Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: detecting first downlink control information within an active period of discontinuous reception; and, on the basis of the first downlink control information, detecting second downlink control information. The first downlink control information is used for triggering detection of the second downlink control information, and the second downlink control information is used for scheduling first data. According to the method provided in the present application, a terminal device first detects first downlink control information within an active period. Upon detecting the first downlink control information, the terminal device can detect second downlink control information on the basis of the first downlink control information, thereby receiving first data on the basis of the second downlink control information. Since the terminal device first detects the first downlink control information, and then detects the second downlink control information, the process in which the terminal device detects the downlink control information can be optimized.

Description

A communication method and apparatus

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411720029.7, filed on November 26, 2024, entitled "A Communication Method and Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0004] In systems such as new radio (NR) systems, terminal devices can periodically detect downlink control information (DCI) in the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) using connected-discontinuous reception (C-DRX). The periodic detection cycle is called the C-DRX cycle. The C-DRX cycle includes an active period and an inactive period. During the inactive period, the terminal device does not detect the PDCCH; during the active period, the terminal device detects the PDCCH. However, during the active period, the terminal device still performs many invalid PDCCH detections. Therefore, optimizing the PDCCH detection process of the terminal device is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and apparatus for detecting downlink control information.

[0006] Firstly, this application provides a communication method, wherein the execution subject of the method is a terminal device or a module or chip within the terminal device, and the method is described here using a terminal device as an example. The method includes: detecting first downlink control information during an active period of discontinuous reception; detecting second downlink control information based on the first downlink control information; wherein the first downlink control information is used to trigger the detection of the second downlink control information, and the second downlink control information is used to schedule first data.

[0007] According to the method provided in this application, the terminal device first detects first downlink control information during the activation period. Upon detecting the first downlink control information, it can detect second downlink control information based on the first downlink control information, thereby receiving first data based on the second downlink control information. Since the terminal device detects the first downlink control information first and then the second downlink control information, the process of detecting downlink control information can be optimized. This optimization can be achieved through the difference between the first and second downlink control information; for example, when the power consumption for detecting the first downlink control information is lower than the power consumption for detecting the second downlink control information, the power consumption of the terminal device can be reduced.

[0008] In one possible implementation, detecting the second downlink control information based on the first downlink control information includes: if the first downlink control information is detected, or if the first downlink control information is used to schedule second data, or if the first downlink control information includes first indication information, then detecting the second downlink control information, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate the detection of the second downlink control information.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information satisfy at least one of the following:

[0010] The receiving bandwidth corresponding to the first downlink control information is less than the receiving bandwidth corresponding to the second downlink control information; the number of receiving spatial domains corresponding to the first downlink control information is less than the number of receiving spatial domains corresponding to the second downlink control information, wherein the number of receiving spatial domains includes at least one of the following: number of layers, maximum supported number of layers, number of antenna ports, number of receiving channels, and number of receiving antennas; there is at least one symbol interval between the last symbol of the first downlink control information and the detection start symbol of the second downlink control information; the payload length of the first downlink control information is less than the payload length of the second downlink control information; the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) length of the first downlink control information is less than the CRC length of the second downlink control information; the power consumption of the receiver corresponding to the first downlink control information is less than the power consumption of the receiver corresponding to the second downlink control information; and the number of blind detections of the first downlink control information is less than the number of blind detections of the second downlink control information.

[0011] According to the above method, the power consumption of the terminal device in detecting the first downlink control information is less than the power consumption of the terminal device in detecting the second downlink control information. Detecting the first downlink control information first can also reduce the power consumption consumed by invalid downlink control information detection. Therefore, this method can also reduce the power consumption required by the terminal device to detect downlink control information during data reception, thus saving the energy of the terminal device.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: if a first condition is met, stopping the detection of the second downlink control information and detecting the first downlink control information.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the first condition includes at least one of the following: the duration for detecting the second downlink control information reaches a first duration; the duration for which the second downlink control information is not continuously detected reaches a second duration; the second downlink control information includes second indication information, which is used to indicate the detection of the first downlink control information.

[0014] According to the above method, since the power consumption of the terminal device in detecting the first downlink control information is relatively small, the power consumption of the terminal device can be reduced and the working time of the terminal device can be increased.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: if the second condition is met, detecting third downlink control information during the inactive period of discontinuous reception, the third downlink control information being used to wake up the terminal device to perform detection within the periodic time window of discontinuous reception; or, if the second condition is met, detecting the first downlink control information within the periodic time window of discontinuous reception.

[0016] In one possible implementation, if the second condition is satisfied, the method further includes: stopping the detection of the first downlink control information during the activation period.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the second condition includes at least one of the following: the duration for which the first downlink control information is not continuously detected reaches a third duration; the first downlink control information is detected, and the first downlink control information includes third indication information, the third indication information indicating that the third downlink control information is detected or that the first downlink control information is detected within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception.

[0018] In one possible implementation, before detecting the first downlink control information during the activation period of discontinuous reception, the method further includes:

[0019] The third downlink control information is detected during the inactive period of the discontinuous reception; or, the first downlink control information is detected within a periodic time window of the discontinuous reception.

[0020] In one possible implementation, detecting the first downlink control information during the active period of discontinuous reception includes: detecting the first downlink control information during the active period of discontinuous reception if a third condition is met; the third condition includes at least one of the following: detecting the first downlink control information within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception; detecting the third downlink control information during the inactive period of discontinuous reception; the first downlink control information or the third downlink control information includes fourth indication information, the fourth indication information indicating that the first downlink control information is detected during the active period.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the first downlink control information further includes first configuration information of the second downlink control information and / or second configuration information of the data scheduled by the second downlink control information.

[0022] By instructing the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information through the first downlink control information, signaling overhead can be saved and resource utilization can be improved.

[0023] Secondly, this application provides a communication method, wherein the execution subject of the method is a network device or a module or chip in a network device, and the network device is used as an example for description. The method includes: sending first downlink control information during an active period of discontinuous reception; and sending second downlink control information; wherein the first downlink control information is used to trigger a terminal device to detect the second downlink control information, and the second downlink control information is used to schedule first data.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the first downlink control information is used to schedule the second data; or, the first downlink control information includes first indication information, which is used to indicate the detection of the second downlink control information.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information satisfy at least one of the following: the receiving bandwidth corresponding to the first downlink control information is less than the receiving bandwidth corresponding to the second downlink control information; the number of receiving spatial domains corresponding to the first downlink control information is less than the number of receiving spatial domains corresponding to the second downlink control information, wherein the number of receiving spatial domains includes at least one of the following: number of layers, maximum supported number of layers, number of antenna ports, number of receiving channels, and number of receiving antennas; there is at least one symbol interval between the last symbol of the first downlink control information and the detection start symbol of the second downlink control information; the payload length of the first downlink control information is less than the payload length of the second downlink control information; the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) length of the first downlink control information is less than the CRC length of the second downlink control information; the power consumption of the receiver corresponding to the first downlink control information is less than the power consumption of the receiver corresponding to the second downlink control information; and the number of blind detections of the first downlink control information is less than the number of blind detections of the second downlink control information.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: if a fourth condition is met, stopping the transmission of the second downlink control information and transmitting the first downlink control information; wherein the fourth condition includes at least one of the following: the time elapsed since the first downlink control information was transmitted during the activation period reaches a first duration; the duration during which the second downlink control information has not been transmitted reaches a second duration; the second downlink control information includes second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate the detection of the first downlink control information.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: if a fifth condition is met, sending third downlink control information during the inactive period of discontinuous reception, the third downlink control information being used to wake up the terminal device to perform detection within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception; or, if the fifth condition is met, sending the first downlink control information within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception; wherein the fifth condition includes at least one of the following: the duration for which the first downlink control information has not been sent continuously reaches a third duration; the first downlink control information includes third indication information, the third indication information indicating detection of the third downlink control information or detection of the first downlink control information within a periodic time window.

[0028] In one possible implementation, before transmitting the first downlink control information during the active period of discontinuous reception, the method further includes: transmitting the third downlink control information during the inactive period of discontinuous reception; or, transmitting the first downlink control information within a periodic time window.

[0029] In one possible implementation, transmitting the first downlink control information during the active period of discontinuous reception includes: transmitting the first downlink control information during the active period of discontinuous reception if a sixth condition is met; the sixth condition includes at least one of the following: transmitting the first downlink control information within a periodic time window; transmitting the third downlink control information during the inactive period of discontinuous reception; the first downlink control information or the third downlink control information includes fourth indication information, the fourth indication information indicating that the first downlink control information is detected during the active period.

[0030] Thirdly, this application also provides a communication device capable of implementing any of the methods provided in any of the first to second aspects described above. This communication device can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the aforementioned functions.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a processor configured to support the communication device in performing corresponding functions of the network device or terminal device described above. The communication device may also include a memory coupled to the processor, which stores necessary program instructions and data for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device further includes interface circuitry for supporting communication between the communication device and devices such as terminal devices.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules, each used to implement the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

[0033] In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit, which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method examples, as described in the methods provided in any of the first or second aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0034] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, including a processor and an interface circuit. The interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device. The processor implements the functional modules of the methods in any possible implementation of any of the first to second aspects through logic circuits or by executing computer programs or instructions. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory for storing computer programs or instructions.

[0035] Fifthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program or instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to second aspects described above.

[0036] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product storing instructions is provided, which, when read and executed by a computer, implements the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to second aspects described above.

[0037] In a seventh aspect, a circuit is provided for performing the methods in any possible implementation of any of the first to second aspects described above. The circuit may include chip circuitry. Optionally, the circuit may also be coupled to a memory.

[0038] Eighthly, a chip is provided, comprising a processor, which, when executing a computer program or instructions, implements the methods in any possible implementation of any of the first to second aspects described above. Optionally, the chip may further include a memory, and the chip may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0039] A ninth aspect provides a communication device including a processor that implements the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to second aspects by means of logic circuits or by executing computer programs or instructions.

[0040] In a tenth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, comprising a unit or module for performing a method in any possible implementation of any of the first to second aspects described above.

[0041] Eleventhly, embodiments of this application also provide a communication system. The communication system includes: a terminal device for implementing the methods of the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof; and a network device for implementing the methods of the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Attached Figure Description

[0042] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of this application;

[0043] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a C-DRX cycle provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0044] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a monitoring timing provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0045] Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0046] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of detecting downlink control information provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of detecting downlink control information provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0048] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0049] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of detecting downlink control information provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0050] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of detecting downlink control information provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0051] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of detecting downlink control information provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of detecting downlink control information provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of detecting downlink control information provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0054] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of detecting downlink control information provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0055] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of detecting downlink control information provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0056] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of detecting downlink control information provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0057] Figure 16 is a schematic diagram of detecting downlink control information provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0058] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of a communication device structure provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0059] Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of a communication device structure provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0060] Figure 19 is a schematic diagram of a communication device structure provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0061] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of them. The terms "first," "second," and corresponding terminology in this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such terms can be interchanged where appropriate; this is merely a way of distinguishing objects with the same attributes in the embodiments of this application. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, system, product, or device that comprises a series of units is not necessarily limited to those units, but may include other units not explicitly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices. The methods and apparatus provided in the embodiments of this application are based on the same or similar technical concepts. Since the principles by which the methods and apparatus solve problems are similar, the implementations of the apparatus and methods can refer to each other, and repeated details will not be repeated.

[0062] The method provided in this application can be applied to various mobile communication systems, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), fourth-generation (4G) communication systems (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)), fifth-generation (5G) communication systems (e.g., 5G New Radio (NR)), LTE and NR hybrid architectures, or new communication systems emerging in future communication developments. The communication system can also include machine-to-machine (M2M) networks, machine-type communication (MTC) networks, or other networks.

[0063] The following section will first explain some of the terms used in the embodiments of this application so that those skilled in the art can understand them.

[0064] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of this application. The communication system 1000 includes a wireless access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include an Internet 300. The wireless access network 100 includes at least one access network (AN) device, as shown in Figure 1 (110a and 110b); the wireless access network 100 also includes at least one terminal device, as shown in Figure 1 (120a-120j). Specifically, 110a is a base station, 110b is a micro-station, 120a, 120e, 120f, and 120j are mobile phones, 120b is a car, 120c is a fuel dispenser, 120d is a home access point (HAP) deployed indoors or outdoors, 120g is a laptop computer, 120h is a printer, and 120i is a drone. The same terminal device or access network device can provide different functions in different application scenarios. For example, the mobile phones in Figure 1 are 120a, 120e, 120f and 120j. Mobile phone 120a can access base station 110a, connect to car 120b, communicate directly with mobile phone 120e and access HAP. Mobile phone 120b can access HAP and communicate directly with mobile phone 120a. Mobile phone 120f can access micro-station 110b, connect to laptop 120g and printer 120h. Mobile phone 120j can control drone 120i.

[0065] In this embodiment, the network device can be a device in a wireless network, and can also be referred to as a network apparatus, a radio access network device, or an access network device. For example, the network device can be a radio access network (RAN) node that connects a terminal device to a wireless network, and can also be referred to as an access network device. The network device includes, but is not limited to: base station, evolved NodeB (eNodeB), transmission reception point (TRP), next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, access network device in an open radio access network (O-RAN), base station in a future mobile communication system, or access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system; or it can be a module or unit that performs some functions of a base station, such as a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a central unit control plane (CU-CP) module, or a central unit user plane (CU-UP) module. Access network equipment can be macro base stations, micro base stations, indoor stations, relay nodes, or donor nodes, etc. This application does not limit the specific technologies or equipment forms used in the network equipment.

[0066] In some implementations, network devices can include centralized units (CUs) and distributed units (DUs). This includes RAN devices at CU and DU nodes that separate the protocol layers of the gNB in ​​the NR system. Some protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while the remaining partial or complete protocol layer functions are distributed across the DUs, which are then centrally controlled by the CU. Furthermore, the CU can be divided into a control plane (CU-CP) and a user plane (CU-UP). The CU-CP handles control plane functions, primarily including radio resource control (RRC) and the corresponding packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) (PDCP-C). PDCP-C is mainly responsible for control plane data encryption / decryption, integrity protection, and data transmission. The CU-UP handles user plane functions, primarily including the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) and the corresponding PDCP (PDCP-U). SDAP is mainly responsible for processing core network data and mapping flows to bearers. PDCP-U is primarily responsible for data plane encryption / decryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, and data transmission. CU-CP and CU-UP are connected via the E1 interface. CU-CP represents the gNB connected to the core network via the NG interface and to the DU via the F1 interface control plane (F1-C). CU-UP is connected to the DU via the F1 interface user plane (F1-U). Alternatively, PDCP-C may also be located within CU-UP.

[0067] It is understood that CU (including CU-CP or CU-UP) or DU may have different names in different systems, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, and CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, and DU as examples. Network devices may also include active antenna units (AAU). CU implements some of the functions of gNB, and DU implements some of the functions of gNB. For example, CU is responsible for handling non-real-time protocols and services, implementing the functions of the RRC layer. DU is responsible for handling physical layer protocols and real-time services, implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, and physical (PHY) layer. In some deployments, the CU can also be divided into a centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) node and a centralized unit user plane (CU-UP) node. The CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, while the CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions.

[0068] The terminal device involved in the embodiments of this application can be a wireless terminal device capable of receiving network device scheduling and instruction information. The terminal device can be referred to as a terminal device, or it can also be called user equipment (UE), terminal, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. The terminal device can be a device that includes wireless communication functions (providing voice / data connectivity to the user). For example, a handheld device with wireless connectivity, or an in-vehicle device, in-vehicle module, etc. Currently, examples of terminal devices include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, wireless terminals in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, intelligent vehicles, in-vehicle infotainment systems (or onboard transmitters) (T-boxes), machine-to-machine / machine-type communications (M2M / MTC) terminal devices, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Of things, IoT terminal devices, etc., will not be listed one by one here.

[0069] Terminal devices in RRC connected state can periodically detect the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the connected-discontinuous reception (C-DRX) mode.

[0070] As shown in Figure 2, the C-DRX cycle can include an active period and an inactive period. The active period can also be called the active time interval, and the inactive period can also be called the dormant period or inactive time interval. The active period includes a periodic activation window (on-duration). The period, start time, and window length of the activation window can be configured by the network device. The activation window can also be called an activation time window, a time window, or a periodic time window.

[0071] The terminal device starts a timer (onDurationTimer), and the period during which this timer runs constitutes the active window. Within this active window, the terminal device checks the PDCCH. If no PDCCH is detected within the active window, the terminal device returns to the inactive period. During the inactive period, the terminal device does not check the PDCCH. In this case, the active period can be understood as consisting solely of the active window; or, in other words, the period from the start time to the end time of the active window can be called the active period.

[0072] If a PDCCH is detected within the active window, the terminal device starts an inactivity timer. It continues to detect PDCCH until the inactivity timer expires. The terminal device restarts this timer each time a PDCCH is detected, until no PDCCH is received, causing the inactivity timer to expire (generally meaning the inactivity timer's countdown reaches zero). At this point, the terminal device returns to the inactivity period. In this case, the active period can be understood as consisting of the active window and the effective time of the inactivity timer; or, the period from the start time of the active window to the end time of the inactivity timer can be called the active period.

[0073] The activation window can be activated by a wake-up signal sent from the network device to the terminal device.

[0074] As shown in Figure 3, the wake-up signal is monitored before the activation window. This monitoring timing can also be called the detection timing or the reception timing. If the terminal device detects the wake-up signal during the monitoring timing, and the wake-up signal indicates that the terminal device has been woken up, then the terminal device detects the PDCCH within the activation window (or the activation window corresponding to the wake-up signal) of the C-DRX cycle in which the wake-up signal is located. In the figure, the wake-up signal was not detected during the monitoring timing before activation window 1, but it was detected during the monitoring timing before activation window 2, and the wake-up signal indicates that the terminal device has been woken up. This can be understood as the wake-up signal triggering the activation window within that cycle to be activated. Once the activation window is activated, the PDCCH can be detected according to the C-DRX method described above, until the activation period ends and the device returns to the inactive period. The wake-up signal is then monitored during the monitoring timing of the next wake-up signal in the inactive period.

[0075] If the terminal device does not detect the wake-up signal at the monitoring time, or if the wake-up signal does not indicate that the terminal device has been woken up, then the terminal device will not detect the PDCCH within the activation window of the C-DRX cycle in which the wake-up signal is located. This can be understood as the wake-up signal not triggering the activation window of that cycle to be activated, the terminal device skips the activation window of that cycle, and monitors the wake-up signal at the monitoring time of the next wake-up signal in the inactive period.

[0076] C-DRX periods are typically configured to be quite long, such as 80ms, 160ms, or 320ms, which can lead to scheduling delays. For example, if a service arrives immediately after the activation period of a C-DRX period ends, scheduling must wait until the next C-DRX period. To ensure scheduling, network devices generally configure inactive timers to be relatively long (e.g., 100ms), increasing the probability that the terminal device is in the activation period. However, this results in the terminal device performing more invalid PDCCH checks. Especially for services that arrive sporadically and intermittently, the terminal device may remain in the activation period for a long time, but the actual PDCCH reception time is relatively short. Furthermore, while triggering PDCCH checks during the activation window via wake-up can avoid the problem of periodically checking the PDCCH during the activation window even when there is no service, it does not solve the problem of needing to maintain PDCCH checks even when there is no service after entering the activation period.

[0077] To address the aforementioned issue of excessive invalid PDCCH detection during the activation period in terminal devices, leading to wasted power consumption, this application provides a method to reduce the power consumption of terminal devices during PDCCH detection during the activation period, which will be described in detail below.

[0078] When the method provided in this application is applied to the network architecture shown in Figure 1, the functions of the network devices can be executed by modules (such as chips) within the network devices, or by a control subsystem that includes network device functions. Similarly, the functions of the terminal devices can be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within the terminal devices, or by a device that includes terminal device functions.

[0079] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0080] It is understood that this application does not specifically limit the structure of the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of this application. It can be applied to modules in terminal devices or network devices, as long as they can communicate according to the method provided in the embodiments of this application by running a program that records the code of the method provided in the embodiments of this application. The following description takes the interaction between terminal devices and network devices as an example. When the execution subject is a module in a terminal device or network device, receiving / sending can be understood as input / output, that is, the module communicates with other modules or components in the terminal device or network device. In addition, the processing performed by a single execution subject can also be divided into multiple execution subjects, which can be logically and / or physically separated. For example, the processing performed by a network device can be divided into execution by at least one of CU, DU, RU, etc.

[0081] Figure 4 shows a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes:

[0082] Step 401: The terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the activation period of discontinuous reception.

[0083] The terminal device can be in RRC connected state. Discontinuous reception can refer to C-DRX. The period of discontinuous reception, as well as the duration and start time of the periodic time window of discontinuous reception, can be configured by the network device or indicated to the terminal device in other ways.

[0084] In one implementation, the start time of the activation period can be equal to or greater than the start time of the periodic time window for discontinuous reception. The duration of the activation period is at least equal to the duration of the periodic time window. That is, if the terminal device does not detect the first downlink control information when the end time of the periodic time window arrives, the activation period ends. In this case, the end time of the activation period can be equal to the end time of the periodic time window for discontinuous reception. If the first downlink control information is detected before the end time of the periodic time window arrives, and it is determined that the second downlink control information will be detected, then the activation period can be extended. That is, the end time of the activation period is after the end time of the periodic time window. For details, please refer to the following description, which will not be repeated here.

[0085] If the terminal device starts the first timer within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception, the activation period may include the timing duration of the first timer. In this implementation, the duration of the activation period is variable. For example, if the terminal device does not detect the first downlink control information when the first timer times out or the timing reaches zero, the activation period ends, and the end time of the activation period can be equal to the end time of the first timer. If the first downlink control information is detected before the first timer times out or the timing reaches zero, and it is determined that the second downlink control information will be detected, the activation period can be extended. Details can be found in the following description and will not be repeated here.

[0086] The specific duration of the activation period is not limited in this application. The timing duration of the first timer can be configured by the network device, preset, or determined by the terminal device; this application does not limit this.

[0087] The first downlink control information can be transmitted via PDCCH. The terminal device detecting the first downlink control information can also be understood as the terminal device detecting the PDCCH corresponding to the first downlink control information. Alternatively, the first downlink control information can also be transmitted via sequence. The terminal device detecting the first downlink control information can also be understood as the terminal device detecting the sequence corresponding to the first downlink control information.

[0088] In this application, the first downlink control information is used to trigger the detection of the second downlink control information, and the second downlink control information is used to schedule the first data.

[0089] The signaling content of the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information can be different or the same; if they are the same, the configuration information of the two can be different.

[0090] In this application, the network device can send third configuration information and / or first configuration information to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device can detect first downlink control information based on the third configuration information and detect second downlink control information based on the first configuration information. The third configuration information is used to indicate at least one of the following: the first receiving bandwidth corresponding to the first downlink control information; the number of receiving spatial domains corresponding to the first downlink control information, the number of receiving spatial domains including at least one of the following: number of layers, maximum supported number of layers, number of antenna ports, number of receiving channels, number of receiving antennas; the symbol positions and number of symbols occupied by the first downlink control information, where the symbols can refer to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols; the payload length of the first downlink control information; the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) length of the first downlink control information; the receiver type corresponding to the first downlink control information; and the number of blind detections for the first downlink control information, specifically the control channel unit level to be detected corresponding to the first downlink control information, the number of candidate control channels under a certain control channel unit level, the number of control channel formats to be detected, etc.

[0091] Similarly, the first configuration information is used to indicate at least one of the following: the second receiving bandwidth corresponding to the second downlink control information; the number of receiving spatial domains corresponding to the second downlink control information; the symbol positions and number of symbols occupied by the second downlink control information; the payload length of the second downlink control information; the CRC length of the second downlink control information; the receiver type corresponding to the second downlink control information; and the number of blind detections of the second downlink control information.

[0092] Optionally, the first configuration information, second configuration information, third configuration information, etc., in this application all represent configuration information corresponding to the same bandwidth part (BWP). That is, switching the above configuration information will not lead to switching between different BWPs. In this way, the latency of configuration switching can be reduced because switching between different BWPs involves re-updating or loading a large number of parameters associated with the BWP, resulting in a long latency, generally 2 to 3 ms. However, switching part of the configuration information within the same BWP, such as only switching the bandwidth and / or spatial domain configuration information, while other parameters corresponding to the BWP do not need to be changed, results in a shorter latency, generally less than one time slot or 0.5 ms.

[0093] In this application, the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information satisfy at least one of the following:

[0094] 1. The first receiving bandwidth corresponding to the first downlink control information is less than the second receiving bandwidth corresponding to the second downlink control information. For example, the second receiving bandwidth is the active bandwidth part (BWP) of the terminal device, and the first receiving bandwidth is a sub-band within the active BWP. For example, the first receiving bandwidth is the bandwidth corresponding to the control resource set (CORESET) within the active BWP. Since the first receiving bandwidth is less than the second receiving bandwidth, the power consumption for detecting the first downlink control information is smaller, which can reduce the detection power consumption of the terminal device.

[0095] 2. The number of receive airspace corresponding to the first downlink control information is less than the number of receive airspace corresponding to the second downlink control information. The number of receive airspace includes at least one of the following: number of layers, maximum supported layers, number of antenna ports, number of receive channels, and number of receive antennas. For example, the number of receive channels corresponding to the first downlink control information is 2, and the number of receive channels corresponding to the second downlink control information is 4; or, the number of receive antenna ports corresponding to the first downlink control information is 1, and the number of receive antenna ports corresponding to the second downlink control information is 4. The maximum supported layers corresponding to the first downlink control information or the maximum supported layers corresponding to the second downlink control information can be configured by the network device. Generally, the number of receive channels or antenna ports needs to be no less than the maximum number of layers mentioned above. Since the control channel generally only needs to occupy one layer, the terminal device can reduce the number of receive airspace to detect the control channel. Therefore, the power consumption for detecting the first downlink control information is relatively low, which can reduce the detection power consumption of the terminal device.

[0096] 3. The last symbol of the first downlink control information is spaced at least one symbol apart from the detection start symbol of the second downlink control information. Specifically, when the terminal device detects the first downlink control information, once the first downlink control information is detected and downlink data is scheduled by the first downlink control information, or the first downlink control information is used to trigger the detection of the second downlink control information, the terminal device needs a certain frequency domain tuning time interval before it can switch to detecting the second downlink control information or receiving downlink data. This frequency domain tuning time interval may include the duration required for the terminal device to adjust the receiving center frequency or receiving bandwidth. Alternatively, the downlink timing interval between the first downlink control information and the downlink data scheduled by the first downlink control information (e.g., the first K0) is less than the downlink timing interval between the second downlink control information and the downlink data scheduled by the second downlink control information (e.g., the second K0), or the feedback timing interval between the downlink data scheduled by the first downlink control information and the corresponding hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback information (e.g., the first K1) is less than the feedback timing interval between the downlink data scheduled by the first downlink control information and the downlink data to its corresponding HARQ feedback information (e.g., the second K1). This allows for lower detection power consumption by lengthening the timing interval when detecting the first downlink control information.

[0097] 4. The payload length of the first downlink control information is less than that of the second downlink control information. For example, the first downlink control information is only used to trigger the detection of the second downlink control information. Therefore, the first downlink control information can have a smaller payload length than the second downlink control information used for data scheduling. This way, the power consumption of detecting the first downlink control information is less than that of detecting the second downlink control information, which can reduce the power consumption of detecting downlink control information, especially the decoding power consumption of the terminal device.

[0098] 5. The cyclic redundancy check (CRC) length of the first downlink control information is less than the CRC length of the second downlink control information. This reduces the power consumption of detecting the first downlink control information compared to detecting the second downlink control information. Alternatively, the CRC length of the first downlink control information can be 0, meaning the first downlink control information has no CRC. In this case, the terminal device can determine whether the first downlink control information has been detected by sequence detection or by detecting the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) of the first downlink control information.

[0099] 6. The power consumption of the receiver corresponding to the first downlink control information is less than the power consumption of the receiver corresponding to the second downlink control information. The terminal device may include two receivers: a main receiver (also called a main circuit, main module, or main receiving module) and an auxiliary receiver (also called a low-power receiver, auxiliary module, or auxiliary receiving module). The power consumption of the auxiliary receiver is less than that of the main receiver. The auxiliary receiver can be used to receive signals using on-off key (OOK) modulation, frequency shift keying (FSK) modulation, or sequence modulation. The main receiver can be used to receive signals using quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation. For example, if the first downlink control information uses OOK or FSK modulation, and the second downlink control information uses QPSK modulation, the terminal device can use the auxiliary receiver to detect and / or receive the first downlink control information, and use the main receiver to detect and / or receive the second downlink control information.

[0100] The first downlink control information is modulated using a switching modulation method, such as OOK or FSK; while the second downlink control information is modulated using QPSK. This way, the power consumption of the terminal device detecting the first downlink control information through the auxiliary receiver is at least one order of magnitude lower than the power consumption of detecting the second downlink control information through the main receiver, significantly reducing the detection power consumption of the terminal device.

[0101] The first downlink control information is based on sequence modulation. For example, given N time-frequency resources, where each time-frequency resource can be transmitted using M sequences, it can carry at most N*log2M original bits. The terminal device determines these original bits by blindly detecting each candidate sequence on each time-frequency resource. Through an auxiliary receiver, the terminal device can detect the first downlink control information using low-power correlation operations, which is much simpler than the complex channel estimation and encoding / decoding operations of the main receiver, thus reducing the detection power consumption of the terminal device.

[0102] 7. The number of blind detections for the first downlink control information is less than that for the second downlink control information. For example, the number of candidate PDCCHs in the first downlink control information can be less than that in the second downlink control information, or the positions of the candidate PDCCHs in the first downlink control information can be fixed, thus reducing the number of blind detections for the first downlink control information and saving power. For the second downlink control information, network devices can configure a larger number of blind detections for candidate PDCCH positions (greater than the number of candidate PDCCH positions in the first downlink control information), ensuring the flexibility of data scheduling. Furthermore, the downlink control information format of the first downlink control information is fixed, while the second downlink control information can correspond to multiple downlink control information (DCI) formats (e.g., the second downlink control information can correspond to DCI formats used for downlink scheduling, uplink scheduling, and backoff scheduling, etc.), thus reducing the number of blind detections for the first downlink control information and saving power.

[0103] The above is just an example. There may be other differences between the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information, which will not be elaborated here.

[0104] Step 402: The network device sends the first downlink control information during the active period of discontinuous reception.

[0105] Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first downlink control information from the network device.

[0106] In one implementation, the first downlink control information is used to trigger the detection of the second downlink control information, the first downlink control information is used to schedule the second data, and the second downlink control information is used to schedule the first data. The first data and the second data can be the same or different, and this application does not limit this.

[0107] In this implementation, the first data or the second data can be either uplink data or downlink data. Downlink data can refer to data located in the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); uplink data can refer to data located in the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0108] The second data can also be small packet data, while the first data can be non-small packet data.

[0109] The terminal device can receive second data based on the third configuration information and first data based on the first configuration information. The specific process by which the terminal device receives the first or second data is not limited in this application and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0110] In the first implementation, if the network device sends the first downlink control information during the activation period, the network device can also send the second downlink control information.

[0111] In the second implementation, if the network device sends the first downlink control information during the activation period, and the first downlink control information is used to schedule the second data, then the network device can also send the second downlink control information.

[0112] In the third implementation, if the network device sends first downlink control information during the activation period, and the first downlink control information includes first indication information or first configuration information corresponding to the second downlink control information, then the network device may also send second downlink control information.

[0113] Optionally, in the first to third implementations described above, after the network device sends the first downlink control information, it can stop sending the first downlink control information and instead send the second downlink control information.

[0114] In this application, the first downlink control information can also indicate the first configuration information corresponding to the second downlink control information and the second configuration information corresponding to the first data. The first configuration information and the second configuration information can be the same or different. The first configuration information and the second configuration information can be configuration information from multiple sets of configuration information, and the multiple sets of configuration information correspond to the same frequency unit. The frequency unit can be a cell, carrier, BWP, or other frequency resources. For example, a network device can configure multiple sets of configuration information (i.e., receive parameters) for a terminal device. These multiple sets of configuration information can be pre-configured by RRC or predefined by the standard. By indicating the first configuration information and the second configuration information through the first downlink control information, the network device can flexibly adjust the configuration information of the terminal device and improve the flexibility of data transmission.

[0115] In one implementation, the first downlink control information is used to trigger the detection of the second downlink control information, and the second downlink control information is used to schedule the first data. In this implementation, the first downlink control information is not used for data scheduling.

[0116] In one implementation, if the terminal device does not detect the first downlink control information during the activation period, it stops detecting the first downlink control information and also stops detecting the second downlink control information until the next non-continuous reception activation period, at which point step 401 can be executed again.

[0117] Step 403: The terminal device detects the second downlink control information based on the first downlink control information.

[0118] Optionally, the terminal device may stop detecting the first downlink control information while detecting the second downlink control information. The power consumption required for the terminal device to detect the first downlink control information is less than the power consumption required to detect the second downlink control information.

[0119] If the terminal device detects the second downlink control information, the terminal device can receive the first data based on the second downlink control information. The specific process is not limited in this application and will not be described in detail here.

[0120] In the first implementation, if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the activation period, it then detects the second downlink control information.

[0121] Correspondingly, if the terminal device does not detect the first downlink control information during the activation period, it will not detect the second downlink control information.

[0122] Whether the terminal device detects the first downlink control information can be determined through CRC check or sequence detection. For example, the terminal device performs CRC check on the received first downlink control information. If the CRC of the first downlink control information passes the check, it means that the first downlink control information has been detected; if the CRC of the first downlink control information fails the check, it means that the first downlink control information has not been detected.

[0123] For example, the first downlink control information can be implemented using sequence modulation. In one implementation, only the first sequence is used to modulate the first downlink control information. If the terminal device detects the first sequence, it means that the first downlink control information has been detected; if the terminal device does not detect the first sequence, it means that the first downlink control information has not been detected.

[0124] In another implementation, the first downlink control information is modulated using one of a plurality of candidate sequences. The terminal device identifies the sequence used by the first downlink control information by blindly detecting these candidate sequences. For example, if the terminal device detects any one of the candidate sequences, it means that the first downlink control information has been detected; if the terminal device does not detect any one of the candidate sequences, it means that the first downlink control information has not been detected. In this method, other information can also be carried using the candidate sequences, such as receiving parameters of the second downlink control information or the data scheduled by the second downlink control information, such as the receiving bandwidth.

[0125] In the second implementation, if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the activation period, and the first downlink control information is used to schedule the second data, then the second downlink control information is detected.

[0126] Accordingly, if the terminal device does not detect the first downlink control information during the activation period, it will not detect the second downlink control information during the activation period; or if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the activation period, but the first downlink control information is not used to schedule the second data, it will not detect the second downlink control information.

[0127] Here, the recipient of the second data can be a terminal device or other devices.

[0128] In the third implementation, if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the activation period, and the first downlink control information includes the first indication information or the first configuration information corresponding to the second downlink control information, then it detects the second downlink control information; wherein the first indication information is used to indicate the detection of the second downlink control information. Furthermore, when the first downlink control information schedules the second data, it can also indicate that the detection of the second downlink control information should not be triggered. In this case, the terminal device still detects the first downlink control information based on the third configuration information, without needing to switch to receiving the second downlink control information based on the first configuration information. In this implementation, when the second data is small packet data, the low-power configuration (i.e., the third configuration information) reception method is maintained, saving power consumption of the terminal device.

[0129] Accordingly, if the terminal device does not detect the first downlink control information during the activation period, it will not detect the second downlink control information; or if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the activation period, but the first downlink control information does not include the first indication information or the first configuration information, it will not detect the second downlink control information.

[0130] The first to third implementation methods described above can be implemented independently or in combination.

[0131] If the terminal device determines to detect the second downlink control information based on the first downlink control information, the terminal device can start a second timer. The duration of the second timer can be configured by the network device, preset, or determined by the terminal device. The terminal device detects the second downlink control information during the second timer's countdown. The activation period can include the duration of the second timer; the terminal device detecting the second downlink control information during the second timer's countdown can also be understood as the terminal device detecting the second downlink control information during the activation period.

[0132] Optionally, if the terminal device started the first timer before step 403, the terminal device can pause or terminate the first timer before starting the second timer.

[0133] During the detection of the second downlink control information, if the first condition is met, the terminal device stops detecting the second downlink control information and starts detecting the first downlink control information. The first condition includes at least one of the following: the duration of detecting the second downlink control information reaches a first duration; the duration during which the second downlink control information is not continuously detected reaches a second duration, or the second downlink control information is not detected within the second duration; the second downlink control information includes second indication information, which is used to indicate the detection of the first downlink control information.

[0134] Accordingly, for network devices, if the fourth condition is met, the network device will stop sending the second downlink control information and send the first downlink control information; wherein, the fourth condition includes at least one of the following: the time remaining from sending the first downlink control information during the activation period reaches a first duration; the duration during which the second downlink control information has not been sent reaches a second duration, or the second downlink control information has not been sent within the second duration; the second downlink control information sent by the network device includes second indication information.

[0135] Based on the preceding description, several examples are given below.

[0136] Example 1: In step 401, the terminal device detects the first downlink control information and starts a second timer. The duration of the second timer is the first duration. The terminal device detects the second downlink control information during the second timer's countdown. When the second timer expires or reaches zero, indicating that the duration of detecting the second downlink control information has reached the first duration and the first condition is met, the terminal device stops detecting the second downlink control information and starts detecting the first downlink control information.

[0137] The first duration can be configured by the network device, for example, it may be indicated by the first downlink control information; alternatively, it can be preset or determined by the terminal device and reported to the network device. The first duration can represent the duration for which the terminal device continuously monitors the second downlink control information. If the first duration is configured by the network device, the network device can determine it based on the amount of data in its cache or the predicted amount of data. For example, the first duration could be 5ms or 10 time slots.

[0138] For example, as shown in Figure 5, the terminal device starts a first timer before step 403, for example, starting the first timer within a periodic time window. After starting the first timer, the terminal device begins detecting the first downlink control information; the start time of the periodic time window is the start time of the activation period. If the terminal device detects the first downlink control information and determines to detect the second downlink control information, the terminal device pauses or terminates the first timer and starts a second timer, the duration of which is the first duration. The time at which the terminal device starts the second timer can be within or outside the periodic time window; the figure shows an example where the second timer is started outside the end time of the periodic time window.

[0139] During the second timer's countdown, the terminal device detects the second downlink control information. When the second timer expires or reaches zero, it indicates that the terminal device has detected the second downlink control information for a first duration, satisfying the first condition, and the terminal device stops detecting the second downlink control information. The terminal device can also cancel the pause or restart of the first timer and continue detecting the first downlink control information during the first timer's countdown. In this case, the activation period includes the first timer's countdown duration, and the terminal device's detection of the first downlink control information can also be understood as the terminal device detecting the first downlink control information during the activation period. If the terminal device does not detect the first downlink control information during the first timer's countdown when the first timer expires or reaches zero, it stops detecting the first downlink control information, and the activation period can be considered to have ended.

[0140] Optionally, the network device can extend the duration for which the terminal device detects the second downlink control information. For example, the second downlink control information includes a fifth indication, which instructs the first duration to be updated to a fourth duration or the second timer to be restarted. Since the fourth duration is longer than the first duration, the terminal device can update the second timer's duration to the fourth duration or restart the second timer, thus extending the duration for which the terminal device detects the second downlink control information beyond the first duration. Alternatively, the fourth duration indicated by the fifth indication may start from the time corresponding to the current second downlink control information. In this case, the terminal device continuously detects the second downlink control information until the aforementioned fourth duration expires, at which point it returns to the monitoring state of detecting the first downlink control information.

[0141] Example 2: In step 401, if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information, it can start a second timer. The duration of the second timer is a second duration. The second duration can be configured by the network device; for example, the second duration is indicated by the first downlink control information. The second duration can also be preset or determined by the terminal device and reported to the network device.

[0142] The terminal device detects the second downlink control information during the second timer's countdown. If the terminal device detects the second downlink control information before the second timer expires or resets to zero, the terminal device can restart the second timer. If no second downlink control information is detected in each detection cycle, the terminal device can decrement the second timer's countdown value by 1. If the second timer's countdown value is 0, indicating that the second timer has expired or reset to zero, it means that the terminal device has not detected the second downlink control information for a continuous period of time, satisfying the first condition. In this case, the terminal device can stop detecting the second downlink control information and start detecting the first downlink control information.

[0143] For example, as shown in Figure 6, taking the start time of the activation period as the start time of the periodic time window, the terminal device detects the first downlink control information within the periodic time window. If the terminal device detects the first downlink control information and determines to detect the second downlink control information, the terminal device starts a second timer. The timing duration of the second timer is a second duration, which can be greater than the length of the periodic time window. When the second timer expires or its timing reaches zero, if the terminal device does not detect the second downlink control information during the timing period of the second timer, it means that the terminal device has not detected the second downlink control information for a continuous period of time, satisfying the first condition. The terminal device then starts or resumes the first timer. In the figure, the second duration is greater than the length of the periodic time window, so the terminal device starts the first timer outside the periodic time window. The terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the timing period of the first timer. Optionally, the activation period includes the timing duration of the second timer and the timing duration of the first timer. If the terminal device does not detect the first downlink control information during the timing period of the first timer when the first timer expires or its timing reaches zero, it stops detecting the first downlink control information, and the activation period can be considered to have ended.

[0144] If the terminal device does not detect the first downlink control information during the first timer's timing period, it will stop detecting the first downlink control information and also stop detecting the second downlink control information until the next discontinuous reception activation period, at which point it can execute step 401 again. If the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the first timer's timing period, it can execute step 403 again; the specific process will not be described in detail.

[0145] Example 3: In step 401, if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information, it can start the second timer, the timing duration of which is either the first duration or the second duration.

[0146] The terminal device detects the second downlink control information during the second timer's countdown. If the terminal device detects the second downlink control information, and the second downlink control information includes second indication information indicating that the first condition is met, the terminal device then detects the first downlink control information. If the second timer times out or reaches zero, and the terminal device does not detect the second downlink control information including the second indication information, then it stops detecting the second downlink control information.

[0147] Optionally, if the second downlink control information detected by the terminal device includes the second indication information, the terminal device may terminate the second timer and start the first timer. The terminal device detects the first downlink control information before the first timer expires or the countdown reaches zero. The activation period at this time includes the countdown duration of the first timer.

[0148] Optionally, if the terminal device does not detect the first downlink control information during the timing of the first timer or the second timer, it stops detecting the first downlink control information and also stops detecting the second downlink control information until the next discontinuous reception activation period, at which point step 401 can be executed again. If the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the timing of the first timer or the second timer, it can execute step 403 again; the specific process will not be described in detail.

[0149] Using the above method, if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the activation period, it can then detect the second downlink control information based on the first downlink control information, thereby reducing the power consumption of detecting downlink control information.

[0150] In this application, when the terminal device detects the first downlink control information, it can also detect the third downlink control information based on the first downlink control information, which will be described in detail below.

[0151] Figure 7 shows a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes:

[0152] Step 701: The terminal device detects the first downlink control information or the second downlink control information during the activation period of discontinuous reception.

[0153] The details of step 701 can be found in the description of step 401, and will not be repeated here.

[0154] Optionally, before step 701, the terminal device may also detect the first downlink control information or the third downlink control information. If a third condition is met during the detection of the first or third downlink control information, the terminal device will detect the first downlink control information during the non-continuous reception activation period, i.e., execute step 401 or step 701. The power consumption of the terminal device in detecting the third downlink control information is less than the power consumption in detecting the second downlink control information.

[0155] The third condition includes at least one of the following:

[0156] The first downlink control information was detected within the periodic time window;

[0157] A third downlink control message was detected during the inactivity period of discontinuous reception;

[0158] The first downlink control information or the third downlink control information includes a fourth indication information, which indicates that the first downlink control information or the second downlink control information is detected during the activation period.

[0159] The third downlink control information is located during the inactive period of discontinuous reception. The third downlink control information is used to wake up the terminal device to perform detection within the periodic time window of discontinuous reception.

[0160] Accordingly, for network devices, if the sixth condition is met, the network device will send the first downlink control information during the active period of discontinuous reception; wherein the sixth condition includes at least one of the following:

[0161] The first downlink control information is transmitted within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception;

[0162] The third downlink control information is transmitted during the inactive period of discontinuous reception;

[0163] The first or third downlink control information includes the fourth indication information.

[0164] In one implementation, the terminal device detects third downlink control information during the inactive period of discontinuous reception.

[0165] If a network device sends a third downlink control message during a reception period in an inactive period, and the terminal device detects the third downlink control message during a reception period in an inactive period, or detects a third downlink control message including a fourth indication message, the terminal device can detect the first downlink control message or the second downlink control message during the activation period (which includes a periodic time window).

[0166] For example, as shown in Figure 8, taking discontinuous reception as an example of C-DRX, the reception timing may include a third downlink control information before the start of the periodic time window of C-DRX. This reception timing is configured by the network device or determined based on specific rules, such as a specific time interval before the start of the periodic time window. The terminal device detects the third downlink control information during the reception timing in the inactive period of C-DRX. If the terminal device detects the third downlink control information during the inactive period, or detects the third downlink control information including the fourth indication information, the terminal device can detect the first downlink control information or the second downlink control information during the active period (the start time of the active period is the start time of the periodic time window), that is, execute step 401 or step 701. For details, please refer to the process shown in Figure 4, which will not be repeated here.

[0167] In this application, if the terminal device does not detect the third downlink control information during the inactive period, or if the terminal device does not detect the third downlink control information including the fourth indication information during the inactive period, the terminal device will detect the third downlink control information at the reception timing of the next inactive period.

[0168] Optionally, if the terminal device does not detect the third downlink control information during the inactive period, it may not need to detect the first or second downlink control information in the periodic time window.

[0169] Optionally, the third downlink control information can be a wake-up signal (WUS), for example, the third downlink control information can be modulated using OOK or FSK.

[0170] Optionally, the third downlink control information can also be used to schedule data. In this case, when the terminal device detects the third downlink control information, it can receive the data scheduled by the third downlink control information.

[0171] Optionally, the third downlink control information can also be used to indicate the configuration parameters of the terminal device during the activation period, such as detecting the first or second downlink control information or the configuration parameters of the transmit / receive data channel, such as bandwidth parameters.

[0172] Optionally, the terminal device can detect the third downlink control information through an auxiliary receiver, which can reduce the detection power consumption of the terminal device.

[0173] In another implementation, the terminal device detects the first downlink control information within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception.

[0174] If the network device sends the first downlink control information within a periodic time window, and the terminal device detects the first downlink control information within the same periodic time window, or detects the first downlink control information including the fourth indication information, the terminal device can detect the first downlink control information during the activation period (which includes a portion of the periodic time window). For example, the terminal device can start a first timer and execute step 401 or step 701 during the timing of the first timer, as shown in Figure 4, which will not be elaborated further here. Alternatively, the terminal device can start a second timer and detect the second downlink control information during the timing of the second timer.

[0175] For example, as shown in Figure 9, the terminal device detects the first downlink control information in periodic time window 1. If the first downlink control information is not detected in periodic time window 1, it is detected in the next periodic time window (i.e., periodic time window 2). The terminal device does not detect the first downlink control information or any other downlink control information during the inactive period between periodic time window 1 and periodic time window 2.

[0176] If the terminal device detects the first downlink control information, or the first downlink control information including the fourth indication information, within a periodic time window (e.g., periodic time window 2), the terminal device can start a first timer. The duration of the first timer can be longer than the duration of the periodic time window. In this case, the activation period is extended to the end time of the first timer. After starting the first timer, the terminal device detects the first or second downlink control information during the activation period (which includes the duration of the first timer). For details, please refer to the process shown in Figure 4, which will not be elaborated further here. Alternatively, the terminal device can start a second timer and detect the second downlink control information during the timing of the second timer.

[0177] Optionally, the detection of the first downlink control information by the terminal device within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception may differ from the detection of the first downlink control information during the activation period in at least one of the following ways:

[0178] The length of the periodic time window is shorter than the length of the activation period; for example, the period of the periodic time window is 80 or 160 ms, and the length of the periodic time window is 10 ms; while the length of the activation period can be greater than 10 ms.

[0179] During the periodic time window of discontinuous reception, the terminal device uses the fourth configuration information to detect the first downlink control information, while during the active period, it uses the third configuration information to detect the first downlink control information. The power consumption of the terminal device when detecting the first downlink control information based on the fourth configuration information is less than the power consumption when detecting the first downlink control information based on the third configuration information. The fourth configuration information is configured by the network device, and the specific configuration process is not limited.

[0180] The fourth configuration information is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0181] The receiving bandwidth corresponding to the first downlink control information;

[0182] The number of receiving airspace corresponding to the first downlink control information;

[0183] The symbol position occupied by the first downlink control information;

[0184] The payload length of the first downlink control information;

[0185] CRC length of the first downlink control information;

[0186] The receiver corresponding to the first downlink control information;

[0187] The number of blind detections for the first downlink control information.

[0188] For example, the receiving bandwidth indicated by the fourth configuration information is less than the receiving bandwidth indicated by the third configuration information; the number of receiving spatial domains indicated by the fourth configuration information is less than the number of receiving spatial domains indicated by the third configuration information; the payload length indicated by the fourth configuration information is less than the payload length indicated by the third configuration information; the CRC length indicated by the fourth configuration information is less than the CRC length indicated by the third configuration information; and the number of blind detections indicated by the fourth configuration information is less than the number of blind detections indicated by the third configuration information.

[0189] Step 702: The network device sends the first downlink control information or the second downlink control information during the active period of discontinuous reception.

[0190] Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first downlink control information or the second downlink control information from the network device.

[0191] The details of step 702 can be found in the description of step 402, and will not be repeated here.

[0192] Step 703: If the second condition is met, the terminal device detects the third downlink control information during the inactive period of discontinuous reception, or the terminal device detects the first downlink control information within the periodic time window of discontinuous reception.

[0193] The periodic time window can refer to the activation window for non-continuous reception, such as the activation window of C-DRX.

[0194] In one implementation, for the terminal device, the second condition includes at least one of the following:

[0195] The duration during which no first downlink control information or second downlink control information is detected reaches a third duration;

[0196] A first downlink control message or a second downlink control message is detected, and the first downlink control message or the second downlink control message includes a third indication message, the third indication message indicating that the third downlink control message is detected or the first downlink control message is detected within a periodic time window.

[0197] Correspondingly, for network devices, if the fifth condition is met, the network device will send the third downlink control information during the inactive period of discontinuous reception. The third downlink control information is used to wake up the terminal device to perform detection within the periodic time window of discontinuous reception.

[0198] Alternatively, if the fifth condition is met, the network device will send the first downlink control information within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception;

[0199] The fifth condition includes at least one of the following: the duration during which the first downlink control information has not been sent continuously reaches the third duration or the fifth duration, wherein the fifth duration can be equal to the sum of the second duration and the third duration;

[0200] The first downlink control information sent by the network device includes the third instruction information.

[0201] Example 1, in step 701, the terminal device starts a first timer at the beginning of the activation period. The duration of the first timer is a third duration. The third duration can be configured by the network device, preset, or determined by the terminal device.

[0202] The terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the first timer's countdown. If the terminal device detects the first downlink control information before the first timer expires or resets to zero, it can restart the first timer. If no first downlink control information is detected within each detection cycle, the terminal device decrements the first timer's countdown value by 1. If the first timer's countdown value is 0, indicating that the first timer has expired or reset to zero, it means that the terminal device has not detected the first downlink control information for a third consecutive period, thus satisfying the second condition. The detection cycle can be preset, configured by the network device, or determined by the terminal device.

[0203] Optionally, the third duration is longer than the first or second duration in the above embodiments. That is, the conditions for falling back from the state of detecting the first downlink control information during the activation period to detecting the third downlink control information or detecting the first downlink control information based on a periodic time window (such as the duration of the first timer) are more stringent than the conditions for falling back from the state of detecting the second downlink control information to detecting the first downlink control information during the activation period (such as the duration of the second timer), considering that falling back to the state under the non-activation period or periodic time window configuration has a significant impact on service latency.

[0204] Example 2: In step 701, the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the activation period. If the first downlink control information includes the third indication information, then the second condition is determined to be met.

[0205] In one implementation, if the second condition is met, the terminal device stops detecting the first downlink control information during the activation period.

[0206] In step 703, if the second condition is met, the terminal device can refer to the previous description for how to detect the third downlink control information during the inactive period of discontinuous reception, or how to detect the first downlink control information within the periodic time window of discontinuous reception, and will not be repeated here.

[0207] In one implementation, if the terminal device detects third downlink control information during the inactive period, or detects third downlink control information including fourth indication information, the terminal device can detect first downlink control information or second downlink control information. For details, please refer to the process shown in Figure 4 regarding the terminal device detecting first or second downlink control information; it will not be repeated here. The fourth indication information here can indicate whether to detect first or second downlink control information during the active period.

[0208] In one implementation, if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information or the first downlink control information including the fourth indication information within a periodic time window, the terminal device can detect either the first downlink control information or the second downlink control information. For details, please refer to the process shown in Figure 4 regarding the terminal device's detection of the first or second downlink control information; it will not be elaborated further here. The fourth indication information here can indicate whether the first or second downlink control information should be detected during the activation period.

[0209] In this application, if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information, it may not switch to the process of detecting the second downlink control information. For example, the terminal device may detect the first downlink control information during an active period of discontinuous reception, or within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception. If the second data used for scheduling by the first downlink control information detected by the terminal device is small packet data, the terminal device may continue to detect the first downlink control information instead of detecting the second downlink control information.

[0210] In one implementation, the first downlink control information may include a fifth indication information, which indicates that the second downlink control information is not detected or that the detection of the first downlink control information is maintained; thus, the terminal device can determine not to detect the second downlink control information based on the fifth indication information.

[0211] In another implementation, the terminal device determines that the second data is small packet data based on the scheduling parameters of the first downlink control information. If this is determined, the terminal device can continue to detect the first downlink control information instead of the second. The scheduling parameters can include the amount of resources (e.g., the number of resource blocks). If the terminal device determines that the amount of resources scheduled by the first downlink control information is less than or equal to a resource threshold, it can determine that the second data is small packet data. Alternatively, the scheduling parameters can include the data packet size or the transport block size. If the terminal device determines that the data packet size or the transport block size scheduled by the first downlink control information is less than or equal to a preset threshold, it can determine that the second data is small packet data.

[0212] Based on the foregoing description, in this application, the terminal device, while detecting one downlink control information, can switch to detecting another downlink control information when certain conditions are met.

[0213] For example, as shown in Figure 10, during the activation period of discontinuous reception, the terminal device detects first downlink control information. If the seventh condition is met, it then detects second downlink control information. The seventh condition includes at least one of the following: first downlink control information is detected; the first downlink control information is used to schedule second data; and the first downlink control information includes first indication information.

[0214] If the first condition is met during the process of detecting the second downlink control information, the terminal device will return to the activation period to detect the first downlink control information.

[0215] In another implementation, the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the active period of discontinuous reception. If the second condition is met, it detects the third downlink control information during the inactive period of discontinuous reception, or detects the first downlink control information within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception.

[0216] Accordingly, if the terminal device detects the third downlink control information during the inactive period of discontinuous reception, or detects the first downlink control information during the periodic time window of discontinuous reception, and the third condition is met, it will return to the active period to detect the first downlink control information or the second downlink control information.

[0217] Based on the preceding description, taking discontinuous reception as an example of C-DRX, the reception timing may include a third downlink control information before the start of the periodic time window of C-DRX. This reception timing is configured by the network device or determined based on specific rules, such as a specific time interval before the start of the periodic time window. The terminal device detects the third downlink control information during the inactive period of C-DRX.

[0218] Assuming the terminal device detects a third downlink control message or a third downlink control message including a fourth indication message during the inactive period, the following implementation methods are possible:

[0219] In implementation method 1, as shown in Figure 11, when the terminal device detects the third downlink control information or the third downlink control information including the fourth indication information during the non-activation period, the third condition is met, and the terminal device can detect the first downlink control information during the activation period (the start time of the activation period in the figure is the start time of the periodic time window 1).

[0220] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 11, if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the activation period, or if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the activation period and the first downlink control information is used to schedule the second data, or if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the activation period and the first downlink control information includes the first indication information, i.e., the seventh condition is met, the terminal device will detect the second downlink control information (during the activation period). For details, please refer to the description of step 403, which will not be repeated here.

[0221] Optionally, if the first condition is met during the detection of the second downlink control information, the terminal device stops detecting the second downlink control information and detects the first downlink control information. For details, please refer to the description of step 403, which will not be repeated here. Further, optionally, if the second condition is met during the detection of the first downlink control information, the terminal device detects the third downlink control information during the inactive period of discontinuous reception. For example, as shown in Figure 11, the terminal device detects the third downlink control information during reception timing 2 in the inactive period.

[0222] In implementation method 2, as shown in Figure 12, when the terminal device detects the third downlink control information or the third downlink control information including the fourth indication information during the inactive period, the third condition is met, and the terminal device can detect the first downlink control information during the active period (the start time of the active period in the figure is the start time of the periodic time window 1).

[0223] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 12, if the second condition is met during the process of detecting the first downlink control information, the terminal device will detect the third downlink control information during the inactive period of discontinuous reception (e.g., the next reception opportunity). For details, please refer to the description of step 703, which will not be repeated here. For example, as shown in Figure 12, the terminal device detects the third downlink control information during reception opportunity 2 in the inactive period.

[0224] Optionally, during the detection of the third downlink control information, if the third condition is met, the terminal device detects the first downlink control information or the second downlink control information during the non-continuous reception activation period, i.e., executes step 401 or step 701. For example, as shown in Figure 12, the terminal device detects the second downlink control information during the activation period (the start time of this activation period in the figure is the start time of the periodic time window 2).

[0225] In implementation method 3, as shown in Figure 13, when the terminal device detects the third downlink control information or the third downlink control information including the fourth indication information during the inactive period, the third condition is met, and the terminal device can detect the second downlink control information during the active period (the start time of the active period in the figure is the start time of the periodic time window 1).

[0226] If the first condition is met during the process of detecting the second downlink control information, the terminal device will stop detecting the second downlink control information and start detecting the first downlink control information. For details, please refer to the description of step 403, which will not be repeated here.

[0227] Alternatively, during the detection of the first downlink control information, if the seventh condition is met, the terminal device (within the activation period) will detect the second downlink control information. For details, please refer to the description of step 403, which will not be repeated here. Other cases can be referred to the preceding descriptions.

[0228] Based on the preceding description, taking discontinuous reception as an example of C-DRX, the terminal device detects the first downlink control information within the periodic time window of C-DRX.

[0229] Implementation method 4: Assuming that the terminal device detects the first downlink control information or detects the first downlink control information including the fourth indication information within the periodic time window, that is, the third condition is met, as shown in Figure 14, the terminal device can detect the first downlink control information within the activation period (which includes the periodic time window 1).

[0230] Further optionally, if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the activation period, or if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the activation period and the first downlink control information is used to schedule the second data, or if the terminal device detects the first downlink control information during the activation period and the first downlink control information includes the first indication information, i.e., the seventh condition is met, the terminal device then (during the activation period) detects the second downlink control information. For details, please refer to the description of step 403, which will not be repeated here.

[0231] Optionally, if the first condition is met during the detection of the second downlink control information, the terminal device stops detecting the second downlink control information and starts detecting the first downlink control information. For details, please refer to the description of step 403, which will not be repeated here. Optionally, if the second condition is met during the detection of the first downlink control information, the terminal device detects the first downlink control information in the next periodic time window. For example, as shown in Figure 14, the terminal device detects the first downlink control information in periodic time window 2.

[0232] Implementation method 5: Assuming that the terminal device detects the first downlink control information or detects the first downlink control information including the fourth indication information within the periodic time window, that is, the third condition is met, as shown in Figure 15, the terminal device can detect the first downlink control information within the activation period (which includes the periodic time window 1).

[0233] Alternatively, if the second condition is met, the terminal device detects the first downlink control information in the next periodic time window of discontinuous reception. For details, please refer to the description of step 703, which will not be repeated here.

[0234] Alternatively, during the detection of the first downlink control information, if the second condition is met, the terminal device will detect the first downlink control information during the non-continuous reception activation period, i.e., execute step 401 or step 701. For example, as shown in Figure 15, the terminal device detects the first downlink control information within a periodic time window 2.

[0235] In implementation method 6, the terminal device detects the first downlink control information or the first downlink control information including the fourth indication information within the periodic time window, which satisfies the third condition. As shown in Figure 16, the terminal device can detect the second downlink control information within the activation period (which includes the periodic time window 1).

[0236] If the first condition is met during the process of detecting the second downlink control information, the terminal device will stop detecting the second downlink control information and start detecting the first downlink control information. For details, please refer to the description of step 403, which will not be repeated here.

[0237] Alternatively, during the detection of the first downlink control information, if the second condition is met, the terminal device will detect the first downlink control information during the non-continuous reception activation period, i.e., execute step 401 or step 701. For example, as shown in Figure 16, the terminal device detects the first downlink control information within a periodic time window 2.

[0238] It is understood that, in order to achieve the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal device or network device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to perform each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and method steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed by hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0239] The following are schematic diagrams of possible communication devices provided in the embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of terminal devices or network devices in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments.

[0240] As shown in Figure 17, the communication device 1700 includes a processing unit 1710 and a communication unit 1720. The communication device 1700 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in the various method embodiments shown above.

[0241] When the communication device 1700 is used to implement the functions of a terminal device:

[0242] The processing unit is used to detect the first downlink control information during the active period of discontinuous reception via the communication unit;

[0243] The processing unit is configured to detect second downlink control information based on the first downlink control information through the communication unit; wherein the first downlink control information is used to trigger the detection of the second downlink control information, and the second downlink control information is used to schedule the first data.

[0244] When the communication device 1700 is used to implement the functions of a network device:

[0245] The processing unit is used to send first downlink control information during the active period of discontinuous reception via the communication unit;

[0246] The processing unit is configured to send second downlink control information through the communication unit; wherein the first downlink control information is used to trigger the terminal device to detect the second downlink control information, and the second downlink control information is used to schedule the first data.

[0247] More detailed descriptions of the processing unit 1710 and the communication unit 1720 can be obtained directly from the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0248] It should be understood that the division of units in the above device is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into a single physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Furthermore, all units in the device can be implemented entirely through software calls from processing elements; all units can be implemented entirely in hardware; or some units can be implemented through software calls from processing elements, while others are implemented in hardware. For example, each unit can be a separate processing element, or it can be integrated into a chip within the device. Alternatively, it can be stored as a program in memory, called and executed by a processing element of the device. Moreover, these units can be fully or partially integrated together, or implemented independently. The processing element here can also be called a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, the operations or units described above can be implemented through integrated logic circuits in the processor element or through software calls from processing elements.

[0249] In one example, a unit in any of the above devices can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the methods described above, such as: one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these forms of integrated circuits. As another example, when a unit in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element can be a processor, such as a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), or other processor capable of calling programs. Furthermore, these units can be integrated together to implement a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0250] The receiving unit described above is an interface circuit of the device, used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the receiving unit is an interface circuit for the chip to receive signals from other chips or devices. The transmitting unit described above is an interface circuit of the device, used to transmit signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the transmitting unit is an interface circuit for the chip to transmit signals to other chips or devices.

[0251] As another possible product form, the terminal device or network device of this application embodiment can be implemented by a general bus architecture. For ease of explanation, refer to FIG18, which is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device 1800 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 1800 includes a processor 1801 and a transceiver 1802. The communication device 1800 can be a terminal device, or a chip or chip system therein; or, the communication device 1800 can be a network device, or a chip or module therein. FIG18 only shows the main components of the communication device 1800. In addition to the processor 1801 and transceiver 1802, the communication device 1800 may further include a memory 1803 and input / output devices (not shown in the figure).

[0252] Optionally, the processor 1801 is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process the data of the software programs. The memory 1803 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The transceiver 1802 may include radio frequency (RF) circuitry and an antenna. The RF circuitry is mainly used for converting baseband signals to RF signals and processing RF signals. The antenna is mainly used for transmitting and receiving RF signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices, such as touchscreens, displays, and keyboards, are mainly used to receive user input data and output data to the user.

[0253] Optionally, the processor 1801, transceiver 1802, and memory 1803 can be connected via a communication bus.

[0254] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 1801 can read the software program in the memory 1803, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 1801 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency (RF) circuit. The RF circuit processes the baseband signal and transmits the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1801. The processor 1801 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0255] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be set up independently of the processor that performs baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be arranged remotely, independent of the communication device.

[0256] In some embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the above-described communication device 1700 can be implemented in the form of the communication device 1800 shown in FIG18.

[0257] As an example, the function / implementation of the processing unit 1710 in FIG17 can be implemented by the processor 1801 in the communication device 1800 shown in FIG18 calling computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1803. The function / implementation of the communication unit 1720 in FIG17 can be implemented by the transceiver 1802 in the communication device 1800 shown in FIG18.

[0258] As another possible product form, the terminal device or network device in this application may adopt the composition structure shown in FIG19, or include the components shown in FIG19. FIG19 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device 1900 provided in this application.

[0259] As shown in Figure 19, the communication device 1900 includes at least one processor 1901. Optionally, the communication device also includes a communication interface 1902.

[0260] When the relevant program instructions are executed in the at least one processor 1901, the communication device 1900 can implement the methods and any possible designs provided in any of the foregoing embodiments. Alternatively, the processor 1901 can implement the methods and any possible designs provided in any of the foregoing embodiments through logic circuits or executable code instructions.

[0261] The communication interface 1902 can be used to receive program instructions and transmit them to the processor, or it can be used for communication device 1900 to communicate and interact with other communication devices, such as exchanging control signaling and / or service data. For example, the communication interface 1902 can be used to receive signals from other devices besides the communication device 1900 and transmit them to the processor 1901, or to send signals from the processor 1901 to other communication devices besides the communication device 1900.

[0262] Optionally, the communication interface 1902 can be a code and / or data read / write interface circuit, or the communication interface 1902 can be a signal transmission interface circuit between a communication processor and a transceiver, or a chip pin.

[0263] Optionally, the communication device 1900 may further include at least one memory 1903, which can be used to store the required program instructions and / or data. It should be noted that the memory 1903 may exist independently of the processor 1901 or may be integrated with the processor 1901. The memory 1903 may be located within or outside the communication device 1900, without limitation.

[0264] Optionally, the communication device 1900 may further include a power supply circuit 1904, which can be used to power the processor 1901. The power supply circuit 1904 may be located in the same chip as the processor 1901, or in a separate chip outside the chip containing the processor 1901.

[0265] Optionally, the communication device 1900 may also include a bus, through which the various parts of the communication device 1900 can be interconnected.

[0266] In some embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the communication device 1700 shown in FIG17 can be implemented in the form of the communication device 1900 shown in FIG19.

[0267] As an example, the function / implementation process of the processing unit 1710 in Figure 17 can be implemented by the processor 1901 in the communication device 1900 shown in Figure 19 calling computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1903. The function / implementation process of the communication unit 1720 in Figure 17 can be implemented by the communication interface 1902 in the communication device 1900 shown in Figure 19.

[0268] It should be noted that the structure shown in Figure 19 does not constitute a specific limitation on the terminal device or network device. For example, in other embodiments of this application, the terminal device or network device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine some components, or split some components, or have different component arrangements. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0269] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip applied to a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the terminal, which is information sent to the terminal by the base station; or, the terminal chip sends information to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the terminal, which is information sent to the base station by the terminal.

[0270] When the aforementioned communication device is a module applied to a base station, the base station module implements the functions of the base station in the above method embodiments. The base station module receives information from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the base station, information sent by the terminal to the base station; or, the base station module sends information to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the base station, information sent by the base station to the terminal. Here, the base station module can be the baseband chip of the base station, or a DU (Digital Unit) or other modules. The DU can be a DU under an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architecture.

[0271] Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of this application also provide a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, which may also be referred to as computer programs, computer program code, etc. The instructions, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the functions of the terminal device or network device described in the above method embodiments.

[0272] Based on the same technical concept, this application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run by a communication device, the method steps executed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments are executed.

[0273] Based on the same concept, embodiments of this application also provide a chip, which may include a processor and a memory (or the chip may be coupled to the memory). The chip executes program instructions in the memory to perform the methods executed by the terminal device or network device in the above embodiments. Here, "coupling" refers to two components being directly or indirectly connected to each other; for example, coupling can refer to an electrical connection between two components.

[0274] Based on the same concept, embodiments of this application also provide a communication system, including a terminal device and a network device. The terminal device is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the foregoing embodiments; the network device is used to implement the functions of the network device in the foregoing embodiments.

[0275] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0276] The method steps in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can consist of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Alternatively, the ASIC can reside in a base station or terminal. Of course, the processor and storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the base station or terminal.

[0277] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are performed entirely or partially. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video optical disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both types of storage media.

[0278] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0279] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0280] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more blocks of the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0281] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0282] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the scope of this application. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: include: Detect the first downlink control information during the activation period of discontinuous reception; The first downlink control information is used to detect the second downlink control information; wherein the first downlink control information is used to trigger the detection of the second downlink control information, and the second downlink control information is used to schedule the first data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The step of detecting the second downlink control information based on the first downlink control information includes: If the first downlink control information is detected, or if the first downlink control information is used to schedule the second data, or if the first downlink control information includes first indication information, then the second downlink control information is detected, and the first indication information is used to indicate the detection of the second downlink control information.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first downlink control information and the second downlink control information satisfy at least one of the following: The receiving bandwidth corresponding to the first downlink control information is less than the receiving bandwidth corresponding to the second downlink control information; The number of receiving airspace corresponding to the first downlink control information is less than the number of receiving airspace corresponding to the second downlink control information. The number of receiving airspace includes at least one of the following: number of layers, maximum number of supported layers, number of antenna ports, number of receiving channels, and number of receiving antennas. The last symbol of the first downlink control information is separated from the detection start symbol of the second downlink control information by at least one symbol; The payload length of the first downlink control information is less than the payload length of the second downlink control information; The cyclic redundancy check (CRC) length of the first downlink control information is less than the CRC length of the second downlink control information; The power consumption of the receiver corresponding to the first downlink control information is less than the power consumption of the receiver corresponding to the second downlink control information; The number of blind detections for the first downlink control information is less than the number of blind detections for the second downlink control information.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the first condition is met, then stop detecting the second downlink control information and start detecting the first downlink control information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The first condition includes at least one of the following: The duration for detecting the second downlink control information reaches the first duration; The duration during which the second downlink control information is not continuously detected reaches the second duration; The second downlink control information includes second indication information, which is used to indicate the detection of the first downlink control information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the second condition is met, then the third downlink control information is detected during the inactive period of discontinuous reception. The third downlink control information is used to wake up the terminal device to perform detection within the periodic time window of discontinuous reception. Alternatively, if the second condition is met, the first downlink control information is detected within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, If the second condition is met, the method further includes: Stop detecting the first downlink control information during the activation period.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein, The second condition includes at least one of the following: The duration during which the first downlink control information is not continuously detected reaches a third duration; The first downlink control information is detected, and the first downlink control information includes third indication information, wherein the third indication information indicates that the third downlink control information is detected or that the first downlink control information is detected within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, Before detecting the first downlink control information during the activation period of discontinuous reception, the method further includes: Detect the third downlink control information during the inactive period of the discontinuous reception; Alternatively, the first downlink control information can be detected within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The detection of the first downlink control information during the activation period of discontinuous reception includes: If the third condition is met, the first downlink control information is detected during the activation period of discontinuous reception; The third condition includes at least one of the following: The first downlink control information was detected within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception; A third downlink control message was detected during the inactivity period of the discontinuous reception. The first downlink control information or the third downlink control information includes a fourth indication information, which indicates that the first downlink control information is detected during the activation period.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The first downlink control information also includes the first configuration information of the second downlink control information and / or the second configuration information of the data scheduled by the second downlink control information.

12. A communication method characterized by comprising: include: During the active period of discontinuous reception, the first downlink control information is transmitted; Sending second downlink control information; wherein, the first downlink control information is used to trigger the terminal device to detect the second downlink control information, and the second downlink control information is used to schedule the first data.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The first downlink control information is used to schedule the second data; Alternatively, the first downlink control information may include first indication information, which is used to indicate the detection of the second downlink control information.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that, The first downlink control information and the second downlink control information satisfy at least one of the following: The receiving bandwidth corresponding to the first downlink control information is less than the receiving bandwidth corresponding to the second downlink control information; The number of receiving airspace corresponding to the first downlink control information is less than the number of receiving airspace corresponding to the second downlink control information. The number of receiving airspace includes at least one of the following: number of layers, maximum number of supported layers, number of antenna ports, number of receiving channels, and number of receiving antennas. The last symbol of the first downlink control information is separated from the detection start symbol of the second downlink control information by at least one symbol; The payload length of the first downlink control information is less than the payload length of the second downlink control information; The cyclic redundancy check (CRC) length of the first downlink control information is less than the CRC length of the second downlink control information; The power consumption of the receiver corresponding to the first downlink control information is less than the power consumption of the receiver corresponding to the second downlink control information; The number of blind detections for the first downlink control information is less than the number of blind detections for the second downlink control information.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the fourth condition is met, then stop sending the second downlink control information and send the first downlink control information; The fourth condition includes at least one of the following: The time elapsed between the transmission of the first downlink control information during the activation period and the first duration has elapsed. The duration during which the second downlink control information has not been sent continuously reaches the second duration; The second downlink control information includes second indication information, which is used to indicate the detection of the first downlink control information.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, The method further includes: If the fifth condition is met, then a third downlink control message is sent during the inactive period of discontinuous reception. The third downlink control message is used to wake up the terminal device to perform detection within the periodic time window of discontinuous reception. Alternatively, if the fifth condition is met, the first downlink control information is transmitted within a periodic time window of discontinuous reception; The fifth condition includes at least one of the following: the duration during which the first downlink control information has not been sent for a continuous period of time reaches a third duration; The first downlink control information includes third indication information, which indicates that the third downlink control information is detected or that the first downlink control information is detected within a periodic time window.

17. The method of any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein, Before transmitting the first downlink control information during the activation period of discontinuous reception, the method further includes: The third downlink control information is transmitted during the inactive period of the discontinuous reception. Alternatively, the first downlink control information may be sent within a periodic time window.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein, The transmission of the first downlink control information during the activation period of discontinuous reception includes: If the sixth condition is met, the first downlink control information is sent during the active period of discontinuous reception; The sixth condition includes at least one of the following: The first downlink control information is sent within a periodic time window; The third downlink control information is transmitted during the inactive period of the discontinuous reception. The first downlink control information or the third downlink control information includes a fourth indication information, which indicates that the first downlink control information is detected during the activation period.

19. A communications device, characterized by include: The processing unit is used to detect the first downlink control information during the active period of discontinuous reception via the communication unit; The processing unit is configured to detect second downlink control information based on the first downlink control information through the communication unit; wherein the first downlink control information is used to trigger the detection of the second downlink control information, and the second downlink control information is used to schedule the first data.

20. A communications device, characterized by include: The processing unit is used to send first downlink control information during the active period of discontinuous reception via the communication unit; The processing unit is configured to send second downlink control information through the communication unit; wherein the first downlink control information is used to trigger the terminal device to detect the second downlink control information, and the second downlink control information is used to schedule the first data.

21. A communications device, characterized by include: A module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 11, or including a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 12 to 18.

22. A communications device, characterized by comprising at least one processor; and a communication interface communicatively connected with the at least one processor; the at least one processor, by executing instructions stored in a memory, causes the method of any one of claims 1 to 11 to be performed, or causes the method of any one of claims 12 to 18 to be performed.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer program or instructions stored in a computer readable medium, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 18.

24. A computer program product, characterised in that, A computer program product, which, when read and executed by a computer, causes the method of any one of claims 1 to 18 to be performed.

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