Monitoring method, communication device, communication system and storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a monitoring method, a communication device, a communication system and a storage medium. The method comprises: receiving a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sent by a network device; on the basis of related information of a predetermined signal in the first PDCCH, determining first information, the first information indicating a terminal type corresponding to a second terminal used for receiving a second PDCCH, wherein the second PDCCH comprises a PDCCH located after the first PDCCH in a PDCCH period where the first PDCCH is located, and / or the second PDCCH comprises PDCCHs in N PDCCH periods after the PDCCH period where the first PDCCH is located, N being a positive integer; and on the basis of the first information, determining whether to stop monitoring the second PDCCH. The method of the present disclosure avoids some invalid blind detections, and thus reduces the number of blind detections (or referred to as the number of detections), thereby reducing the complexity and energy consumption of a terminal, and improving the efficiency.

Description

Monitoring methods, communication equipment, communication systems, storage media Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to eavesdropping methods, communication devices, communication systems, and storage media. Background Technology

[0002] In communication systems, reduced capability (RedCap) terminals are introduced. RedCap terminals can be, for example, Internet of Things (IoT) terminals or Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) terminals. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This disclosure discloses a monitoring method, communication equipment, communication system, and storage medium.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a monitoring method is proposed, executed by a first terminal, the method comprising: receiving a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sent by a network device; determining first information based on relevant information of predetermined signals in the first PDCCH, the first information indicating: the terminal type corresponding to a second terminal used to receive a second PDCCH, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH located after the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period, and / or, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH in N PDCCH periods after the PDCCH period in which the first PDCCH is located; N being a positive integer; and determining whether to stop monitoring the second PDCCH based on the first information.

[0005] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a monitoring method is provided, performed by a network device, the method comprising: sending a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a first terminal, wherein relevant information of predetermined signals in the first PDCCH is used to determine first information, the first information indicating: the terminal type corresponding to a second terminal used to receive a second PDCCH, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH located after the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period, and / or, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH in N PDCCH periods after the PDCCH period in which the first PDCCH is located; N is a positive integer.

[0006] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a first terminal is provided, comprising: a transceiver module for receiving a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sent by a network device; and a processing module for determining first information based on relevant information of predetermined signals in the first PDCCH, wherein the first information indicates the terminal type corresponding to a second terminal for receiving a second PDCCH, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH following the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period, and / or, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH in N PDCCH periods following the first PDCCH period; where N is a positive integer; the processing module is further configured to determine whether to stop listening to the second PDCCH based on the first information.

[0007] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a network device is provided, comprising: a transceiver module, configured to transmit a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a first terminal, wherein related information of predetermined signals in the first PDCCH is used to determine first information, the first information indicating: the terminal type corresponding to a second terminal used to receive a second PDCCH, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH located after the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period, and / or, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH in N PDCCH periods after the PDCCH period in which the first PDCCH is located; N is a positive integer.

[0008] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, comprising: one or more processors;

[0009] The processor is configured to invoke instructions to cause the communication device to execute any of the listening methods described in the first or second aspect.

[0010] According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided, including a first terminal and a network device, wherein the first terminal is configured to implement the monitoring method described in the first aspect, and the network device is configured to implement the monitoring method described in the second aspect.

[0011] According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a storage medium is provided that stores instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform a listening method as described in any of the first to second aspects.

[0012] According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides a program product including a computer program that, when executed by a communication device, implements the listening method as described in any of the first to second aspects.

[0013] According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the listening method as described in any of the first to second aspects.

[0014] It is understood that the aforementioned first terminal, network device, communication device, communication system, storage medium, program product, and computer program are all used to execute the methods proposed in the embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can be referred to the beneficial effects in the corresponding methods, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0015] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent and readily understood from the following description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of the architecture of some communication systems provided in the embodiments of this disclosure;

[0017] Figures 1B-1D are schematic diagrams illustrating PDCCH resource configuration according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 2 is an interactive schematic diagram of a monitoring method provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0019] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a monitoring method provided in another embodiment of this disclosure;

[0020] Figure 4A is a schematic flowchart of a monitoring method provided in another embodiment of this disclosure;

[0021] Figure 4B is a schematic diagram illustrating PDCCH monitoring according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 5A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a first terminal provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0023] Figure 5B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0024] Figure 6A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0025] Figure 6B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0026] This disclosure provides embodiments of a listening method, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium.

[0027] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure propose a monitoring method executed by a first terminal. The method includes: receiving a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sent by a network device; determining first information based on relevant information of predetermined signals in the first PDCCH, wherein the first information indicates the terminal type corresponding to a second terminal used to receive a second PDCCH, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH following the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period, and / or, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH in N PDCCH periods following the first PDCCH period; where N is a positive integer; and determining whether to stop monitoring the second PDCCH based on the first information.

[0028] In the above embodiments, the network device can indicate to the terminal the terminal type applicable to subsequent PDCCHs through the relevant information of the predetermined signals in the PDCCH. Then, the terminal can determine whether subsequent PDCCHs need to be blindly detected based on its own terminal type. For example, the terminal can blindly detect PDCCHs applicable to its own terminal type in subsequent PDCCHs, but not blindly detect PDCCHs that are not applicable to its own terminal type. This can avoid some invalid blind detections, reduce the number of blind detections (or detection times), reduce terminal complexity and energy consumption, and improve efficiency.

[0029] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, different related information of the predetermined signal is used to determine different first information; the related information of the predetermined signal includes at least one of the following: the time-domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the frequency-domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the spatial-domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the signal sequence of the predetermined signal; and predetermined parameters used to generate the signal sequence.

[0030] In the above embodiments, it is explained what information the predetermined signal information may include, so that the first terminal can accurately determine the relevant information of the predetermined signal, thereby enabling the first terminal to determine the terminal type applicable to the subsequent PDCCH based on the relevant information of the predetermined signal, thus avoiding some invalid blind detections and reducing the number of blind detections.

[0031] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, determining the first information based on the relevant information of a predetermined signal in the first PDCCH includes: determining a predetermined correspondence, the predetermined correspondence including a correspondence between the relevant information of the predetermined signal and the first information; determining the relevant information of the predetermined signal based on the predetermined signal in the first PDCCH; and determining the first information based on the predetermined correspondence and the relevant information of the predetermined signal.

[0032] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, determining the first information based on the relevant information of a predetermined signal in the first PDCCH includes: determining second information carried in the relevant information of the predetermined signal, the second information being used to indicate the first information; and determining the first information based on the second information.

[0033] In the above embodiments, a specific method for the first terminal to determine the first information is described, so that the first terminal can accurately determine the first information by using the method of the present disclosure embodiments, and achieve the purpose of "avoiding invalid blind detection and reducing the number of blind detections" based on the first information.

[0034] In some embodiments, in conjunction with the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving configuration information sent by the network device, the configuration information being used to configure the terminal type of the first terminal.

[0035] In some embodiments, in conjunction with the first aspect, the method further includes: sending indication information to the network device, the indication information being used to indicate the terminal type of the first terminal.

[0036] The above embodiments illustrate how to determine the terminal type of the first terminal so that the first terminal can determine the PDCCH it needs to listen to based on its own terminal type, thereby avoiding some invalid blind detections, reducing the number of blind detections, reducing terminal complexity and energy consumption, and improving efficiency.

[0037] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the terminal type includes at least one of the following: a first type; a second type; wherein the energy-saving requirements of the first type of terminal are less than the energy-saving requirements of the second type of terminal, and / or, the communication capability of the first type of terminal is stronger than the communication capability of the second type of terminal.

[0038] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first information indicates any of the following: the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes a first type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes a second type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes both a first type and a second type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include either the first type or the second type.

[0039] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, when the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include the first type and the second type, the first information is also used to instruct the first terminal to skip the second PDCCH.

[0040] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, determining whether to stop listening to the second PDCCH based on the first information includes any of the following: the terminal type indicated by the first information includes the terminal type of the first terminal, and listening to the second PDCCH; the terminal type indicated by the first information does not include the terminal type of the first terminal, and stopping listening to the second PDCCH; the first information indicates that the first terminal skips the second PDCCH, and stopping listening to the second PDCCH.

[0041] In the above embodiments, it is explained how the first terminal determines whether to stop listening to the second PDCCH based on the first information, so that the first terminal can accurately determine which PDCCHs need to be listened to and which PDCCHs do not need to be listened to by using the method of this disclosure, thereby avoiding some invalid blind detections, reducing the number of blind detections, reducing terminal complexity and energy consumption, and improving efficiency.

[0042] Secondly, embodiments of this disclosure propose a monitoring method executed by a network device. The method includes: sending a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a first terminal, wherein relevant information of predetermined signals in the first PDCCH is used to determine first information, the first information indicating the terminal type corresponding to a second terminal used to receive a second PDCCH, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH following the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period, and / or, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH in N PDCCH periods following the PDCCH period of the first PDCCH; where N is a positive integer.

[0043] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, different related information of the predetermined signal is used to determine different first information; the related information of the predetermined signal includes at least one of the following: the time-domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the frequency-domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the spatial-domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the signal sequence of the predetermined signal; and predetermined parameters used to generate the signal sequence.

[0044] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending configuration information to the first terminal, the configuration information being used to configure the terminal type of the first terminal.

[0045] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving indication information sent by the first terminal, the indication information being used to indicate the terminal type of the first terminal.

[0046] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the terminal type includes at least one of the following: a first type; a second type; wherein the energy-saving requirements of the first type of terminal are less than those of the second type of terminal, and / or the communication capabilities of the first type of terminal are stronger than those of the second type of terminal.

[0047] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first information indicates any of the following: the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes a first type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes a second type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes both a first type and a second type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include either the first type or the second type.

[0048] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, when the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include the first type and the second type, the first information is also used to instruct the first terminal to skip the second PDCCH.

[0049] Thirdly, embodiments of this disclosure propose a first terminal, comprising: a transceiver module for receiving a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sent by a network device; and a processing module for determining first information based on relevant information of predetermined signals in the first PDCCH, wherein the first information indicates the terminal type corresponding to a second terminal for receiving a second PDCCH, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH following the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period, and / or, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH in N PDCCH periods following the first PDCCH period; where N is a positive integer; the processing module is further configured to determine whether to stop listening to the second PDCCH based on the first information.

[0050] Fourthly, embodiments of this disclosure propose a network device, including: a transceiver module, configured to transmit a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a first terminal, wherein relevant information of predetermined signals in the first PDCCH is used to determine first information, the first information indicating: the terminal type corresponding to a second terminal used to receive a second PDCCH, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH located after the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period, and / or, the second PDCCH including: a PDCCH in N PDCCH periods after the PDCCH period in which the first PDCCH is located; N is a positive integer.

[0051] Fifthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device, which includes: one or more processors; one or more memories for storing instructions; wherein the processors are used to invoke the instructions to cause the communication device to perform the methods described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0052] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication system comprising: a first terminal and a network device; wherein the first terminal is configured to perform the method described in the first aspect and its optional implementations, and the network device is configured to perform the method described in the second aspect and its optional implementations.

[0053] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method described in the first aspect, an optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and an optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0054] Eighthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a program product including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the methods described in the first aspect, optional implementations of the first aspect, the second aspect, and optional implementations of the second aspect.

[0055] In a ninth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods described in the first aspect, an optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and an optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0056] It is understood that the aforementioned first terminal, network device, communication device, communication system, storage medium, program product, and computer program are all used to execute the methods proposed in the embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can be referred to the beneficial effects in the corresponding methods, and will not be repeated here.

[0057] This disclosure provides a resource selection method, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium. In some embodiments, the terms resource selection method, information processing method, information sending method, and information receiving method can be used interchangeably; the terms communication device, information processing device, information sending device, and information receiving device can be used interchangeably; and the terms information processing system, communication system, information sending system, and information receiving system can be used interchangeably.

[0058] This disclosure is not exhaustive, but merely illustrative of some embodiments, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure. Unless otherwise specified, each step in a particular embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a particular embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily interchanged. Furthermore, the optional implementation methods in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; moreover, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, for example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments. In all embodiments of this disclosure, unless otherwise specified or logically conflicting, the terminology and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referenced. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0059] The terminology used in the embodiments of this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0060] In this embodiment of the disclosure, unless otherwise stated, elements expressed in the singular form, such as "a," "an," "the," "the," "the," "the," "the," "the," "this," etc., can mean "one and only one," or "one or more," "at least one," etc. For example, when using articles such as "a," "an," "the," etc. in translation, the noun following the article can be understood as either a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0061] In the embodiments disclosed herein, "multiple" refers to two or more.

[0062] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one of A or B, at least one of A and B", "one or more", "a plurality of", "multiple" and the like can be used interchangeably.

[0063] In some embodiments, the notation "at least one of A and B", "A and / or B", "A in one case, B in another", "in response to one case A, in response to another case B", etc., may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A regardless of whether there is a branch B); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of whether there is a branch A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); in some embodiments, both A and B are executed. The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0064] In some embodiments, the notation "A or B" may include the following technical solutions, depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A regardless of whether a branch B exists); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of whether a branch A exists); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, and C.

[0065] The prefixes "first," "second," etc., used in the embodiments of this disclosure are merely for distinguishing different descriptive objects and do not impose restrictions on the position, order, priority, quantity, or content of the descriptive objects. The description of the descriptive objects is found in the claims or the context of the embodiments, and the use of prefixes should not constitute unnecessary restrictions. For example, if the descriptive object is a "field," the ordinal numbers preceding "field" in "first field" and "second field" do not restrict the position or order of the "fields." "First" and "second" do not restrict whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they restrict the order of "first field" and "second field." Similarly, if the descriptive object is a "level," the ordinal numbers preceding "level" in "first level" and "second level" do not restrict the priority between "levels." Furthermore, the number of descriptive objects is not limited by ordinal numbers and can be one or more. For example, in "first device," the number of "devices" can be one or more. Furthermore, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the object being described is "device", then "first device" and "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different. Similarly, if the object being described is "information", then "first information" and "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their content can be the same or different.

[0066] In some embodiments, “including A,” “containing A,” “for indicating A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0067] In some embodiments, terms such as "time / frequency" and "time-frequency domain" refer to the time domain and / or frequency domain.

[0068] In some embodiments, terms such as “in response to…”, “in response to determining…”, “in the case of…”, “when…”, “when…”, “if…”, etc. can be used interchangeably. These descriptions all refer to the device making a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances. They do not necessarily limit the time, nor do they require the device to make a judgment action when implementing it, nor do they mean that there must be other limitations.

[0069] In some embodiments, the terms “greater than,” “greater than or equal to,” “not less than,” “more than,” “more than or equal to,” “not less than,” “higher than,” “higher than or equal to,” “not lower than,” and “above” can be used interchangeably, as can the terms “less than,” “less than or equal to,” “not greater than,” “less than,” “less than or equal to,” “not more than,” “lower than,” “lower than or equal to,” “not higher than,” and “below”.

[0070] In some embodiments, devices, etc., may be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to those described in the embodiments. Terms such as “device,” “equipment,” “circuit,” “network element,” “network function,” “network device,” “function,” “node,” “unit,” “section,” “system,” “network,” “chip,” “chip system,” “entity,” and “subject” are interchangeable.

[0071] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in a network (e.g., access network devices, core network devices, etc.).

[0072] In some embodiments, the terms "access network device (AN device)," "radio access network device (RAN device)," "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "fixed station," "node," "access point," "transmission point (TP)," "reception point (RP)," "transmission / reception point (TRP)," "panel," "antenna panel," "antenna array," "cell," "macro cell," "small cell," "femto cell," "pico cell," "sector," "cell group," "serving cell," "carrier," "component carrier," and "bandwidth part (BWP)" can be used interchangeably.

[0073] In some embodiments, the terms "terminal", "terminal device", "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal", "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", "subscriber station", "mobile unit", "subscriber unit", "wireless unit", "remote unit", "mobile device", "wireless device", "wireless communication device", "remote device", "mobile subscriber station", "access terminal", "mobile terminal", "wireless terminal", "remote terminal", "handset", "user agent", "mobile client", and "client" can be used interchangeably.

[0074] In some embodiments, access network devices, core network devices, or network devices can be replaced by terminals. For example, embodiments of this disclosure can also be applied to structures where communication between access network devices, core network devices, or network devices and terminals is replaced by communication between multiple terminals (e.g., device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, the structure can also be configured such that the terminal has all or part of the functions of the access network device. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" can be replaced with terms corresponding to communication between terminals (e.g., "sidelink"). For example, uplink channel, downlink channel, etc., can be replaced with sidelink channel, and uplink link, downlink, etc., can be replaced with sidelink link.

[0075] In some embodiments, the terminal may be replaced by an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, the access network device, core network device, or network device may also be configured to have all or some of the functions of the terminal.

[0076] In some embodiments, the acquisition of data, information, etc., may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the location is situated.

[0077] In some embodiments, data, information, etc., may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0078] Furthermore, each element, each row, or each column in the table of this disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and any combination of any element, any row, or any column can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0079] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1A, the communication system 100 may include a terminal and network devices. Optionally, the network devices may include at least one of access network devices and core network devices.

[0080] In some embodiments, the terminal includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: mobile phone, wearable device, Internet of Things device, car with communication function, smart car, tablet, computer with wireless transceiver function, virtual reality (VR) terminal device, augmented reality (AR) terminal device, wireless terminal device in industrial control, wireless terminal device in self-driving, wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal device in smart grid, wireless terminal device in transportation safety, wireless terminal device in smart city, and wireless terminal device in smart home.

[0081] In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that connects a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include at least one of the following in a 5G communication system: evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation evolved Node B (ng-eNB), next-generation Node B (gNB), Node B (NB), Home Node B (HNB), Home evolved Node B (HeNB), radio backhaul device, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), base band unit (BBU), mobile switching center, base station in a 6G communication system, open RAN, cloud RAN, base station in other communication systems, and access node in a Wi-Fi system, but is not limited thereto.

[0082] In some embodiments, the technical solutions of this disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within access network devices involved in the embodiments of this disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of Open RAN. The processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented by software or programs.

[0083] In some embodiments, the access network device may be composed of a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The CU may also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can separate the protocol layer of the access network device. Some protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while the remaining part or all protocol layer functions are distributed in the DU and centrally controlled by the CU. However, this is not the only possibility.

[0084] In some embodiments, a core network device may be a single device comprising one or more network elements, or it may be multiple devices or a group of devices, each comprising all or part of the aforementioned one or more network elements. Network elements may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of the following: Evolved Packet Core (EPC), 5G Core Network (5GCN), and Next Generation Core (NGC).

[0085] It is understood that the communication system described in this disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of this disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions proposed in this disclosure. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions proposed in this disclosure are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0086] The following embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1A, or to some of the main bodies, but are not limited thereto. The main bodies shown in FIG1A are illustrative. The communication system may include all or some of the main bodies in FIG1A, or it may include other main bodies outside of FIG1A. The number and form of each main body are arbitrary. The connection relationship between the main bodies is illustrative. The main bodies may not be connected or may be connected. The connection can be in any way, it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection, it can be a wired connection or a wireless connection.

[0087] The embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th Generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th Generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G New Radio (NR), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New Radio Access (NX), Future Generation Radio Access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), and IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth (a registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) systems, systems utilizing other resource selection methods, and next-generation systems built upon them, etc. Furthermore, multiple systems can be combined (e.g., a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0088] Optionally, in some embodiments, the terminal typically needs to perform blind detection on multiple downlink control indicators (DCIs) in the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) to determine which of the multiple DCIs is the DCI sent to the terminal by the network device, thereby facilitating the terminal to subsequently determine the resources scheduled by the network device based on the DCI.

[0089] In some embodiments, different terminals are categorized into different terminal types, which may include, for example, RedCap terminals and non-RedCap terminals (or, as referred to as, normal terminals, legacy UEs, etc.). RedCap terminals may include, for example, IoT terminals and A-IoT terminals. Optionally, the energy-saving requirements of non-RedCap terminals may be lower than those of RedCap terminals, and / or, the communication capabilities of non-RedCap terminals may be stronger than those of RedCap terminals.

[0090] Optionally, different terminal types may receive different DCIs. For example, some DCIs are specifically sent to RedCap terminals, while others are specifically sent to non-RedCap terminals. In some embodiments, when RedCap terminals and non-RedCap terminals are in the same cell, the network device can use the following two methods to schedule RedCap terminals or non-RedCap terminals:

[0091] The first method involves configuring non-overlapping PDCCH resources independently for RedCap terminals and non-RedCap terminals, with each terminal performing blind DCI detection on its own PDCCH resources.

[0092] Optionally, PDCCH resources may include, for example, a search space (SS) and / or a control resource set (CORESET).

[0093] Optionally, Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of PDCCH resource configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1B, different PDCCH resources are independently configured for RedCap terminals and non-RedCap terminals in slot n. RedCap terminals can blindly detect DCI on the PDCCH resources of RedCap terminals, and non-RedCap terminals can blindly detect DCI on the PDCCH resources of non-RedCap terminals. Furthermore, a shared PDCCH resource is configured for all terminals in the adjacent slot n+1, so both RedCap and non-RedCap terminals can blindly detect DCI on the PDCCH resources in slot n+1.

[0094] The second method involves RedCap terminals and non-RedCap terminals reusing the same PDCCH resources, with RedCap terminals and non-RedCap terminals performing blind DCI detection on the same PDCCH resources.

[0095] Optionally, Figures 1C and 1D are schematic diagrams of PDCCH resource configuration according to embodiments of the present disclosure. When RedCap terminals and non-RedCap terminals reuse the same PDCCH resources, as shown in Figure 1C, if there are scheduled DCI transmissions of non-RedCap terminals in slot n, slot n+2, slot n+3, and slot n+5, then blind detection in slot n+1 and slot n+4 is actually futile for non-RedCap terminals; if there are scheduled DCI transmissions of RedCap terminals in slot n+2 and slot n+3, then blind detection in slot n, slot n+1, slot n+4, and slot n+5 is futile for RedCap terminals. As shown in Figure 1D, if DCI transmissions from non-RedCap terminals are scheduled in slots n+1, n+2, n+3, and n+5, then blind detection in slots n and n+4 is futile for non-RedCap terminals. Similarly, if DCI transmissions from RedCap terminals are scheduled in slots n+3 and n+4, then blind detection in slots n, n+1, n+2, and n+5 is futile for RedCap terminals.

[0096] Figure 2 is an interactive schematic diagram of a monitoring method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2, this embodiment of the disclosure relates to a monitoring method for a communication system 100; the method includes:

[0097] Step 2101: The network device sends the first PDCCH to the first terminal.

[0098] Optionally, the first PDCCH may include at least one of a predetermined signal and related information of the predetermined signal. The predetermined signal may be, for example, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS). Optionally, the predetermined signal may also be called PDCCH DMRS or other names, which are not specifically limited in this disclosure. Optionally, the related information of the predetermined signal may include at least one of the following: the time-domain resource location of the predetermined signal, the frequency-domain resource location of the predetermined signal, the spatial-domain resource location of the predetermined signal, the signal sequence of the predetermined signal, and predetermined parameters.

[0099] Optionally, the time-domain resource location of the predetermined signal may include, for example, the time-domain symbol location and time-domain symbol index of the predetermined signal.

[0100] Optionally, the frequency domain resource location of the predetermined signal may include, for example, the location of the frequency domain resource element (RE) of the predetermined signal, the frequency domain RE index, etc.

[0101] Optionally, the spatial resource location of the predetermined signal can also be referred to as antenna port information or air interface. Optionally, the spatial resource location of the predetermined signal may include, for example, at least one air interface number of the predetermined signal. Optionally, the air interface number may include, for example, 2000 or 3000. Different air interface numbers may correspond to different time-domain resource locations and / or different frequency-domain resource locations, or different air interface numbers may correspond to the same time-domain resource location and the same frequency-domain resource location. Optionally, when different air interface numbers correspond to the same time-domain resource location and the same frequency-domain resource location, different orthogonal cover code (OCC) sequences of the predetermined signal can be used to distinguish the different air interface numbers of the predetermined signal. When different air interface numbers correspond to different time-domain resource locations and / or different frequency-domain resource locations, different time-domain resource locations and / or different frequency-domain resource locations can be used to distinguish the different air interface numbers of the predetermined signal.

[0102] Optionally, the signal sequence of the predetermined signal described above may be referred to as "DMRS sequence, PDCCH DMRS sequence or other names", and this disclosure does not specifically limit it.

[0103] Optionally, the aforementioned predetermined parameters can be used to initialize or generate a signal sequence of a predetermined signal. Optionally, different predetermined signals can correspond to different predetermined parameters. The predetermined parameters can be called, for example, "PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameters, DMRS sequence generation parameters, sequence generation parameters, or other names." This disclosure does not specifically limit them in this regard.

[0104] Optionally, the aforementioned "time-domain resource location, frequency-domain resource location, and spatial-domain resource location of the predetermined signal" can also be referred to as: the resource location information of the predetermined signal, the resource location information of PDCCH DMRS, etc., and the aforementioned "signal sequence and predetermined parameters of the predetermined signal" can also be referred to as the sequence information of the predetermined signal, the sequence information of PDCCH DMRS, etc.

[0105] Optionally, in some embodiments, the relevant information of the predetermined signal can be used to determine the first information. Optionally, the first information indicates: the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal used to receive the second PDCCH, the second PDCCH may include: the PDCCH located after the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period, and / or, the second PDCCH may include: the PDCCH in N PDCCH periods after the PDCCH period where the first PDCCH is located; N is a positive integer, and the value of N may be predetermined by the protocol, or configured by the network device. For example, the value of N may be configured by at least one of Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control Control Element (MAC CE) signaling, and DCI signaling.

[0106] Optionally, the aforementioned "second terminal for receiving the second PDCCH" can be understood, for example, as follows: the second PDCCH is used to schedule uplink and / or downlink transmissions for the second terminal. Furthermore, other terminals of a different type than the second terminal do not need to receive the second PDCCH.

[0107] Optionally, in some embodiments, the aforementioned "terminal type" may include at least one of a first type and a second type; for example, the network device may configure the terminal type to include at least one of the first type and the second type to the first terminal, for example, through at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE signaling, and DCI signaling. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the first terminal may report the terminal type to the network device to include at least one of the first type and the second type. Optionally, the energy-saving requirements of the first type of terminal are less than those of the second type of terminal, and / or, the communication capabilities of the first type of terminal are stronger than those of the second type of terminal. Optionally, "the energy-saving requirements of the first type of terminal are less than those of the second type of terminal" can be understood, for example, as: the first type of terminal has no additional energy-saving requirements, while the second type of terminal has additional capability requirements. In some embodiments, the first type of terminal may be referred to as a normal terminal, ordinary terminal, legacy UE, etc., and the second type of terminal may be referred to as a redcap UE, IoT UE, A-IoT UE, etc., and this disclosure does not specifically limit this.

[0108] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first information may indicate any of the following: the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes a first type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes a second type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes both a first type and a second type; or the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include either the first type or the second type.

[0109] Optionally, in some embodiments, when the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include the first type and the second type, the first information is also used to instruct the first terminal to skip the second PDCCH. Alternatively, in some embodiments, if the terminal type indicated by the first information (i.e., the terminal type of the second terminal) does not include the terminal type of the first terminal, it indicates that the second PDCCH is not sent to the first terminal. In this case, the first information can also instruct the first terminal to skip the second PDCCH.

[0110] Optionally, the terminal type of the first terminal can be configured by the network device. For example, the network device can configure the terminal type of the first terminal through at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE signaling, and DCI signaling. Alternatively, the terminal type of the first terminal can be determined by the first terminal. The first terminal can send indication information to the network device, which can be used to indicate the terminal type of the first terminal.

[0111] Step 2102: The first terminal determines the first information based on the relevant information of the predetermined signal in the first PDCCH.

[0112] Optionally, the predetermined signals in different PDCCHs may have different related information, and the different related information of the predetermined signals may be used to determine different first information.

[0113] Optionally, in some embodiments, a predetermined correspondence may exist between the relevant information of the predetermined signal and the first information. The first terminal can determine the first information based on the predetermined correspondence and the relevant information of the predetermined signal in the first PDCCH. In some embodiments, the predetermined correspondence may be agreed upon by a protocol and / or configured by a network device. In some embodiments, different relevant information of the predetermined signal may correspond to different first information.

[0114] Optionally, in some embodiments, the relevant information of the predetermined signal may carry second information. Optionally, the second information may be used to indicate the first information, and the first terminal may determine the first information based on the second information. In some embodiments, when the relevant information of the predetermined signal is the spatial resource location of the predetermined signal, the second information may be carried on the spatial resource location of the predetermined signal. In some embodiments, the spatial resource location may be an air interface number, and the second information may, for example, be carried on the beam emitted by the air interface of the predetermined signal. Alternatively, the spatial resource location of the predetermined signal may use other carrying methods to carry the second information, and this disclosure does not specifically limit this.

[0115] Step 2103: The first terminal determines whether to stop listening to the second PDCCH based on the first information.

[0116] Optionally, the description of the second PDCCH can be found in step 2101 above.

[0117] Optionally, in some embodiments, if the terminal type indicated by the first information includes the terminal type of the first terminal, it indicates that the second PDCCH is used to schedule uplink and / or downlink transmissions for the first terminal. In this case, the first terminal needs to listen to the second PDCCH. Optionally, if the terminal type indicated by the first information does not include the terminal type of the first terminal, it indicates that the second PDCCH does not schedule uplink and / or downlink transmissions for the first terminal. In this case, the first terminal does not need to listen to the second PDCCH, and the first terminal can stop listening to the second PDCCH. Optionally, if the first information indicates that the first terminal skips the second PDCCH, it indicates that the second PDCCH does not schedule uplink and / or downlink transmissions for the first terminal. In this case, the first terminal can stop listening to the second PDCCH.

[0118] For example, in one implementation, assuming the relevant information of the predetermined signal is the PDCCH DMRS frequency domain resource location, the candidate values ​​for the terminal type are predefined by the protocol as: a first type (e.g., legacy UE), a second type (e.g., IoT UE), and ordered sequentially. As predefined by the protocol, the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the first PDCCH DMRS frequency domain resource location is: legacy UE; the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the second PDCCH DMRS frequency domain resource location is: IoT UE; the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the third PDCCH DMRS frequency domain resource location is: legacy UE and IoT UE; the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the fourth PDCCH DMRS frequency domain resource location does not include: legacy UE and IoT UE. For example, when the first terminal pre-checks the DMRS and determines that the DMRS is mapped to the second PDCCH DMRS frequency domain resource location, it indicates that the second PDCCH is sent to an IoT UE. In this case, if the first terminal's terminal type is an IoT UE, it will listen to the second PDCCH; if the first terminal's terminal type is not an IoT UE, it will not listen to the second PDCCH. As another example, when the first terminal pre-checks the DMRS and determines that the DMRS is mapped to the fourth PDCCH DMRS frequency domain resource location, the first terminal stops listening to the second PDCCH.

[0119] In one implementation, assuming the relevant information of the predetermined signal is the PDCCH DMRS time-domain resource location, the candidate values ​​for the terminal type are predefined by the protocol as: a first type (e.g., legacy UE), a second type (e.g., IoT UE), and ordered sequentially. As predefined by the protocol, the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the first PDCCH DMRS time-domain resource location is: legacy UE; the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the second PDCCH DMRS time-domain resource location is: IoT UE; the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the third PDCCH DMRS time-domain resource location is: legacy UE and IoT UE; the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the fourth PDCCH DMRS time-domain resource location does not include: legacy UE and IoT UE. For example, when the first terminal pre-checks the DMRS and determines that the DMRS is mapped to the second PDCCH DMRS time domain resource location, it indicates that the second PDCCH is sent to an IoT UE. In this case, if the first terminal's terminal type is an IoT UE, it will listen to the second PDCCH; if the first terminal's terminal type is not an IoT UE, it will not listen to the second PDCCH. As another example, when the first terminal pre-checks the DMRS and determines that the DMRS is mapped to the fourth PDCCH DMRS time domain resource location, the first terminal stops listening to the second PDCCH.

[0120] In one implementation, assuming the relevant information of the predetermined signal is the air interface, the candidate values ​​for the terminal type are predefined by the protocol as: a first type (e.g., legacy UE), a second type (e.g., IoT UE), and ordered sequentially. As predefined by the protocol, the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the first air interface is legacy UE; the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the second air interface is IoT UE; the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the third air interface is both legacy UE and IoT UE; and the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the fourth air interface does not include legacy UE and IoT UE. For example, when the first terminal pre-checks DMRS and determines that DMRS is mapped to the second air interface, it indicates that the second PDCCH is sent to an IoT UE. In this case, if the terminal type of the first terminal is IoT UE, it listens to the second PDCCH; if the terminal type of the first terminal is not IoT UE, it does not listen to the second PDCCH. As another example, when the first terminal pre-checks DMRS and determines that DMRS is mapped to the fourth air interface, the first terminal stops listening to the second PDCCH.

[0121] In one implementation, assuming the relevant information of the predetermined signal is a PDCCH DMRS sequence, the candidate values ​​for the terminal type are predefined by the protocol as: a first type (e.g., legacy UE) and a second type (e.g., IoT UE), ordered sequentially. As predefined by the protocol, the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the first PDCCH DMRS sequence is: legacy UE; the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the second PDCCH DMRS sequence is: IoT UE; the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the third PDCCH DMRS sequence is: legacy UE and IoT UE; the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the fourth PDCCH DMRS sequence does not include: legacy UE and IoT UE. For example, when the first terminal pre-checks the DMRS and determines that the DMRS sequence is the second PDCCH DMRS sequence, it indicates that the second PDCCH is sent for an IoT UE. In this case, if the terminal type of the first terminal is IoT UE, it listens to the second PDCCH; if the terminal type of the first terminal is not IoT UE, it does not listen to the second PDCCH. For example, when the first terminal pre-checks the DMRS and determines that the DMRS sequence is the fourth PDCCH DMRS sequence, the first terminal stops listening to the second PDCCH.

[0122] In one implementation, assuming the relevant information of the predetermined signal is PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameters, the candidate values ​​for the terminal type are predefined by the protocol as: a first type (e.g., legacy UE), a second type (e.g., IoT UE), and ordered sequentially. As predefined by the protocol, the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the first PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameter is: legacy UE; the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the second PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameter is: IoT UE; the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the third PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameter is: legacy UE and IoT UE; the terminal type indicated by the first information corresponding to the fourth PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameter does not include: legacy UE and IoT UE. For example, when the first terminal pre-checks the DMRS and determines that the DMRS sequence generation parameters are the same as the second PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameters, it indicates that the second PDCCH is sent to an IoT UE. In this case, if the first terminal's terminal type is an IoT UE, it will listen to the second PDCCH; otherwise, it will not listen to the second PDCCH. As another example, when the first terminal pre-checks the DMRS and determines that the DMRS sequence generation parameters are the same as the fourth PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameters, the first terminal stops listening to the second PDCCH.

[0123] In summary, in the above embodiments, the network device can indicate to the terminal the applicable terminal type for subsequent PDCCHs through the relevant information of the predetermined signals in the PDCCH. Then, the terminal can determine whether subsequent PDCCHs need to be blindly detected based on its own terminal type. For example, the terminal can blindly detect PDCCHs applicable to its own terminal type in subsequent PDCCHs, but not blindly detect PDCCHs that are not applicable to its own terminal type. This can avoid some invalid blind detections, reduce the number of blind detections (or detection counts), reduce terminal complexity and energy consumption, and improve efficiency.

[0124] The monitoring method involved in the embodiments of this disclosure may include at least one of steps 2101 to 2103. For example, step 2103 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, and steps 2101+2103 may be implemented as standalone embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0125] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0126] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a monitoring method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3, this embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a monitoring method for a first terminal, the method comprising:

[0127] Step 3101: Receive the first PDCCH sent by the network device.

[0128] Step 3102: Determine the first information based on the relevant information of the predetermined signal in the first PDCCH.

[0129] Step 3103: Determine whether to stop listening to the second PDCCH based on the first information.

[0130] Optionally, the first information indicates the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal used to receive the second PDCCH, the second PDCCH including: the PDCCH located after the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period, and / or, the second PDCCH including: the PDCCH in N PDCCH periods after the PDCCH period where the first PDCCH is located; N is a positive integer;

[0131] Optionally, different related information of the predetermined signal is used to determine different first information; the related information of the predetermined signal includes at least one of the following: the time domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the frequency domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the spatial domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the signal sequence of the predetermined signal; and predetermined parameters, which are used to generate the signal sequence.

[0132] Optionally, determining the first information based on the relevant information of a predetermined signal in the first PDCCH includes: determining a predetermined correspondence, wherein the predetermined correspondence includes a correspondence between the relevant information of the predetermined signal and the first information; determining the relevant information of the predetermined signal based on the predetermined signal in the first PDCCH; and determining the first information based on the predetermined correspondence and the relevant information of the predetermined signal.

[0133] Optionally, determining the first information based on the relevant information of the predetermined signal in the first PDCCH includes: determining second information carried in the relevant information of the predetermined signal, the second information being used to indicate the first information; and determining the first information based on the second information.

[0134] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving configuration information sent by the network device, the configuration information being used to configure the terminal type of the first terminal.

[0135] Optionally, the method further includes: sending indication information to the network device, the indication information being used to indicate the terminal type of the first terminal.

[0136] Optionally, the terminal type includes at least one of the following: a first type; a second type; wherein the energy-saving requirements of the first type of terminal are less than those of the second type of terminal, and / or the communication capabilities of the first type of terminal are stronger than those of the second type of terminal.

[0137] Optionally, the first information indicates any of the following: the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes a first type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes a second type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes both a first type and a second type; or the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include either the first type or the second type.

[0138] Optionally, if the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include the first type and the second type, the first information is further used to instruct the first terminal to skip the second PDCCH.

[0139] Optionally, determining whether to stop listening to the second PDCCH based on the first information includes any of the following: the terminal type indicated by the first information includes the terminal type of the first terminal, and listening to the second PDCCH; the terminal type indicated by the first information does not include the terminal type of the first terminal, and stopping listening to the second PDCCH; the first information indicates that the first terminal skips the second PDCCH, and stopping listening to the second PDCCH.

[0140] For a detailed description of steps 3101-3103, please refer to the above embodiment description.

[0141] The monitoring method involved in the embodiments of this disclosure may include at least one of steps 3101 to 3103. For example, step 3101 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, step 3102 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, and steps 3101+3102 may be implemented as standalone embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0142] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0143] Figure 4A is a flowchart illustrating a monitoring method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4A, this disclosure relates to a monitoring method for a network device, the method comprising:

[0144] Step 4101: Send the first PDCCH to the first terminal.

[0145] Optionally, the relevant information of the predetermined signal in the first PDCCH is used to determine the first information, which indicates the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal used to receive the second PDCCH. The second PDCCH includes the PDCCH located after the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period in which the first PDCCH is located, and / or the second PDCCH includes the PDCCH in N PDCCH periods after the PDCCH period in which the first PDCCH is located; N is a positive integer.

[0146] Optionally, different related information of the predetermined signal is used to determine different first information; the related information of the predetermined signal includes at least one of the following: the time domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the frequency domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the spatial domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the signal sequence of the predetermined signal; and predetermined parameters, which are used to generate the signal sequence.

[0147] Optionally, the method further includes: sending configuration information to the first terminal, the configuration information being used to configure the terminal type of the first terminal.

[0148] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving indication information sent by the first terminal, the indication information being used to indicate the terminal type of the first terminal.

[0149] Optionally, the terminal type includes at least one of the following: a first type; a second type; wherein the energy-saving requirements of the first type of terminal are less than those of the second type of terminal, and / or the communication capabilities of the first type of terminal are stronger than those of the second type of terminal.

[0150] Optionally, the first information indicates any of the following: the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes a first type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes a second type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes both a first type and a second type; or the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include either the first type or the second type.

[0151] Optionally, if the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include the first type and the second type, the first information is further used to instruct the first terminal to skip the second PDCCH.

[0152] For a detailed description of step 4101, please refer to the above embodiment description.

[0153] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0154] The following is an exemplary description of the above method.

[0155] Optional Implementation Example 1: NR Search space configuration

[0156] The search space consists of a set of candidate PDCCHs that the UE needs to blindly detect. Blindly detecting the candidate PDCCHs will consume a significant amount of the UE's computing resources and power. Therefore, the number of candidate PDCCHs in the search space needs to be limited according to the UE's capabilities.

[0157] The PDCCH search space is divided into CSS and USS. The former corresponds to a group of UEs, meaning that common control information for a group of UEs is sent through CSS. The USS corresponds to a specific UE, and UE-specific scheduling information can be sent through either the USS or CSS. CSS is further divided into Type 0 / 0A / 0B / 1 / 1A / 2 / 2A / 3PDCCH CSS, depending on the transmission content and configuration method. These are used for scheduling or transmitting RMSI, OSI, RAR / Msg4, Paging, and group common control information, respectively.

[0158] Each BWP can be configured with up to 10 search spaces, used to set different search space types, match different service types and scenarios, and transmit different DCI formats. Each search space is associated with a CORESET, and the type, period, and size of each search space can be configured independently. When configuring the UE's search space through higher-layer signaling, the following parameters need to be configured.

[0159] • `searchSpaceId` is the identifier of the search space, ranging from 0 to 39, and is unique within the BWP of the serving cell. In cross-carrier scheduling cases, if the `searchSpaceId` of the scheduling and regulated cells is the same, a link is established. If both exist and the DL BWP is active, scheduling can proceed.

[0160] • controlResourceSetId is the CORESET number used to establish the connection between the search space and the CORESET, i.e., the CORESET ID. It is unique in the BWP of the serving cell. The candidate PDCCH of the search space is included in the CORESET.

[0161] • `monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset` represents the PDCCH monitoring period and offset value, both in time slots. The UE determines the time slot for monitoring the PDCCH based on this configuration parameter.

[0162] • duration refers to the number of time slots included in the SSS occurrence; within a single time slot, the PDCCH monitoring occasion repeats in multiple consecutive time slots.

[0163] • Monitoring SymbolsWithinSlot: This is the monitoring pattern of the PDCCH within a slot. It uses a 14-bit bitmap to indicate the starting symbol position for PDCCH monitoring in each slot. Each bit corresponds to one OFDM symbol within the slot, and a value of "1" indicates that the OFDM symbol corresponding to that bit is the starting position for monitoring.

[0164] Figure 4B is a schematic diagram of PDCCH monitoring according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4B, the PDCCH monitoring period is 8 time slots, and the first two time slots of each period are monitoring time slots. The search space has 2 monitoring opportunities within one time slot, and the duration of each monitoring opportunity is determined by the time domain duration of CORESET, which is 3 OFDM symbols.

[0165] `nrofCandidates` specifies the number of candidate PDCCHs within each aggregation level in the search space. The candidate aggregation level L can be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16, and the number of candidate PDCCHs is configured independently for each aggregation level. The corresponding parameters can be configured as 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 8. Similar parameters include `nrofCandidates-CI` (R16), `nrofCandidates-PEI` (R17), and `nrofCandidates-SFI`.

[0166] • `searchSpaceType` sets a flag to distinguish whether the current search space is CSS or USS. The base station can decide the type of search space according to its needs. For USS, the DCI format type that the UE listens for in this search space needs to be configured, i.e., fallback / Non-fallback DCI.

[0167] Question 1: Existing mechanism deficiencies and potential optimizations for 6G IoT devices

[0168] For terminal devices, PDCCH blind detection accounts for a significant proportion of terminal power consumption. Reducing PDCCH blind detection has been a crucial topic of discussion during the evolution of PDCCH from LTE to NR. For 6G PDCCH, there are also corresponding technical solutions to reduce PDCCH blind detection. Furthermore, taking PEI and LP WUS as examples, current protocols support multiple methods to reduce UE power consumption by determining whether blind detection DCI is needed through an indication signaling mechanism. This is also due to the power consumption burden of blind detection DCI on the UE.

[0169] During the Rel-17 redCap discussion, operators strongly opposed the configuration of redcap-specific cells. Therefore, for cell bar detection, redcap UEs need to be treated the same as regular UEs. Thus, in 6G network deployment, 6G IoT UEs and regular UEs are highly likely to be in the same cell; in other words, the protocol is unlikely to restrict the definition of dedicated cells for 6G IoT UEs (this can be achieved through configuration). During base station scheduling, there are two approaches for the two types of UEs: 1) Configure two separate SS / CORESETs to fundamentally separate them; 2) Reuse PDCCH resources. The first method is simple and direct, but it leads to resource waste, especially for IoT UE scheduling, where traffic is sometimes uneven, and configuring dedicated resources may result in low utilization. The second approach, configuring common resources, can maximize resource utilization, but this means potential issues with redundant blind detection. For example, if candidate resources are concentrated, the DCI sent is for regular UEs, but since IoT UEs cannot distinguish between them before blind detection, they will also perform blind detection, leading to increased power consumption and the number of blind detections.

[0170] If a cell contains only regular UEs or IoT UEs, then reusing the current working mechanism is not a problem.

[0171] When a cell has two types of UEs, the scheduling method selected by the base station can be:

[0172] This is achieved by differentiating between two types of UEs. For example, by configuring independent SS / CORESET, there is no ovrlap between the two types of UEs, meaning the protocol restricts the overlap of control resources between the two types of UEs.

[0173] During scheduling, UE type is not distinguished, and common control resources are configured.

[0174] Based on the above, Figures 1B-1D above represent two configuration methods. Method 1, while functional, may encroach on PDCCH resources due to the large number of IoT UEs, leading to fragmentation of PDCCH configuration. Furthermore, IoT UEs typically have less frequent service scheduling compared to regular UEs, making it difficult to guarantee PDCCH resource utilization. Method 2, using resource reuse, is actually the simplest approach; any UE can find its DCI through blind detection.

[0175] Based on the above optimization of blind detection DCI: If we want to further reduce blind detection, considering the previous assumption that IoT UEs have a lower demand for flexible scheduling, blind detection DCI in the conventional way will result in a lot of unnecessary power consumption.

[0176] Taking Figure 1C as an example, two MO configurations are set for legacy UEs and IoT UEs. Yellow indicates legacy UEs, and green indicates IoT UEs. DCI transmissions are scheduled for legacy UEs in time slots 0, 2, 3, and 5. For legacy UEs, blind detection in time slots 1 and 4 is essentially futile. Similarly, DCI transmissions are scheduled for IoT UEs in time slots 2 and 3. For IoT UEs, blind detection of most MOs is also futile.

[0177] The result is similar for the combined configuration (i.e., Figure 1D).

[0178] Optionally, legacy UE, IoT UE, both, and none status indicators can be introduced, and these indicators can be used as prior information. This avoids the need for different types of DCIs sent by the base station.

[0179] Optional Example 1

[0180] In a network, a gNB transmits first information to a UE via first DMRS information. The method of transmitting the first information includes at least one of mapping and indication. Mapping refers to establishing a connection between the first DMRS information and the first information. Indication involves further carrying indication information within the first DMRS information to indicate the first information.

[0181] The first DMRS information includes at least one of the following: PDCCH DMRS resource location information, or sequence information for generating PDCCH DMRS. Further, the PDCCH DMRS resource location information includes at least one of time-domain, frequency-domain, and spatial-domain resource locations. The PDCCH DMRS sequence information includes at least one of the following: PDCCH DMRS sequence and PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameters.

[0182] The first information is used to indicate the UE type targeted by the current PDCCH monitoring cycle. The candidate values ​​for the indicated UE type include at least one of the following: legacy UE, IoT UE, both, and none. A legacy UE refers to a terminal with normal capabilities, i.e., a terminal without additional power-saving requirements. An IoT UE refers to a terminal with weak capabilities, i.e., a terminal with additional capability requirements. Both means including both normal and weakly capable terminals. None means that the UE needs to skip this PDCCH monitoring cycle.

[0183] Optionally, the terminal device type can be configured as at least one of legacy UE and IoT UE. The configuration method includes at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE signaling, and DCI.

[0184] Optionally, the terminal device reports the UE type, which includes at least one of legacy UE and IoT UE.

[0185] In one implementation, the first DMRS information is the PDCCH DMRS frequency domain resource location. The candidate values ​​for the UE type are predefined by the protocol as legacy UE, IoT UE, both, and none, and ordered sequentially. As predefined by the protocol, the first PDCCH DMRS frequency domain resource location corresponds to legacy UE; the second PDCCH DMRS frequency domain resource location corresponds to IoT UE; the third PDCCH DMRS frequency domain resource location corresponds to both; and the fourth PDCCH DMRS frequency domain resource location corresponds to none. For example, if the terminal device pre-detects the DMRS and determines that the DMRS is mapped to the second PDCCH DMRS frequency domain resource location, then this PDCCH listening cycle only targets the IoT UE. As another example, if the terminal device pre-detects the DMRS and determines that the DMRS is mapped to the fourth PDCCH DMRS frequency domain resource location, then this PDCCH listening cycle skips the PDCCH blind detection.

[0186] In one implementation, the first DMRS information is the PDCCH DMRS time-domain resource location. The candidate values ​​for the UE type are predefined by the protocol as legacy UE, IoT UE, both, and none, and ordered sequentially. As predefined by the protocol, the first PDCCH DMRS time-domain resource location corresponds to legacy UE; the second PDCCH DMRS time-domain resource location corresponds to IoT UE; the third PDCCH DMRS time-domain resource location corresponds to both; and the fourth PDCCH DMRS time-domain resource location corresponds to none. For example, if the terminal device pre-detects the DMRS and determines that the DMRS is mapped to the second PDCCH DMRS time-domain resource location, then this PDCCH listening cycle only targets the IoT UE. As another example, if the terminal device pre-detects the DMRS and determines that the DMRS is mapped to the fourth PDCCH DMRS time-domain resource location, then this PDCCH listening cycle skips the PDCCH blind detection.

[0187] In one implementation, the first DMRS information is an air interface, and the candidate values ​​for the UE type are predefined by the protocol as legacy UE, IoT UE, both, and none, and ordered sequentially. As predefined by the protocol, the first air interface corresponds to legacy UE; the second air interface corresponds to IoT UE; the third air interface corresponds to both; and the fourth air interface corresponds to none. For example, if the terminal device pre-detects the DMRS and determines that the DMRS is mapped to the second air interface, then this PDCCH listening cycle only targets the IoT UE. As another example, if the terminal device pre-detects the DMRS and determines that the DMRS is mapped to the fourth air interface, then this PDCCH listening cycle skips the PDCCH blind detection.

[0188] In one implementation, the first DMRS information is a PDCCH DMRS sequence. The candidate values ​​for the UE type are predefined by the protocol as legacy UE, IoT UE, both, and none, and ordered sequentially. As predefined by the protocol, the first PDCCH DMRS sequence corresponds to legacy UE; the second PDCCH DMRS sequence corresponds to IoT UE; the third PDCCH DMRS sequence corresponds to both; and the fourth PDCCH DMRS sequence corresponds to none. For example, if the terminal device pre-detects the DMRS and determines that the DMRS is mapped to the second PDCCH DMRS sequence, then this PDCCH listening period only targets the IoT UE. As another example, if the terminal device pre-detects the DMRS and determines that the DMRS is mapped to the fourth PDCCH DMRS sequence, then this PDCCH listening period skips the PDCCH blind detection.

[0189] In one implementation, the first DMRS information is the PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameter. The candidate values ​​for the UE type are predefined by the protocol as legacy UE, IoT UE, both, and none, and ordered sequentially. As predefined by the protocol, the first PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameter corresponds to legacy UE; the second PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameter corresponds to IoT UE; the third PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameter corresponds to both; and the fourth PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameter corresponds to none. For example, if the terminal device pre-detects the DMRS and determines that the DMRS is mapped to the second PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameter, then this PDCCH listening cycle only targets the IoT UE. As another example, if the terminal device pre-detects the DMRS and determines that the DMRS is mapped to the fourth PDCCH DMRS sequence generation parameter, then this PDCCH listening cycle skips the PDCCH blind detection.

[0190] Optionally, legacy UE, IoT UE, both, and none status indicators can be introduced, and these indicators can be used as prior information. This avoids the need for different types of DCIs sent by the base station.

[0191] This disclosure also proposes an apparatus (also referred to as a communication device, etc.) for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is proposed that includes units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the terminal in any of the above methods. Furthermore, another apparatus is proposed that includes units or modules for implementing the steps performed by a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network functional node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0192] It should be understood that the division of units or modules in the above device is only 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, the units or modules in the device can be implemented by a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor connected to a memory containing instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or to implement the functions of the units or modules in the above device. The processor can be, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory can be internal or external to the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits. The functionality of some or all of the units or modules can be achieved through the design of these hardware circuits, which can be understood as one or more processors. For example, in one implementation, the hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The functionality of some or all of the units or modules is achieved through the design of the logical relationships between the components within the circuit. In another implementation, the hardware circuit can be implemented using a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gates. The connection relationships between the logic gates are configured through configuration files, thereby achieving the functionality of some or all of the units or modules. All units or modules of the above device can be implemented entirely through processor-called software, entirely through hardware circuits, or partially through processor-called software with the remaining parts implemented through hardware circuits.

[0193] In this embodiment, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction read and execute capabilities, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationships of hardware circuits. The logical relationships of the aforementioned hardware circuits are fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented using an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and configuring the hardware circuit can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. Furthermore, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a Neural Network Processing Unit (NPU), a Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), or a Deep Learning Processing Unit (DPU).

[0194] Figure 5A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a first terminal according to an embodiment of this disclosure. The first terminal is used to execute any of the above methods. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 5A, the first terminal may include at least one of a transceiver module, a processing module, etc.

[0195] Optionally, the transceiver module is used to perform at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving performed by the first terminal in any of the above methods, which will not be elaborated here. Optionally, the processing module is used to perform at least one of the other steps performed by the first terminal in any of the above methods, which will not be elaborated here.

[0196] Optionally, different related information of the predetermined signal is used to determine different first information; the related information of the predetermined signal includes at least one of the following: the time domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the frequency domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the spatial domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the signal sequence of the predetermined signal; and predetermined parameters, which are used to generate the signal sequence.

[0197] Optionally, determining the first information based on the relevant information of a predetermined signal in the first PDCCH includes: determining a predetermined correspondence, wherein the predetermined correspondence includes a correspondence between the relevant information of the predetermined signal and the first information; determining the relevant information of the predetermined signal based on the predetermined signal in the first PDCCH; and determining the first information based on the predetermined correspondence and the relevant information of the predetermined signal.

[0198] Optionally, determining the first information based on the relevant information of the predetermined signal in the first PDCCH includes: determining second information carried in the relevant information of the predetermined signal, the second information being used to indicate the first information; and determining the first information based on the second information.

[0199] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving configuration information sent by the network device, the configuration information being used to configure the terminal type of the first terminal.

[0200] Optionally, the method further includes: sending indication information to the network device, the indication information being used to indicate the terminal type of the first terminal.

[0201] Optionally, the terminal type includes at least one of the following: a first type; a second type; wherein the energy-saving requirements of the first type of terminal are less than those of the second type of terminal, and / or the communication capabilities of the first type of terminal are stronger than those of the second type of terminal.

[0202] Optionally, the first information indicates any of the following: the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes a first type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes a second type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes both a first type and a second type; or the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include either the first type or the second type.

[0203] Optionally, if the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include the first type and the second type, the first information is further used to instruct the first terminal to skip the second PDCCH.

[0204] Optionally, determining whether to stop listening to the second PDCCH based on the first information includes any of the following: the terminal type indicated by the first information includes the terminal type of the first terminal, and listening to the second PDCCH; the terminal type indicated by the first information does not include the terminal type of the first terminal, and stopping listening to the second PDCCH; the first information indicates that the first terminal skips the second PDCCH, and stopping listening to the second PDCCH.

[0205] Figure 5B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure. The network device is used to perform any of the above methods. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 5B, the network device may include at least one of a transceiver module, a processing module, etc. A first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is sent to a first terminal. Relevant information of predetermined signals in the first PDCCH is used to determine first information. The first information indicates the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal used to receive the second PDCCH. The second PDCCH includes: the PDCCH located after the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period in which the first PDCCH is located, and / or, the second PDCCH includes: the PDCCH in N PDCCH periods after the PDCCH period in which the first PDCCH is located; N is a positive integer.

[0206] Optionally, the transceiver module is used to perform at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving performed by the network device in any of the above methods, which will not be elaborated here. Optionally, the processing module is used to perform at least one of the other steps performed by the network device in any of the above methods, which will not be elaborated here.

[0207] Optionally, different related information of the predetermined signal is used to determine different first information; the related information of the predetermined signal includes at least one of the following: the time domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the frequency domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the spatial domain resource location of the predetermined signal; the signal sequence of the predetermined signal; and predetermined parameters, which are used to generate the signal sequence.

[0208] Optionally, the method further includes: sending configuration information to the first terminal, the configuration information being used to configure the terminal type of the first terminal.

[0209] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving indication information sent by the first terminal, the indication information being used to indicate the terminal type of the first terminal.

[0210] Optionally, the terminal type includes at least one of the following: a first type; a second type; wherein the energy-saving requirements of the first type of terminal are less than those of the second type of terminal, and / or the communication capabilities of the first type of terminal are stronger than those of the second type of terminal.

[0211] Optionally, the first information indicates any of the following: the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes a first type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes a second type; the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes both a first type and a second type; or the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include either the first type or the second type.

[0212] Optionally, if the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include the first type and the second type, the first information is further used to instruct the first terminal to skip the second PDCCH.

[0213] Figure 6A is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device 6100 proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure. The communication device 6100 can be a network device (e.g., access network device, core network device, etc.), a terminal (e.g., user equipment, etc.), a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the network device in implementing any of the above methods, or a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the terminal in implementing any of the above methods. The communication device 6100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments; for details, please refer to the descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0214] As shown in Figure 6A, the communication device 6100 is used to execute any of the above methods. In some embodiments, the communication device 6100 includes one or more processors 6101. The processor 6101 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, such as a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit may be used to control communication devices (e.g., base stations, baseband chips, terminal devices, terminal device chips, DUs or CUs, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. Optionally, the communication device 6100 is used to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, one or more processors 6101 are used to invoke instructions to cause the communication device 6100 to execute any of the above methods.

[0215] In some embodiments, the communication device 6100 further includes one or more transceivers 6102. When the communication device 6100 includes one or more transceivers 6102, the transceiver 6102 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above-described method, and the processor 6101 performs at least one of the other steps. In optional embodiments, the transceiver may include a receiver and / or a transmitter, which may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver circuit, interface circuit, interface, etc., can be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, transmitting circuit, etc., can be used interchangeably; the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0216] In some embodiments, the communication device 6100 further includes one or more memories 6103 for storing data and / or instructions. Optionally, one or more processors 6101 are used to invoke instructions stored in the memory 6103 to cause the communication device 6100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, all or part of the memory 6103 may also be located outside the communication device 6100. In an optional embodiment, the communication device 6100 may include one or more interface circuits 6104. Optionally, the interface circuit 6104 is connected to the memory 6102 and can be used to receive data and / or instructions from the memory 6102 or other devices, and can be used to send data and / or instructions to the memory 6102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 6104 can read data and / or instructions stored in the memory 6102 and send the data and / or instructions to the processor 6101.

[0217] The communication device 6100 described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 6100 described in this disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 6100 may not be limited by FIG. 6A. The communication device may be a standalone device or a part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: (1) a standalone integrated circuit IC, or chip, or chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the IC collection may also include storage components for storing data, programs and / or instructions; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, terminal device, smart terminal device, cellular phone, wireless device, handheld device, mobile unit, vehicle device, network device, cloud device, artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0218] Figure 6B is a schematic diagram of the structure of chip 6200 according to an embodiment of this disclosure. For cases where the communication device 6100 can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the schematic diagram of chip 6200 shown in Figure 6B, but it is not limited thereto.

[0219] Chip 6200 includes one or more processors 6201. Chip 6200 is used to perform any of the methods described above.

[0220] In some embodiments, chip 6200 further includes one or more interface circuits 6202. Optionally, terms such as interface circuit, interface, and transceiver pin can be used interchangeably. In some embodiments, chip 6200 further includes one or more memories 6203 for storing data and / or instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 6203 may be located outside of chip 6200. Optionally, interface circuit 6202 is connected to memory 6203, and interface circuit 6202 can be used to receive data and / or instructions from memory 6203 or other devices, and interface circuit 6202 can be used to send data and / or instructions to memory 6203 or other devices. For example, interface circuit 6202 can read data and / or instructions stored in memory 6203 and send the data and / or instructions to processor 6201.

[0221] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 6202 performs at least one of the communication steps, such as sending and / or receiving, in the above-described method. For example, the interface circuit 6202 performing the communication steps, such as sending and / or receiving, in the above-described method means that the interface circuit 6202 performs data and / or instruction interaction between the processor 6201, the chip 6200, the memory 6203, or the transceiver device. In some embodiments, the processor 6201 performs at least one of the other steps.

[0222] The modules and / or devices described in the various embodiments, such as virtual devices, physical devices, and chips, can be combined or separated arbitrarily as needed. Optionally, some or all steps can also be performed collaboratively by multiple modules and / or devices, which is not limited here.

[0223] This disclosure also proposes a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0224] This disclosure also proposes a program product, including a program and / or instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, cause the communication device to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product. Optionally, the program product is stored on the storage medium.

[0225] This disclosure also proposes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the above methods.

[0226] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this disclosure are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., high-density digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state drives (SSDs)).

[0227] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this disclosure.

[0228] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0229] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this disclosure, but the scope of protection of this disclosure is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this disclosure should be included within the scope of protection of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of this disclosure should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A monitoring method, characterized in that, The method, executed by a first terminal, includes: Receive the first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sent by the network device; First information is determined based on relevant information of a predetermined signal in the first PDCCH. The first information indicates the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal used to receive the second PDCCH. The second PDCCH includes: the PDCCH located after the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period where the first PDCCH is located, and / or, the second PDCCH includes: the PDCCH in N PDCCH periods after the PDCCH period where the first PDCCH is located; N is a positive integer. Based on the first information, determine whether to stop monitoring the second PDCCH.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The relevant information of the predetermined signal includes at least one of the following: The time-domain resource location of the predetermined signal; The frequency domain resource location of the predetermined signal; The location of the airspace resources of the predetermined signal; The signal sequence of the predetermined signal; Predetermined parameters are used to generate the signal sequence.

3. The method as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The determination of the first information based on relevant information of the predetermined signal in the first PDCCH includes: Determine a predetermined correspondence, wherein the predetermined correspondence includes the correspondence between the relevant information of the predetermined signal and the first information; The relevant information of the predetermined signal is determined based on the predetermined signal in the first PDCCH; The first information is determined based on the predetermined correspondence and the relevant information of the predetermined signal.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The determination of the first information based on relevant information of the predetermined signal in the first PDCCH includes: Determine the second information in the relevant information carried in the predetermined signal, the second information being used to indicate the first information; The first information is determined based on the second information.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The method further includes: The system receives configuration information sent by the network device, which is used to configure the terminal type of the first terminal.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send indication information to the network device, the indication information being used to indicate the terminal type of the first terminal.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The terminal type includes at least one of the following: Type 1; Type II; Wherein, the energy-saving requirements of the first type of terminal are less than those of the second type of terminal, and / or, the communication capabilities of the first type of terminal are stronger than those of the second type of terminal.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The first information indicates any of the following: The terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes the first type; The terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes the second type; The terminal types corresponding to the second terminal include the first type and the second type; The terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include the first type and the second type.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, When the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include the first type and the second type, the first information is also used to instruct the first terminal to skip the second PDCCH.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The step of determining whether to stop monitoring the second PDCCH based on the first information includes any of the following: The terminal type indicated by the first information includes the terminal type of the first terminal, which listens to the second PDCCH; If the terminal type indicated by the first information does not include the terminal type of the first terminal, stop listening to the second PDCCH; The first information instructs the first terminal to skip the second PDCCH and stop listening to the second PDCCH.

11. A monitoring method, characterized in that, Performed by a network device, the method includes: A first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is sent to a first terminal. The relevant information of a predetermined signal in the first PDCCH is used to determine first information. The first information indicates the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal used to receive the second PDCCH. The second PDCCH includes: the PDCCH located after the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period where the first PDCCH is located, and / or, the second PDCCH includes: the PDCCH in N PDCCH periods after the PDCCH period where the first PDCCH is located; N is a positive integer.

12. The method as described in claim 11, characterized in that, The relevant information of the predetermined signal includes at least one of the following: The time-domain resource location of the predetermined signal; The frequency domain resource location of the predetermined signal; The location of the airspace resources of the predetermined signal; The signal sequence of the predetermined signal; Predetermined parameters are used to generate the signal sequence.

13. The method as described in claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: Configuration information is sent to the first terminal, and the configuration information is used to configure the terminal type of the first terminal.

14. The method as described in claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: The system receives indication information sent by the first terminal, the indication information being used to indicate the terminal type of the first terminal.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11-14, characterized in that, The terminal type includes at least one of the following: Type 1; Type II; Wherein, the energy-saving requirements of the first type of terminal are less than those of the second type of terminal, and / or, the communication capabilities of the first type of terminal are stronger than those of the second type of terminal.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11-15, characterized in that, The first information indicates any of the following: The terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes the first type; The terminal type corresponding to the second terminal includes the second type; The terminal types corresponding to the second terminal include the first type and the second type; The terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include the first type and the second type.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11-16, characterized in that, When the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal does not include the first type and the second type, the first information is also used to instruct the first terminal to skip the second PDCCH.

18. A first terminal, characterized in that, include: The transceiver module is used to receive the first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) sent by the network device. The processing module is configured to determine first information based on relevant information of a predetermined signal in the first PDCCH. The first information indicates the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal used to receive the second PDCCH. The second PDCCH includes: the PDCCH located after the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period in which the first PDCCH is located, and / or, the second PDCCH includes: the PDCCH in N PDCCH periods after the PDCCH period in which the first PDCCH is located; N is a positive integer. The processing module is further configured to determine whether to stop listening to the second PDCCH based on the first information.

19. A network device, characterized in that, include: The transceiver module is used to send a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a first terminal. The relevant information of a predetermined signal in the first PDCCH is used to determine first information. The first information indicates the terminal type corresponding to the second terminal used to receive the second PDCCH. The second PDCCH includes: the PDCCH located after the first PDCCH in the PDCCH period where the first PDCCH is located, and / or, the second PDCCH includes: the PDCCH in N PDCCH periods after the PDCCH period where the first PDCCH is located; N is a positive integer.

20. A first terminal, characterized in that, include: One or more processors; The first terminal is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

21. A network device, characterized in that, include: One or more processors; The network device is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 11 to 17.

22. A communication system, characterized in that, The device includes a network device and a first terminal, wherein the first terminal is configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, and the network device is configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 11 to 15.

23. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that, When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device performs the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10 or 11 to 17.

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