Communication method, terminal, network device, system, and storage medium

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method, a terminal, a network device, a system, and a storage medium. The method comprises: when a first bandwidth is greater than a second bandwidth, detecting and receiving, according to the second bandwidth, downlink control information (DCI) sent by a network device, wherein the first bandwidth is a transmission bandwidth within a cell-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is a maximum transmission bandwidth supported by a terminal. The present application is beneficial to reducing terminal power consumption, improves the reliability of data transmission, improves the availability of LPWA technology, and can effectively balance terminal capability and communication quality.

Description

Communication methods, terminals, network devices, systems, and storage media Technical Field

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

[0002] Currently, Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) terminals can achieve wide coverage and support multiple application scenarios. This type of terminal includes, but is not limited to, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, monitoring devices, wearable devices, etc. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To improve transmission reliability, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method, a terminal, a network device, a system, and a storage medium.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, the method being executed by a terminal, the method comprising:

[0005] When the first bandwidth is greater than the second bandwidth, the downlink control information (DCI) sent by the network device is detected and received according to the second bandwidth; wherein, the first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the cell-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal.

[0006] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, the method being performed by a network device, the method comprising:

[0007] Downlink control information (DCI) is sent to the terminal so that the terminal can detect and receive the DCI according to the second bandwidth if the first bandwidth is greater than the second bandwidth; wherein, the first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the cell-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal.

[0008] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal is provided, comprising:

[0009] The transceiver module is configured to detect and receive downlink control information (DCI) sent by the network device according to the second bandwidth when the first bandwidth is greater than the second bandwidth; wherein the first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the cell-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal.

[0010] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a network device is provided, comprising:

[0011] The transceiver module is configured to send downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal, so that the terminal can detect and receive the DCI according to the second bandwidth when the first bandwidth is greater than the second bandwidth; wherein, the first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the cell-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal.

[0012] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal is provided, comprising:

[0013] One or more processors;

[0014] The processor is used to execute the method described in any one of the first aspects.

[0015] According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a network device is provided, comprising:

[0016] One or more processors;

[0017] The processor is used to execute the communication method described in any one of the second aspects.

[0018] According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided, comprising:

[0019] A terminal, the terminal being configured to implement the communication method described in any one of the first aspects;

[0020] A network device configured to implement the communication method described in any one of the second aspects.

[0021] According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a storage medium is provided that stores instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform a communication method as described in any one of the first or second aspects.

[0022] According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product is provided, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, is used to implement the communication method described in any one of the first or second aspects.

[0023] In this embodiment, the terminal can detect and receive Downlink Control Information (DCI) sent by the network device according to the second bandwidth, provided that the first bandwidth is greater than the second bandwidth. The first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the CSS (Common Core Switching), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal. This disclosure helps reduce terminal power consumption, improves data transmission reliability, enhances the availability of LPWA (Low-Level WA) technology, and effectively balances terminal capabilities and communication quality.

[0024] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0025] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0026] Figure 1 is an exemplary schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 2 is an exemplary interactive schematic diagram of a communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 3A is one of the exemplary flowcharts of a communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 3B is a second exemplary flowchart of a communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary scenario for detecting and receiving DCI according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 5A is an exemplary block diagram of a terminal provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 5B is an exemplary block diagram of a network device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 6A is an exemplary schematic diagram of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 6B is an exemplary schematic diagram of a chip provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0035] This disclosure provides a communication method, terminal, network device, system, and storage medium.

[0036] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure propose a communication method executed by a terminal, the method comprising: when a first bandwidth is greater than a second bandwidth, detecting and receiving downlink control information (DCI) sent by a network device according to the second bandwidth; wherein the first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the cell-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal.

[0037] The above embodiments help reduce terminal power consumption, improve data transmission reliability, enhance the availability of LPWA technology, and effectively balance terminal capabilities and communication quality.

[0038] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, detecting and receiving downlink control information (DCI) sent by a network device according to the second bandwidth includes: determining a first frequency domain resource for detecting and receiving the DCI within the first bandwidth; wherein the first frequency domain resource does not exceed the frequency domain range of the second bandwidth; and detecting and receiving the DCI sent by the network device on the first frequency domain resource.

[0039] In the above embodiments, the terminal can directly detect and receive DCI on the determined first frequency domain resources, which improves the efficiency of detecting and receiving DCI and helps to save terminal power consumption.

[0040] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes any one of the following: determining the resources occupied by physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates within the first bandwidth according to the configuration of the cell-specific search space (CSS); and determining the resources occupied by PDCCH candidates located within the second bandwidth according to the configuration of the cell-specific search space (CSS).

[0041] In the above embodiments, the terminal can use any of the above methods to determine the resources occupied by the PDCCH candidate, thereby improving the efficiency of detecting and receiving DCI.

[0042] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, detecting and receiving downlink control information (DCI) sent by a network device according to the second bandwidth includes: within the first bandwidth, determining a first frequency domain resource for detecting and receiving the DCI, and determining a second frequency domain resource; wherein the first frequency domain resource does not exceed the frequency domain range of the second bandwidth, and the second frequency domain resource is located within the first bandwidth and outside the second bandwidth; based on the second frequency domain resource, determining a third frequency domain resource located within the second bandwidth; wherein the number of frequency domain units included in the third frequency domain resource is the same as the number of frequency domain units included in the second frequency domain resource, and the third frequency domain resource does not overlap with the first frequency domain resource in the time domain; detecting and receiving the DCI sent by the network device on the first frequency domain resource and the third frequency domain resource.

[0043] In the above embodiments, no data is lost, thus improving DCI demodulation performance.

[0044] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: restoring information on the third frequency domain resource.

[0045] The above embodiments improve the reliability of DCI parsing.

[0046] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes at least one of the following: determining the positional relationship between the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource based on a predefined method; and determining the positional relationship between the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource based on indication information sent by the network device.

[0047] In the above embodiments, the terminal can determine the positional relationship between the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource, avoiding data loss and achieving high availability.

[0048] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, determining the first frequency domain resource for detecting and receiving the DCI within the first bandwidth includes any one of the following: determining that the first frequency domain resource includes L consecutive frequency domain units within the first bandwidth, starting from the lowest frequency domain unit; determining that the first frequency domain resource includes L consecutive frequency domain units within the first bandwidth, starting from the highest frequency domain unit; determining that the first frequency domain resource includes L consecutive frequency domain units located in the middle position within the first bandwidth; wherein, L is less than or equal to the number of frequency domain units included in the second bandwidth.

[0049] In the above embodiments, the first frequency domain resources may include any of the above, which improves the efficiency of DCI detection and reception, and can effectively balance terminal capabilities and communication quality.

[0050] Secondly, embodiments of this disclosure propose a communication method executed by a network device. The method includes: sending downlink control information (DCI) to a terminal, so that the terminal detects and receives the DCI according to the second bandwidth when the first bandwidth is greater than the second bandwidth; wherein the first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the cell-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal.

[0051] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, sending downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal includes: sending the DCI to the terminal within the cell-specific search space (CSS).

[0052] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes any one of the following: sending Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) candidates to the terminal within the first bandwidth according to the configuration of the Cell Dedicated Search Space (CSS); sending PDCCH candidates to the terminal within the second bandwidth according to the configuration of the Cell Dedicated Search Space (CSS).

[0053] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes at least one of the following: determining the positional relationship between a third frequency domain resource and a first frequency domain resource based on a predefined method; sending indication information to the terminal; wherein the indication information is used to indicate the positional relationship between the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource; wherein the first frequency domain resource is the frequency domain resource determined by the terminal within the first bandwidth for detecting and receiving the DCI, and the first frequency domain resource does not exceed the frequency domain range of the second bandwidth, the number of frequency domain units included in the third frequency domain resource is the same as the number of frequency domain units included in the second frequency domain resource, the third frequency domain resource is located within the second bandwidth, and the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource do not overlap in the time domain, and the second frequency domain resource is located within the first bandwidth and outside the second bandwidth.

[0054] Thirdly, embodiments of this disclosure propose a terminal, including: a transceiver module configured to detect and receive downlink control information (DCI) sent by a network device according to the second bandwidth when a first bandwidth is greater than a second bandwidth; wherein the first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the cell-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal.

[0055] Fourthly, embodiments of this disclosure propose a network device, including: a transceiver module configured to send downlink control information (DCI) to a terminal, so that the terminal detects and receives the DCI according to the second bandwidth when the first bandwidth is greater than the second bandwidth; wherein, the first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the cell-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal.

[0056] Fifthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a terminal comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processors are configured to execute the communication method described in any one of the first aspects.

[0057] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a network device comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processors are configured to perform the communication method described in any one of the second aspects.

[0058] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication system comprising: a terminal configured to perform the communication method described in any one aspect; and a network device configured to perform the communication method described in any one aspect.

[0059] Eighthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the communication method as described in either the first or second aspect.

[0060] In a ninth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a computer program product, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, is used to implement the communication method described in any one of the first or second aspects.

[0061] It is understood that the aforementioned terminals, network devices, communication systems, and storage media are all used to execute the methods proposed in the embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects they can achieve can be referred to the beneficial effects in the corresponding methods, and will not be repeated here.

[0062] This disclosure provides communication methods, terminals, network devices, systems, and storage media. In some embodiments, the terms "communication method" and "information transmission method," "information processing method," etc., can be used interchangeably; the terms "communication device" and "information transmission device," "information processing device," etc., can be used interchangeably; and the terms "information transmission system," "information processing system," "communication system," etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0063] 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.

[0064] In each of the disclosed embodiments, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0065] 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.

[0066] In this disclosure, unless otherwise stated, elements expressed in the singular form, such as "a," "an," "the," "the aforementioned," "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 or a plural expression.

[0067] In the embodiments disclosed herein, "multiple" refers to two or more.

[0068] In some embodiments, the terms “at least one of”, “one or more”, “a plurality of”, “multiple”, etc., may be used interchangeably.

[0069] 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 B); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); in some embodiments, A and B (both A and B are executed). The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0070] In some embodiments, the notation "A or B" may include the following technical solutions, depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execution of A regardless of B); in some embodiments, B (execution of B regardless of A); 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, C, etc.

[0071] 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.

[0072] In some embodiments, “including A,” “containing A,” “for indicating A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0073] In some embodiments, the apparatus and device may be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments. In some cases, they may also be understood as "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "entity", "body", etc.

[0074] In some embodiments, the acquisition of data, information, etc., may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the location is situated.

[0075] In some embodiments, data, information, etc., may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0076] 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.

[0077] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0078] As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 includes a terminal 101 and a network device 102.

[0079] In some embodiments, terminal 101 includes, for example, at least one of the following: mobile phone, wearable device, Internet of Things device, car with communication function, smart car, tablet computer, 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, but is not limited thereto.

[0080] In one example, terminal 101 may be an LPWA terminal or a high-end terminal, which is not limited in this disclosure.

[0081] In some embodiments, network device 102 may include at least one of access network device 102-1 and core network device 102-2.

[0082] In some embodiments, the access network device 102-1 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: an evolved Node B (eNB), a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), a next-generation Node B (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved node B (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an open RAN, a cloud RAN, a base station in other communication systems, and an access node in a Wi-Fi system, but is not limited thereto.

[0083] 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.

[0084] In some embodiments, the access network device 102-2 may be composed of a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The CU may also be called a control unit. By adopting the CU-DU structure, the protocol layer of the access network device can be separated. Some of the protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while the remaining part or all of the protocol layer functions are distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU. However, this is not the only possibility.

[0085] In some embodiments, the core network device 102-2 may be a single device, including a first network element, a second network element, etc., or it may be multiple devices or a group of devices, each including all or part of the first network element, the second network element, etc. Network elements may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), 5G Core Network (5GCN), and Next Generation Core (NGC).

[0086] 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.

[0087] The following embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1, or to some of the main bodies, but are not limited thereto. The main bodies shown in FIG1 are illustrative. The communication system may include all or some of the main bodies in FIG1, or may include other main bodies outside of FIG1. ​​The number and form of each main body are arbitrary. Each main body may be physical or virtual. 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.

[0088] 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 communication 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).

[0089] In some embodiments, considering business needs and specific application scenarios, LPWA terminals often possess only weaker hardware capabilities to control costs and energy consumption. Due to these differences in hardware capabilities, LPWA terminals and high-end terminals often cannot share the same technologies. For example, LPWA terminals support significantly less bandwidth than high-end terminals, and their processing power is much weaker.

[0090] Due to the limitations of LPWA terminal hardware capabilities, the following two technical approaches can be adopted to support LPWA terminals:

[0091] Technical route 1 involves designing independent protocols. For example, defining systems independent of high-end terminals for Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) devices and enhanced Machine-Type Communication (eMTC) devices, and deploying them independently.

[0092] Technical approach 2 involves restricting and simplifying existing systems to adapt them to LPWA terminals. For example, based on 5G systems, it provides relevant configurations and methods to ensure that RedCap and / or eRedCap terminals can smoothly access public networks, based on the capabilities of Reduced Capability (RedCap) and / or Enhanced Reduced Capability (eRedCap) terminals.

[0093] Technical route 1 leads to protocol fragmentation, resulting in additional network deployment costs and limiting the application scenarios and scope of LPWA devices. Technical route 2, due to compatibility considerations, only allows for minor modifications and limitations to the protocol, failing to fully leverage the technical characteristics of LPWA terminals or adequately meet their performance requirements.

[0094] In some embodiments, the upper limits of blind detection (BD) and / or control channel element (CCE) detection of a terminal in a cell are defined by a protocol. Specifically, for Release-15 (Rel-15) terminals, their BD and / or CCE detection capabilities are defined by slot. Specifically, the BD and CCE detection capabilities are determined as shown in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. In Tables 1 and 2, for a single serving cell, with a downlink bandwidth portion having a subcarrier spacing configuration μ∈{0,1,2,3}, the maximum number of PDCCH candidates detected per slot is... The maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs in each time slot is

[0095] Table 1

[0096] Table 2

[0097] For version 16 (Release-16, Rel-16) terminals, their BD and / or CCE detection capabilities can be defined according to a duration (span). Specifically, the BD and CCE detection capabilities are determined as shown in Tables 3 and 4, respectively. In Table 3, for a single serving cell, with a downlink bandwidth portion having a subcarrier spacing configuration μ∈{0,1}, the maximum number of PDCCH candidates detected per span for the (x,y) combination is... In Table 4, for a single serving cell, the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs per time slot in the downlink bandwidth portion with subcarrier spacing configuration μ∈{0,1,2,3} is:

[0098] Table 3

[0099] Table 4

[0100] For a single serving cell, a terminal supports a maximum of 3+1 different downlink control information payloads (DCI payload sizes), that is:

[0101] Downlink Control Information (DCI) scrambled with Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) can have up to three different sizes;

[0102] DCIs scrambled with other Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (RNTIs) have at most one additional size.

[0103] In some embodiments, before the terminal enters the connected state, the time-frequency resources for transmitting the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) can be obtained in the following manner:

[0104] Method 1: Control-Resource Set #0 (CORESET #0) provided by the Master Indication Block (MIB).

[0105] Method 2, System Indication Block 1 (SIB1) provides a CORESET for transmitting common downlink control information (common DCI).

[0106] Regardless of how CORESET is provided, it is a cell-specific configuration applicable to all terminals capable of accessing the network.

[0107] In some embodiments, LPWA terminals and high-end terminals differ significantly in hardware capabilities. To reduce costs, LPWA terminals often support only limited radio frequency bandwidth and base station processing bandwidth. High-end terminals, on the other hand, typically support larger system bandwidths to achieve better performance.

[0108] Considering that both LPWA terminals and high-end terminals need to go through the same cell search process to access the network and need to receive the same cell-specific downlink control channel, it is necessary to consider the common downlink control channel transmission bandwidth.

[0109] If the downlink control channel transmission bandwidth is reduced to ensure LPWA compatibility, it will affect the performance of high-end terminals, including transmission performance and capacity. Conversely, if the requirements of high-end terminals are not met, it will exceed the hardware processing capabilities of the LPWA terminals, resulting in the LPWA terminals being unable to access the network or experiencing a deterioration in downlink transmission performance.

[0110] To improve transmission reliability and effectively balance terminal capabilities and communication quality, this disclosure provides the following communication methods, terminals, network devices, systems, and storage media.

[0111] Figure 2 is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method, which includes:

[0112] In step S2101, network device 102 sends instruction information to terminal 101.

[0113] In some embodiments, terminal 101 receives the instruction information.

[0114] In some embodiments, terminal 101 includes, but is not limited to, a first type of terminal and a second type of terminal.

[0115] In one example, the first type of terminal 101 could be, for example, an LPWA terminal.

[0116] In one example, the first type of terminal could also be other low-power terminals, such as IoT devices, passive IoT devices, wearable devices, etc.

[0117] In one example, the second type of terminal may be, for example, a high-end terminal, a regular terminal, etc., and this disclosure does not limit it.

[0118] In one example, the capabilities of the first type of terminal are lower than those of the second type of terminal.

[0119] The above is merely an illustrative example, and this disclosure does not limit the specific terminal type.

[0120] In some embodiments, the indication information may be used to indicate the positional relationship between the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource.

[0121] In one example, the number of frequency domain units included in the third frequency domain resource is the same as the number of frequency domain units included in the second frequency domain resource. The third frequency domain resource is located within the second bandwidth, and the third frequency domain resource does not overlap with the first frequency domain resource in the time domain, as shown in Figure 4. The second frequency domain resource is located within the first bandwidth and outside the second bandwidth, as shown in Figure 4.

[0122] In one example, the first frequency domain resource is the frequency domain resource determined by the terminal within the first bandwidth for detecting and receiving the DCI, and the first frequency domain resource does not exceed the frequency domain range of the second bandwidth, as shown in Figure 4.

[0123] In one example, the positional relationship between the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: whether the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource are adjacent in the time domain; the difference between the number of time domain units included in the third frequency domain resource and the number of frequency domain units included in the first frequency domain resource; and the time domain offset between the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource if they are not adjacent in the time domain.

[0124] In some embodiments, network device 102 may send indication information to terminal 101 based on a request from terminal 101.

[0125] In some embodiments, if the network device 102 determines that the terminal 101 is unable to determine the positional relationship between the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource based on a predefined method, it sends an indication message to the terminal 101.

[0126] In some embodiments, network device 102 sends indication information to terminal 101 based on its own policy.

[0127] In some embodiments, network device 102 sends indication information to terminal 101 to ensure scheduling reliability.

[0128] The above is merely an illustrative example, and this disclosure does not limit the timing or conditions under which the network device 102 is triggered to send indication information.

[0129] In some embodiments, step S2101 is an optional execution step. For example, if the terminal 101 determines the positional relationship between the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource based on other methods, or if the terminal 101 does not perform translation on the second frequency domain resource, step S2101 may not be executed.

[0130] In step S2102a, network device 102 sends DCI to terminal 101.

[0131] In some embodiments, terminal 101 detects and receives the DCI.

[0132] In some embodiments, network device 102 can transmit DCI normally within the cell-specific search space (CSS).

[0133] In some embodiments,

[0134] In step S2102b, terminal 101 detects and receives DCI.

[0135] In some embodiments, if the first bandwidth is greater than the second bandwidth, the terminal 101 can detect and receive the DCI according to the second bandwidth.

[0136] Wherein, the first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the community-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal.

[0137] In some embodiments, terminal 101 may detect and receive DCI in the following manner:

[0138] Method 1: Within the first bandwidth, determine the first frequency domain resource for detecting and receiving the DCI, and detect and receive the DCI on the first frequency domain resource.

[0139] In one example, the first frequency domain resources should not exceed the frequency domain range of the second bandwidth.

[0140] In one example, the first frequency domain resource may include L consecutive frequency domain units within the first bandwidth, starting from the lowest frequency domain unit. Where L is less than or equal to the number of frequency domain units included in the second bandwidth.

[0141] In one example, the first frequency domain resource may include L consecutive frequency domain cells within the first bandwidth, starting from the highest frequency domain cell. Where L is less than or equal to the number of frequency domain cells included in the second bandwidth.

[0142] In one example, the first frequency domain resource may include L consecutive frequency domain cells located at the middle position within the first bandwidth. In this case, the center frequency of the bandwidth corresponding to the first frequency domain resource can be aligned with the center frequency of the first bandwidth. Here, L is less than or equal to the number of frequency domain cells included in the second bandwidth.

[0143] The above is merely an illustrative example, and this disclosure does not limit the method of determining the first frequency domain resources from the first bandwidth.

[0144] In one example, terminal 101 can directly detect and receive DCI on the first frequency domain resource.

[0145] In one example, terminal 101 can detect and receive DCI on the first frequency domain resource according to the transmission period of CSS. This disclosure does not limit the specific time-frequency domain resource location for terminal 101 to detect and receive DCI.

[0146] In one example, when terminal 101 detects and receives DCI on the first frequency domain resource, it can determine the resources occupied by the PDCCH candidate within the first bandwidth according to the CSS configuration.

[0147] For example, the terminal 101 still determines the PDCCH candidate position mapping according to the original CSS configuration. For example, according to the original CSS configuration, the first bandwidth includes 20 resource units. Assuming that the resource unit is a resource block (RB), the terminal 101 determines the time-frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH candidate on the 20 resource units based on a predefined method, that is, determines the location of the PDCCH candidate.

[0148] After determining the PDCCH candidate position, terminal 101 can detect and receive the corresponding PDCCH candidate on the first frequency domain resource.

[0149] In one example, when terminal 101 detects and receives DCI on the first frequency domain resource, it can determine the resources occupied by the PDCCH candidate located in the second bandwidth.

[0150] For example, terminal 101 directly determines the resources occupied by the PDCCH candidate on the second bandwidth. For instance, according to the original CSS configuration, the first bandwidth includes 20 resource units. Assuming that the resource unit is a resource block (RB), and the second bandwidth includes 10 RBs, then terminal 101 determines the time-frequency domain resources occupied by the PDCCH candidate on the 10 resource units included in the second bandwidth based on a predefined method, that is, determines the location of the PDCCH candidate.

[0151] After determining the PDCCH candidate position, terminal 101 detects and receives the corresponding PDCCH candidate on the first frequency domain resource.

[0152] The above is merely an illustrative example, and this disclosure does not limit the method for determining the resources occupied by the PDCCH candidate.

[0153] Method 2 involves shifting the second frequency domain resources outside the second bandwidth and detecting and receiving DCI based on multiple frequency domain resources.

[0154] In one example, terminal 101 may determine a first frequency domain resource for detecting and receiving DCI within a first bandwidth, wherein the first frequency domain resource does not exceed the frequency domain range of the second bandwidth.

[0155] The method for determining the first frequency domain resources has been described in the foregoing embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0156] Furthermore, terminal 101 can determine the second frequency domain resource. For example, as shown in Figure 4, the second frequency domain resource is a frequency domain resource located within the first bandwidth and outside the second bandwidth.

[0157] Terminal 101 can determine a third frequency domain resource located within a second bandwidth based on the second frequency domain resource. The third frequency domain resource includes the same number of frequency domain units as the second frequency domain resource, and the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource may not overlap in the time domain. Optionally, the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource may be adjacent in the time domain.

[0158] In one example, terminal 101 can determine the positional relationship between the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource based on a predefined method.

[0159] In one example, terminal 101 can determine the positional relationship between the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource based on the indication information sent by the network device.

[0160] In one example, terminal 101 can determine the positional relationship between the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource based on a predefined method and indication information sent by the network device.

[0161] For example, as shown in Figure 4, in cases A, B, and C, the second frequency domain resource #1 is shifted to the left of the first frequency domain resource to obtain the third frequency domain resource #1, and the second frequency domain resource #2 is shifted to the right of the first frequency domain resource to obtain the third frequency domain resource #2.

[0162] Terminal 101 can detect and receive DCI on the third frequency domain resources and the first frequency domain resources.

[0163] For example, terminal 101 can cascade all resources, thereby enabling the detection and reception of DCI on resources cascaded between the third frequency domain resources and the first frequency domain resources.

[0164] It should be noted that before detecting and receiving DCI, terminal 101 can restore the shifted information bits, such as restoring the information on the third frequency domain resources.

[0165] Methods 1 and 2 described above do not require changes to the composition, configuration, and mapping of the CSS. That is, they do not affect the detection and reception of DCI within the CSS for second-type terminals, such as high-end terminals.

[0166] It is understandable that, compared to method 1, method 2 can ensure no data loss and thus ensure DCI demodulation performance.

[0167] In some embodiments, the names of information, etc., are not limited to the names described in the embodiments. Terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "codebook", "codeword", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

[0168] In some embodiments, terms such as “send,” “transmit,” “report,” “distribute,” “transfer,” “bidirectional transmission,” “send and / or receive” can be used interchangeably.

[0169] In some embodiments, “get,” “obtain,” “get,” “receive,” “transmit,” “bidirectional transmission,” and “send and / or receive” can be used interchangeably and can be interpreted as receiving from other entities, obtaining from protocols, obtaining from higher layers, obtaining through self-processing, or autonomous implementation, among other meanings.

[0170] In some embodiments, terms such as "certain," "preset," "default," "set," "indicated," "a certain," "any," and "first" can be used interchangeably. "Certain A," "preset A," "default A," "set A," "indicated A," "a certain A," "any A," and "first A" can be interpreted as A pre-defined in a protocol or the like, or as A obtained through setting, configuration, or instruction, or as specific A, a certain A, any A, or first A, but are not limited thereto.

[0171] In some embodiments, the communication method involved in this disclosure may include at least one of steps S2101 to S2102b. For example, step S2101 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, step S2102a may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, step S2102b may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, steps S2102a+S2102b may be implemented as standalone embodiments, and steps S2101 to S2102b may be implemented as standalone embodiments, but the method is not limited thereto.

[0172] In some embodiments, steps S2101 to S2102b are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0173] In some embodiments, the execution order of steps S2101 to S2102b is not limited.

[0174] The above embodiments help reduce terminal power consumption, improve data transmission reliability, enhance the availability of LPWA technology, and effectively balance terminal capabilities and communication quality.

[0175] Figure 3A is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3A, the present disclosure relates to a communication method that can be executed by a terminal 101, and the method includes:

[0176] Step S3101: Obtain DCI.

[0177] In some embodiments, optional implementations of step S3101 can be found in optional implementations of step S2102b in FIG2 and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG2, which will not be repeated here.

[0178] In some embodiments, terminal 101 receives DCI sent by network device 101, but is not limited thereto. Terminal 101 may also receive DCI sent by other entities, such as relay devices or other devices. In this case, step S3101 can be omitted.

[0179] In some embodiments, terminal 101 obtains the DCI specified by the protocol, in which case step S3101 is omitted.

[0180] In some embodiments, the terminal 101 obtains the DCI from the upper layer(s), in which case step S3101 is omitted.

[0181] In some embodiments, the terminal 101 performs processing to obtain the DCI, in which step S3101 is omitted.

[0182] In some embodiments, the terminal 101 autonomously implements the function indicated by the DCI, or the above function is the default or default, in which case step S3101 is omitted.

[0183] The above embodiments help reduce terminal power consumption, improve data transmission reliability, enhance the availability of LPWA technology, and effectively balance terminal capabilities and communication quality.

[0184] Figure 3B is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3B, the present disclosure relates to a communication method that can be executed by a network device 102, and the method includes:

[0185] Step S3201: Send DCI.

[0186] In some embodiments, network device 102 sends DCI to terminal 101.

[0187] In some embodiments, terminal 101 receives DCI.

[0188] In some embodiments, optional implementations of step S3201 can be found in optional implementations of step S2102a in FIG2 and other related parts in the embodiments involved in FIG2, which will not be repeated here.

[0189] The above embodiments help reduce terminal power consumption, improve data transmission reliability, enhance the availability of LPWA technology, and effectively balance terminal capabilities and communication quality.

[0190] The above process is further illustrated with examples below.

[0191] In this embodiment of the disclosure, when the bandwidth occupied by cell-specific CSS transmission is greater than the maximum receiving bandwidth of the first type of terminal (LPWA terminal), the terminal detects and receives PDCCH according to its maximum supported bandwidth.

[0192] Terminal side:

[0193] When the bandwidth occupied by cell-specific CSS transmission is greater than the maximum receiving bandwidth of the first type of terminal (LPWA terminal), the terminal detects the received DCI according to the following method.

[0194] Method 1: The first type of terminal intercepts the actual bandwidth occupied by the cell-specific CSS according to its maximum supported bandwidth, and detects the received DCI within the intercepted resources. In this patent, the actual bandwidth occupied by the cell-specific CSS is referred to as CBW, and the bandwidth for the first type of terminal to detect DCI is referred to as L-CBW.

[0195] This patent does not impose any limitations on the size or method of determining the bandwidth occupied by the cell-specific CSS transmission.

[0196] The first type of terminal, according to its own maximum supported bandwidth, extracts the frequency domain bandwidth occupied by the cell-specific CSS using any of the following methods.

[0197] Method 1-1, L-CBW is L-CBW frequency domain units within CBW, starting from the lowest frequency domain unit.

[0198] For example, the frequency domain unit is RB.

[0199] In methods 1-2, L-CBW refers to L-CBW frequency domain units within CBW, starting from the highest frequency domain unit.

[0200] For example, the frequency domain unit is RB.

[0201] In methods 1-3, L-CBW refers to the L-CBW frequency domain units located in the middle of CBW. The center frequencies of L-CBW and CBW are aligned.

[0202] For example, the frequency domain unit is RB.

[0203] Furthermore, when the first type of terminal detects and receives CSS within the L-CBW,

[0204] One approach is for the terminal to still determine the composition of the search space within the CBW according to the cell-specific CSS configuration, and only perform truncation operations.

[0205] Another method is for the terminal to determine the composition of the CSS, i.e. the resources occupied by the PDCCH candidate, within the L-CBW according to the configuration of the L-CBW and the CSS.

[0206] Method 2: The first type of terminal determines the bandwidth for detecting and receiving DCI based on its maximum supported bandwidth, and shifts resources exceeding its receiving bandwidth into the bandwidth for reception. In this patent, the actual bandwidth occupied by cell-specific CSS is referred to as CBW, and the bandwidth for detecting DCI by the first type of terminal is referred to as L-CBW.

[0207] This patent does not impose any limitations on the size or method of determining the bandwidth occupied by the cell-specific CSS transmission.

[0208] The first type of terminal, according to its own maximum supported bandwidth, extracts the frequency domain bandwidth occupied by the cell-specific CSS using any of the following methods.

[0209] Method 1-1, L-CBW is L-CBW frequency domain units within CBW, starting from the lowest frequency domain unit.

[0210] For example, the frequency domain unit is RB.

[0211] In methods 1-2, L-CBW refers to L-CBW frequency domain units within CBW, starting from the highest frequency domain unit.

[0212] For example, the frequency domain unit is RB.

[0213] In methods 1-3, L-CBW refers to the L-CBW frequency domain units located in the middle of CBW. The center frequencies of L-CBW and CBW are aligned.

[0214] For example, the frequency domain unit is RB.

[0215] The terminal moves resources that exceed the L-CBW into the L-CBW. When processing the PDCCH, all resources are cascaded, as shown in Figure 4.

[0216] This method does not make any changes to the composition, configuration, or mapping of CSS.

[0217] This method does not affect the detection of the high-end terminal receiving the CSS.

[0218] In this method, before the terminal detects and receives the CSS, it first restores the information bits that were moved.

[0219] Base station side:

[0220] When the bandwidth occupied by cell-specific CSS transmission is greater than the maximum receive bandwidth of the first type of terminal (LPWA terminal), the base station transmits DCI according to the following method.

[0221] Method 1: The base station transmits DCI normally within the CSS (Cell-Specific CSS) of the CBW (Cell-Specific Width). The first type of terminal, according to its maximum supported bandwidth, intercepts the actual bandwidth occupied by the cell-specific CSS and detects and receives DCI within the intercepted resources. In this patent, the actual bandwidth occupied by the cell-specific CSS is referred to as CBW, and the bandwidth used by the first type of terminal to detect DCI is referred to as L-CBW.

[0222] This patent does not impose any limitations on the size or method of determining the bandwidth occupied by the cell-specific CSS transmission.

[0223] The first type of terminal, according to its own maximum supported bandwidth, extracts the frequency domain bandwidth occupied by the cell-specific CSS using any of the following methods.

[0224] Method 1-1, L-CBW is L-CBW frequency domain units within CBW, starting from the lowest frequency domain unit.

[0225] For example, the frequency domain unit is RB.

[0226] In methods 1-2, L-CBW refers to L-CBW frequency domain units within CBW, starting from the highest frequency domain unit.

[0227] For example, the frequency domain unit is RB.

[0228] In methods 1-3, L-CBW refers to the L-CBW frequency domain units located in the middle of CBW. The center frequencies of L-CBW and CBW are aligned.

[0229] For example, the frequency domain unit is RB.

[0230] Furthermore, when the first type of terminal detects and receives CSS within the L-CBW,

[0231] One approach is for the terminal to still determine the composition of the search space within the CBW according to the cell-specific CSS configuration, and only perform truncation operations.

[0232] Another method is for the terminal to determine the composition of the CSS, i.e. the resources occupied by the PDCCH candidate, within the L-CBW according to the configuration of the L-CBW and the CSS.

[0233] Optionally, in order to ensure the performance of the first type of terminal in detecting the PDCCH, the base station needs to send the PDCCH candidate within the aforementioned L-CBW when sending the DCI for the first type of terminal.

[0234] Method 2: The base station transmits DCI normally within the CSS within the CBW, and shifts resources exceeding the maximum bandwidth of the first type of terminal to within the bandwidth of the first type of terminal. The information mapped thereon is also transmitted along with the shifted resources. The first type of terminal determines the bandwidth for detecting and receiving DCI according to its own maximum supported bandwidth, and shifts resources exceeding its receiving bandwidth to within the bandwidth for reception. In this patent, the actual bandwidth occupied by the cell-specific CSS is referred to as CBW, and the bandwidth for detecting DCI by the first type of terminal is referred to as L-CBW.

[0235] This patent does not impose any limitations on the size or method of determining the bandwidth occupied by the cell-specific CSS transmission.

[0236] The first type of terminal, according to its own maximum supported bandwidth, extracts the frequency domain bandwidth occupied by the cell-specific CSS using any of the following methods.

[0237] Method 1-1, L-CBW is L-CBW frequency domain units within CBW, starting from the lowest frequency domain unit.

[0238] For example, the frequency domain unit is RB.

[0239] In methods 1-2, L-CBW refers to L-CBW frequency domain units within CBW, starting from the highest frequency domain unit.

[0240] For example, the frequency domain unit is RB.

[0241] In methods 1-3, L-CBW refers to the L-CBW frequency domain units located in the middle of CBW. The center frequencies of L-CBW and CBW are aligned.

[0242] For example, the frequency domain unit is RB.

[0243] The terminal moves resources that extend beyond the L-CBW into the L-CBW. When processing the PDCCH, all resources are cascaded. A schematic diagram is shown in Figure 4.

[0244] This method does not make any changes to the composition, configuration, or mapping of CSS.

[0245] This method does not affect the detection of the high-end terminal receiving the CSS.

[0246] In this method, before the terminal detects and receives the CSS, it first restores the information bits that were moved.

[0247] 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.

[0248] 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.

[0249] 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).

[0250] Figure 5A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal according to an embodiment of this disclosure. The terminal 5100 is used to perform any of the above methods. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 5A, the terminal 5100 may include a transceiver module 5101.

[0251] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 5101 is configured to detect and receive downlink control information (DCI) sent by the network device according to the second bandwidth when the first bandwidth is greater than the second bandwidth; wherein the first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the cell-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal.

[0252] Optionally, the transceiver module 5101 is used to perform at least one of the communication steps (such as step S2101, step S2102a, step S2102b, but not limited thereto) performed by the terminal 5100 in any of the above methods, which will not be described in detail here.

[0253] Figure 5B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device according to an embodiment of this disclosure. The network device 5200 is used to perform any of the above methods. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 5B, the network device 5200 may include a transceiver module 5201.

[0254] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 5201 is used to send downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal so that the terminal can detect and receive the DCI according to the second bandwidth when the first bandwidth is greater than the second bandwidth; wherein, the first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the cell-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal.

[0255] Optionally, the transceiver module 5201 is used to perform at least one of the communication steps (such as step S2101, step S2102a, step S2102b, but not limited thereto) performed by the network device 5200 in any of the above methods, which will not be described in detail here.

[0256] In some embodiments, the transceiver module may include a transmitting module and / or a receiving module, which may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the transceiver module may be interchangeable with a transceiver.

[0257] Alternatively, the transceiver module can be interchanged with the transceiver.

[0258] 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.

[0259] 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.

[0260] 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 method (e.g., steps S2101, S2102a, S2102b, but not limited thereto), 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, sending unit, transmitter, sending circuit, etc., can be used interchangeably; the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0261] 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 6103 and can be used to receive data and / or instructions from the memory 6103 or other devices, and can be used to send data and / or instructions to the memory 6103 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 6104 can read data and / or instructions stored in the memory 6103 and send the data and / or instructions to the processor 6101.

[0262] 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.

[0263] 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.

[0264] Chip 6200 includes one or more processors 6201. Chip 6200 is used to perform any of the methods described above.

[0265] 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.

[0266] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 6202 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method (e.g., steps S2101, S2102a, and S2102b, but not limited thereto). The interface circuit 6202 performing the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method refers, for example, to the interface circuit 6202 performing 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.

[0267] 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.

[0268] 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.

[0269] 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.

[0270] This disclosure also proposes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the above methods.

[0271] It should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the precise structures described above and shown in the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of this disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is executed by a terminal, and the method includes: When the first bandwidth is greater than the second bandwidth, the downlink control information (DCI) sent by the network device is detected and received according to the second bandwidth; wherein, the first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the cell-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of detecting and receiving downlink control information (DCI) sent by the network device according to the second bandwidth includes: Within the first bandwidth, a first frequency domain resource for detecting and receiving the DCI is determined; wherein the first frequency domain resource does not exceed the frequency domain range of the second bandwidth; On the first frequency domain resource, the DCI sent by the network device is detected and received.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The method further includes any one of the following: Based on the configuration of the cell-specific search space (CSS), within the first bandwidth, determine the resources occupied by the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; Based on the configuration of the cell-specific search space CSS, determine the resources occupied by the PDCCH candidates located within the second bandwidth.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of detecting and receiving downlink control information (DCI) sent by the network device according to the second bandwidth includes: Within the first bandwidth, a first frequency domain resource for detecting and receiving the DCI is determined, and a second frequency domain resource is determined; wherein the first frequency domain resource does not exceed the frequency domain range of the second bandwidth, and the second frequency domain resource is located within the first bandwidth and outside the second bandwidth; Based on the second frequency domain resource, a third frequency domain resource located within the second bandwidth is determined; wherein the number of frequency domain units included in the third frequency domain resource is the same as the number of frequency domain units included in the second frequency domain resource, and the third frequency domain resource does not overlap with the first frequency domain resource in the time domain; On the first frequency domain resource and the third frequency domain resource, the DCI sent by the network device is detected and received.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: The information on the third frequency domain resource is restored.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that, The method further includes at least one of the following: The positional relationship between the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource is determined based on a predefined method. Based on the indication information sent by the network device, the positional relationship between the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource is determined.

7. The method according to any one of claims 2-6, characterized in that, The step of determining and receiving the first frequency domain resource of the DCI within the first bandwidth includes any one of the following: The first frequency domain resource is determined to include L consecutive frequency domain units within the first bandwidth, starting from the lowest frequency domain unit; The first frequency domain resource is determined to include L consecutive frequency domain units within the first bandwidth, starting from the highest frequency domain unit; The first frequency domain resource is determined to include L consecutive frequency domain units located in the middle position within the first bandwidth; Wherein, L is less than or equal to the number of frequency domain units included in the second bandwidth.

8. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is performed by a network device, and the method includes: Downlink control information (DCI) is sent to the terminal so that the terminal can detect and receive the DCI according to the second bandwidth if the first bandwidth is greater than the second bandwidth; wherein, the first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the cell-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, Sending downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal includes: Within the community-specific search space (CSS), the DCI is sent to the terminal.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, The method further includes any one of the following: According to the configuration of the cell-specific search space (CSS), within the first bandwidth, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates are sent to the terminal. According to the configuration of the community-specific search space (CSS), PDCCH candidates are sent to the terminal within the second bandwidth.

11. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, The method further includes at least one of the following: Based on a predefined method, the positional relationship between the third frequency domain resources and the first frequency domain resources is determined; Send indication information to the terminal; wherein the indication information is used to indicate the positional relationship between the third frequency domain resource and the first frequency domain resource; Wherein, the first frequency domain resource is the frequency domain resource determined by the terminal within the first bandwidth for detecting and receiving the DCI, and the first frequency domain resource does not exceed the frequency domain range of the second bandwidth. The number of frequency domain units included in the third frequency domain resource is the same as the number of frequency domain units included in the second frequency domain resource. The third frequency domain resource is located within the second bandwidth, and the third frequency domain resource does not overlap with the first frequency domain resource in the time domain. The second frequency domain resource is located within the first bandwidth and outside the second bandwidth.

12. A terminal, characterized in that, include: The transceiver module is configured to detect and receive downlink control information (DCI) sent by the network device according to the second bandwidth when the first bandwidth is greater than the second bandwidth; wherein the first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the cell-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal.

13. A network device, characterized in that, include: The transceiver module is configured to send downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal, so that the terminal can detect and receive the DCI according to the second bandwidth when the first bandwidth is greater than the second bandwidth; wherein, the first bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth within the cell-specific search space (CSS), and the second bandwidth is the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the terminal.

14. A terminal, characterized in that, include: One or more processors; The processor is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-7.

15. A network device, characterized in that, include: One or more processors; The processor is used to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 8-11.

16. A communication system, characterized in that, include: A terminal configured to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1-7; A network device configured to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 8-11.

17. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that, When the instruction is executed on the communication device, it causes the communication device to perform the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-7 or 8-11.

18. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, characterized in that, When executed by a processor, the computer program is used to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1-7 or 8-11.

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