RU2842702C2 - Method and apparatus for receiving control channel, method and apparatus for transmitting control channel, communication device and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: communication technique.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to communication engineering. Terminal may determine first symbol of time domain, corresponding to resource occupied by terminal CRS, and then determining, according to the CRS configuration information, whether a new radiophysical downlink control channel (NR PDCCH) is expected to be received on the first time-domain symbol. When it is determined that the number of resource elements (RE) occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain is relatively large, the terminal may not expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, and the network device may also not send the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain. This enables to avoid unnecessary consumption caused by the terminal receiving an NR PDCCH on a time domain symbol for which the NR PDCCH corresponds to a relatively small number of RE.

EFFECT: reduced interference and improved communication quality.

17 cl, 20 dwg, 1 tbl

Description

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY TO WHICH THE INVENTION RELATES

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communication technologies and proposes a method and device for receiving a control channel, a method and device for transmitting a control channel, a communication device and a machine-readable information carrier.

LEVEL OF TECHNOLOGY

[0002] Currently, in the DSS (Dynamic Spectrum Sharing) scenario, the LTE (Long Term Evolution) system and the NR (New Radio) system can coexist on the same spectrum resources, which results in interference in the NR system due to some pieces of information transmitted by the LTE system.

[0003] For example, when an RE (resource element) corresponding to a CRS (cell-specific reference signal) transmitted by the LTE system collides with an RE corresponding to an NR PDCCH (physical downlink control channel), the corresponding NR PDCCH is punctured and the terminal cannot obtain the NR PDCCH on the conflicting RE, resulting in a decrease in the demodulation performance of the NR PDCCH.

[0004] Moreover, in some scenarios, such as when the terminal is at the edge of a cell, it may receive CRSs corresponding to multiple cells, resulting in stronger interference to the NR PDCCH.

ESSENCE

[0005] In view of the above, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and apparatus for receiving a control channel, a method and apparatus for transmitting a control channel, a communication device, and a computer-readable storage medium for solving a technical problem in related technologies.

[0006] According to a first aspect, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for receiving a control channel is provided, which is applicable to a terminal. The method includes: determining a first time domain symbol corresponding to a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), where the first time domain symbol is part or all of the time domain symbols in the time domain resources where the CRS is located; and determining, at least based on the configuration information of the CRS, whether a new downlink radio physical channel (NR PDCCH) control is expected to be received on the first time domain symbol.

[0007] According to a second aspect, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for transmitting a control channel is provided, which is applicable to a network device. The method includes: determining a first time domain symbol corresponding to a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) configured for a terminal, where the first time domain symbol is part or all of the time domain symbols in the time domain resources where the CRS is located; and determining, at least based on the configuration information of the CRS, whether to transmit a new downlink radio physical channel (NR PDCCH) of the control to the terminal on the first time domain symbol.

[0008] According to a third aspect, a control channel receiving device is provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which is applicable to a terminal. The device comprises: a processing module configured to determine a first time domain symbol corresponding to a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), where the first time domain symbol is part or all of the time domain symbols in the time domain resources where the CRS is located; and determine, at least based on the configuration information of the CRS, whether a new downlink radio physical channel (NR PDCCH) control channel is expected to be received on the first time domain symbol.

[0009] According to a fourth aspect, a control channel transmitting device is provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which is applicable to a network device. The device comprises: a processing module configured to determine a first time domain symbol corresponding to a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) configured for a terminal, where the first time domain symbol is part or all of the time domain symbols in the time domain resources where the CRS is located; and determine, at least based on the configuration information of the CRS, whether to transmit a new downlink radio physical channel (NR PDCCH) of the control to the terminal on the first time domain symbol.

[0010] According to a fifth aspect, a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory configured to store a computer program. The computer program is executed by the processor for implementing the above-mentioned method for receiving a control channel.

[0011] According to a sixth aspect, a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory configured to store a computer program. The computer program is executed by the processor for implementing the above-mentioned method for transmitting a control channel.

[0012] According to a seventh aspect, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which is configured to store a computer program. When executing the computer program by the processor, the steps of the above-described method for receiving a control channel are implemented.

[0013] According to an eighth aspect, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which is configured to store a computer program. When executing the computer program by the processor, the steps of the above-mentioned method for transmitting a control channel are implemented.

[0014] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a terminal may determine a first symbol of a time domain corresponding to resources occupied by a CRS, and may further determine whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain, based on the configuration information of the CRS. When it is determined based on the configuration information of the CRS that the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain is relatively large, the terminal does not expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, and the network device may not transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain, thereby avoiding unnecessary consumption caused by the terminal receiving an NR PDCCH on a time domain symbol with a relatively small number of REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] In order to clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a brief description of the drawings used in the embodiments is given below. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only a part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings in accordance with these drawings without creative efforts.

[0016] Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a method for receiving a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of resources occupied by a CRS according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] Fig. 3 is another schematic diagram of resources occupied by a CRS according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] Fig. 4 is a block diagram of another method for receiving a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of NR PDCCH reception according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] Fig. 6 is a block diagram of another method for receiving a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] Fig. 7 is a block diagram of another method for receiving a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for determining whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on a first symbol of a time domain according to a number of REs occupied by a CRS on the first symbol of the time domain, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] Fig. 9 is a block diagram of another method for receiving a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] Fig. 10 is a block diagram of another method for receiving a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] Fig. 11 is a block diagram of a method for transmitting a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Fig. 12 is a block diagram of another method for transmitting a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Fig. 13 is a block diagram of another method for transmitting a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] Fig. 14 is a block diagram of another method for transmitting a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] Fig. 15 is a block diagram of another method for transmitting a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] Fig. 16 is a block diagram of another method for transmitting a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] Fig. 17 is a block diagram of a control channel receiving apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] Fig. 18 is a block diagram of a control channel transmission device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] Fig. 19 is a block diagram of a control channel transmission device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] Fig. 20 is a block diagram of a control channel receiving apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below together with the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments relate only to a part, not all, of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and based on these embodiments of the present disclosure, a person skilled in the art can obtain other embodiments without creative efforts, all of which will fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0037] The terminology used in the embodiments of the present disclosure is intended to describe particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure. The singular forms used in the embodiments and appended claims of the present disclosure are intended to include the plural form as well, unless the context clearly requires otherwise. It should also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and includes any possible combinations of one or more of the listed related elements.

[0038] It should be understood that while terms such as “first,” “second,” and “third” may be used in embodiments of the present disclosure to describe various information, the information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish information of the same type. For example, without departing from the scope of embodiments of the present disclosure, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. For example, depending on the context, the word “if” as used herein may be interpreted as “when,” or “in the event that,” or “in response to a determination.”

[0039] For the sake of simplicity and ease of understanding, this specification uses the terms “greater than” or “less than,” “higher than,” or “lower than” when characterizing a dimensional relationship. However, one skilled in the art may understand that the term “greater than” also encompasses the meaning “greater than or equal to,” and “less than” also encompasses the meaning “less than or equal to,” the term “higher than” encompasses the meaning “higher than or equal to,” and the meaning “lower than” also encompasses the meaning “lower than or equal to.”

[0040] Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a method for receiving a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The method for receiving a control channel shown in the embodiment may be applicable to a terminal. The terminal includes, but is not limited to: a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, a sensor, an Internet of Things device, and other communication devices. The terminal may interact with a network device. The network device includes, but is not limited to, a network device in 4G, 5G, 6G, and other communication systems, such as a base station, a core network, etc.

[0041] As shown in Fig. 1, the method for receiving a control channel may include the following steps.

[0042] In step S101, a first time domain symbol (an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol) corresponding to a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) is determined, where the first time domain symbol is part or all of the time domain symbols in the time domain resources where the CRS is located.

[0043] In step S102, it is determined whether a new radio physical channel (NR PDCCH) of the downlink control is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain, at least based on the CRS configuration information.

[0044] Receiving an NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain may mean detecting a PDCCH candidate on the first symbol of the time domain. For example, determining that an NR PDCCH is not expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain may mean not detecting any PDCCH candidate on the first symbol of the time domain; determining that an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain may mean detecting a PDCCH candidate on the first symbol of the time domain.

[0045] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of resources occupied by a CRS according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0046] In one embodiment, an example is given in which the LTE cell identifier (Cell ID) is 0, and the LTE CRS supports 4 ports, namely, antenna port 0, antenna port 1, antenna port 2, and antenna port 3. The LTE CRS corresponding to the different antenna ports occupies different resources respectively, and the resources occupied by the LTE CRS corresponding to the four antenna ports are grouped together as the first resource.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 2, one RB (resource block) contains 14 symbols (for example, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols) in the time domain and 12 REs (resource elements) in the frequency domain. For example, the REs in one symbol are numbered from RE#0 to RE#11 from bottom to top. As shown in FIG. 2, the CRS occupies the first, second, fifth, eighth, ninth and twelfth symbols and occupies the REs numbered as RE#0, RE#3, RE#6 and RE#9.

[0048] The resources occupied by the CRS may be determined according to a CRS pattern. The CRS pattern is used to indicate the resources occupied by the CRS. The PDSCH (physical downlink shared channel) can perform rate matching based on the CRS resources, so it can also be called a CRS rate matching pattern (CRS RM pattern).

[0049] It should be noted that the LTE CRS may be transmitted by an LTE network device, and the NR PDCCH may be transmitted by an NR network device. The NR network device may also determine the resources occupied by the CRS, for example, may determine the resources by interacting with the LTE network device or based on a protocol.

[0050] In addition, the terminal may determine the resources occupied by the CRS according to a CRS pattern (which may be determined according to instructions of the network device or according to a predetermined rule), and may also determine the resources occupied by the NR PDCCH according to the configuration of the NR network device.

[0051] In a DSS scenario, an LTE system and an NR system may coexist in the same spectrum, which will cause the CRS transmitted by the LTE system to interfere with the NR PDCCH. For example, a network device in the NR system may puncture the NR PDCCH according to a CRS pattern, and the terminal receives the NR PDCCH according to the NR PDCCH puncturing situation.

[0052] In some scenarios, such as when a terminal is at the junction of multiple LTE cells, the terminal may receive a CRS corresponding to multiple LTE cells, multiple CRS patterns exist, and the resources occupied by the multiple CRS patterns are different, which results in multiple CRS patterns occupying REs more densely, which results in collisions with NR PDCCHs on more REs.

[0053] If a network device punctures an NR PDCCH based on multiple CRS patterns, a large amount of information transmitted by the NR PDCCH may be lost, which will affect the decoding effect. Moreover, due to a large number of CRS patterns that need to be taken into account, redundant REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH are punctured, and as a result, it is difficult for the terminal to correctly analyze the PDCCH when receiving the NR PDCCH, which affects the demodulation performance of the PDCCH and further affects the subsequent resource scheduling.

[0054] Fig. 3 is another schematic diagram of resources occupied by a CRS according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0055] As shown in Fig. 3, taking a terminal at the junction of two LTE cells as an example, a network device needs to puncture the NR PDCCH according to two CRS patterns. The first CRS pattern occupies the same positions as in Fig. 2, and the second CRS pattern occupies the first, second, fifth, eighth, ninth and twelfth symbols and occupies REs numbered as RE#1, RE#4, RE#7 and RE#10.

[0056] For example, the control resource set (CORESET) corresponding to the terminal corresponds to the first, second, and third symbols in the time domain resources. Since the CRS on each symbol of the first and second symbols occupies 8 REs in the range of one RB, it is necessary to puncture the NR PDCCH corresponding to 8 REs, and the NR PDCCH occupies only 4 REs on each symbol of the first and second symbols. In this case, when receiving the NR PDCCH on the first and second symbols, the terminal needs to take into account the case that the network device has punctured the NR PDCCH according to two CRS patterns, which results in a large overhead and very little information in the NR PDCCH that can be obtained.

[0057] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal may determine a part or all of the time domain symbols corresponding to the resources occupied by the CRS, which is called, for example, the first time domain symbol. The first time domain symbol may be a time domain symbol(s) that partially or completely overlaps a CORESET (for example, a CORESET configured by a network device for the terminal). Thus, whether or not to expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first time domain symbol is comprehensively determined based on the CRS configuration information, such as the number of CRS patterns and the occupied CRS resource situation (number of occupied REs, occupancy rate, etc.).

[0058] For example, when determining that the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain is relatively large based on the CRS configuration information, the terminal may not expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, and the network device may not transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain, thereby avoiding unnecessary consumption caused by the terminal receiving an NR PDCCH on a time domain symbol with a relatively small number of REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH.

[0059] In one embodiment, the CRS configuration information comprises at least one of the following:

[0060] the number of CRS patterns, the number of ports corresponding to the CRS patterns, the time-frequency resources occupied by the CRS (for example, REs that can be used to determine the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain, and the first resource occupancy rate of the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain). Considering that the number of REs occupied by the CRS in different RB ranges is the same, the number of occupied REs can be estimated from the number of REs occupied by the CRS in one RB range.

[0061] In one embodiment, the method further comprises: transmitting to the network device capability information used to indicate whether the terminal supports receiving the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the CRS configuration information matches the target configuration.

[0062] The terminal may report capability information to the network device to inform the network device whether the terminal supports receiving the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain when the CRS configuration information matches the target configuration.

[0063] The target configuration comprises, but is not limited to: a number of CRS patterns greater than or equal to a pattern number threshold, a number of resource elements (REs) occupied by the CRS in one RB corresponding to the first time domain symbol greater than or equal to a RE number threshold, a first occupancy rate of the CRS resources occupying the resource elements in one RB corresponding to the first time domain symbol greater than or equal to a first occupancy rate threshold, a second occupancy rate of the CRS resources in the CORESET NR PDCCH greater than or equal to a second occupancy rate threshold.

[0064] For example, in a case where the configuration information includes a number of CRS patterns, the target configuration may be that the number of CRS patterns is greater than or equal to 2, and the network device may determine based on the capability information whether the terminal supports receiving the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain in a case where the number of CRS patterns is greater than or equal to 2. If the terminal does not support receiving the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, the network device may not transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain in the target configuration scenario; if the terminal supports receiving the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, the network device may transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain in the target configuration scenario.

[0065] In addition, in one embodiment, the network device may puncture the NR PDCCH in accordance with the CRS pattern(s). If there are multiple CRS patterns, the network device may puncture the NR PDCCH in accordance with one or more specific CRS patterns among the multiple CRS patterns.

[0066] In this case, the terminal may determine the specific CRS pattern(s) in accordance with network instructions or determine the CRS pattern(s) in accordance with a predetermined rule. For example, several lists containing specific CRS patterns may be specified at the terminal. For example, the signaling lte-CRS-PatternList1-r18 and lte-CRS-PatternList2-r18 may be used for indication. When the terminal determines that the specific pattern(s) are configured via lte-CRS-PatternList1-r18, and other CRS patterns are configured via lte-CRS-PatternList2-r18, the terminal may determine that the network device punctures only the NR PDCCH in accordance with the specific CRS pattern(s) and does not puncture the NR PDCCH in accordance with other CRS patterns, and the terminal may also receive the NR PDCCH in accordance with this puncturing method.

[0067] It should be noted that in an embodiment of the present disclosure, whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain is determined at least based on CRS configuration information, that is, a basis for determining whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain. In addition to the CRS configuration information, other information such as NR PDCCH configuration information, etc. may be included, which will be described in detail in the following embodiments.

[0068] Fig. 4 is a block diagram of another method for receiving a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 4, determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain includes the following steps.

[0069] In step S401, the number of the configured CRS template is determined.

[0070] In step S402, no NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the number of the configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to the threshold value of the number of patterns.

[0071] In one embodiment, in the case where the number of the CRS pattern(s) is relatively large, for example, in the case where the number of the CRS pattern(s) is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of patterns, it may be determined that the CRS occupies a relatively large number of REs on the first symbol of the time domain, the terminal may not expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, and the network device may not transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain, thereby avoiding unnecessary consumption caused by the terminal receiving an NR PDCCH on a time domain symbol with a relatively small number of REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH.

[0072] In the case where the number of the CRS pattern(s) is relatively small, for example, in the case where the number of the CRS pattern(s) is less than the threshold value of the number of patterns, it can be determined that the CRS occupies a relatively small number of REs on the first symbol of the time domain, the terminal can expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, and the network device can transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain.

[0073] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of NR PDCCH reception according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0074] As shown in Fig. 5, the first CRS pattern and the second CRS pattern have the same structure as that shown in Fig. 3. For example, the time domain resources of the CORESET correspond to the first to third time domain symbols and overlap the first and second time domain symbols in the time domain resources corresponding to the CRS. In this case, the first and second time domain symbols can be determined as the first time domain symbols, and then it is determined whether to expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first time domain symbols.

[0075] For example, if the threshold value of the number of configuration patterns is 2, in the case shown in FIG. 4, the number of the CRS pattern(s) is 2, which is equal to the threshold value of the number of patterns, therefore the terminal does not expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first symbols of the time domain, and accordingly, the network device does not transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbols of the time domain. For example, the base station may transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on a symbol other than the first symbols of the time domain. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the network device does not transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first and second symbols of the time domain, but transmits the NR PDCCH to the terminal only on the third symbol of the time domain. The terminal does not expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first and second time domain symbols and expects to receive an NR PDCCH only on the third time domain symbol, thereby avoiding unnecessary consumption caused by the terminal receiving an NR PDCCH on a time domain symbol with a relatively small number of REs corresponding to an NR PDCCH.

[0076] In the case where there is only one CRS pattern, the CRS pattern number is 1, which is less than the threshold value of the number of patterns, the terminal may expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, and the network device may transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain.

[0077] It should be noted that the threshold value of the number of patterns may be determined based on signaling transmitted by the network device, or may be specified by a predetermined rule, or may be configured by the network device for the terminal according to capability information after capability information of the terminal (for example, NR PDCCH analysis capability) is notified to the network device.

[0078] Fig. 6 is a block diagram of another method for receiving a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 6, determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain includes the following steps.

[0079] In step S601, a number of the configured CRS template and a number of ports corresponding to each configured CRS template are determined.

[0080] In step S602, no NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the number of the configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to the threshold value of the number of patterns, and the number of ports corresponding to at least one configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to the threshold value of the number of ports.

[0081] In one embodiment, in a case where a CRS pattern number is relatively large, for example, in a case where the CRS pattern number is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of patterns, and a number of ports corresponding to the CRS pattern is relatively large, for example, a number of ports corresponding to at least one configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of ports, it may be determined that the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain is relatively large, the terminal may not expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, and the network device may not transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain, thereby avoiding unnecessary consumption caused by the terminal receiving an NR PDCCH on a time domain symbol with a relatively small number of REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH.

[0082] It should be noted that whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain can also be determined based only on the number of ports corresponding to the CRS pattern. For example, if the number of ports corresponding to at least one CRS pattern is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of ports, it can be determined that an NR PDCCH is not expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain.

[0083] In addition, the threshold value of the number of ports may be determined based on signaling transmitted by the network device, or may be assigned by a predetermined rule, or may be configured by the network device for the terminal according to the capability information after the capability information of the terminal (for example, the capability of analyzing the NR PDCCH) is notified to the network device.

[0084] Fig. 7 is a block diagram of another method for receiving a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 7, determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain includes the following steps.

[0085] In step S701, based on the CRS configuration information, the number of resource elements (RE) occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain and/or the first resource occupancy rate of the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain are determined.

[0086] In step S702, no NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the number of resource elements (REs) is greater than or equal to the RE number threshold and/or the first resource occupancy rate is greater than or equal to the first occupancy rate threshold.

[0087] In one embodiment, in a case where the number of REs occupied by the CRS in one RB corresponding to the first symbol of the time domain is relatively large, for example, greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of REs, it may be determined that the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain is relatively large, the terminal may not expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, and the network device may not transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain, thereby avoiding unnecessary consumption caused by the terminal receiving an NR PDCCH on a time domain symbol with a relatively small number of REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH.

[0088] In one embodiment, in the case where the first resource occupancy rate of the CRS occupying one RB corresponding to the first symbol of the time domain is relatively high, for example, higher than or equal to a first occupancy rate threshold, it can be determined that the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain is relatively large.

[0089] The first resource occupancy rate refers to the ratio of the REs occupied by the CRS in one RB corresponding to the first time domain symbol to all the REs in one RB corresponding to the first time domain symbol. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the first time domain symbol includes the first and second time domain symbols, one time domain symbol corresponds to 12 REs in the range of one RB, then the first and second time domain symbols correspond to a total of 24 REs, and the CRS occupies 16 REs on the first and second time domain symbols. The first resource occupancy rate can be calculated as 16/24, which is approximately equal to 66.7%. For example, if the first occupancy rate threshold is 50%, it can be determined that the first resource occupancy rate is higher than the first occupied rate threshold, so the terminal does not expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first time domain symbol.

[0090] In the case where the first resource occupancy rate is higher than or equal to the first occupancy rate threshold, the terminal may not expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, and the network device may not transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain, thereby avoiding unnecessary consumption caused by the terminal receiving an NR PDCCH on time domain symbols with a relatively small number of REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH.

[0091] The number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain may be equal to one RB. Similarly, the first resource occupancy rate of the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain may also be for one RB.

[0092] It should be noted that the threshold value of the number of REs and the first threshold value of the busy rate may be determined according to signaling transmitted by the network device, or may be specified by a predetermined rule, or may be configured by the network device for the terminal according to capability information after capability information of the terminal (for example, NR PDCCH analysis capability) is notified to the network device.

[0093] Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for determining whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on a first symbol of a time domain according to a number of REs occupied by a CRS on the first symbol of the time domain, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0094] In one embodiment, two CRS templates are still used as an example. However, it should be noted that the number of ports corresponding to a CRS template is not limited to four and can be set as needed.

[0095] For example, in this embodiment, there are two CRS patterns. One CRS pattern, as shown in Fig. 2, corresponding to 4 ports, and the other CRS pattern corresponding to 2 ports, occupies the first, fifth, eighth ports and twelfth symbols in one RB and occupies REs numbered as RE#1, RE#4, RE#7 and RE#10.

[0096] As shown in FIG. 8, an example is still given that the first and second symbols of the time domain are the first symbols of the time domain. If the threshold value of the number of REs is 5, the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain is 8, which is greater than the threshold value of the number of REs, the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the second symbol of the time domain is 4, which is less than the threshold value of the number of REs. As a result, the terminal does not expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, but can expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the second symbol of the time domain.

[0097] Since there is a rule regarding the number of REs occupied by the CRS patterns when corresponding to a different number of ports, a relationship table may be created for different thresholds of the number of REs, which contains an association between the cases when the CRS patterns correspond to a different number of ports and the symbol when the terminal expects to receive an NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain. For example, if the threshold of the number of REs is 4, the relationship table may be as shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1

CRS template Available PDCCH symbols Single CRS template 0,1,2 4-port CRS + 4-port CRS 2 4-port CRS +2-port CRS 1,2 4-port CRS + 1-port CRS 1,2 2-port CRS + 2-port CRS 1,2 2-port CRS + 1-port CRS 1,2 1-port CRS + 1-port CRS 0,1,2

[0098] As shown in Table 1, for example, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 8, in the case of a 4-port CRS + 2-port CRS, the terminal does not expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first time domain symbol (the corresponding symbol identifier is 0), expects to receive an NR PDCCH on the second time domain symbol (the corresponding symbol identifier is 1), and also expects to receive an NR PDCCH on the third time domain symbol (the corresponding symbol identifier is 2), since there is no CRS on the third time domain symbol. As a result, reception is performed on the second time domain symbol and the third time domain symbol, that is, reception of an NR PDCCH is expected on time domain symbols with symbol identifiers 1 and 2.

[0099] On this basis, if a threshold value of the number of REs is determined, a relationship table corresponding to the threshold value of the number of REs may be defined, and then the identifier of the symbol where the NR PDCCH is expected to be received is determined in the relationship table based on ports corresponding to multiple CRS patterns, so that the NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the time domain symbol corresponding to the identifier of the symbol.

[00100] In one embodiment, the RE number threshold and/or the first occupancy rate threshold are associated with an NR PDCCH aggregation level (AL) and/or a downlink control information (DCI) format in the NR PDCCH.

[00101] The threshold value of the number of REs may be determined according to the AL of the NR PDCCH. For example, the higher the AL, the higher the threshold value of the number of REs. For example, the threshold value of the level may be set: if the AL is higher than the threshold value of the level, the threshold value of the number of REs is 6; if the AL is lower than or equal to the threshold value of the level, the threshold value of the number of REs is 4.

[00102] It should be noted that the threshold level may be determined based on signaling transmitted by the network device, or may be specified by a predetermined rule, or may be configured by the network device for the terminal according to capability information after capability information of the terminal (for example, NR PDCCH analysis capability) is notified to the network device.

[00103] In addition to determining the threshold value of the number of REs based on the AL of the NR PDCCH, the threshold value of the number of REs may also be determined based on the DCI format of the NR PDCCH. For example, the more bits the DCI format occupies, the smaller the threshold value of the number of REs. For example, the DCI format 1_1 occupies a relatively large number of bits, and the corresponding allowable threshold value of the number is relatively small, for example, the threshold value of the number is 3; the DCI format 1_2 occupies a relatively small number of bits, and the corresponding allowable threshold value of the number is relatively large, for example, the threshold value of the number is 5.

[00104] Similarly, the first busy rate threshold may be determined according to the AL of the NR PDCCH. For example, the higher the AL, the lower the first busy rate threshold. In addition to determining the first busy rate threshold based on the AL of the NR PDCCH, it may also be determined based on the DCI format of the NR PDCCH. For example, the more bits the DCI format occupies, the lower the first busy rate threshold.

[00105] In one embodiment, determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain includes: determining whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain based on the CRS configuration information and the NR PDCCH configuration information.

[00106] Based on the determination of whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain based on the CRS configuration information, other information such as the NR PDCCH configuration information may be further considered, so that whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain is comprehensively determined based on the CRS configuration information and the NR PDCCH configuration information.

[00107] Fig. 9 is a block diagram of another method for receiving a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 9, determining whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain based on the CRS configuration information and the NR PDCCH configuration information includes:

[00108] In step S901, the configured CRS pattern number and the NR PDCCH aggregation level are determined.

[00109] In step S902, no NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the configured CRS pattern number is greater than or equal to the quantity threshold and the aggregation level is lower than or equal to the level threshold.

[00110] In one embodiment, in the case where the CRS pattern(s) number is greater than or equal to the number threshold, the NR PDCCH aggregation level (AL) may be further considered.

[00111] In the case where the number of the CRS pattern(s) is greater than or equal to the threshold value of the number, it can be determined that the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain is relatively large. However, when the AL of the NR PDCCH is relatively high, for example, above the level threshold value, the NR PDCCH occupies relatively many REs, and even if the NR PDCCH is punctured according to several CRS patterns, the NR PDCCH may still have a lot of remaining information. Therefore, in this case, it is still possible to expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain.

[00112] However, when the AL of the NR PDCCH is relatively low, for example, below or equal to the level threshold, the NR PDCCH occupies relatively few REs, and the NR PDCCH has less residual information after the NR PDCCH is punctured based on several CRS patterns. Therefore, in this case, it is not expected to receive the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain.

[00113] Fig. 10 is a block diagram of another method for receiving a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 10, determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain includes the following steps.

[00114] In step S1001, a second CRS resource occupancy rate is determined in a control resource set (CORESET) (for example, a CORESET configured by a network device for a terminal) of the NR PDCCH, where the second time domain symbol in the CORESET overlaps the first time domain symbol.

[00115] In step S1002, no NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the second resource occupancy rate is higher than or equal to the second occupancy rate threshold.

[00116] In one embodiment, a resource occupancy rate of the CRS in the CORESET NR PDCCH, for example called a second resource occupancy rate, can be determined. If the second resource occupancy rate is relatively high, for example higher than or equal to a second occupancy rate threshold, it can be determined that the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the second time domain symbol corresponding to the CORESET, that is, on the first time domain symbol, is relatively large.

[00117] The second resource occupancy rate refers to the ratio of REs occupied by the CRS in the CORESET of the NR PDCCH to all REs in the CORESET. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the range of one RB is given for illustration, the CORESET occupies the first, second and third symbols of the RB time domain, one time domain symbol within one RB range corresponds to 12 REs, and three time domain symbols correspond to a total of 36 REs. The CRS occupies a total of 16 REs on the first and second time domain symbols of the three time domain symbols, and the second resource occupancy rate can be calculated as 16/36, which is approximately equal to 44.4%. For example, if the second occupancy rate threshold is 20%, it can be determined that the second resource occupancy rate is higher than the second occupied rate threshold, so the terminal does not expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first time domain symbol.

[00118] In this case, if the NR PDCCH is transmitted on the first time domain symbol, more REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH may be punctured, so the network device may not transmit the NR PDCCH on the first time domain resource. In this case, the time domain symbols occupied by the transmission of the NR PDCCH are a subset of consecutive time domain symbols of the CORESER (for example, in Fig. 4, the NR PDCCH is transmitted only on the third time domain symbol). The terminal may not expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first time domain symbol, thereby avoiding unnecessary consumption caused by the terminal receiving the NR PDCCH on a time domain symbol with a relatively small number of REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH.

[00119] Accordingly, in the case where the second resource occupancy rate is relatively high, for example, higher than the threshold value of the second occupancy rate, it can be determined that the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the second symbol of the CORESET time domain, that is, on the first symbol of the time domain, is relatively small. In this case, the network device can transmit the NR PDCCH on the first resource of the time domain, and the terminal can wait to receive the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain.

[00120] It should be noted that the second busy rate threshold may be determined based on signaling transmitted by the network device, or may be specified by a predetermined rule, or may be configured by the network device for the terminal according to capability information after capability information of the terminal (for example, NR PDCCH analysis capability) is notified to the network device.

[00121] In addition to determining whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain based on the occupancy rate of the CRS resources in the CORESET, it is also possible to determine whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain based on the occupancy rate of the NR PDCCH resources in the CORESET.

[00122] In one embodiment, considering that some reference signals for a network device, such as SSB, are transmitted in the current slot, in order to avoid a collision between the NR PDCCH and the SSB signal, the NR PDCCH may be scheduled and transmitted on a time domain symbol where the CRS is located, and a specific time domain symbol occupied by the transmission of the NR PDCCH may be determined based on the second resource occupancy rate. In the next slot, if the SSB is not transmitted in the corresponding slot, the corresponding PDCCH may be transmitted on a time domain symbol not occupied by the CRS. A specific time domain symbol occupied by the transmission of the NR PDCCH in the CORESET range may be determined dynamically, without reconfiguring the CORESET and the corresponding searchspace through RRC signaling, thereby reducing the PDCCH transmission delay and achieving more flexible resource scheduling.

[00123] In one embodiment, the terminal may not expect the second resource occupancy corresponding to the configured CORESET to be higher than the second resource occupancy rate threshold.

[00124] Fig. 11 is a block diagram of a method for transmitting a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The method for transmitting a control channel shown in the embodiment may be applicable to a network device. The network device may interact with a terminal. The network device includes, but is not limited to: base stations in communication systems, such as 4G base stations, 5G base stations, and 6G base stations. The terminal includes, but is not limited to: a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, sensors, an Internet of Things device, and other communication devices.

[00125] As shown in Fig. 11, the method for transmitting a control channel may include the following steps.

[00126] In step S1101, a first time domain symbol (an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol) corresponding to a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) configured for the terminal is determined, where the first time domain symbol is part or all of the time domain symbols in the time domain resources where the CRS is located.

[00127] In step S1102, it is determined whether to transmit a new radio physical channel (NR PDCCH) of the downlink control to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain based at least on the CRS configuration information.

[00128] As shown in FIG. 2, one RB (resource block) contains 14 symbols (for example, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols) in the time domain and 12 REs (resource elements) in the frequency domain. For example, the REs in one symbol are numbered from RE#0 to RE#11 from bottom to top. As shown in FIG. 2, the CRS occupies the first, second, fifth, eighth, ninth and twelfth symbols and occupies the REs numbered as RE#0, RE#3, RE#6 and RE#9.

[00129] The resources occupied by the CRS can be defined according to the CRS model. The CRS pattern is used to indicate the resources occupied by the CRS. The PDSCH (physical downlink shared channel) can perform rate matching based on the CRS resource, so it can also be called a CRS rate matching pattern (CRS RM pattern).

[00130] It should be noted that the LTE CRS may be transmitted by an LTE network device, and the NR PDCCH may be transmitted by an NR network device. The NR network device may also determine the resources occupied by the CRS, for example, may determine the resources by interacting with the LTE network device or based on a protocol.

[00131] In addition, the terminal may determine the resources occupied by the CRS according to a CRS pattern (which may be determined according to instructions of the network device or according to a predetermined rule), and may also determine the resources occupied by the NR PDCCH according to the configuration of the NR network device.

[00132] In a DSS scenario, an LTE system and an NR system may coexist in the same spectrum, which will cause the CRS transmitted by the LTE system to interfere with the NR PDCCH. For example, a network device in the NR system may puncture the NR PDCCH according to a CRS pattern, and the terminal receives the NR PDCCH according to the NR PDCCH puncturing situation.

[00133] In some scenarios, such as when a terminal is at the junction of multiple LTE cells, the terminal may receive CRSs corresponding to multiple LTE cells, there are multiple CRS patterns, and the resources occupied by the multiple CRS patterns are different, which results in multiple CRS patterns occupying REs more densely, which results in collision with NR PDCCHs on more REs.

[00134] If a network device punctures an NR PDCCH based on multiple CRS patterns, a large amount of information transmitted by the NR PDCCH may be lost, which will affect the decoding effect. Moreover, due to a large number of CRS patterns that need to be taken into account, redundant REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH are punctured, and as a result, it is difficult for the terminal to correctly analyze the PDCCH when receiving the NR PDCCH, which affects the demodulation performance of the PDCCH and further affects the subsequent resource scheduling.

[00135] As shown in Fig. 3, taking a terminal at the junction of two LTE cells as an example, the network device needs to puncture the NR PDCCH according to two CRS patterns. The first CRS pattern occupies the same positions as in Fig. 2, and the second CRS pattern occupies the first, second, fifth, eighth, ninth and twelfth symbols and occupies REs numbered as RE#1, RE#4, RE#7, RE#10.

[00136] For example, the control resource set (CORESET) corresponding to the terminal corresponds to the first, second, and third symbols in the time domain resources. Since the CRS on each symbol of the first and second symbols occupies 8 REs in the range of one RB, it is necessary to puncture the NR PDCCH corresponding to 8 REs, and the NR PDCCH occupies only 4 REs on each symbol of the first and second symbols. In this case, when receiving the NR PDCCH on the first and second symbols, the terminal needs to take into account the case that the network device has punctured the NR PDCCH according to two CRS patterns, which results in a large overhead and very little information in the NR PDCCH that can be obtained.

[00137] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a network device may determine a part or all of the time domain symbols corresponding to the resources occupied by a CRS, which is called, for example, a first time domain symbol. The first time domain symbol may be a time domain symbol(s) that partially or completely overlaps a CORESET (for example, a CORESET configured by a network device for a terminal). Thus, the question of whether to transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first time domain symbol is completely decided based on the CRS configuration information, such as the number of CRS patterns and the occupied CRS resource situation (number of occupied REs, occupancy rate, etc.).

[00138] For example, when determining that the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain is relatively large based on the CRS configuration information, the terminal may not expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, and the network device may not transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain, thereby avoiding unnecessary consumption caused by the network device transmitting the NR PDCCH to the terminal on a time domain symbol with a relatively small number of REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH.

[00139] In one embodiment, the CRS configuration information comprises at least one of the following:

[00140] the number of CRS patterns, the number of ports corresponding to the CRS patterns, the time-frequency resources occupied by the CRS (for example, REs that can be used to determine the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain, the first resource occupancy rate of the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain). Considering that the number of REs occupied by the CRS in different RB ranges is the same, the number of occupied REs can be estimated from the number of REs occupied by the CRS in one RB range.

[00141] In one embodiment, the method further comprises: receiving capability information transmitted by the terminal; and determining whether the terminal supports receiving the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, in the case where it is determined based on the capability information that the CRS configuration information matches the target configuration.

[00142] The terminal may report capability information to the network device to inform the network device whether the terminal supports receiving the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain when the CRS configuration information matches the target configuration.

[00143] The target configuration comprises, but is not limited to: a number of CRS patterns greater than or equal to a pattern number threshold, a number of resource elements (REs) occupied by the CRS in one RB corresponding to the first time domain symbol greater than or equal to a RE number threshold, a first resource occupancy rate of the CRS occupying resource elements in one RB corresponding to the first time domain symbol greater than or equal to a first occupancy rate threshold, a second resource occupancy rate of the CRS in the CORESET NR PDCCH greater than or equal to a second occupancy rate threshold.

[00144] For example, in a case where the configuration information includes a number of CRS patterns, the target configuration may be that the number of CRS patterns is greater than or equal to 2, and the network device may determine based on the capability information whether the terminal supports receiving the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain in a case where the number of CRS patterns is greater than or equal to 2. If the terminal does not support receiving the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, the network device may not transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain in the target configuration scenario; if the terminal supports receiving the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, the network device may transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain in the target configuration scenario.

[00145] In addition, in one embodiment, the network device may puncture the NR PDCCH in accordance with the CRS pattern(s). If there are multiple CRS patterns, the network device may puncture the NR PDCCH in accordance with one or more specific CRS patterns among the multiple CRS patterns.

[00146] In this case, the terminal may determine the specific CRS pattern(s) in accordance with network instructions or determine the CRS pattern(s) in accordance with a predetermined rule. For example, several lists containing specific CRS patterns may be specified at the terminal. For example, the signaling lte-CRS-PatternList1-r18 and lte-CRS-PatternList2-r18 may be used for indication. When the terminal determines that the specific pattern(s) are configured via lte-CRS-PatternList1-r18, and other CRS patterns are configured via lte-CRS-PatternList2-r18, the terminal may determine that the network device punctures only the NR PDCCH in accordance with the specific CRS pattern(s) and does not puncture the NR PDCCH in accordance with other CRS patterns, and the terminal may also receive the NR PDCCH in accordance with this puncturing method.

[00147] It should be noted that in an embodiment of the present disclosure, whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain is determined at least based on CRS configuration information, that is, a basis for determining whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain. In addition to the CRS configuration information, other information such as NR PDCCH configuration information, etc. may be included, which will be described in detail in subsequent embodiments.

[00148] Fig. 12 is a block diagram of another method for transmitting a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 12, determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether to transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on a first symbol of the time domain includes the following steps.

[00149] In step S1201, the number of the configured CRS template is determined.

[00150] In step S1202, the NR PDCCH is not transmitted to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the number of the configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to the threshold value of the number of patterns.

[00151] In one embodiment, in the case where the number of the CRS pattern(s) is relatively large, for example, in the case where the number of the CRS pattern(s) is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of patterns, it may be determined that the CRS occupies a relatively large number of REs on the first symbol of the time domain, the terminal may not expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, and the network device may not transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain, thereby avoiding unnecessary consumption caused by the terminal receiving an NR PDCCH on a symbol of the time domain with a relatively small number of REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH.

[00152] In the case where the number of the CRS pattern(s) is relatively small, for example, in the case where the number of the CRS pattern(s) is less than the threshold value of the number of patterns, it can be determined that the CRS occupies a relatively small number of REs on the first symbol of the time domain, the terminal can expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, and the network device can transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain.

[00153] As shown in Fig. 5, the first CRS pattern and the second CRS pattern have the same structure as that shown in Fig. 3. For example, the time domain resources of the CORESET correspond to the first to third time domain symbols and overlap the first and second time domain symbols in the time domain resources corresponding to the CRS. In this case, the first and second time domain symbols can be determined as the first time domain symbols, and it is then determined whether to transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first time domain symbols.

[00154] For example, in the case where the threshold value of the number of configuration patterns is 2, then in the case shown in FIG. 4, the number of the CRS pattern(s) is 2, which is equal to the threshold value of the number of patterns, so the terminal does not expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first symbols of the time domain, and accordingly, the network device does not transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbols of the time domain. For example, the base station may transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on a symbol other than the first symbols of the time domain. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the network device does not transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first and second symbols of the time domain, but transmits the NR PDCCH to the terminal only on the third symbol of the time domain, that is, the network does not transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first and second symbols of the time domain, but transmits the NR PDCCH to the terminal only on the third symbol of the time domain, thereby avoiding unnecessary consumption caused by the fact that the network device transmits the NR PDCCH to the terminal on a time domain symbol with a relatively small number of REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH.

[00155] In the case where there is only one CRS pattern, the CRS pattern number is 1, which is less than the threshold value of the number of patterns, then the terminal may expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, and the network device may transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain.

[00156] It should be noted that the threshold value of the number of patterns may be determined based on signaling transmitted by the network device, or may be specified by a predetermined rule, or may be configured by the network device for the terminal according to capability information after the capability information (for example, the capability of analyzing the NR PDCCH) is notified by the terminal.

[00157] Fig. 13 is a block diagram of another method for transmitting a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 13, determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether to transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on a first symbol of the time domain includes the following steps.

[00158] In step S1301, a CRS template number and a number of ports corresponding to the CRS template are determined.

[00159] In step S1302, the NR PDCCH is not transmitted to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain in a case where the number of the configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to the threshold value of the number of patterns, and the number of ports corresponding to at least one configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to the threshold value of the number of ports.

[00160] In one embodiment, in a case where a CRS pattern number is relatively large, for example, in a case where the CRS pattern number is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of patterns, and a number of ports corresponding to the CRS pattern is relatively large, for example, a number of ports corresponding to at least one configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of ports, it may be determined that the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain is relatively large, the terminal may not expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, and the network device may not transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain, thereby avoiding unnecessary consumption caused by the terminal receiving an NR PDCCH on a time domain symbol with a relatively small number of REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH.

[00161] It should be noted that whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain may also be determined based only on the number of ports corresponding to the CRS pattern. For example, if the number of ports corresponding to at least one CRS pattern is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of ports, a decision may be made not to transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain.

[00162] In addition, the threshold value of the number of ports may be determined by a network device and indicated to the terminal through signaling, or may be indicated by a predetermined rule or configured by a network device for the terminal according to capability information after the capability information (for example, the capability of analyzing the NR PDCCH) is notified by the terminal.

[00163] Fig. 14 is a block diagram of another method for transmitting a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 14, determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether to transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on a first symbol of the time domain includes the following steps.

[00164] In step S1401, based on the configuration information of the CRS, the number of resource elements (RE) occupied by the CRS in one resource block (RB) corresponding to the first symbol of the time domain and/or the first resource occupancy rate of the CRS in one RB are determined.

[00165] In step S1402, the NR PDCCH is not transmitted to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain in a case where the number of resource elements (REs) is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of REs and/or the first resource occupancy rate is greater than or equal to a first threshold value of the occupancy rate.

[00166] In one embodiment, in a case where the number of REs occupied by the CRS in one RB corresponding to the first symbol of the time domain is relatively large, for example, greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of REs, it may be determined that the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain is relatively large, the terminal may not expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, and the network device may not transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain, thereby avoiding unnecessary consumption caused by the fact that the network device transmits the NR PDCCH to the terminal on a time domain symbol with a relatively small number of REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH.

[00167] In one embodiment, if the first occupancy rate of the CRS resources in one RB corresponding to the first symbol of the time domain is relatively high, for example greater than or equal to a first occupancy rate threshold, it may be determined that the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain is relatively large.

[00168] The first resource occupancy rate refers to the ratio of the REs occupied by the CRS in one RB corresponding to the first time domain symbol to all the REs in one RB corresponding to the first time domain symbol. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the first time domain symbol includes the first and second time domain symbols, one time domain symbol corresponds to 12 REs in the range of one RB, then the first and second time domain symbols correspond to a total of 24 REs, and the CRS occupies 16 REs on the first and second time domain symbols. The first resource occupancy rate can be calculated as 16/24, which is approximately equal to 66.7%. For example, if the first occupancy rate threshold is 50%, it can be determined that the first resource occupancy rate is higher than the first occupied rate threshold, therefore the terminal does not expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first time domain symbol, and the network device may not transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first time domain symbol.

[00169] In the case where the first resource occupancy rate is higher than or equal to the first occupancy rate threshold, the terminal may not expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first time domain symbol, and the network device may not transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first time domain symbol, thereby avoiding unnecessary consumption caused by the terminal receiving an NR PDCCH on time domain symbols with a relatively small number of REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH.

[00170] The number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain may be equal to one RB. Similarly, the first resource occupancy rate of the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain may also be for one RB.

[00171] It should be noted that the threshold value of the number of REs and the first threshold value of the busy rate may be determined according to the signaling transmitted by the network device, or may be specified by a predetermined rule or configured by the network device for the terminal according to the capability information after the capability information (for example, the capability of analyzing the NR PDCCH) is notified by the terminal.

[00172] As shown in FIG. 8, an example is still given that the first and second symbols of the time domain are the first symbols of the time domain. If the threshold value of the number of REs is 5, the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain is 8, which is greater than the threshold value of the number of REs, the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the second symbol of the time domain is 4, which is less than the threshold value of the number of REs. As a result, the terminal does not expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain and can expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the second symbol of the time domain, and the network device can also transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the second symbol of the time domain.

[00173] Since there is a rule regarding the number of REs occupied by the CRS patterns when corresponding to a different number of ports, a relationship table may be created for different thresholds of the number of REs, which contains an association between the cases when the CRS patterns correspond to a different number of ports and the symbol when the terminal expects to receive an NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain. For example, if the threshold of the number of REs is 4, the relationship table may be as shown in Table 1.

[00174] As shown in Table 1, for example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, in the case of a 4-port CRS + 2-port CRS, the terminal does not expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first time domain symbol (the corresponding symbol identifier is 0), transmits an NR PDCCH on the second time domain symbol (the corresponding symbol identifier is 1), and also transmits an NR PDCCH on the third time domain symbol (the corresponding symbol identifier is 2), since there is no CRS on the third time domain symbol. As a result, transmission is performed on the second time domain symbol and the third time domain symbol, that is, to transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on time domain symbols with symbol identifiers 1 and 2.

[00175] On this basis, if a threshold value of the number of REs is determined, a relationship table corresponding to the threshold value of the number of REs may be defined, and then the identifier of a symbol where an NR PDCCH is expected to be received is determined in the relationship table based on ports corresponding to multiple CRS patterns, so that an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on a time domain symbol corresponding to the identifier of the symbol.

[00176] In one embodiment, the RE number threshold and/or the first occupancy rate threshold are associated with an NR PDCCH aggregation level (AL) and/or a downlink control information (DCI) format in the NR PDCCH.

[00177] The threshold value of the number of REs may be determined according to the AL of the NR PDCCH. For example, the higher the AL, the higher the threshold value of the number of REs. For example, a level threshold value may be set such that if the AL is higher than the level threshold value, the threshold value of the number of REs is 6; if the AL is lower than or equal to the level threshold value, the threshold value of the number of REs is 4.

[00178] It should be noted that the threshold level may be determined based on signaling transmitted by the network device, or may be specified by a predetermined rule, or may be configured by the network device for the terminal according to capability information after capability information of the terminal (for example, NR PDCCH analysis capability) is notified to the network device.

[00179] In addition to determining the threshold value of the number of REs based on the AL of the NR PDCCH, the threshold value of the number of REs may also be determined based on the DCI format of the NR PDCCH. For example, the more bits the DCI format occupies, the smaller the threshold value of the number of REs. For example, the DCI format 1_1 occupies a relatively large number of bits, and the corresponding allowable threshold value of the number is relatively small, for example, the threshold value of the number is 3; the DCI format 1_2 occupies a relatively small number of bits, and the corresponding allowable threshold value of the number is relatively large, for example, the threshold value of the number is 5.

[00180] Similarly, the first busy rate threshold may be determined according to the AL of the NR PDCCH. For example, the higher the AL, the lower the first busy rate threshold. In addition to determining the first busy rate threshold based on the AL of the NR PDCCH, it may also be determined based on the DCI format of the NR PDCCH. For example, the more bits the DCI format occupies, the lower the first busy rate threshold.

[00181] In one embodiment, determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether to transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on a first symbol of the time domain includes: determining whether to transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain based on the CRS configuration information and the NR PDCCH configuration information.

[00182] Based on the determination of whether or not the NR PDCCH is expected to be transmitted on the first symbol of the time domain based on the CRS configuration information, other information such as the NR PDCCH configuration information may be further considered, so that the transmission of the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain is comprehensively determined based on the CRS configuration information and the NR PDCCH configuration information.

[00183] Fig. 15 is a block diagram of another method for transmitting a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 15, determining whether to transmit an NR PDCCH to a terminal on a first symbol of a time domain based on the CRS configuration information and the NR PDCCH configuration information includes the following steps.

[00184] In step S1501, a CRS pattern number and an NR PDCCH aggregation level are determined.

[00185] In step S1502, the NR PDCCH is not transmitted to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain in a case where the configured CRS pattern number is greater than or equal to the quantity threshold and the aggregation level is less than or equal to the level threshold.

[00186] In one embodiment, in the case where the CRS pattern(s) number is greater than or equal to the number threshold, the NR PDCCH aggregation level (AL) may be further considered.

[00187] In the case where the number of the CRS pattern(s) is greater than or equal to the threshold value of the number, it can be determined that the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the first symbol of the time domain is relatively large. However, when the AL of the NR PDCCH is relatively high, for example, above the level threshold value, the NR PDCCH occupies relatively many REs, and even if the NR PDCCH is punctured according to several CRS patterns, the NR PDCCH may still have a lot of remaining information. Therefore, in this case, the NR PDCCH can still be transmitted to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain.

[00188] However, when the AL of the NR PDCCH is relatively low, for example, below or equal to a level threshold, the NR PDCCH occupies relatively few REs, and the NR PDCCH has less residual information after the NR PDCCH is punctured based on multiple CRS patterns. Therefore, in this case, the NR PDCCH can be transmitted to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain.

[00189] Fig. 16 is a block diagram of another method for transmitting a control channel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 16, determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether to transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on a first symbol of the time domain includes the following steps.

[00190] In step S1601, a second occupancy rate of NR PDCCH resources is determined in a control resource set (CORESET), where the second time domain symbol in the CORESET overlaps the first time domain symbol.

[00191] In step S1602, it is determined whether the network device supports transmission of the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain, in a case where the second resource occupancy rate is lower than or equal to the second occupancy rate threshold.

[00192] In one embodiment, a resource occupancy rate of the CRS in the CORESET NR PDCCH, for example called a second resource occupancy rate, can be determined. If the second resource occupancy rate is relatively high, for example, higher than or equal to a second occupancy rate threshold, it can be determined that the REs occupied by the CRS on the second time domain symbol corresponding to the CORESET, that is, on the first time domain symbol, are relatively large.

[00193] The second resource occupancy rate refers to the ratio of REs occupied by the CRS in the CORESET of the NR PDCCH to all REs in the CORESET. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the range of one RB is given for illustration, the CORESET occupies the first, second and third symbols of the RB time domain, one time domain symbol within one RB range corresponds to 12 REs, and three time domain symbols correspond to a total of 36 REs. The CRS occupies a total of 16 REs on the first and second time domain symbols of these three time domain symbols, then the second resource occupancy rate can be calculated as 16/36, which is approximately equal to 44.4%. For example, if the second occupancy rate threshold is 20%, it can be determined that the second resource occupancy rate is higher than the second occupied rate threshold. In this case, the terminal does not expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first time domain symbol, and the network device does not transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first time domain symbol.

[00194] In this case, if the NR PDCCH is transmitted on the first time domain symbol, more REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH may be punctured, so the network device may not transmit the NR PDCCH on the first time domain resource. In this case, the time domain symbols occupied by the transmission of the NR PDCCH are a subset of consecutive time domain symbols of the CORESER (for example, in FIG. 4, the NR PDCCH is transmitted only on the third time domain symbol). The network device may not transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first time domain symbol, thereby avoiding unnecessary consumption caused by the fact that the network device transmits the NR PDCCH to the terminal on a time domain symbol with a relatively small number of REs corresponding to the NR PDCCH.

[00195] Accordingly, in the case where the second resource occupancy rate is relatively high, for example, higher than the second occupancy rate threshold, it can be determined that the number of REs occupied by the CRS on the second symbol of the CORESET time domain, that is, on the first symbol of the time domain, is relatively small. In this case, the network device can transmit the NR PDCCH on the first resource of the time domain, and the terminal can wait to receive the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain.

[00196] It should be noted that the second busy rate threshold may be determined based on signaling transmitted by the network device, or may be specified by a predetermined rule, or may be configured by the network device for the terminal according to capability information after capability information of the terminal (for example, NR PDCCH analysis capability) is notified to the network device.

[00197] In one embodiment, considering that some reference signals for a network device, such as SSB, are transmitted in the current slot, in order to avoid a collision between the NR PDCCH and the SSB signal, the NR PDCCH can be scheduled and transmitted on a time domain symbol where the CRS is located, and a specific time domain symbol occupied by the transmission of the NR PDCCH can be determined based on the second resource occupancy rate. In the next slot, if the SSB is not transmitted in the corresponding slot, the corresponding PDCCH can be transmitted on a time domain symbol not occupied by the CRS. A specific time domain symbol occupied by the transmission of the NR PDCCH within the CORESET range can be determined dynamically, without reconfiguring the CORESET and the corresponding searchspace through RRC signaling, thereby reducing the PDCCH transmission delay and achieving more flexible resource scheduling.

[00198] In accordance with the above embodiments of the method for receiving a control channel and the method for transmitting a control channel, the present disclosure further provides embodiments of a device for receiving a control channel and a device for transmitting a control channel.

[00199] Fig. 17 is a block diagram of a control channel receiving device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The control channel receiving device shown in the embodiment may be applicable to a terminal that includes, but is not limited to: a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, a sensor, an Internet of Things device, and other communication devices. The terminal may interact with a network device. The network device includes, but is not limited to, a network device in 4G, 5G, 6G and other communication systems, such as a base station, a core network, etc.

[00200] As shown in Fig. 17, the control channel receiving device may comprise:

[00201] a processing module 1701 configured to determine a first time domain symbol corresponding to a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), where the first time domain symbol is part or all of the time domain symbols in the time domain resources where the CRS is located; and determine, at least based on the configuration information of the CRS, whether a new radio physical channel (NR PDCCH) of the downlink control is expected to be received on the first time domain symbol.

[00202] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine a number of the configured CRS pattern and determine that it does not expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, in the case where the number of the configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of patterns.

[00203] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine a number of the configured CRS pattern and a number of ports corresponding to the CRS pattern; and to determine that no NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain, in the case where the number of the configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of patterns, and the number of ports corresponding to at least one configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of ports.

[00204] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine a number of resource elements (REs) occupied by the CRS in one resource block (RB) corresponding to a first symbol of the time domain and/or a first resource occupancy rate of the CRS in the RB based on the CRS configuration information; and determine that reception of an NR PDCCH is not expected on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the number of resource elements (REs) is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of REs and/or the first resource occupancy rate is greater than or equal to a first threshold value of the occupancy rate.

[00205] In one embodiment, the RE number threshold and/or the first occupancy rate threshold are associated with an NR PDCCH aggregation level and/or a downlink control information (DCI) format in the NR PDCCH.

[00206] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain based on the CRS configuration information and the NR PDCCH configuration information.

[00207] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine a number of the configured CRS pattern and an aggregation level of the NR PDCCH; and to determine that it does not expect to receive the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain, in the case where the number of the configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number, and the aggregation level is less than or equal to a threshold value of the level.

[00208] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine a second resource occupancy rate of the CRS in a set (CORESET) of NR PDCCH control resources, where a second time domain symbol in the CORESET overlaps a first time domain symbol; and determine that it does not expect to receive an NR PDCCH on the first time domain symbol, in the case where the second resource occupancy rate is higher than or equal to a second occupancy rate threshold.

[00209] In one embodiment, the device further comprises: a transmitting module configured to transmit to the network device capability information used to indicate whether the terminal supports receiving the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the CRS configuration information matches the target configuration.

[00210] Fig. 18 is a block diagram of a control channel transmission device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The control channel transmission device shown in the embodiment may be applicable to a network device. The network device may interact with a terminal. The network device includes, but is not limited to: a base station in 4G, 5G, 6G and other communication systems, such as a base station, a core network, etc. The terminal includes, but is not limited to: a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, a sensor, a device in the Internet of Things and other communication devices.

[00211] As shown in Fig. 18, the control channel transmission device may comprise:

[00212] a processing module 1801 configured to determine a first time domain symbol corresponding to a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) configured for a terminal, where the first time domain symbol is part or all of the time domain symbols in the time domain resources where the CRS is located; and determine, at least based on the configuration information of the CRS, whether to transmit a new downlink radio physical channel (NR PDCCH) control to the terminal on the first time domain symbol.

[00213] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine a number of the configured CRS pattern; and to determine that the NR PDCCH should not be transmitted to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the number of the configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of patterns.

[00214] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine a CRS pattern number and a number of ports corresponding to the CRS pattern; and to determine that an NR PDCCH should not be transmitted to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain, in the case where the configured CRS pattern number is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of patterns, and the number of ports corresponding to at least one configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of ports.

[00215] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine a number of resource elements (REs) occupied by the CRS in one resource block (RB) on a first symbol of the time domain and/or a first resource occupancy rate of the CRS in one RB based on the CRS configuration information; and determine that an NR PDCCH should not be transmitted to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the number of resource elements (REs) is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number of REs and/or the first resource occupancy rate is greater than or equal to a first threshold value of the occupancy rate.

[00216] In one embodiment, the RE number threshold and/or the first occupancy rate threshold are associated with an NR PDCCH aggregation level and/or a downlink control information (DCI) format in the NR PDCCH.

[00217] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine whether to transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain based on the CRS configuration information and the NR PDCCH configuration information.

[00218] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine a CRS pattern number and an NR PDCCH aggregation level; and to determine that the NR PDCCH should not be transmitted to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain, in the case where the configured CRS pattern number is greater than or equal to a threshold value of the number and the aggregation level is less than or equal to a threshold value of the level.

[00219] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine a second occupancy rate of NR PDCCH resources in a control resource set (CORESET), where a second time domain symbol in the CORESET overlaps a first time domain symbol; and determine that the NR PDCCH should not be transmitted to the terminal on the first time domain symbol, in the case where the second occupancy rate of resources is higher than or equal to a second occupancy rate threshold.

[00220] In one embodiment, the device further comprises: a receiving module configured to receive capability information transmitted by the terminal; and determine whether the network device supports transmission of the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain, in the case when it is determined based on the capability information that the CRS configuration information matches the target configuration.

[00221] With respect to the devices in the above embodiments, the specific manner in which each module performs operations has been described in detail in the respective embodiments of the method and will not be described in detail here.

[00222] As for the embodiments of the device, for the relevant details, reference can be made to the partial description of the embodiments of the method, since they basically correspond to the embodiments of the method. The embodiments of the device described above are purely illustrative. The modules described as individual components may or may not be physically separated. The components shown as modules may or may not be physical modules, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed over several network modules. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of solving the embodiments. People with average knowledge in this field can understand and apply this method without any creative efforts.

[00223] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a communication device comprising: a processor; and a memory configured to store a computer program. The processor is configured to execute the computer program for implementing the method for receiving a control channel described in any of the above embodiments.

[00224] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a communication device comprising: a processor; and a memory configured to store a computer program. The processor is configured to execute the computer program for implementing the method for transmitting a control channel described in any of the above embodiments.

[00225] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a machine-readable storage medium configured to store a computer program. When executing the computer program, the processor implements the steps of the method for receiving a control channel described in any of the above embodiments.

[00226] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a machine-readable storage medium configured to store a computer program. When executing the computer program, the processor implements the steps of the control channel transmission method described in any of the above embodiments.

[00227] As shown in Fig. 19, Fig. 19 is a block diagram of a control channel receiving device 1900 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 1900 may be provided as a base station. Referring to Fig. 19, the device 1900 comprises a processing component 1922, a wireless transmitter/receiver component 1924, an antenna component 1926, and a wireless interface-specific signal processing section. The processing component 1922 may further comprise one or more processors. One of the processors in the processing component 1922 may be configured to implement the control channel transmitting method described in any of the above embodiments.

[00228] Fig. 20 is a block diagram of a control channel transmission device 2000 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, the device 2000 may be a mobile phone, a computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a message receiving device, a game console, a tablet device, a medical device, a fitness device, a personal digital assistant, or the like.

[00229] Referring to Fig. 20, device 2000 may comprise one or more of the following components: processing component 2002, memory 2004, power supply component 2006, multimedia component 2008, audio component 2010, input/output (I/O) interface 2012, sensor component 2014, and communication component 2016.

[00230] The processing component 2002 typically controls all operations of the device 2000, such as operations related to display, telephone calls, data transmission, camera operation, and recording operations. The processing component 2002 may comprise one or more processors 2020 for executing instructions for completing all or part of the steps of the above-mentioned method for transmitting a control channel. In addition, the processing component 2002 may comprise one or more modules that facilitate interaction between the processing component 2002 and other components. For example, the processing component 2002 may comprise a multimedia module for facilitating interaction between the multimedia component 2008 and the processing component 2002.

[00231] Memory 2004 is configured to store various types of data to support operation of device 2000. Examples of such data include instructions for any applications or methods used on device 2000, contact information, phone book data, messages, images, videos, etc. Memory 2004 can be implemented using any type of volatile or nonvolatile memory devices or a combination thereof, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic or optical disk.

[00232] Power source component 2006 provides power to various components of device 2000. Power source component 2006 may include a power management system, one or more power sources, and any other components associated with generating, controlling, and distributing electrical energy in device 2000.

[00233] The multimedia component 2008 comprises a screen that provides an output interface between the device 2000 and the user. In some embodiments, the screen may comprise a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a touch panel (TP). If the screen comprises a touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touch screen for receiving input signals from the user. The touch panel comprises one or more touch sensors that recognize touches, swipes, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensors may not only determine the boundary of a touch or swipe, but also determine the period of time and the force of pressure associated with a touch or swipe. In some embodiments, the multimedia component 2008 comprises a front camera and/or a rear camera. When the device 2000 is in an operating mode, such as in a shooting or video recording mode, the front camera and/or the rear camera may receive external multimedia data. Each front and rear camera may be a system with a fixed optical lens or have a focal length and optical zoom capability.

[00234] The audio component 2010 is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio component 2010 comprises a microphone (MIC) configured to receive an external audio signal when the device 2000 is in an operating mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signal can be further stored in the memory 2004 or transmitted via the communication component 2016. In some embodiments, the audio component 2010 further comprises a speaker for outputting audio signals.

[00235] The input/output interface 2012 provides interaction between the processing component 2002 and the peripheral interface modules. The peripheral interface modules may be a keyboard, a scroll wheel, buttons, and the like. The buttons may include, but are not limited to, a home button, a volume control button, a start button, and a lock button.

[00236] The sensor component 2014 comprises one or more sensors for providing state estimates of various aspects of the device 2000. For example, the sensor component 2014 may determine an open/closed state of the device 2000, the relative location of components such as a display and a keyboard of the device 2000, a change in the position of the device 2000 or a component of the device 2000, the presence or absence of user contact with the device 2000, the orientation or acceleration/deceleration of the device 2000, and a change in the temperature of the device 2000. The sensor component 2014 may comprise a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. The sensor component 2014 may also comprise a light sensor, such as a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor or a charge-coupled device (CCD) for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, sensor component 2014 may also include an accelerometer sensor, a gyroscopic sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

[00237] The communication component 2016 is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between the device 2000 and other devices. The device 2000 can access a wireless network based on a communication standard such as Wi-Fi, 2G or 3G, 4G LTE, 5G NR, or a combination thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 2016 receives a broadcast signal or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast control system via a broadcast channel. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 2016 further comprises a near field communication (NFC) module to facilitate communication over short distances. For example, the NFC module can be implemented based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, infrared data transfer (IrDA) technology, ultra wideband (UWB) technology, Blue Tooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

[00238] In an exemplary embodiment, the device 2000 may be implemented using one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other electronic components to perform the above-described method of transmitting a control channel.

[00239] In the exemplary embodiments, a non-transient machine-readable storage medium containing executable instructions, such as memory 2004, is also provided. The instructions are executed by the processor 2020 in the device 2000 to implement the above-mentioned method of transmitting a control channel. For example, the non-transitory machine-readable storage medium may be a ROM, a random access memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, and an optical data storage device.

[00240] Other embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the present disclosure disclosed herein. The present disclosure is intended to cover any modifications, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosure in accordance with its general principles and to include generally known information or conventional techniques in the technical field that are not disclosed in the disclosure. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of the disclosure is indicated by the following claims.

[00241] It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the precise construction described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope thereof. It is intended that the scope of the present disclosure be limited only by the appended claims.

[00242] It should be noted that the relational terms used herein, such as “first” and “second,” are used only to differentiate one entity or operation from another entity or operation, which, however, does not necessarily require or imply that there must be any actual relationship or sequence. Moreover, the terms “comprises,” “includes,” or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or device comprising a number of elements not only comprises those elements, but also comprises other elements that are not explicitly listed or that also comprise integral elements of the process, method, article, or device. In the absence of further limitations, an element qualified by the statement “comprises…” does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in a process, method, article, or device comprising the specified element.

[00243] The method and device provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail above, and specific examples are provided in this specification to illustrate the principles and implementation of the present disclosure. The above description of the embodiments is intended only to help understand the method of the present disclosure and its main ideas. Meanwhile, those skilled in the art can make changes in the specific implementation and scope of application based on the ideas of the present disclosure. Finally, it should be noted that the content of this specification should not be considered as limiting the present disclosure.

Claims (52)

1. A method for receiving a control channel performed by a terminal, comprising: determining a first time domain symbol corresponding to a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), where the first time domain symbol is part or all of the time domain symbols in the time domain resources where the CRS is located; and determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether a new radio physical channel (NR PDCCH) of the downlink control is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain; determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain, comprises: determining the configured CRS template number; and determining that no NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain when the configured CRS pattern number is greater than or equal to the pattern number threshold. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining at least based on the CRS configuration information whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain comprises: determining the number of the configured CRS template and the number of ports corresponding to each configured CRS template, respectively; and determining that no NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain, in the case where the configured CRS pattern number is greater than or equal to the pattern quantity threshold and the number of ports corresponding to at least one configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to the port quantity threshold. 3. The method according to any one of paragraphs 1, 2, wherein determining at least based on the CRS configuration information whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain comprises: determining at least one of a number of resource elements (REs) occupied by the CRS on a first symbol of the time domain or a first resource occupancy rate of the CRS on a first symbol of the time domain based on the CRS configuration information; and determining that no NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain, in the case where the number of resource elements (REs) is greater than or equal to the RE number threshold, or the first resource occupancy rate is greater than or equal to the first occupancy rate threshold, or the number of REs is greater than or equal to the RE number threshold and the first resource occupancy rate is greater than or equal to the first occupancy rate threshold. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein at least one of the RE number threshold or the first occupancy rate threshold is associated with at least one of the NR PDCCH aggregation level or the NR PDCCH downlink control information (DCI) format. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain comprises one of the following: determining whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain based on the CRS configuration information and the NR PDCCH configuration information; or determining a second CRS resource occupancy rate in a control resource set, CORESET, of an NR PDCCH, where a second time domain symbol in the CORESET overlaps a first time domain symbol, and determining that no NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first time domain symbol, in the case where the second resource occupancy rate is greater than or equal to a second occupancy rate threshold. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein determining whether an NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain based on the CRS configuration information and the NR PDCCH configuration information comprises: determining the configured CRS template number and the NR PDCCH aggregation level; and determining that no NR PDCCH is expected to be received on the first symbol of the time domain, in the case where the configured CRS pattern number is greater than or equal to the quantity threshold and the aggregation level is less than or equal to the level threshold. 7. The method according to any one of paragraphs 1-6, further comprising: transmitting to the network device capability information used to indicate whether the terminal supports reception of the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the CRS configuration information matches the target configuration. 8. A method for transmitting a control channel performed by a network device, comprising: determining a first time domain symbol corresponding to a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) configured for the terminal, where the first time domain symbol is part or all of the time domain symbols in the time domain resources where the CRS is located; and determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether to transmit a new radio physical downlink control channel (NR PDCCH) to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain; determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether to transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain, comprises: determining the configured CRS template number; and determining that the NR PDCCH should not be transmitted to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the configured CRS pattern number is greater than or equal to the pattern number threshold. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether to transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain comprises: determining the number of the configured CRS template and the number of ports corresponding to each configured CRS template, respectively; and determining not to transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the number of the configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to the pattern quantity threshold and the number of ports corresponding to at least one configured CRS pattern is greater than or equal to the port quantity threshold. 10. The method according to any one of paragraphs 8, 9, wherein determining at least based on the CRS configuration information whether to transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain comprises: determining at least one of a number of resource elements (REs) occupied by the CRS on a first symbol of the time domain or a first resource occupancy rate of the CRS on a first symbol of the time domain based on the CRS configuration information; and determining that the NR PDCCH should not be transmitted to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the number of resource elements (REs) is greater than or equal to the RE number threshold, or the first resource occupancy rate is greater than or equal to the first occupancy rate threshold, or the number of REs is greater than or equal to the RE number threshold and the first resource occupancy rate is greater than or equal to the first occupancy rate threshold. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein at least one of the RE number threshold or the first occupancy rate threshold is associated with at least one of the NR PDCCH aggregation level or the NR PDCCH downlink control information (DCI) format. 12. The method according to any one of paragraphs 8-11, wherein determining, at least based on the CRS configuration information, whether to transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain comprises one of the following: determining whether to transmit the NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain based on the CRS configuration information and the NR PDCCH configuration information; or determining a second CRS resource occupancy rate in a control resource set (CORESET) in which a second time domain symbol in the CORESET overlaps a first time domain symbol, and determining that an NR PDCCH should not be transmitted to the terminal on the first time domain symbol in the case where the second resource occupancy rate is greater than or equal to a second occupancy rate threshold. 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein determining whether to transmit an NR PDCCH to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain based on the CRS configuration information and the NR PDCCH configuration information comprises: determining the configured CRS template number and the NR PDCCH aggregation level; and determining that the NR PDCCH should not be transmitted to the terminal on the first symbol of the time domain in the case where the configured CRS pattern number is greater than or equal to the quantity threshold and the aggregation level is less than or equal to the level threshold. 14. The method according to any one of paragraphs 8-13, further comprising: receiving information about capabilities transmitted by the terminal; and determining whether to transmit the NR PDCCH on the first symbol of the time domain in a case where it is determined based on the capability information that the CRS configuration information matches the target configuration. 15. Communication terminal, including: processor; and memory capable of storing a computer program, wherein the processor is configured to execute a computer program for implementing the method for receiving a control channel according to any of paragraphs 1-7. 16. A network communication device comprising: processor; and memory capable of storing a computer program, wherein the processor is configured to execute a computer program for implementing the method for transmitting a control channel according to any of paragraphs 8-14. 17. A machine-readable information carrier designed with the possibility of storing a computer program, in which, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the steps of the method for receiving a control channel are implemented in accordance with any of paragraphs 1-7.