Communication method and apparatus, and storage medium and computer program product

Abstract

Provided are a communication method and apparatus, and a storage medium and a computer program product. The method comprises: in response to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetition condition being satisfied, monitoring a PDCCH at N PDCCH monitoring occasions associated with a synchronization signal block (SSB), wherein the signal quality of the SSB is greater than or equal to a threshold value, and N is a positive integer greater than 1.

Description

Communication methods and devices, storage media and computer program products

[0001] This disclosure claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202411547489.4, filed on October 31, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus, storage medium and computer program product. Background Technology

[0003] As human demand for communication coverage continues to increase, the coverage of various physical channels in current mobile communication systems needs further enhancement. For example, in non-terrestrial networks (NTN) communication systems, satellites can provide a large coverage area. However, due to the long distance between satellites and terminal devices, path loss is significant, and satellite capabilities are limited (e.g., limited satellite transmission power, limited satellite antenna area, etc.). Therefore, the physical signal or physical signal between terminal devices and satellites needs coverage enhancement to ensure reliable communication between them. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method, the method comprising: in response to the fulfillment of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetition condition, listening to a PDCCH at N PDCCH listening times associated with a synchronization signal block (SSB), wherein the signal quality of the SSB is greater than or equal to a threshold, and N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0005] In some embodiments, the N PDCCH listening times are used to receive N repeated transmissions of the first downlink control information, which is used to schedule system information block SIB1.

[0006] In some embodiments, the N PDCCH listening times are located on N time slots, and the different PDCCH listening times are located in different time slots.

[0007] In some embodiments, the index of the first time slot among the N time slots is determined according to the index of the SSB, and the interval between two adjacent time slots among the N time slots is m time slots, where m is a natural number.

[0008] In some embodiments, the N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB are located in the same time slot, and the time slot where the N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB are located is determined at least according to the index of the SSB.

[0009] In some embodiments, the slot number n0 of the time slot where the N PDCCH monitoring opportunities associated with the SSB are located is determined by the following formula: Where O is the group offset, μ is the subcarrier spacing, i is the index of the SSB, and M is the scaling factor. This represents the number of time slots contained in a single system frame when the subcarrier spacing is μ.

[0010] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a row index; wherein the starting symbol value of the N PDCCH listening times is determined based on the row index in at least one parameter configuration table, the parameter configuration table being used to configure the PDCCH listening times.

[0011] In some embodiments, the at least one parameter configuration table includes a first parameter configuration table, each row of the first parameter configuration table including N start symbol values; wherein, the start symbol values ​​of the N PDCCH listening times are the N start symbol values ​​corresponding to the row index in the first parameter configuration table.

[0012] In some embodiments, the number of parameter configuration tables is multiple, and the method further includes: receiving second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate the parameter configuration table applied to the current cell in the multiple parameter configuration tables.

[0013] In some embodiments, the second indication information satisfies at least one of the following: the second indication information is carried in the main information block (MIB); or, the second indication information is carried in physical layer bits in the main information block (MIB). Alternatively, the second indication information is carried in physical layer bits within the MIB.

[0014] In some embodiments, the at least one parameter configuration table includes N parameter configuration tables, which are related, wherein each row in each of the N parameter configuration tables contains a single start symbol value; wherein the start symbol value of the N PDCCH listening times is the start symbol value corresponding to the row index in the N related parameter configuration tables.

[0015] In some embodiments, the PDCCH repetition condition includes receiving a third indication message, which is used to enable the association between N parameter configuration tables.

[0016] In some embodiments, the third indication information satisfies at least one of the following: the third indication information is carried in the MIB; or, the third indication information is carried in the physical layer bit half-frame-index in the MIB; or, the third indication information is carried in the physical layer bit in the MIB. Alternatively, the third indication information is carried in physical layer bits within the MIB.

[0017] In some embodiments, the at least one parameter configuration table includes a second parameter configuration table, each row of the second parameter configuration table including a single start symbol value, and the method further includes: in response to the PDCCH repetition condition not being met, listening to a PDCCH at a single PDCCH listening time associated with the SSB, wherein the start symbol value of the single PDCCH listening time is the start symbol value corresponding to the row index in the second parameter configuration table.

[0018] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a row index; wherein the starting symbol value of the N PDCCH listening opportunities is determined based on the starting symbol value of a reference PDCCH listening opportunity among the N PDCCH listening opportunities and a symbol interval, wherein the symbol interval refers to the symbol interval between two adjacent PDCCH listening opportunities among the N PDCCH listening opportunities, and the starting symbol value of the reference PDCCH listening opportunity is determined based on the row index in a second parameter configuration table, wherein each row in the second parameter configuration table includes a single starting symbol value.

[0019] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used to indicate the symbol interval.

[0020] In some embodiments, the fourth indication information satisfies at least one of the following: the fourth indication information is carried in the MIB; or, the fourth indication information is carried in the physical layer bit half-frame-index in the MIB; or, the fourth indication information is carried in the physical layer bit in the MIB. Alternatively, the fourth indication information is carried in physical layer bits within the MIB.

[0021] In some embodiments, the PDCCH repetition condition satisfies at least one of the following: the frequency band of the current cell belongs to the first frequency band; or, a fifth indication information is received, the fifth indication information being used to indicate repetition of the first downlink control information; or, a sixth indication information is not received, the sixth indication information being used to indicate that the first downlink control information is not repetition.

[0022] In some embodiments, the fifth indication information is carried in the MIB; and / or, the fifth indication information is carried in the physical layer bit half-frame-index in the MIB; and / or, the fifth indication information is carried in the physical layer bit in the MIB. And / or, the fifth indication information is carried in physical layer bits in the MIB. And / or, the sixth indication information is carried in the MIB; and / or, the sixth indication information is carried in the physical layer bit half-frame-index in the MIB; and / or, the sixth indication information is carried in the physical layer bit in the MIB. And / or, the sixth indication information is carried in physical layer bits in the MIB.

[0023] In a second aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method, the method comprising: repeatedly transmitting first downlink control information at N PDCCH listening times associated with a synchronization signal block SSB, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0024] In some embodiments, the N PDCCH listening times are located on N time slots, and the different PDCCH listening times are located in different time slots.

[0025] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a row index; sending second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate at least one parameter configuration table applied to the current cell; wherein the row index is used to determine the starting symbol value of the N PDCCH listening times in the parameter configuration table applied to the current cell.

[0026] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a row index; sending third indication information, the third indication information being used to enable the association relationship between N parameter configuration tables; wherein the starting symbol value of the N PDCCH listening times is the starting symbol value corresponding to the row index in the N parameter configuration tables with association relationships.

[0027] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a row index, the row index being used to determine the starting symbol value of a reference PDCCH listening time among the N PDCCH listening times; and sending fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used to indicate a symbol interval, the symbol interval being the symbol interval between two adjacent PDCCH listening times among the N PDCCH listening times.

[0028] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a fifth indication message, the fifth indication message being used to indicate repeated transmission of the first downlink control information.

[0029] Thirdly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device, the device comprising: a communication module, configured to listen to the PDCCH at N PDCCH listening times associated with the Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) in response to the PDCCH repetition condition being met, wherein the signal quality of the SSB is greater than or equal to a threshold, and N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0030] Fourthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device. The device includes: a communication module, configured to repeatedly transmit first downlink control information at N PDCCH monitoring times associated with a synchronization signal block (SSB), where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0031] Fifthly, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program, when executed by a computer, performs the communication method provided in the first or second aspect.

[0032] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a communication device, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program executable on the processor, and the processor executes the communication method provided in the first aspect when running the computer program.

[0033] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a communication device, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program executable on the processor, and the processor executes the communication method provided in the second aspect above when running the computer program.

[0034] Eighthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a chip (or communication device) storing a computer program, which, when executed by the chip, causes the communication method provided in the first or second aspect to be executed.

[0035] Ninthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a chip module on which a computer program is stored, such that when the computer program is executed by the chip module, the communication method provided in the first or second aspect is executed.

[0036] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a computer program product, the computer program product including a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the communication method provided in the first or second aspect described above.

[0037] Eleventhly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication system, the communication system including means for performing the communication method provided in the first aspect and means for performing the communication method provided in the second aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0038] Figure 1 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to some embodiments.

[0039] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to some embodiments.

[0040] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to some embodiments.

[0041] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to some embodiments.

[0042] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to some embodiments.

[0043] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to some embodiments.

[0044] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to some embodiments.

[0045] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to some embodiments.

[0046] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of another communication device according to some embodiments.

[0047] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device according to some embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0048] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this disclosure, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this disclosure without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0049] Unless the context otherwise requires, throughout the specification and claims, the term "comprise" and other forms such as the third-person singular "comprises" and the present participle "comprising" are interpreted as open-ended and encompassing, meaning "including, but not limited to." In the description of the specification, terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "exemplary embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples" are intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic associated with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this disclosure. The illustrative representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics mentioned may be included in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

[0050] It should be understood that the "and / or" appearing in the embodiments of this disclosure is merely a description of the association relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: only A, A and B, and only B. In addition, the character " / " in this document indicates that the related objects before and after it have an "or" relationship.

[0051] In this disclosure, "at least one" refers to one or more. In this disclosure, "multiple" refers to two or more.

[0052] The descriptions of "first," "second," etc., appearing in the embodiments of this disclosure are for illustrative purposes and to distinguish the objects being described. They have no order and do not indicate any particular limitation on the number of devices in the embodiments of this disclosure, nor do they constitute any limitation on the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0053] In addition, the use of “based on” implies openness and inclusivity, because processes, steps, calculations or other actions “based on” one or more of the stated conditions or values ​​may in practice be based on additional conditions or values ​​beyond those stated.

[0054] The communication systems applicable to the embodiments of this disclosure include, but are not limited to, long-term evolution (LTE) systems, 5th-generation (5G) systems (such as New Radio (NR) systems), and future evolution systems or multiple converged communication systems. The 5G system can be a non-standalone (NSA) 5G system or a standalone (SA) 5G system. The solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure can also be applied to future new communication systems, such as 6th-generation (6G) communication systems.

[0055] This disclosure primarily relates to communication between terminal devices and network devices. The network device can be a network device in non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication or a network device in a terrestrial network communication system.

[0056] In this disclosure, "terminal equipment" can refer to user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device, etc. For example, terminal equipment can be a cellular phone, cordless phone, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle device, wearable device, terminal in a 5G network, or terminal equipment in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), etc. This disclosure does not limit the scope of the application. In some embodiments of this disclosure, the terminal equipment can be an electronic device with wireless data transmission capabilities. In other embodiments of this disclosure, the terminal equipment can also be a device with transceiver capabilities, such as a chip system. A chip system can include chips and other discrete components.

[0057] The network device in this disclosure can refer to a device that provides wireless communication functions for terminal devices. The network device can be called an access network device, such as a radio access network (RAN) device or an access network element. The network device can support at least one wireless communication technology, such as LTE or NR. For example, the network device can be a base station (BS) (also called a base station device), a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), or a device providing base station functions in a 5G network, such as a next-generation node B (gNB) and a further evolved Node B (ng-eNB). The gNB communicates with the terminal device using NR technology, and the ng-eNB communicates with the terminal device using Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) technology. Both the gNB and ng-eNB can connect to the 5G core network. In wireless local area networks (WLANs), the device providing base station functions is called an access point (AP). The network device in this disclosure also includes devices that provide wireless communication functionality in future new communication systems. In some embodiments, the network device may also be a means of providing wireless communication functionality for terminal devices, such as a chip system. For example, a chip system may include a chip, and may also include other discrete devices.

[0058] In some embodiments, network equipment may refer to a centralized unit (CU) of a base station, or a distributed unit (DU) of a base station, or a CU control plane (CU-CP) of a base station, or a DU user plane (DU-UP) of a base station, etc.

[0059] As described in the background section, the coverage of the physical channels transmitted by network devices in mobile communication systems needs to be enhanced. Since the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) is used to carry control signaling, enhancing the coverage of the PDCCH is particularly important for ensuring communication quality.

[0060] In view of this, this disclosure provides a communication method. In the scheme of this disclosure embodiment, the terminal device determines whether the PDCCH repetition condition is met. If the PDCCH repetition condition is met, the terminal device listens to the PDCCH at N PDCCH listening times associated with the Synchronization Signal Block (SSB). The SSB is an SSB with signal quality greater than or equal to a threshold, and N is a positive integer greater than 1. The network device can perform repeated transmission at N PDCCH listening times, and the terminal device can repeatedly receive the same downlink control information N times at N PDCCH listening times. The received N identical downlink control information are then merged and decoded to improve the decoding reliability of the downlink control information, thereby achieving PDCCH coverage enhancement.

[0061] The embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments, the actions performed by the network device can be executed by the network device, devices within the network device (e.g., processors, chips), chips, etc., and the actions performed by the terminal device can be executed by the terminal device, devices within the terminal device (e.g., processors, chips), chips, etc., and this disclosure does not impose any limitations. For ease of description, the embodiments provided in this disclosure will be illustrated using network devices and terminal devices as examples of the executing entities.

[0062] Example 1

[0063] Referring to FIG1, FIG1 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to some embodiments. As shown in FIG1, the method shown in FIG1 includes S11, S12 and S13.

[0064] S11, The terminal device determines the SSB;

[0065] S12, the terminal device determines the time slots where the N PDCCH listening opportunities are located based on the index of the SSB at least. The N PDCCH listening opportunities are located in the same time slot, and N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0066] S13, the terminal device determines the listening time of N PDCCH associated with SSB.

[0067] In S11, the terminal device can measure multiple SSBs of the current cell to obtain the signal quality of the multiple SSBs. This current cell is the cell from which the terminal device receives System Information Block 1 (SIB1). Further, the terminal device can determine one SSB from the multiple SSBs based on the signal quality of each SSB. For example, the signal quality of the SSB determined by the terminal device is greater than or equal to a threshold.

[0068] In S12, the terminal device can determine the time slot number of the N PDCCH listening opportunities based on the SSB index determined in S11. In other words, the terminal device can determine the time slot where the PDCCH is repeatedly transmitted based on the SSB index.

[0069] In one implementation, the slot number n0 of the slot where the N PDCCH listening opportunities are located can be determined by equation (1):

[0070] O is the group offset, μ is the subcarrier spacing, i is the SSB index, and M is the scaling factor. This represents the number of time slots contained in a single system frame when the subcarrier spacing is μ.

[0071] In some implementations, the terminal device can first determine whether the PDCCH repetition condition is met. If the PDCCH repetition condition is met, the terminal device can determine that the PDCCH will be transmitted repeatedly. For example, if the PDCCH repetition condition is met, the terminal device can execute S12 to determine the time slots where the N PDCCH listening opportunities are located. If the PDCCH repetition condition is not met, the terminal device can determine that the PDCCH will not be transmitted repeatedly.

[0072] If the terminal device determines that the PDCCH repetition condition is not met, or if the terminal device determines that the PDCCH is not retransmitted, then the terminal device can use equation (2) to determine the time slot n0 where the PDCCH listening opportunity is located, and then use the single PDCCH listening opportunity in time slot n0 as the single listening opportunity associated with SSB.

[0073] O is the group offset, μ is the subcarrier spacing, i is the SSB index, and M is the scaling factor. This represents the number of time slots contained in a single system frame when the subcarrier spacing is μ.

[0074] One implementation of "listening to PDCCH during the N PDCCH listening times associated with SSB in response to the PDCCH repetition condition being met" is as follows: upon receiving the fifth indication information, which indicates that PDCCH should be retransmitted, the PDCCH should be listened to during the N PDCCH listening times associated with SSB.

[0075] In some implementations, the fifth indication information may be carried in the Master Information Block (MIB), but this disclosure is not limited thereto. Exemplarily, the fifth indication information may be carried in the physical layer bit half-frame-index or physical layer bit within the MIB. and physical layer bits At least one of them.

[0076] Another implementation of "listening to the PDCCH during the N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB in response to the PDCCH repetition condition being met" is as follows: If the sixth indication information, which indicates that the first downlink control information should not be retransmitted, is not received, then the PDCCH will be listened to during the N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB. In other words, if the terminal device receives the sixth indication information, the terminal device can listen to the PDCCH during a single PDCCH listening time associated with the SSB. The sixth indication information can be used to indicate that the PDCCH transmission is a single transmission. In other words, the sixth indication information can be used to indicate that the repetition of PDCCH transmission is disabled.

[0077] In some implementations, the sixth indication information can be carried in the MIB. For example, the sixth indication information can be carried in the physical layer bit half-frame-index or physical layer bit within the MIB. and physical layer bits At least one of them.

[0078] In one example, the physical layer bit half-frame-index in the MIB is set to 1, indicating that the PDCCH is transmitted repeatedly. The physical layer bit half-frame-index in the MIB is set to 0, indicating that the PDCCH is not transmitted repeatedly.

[0079] In another example, physical layer bits in the MIB A value of 1 indicates that the PDCCH is transmitted repeatedly. Physical layer bits in the MIB. A value of 0 indicates that the PDCCH is not transmitted repeatedly.

[0080] In yet another example, physical layer bits in the MIB A value of 1 indicates that the PDCCH is transmitted repeatedly. Physical layer bits in the MIB. A value of 0 indicates that the PDCCH is not transmitted repeatedly.

[0081] In S13, the listening times of N PDCCH associated with SSB can be determined in the time slot determined in S12.

[0082] In the scheme of this embodiment, the N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB are used to receive N repeated transmissions of the first downlink control information. In other words, the first downlink control information transmitted in the N PDCCH listening times is the same information.

[0083] For example, N=2. For instance, the two PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB are PDCCH listening time 1 and PDCCH listening time 2, and the first downlink control information transmitted in PDCCH listening time 1 and the first downlink control information transmitted in PDCCH listening time 2 are the same.

[0084] The first downlink control information can be information carried on the PDCCH in existing communication protocols. For example, the first downlink control information can be information used to schedule System Information Block 1 (SIB1). It should be noted that the first downlink control information can also be information carried on the PDCCH in future communication protocols, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0085] In the scheme of Embodiment 1, each time slot may include N search space sets, that is, each time slot contains N PDCCH listening opportunities. In other words, M = 1 / N, where M represents the scaling factor. In S13, the terminal device can use all the PDCCH listening opportunities in the time slots determined in S12 as PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB, thereby obtaining N PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB. That is to say, in the scheme of Embodiment 1, multiple PDCCH listening opportunities in the same time slot are associated with the same SSB, and multiple PDCCH listening opportunities in the same time slot are used for repeated PDCCH transmission, rather than different PDCCH listening opportunities in the same time slot being associated with different SSBs.

[0086] It should be noted that "PDCCH repeated transmission" in this article can be understood as "repeated transmission of the first downlink control information".

[0087] It should also be noted that after determining the time slots where the N PDCCH listening opportunities are located in S12, some techniques can be used to determine the PDCCH listening opportunity located in that time slot, and this disclosure embodiment does not limit this.

[0088] As described above, in the scheme of Embodiment 1, each time slot contains N PDCCH listening opportunities. If the PDCCH repetition condition is met, the terminal device determines an SSB and a time slot based on the index of the SSB. Then, the N PDCCH listening opportunities in that time slot are considered as the N PDCCH listening opportunities associated with that SSB. That is, in the scheme of Embodiment 1, the N PDCCH listening opportunities in the same time slot are used for N repeated transmissions of PDCCH. The terminal device receives the first downlink control information transmitted N times repeatedly on multiple PDCCH listening opportunities in a single time slot and performs merging and decoding, thereby achieving PDCCH coverage enhancement.

[0089] For more details on Embodiment 1, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments in this document, which will not be repeated here.

[0090] Example 2

[0091] Referring to Figure 2, which is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to some embodiments, the method shown in Figure 2 includes steps S21, S22, and S23.

[0092] S21, The terminal device determines the SSB;

[0093] S22, The terminal device determines N consecutive time slots;

[0094] S23, the terminal device determines the N PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB in N consecutive time slots. The N PDCCH listening opportunities are located in N time slots respectively, and the time slots of different PDCCH listening opportunities are different.

[0095] For details regarding S21, please refer to the above description of S11; it will not be repeated here.

[0096] In S22, the terminal device can determine the first time slot at least according to the index of the SSB determined in S11. For example, the terminal device can determine the time slot number n0 of the first time slot according to equation (2) above.

[0097] Furthermore, the terminal device can determine N consecutive time slots starting from the first time slot as the time slots where the PDCCH listening opportunity occurs. That is, the first time slot among the N consecutive time slots is the first time slot. Thus, in S22, the terminal device can determine N consecutive time slots. Each time slot among the N consecutive time slots contains a single PDCCH listening opportunity. For example, if the time slot number of the first time slot is n0, then the time slot numbers of the (N-1) consecutive time slots after the first time slot are n0+1, n0+2, ..., n0+N-1, respectively. In other words, in the scheme of Embodiment 2, there is a 0-time-slot interval between any two adjacent time slots among the N time slots where the PDCCH listening opportunity occurs.

[0098] Furthermore, in S23, the terminal device determines the PDCCH listening time in each of the N consecutive time slots. The terminal device can use all the PDCCH listening times in the N consecutive time slots as the PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB.

[0099] In one example, N=2. One of the two PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB is located in the first time slot, and the other is located in the second time slot, which is the next time slot after the first time slot.

[0100] Before S22, the terminal device can first determine whether the PDCCH repetition condition is met. If the PDCCH repetition condition is met, the terminal device determines that the PDCCH will be retransmitted and determines the N PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB in N consecutive time slots (such as the first time slot and the second time slot). If the PDCCH repetition condition is not met, the terminal device determines that the PDCCH will not be retransmitted.

[0101] For details on determining whether the PDCCH repetition condition is met, please refer to the relevant descriptions in other embodiments of this document, which will not be repeated here.

[0102] It should be noted that in the scheme of this disclosure embodiment, after determining N consecutive time slots, some techniques can be used to determine the PDCCH listening time in each time slot, and this disclosure embodiment is not limited in this regard.

[0103] Therefore, in the scheme of Embodiment 2, the PDCCH listening time in multiple consecutive time slots is used for repeated transmission of PDCCH. The terminal device repeatedly receives the first downlink control information and performs merging and decoding during the PDCCH listening time in multiple consecutive time slots, thereby achieving PDCCH coverage enhancement.

[0104] For more details on Embodiment 2, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments in this document, which will not be repeated here.

[0105] Example 3

[0106] Referring to Figure 3, which is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to some embodiments, the method shown in Figure 3 includes steps S31, S32, and S33.

[0107] S31, The terminal device determines the SSB;

[0108] S32, The terminal device determines N time slots;

[0109] S33, the terminal device determines the N PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB in N time slots. The N PDCCH listening opportunities are located in N time slots respectively, and the time slots of different PDCCH listening opportunities are different.

[0110] For details regarding S31, please refer to the above description of S11; it will not be repeated here.

[0111] In S32, the terminal device can first determine the first time slot, and then determine (N-1) time slots sequentially based on the first time slot and the time slot interval. Details regarding the first time slot can be found in the description above and will not be repeated here.

[0112] In this embodiment of the disclosure, "slot interval" refers to the interval between the slots of two adjacent PDCCH listening opportunities out of N PDCCH listening opportunities. The slot interval can also be referred to as "slot offset". In some implementations, the detailed value of the slot offset can be defined by the protocol, or the detailed value of the slot offset can be configured by the network device.

[0113] For example, the first time slot could be the first time slot out of N time slots. In other words, the first time slot is the time slot containing the first PDCCH listening opportunity among the N PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB. Based on the first time slot and the time slot interval, the time slot containing the second PDCCH listening opportunity among the N PDCCH listening opportunities can be determined. Further, based on the time slot containing the second PDCCH listening opportunity among the N PDCCH listening opportunities and the time slot interval, the time slot containing the third PDCCH listening opportunity among the N PDCCH listening opportunities can be determined, and so on, until the N time slots containing the N PDCCH listening opportunities are determined.

[0114] Furthermore, each of the N time slots contains a single PDCCH listening opportunity. The terminal device can determine a PDCCH listening opportunity in the first time slot, which is the first PDCCH listening opportunity associated with the SSB. Furthermore, the terminal device can determine (N-1) PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB, excluding the first PDCCH listening opportunity, based on the time slot interval.

[0115] In one example, N=2, one of the two PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB is located in the first time slot, and the other is located in the third time slot. The time slot number of the first time slot is n0, then the time slot number of the third time slot is n0+m, or n0-mm, where m is a positive integer. Further, in S33, the terminal device can use both a PDCCH listening opportunity in the first time slot and a PDCCH listening opportunity in the third time slot as PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB.

[0116] Before S32, the terminal device can first determine whether the PDCCH repetition condition is met. If the PDCCH repetition condition is met, the terminal device determines the listening time of N PDCCH associated with the SSB in N time slots. If the PDCCH repetition condition is not met, the terminal device can determine that the PDCCH will not be transmitted repeatedly.

[0117] For details on determining whether the PDCCH repetition condition is met, please refer to the relevant descriptions in other embodiments of this document, which will not be repeated here.

[0118] It should be noted that, in the scheme of this disclosure embodiment, some techniques may be used to determine the PDCCH listening time in each time slot or some techniques may be used to determine the PDCCH listening time in the first time slot, and this disclosure embodiment is not limited in this respect.

[0119] Therefore, in the scheme of Embodiment 3, the PDCCH listening opportunities in multiple time slots are used for repeated PDCCH transmission. The terminal device determines N PDCCH listening opportunities for repeated PDCCH transmission based on the time slot interval. The terminal device repeatedly receives the first downlink control information and performs merging and decoding during the PDCCH listening opportunities in multiple time slots, thereby achieving PDCCH coverage enhancement.

[0120] For more details on Embodiment 3, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments in this document, which will not be repeated here.

[0121] Example 4

[0122] Referring to Figure 4, which is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to some embodiments, the method shown in Figure 4 includes steps S41, S42, S43, and S44.

[0123] S41, the terminal device determines the first time slot based on the index of the SSB.

[0124] S42, the network device sends first indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information from the network device, which can be used to indicate the row index.

[0125] S43, in response to the PDCCH repetition condition being met, the terminal device determines the starting symbol value for N PDCCH listening opportunities in the first parameter configuration table according to the row index.

[0126] It should be noted that the "starting symbol value" in this article refers to the value in the parameter configuration table used to determine the starting symbol position in the time slot when the PDCCH listening time occurs.

[0127] S44, the terminal device determines the N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB in the first time slot based on the N start symbol values ​​of the N PDCCH listening times.

[0128] In S41, the terminal device can first determine an SSB, and then determine the first time slot based on the index of that SSB. For details on determining the SSB, please refer to the relevant description of S11 above; it will not be repeated here.

[0129] Furthermore, the terminal device can determine the first time slot according to equation (2) above.

[0130] In S42, the network device indicates a row index to the terminal device. It should be noted that the execution order of S41 and S42 is not limited in this embodiment. S41 can be executed before S42, or S42 can be executed before S41, or S41 and S42 can be executed simultaneously.

[0131] In some implementations, the first indication information can be carried in the MIB. For example, the first indication information can be carried in the PDCCH configuration indication field (i.e., the pdcch-ConfigSIB1 field) in the MIB. The 4-bit value in the PDCCH configuration indication field is the row index indicated by the first indication information.

[0132] In S43, if the PDCCH repetition condition is met, the terminal device determines N start symbol values ​​based on the row index indicated by the first indication information and the first parameter configuration table. Furthermore, if the PDCCH repetition condition is not met, the terminal device determines a single start symbol value based on the row index indicated by the first indication information in the second parameter configuration table.

[0133] For example, both the first and second parameter configuration tables are parameter configuration tables. The parameter configuration tables in this document are used to configure the PDCCH listening timing. In the first parameter configuration table, each row contains N start symbol values. That is, each row index in the first parameter configuration table corresponds to N start symbol values. Based on a single row index, the terminal device can determine N start symbol values ​​in the first parameter configuration table. In the second parameter configuration table, each row contains a single start symbol value. That is, each row index in the first parameter configuration table corresponds to a single start symbol value. Based on a single row index, the terminal device can determine a single start symbol value in the second parameter configuration table.

[0134] Referring to Table 1, which shows a first parameter configuration table, each row in Table 1 contains two start symbol values. The first start symbol value (i.e., "start symbol value 1" in Table 1) corresponds to the start symbol value of the first PDCCH listening opportunity associated with the SSB, and the second start symbol value (i.e., "start symbol value 2" in Table 2) corresponds to the start symbol value of the second PDCCH listening opportunity associated with the SSB.

[0135] Table 1

[0136] This indicates the number of symbols occupied by the PDCCH listening time. X represents the symbol offset value, which refers to the number of symbols between the end symbol position of the first PDCCH listening time and the start symbol position of the second PDCCH listening time.

[0137] Referring to Table 2, which shows one type of second parameter configuration table.

[0138] Table 2

[0139] i represents the index of the SSB.

[0140] In the scheme of this embodiment, if the PDCCH repetition condition is met, the terminal device can determine N start symbol values ​​in the first parameter configuration table according to the row index indicated by the network. These N start symbol values ​​are used to determine the start symbol positions of the N PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB. That is, the N start symbol values ​​corresponding to the row index in the first parameter configuration table are the start symbol values ​​of the N PDCCH listening opportunities, and these N start symbol values ​​correspond to the start symbol values ​​of the N PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB. Each start symbol value can be used to determine the start symbol position of a single PDCCH listening opportunity within a time slot.

[0141] Referring to Table 1, for example, assuming the row index of the network indication is 2, the starting symbol values ​​for the two PDCCH listening opportunities can be: 0, Alternatively, the starting symbol values ​​for the two PDCCH listening times can be: 0, The starting symbol position of one of the two PDCCH listening opportunities is symbol 0 in the first time slot, and the starting symbol position of the other PDCCH listening opportunity is symbol 0 in the first time slot.

[0142] If the PDCCH repetition condition is not met, the terminal device can determine a single start symbol value in the second parameter configuration table based on the row index indicated by the network. That is, the single start symbol value corresponding to the row index in the second parameter configuration table is the start symbol value of the single PDCCH listening time associated with the SSB.

[0143] As one implementation method, network devices can indicate the parameter configuration table applied in the current cell to terminal devices.

[0144] For example, a network device can send a second indication message to a terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second indication message from the network device. The second indication message can be used to indicate the parameter configuration table applied to the current cell. If the second indication message indicates that the parameter configuration table applied to the current cell is the first parameter configuration table, it means that the PDCCH repetition condition is met, and the terminal device determines N start symbol values ​​in the first parameter configuration table according to the row index indicated by the network. If the second indication message indicates that the parameter configuration table applied to the current cell is the second parameter configuration table, it means that the PDCCH repetition condition is not met, and the terminal device determines a single start symbol value in the second parameter configuration table according to the row index indicated by the network.

[0145] In other words, one way to implement "listening to PDCCH during the N PDCCH listening times associated with SSB in response to the PDCCH repetition condition being met" is as follows: if a second indication information is received, indicating that the parameter configuration table applied by the current cell is the first parameter configuration table, then the PDCCH is listened to during the N PDCCH listening times associated with SSB.

[0146] In some implementations, the second indication information may be carried in the MIB. For example, the second indication information may be carried in the physical layer bit half-frame-index or physical layer bit within the MIB. and physical layer bits At least one of them.

[0147] In one example, the physical layer bit half-frame-index in the MIB is set to 1, indicating that the parameter configuration table applied to the current cell is the first parameter configuration table. A value of 0 for the physical layer bit half-frame-index in the MIB indicates that the parameter configuration table applied to the current cell is the second parameter configuration table.

[0148] In another example, physical layer bits in the MIB A value of 1 indicates that the parameter configuration table used by the current cell is the first parameter configuration table. Physical layer bits in the MIB. A value of 0 indicates that the parameter configuration table used by the current cell is the second parameter configuration table.

[0149] In yet another example, physical layer bits in the MIB A value of 1 indicates that the parameter configuration table used by the current cell is the first parameter configuration table. Physical layer bits in the MIB. A value of 0 indicates that the parameter configuration table used by the current cell is the second parameter configuration table.

[0150] As an alternative implementation, if the current cell's frequency band belongs to the first frequency band, then the PDCCH repetition condition is met, or the parameter configuration table applied by the current cell is the first parameter configuration table. If the current cell's frequency band does not belong to the first frequency band, then the PDCCH repetition condition is not met, or the parameter configuration table applied by the current cell is the second parameter configuration table. The first frequency band can be defined by the protocol or configured by the network device. For example, the first frequency band can be a frequency band of non-terrestrial networks (NTNs).

[0151] In other words, one way to implement "listening to the PDCCH during the N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB in response to the PDCCH repetition condition being met" is as follows: if the frequency band of the current cell belongs to the first frequency band, then listen to the PDCCH during the N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB.

[0152] It should be noted that more information on determining whether the PDCCH repetition condition is met can be found in the relevant description above, and will not be repeated here.

[0153] In S44, the terminal device can determine the starting symbol position of N PDCCH listening opportunities in the first time slot based on N starting symbol values, and further determine the N PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB based on the number of symbols occupied by the PDCCH listening opportunities.

[0154] Therefore, in the scheme of Embodiment 4, a first parameter configuration table is introduced, in which a single row index corresponds to N start symbol values. If the PDCCH repetition condition is met, the terminal device determines the start symbol value of the N PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB according to the row index indicated by the network, thereby determining the N PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB.

[0155] For more details on Embodiment 4, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments in this document, which will not be repeated here.

[0156] Example 5

[0157] Referring to Figure 5, which is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to some embodiments, the method shown in Figure 5 includes steps S51, S52, S53, and S54.

[0158] S51, the terminal device determines the first time slot based on the index of the SSB.

[0159] S52, the network device sends first indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information from the network device, which can be used to indicate the row index.

[0160] S53, in response to the PDCCH repetition condition being met, the terminal device determines the starting symbol value of N PDCCH listening opportunities in N related parameter configuration tables based on the row index.

[0161] S54, the terminal device determines the N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB in the first time slot based on the N start symbol values ​​of the N PDCCH listening times.

[0162] For details regarding S51 and S52, please refer to the relevant descriptions in Embodiment 4.

[0163] In the scheme of this embodiment, the terminal device can be configured with N parameter configuration tables. In each of the N parameter configuration tables, each row contains a single start symbol value. That is, in each parameter configuration table, each row index corresponds to a single start symbol value.

[0164] In S53, if the PDCCH repetition condition is met, the terminal device can determine a single start symbol value from each of the N parameter configuration tables based on the row index, thus obtaining N start symbol values. That is, the start symbol values ​​for the N PDCCH listening opportunities are the start symbol values ​​corresponding to the row indexes indicated by the network in the N related parameter configuration tables.

[0165] In some implementations, the N parameter configuration tables may include the second parameter configuration table described above. If the PDCCH repetition condition is not met, the terminal device may determine a single start symbol value in the second parameter configuration table based on the row index indicated by the network.

[0166] As one implementation, the network device can send third indication information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the third indication information from the network device. The third indication information can be used to enable the association between N parameter configuration tables. If the association between the N parameter configuration tables is enabled, it indicates that the PDCCH repetition condition is met. If the association between the N parameter configuration tables is not enabled, it indicates that the PDCCH repetition condition is not met.

[0167] In some implementations, the third indication information may be carried in the MIB. For example, the third indication information may be carried in the physical layer bit half-frame-index or physical layer bit within the MIB. and physical layer bits At least one of them.

[0168] In one example, the physical layer bit half-frame-index in the MIB is set to 1, indicating that the association between the N parameter configuration tables is enabled. A value of 0 in the physical layer bit half-frame-index in the MIB indicates that the association between the N parameter configuration tables is disabled.

[0169] In another example, physical layer bits in the MIB A value of 1 indicates that the association between the N parameter configuration tables is enabled. Physical layer bits in the MIB. A value of 0 indicates that the association between the N parameter configuration tables is disabled.

[0170] In yet another example, the physical layer bits in the MIB A value of 1 indicates that the association between the N parameter configuration tables is enabled. Physical layer bits in the MIB. A value of 0 indicates that the association between the N parameter configuration tables is disabled.

[0171] Therefore, in S53, the terminal device can determine the starting symbol value for N PDCCH listening opportunities.

[0172] In S54, the terminal device can determine the starting symbol position of N PDCCH listening opportunities in the first time slot based on N starting symbol values, and further determine the N PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB based on the number of symbols occupied by the PDCCH listening opportunities.

[0173] For example, N=2, and the N parameter configuration tables include: a second parameter configuration table and a third parameter configuration table.

[0174] Referring to Table 3, which shows a third parameter configuration table.

[0175] In some implementations, if the association between the second parameter configuration table and the third parameter configuration table is enabled, the terminal device can determine a single start symbol value in the second parameter configuration table and a single start symbol value in the third parameter configuration table based on the row index indicated by the network, thereby obtaining two start symbol values, which are the start symbol values ​​for the two PDCCH listening opportunities. Further, the terminal device can determine the start symbol positions of the two PDCCH listening opportunities in the first time slot based on the two start symbol values, thereby determining the two PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB.

[0176] Therefore, in the scheme of Embodiment 5, N parameter configuration tables are set, and each row index in each parameter configuration table corresponds to a single start symbol value. In the case of repeated PDCCH transmission, the terminal device determines the single start symbol value in each of the N parameter configuration tables according to the row index indicated by the network device, thereby obtaining N start symbol values, which can determine the start symbol position of the N PDCCH listening opportunities.

[0177] For more details on Embodiment 5, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments in this document, which will not be repeated here.

[0178] Example 6

[0179] Referring to Figure 6, which is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to some embodiments, the method shown in Figure 6 includes steps S61, S62, S63, S64, and S65.

[0180] S61, the terminal device determines the first time slot based on the index of the SSB.

[0181] S62, the network device sends first indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information from the network device, which can be used to indicate the row index.

[0182] S63, the terminal device determines the starting symbol value of the reference PDCCH listening time among the N PDCCH listening times in the second parameter configuration table according to the row index.

[0183] S64, in response to the PDCCH repetition condition being met, the terminal device determines the starting symbol value of other PDCCH listening times among the N PDCCH listening times, excluding the reference PDCCH listening time, based on the starting symbol value and symbol interval of the reference PDCCH listening time.

[0184] S65, the terminal device determines the N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB in the first time slot based on the N start symbol values ​​of the N PDCCH listening times.

[0185] For details regarding S61 and S62, please refer to the relevant description in Embodiment 4. These embodiments will not be repeated here.

[0186] In S63, the terminal device can determine a single start symbol value in the second parameter configuration table based on the row index indicated by the network. This start symbol value can be the start symbol value of a reference PDCCH listening time among N PDCCH listening times. For example, the reference PDCCH listening time can be the first PDCCH listening time. Alternatively, the reference PDCCH listening time can be the last PDCCH listening time.

[0187] In S64, if the PDCCH repetition condition is met, the starting symbol values ​​of the other PDCCH listening times among the N PDCCH listening times, excluding the reference PDCCH listening time, are determined based on the starting symbol value and symbol interval of the reference PDCCH listening time. If the PDCCH repetition condition is not met, a single PDCCH listening time is determined in the first time slot based on the single starting symbol value determined in the second parameter configuration table based on the row index of the network indication.

[0188] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the symbol interval can refer to the symbol interval between two adjacent PDCCH listening times out of N PDCCH listening times. In some implementations, the symbol interval can be defined by a protocol, or it can be configured by a network device. For example, the value of the symbol interval can be any of the following: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, but is not limited thereto.

[0189] In one implementation, the network device sends fourth indication information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the fourth indication information from the network device. The fourth indication information is used to indicate the symbol interval. In some embodiments, the fourth indication information can be carried in the MIB. For example, the fourth indication information can be carried in the physical layer bit half-frame-index, physical layer bit... and physical layer bits At least one of them.

[0190] Furthermore, the terminal device can determine (N-1) start symbol values ​​based on the start symbol value and symbol interval determined in S63. These start symbol values ​​are the start symbol values ​​of the (N-1) PDCCH listening opportunities other than the reference PDCCH listening opportunity. Thus, the terminal device can obtain the start symbol values ​​of the N PDCCH listening opportunities, and these start symbol values ​​are the start symbol values ​​of the N PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB.

[0191] In S65, the terminal device can determine the starting symbol position of N PDCCH listening opportunities in the first time slot based on the starting symbol value of the N PDCCH listening opportunities. For example, if the PDCCH repetition condition is met, the terminal device can first determine a starting symbol value in the second parameter configuration table based on the row index indicated by the network. This starting symbol value is used to determine the starting symbol position of the first PDCCH listening opportunity among the N PDCCH listening opportunities. Further, based on the starting symbol position and symbol interval of the first PDCCH listening opportunity, the starting symbol position of the second PDCCH listening opportunity among the N PDCCH listening opportunities can be determined. Further, based on the starting symbol position and symbol interval of the second PDCCH listening opportunity, the starting symbol position of the third PDCCH listening opportunity among the N PDCCH listening opportunities can be determined, and so on, until the starting symbol position of each of the N PDCCH listening time slots is determined.

[0192] Based on the number of symbols occupied by the PDCCH listening time, the N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB can be determined.

[0193] Therefore, in the scheme of Embodiment Six, a symbol interval is introduced between two adjacent PDCCH listening opportunities. If the PDCCH repetition condition is met, the terminal device determines a single starting symbol value in the second parameter configuration table according to the row index indicated by the network. Furthermore, based on the symbol interval, the starting symbol positions of N PDCCH listening opportunities can be determined, thereby determining the starting symbol positions of N PDCCH listening opportunities.

[0194] For more details on Embodiment Six, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments in this document, which will not be repeated here.

[0195] Example 7

[0196] Referring to Figure 7, which is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to some embodiments, the scheme shown in Figure 7 can be applied to a terminal device. For example, the method shown in Figure 7 can be executed by the terminal device, or it can be executed by a chip or chip module in the terminal device that has communication functionality. As shown in Figure 7, the method shown in Figure 7 may include step S71.

[0197] S71, in response to the PDCCH repetition condition being met, listen to the PDCCH at the N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB, wherein the signal quality of the SSB is greater than or equal to a threshold, and N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0198] In response to the PDCCH repetition condition being met, listening to the PDCCH at the N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB means that if the PDCCH repetition condition is met, listening to the PDCCH at the N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB.

[0199] For example, the terminal device can first determine the time slots where the N PDCCH listening opportunities are located based on the SSB index. For details regarding the time slots where the N PDCCH listening opportunities are located, please refer to the descriptions in Embodiments 1 to 3 above.

[0200] Furthermore, the terminal device can determine the starting symbol position of the N PDCCH listening opportunities based on the starting symbol values ​​of the N PDCCH listening opportunities, thereby determining the N PDCCH listening opportunities associated with the SSB. For details regarding the starting symbol values ​​of the N PDCCH listening opportunities, please refer to the descriptions in Examples 4 to 6 above.

[0201] Furthermore, the network device can repeatedly transmit the first downlink control information during N PDCCH listening times. Correspondingly, the terminal device can receive the first downlink control information from the network device during N PDCCH listening times, and merge and decode the N identical downlink control information received to achieve PDCCH coverage enhancement.

[0202] It should be noted that the relationship between SSB and N PDCCH listening times in this article means that the time slot where the PDCCH listening time is located is determined based on the SSB index.

[0203] For more details regarding the embodiments of this disclosure, please refer to the above descriptions of Embodiments 1 to 6, which will not be repeated here.

[0204] It should be understood that the above embodiments can be used individually or in combination to achieve different technical effects.

[0205] It is understood that in some implementations, the above method can be implemented as a software program that runs in a processor integrated within the chip or chip module; or, the method can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software, for example, using a dedicated chip or chip module, or using a dedicated chip or chip module in combination with a software program.

[0206] Referring to Figure 8, which is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to some embodiments. The communication device shown in Figure 8 can be deployed on the aforementioned terminal equipment, and the device shown in Figure 8 may include:

[0207] The communication module 81 is used to listen to the PDCCH at the N PDCCH listening time associated with the synchronization signal block SSB in response to the satisfaction of the physical downlink control channel PDCCH repetition condition, wherein the signal quality of the SSB is greater than or equal to a threshold, and N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0208] In some embodiments, the communication device shown in FIG8 may correspond to a chip with communication function in a terminal device; or to a terminal device including a chip or chip module with communication function, or to a terminal device.

[0209] Referring to Figure 9, which is a schematic diagram of another communication device according to some embodiments, the communication device shown in Figure 9 can be deployed on the aforementioned network equipment. The device shown in Figure 9 may include:

[0210] The communication module 91 is used to repeatedly transmit the first downlink control information at the N PDCCH listening times associated with the synchronization signal block SSB, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0211] In some embodiments, the communication device shown in FIG9 may correspond to a chip with communication function in a network device; or to a network device including a chip or chip module with communication function, or to a network device.

[0212] For more information on the working principle, working method, and beneficial effects of the communication device in this embodiment, please refer to the above description of the communication method, which will not be repeated here.

[0213] This disclosure also provides a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium) storing a computer program thereon, wherein the above-described communication method is executed when the computer program is run by a processor. The storage medium may include ROM, RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, etc. The storage medium may also include non-volatile memory or non-transitory memory, etc.

[0214] This disclosure also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods provided in the above embodiments.

[0215] This disclosure also provides a communication device, including a memory and a processor. The memory stores a computer program that can run on the processor. When the processor runs the computer program, it executes the communication method described above. This communication device can be either a network device or a terminal device as described above.

[0216] Referring to Figure 10, which is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device according to some embodiments, the communication device shown in Figure 10 can be either a network device or a terminal device as described above. The communication device shown in Figure 10 includes a memory 101, a processor 102, and a transceiver 103. The processor 102 is coupled to the memory 101 and the transceiver 103. The memory 101 can be located inside or outside the communication device. The memory 101, processor 102, and transceiver 103 can be connected via a communication bus. The transceiver 103 is used to communicate with other devices. The memory 101 stores a computer program that can run on the processor 102. When the processor 102 runs the computer program, it executes the steps in the methods provided in the above embodiments, and / or, when the processor 102 runs the computer program, the transceiver 103 executes the steps in the methods provided in the above embodiments.

[0217] It should be understood that in the embodiments of this disclosure, the processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), or it can be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0218] It should also be understood that the memory in the embodiments of this disclosure may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory may be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of random access memory (RAM) are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous DRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous DRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous interconnect DRAM (SDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DRD RAM).

[0219] The above embodiments can be implemented, in whole or in part, by software, hardware, firmware, or any other combination thereof. When implemented using software, the above embodiments can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer program are loaded or executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this disclosure are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another; for example, the computer program can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means.

[0220] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of this disclosure, the sequence number of each process does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0221] In the several embodiments provided in this disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed methods, apparatuses, and systems can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for example, the division of units is merely a logical functional division, and other division methods may exist in actual implementation; for example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0222] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of the embodiments of this disclosure, depending on actual needs.

[0223] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this disclosure can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can be physically included separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated units described above can be implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and software functional units. For example, for various devices or products applied to or integrated into a chip, each module / unit can be implemented using hardware such as circuits, or at least some modules / units can be implemented using software programs running on a processor integrated within the chip, while the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented using hardware such as circuits; for various devices or products applied to or integrated into a chip module, each module / unit can be implemented using hardware such as circuits, and different modules / units can be located in the same component (e.g., chip, circuit module, etc.) or different components of the chip module, or at least some modules / units can be implemented using hardware such as circuits. The implementation is achieved through a software program that runs on a processor integrated within the chip module. The remaining modules / units (if any) can be implemented using hardware methods such as circuits. For various devices and products applied to or integrated into terminal equipment, each of their modules / units can be implemented using hardware methods such as circuits. Different modules / units can be located in the same component (e.g., chip, circuit module, etc.) or different components within the terminal equipment. Alternatively, at least some modules / units can be implemented using a software program that runs on a processor integrated within the terminal equipment, while the remaining modules / units (if any) can be implemented using hardware methods such as circuits.

[0224] The integrated units implemented as software functional units described above can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. These software functional units, stored in a storage medium, include several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute some steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this disclosure. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0225] While the above disclosure is provided, it is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art may make various alterations and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure; therefore, the scope of protection of this disclosure shall be determined by the scope defined in the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, comprising: In response to the fulfillment of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetition condition, the PDCCH is monitored during the N PDCCH monitoring times associated with the synchronization signal block (SSB), wherein the signal quality of the SSB is greater than or equal to a threshold, and N is a positive integer greater than 1.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein, The N PDCCH listening times are used to receive N repeated transmissions of the first downlink control information, which is used to schedule system information block SIB1.

3. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein, The N PDCCH listening opportunities are located on N time slots, and the different PDCCH listening opportunities are located in different time slots.

4. The communication method according to claim 3, wherein, The index of the first time slot in the N time slots is determined according to the index of the SSB, and there is an interval of m time slots between any two adjacent time slots in the N time slots, where m is a natural number.

5. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein, The N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB are located in the same time slot, and the time slot where the N PDCCH listening times associated with the SSB are located is determined at least according to the index of the SSB.

6. The communication method according to claim 5, wherein, The time slot number n0 of the N PDCCH monitoring opportunities associated with the SSB is determined by the following formula: Where O is the group offset, μ is the subcarrier spacing, i is the index of the SSB, and M is the scaling factor. This represents the number of time slots included in a single system frame when the subcarrier spacing is μ.

7. The communication method according to claim 1, further comprising: Receive first indication information, which is used to indicate the row index; The starting symbol value of the N PDCCH listening opportunities is determined based on the row index in at least one parameter configuration table, which is used to configure the PDCCH listening opportunities.

8. The communication method according to claim 7, wherein, The at least one parameter configuration table includes a first parameter configuration table, and each row in the first parameter configuration table includes N start symbol values; The starting symbol values ​​for the N PDCCH listening times are the N starting symbol values ​​corresponding to the row index in the first parameter configuration table.

9. The communication method according to claim 7, wherein, The number of parameter configuration tables is multiple, and the method further includes: Receive second indication information, which is used to indicate the parameter configuration table applied to the current cell in the plurality of parameter configuration tables.

10. The communication method according to claim 9, wherein, The second indication information satisfies at least one of the following: The second indication information is carried in the main information block (MIB); or The second indication information is carried in the physical layer bits of the MIB. or The second indication information is carried in the physical layer bits of the MIB.

11. The communication method according to claim 7, wherein, The at least one parameter configuration table includes N parameter configuration tables, which are related, wherein each row in each of the N parameter configuration tables contains a single start symbol value; The starting symbol value for the N PDCCH listening times is the starting symbol value corresponding to the row index in the N parameter configuration tables.

12. The communication method according to claim 11, wherein, The PDCCH repetition condition is satisfied by: receiving a third indication message, the third indication message being used to enable the association relationship between the N parameter configuration tables.

13. The communication method according to claim 12, wherein, The third indication information satisfies at least one of the following: The third indication information is carried in the MIB; or The third indication information is carried in the physical layer bit half-frame-index in the MIB; or The third indication information is carried in physical layer bits in the MIB. or The third indication information is carried in physical layer bits in the MIB.

14. The communication method according to claim 8 or 11, wherein, The at least one parameter configuration table includes a second parameter configuration table, each row of the second parameter configuration table including a single start symbol value, and the method further includes: In response to the PDCCH repetition condition not being met, the PDCCH is listened to at a single PDCCH listening time associated with the SSB, and the starting symbol value of the single PDCCH listening time is the starting symbol value corresponding to the row index in the second parameter configuration table.

15. The communication method according to claim 1, further comprising: Receive first indication information, which is used to indicate the row index; The starting symbol value of the N PDCCH listening opportunities is determined based on the starting symbol value of the reference PDCCH listening opportunity and the symbol interval among the N PDCCH listening opportunities; The symbol interval refers to the symbol interval between two adjacent PDCCH listening times among the N PDCCH listening times. The starting symbol value of the reference PDCCH listening time is determined based on the row index in the second parameter configuration table, and each row in the second parameter configuration table includes a single starting symbol value.

16. The communication method according to claim 15, further comprising: Receive fourth indication information, which is used to indicate the symbol interval.

17. The communication method according to claim 16, wherein, The fourth indication information satisfies at least one of the following: The fourth indication information is carried in the MIB; or The fourth indication information is carried in the physical layer bit half-frame-index in the MIB; or The fourth indication information is carried in physical layer bits in the MIB. or The fourth indication information is carried in physical layer bits in the MIB.

18. The communication method according to claim 2, wherein, The PDCCH repeat condition satisfies at least one of the following: The current cell's frequency band belongs to the first frequency band; or Upon receiving a fifth indication, the fifth indication is used to indicate the retransmission of the first downlink control information; or The sixth indication information was not received. The sixth indication information is used to indicate that the first downlink control information should not be transmitted repeatedly.

19. The communication method according to claim 18, wherein, The fifth instruction information satisfies at least one of the following: The fifth indication information is carried in the MIB; or The fifth indication information is carried in the physical layer bit half-frame-index in the MIB; or The fifth indication information is carried in physical layer bits within the MIB. or The fifth indication information is carried in physical layer bits within the MIB. And / or, The sixth instruction information satisfies at least one of the following: The sixth instruction information is carried in the MIB; or The sixth indication information is carried in the physical layer bit half-frame-index in the MIB; or The sixth indication information is carried in the physical layer bits of the MIB. or The sixth indication information is carried in the physical layer bits of the MIB.

20. A communication method, comprising: The first downlink control information is repeatedly transmitted during the N PDCCH listening times associated with the synchronization signal block SSB, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

21. The communication method according to claim 20, wherein, The N PDCCH listening opportunities are located on N time slots, and the different PDCCH listening opportunities are located in different time slots.

22. The communication method according to claim 20, further comprising: Send a first indication message, which is used to indicate the row index; Send a second indication message, the second indication message being used to indicate at least one parameter configuration table applied to the current cell in the parameter configuration table; The row index is used to determine the starting symbol value of the N PDCCH listening times in the parameter configuration table applied in the current cell.

23. The communication method according to claim 20, further comprising: Send a first indication message, which is used to indicate the row index; Send a third instruction message, which is used to enable the association between N parameter configuration tables; The starting symbol value for the N PDCCH listening times is the starting symbol value corresponding to the row index in the N related parameter configuration tables.

24. The communication method according to claim 20, further comprising: Send a first indication message, which is used to indicate a row index, and the row index is used to determine the starting symbol value of the reference PDCCH listening time among the N PDCCH listening times; Send a fourth indication message, which is used to indicate the symbol interval, and the symbol interval refers to the symbol interval between two adjacent PDCCH listening times in the N PDCCH listening times.

25. The communication method according to claim 20, further comprising: Send a fifth indication message, which is used to indicate that the first downlink control information be transmitted repeatedly.

26. A communication device, comprising: The communication module is used to listen to the PDCCH at N PDCCH listening times associated with the synchronization signal block SSB in response to the satisfaction of the physical downlink control channel PDCCH repetition condition, wherein the signal quality of the SSB is greater than or equal to a threshold, and N is a positive integer greater than 1.

27. A communication device, comprising: The communication module is used to repeatedly transmit the first downlink control information at the N PDCCH listening times associated with the synchronization signal block SSB, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

28. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein, When the computer program is run by the processor, the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 or the communication method according to any one of claims 20 to 25 is executed.

29. A computer program product comprising a computer program, wherein, When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 or the communication method according to any one of claims 20 to 25.

30. A communication device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program executable on the processor, wherein... When the processor runs the computer program, it performs the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 or the communication method according to any one of claims 20 to 25.

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