] In yet some embodiments, the network device can divide the CORESET into a plurality of frequency domain locations by configuring a starting position and an ending position of each frequency domain location. For example, if the first information is carried in the CORESET configuration information of the RRC, the following configuration parameters can be added (or added) in the CORESET configuration information:

[0121] wherein, frequencyDomainResources represents the entire downlink bandwidth of the CORESET, startingPositionOfSubfrequency1 represents the starting position of the frequency domain position 1 (i.e., one example of the plurality of frequency domain positions), and endingPositionOfSubfrequency1 represents the ending position of the frequency domain position 1.

[0122] As can be seen, for the CORESET frequency domain resources, the resources can not be continuously distributed, but rather appear as a plurality of discontinuous and scattered frequency band positions. In this case, the network device can optimize the use of these non-continuous frequency domain resources through fine configuration means. For example, the network device can independently configure each discontinuous frequency domain position, including setting the specific starting position and ending position of each frequency domain position, and other parameters. Through such independent configuration, the network device can more effectively utilize these scattered frequency domain resources and avoid waste due to the discontinuity of the resources. For example, in the case of tight spectrum resources, by accurately configuring each available frequency domain segment, the segments can be maximally utilized to transmit data, thereby improving overall resource utilization and communication efficiency.

[0123] In addition, in some scenarios, the plurality of frequency domain positions can be understood as a plurality of narrowband CORESETs. For example, the network device can configure a narrowband CORESET that is smaller than a legacy CORESET. The terminal device detects the downlink control channel within the narrowband CORESET, which can reduce the number of blind detections of the downlink control channel (e.g., PDCCH) and reduce the power consumption of buffer data. In general, to avoid the influence of frequency domain selective fading, a downlink bandwidth part (BWP) can be configured with a plurality of narrowband CORESETs. The configuration parameters of these narrowband CORESETs are the same except for the frequency domain positions. In addition, these narrowband CORESETs can overlap or not overlap with each other in the frequency domain.

[0124] In some embodiments, the narrowband CORESETs on different symbols can hop regularly, i.e., the narrowband CORESETs detected by the terminal device on different symbols can be different; such regular distribution of the narrowband CORESETs can resist frequency-domain selective fading and improve the reception performance of the downlink control channel. For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, the network device can configure multiple narrowband CORESETs within the bandwidth of the downlink BWP; for example, taking the configuration of 4 narrowband CORESETs in a single slot as an example, if the total downlink bandwidth is 100 MHz, then the bandwidth length of each narrowband CORESET is 25 MHz, and the 4 narrowband CORESETs do not overlap with each other in the frequency domain; the network device can agree with each terminal device in advance or each terminal device can calculate which narrowband CORESET to detect on each symbol based on the following formula (2); for example, in FIG. 6B, the terminal device detects the search space set on the 4th narrowband CORESET in symbol 0, the search space set on the 2nd narrowband CORESET in symbol 3, the search space set on the 3rd narrowband CORESET in symbol 6, and the search space set on the 1st narrowband CORESET in symbol 10.

[0125] In some embodiments, the multiple frequency-domain locations are distributed discontinuously (or discontinuously) in the frequency domain.

[0126] For example, the network device can use a series of discontinuous spectrum resource blocks as the frequency-domain locations of the CORESET; in this way, when the network device configures the CORESET into multiple frequency-domain locations, it needs to separately configure the start position and end position of each frequency-domain location (or the start position and bandwidth length of each frequency-domain location) in the CORESET configuration information to complete the configuration of the multiple frequency-domain locations; for example, as shown in FIG. 6C, the CORESET is divided into 4 regions (i.e., frequency-domain location 1 to frequency-domain location 4), and the 4 regions are distributed discontinuously; such non-continuous configuration method not only can make full use of fragmented frequency-domain resources, but also can reduce transmission errors caused by frequency selective fading or interference.

[0127] In some embodiments, the network device configures the CORESET to be in multiple frequency domain locations, and some of the frequency domain locations can be continuous and some of the frequency domain locations can be discontinuous. For example, as shown in FIG. 6D, the CORESET is divided into four regions (i.e., frequency domain location 1 to frequency domain location 4), and the frequency domain location 2 and the frequency domain location 3 in the four regions are continuously distributed, the frequency domain location 1 and the frequency domain location 2 are discontinuously distributed, the frequency domain location 3 and the frequency domain location 4 are discontinuously distributed, and the frequency domain location 1 and the frequency domain location 4 are discontinuously distributed. For the continuously distributed part of the frequency domain location, the number of multiple frequency domain locations and the bandwidth length of each frequency domain location in the multiple frequency domain locations can be uniformly configured, and each frequency domain location does not need to be configured separately; and for the discontinuously distributed part of the frequency domain location, the start position and the end position of each frequency domain location can be configured separately. This combination of continuous configuration and discontinuous configuration can not only make full use of fragmented frequency domain resources, but also simplify the configuration method.

[0128] It should be noted that when the network device sends the downlink control channel (such as PDCCH) to each terminal device, the following aspects can be pre-agreed, so that each terminal device (such as UE) can detect the downlink control channel belonging to itself in the corresponding frequency domain location (such as the first frequency domain location). The specific agreement includes but is not limited to the following content:

[0129] 1) The downlink control channel sent to each terminal device usually occupies the time domain, frequency domain, etc. within one frequency domain location (i.e., one sub-region).

[0130] 2) If the downlink control channel sent to each terminal device uses interleaving, the range of the interleaving will also be limited within one frequency domain location (i.e., one sub-region), and usually will not be interleaved across frequency domain locations.

[0131] 3) The frequency domain location (such as the first frequency domain location) where the downlink control channel sent to each terminal device is located is agreed; for example, the rule of the frequency domain location (which can also be understood as the frequency domain sub-region) used by the network device when scheduling each terminal device (such as UE) in each symbol is agreed; for example, in some embodiments, the rule of the frequency domain location used by the UE can be determined by the function; the function can be determined by the UE identifier (such as the radio network temporary identity (RNTI)), the slot number where the symbol is located, and the number of the symbol (i.e., the position of the current symbol in the slot or the number of the current symbol in the slot); in some embodiments, the function can be represented as follows:

[0132] wherein, ​​​l is the slot number where the symbol is located symb N is the number of the symbol in the current slot sub-range mod is the remainder operator The function can ensure that each of the multiple frequency domain positions has a unique identifier through the remainder operation, thereby facilitating the network device and the terminal device to accurately identify and manage each frequency domain position in the communication process, avoiding confusion and errors. Through the above method, the terminal device can ensure that the frequency sub-area detected on different symbols is different, thereby avoiding the decline in the terminal device's reception of PDCCH performance caused by frequency selective fading.

[0133] In some embodiments, the rule for the frequency domain position used by the UE can also be as follows: in a short time scheduling scenario, the frequency domain position at which each terminal device blindly detects the downlink control channel (such as PDCCH) is the same as the frequency domain position at which the downlink control channel is first detected; in other words, each terminal device can determine the frequency domain position at which the downlink control channel is secondly detected according to the frequency domain position at which the downlink control channel is first detected, for example, if the frequency domain position at which the UE first detects the PDCCH is the first frequency domain position, the UE can directly detect at the first frequency domain position when detecting the PDCCH for the second time.

[0134] In some embodiments, the above method 500 further includes steps 504 and 505.

[0135] Step 504: The terminal device receives the downlink control channel at the first frequency domain position; correspondingly, the network device transmits the downlink control channel at the first frequency domain position.

[0136] The terminal device receives the downlink control channel at the first frequency domain position, which means that the terminal device is configured to detect the transmission of the downlink control channel (such as PDCCH) at a specific frequency domain position (such as the first frequency domain position). The downlink control channel is usually a channel used by the network device (such as a base station) to send DCI to the terminal device, which can include but is not limited to scheduling decisions, power control commands, etc.

[0137] Corresponding to the detection behavior of the terminal device, the network device can transmit the downlink control channel at a specific frequency domain position (such as the first frequency domain position); wherein the first frequency domain position can be determined according to network configuration, specific needs of the terminal, and possible resource allocation, etc.

[0138] Step 505: The terminal device receives the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH according to the scheduling of the downlink control channel; correspondingly, the network device transmits the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH according to the scheduling of the downlink control channel; wherein the time interval between the PDSCH and the downlink control channel is greater than or equal to a preset time, and the preset time is a positive integer.

[0139] The preset time can be represented by a time slot or a symbol, which is not limited in the application. For example, the preset time can be L symbols, where L is a positive integer. For example, L is generally 1-3 symbols. The time interval between the PDSCH and the downlink control channel can be greater than or equal to L symbols.

[0140] For example, as shown in FIG. 7, taking the time interval equal to L symbols and the downlink control channel as PDCCH as an example, the network device can send the PDCCH on the 0th symbol. After L symbols, the PDSCH is sent on the 4th to 5th symbols according to the scheduling of the PDCCH. Since the network device does not send the PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH within L symbols after sending the PDCCH, the terminal device can buffer the data on the 0th symbol where the PDCCH is sent, without buffering the air interface data on the L symbols. This can reduce the data buffering amount of the terminal device and save the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0141] It should be noted that, on the one hand, the above-mentioned preset time can be understood as the time for the terminal device to decode the PDCCH. However, within the preset time, the terminal device can complete PDCCH decoding, or can not complete PDCCH decoding. On the other hand, the preset time can also be understood as including the switching time of the radio frequency device of the terminal device, such as switching from a low bandwidth reception mode to a high bandwidth reception mode. In the low bandwidth reception mode, the terminal device can use a smaller bandwidth to receive the PDCCH, thereby saving the power consumption of the receiver, and in the high bandwidth reception mode, the terminal device can use a large bandwidth to receive the PDSCH data.

[0142] Therefore, the network device sends the downlink control channel at the first frequency domain position, and sends the physical downlink shared channel after the preset time. Therefore, after receiving the downlink control channel, the terminal device does not need to immediately buffer the data on the subsequent preset time (such as L symbols), thereby avoiding unnecessary buffering operations and reducing the power consumption of the terminal.

[0143] The method 500 is introduced above, and a communication method 800 is introduced below, which can also reduce the power consumption of the terminal device. Before introducing the method 800, the execution subject of the method 800 is briefly described. The terminal device (or network device) involved in the method 800 can also be a chip, a chip system, or a processor applied in the terminal device (or network device), or a logic node, a logic module, or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the terminal device (or network device). For example, the network device can be the RAN node 110 in FIG. 2, and the terminal device can be the terminal 120 in FIG. 2.

[0144] The following embodiments take the terminal device (such as a UE) and the network device (such as a base station) as examples to describe the execution subject of the communication method 800. The method 800 includes the following steps.

[0145] Step 801: The terminal device detects a first downlink control channel in a plurality of monitoring occasions in a preset time period, and the plurality of monitoring occasions include at least two monitoring occasions for transmitting the downlink control channel.

[0146] The preset time period can be at least one time slot, a plurality of symbols (such as 14 symbols), or other forms of time length representation, which are not limited in the present application; the monitoring occasion can also be described as one of a detection occasion, a detection time, or a monitoring time; in some embodiments, the monitoring occasion can occupy one symbol in a time slot, or a plurality of symbols, which are not limited in the present application.

[0147] The preset time period can refer to the time period configured or indicated by the network device for the terminal device to detect the downlink control channel; in the preset time period, there are a plurality of (i.e., at least two) monitoring occasions (or a plurality of detection occasions), and each monitoring occasion can have a downlink control channel (such as a PDCCH); in addition, the number and position of the plurality of monitoring occasions are usually signaled to the terminal device by the network device, and in general cases, the terminal device can obtain the number of monitoring occasions in the preset time period through a search space set configured by the network device, which defines the time position of the periodic occurrence of the monitoring occasion, wherein the monitoring occasion in the preset time period is the monitoring occasion that the terminal device needs to detect the PDCCH in the preset time period; in the preset time period, the terminal device attempts to detect the downlink control channel in the plurality of monitoring occasions to ensure that the terminal device can receive the DCI (such as scheduling information, power control commands, etc.) at the correct time.

[0148] Step 802: When the first downlink control channel is detected in the target monitoring occasion, the terminal device stops detecting the downlink control channel in the remaining monitoring occasions in the preset time period.

[0149] The target monitoring occasion is one of the multiple monitoring occasions; generally, the network device does not schedule the terminal device to receive downlink data multiple times in a preset time period (such as a single time slot); therefore, if the terminal device detects the downlink control channel in a monitoring occasion of the preset time period, the terminal device can stop detecting the downlink control channel in other monitoring occasions in the preset time period, that is, the terminal device does not need to detect the search space set of the monitoring occasions other than the target monitoring occasion, thereby reducing the number of times of blind detection of the downlink control channel by the terminal device and saving the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0150] For example, as shown in FIG. 9, there can be multiple monitoring occasions in a time slot 1; if the terminal device detects the PDCCH from the four monitoring occasions of symbol 0, symbol 3, symbol 6, and symbol 10 in the time slot 1; if the terminal device detects the PDCCH in symbol 3 and the PDCCH schedules symbol 4 and symbol 5 for sending the PDSCH, the terminal device stops detecting the PDCCH in other monitoring occasions of the time slot 1, so as to reduce the number of times of blind detection of the PDCCH and save the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0151] In another implementation, the preset time period is counted from the symbol in which the terminal device detects the PDCCH, for example, the length of the preset time period is 1 time slot (or 14 symbols); if the terminal device detects the PDCCH in symbol 3 of the time slot 1 and the PDCCH schedules symbol 4 and symbol 5 for sending the PDSCH, the terminal device stops detecting the PDCCH in the remaining other monitoring occasions of the time slot 1 and also stops detecting the PDCCH in symbols 0-2 of the time slot 2, so as to reduce the number of times of blind detection of the PDCCH and save the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0152] As can be seen, when the terminal device detects the first downlink control channel in multiple monitoring occasions, if the first downlink control channel is successfully detected in a preset time period, the terminal device stops detecting the downlink control channel in the remaining frequency domain positions in the preset time period; this reduces unnecessary detection of the downlink control channel in the preset time period, which is not only conducive to reducing the time delay of data transmission, but also reduces the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0153] The method 500 and the method 800 are introduced above, and a communication method 1000 is introduced below, which can also reduce the power consumption of the terminal device. Before introducing the method 1000, the execution subject of the method 1000 is briefly described. The terminal device (or the network device) involved in the method 1000 can also be a chip, a chip system, or a processor applied to the terminal device (or the network device), or can be a logic node, a logic module, or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the terminal device (or the network device). For example, the network device can be the RAN node 110 in FIG. 2; the terminal device can be the terminal 120 in FIG. 2.

[0154] The following embodiments are described taking the terminal device (such as a UE) and the network device (such as a base station) as examples for the execution subject of the communication method 1000. The method 1000 includes the following steps:

[0155] Step 1001: The terminal device detects a first downlink control channel at a first time, determines a first aggregation level, and the first aggregation level is an aggregation level used by the first downlink control channel.

[0156] The first time can be understood as the time when the terminal device detects the first downlink control channel for the first time within a certain period of time.

[0157] The first downlink control channel (second downlink control channel) can be a first PDCCH (or a second PDCCH), or other forms of downlink control channels, which are not limited in the present application.

[0158] In the process of receiving the downlink control channel (such as a PDCCH), the network device can use different aggregation levels to transmit the downlink control channel according to the current channel environment and other factors; the higher the aggregation level, the more resources (such as the number of REs) used to ensure higher coding gain and more reliable transmission; on the contrary, the lower the aggregation level, the fewer resources (such as the number of REs) used, the transmission efficiency is high, and the resource occupation is less.

[0159] For the terminal side, in some embodiments, the terminal device can determine the aggregation level (such as the first aggregation level) used by the first downlink control channel by blind detection of multiple aggregation levels at the first time.

[0160] Step 1002: The terminal device detects a second downlink control channel according to the first aggregation level at a second time, the second time is later than the first time, and the interval between the second time and the first time is less than or equal to the first time interval.

[0161] The second time can be understood as the time when the terminal device detects the second downlink control channel for the second time within a certain period of time.

[0162] In some scenarios, since the channel conditions of the network device and the terminal device generally do not change in a short time (such as in the same time slot or a plurality of continuous time slots), the aggregation level of the PDCCH can also be generally maintained unchanged. Therefore, when the terminal device determines the aggregation level (such as the first aggregation level) used by the first downlink control channel at the first time, the terminal device can directly detect the second downlink control channel based on the first aggregation level when detecting the second downlink control channel at the second time, without re-performing blind detection in all aggregation levels. In this way, the detection efficiency can be improved, and the power consumption of the terminal device can be reduced. From the perspective of the network device, in the case that the channel quality is relatively stable, the same aggregation level as the previous one is used to transmit the downlink control channel, which is beneficial to the terminal device to quickly and accurately detect the downlink control channel, so as to respond to the control instruction of the network device more quickly, and thus the overall response speed of the communication system is improved.

[0163] In some embodiments, step 1002 can also be implemented by step 021 and step 022.

[0164] Step 021: The terminal device determines at least one aggregation level from the plurality of aggregation levels according to the first aggregation level, the number of the at least one aggregation level is less than the number of the plurality of aggregation levels, and the at least one aggregation level includes the first aggregation level.

[0165] The plurality of aggregation levels include, but are not limited to, aggregation level 1, aggregation level 2, aggregation level 4, aggregation level 8, and aggregation level 16; and the at least one aggregation level is part of the plurality of aggregation levels, such as aggregation level 4 and aggregation level 8.

[0166] It should be noted that when determining the at least one aggregation level, the terminal device needs to determine from the plurality of aggregation levels according to the first aggregation level; generally, the at least one aggregation level includes the first aggregation level; for example, the plurality of aggregation levels include aggregation level 1, aggregation level 2, aggregation level 4, aggregation level 8, and aggregation level 16; the first aggregation level is aggregation level 4; the terminal device can determine that the at least one aggregation level is aggregation level 4 and aggregation level 8, or the at least one aggregation level is aggregation level 2, aggregation level 4, and aggregation level 8, or the at least one aggregation level is aggregation level 2 and aggregation level 4.

[0167] For another example, the terminal device determines that the first aggregation level of the first downlink control channel is aggregation level 8 at the first time; the terminal device can determine that the at least one aggregation level that the second downlink control channel can use at the second time includes aggregation level 4, aggregation level 8 and aggregation level 16 according to the aggregation level 8; in other words, considering that the network device can use the same or similar aggregation level as the previous one (such as floating N levels up and down on the basis of the previous aggregation level, N is a positive integer) in the case of relatively stable channel quality, that is, the terminal device can use the at least one aggregation level including the first aggregation level to detect the PDCCH when detecting the second downlink control channel at the second time after determining the first aggregation level at the first time.

[0168] Step 022: At the second time, the terminal device detects the second downlink control channel according to the at least one aggregation level.

[0169] According to the description of step 021, in the case of relatively stable channel quality, the network device can use the same or similar aggregation level as the previous one (such as floating N levels up and down on the basis of the previous aggregation level, N is a positive integer), that is, the terminal device can use the at least one aggregation level including the first aggregation level to detect the PDCCH when detecting the second downlink control channel at the second time after determining the first aggregation level at the first time.

[0170] For example, as shown in FIG. 11, there is a PDCCH on symbol 0, symbol 3, symbol 6, symbol 9 and symbol 12 in the time slot X; if the terminal device detects that the aggregation level of the first PDCCH is AL 8 at the first time (such as symbol 0), AL 8 can be used when detecting the second PDCCH at the second time (such as symbol 3), or AL (such as AL 4 and AL 16) including AL 8 and its vicinity can be used; for another example, if the terminal device detects that the aggregation level of the first PDCCH is AL 8 at the first time (such as symbol 0), AL 8 and AL 16 can be used when detecting the second PDCCH at the second time (such as symbol 6).

[0171] Therefore, in some specific scenarios (such as a scenario in which channel quality is relatively stable), when the network device schedules the downlink control channel multiple times in a short time, the aggregation level of the downlink control channel is usually flexibly adjusted within a small range. By limiting the floating range of the aggregation level of the downlink control channel, the terminal device can focus on this aggregation level range when detecting the downlink control channel, without detecting all possible aggregation levels. This detection method not only reduces the number of blind detections of the terminal device, but also improves detection efficiency and reduces power consumption of the terminal. For example, if the terminal device first detects the aggregation level of the downlink control channel (such as the terminal device detecting the first downlink control channel at the first time) to be the first aggregation level, considering the stability of the channel quality in a short time, the terminal device can detect within a limited set of the first aggregation level and adjacent aggregation levels in subsequent detection (such as the detection of the second downlink control channel performed at the second time), without detecting all possible aggregation levels.

[0172] The above describes the method examples provided by the embodiments of the present application in detail. It can be understood that the corresponding apparatus includes the corresponding hardware structure and / or software module for implementing the above functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed in the present application can be realized in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is implemented in hardware or computer software driven hardware 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.

[0173] As shown in FIG. 12, the present application provides a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus 1200. In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus 1200 can be a network device (or a terminal device), can be a module (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) applied in the network device (or the terminal device) for execution, and can also be a logic node, a logic module, or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the network device (or the terminal device).

[0174] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus 1200 can be a chip or a chip system. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include the chip and other discrete devices. When the communication apparatus 1200 is a chip, the chip includes a transceiver and a processing unit. The transceiver can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processing unit is a processor or a microprocessor integrated on the chip or an integrated circuit or a logic circuit. Optionally, the device for implementing the receiving function in the transceiver can be regarded as a receiving unit corresponding to the input circuit of the chip; the device for implementing the sending function in the transceiver can be regarded as a sending unit corresponding to the output circuit of the chip, that is, the transceiver includes the receiving unit and the sending unit.

[0175] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus 1200 described above can include a processor 1210 and an interface circuit 1220. The processor 1210 and the interface circuit 1220 communicate with each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1220 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface, where the transceiver includes a transmitter and / or a receiver, the transmitter is used to implement the sending function, and the receiver is used to implement the receiving function.

[0176] Optionally, the communication apparatus 1200 can further include a memory 1230, where the memory 1230 communicates with the processor 1210 and the interface circuit 1220 through internal connection paths. The memory 1230 is used to store computer programs and instructions, and the processor 1210 can execute the computer programs and instructions stored in the memory 1230.

[0177] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus 1200 is used to implement the respective processes and operations of the network device (or the terminal device) in the above method.

[0178] It should be understood that the communication apparatus 1200 can be specifically the network device (or the terminal device) in the above method, or can be a chip or a chip system. Correspondingly, the interface circuit 1220 can be the transceiver circuit of the chip, which is not limited here. Specifically, the communication apparatus 1200 can be used to execute the respective operations and / or processes of the network device (or the terminal device) in the above method embodiment. Optionally, the memory 1230 can include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provide instructions and data for the processor. Part of the memory can also include a non-volatile random access memory. For example, the memory can also store device type information. The processor 1210 can be used to execute the instructions stored in the memory, and when the processor 1210 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 1210 is used to execute the respective operations and / or processes of the network device (or the terminal device) in the above method.

[0179] In the implementation process, the operations of the above method can be completed by the integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or the instructions in the form of software. The operations of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as hardware processor execution completion, or execution completion by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module can be located in a mature storage medium in the art such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory, and combines the hardware to complete the operations of the above method. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0180] It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capability. In the implementation process, the operations of the above method embodiments can be completed by the integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or the instructions in the form of software. The processor mentioned above can be a general processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component. The disclosed methods, operations and logic block diagrams in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor. The operations of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as hardware decoding processor execution completion, or execution completion by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a mature storage medium in the art such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory, and combines the hardware to complete the operations of the above method.

[0181] It is to be appreciated that the memory in the embodiments of the application can be a volatile or non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically EPROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as external cache. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, for example, static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It is to be appreciated that the memory described herein is intended to include, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0182] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the application, the application further provides a computer program product, which comprises computer program code, and when the computer program code is run on a computer, the computer is caused to perform each operation or process performed by the network device (or the terminal device) in the above method.

[0183] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the application, the application further provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores program code, and when the program code is run on a computer, the computer is caused to perform each operation or process performed by the network device (or the terminal device) in the above method.

[0184] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the application, the application further provides a communication system, which comprises one or more network devices in the above method, and / or one or more terminal devices in the above method.

[0185] Correspondingly, the operations performed by the respective modules or units in the various apparatus embodiments and the method embodiments are performed by the corresponding modules or units, for example, the communication unit (transceiver) performs the operations of receiving or transmitting in the method embodiments, and other operations in addition to transmitting and receiving can be performed by the processing unit (processor). The functions of the specific units can be based on the corresponding method embodiments. The processor can be one or more.

[0186] In the embodiments of the present application, each term and English abbreviation is an exemplary example given for the convenience of description, and should not constitute any limitation on the present application. The present application does not exclude the possibility of defining other terms capable of achieving the same or similar functions in existing or future protocols.

[0187] It should be understood that "and / or" in this paper describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents that the associated objects before and after it are in an "or" relationship.

[0188] Those of ordinary skill in the art can realize that the various illustrative logical blocks and operations described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals 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.

[0189] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the above-described system, device and unit can be based on the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0190] In several embodiments provided by 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 apparatus 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 shown or discussed mutual ones can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0191] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, i.e. may be located in one place, or may be distributed on multiple network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment scheme.

[0192] In addition, the functional units in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present separately, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0193] In the above embodiments, the functions of each functional unit can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof, in whole or in part. When implemented by software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions (programs). When the computer program instructions (programs) are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transferred from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.)) way. 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, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (for example, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical media (for example, DVD), or semiconductor media (for example, solid state disk (SSD) and the like.

[0194] 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 or the parts that make contributions essentially or the parts of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of software products. 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 perform all or part of the operations 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.

[0195] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: receiving first information, the first information being used to determine a plurality of frequency domain positions, the plurality of frequency domain positions comprising the first frequency domain position; detecting a downlink control channel in the first frequency domain position.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first information comprises a number of the plurality of frequency domain positions and a bandwidth length of each of the plurality of frequency domain positions.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first information comprises a starting position and a bandwidth length of each of the plurality of frequency domain positions, or the first information comprises a starting position and an ending position of each of the plurality of frequency domain positions.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The plurality of frequency domain positions are discontinuously distributed in the frequency domain.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The plurality of frequency domain positions are continuously distributed in the frequency domain.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving the downlink control channel in the first frequency domain position; receiving a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) according to scheduling of the downlink control channel, the PDSCH having a time interval greater than or equal to a preset time from the downlink control channel, the preset time being a positive integer.

7. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: determining first information, the first information being used to configure a plurality of frequency domain positions, the plurality of frequency domain positions comprising a first frequency domain position, the first frequency domain position being used to transmit a downlink control channel; sending the first information.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The first information comprises a number of the plurality of frequency domain positions and a bandwidth length of each of the plurality of frequency domain positions.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein, The first information comprises a starting position and a bandwidth length of each of the plurality of frequency domain positions, or the first information comprises a starting position and an ending position of each of the plurality of frequency domain positions.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that, The plurality of frequency domain positions are discontinuously distributed in the frequency domain.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that, The plurality of frequency domain positions are continuously distributed in the frequency domain.

12. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 11, characterized in that, The method further comprises: sending the downlink control channel in the first frequency domain position; sending a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) according to scheduling of the downlink control channel, the PDSCH having a time interval greater than or equal to a preset time from the downlink control channel, the preset time being a positive integer.

13. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: detecting a first downlink control channel in a plurality of monitoring occasions in a preset period, the plurality of monitoring occasions comprising at least two monitoring occasions used to transmit a downlink control channel; when the first downlink control channel is detected in a target monitoring occasion, stopping detecting a downlink control channel in remaining monitoring occasions in the preset period.

14. A communication method, comprising: The method comprises: detecting a first downlink control channel at a first time, determining a first aggregation level, the first aggregation level being an aggregation level used by the first downlink control channel; detecting a second downlink control channel according to the first aggregation level at a second time, the second time being later than the first time, and an interval between the second time and the first time being less than or equal to a first time interval.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The detecting a second downlink control channel according to the first aggregation level at a second time comprises: determining at least one aggregation level from the plurality of aggregation levels according to the first aggregation level, a number of the at least one aggregation level being less than a number of the plurality of aggregation levels, and the at least one aggregation level comprising the first aggregation level; At the second time, the second downlink control channel is detected according to the at least one aggregation level.

16. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises at least one processor; The at least one processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions in a memory, when the computer program or instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the communication device implements the method of any one of claims 1 to 6, or the communication device implements the method of any one of claims 7 to 12, or the communication device implements the method of claim 13, or the communication device implements the method of any one of claims 14 to 15.

17. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium stores a computer program, when the computer program is executed by at least one processor, the at least one processor executes the method of any one of claims 1 to 6, or the at least one processor executes the method of any one of claims 7 to 12, or the at least one processor executes the method of claim 13, or the at least one processor executes the method of any one of claims 14 to 15.

18. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises computer program code, when the computer program code is executed by at least one processor, the at least one processor executes the method of any one of claims 1 to 6, or the at least one processor executes the method of any one of claims 7 to 12, or the at least one processor executes the method of claim 13, or the at least one processor executes the method of any one of claims 14 to 15.

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