RU2847309C2 - Monitoring passage method (variations) and communication device (variations) - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: the technical field of wireless communications.

SUBSTANCE: send information about the suspension of listening to the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to the terminal, where the information about the suspension of listening to the PDCCH indicates that the terminal suspends listening to the PDCCH on a predetermined carrier, and the predetermined carrier contains at least one of a primary carrier and a secondary carrier. Consequently, since the PDCCH listening suspension information indicates that the terminal suspends listening to the PDCCH on the primary carrier and/or the secondary carrier, the terminal can determine, based on the PDCCH listening suspension information, whether or not to listen to the PDCCH on the primary carrier and/or secondary carrier.

EFFECT: ensures energy savings and increases terminal operating time.

19 cl, 16 dwg, 2 tbl

Description

AREA OF TECHNOLOGY

[01] The present invention relates to, but is not limited to, the technical field of wireless communication and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for skipping monitoring, a communication device and a storage medium.

LEVEL OF TECHNOLOGY

[02] In carrier aggregation, different carriers are combined with each other, and there are primary component carriers and secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier is used to transmit signaling and control other carriers and corresponds to the primary cell (Pcell). The secondary component carrier is used to expand the frequency band and improve the speed and corresponds to the secondary cell (Scell).

[03] In the corresponding scenarios, it is necessary to monitor the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier. However, for the secondary component carrier, the transmitted data volume is relatively smaller or the transmission rate is higher. Therefore, the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier have different monitoring requirements.

ESSENCE OF THE INVENTION

[04] Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and apparatus for skipping monitoring, a communication device, and a storage medium.

[05] According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present invention, a method for skipping monitoring is provided, which is performed by a base station and includes: sending information about skipping monitoring of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a terminal. The information about skipping monitoring of the PDCCH indicates to the terminal to skip monitoring of the PDCCH on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier includes at least one of a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier.

[06] In one embodiment, sending physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring skip information to a terminal includes: sending PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal on a primary component carrier.

[07] In one embodiment, the predetermined carrier is a secondary component carrier; and the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates: at least one secondary component carrier; and/or at least one group of secondary component carriers. The group of secondary component carriers includes a plurality of secondary component carriers in the same frequency range (FR).

[08] In one embodiment, the predetermined carrier is a secondary component carrier; and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal not to prematurely terminate PDCCH monitoring skip on the secondary component carrier when determining that the terminal initiates a random access process on the secondary component carrier.

[09] In one embodiment, the method further includes: determining an effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information according to a subcarrier spacing of a bandwidth part (BWP) configured by a group of secondary component carriers; or determining an effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information according to a subcarrier spacing of a BWP used by a terminal on a secondary component carrier.

[010] In one embodiment, the predetermined carrier is a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier; and the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates: skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and performing PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier; or skipping PDCCH monitoring on both the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier.

[011] In one embodiment, the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the secondary component carrier is determined in accordance with the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the primary component carrier.

[012] In one embodiment, the method further includes: determining an effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information according to a BWP subcarrier spacing configured by the primary component carrier; or determining an effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information according to a BWP subcarrier spacing configured by the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier; or determining an effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information according to a BWP subcarrier spacing used by the terminal on the primary component carrier.

[013] In one embodiment, the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates: early termination of PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier, upon determining that the random access process has been initiated on the primary component carrier; or early termination of PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier, upon determining that the random access process has been initiated on the secondary component carrier; or early termination of PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier, upon determining that the random access process has been initiated on the secondary component carrier.

[014] In one embodiment, the method further includes: receiving supplemental information sent by the terminal. The supplemental information at least includes information that a PDCCH monitoring skip is expected.

[015] In one embodiment, the auxiliary information includes one or more of the following: a number of secondary cell groups; information about a predetermined carrier; or terminal capability information indicating whether skipping PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier is supported or not supported.

[016] According to a second aspect of embodiments of the present invention, a method for skipping monitoring is provided, which is performed by a terminal and includes: receiving physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring skip information sent by a base station. The PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip monitoring the PDCCH on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier includes at least one of a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier.

[017] In one embodiment, receiving PDCCH monitoring skip information sent by a base station includes: receiving, on a primary component carrier, PDCCH monitoring skip information sent by the base station.

[018] In one embodiment, the predetermined carrier is a secondary component carrier; and the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates: at least one secondary component carrier; and/or at least one group of secondary component carriers. The group of secondary component carriers includes a plurality of secondary component carriers in the same frequency range (FR).

[019] In one embodiment, the method further includes: not terminating the PDCCH monitoring skip on the secondary component carrier early in accordance with the indication of the PDCCH monitoring skip information, upon determining that the random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier.

[020] In one embodiment, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information is determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the bandwidth part (BWP) configured by the group of secondary component carriers; or the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information is determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the BWP used by the terminal on the secondary component carrier.

[021] In one embodiment, the predetermined carrier is a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier; and the method further includes: skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and performing PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the indication of PDCCH monitoring skip information; or skipping PDCCH monitoring on both the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier in accordance with the indication of PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[022] In one embodiment, the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the secondary component carrier is determined in accordance with the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the primary component carrier.

[023] In one embodiment, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip is determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the BWP configured by the primary component carrier; or the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip is determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the BWP configured by the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier; or the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip is determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the BWP used by the terminal on the primary component carrier.

[024] In one embodiment, the method further includes: terminating the skipping of PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier early in accordance with the indication of the skipping of PDCCH monitoring information, when determining that the random access process is initiated on the primary component carrier; or terminating the skipping of PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier early in accordance with the indication of the skipping of PDCCH monitoring information, when determining that the random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier; or terminating the skipping of PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier early in accordance with the indication of the skipping of PDCCH monitoring information, when determining that the random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier.

[025] In one embodiment, the method further includes: sending auxiliary information to the base station. The auxiliary information at least includes information that a PDCCH monitoring miss is expected.

[026] In one embodiment, the auxiliary information includes one or more of the following: a number of secondary cell groups; information about a predetermined carrier; or information about the capabilities of the terminal that skipping PDCCH monitoring on the predetermined carrier is supported or not supported.

[027] According to a third aspect of embodiments of the present invention, a device for skipping monitoring is provided, which includes: a sending module configured to send physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring skip information to a terminal. The PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier includes at least one of a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier.

[028] According to a fourth aspect of embodiments of the present invention, a device for skipping monitoring is provided, which includes: a receiving module configured to receive physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring skip information sent by a base station. The PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs a terminal to skip monitoring the PDCCH on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier includes at least one of a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier.

[029] According to a fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, a communication device is provided that includes: a processor; and a memory for storing instructions executable by the processor. The processor is configured to implement the method as described in any embodiment of the present invention when running the instructions executable by the processor.

[030] According to a sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, a computer storage medium is provided having stored thereon computer-executable programs that, when executed by a processor, cause the implementation of a method as described in any embodiment of the present invention.

[031] In embodiments of the present invention, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring skip information is sent to a terminal, the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier includes at least one of a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier. Thus, since the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier, the terminal can determine whether or not to monitor the PDCCH on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier according to the PDCCH monitoring skip information, which can save power and increase the battery life of the terminal compared with a mode in which PDCCH monitoring is always necessary on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[032] Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[033] Fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a method for skipping monitoring according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[034] Fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a method for skipping monitoring according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[035] Fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a method for skipping monitoring according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[036] Fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a method for skipping monitoring according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[037] Fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of a method for skipping monitoring according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[038] Fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of a method for skipping monitoring according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[039] Fig. 8 is a schematic flow chart of a method for skipping monitoring according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[040] Fig. 9 is a schematic flow chart of a method for skipping monitoring according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[041] Fig. 10 is a schematic flow chart of a method for skipping monitoring according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[042] Fig. 11 is a schematic flow chart of a method for skipping monitoring according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[043] Fig. 12 is a schematic flow chart of a method for skipping monitoring according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[044] Fig. 13 is a block diagram of a device for skipping monitoring according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[045] Fig. 14 is a block diagram of a device for skipping monitoring according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[046] Fig. 15 is a block diagram of a terminal for skipping monitoring according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[047] Fig. 16 is a block diagram of a base station for skip monitoring according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[048] Reference will now be made in detail to an illustrative embodiment, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The following description refers to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals in different drawings represent the same or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated. The implementations set forth in the following description of illustrative embodiments do not represent all possible implementations corresponding to embodiments of the present invention. Instead, they are merely examples of devices and methods corresponding to certain aspects of the embodiments of the present invention, as indicated in the appended claims.

[049] The terms used in the embodiments of the present invention are intended to describe particular embodiments only, but should not be construed as limiting the embodiments of the present invention. In the embodiments of the present invention and the appended claims, the singular forms "a" and "an" are intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein represents and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more related listed elements.

[050] It should be understood that although terms such as "first," "second," and "third" may be used in embodiments of the present invention to describe various information, this information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish information of the same type from each other. For example, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information within the framework of embodiments of the present invention. The term "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "when" or "after" or "in response to a determination," depending on the context.

[051] For brevity and ease of understanding, the terms "greater than" or "less than" are used herein to indicate dimensional relationships. However, one skilled in the art may understand that the term "greater than" also encompasses the meaning of "greater than or equal to," and the term "less than" also encompasses the meaning of "less than or equal to."

[052] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the wireless communication system is a communication system based on a mobile communication technology and may include multiple user equipments 110 and multiple base stations 120.

[053] User equipment 110 may refer to a device that provides voice and/or data communication for a user. User equipment 110 is capable of communicating with one or more core networks via a radio access network (RAN). User equipment 110 may be an Internet of Things user equipment, such as a measuring device, a mobile telephone, and a computer with Internet of Things user equipment. For example, user equipment 110 may be a stationary, portable, pocket, hand-held, embedded computer, or vehicle-mounted device, such as a station (STA), subscriber equipment, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile device, remote station, access point, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, user agent, user device, or user equipment (UE). Alternatively, user equipment 110 may be a drone device. Alternatively, user equipment 110 may be a device mounted on a vehicle, such as an electronic control unit with wireless communication capability or a wireless user equipment externally connected to the electronic control unit. Alternatively, user equipment 110 may be a roadside device, such as a street lamp, signal lamp, or other roadside device with wireless communication capability.

[054] The base station 120 may be a network device in a wireless communication system. The wireless communication system may be a 4th generation (4G) mobile communication system, also referred to as a long term evolution (LTE) system. Alternatively, the wireless communication system may be a 5th generation (5G) system, also referred to as a new radio (NR) system or a 5G NR system. Alternatively, the wireless communication system may be a next-generation system relative to the 5G system. The access network in the 5G system may be referred to as a new generation-radio access network (NG-RAN).

[055] Base station 120 may be an evolved base station (eNB) used in a 4G system. Alternatively, base station 120 may be a gNB using a centrally distributed architecture in a 5G system. When adopting a centrally distributed architecture, base station 120 typically includes a central unit (CU) and at least two distributed units (DUs). The central unit is provided with protocol stacks of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the radio link control (RLC) layer, and the media access control (MAC) layer. The distributed units are provided with a protocol stack of the physical (PHY) layer. The specific implementation of base station 120 is not limited in embodiments of the present invention.

[056] A wireless connection may be established between the base station 120 and the user equipment 110 via wireless radio communication. In various embodiments, the wireless radio communication is a wireless radio communication based on a 4th generation (4G) mobile network technology standard. Alternatively, the wireless radio communication is a wireless radio communication based on a 5th generation (5G) mobile network technology standard. For example, the wireless radio communication is a new radio communication. Alternatively, the wireless radio communication may also be a wireless radio communication based on a next-generation mobile network technology standard relative to 5G.

[057] In some embodiments, an end-to-end (E2E) connection may be established between the user equipment 11, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication.

[058] The user equipment described above may be considered as a terminal device as described in the embodiments below.

[059] In some embodiments, the wireless communication system may further include a network management device 130.

[060] Multiple base stations 12 are connected to a network management device 130, respectively. The network management device 130 may be a core network device in a wireless communication system, for example, the network management device 130 may be a mobility management entity (MME) in an evolved packet core (EPC). Alternatively, the network management device may be other core network devices, such as a serving gateway (SGW), a public data network gateway (PGW), a policy and charging rules function (PCRF), or a home subscriber server (HSS), or the like. The implementation form of the network management device 130 is not limited in the embodiments of the present invention.

[061] In order to facilitate understanding for those skilled in the art, several implementations are listed in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly illustrate the technical solutions set forth in the embodiments of the present invention. Of course, those skilled in the art can understand that the various embodiments presented in the present invention can be performed separately, in combination with the methods described in other embodiments of the present invention, or further in combination with some methods in other prior art, which are not limited to the embodiments of the present invention.

[062] To better understand the technical solution described in any embodiment of the present invention, application scenarios in the prior art are first described.

[063] When considering energy saving, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) skipping mechanism may be introduced for the terminal. The basic working principle of this mechanism is to send indication information to the terminal to notify the terminal that PDCCH monitoring can be skipped for a predetermined time. The indication information may be downlink control information (DCI) indication information.

[064] Here, the duration of the transition to the idle state may be communicated to the terminal in advance by the network via radio resource control (RRC).

[065] In one embodiment, a predetermined PDCCH monitoring skip time is indicated in the DCI.

[066] In one embodiment, M=1, where M is the number of skip intervals configured by the upper layer, and the scheduling DCI includes a 1-bit information field to indicate the PDCCH monitoring adaptation behavior, with the values shown in the following Table 1:

[067] Table 1:

Bit indication Terminal behavior 0 Beh1 1 Beh1A

[068] If M=2 or M=3, the scheduling DCI includes a 2-bit information field to indicate the PDCCH monitoring adaptation behavior with the values shown in the following Table 2:

[069] Table 2:

Bit indication Terminal behavior 00 Beh1 01 Beh1A 10 Beh1A, and the use of skip duration 2 11 If M=3, Beh1A and use skip duration 3;
If M=2, this information field is reserved.

[070] The elementary unit of time for a skip is X, in units of slots.

[071] For a value X in Beh1A, candidates for missing values could be:

[072] up to a duration of 100 ms, which is supported;

[073] X is configured and specified in slot unit;

[074] Working optional parameters for candidate values for X:

[075] {1, 2, 3, …, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80, 100} for 15 kHz SCS;

[076] {1, 2, 3, …, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 160, 200} for SCS 30 kHz;

[077] {1, 2, 3, …, 80, 120, 160, 200, 240, 320, 400} for 60 kHz SCS;

[078] {1, 2, 3, …, 160, 240, 320, 400, 480, 640, 800} for 120 kHz SCS;

[079] equal to or greater than the applicable minimum planning offset;

[080] additional symbol level or PDCCH monitoring period level skip duration.

[081] In one embodiment, in a carrier aggregation scenario, both discontinuous reception (DRX) and wake-up signaling are common for PCell and Scell carrier aggregation, i.e., monitoring is performed simultaneously on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier. However, for the secondary component carrier, the data volume is often relatively smaller, or the data is transmitted faster due to the larger bandwidth in a scenario where the secondary component carrier uses FR2. Therefore, the monitoring time required for the secondary component carrier is less than that for the primary component carrier. Therefore, the PDCCH skip mechanism can be used.

[082] As shown in Fig. 2, embodiments of the present invention provide a method for skipping monitoring. The method is performed by a base station, and the method includes the following step.

[083] In step 21, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring skip information is sent to the terminal. The PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal the need to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier indicates at least one of a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier.

[084] Here, the terminal participating in the present invention may be, among other things, a mobile phone, a wearable device, a vehicle-mounted terminal, a roadside unit (RSU), a smart home terminal, an industrial measuring device, and/or a medical device.

[085] The base station involved in the present invention may be an access device for a terminal for accessing a network. Here, the base station may be various types of base stations, such as a base station of a third-generation (3G) mobile communication network, a base station of a fourth-generation (4G) mobile communication network, a base station of a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication network, or another advanced base station.

[086] In one embodiment, a base station sends physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring skip information to a terminal. The PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier indicates at least one of a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information sent by the base station, the terminal determines whether to perform PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier according to the PDCCH monitoring skip information; or determines whether to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier according to the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[087] In one embodiment, the base station sends a DCI carrying PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal. After receiving the DCI sent by the base station, the terminal determines that it is necessary to perform PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information transmitted in the DCI; or determines that it is necessary to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information transmitted in the DCI.

[088] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal on a primary component carrier. The PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal the need to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier. Here, the primary component carrier may be Pcell or Pscell.

[089] It should be noted that the base station may also send DCI carrying information about continuous PDCCH monitoring to the terminal. The continuous PDCCH monitoring information indicates to the terminal the need to continue monitoring the PDCCH on a predetermined carrier.

[090] In one embodiment, the predetermined carrier may be specified in the protocol or communicated by the network.

[091] In one embodiment, the predetermined carrier specified in the protocol may be all available secondary component carriers.

[092] In one embodiment, a predetermined carrier specified in the protocol may be defined in accordance with a certain DRX group. For example, the predetermined carrier is a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier in a certain DRX group.

[093] In one embodiment, if a predetermined carrier specified in the protocol is a primary component carrier, all available secondary component carriers also become the predetermined carrier.

[094] In one embodiment, the base station explicitly indicates that a predetermined carrier is a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier. For example, an identifier indicating a flag with different values may be used to distinguish between a primary component carrier and a secondary component carrier.

[095] In one embodiment, the base station may explicitly indicate the range of a predetermined carrier.

[096] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[097] In one embodiment, the duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip on the secondary component carrier may be determined in accordance with a power saving requirement parameter. For example, if the power saving requirement parameter is greater than the parameter threshold, it is determined that the duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip on the secondary component carrier is less than the duration threshold; or if the power saving requirement parameter is less than the parameter threshold, it is determined that the duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip on the secondary component carrier is greater than the duration threshold. In this way, the duration of the PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier may be adapted to the power saving requirement parameter.

[098] In one embodiment, the duration of a PDCCH monitoring gap on a carrier may be determined based on multiple time units. For example, the time unit is ms or a slot. A gap of X time units means a gap of X ms or X slots. A slot may be determined in accordance with a subcarrier spacing.

[099] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal the need to skip PDCCH monitoring on a plurality of secondary component carriers. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the plurality of secondary component carriers in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Here, the plurality of secondary component carriers may be some or all of the secondary component carriers supported by the terminal.

[0100] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a secondary component carrier in a group of secondary component carriers. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in the group of secondary component carriers in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. There may be multiple groups of secondary component carriers, and the multiple groups of secondary component carriers may be some or all of the groups of secondary component carriers supported by the terminal. A group of secondary component carriers may include multiple secondary component carriers.

[0101] In one embodiment, in a dual DRX scenario, the secondary component carrier in FR1 and the secondary component carrier in FR2 cannot be configured in the same secondary component carrier group.

[0102] In one embodiment, in a dual DRX scenario, the secondary component carrier in FR1 and the secondary component carrier in FR2 cannot be configured in the same DRX group.

[0103] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier. In this case, a timer for skipping monitoring may be started on the secondary component carrier, and the duration of the timer for skipping monitoring is the duration of the skip monitoring. In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier. After the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information, if the terminal subsequently needs to initiate a random access process on the secondary component carrier, since a random access response (RAR) must be monitored on the primary component carrier, the PDCCH monitoring skip process on the secondary component carrier will not be completed in advance. That is, the skip process will not be completed in advance to enter the active state. That is, the monitoring skip timer will not be stopped or restarted. Since the terminal will not miss PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier at this time, monitoring on the primary component carrier will not be affected.

[0104] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a secondary component carrier in a group of secondary component carriers, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the minimum subcarrier spacing of the BWP configured by the effective group of secondary component carriers. In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a secondary component carrier in a group of secondary component carriers, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the current working BWP. It should be noted that within the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid; outside the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid. If the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid, the terminal will ignore the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Alternatively, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. In one embodiment, the effective duration start point may be the time at which the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0105] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. It should be noted that the terminal will not skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. That is, monitoring on the secondary component carrier will not be affected.

[0106] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and it is determined that the terminal will not skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the minimum subcarrier spacing of all BWPs configured by the primary component carrier. In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and it is determined that the terminal will not skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the BWP currently activated on the primary component carrier. It should be noted that within the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid; outside the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid. If the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid, the terminal will ignore the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Alternatively, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier according to the PDCCH monitoring skip information. In one embodiment, the effective duration start point may be the time at which the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0107] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. It should be noted that the terminal will also skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. That is, monitoring on the secondary component carrier will not be affected.

[0108] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and at this time, the monitoring skip timer will be started on the primary component carrier. Then, the terminal will also skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information, that is, monitoring on the secondary component carrier will be affected, and the monitoring skip timer will also be started on the secondary component carrier.

[0109] That is, this can be understood as meaning that skipping or continuing monitoring on the primary component carrier is acceptable for the entire terminal, and the terminal will skip or continue monitoring on all carriers. This behavior can be specified in the protocol.

[0110] In this case, the terminal will process the timer on the secondary component carrier as follows.

[0111] If the monitoring skip timer has been started on the secondary component carrier, the timer can be restarted, and its duration is determined in accordance with the duration of the monitoring skip on the primary component carrier. For example, the monitoring skip timer on the secondary component carrier was initially set to 3 s, and after it has worked for 1 s, if the duration of the monitoring skip on the primary component carrier is 4 s, monitoring on the secondary component carrier is skipped for 4 s in accordance with the duration of the monitoring skip on the primary component carrier. Similarly, continuous PDCCH monitoring information on the primary component carrier can also affect the timer for the secondary component carrier. For example, the timer for skipping monitoring on the secondary component carrier was initially set to 3 s, and after it has worked for 1 s, if an indication is received on the primary component carrier that indicates continuation of monitoring on a predetermined carrier, the running timer is stopped, and monitoring is resumed.

[0112] Then, the terminal will also skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier according to the PDCCH monitoring skip information, that is, monitoring on the secondary component carrier will be affected, in which case the timer for skipping monitoring will also be started on the secondary component carrier. This timer continues to run after starting according to the duration of the monitoring skip on the primary component carrier. For example, the timer for skipping monitoring on the secondary component carrier is initially set to 3 s, and after it runs for 1 s, if the duration of the monitoring skip on the primary component carrier is 4 s, the timer first runs for 4 s according to the duration of the monitoring skip on the primary component carrier, and then the timer continues to run for the remaining 2 s.

[0113] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and it is determined that the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the minimum subcarrier spacing of all BWPs configured on the primary component carrier or the minimum subcarrier spacing of the BWP activated by the terminal on the primary component carrier. It should be noted that during the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid; outside the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid. If the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid, the terminal will ignore the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Alternatively, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. In one embodiment, the starting point of the effective duration may be the time when the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0114] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and it is determined that the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the minimum subcarrier spacing of all BWPs configured on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier, or the minimum subcarrier spacing of the BWP activated by the terminal on the primary component carrier. As an embodiment, the monitoring skip timer is started on the primary component carrier. It should be noted that within the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid; outside the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid. If the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid, the terminal will ignore the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Alternatively, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. In an embodiment, the effective duration start point may be the time at which the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0115] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and a random access process is initiated on the primary component carrier, the terminal will stop skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier in advance. That is, the PDCCH skip will be affected. The skip monitoring timer started on the primary component carrier will be stopped, and the primary component carrier will enter the active time or active state.

[0116] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, and a random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier, the terminal will pre-terminate the PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier. That is, the PDCCH skip will be affected. Here, pre-terminating the PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier may be stopping a timer set for the primary component carrier.

[0117] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier, and a random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier, the terminal will pre-terminate the PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier. That is, the PDCCH skip will be affected. Here, pre-terminating the PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier may be stopping a timer set for the primary component carrier.

[0118] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, and a random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier, the terminal will stop skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier in advance. That is, the PDCCH skip will be affected. Here, stopping skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier early may stop the timer set for the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier early.

[0119] In one embodiment, the base station receives assistance information sent by the terminal, and the assistance information is used to assist the base station in sending PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal.

[0120] In one embodiment, the base station receives auxiliary information from the terminal that a monitoring gap is expected. For example, the auxiliary information indicates the number of groups of secondary component carriers on which a monitoring gap is expected. For example, the auxiliary information indicates that both the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier are expected to be dormant.

[0121] In one embodiment, the base station receives auxiliary information reported by the terminal that indicates the possibility of skipping monitoring of the terminal. For example, the auxiliary information indicates support or non-support of skipping monitoring; and/or the auxiliary information indicates support or non-support of skipping monitoring on the secondary component carrier of the carrier aggregation; and/or the auxiliary information indicates support or non-support of skipping monitoring on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier.

[0122] In embodiments of the present invention, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring skip information is sent to a terminal, the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier includes at least one of a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier. Thus, since the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier, the terminal can determine whether or not to monitor the PDCCH on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier according to the PDCCH monitoring skip information, which can save power and increase the battery life of the terminal compared with a mode in which PDCCH monitoring is always necessary on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier.

[0123] It should be noted that those skilled in the art may understand that the methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be performed alone or in combination with certain methods according to other embodiments of the present invention or other methods in the prior art.

[0124] As shown in Fig. 3, embodiments of the present invention provide a method for skipping monitoring. The method is performed by a base station and includes the following step.

[0125] At step 31, PDCCH monitoring skip information is sent to the terminal on the primary component carrier.

[0126] Here, the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier includes at least one of a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier.

[0127] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal on the primary component carrier, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier. Here, the primary component carrier may be Pcell or Pscell. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the predetermined carrier.

[0128] It should be noted that those skilled in the art may understand that the methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be performed alone or in combination with certain methods according to other embodiments of the present invention or other methods in the prior art.

[0129] In one embodiment, the predetermined carrier is a secondary component carrier; and the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates: at least one secondary component carrier; and/or at least one group of secondary component carriers. The group of secondary component carriers includes a plurality of secondary component carriers in the same frequency range (FR).

[0130] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on at least one secondary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on at least one secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Here, the at least one secondary component carrier may be some or all of the secondary component carriers supported by the terminal.

[0131] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a secondary component carrier in at least one group of secondary component carriers. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in at least one group of secondary component carriers in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Here, the at least one group of secondary component carriers may be some or all of the groups of secondary component carriers supported by the terminal. The group of secondary component carriers may include a plurality of secondary component carriers.

[0132] In one embodiment, the predetermined carrier is a secondary component carrier; the terminal initiates a random access process on the secondary component carrier, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal not to prematurely terminate the PDCCH monitoring skip on the secondary component carrier.

[0133] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier. After the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal initiates a random access process on the secondary component carrier and does not prematurely terminate PDCCH monitoring skip on the secondary component carrier.

[0134] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier. After the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal initiates a random access process on the secondary component carrier and does not prematurely terminate PDCCH monitoring skip on the secondary component carrier. Here, since RAR is monitored on the primary component carrier, the terminal will not prematurely terminate PDCCH monitoring skip on the secondary component carrier.

[0135] As shown in Fig. 4, embodiments of the present invention provide a method for skipping monitoring. The method is performed by a base station and includes the following step.

[0136] In step 41, an effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information is determined in accordance with a subcarrier spacing of a portion of a frequency band (BWP) configured by a group of secondary component carriers; or an effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information is determined in accordance with a subcarrier spacing of a BWP used by the terminal on a secondary component carrier.

[0137] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a secondary component carrier in a group of secondary component carriers, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the minimum BWP subcarrier spacing configured by the effective group of secondary component carriers. It should be noted that within the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid; outside the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid. If the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid, the terminal will ignore the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Alternatively, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. In one embodiment, the starting point of the effective duration may be the time when the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0138] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a secondary component carrier in a group of secondary component carriers, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the BWP subcarrier spacing used by the terminal on the secondary component carrier. It should be noted that within the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid; outside the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid. If the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid, the terminal will ignore the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Alternatively, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. In one embodiment, the starting point of the effective duration may be the time when the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0139] It should be noted that those skilled in the art may understand that the methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be performed alone or in combination with certain methods according to other embodiments of the present invention or other methods in the prior art.

[0140] In one embodiment, the predetermined carrier is a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier; and the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates: skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and performing PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier; or skipping PDCCH monitoring on both the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier.

[0141] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and continue monitoring PDCCH on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. It should be noted that the terminal will not skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. That is, monitoring on the secondary component carrier will be affected.

[0142] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. It should be noted that the terminal will also skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. That is, monitoring on the secondary component carrier will be affected.

[0143] It should be noted that those skilled in the art may understand that the methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be performed alone or in combination with certain methods according to other embodiments of the present invention or other methods in the prior art.

[0144] In one embodiment, the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the secondary component carrier is determined in accordance with the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the primary component carrier.

[0145] In one embodiment, the base station determines the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the primary component carrier.

[0146] Here, the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the primary component carrier is the same as the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the secondary component carrier.

[0147] As shown in Fig. 5, embodiments of the present invention provide a method for skipping monitoring. The method is performed by a base station and includes the following step.

[0148] In step 51, an effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information is determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the BWP configured by the primary component carrier; or an effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information is determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the BWP configured by the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier; or an effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information is determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the working BWP used by the terminal on the primary component carrier.

[0149] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and it is determined that the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the minimum subcarrier spacing of all BWPs configured by the primary component carrier. It should be noted that within the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid; outside the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid. If the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid, the terminal will ignore the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Alternatively, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. In one embodiment, the starting point of the effective duration may be the time when the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0150] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and it is determined that the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information can be determined in accordance with the minimum subcarrier spacing of all BWPs configured by the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier. It should be noted that within the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid; outside the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid. If the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid, the terminal will ignore the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Alternatively, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. In one embodiment, the starting point of the effective duration may be the time at which the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0151] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and it is determined that the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information can be determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the working BWP used by the terminal on the primary component carrier. It should be noted that within the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid; outside the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid. If the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid, the terminal will ignore the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Alternatively, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. In one embodiment, the starting point of the effective duration can be the time when the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0152] It should be noted that those skilled in the art may understand that the methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be performed alone or in combination with certain methods according to other embodiments of the present invention or other methods in the prior art.

[0153] In one embodiment, the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates: early termination of PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier, upon determining that the random access process has been initiated on the primary component carrier; or early termination of PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier, upon determining that the random access process has been initiated on the secondary component carrier; or early termination of PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier, upon determining that the random access process has been initiated on the secondary component carrier.

[0154] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and a random access process is initiated on the primary component carrier, the terminal will stop skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier in advance. That is, the PDCCH skip will be affected.

[0155] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, and a random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier, the terminal will pre-terminate the PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier. That is, the PDCCH skip will be affected. Here, pre-terminating the PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier may be stopping a timer set for the primary component carrier.

[0156] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, and a random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier, the terminal will prematurely stop skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier. That is, the PDCCH skip will be affected. Here, prematurely stopping the PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier may prematurely stop the timer set for the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier.

[0157] As shown in Fig. 6, embodiments of the present invention provide a method for skipping monitoring. The method is performed by a base station and includes the following step.

[0158] In step 61, supplementary information sent by the terminal is received, and the supplementary information at least includes information that a PDCCH monitoring skip is expected.

[0159] In one embodiment, the auxiliary information includes one or more of the following: a number of secondary cell groups; information about a predetermined carrier; or terminal capability information indicating whether skipping PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier is supported or not supported.

[0160] In one embodiment, the base station receives assistance information sent by the terminal, and the assistance information is used to assist the base station in sending PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal.

[0161] In one embodiment, the base station receives auxiliary information from the terminal that a monitoring gap is expected. For example, the auxiliary information indicates the number of groups of secondary component carriers on which a monitoring gap is expected. For example, the auxiliary information indicates that both the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier are expected to be idle.

[0162] In one embodiment, the base station receives auxiliary information reported by the terminal that indicates the possibility of skipping monitoring of the terminal. For example, the auxiliary information indicates support or non-support of skipping monitoring; and/or the auxiliary information indicates support or non-support of skipping monitoring on the secondary component carrier of the carrier aggregation; and/or the auxiliary information indicates support or non-support of skipping monitoring on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier.

[0163] It should be noted that those skilled in the art may understand that the methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be performed alone or in combination with certain methods according to other embodiments of the present invention or other methods in the prior art.

[0164] As shown in Fig. 7, embodiments of the present invention provide a method for skipping monitoring. The method is performed by a terminal, and the method includes the following step.

[0165] At step 71, PDCCH monitoring skip information sent by the base station is received. The PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal the need to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier indicates at least one of a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier.

[0166] Here, the terminal involved in the present invention may be, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a wearable device, a vehicle-mounted terminal, a roadside unit (RSU), a smart home terminal, an industrial measuring device, and/or a medical device.

[0167] The base station involved in the present invention may be an access device for a terminal for accessing a network. Here, the base station may be various types of base stations, such as a base station of a third-generation (3G) mobile communication network, a base station of a fourth-generation (4G) mobile communication network, a base station of a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication network, or another advanced base station.

[0168] In one embodiment, a base station sends physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring skip information to a terminal. The PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier indicates at least one of a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information sent by the base station, the terminal determines whether to perform PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information; or determines whether to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0169] In one embodiment, the base station sends a DCI carrying PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal. After receiving the DCI sent by the base station, the terminal determines that it is necessary to perform PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information transmitted in the DCI; or determines that it is necessary to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information transmitted in the DCI.

[0170] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal on the primary component carrier. The PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal the need to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier. Here, the primary component carrier may be Pcell or Pscell.

[0171] It should be noted that the base station may also send DCI carrying information about continuous PDCCH monitoring to the terminal. The continuous PDCCH monitoring information indicates to the terminal the need to continue monitoring the PDCCH on a predetermined carrier.

[0172] In one embodiment, the predetermined carrier may be specified in the protocol or signaled by the network.

[0173] In one embodiment, the predetermined carrier specified in the protocol may be all available secondary component carriers.

[0174] In one embodiment, a predetermined carrier specified in the protocol may be defined in accordance with a certain DRX group. For example, the predetermined carrier is a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier in a certain DRX group.

[0175] In one embodiment, if a predetermined carrier specified in the protocol is a primary component carrier, all available secondary component carriers also become the predetermined carrier.

[0176] In one embodiment, the base station explicitly indicates that the predetermined carrier is a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier. For example, an identifier indicating a flag with different values may be used to distinguish between a primary component carrier and a secondary component carrier.

[0177] In one embodiment, the base station may explicitly indicate the range of a predetermined carrier.

[0178] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0179] In one embodiment, the duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip on the secondary component carrier may be determined in accordance with a power saving requirement parameter. For example, if the power saving requirement parameter is greater than the parameter threshold, it is determined that the duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip on the secondary component carrier is less than the duration threshold; or if the power saving requirement parameter is less than the parameter threshold, it is determined that the duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip on the secondary component carrier is greater than the duration threshold. In this way, the duration of the PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier may be adapted to the power saving requirement parameter.

[0180] In one embodiment, the duration of a PDCCH monitoring gap on a carrier may be determined based on multiple time units. For example, the time unit is ms or a slot. A gap of X time units means a gap of X ms or X slots. A slot may be determined in accordance with a subcarrier spacing.

[0181] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal the need to skip PDCCH monitoring on a plurality of secondary component carriers. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the plurality of secondary component carriers in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Here, the plurality of secondary component carriers may be some or all of the secondary component carriers supported by the terminal.

[0182] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a secondary component carrier in a group of secondary component carriers. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in the group of secondary component carriers in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. There may be multiple groups of secondary component carriers, and the multiple groups of secondary component carriers may be some or all of the groups of secondary component carriers supported by the terminal. A group of secondary component carriers may include multiple secondary component carriers.

[0183] In one embodiment, in a dual DRX scenario, the secondary component carrier in FR1 and the secondary component carrier in FR2 cannot be configured in the same secondary component carrier group.

[0184] In one embodiment, in a dual DRX scenario, the secondary component carrier in FR1 and the secondary component carrier in FR2 cannot be configured in the same DRX group.

[0185] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier. In this case, a timer for skipping monitoring may be started on the secondary component carrier, and the duration of the timer for skipping monitoring is the duration of the skipped monitoring.

[0186] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier. After the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information, if the terminal subsequently needs to initiate a random access process on the secondary component carrier because a random access response (RAR) must be monitored on the primary component carrier, the PDCCH monitoring skip process on the secondary component carrier will not be completed in advance. That is, the skip process will not be completed in advance to enter the active state. That is, the monitoring skip timer will not be stopped or restarted. Since the terminal will not skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier at this time, that is, monitoring on the primary component carrier will not be affected.

[0187] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a secondary component carrier in a group of secondary component carriers, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the minimum BWP subcarrier spacing configured by the effective group of secondary component carriers.

[0188] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a secondary component carrier in a group of secondary component carriers, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the current operating BWP.

[0189] It should be noted that within the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid; outside the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid. If the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid, the terminal will ignore the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Alternatively, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. In one embodiment, the starting point of the effective duration may be the time when the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0190] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. It should be noted that the terminal will not skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. That is, monitoring on the secondary component carrier will not be affected.

[0191] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and it is determined that the terminal will not skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the minimum subcarrier spacing of all BWPs configured by the primary component carrier.

[0192] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and it is determined that the terminal will not skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the BWP subcarrier spacing currently activated on the primary component carrier.

[0193] It should be noted that within the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid; outside the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid. If the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid, the terminal will ignore the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Alternatively, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. In one embodiment, the starting point of the effective duration may be the time when the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0194] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. It should be noted that the terminal will also skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. That is, monitoring on the secondary component carrier will be affected.

[0195] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and at this time, the monitoring skip timer will be started on the primary component carrier. Then, the terminal will also skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information, that is, monitoring on the secondary component carrier will be affected, and the monitoring skip timer will also be started on the secondary component carrier.

[0196] This can be understood to mean that skipping or continuing monitoring on the primary component carrier is permissible for the entire terminal, and the terminal will skip or continue monitoring on all carriers. The behavior can be specified in the protocol.

[0197] In this case, the terminal will process the timer on the secondary component carrier as follows.

[0198] If the monitoring skip timer has been started on the secondary component carrier, the timer may be restarted, and its duration is determined in accordance with the duration of the monitoring skip on the primary component carrier. For example, the monitoring skip timer on the secondary component carrier was initially set to 3 s, and after it has been running for 1 s, if the duration of the monitoring skip on the primary component carrier is 4 s, monitoring on the secondary component carrier is skipped for 4 s in accordance with the duration of the monitoring skip on the primary component carrier. Similarly, the timer for the secondary component carrier may also be affected by continuous PDCCH monitoring information on the primary component carrier. For example, the monitoring skip timer on the secondary component carrier was initially set to 3 s, and after it has been running for 1 s, if an indication is received on the primary component carrier that indicates continuation of monitoring on a predetermined carrier, the running timer is stopped, and monitoring is resumed.

[0199] Then, the terminal will also skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier according to the PDCCH monitoring skip information, that is, monitoring on the secondary component carrier will be affected, in which case the timer for skipping monitoring will also be started on the secondary component carrier. This timer continues to run after starting according to the duration of the monitoring skip on the primary component carrier. For example, the timer for skipping monitoring on the secondary component carrier is initially set to 3 s, and after it runs for 1 s, if the duration of the monitoring skip on the primary component carrier is 4 s, the timer first runs for 4 s according to the duration of the monitoring skip on the primary component carrier, and then the timer continues to run for the remaining 2 s.

[0200] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and it is determined that the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the minimum subcarrier spacing of all BWPs configured by the primary component carrier or the minimum subcarrier spacing of the BWPs activated by the terminal on the primary component carrier. It should be noted that within the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid; outside the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid. If the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid, the terminal will ignore the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Alternatively, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. In one embodiment, the starting point of the effective duration may be the time when the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0201] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and it is determined that the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information can be determined in accordance with the minimum subcarrier spacing of all BWPs configured by the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier, or the minimum subcarrier spacing of the BWP activated by the terminal on the primary component carrier. In one embodiment, a timer for skipping monitoring is started on the primary component carrier. It should be noted that during the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid; outside the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid. If the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid, the terminal will ignore the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Alternatively, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. In one embodiment, the effective duration start point may be the time at which the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0202] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and a random access process is initiated on the primary component carrier, the terminal will stop skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier in advance. That is, the PDCCH skip will be affected. The skip monitoring timer started on the primary component carrier will be stopped, and the primary component carrier will enter the active time or active state.

[0203] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, and a random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier, the terminal will early stop skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier. That is, the PDCCH skip will be affected. Here, early stopping of PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier may be early stopping of the timer set for the primary component carrier.

[0204] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier, and a random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier, the terminal will prematurely stop skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier. That is, the PDCCH skip will be affected. Here, prematurely stopping the PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier may be prematurely stopping the timer set for the primary component carrier.

[0205] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, and a random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier, the terminal will prematurely stop skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier. That is, the PDCCH skip will be affected. Here, prematurely stopping the PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier may prematurely stop the timer set for the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier.

[0206] In one embodiment, the base station receives assistance information sent by the terminal, and the assistance information is used to assist the base station in sending PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal.

[0207] In one embodiment, the base station receives auxiliary information from the terminal that a monitoring gap is expected. For example, the auxiliary information indicates the number of groups of secondary component carriers on which a monitoring gap is expected. For example, the auxiliary information indicates that both the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier are expected to be idle.

[0208] In one embodiment, the base station receives auxiliary information reported by the terminal that indicates the possibility of skipping monitoring of the terminal. For example, the auxiliary information indicates support or non-support of skipping monitoring; and/or the auxiliary information indicates support or non-support of skipping monitoring on the secondary component carrier of the carrier aggregation; and/or the auxiliary information indicates support or non-support of skipping monitoring on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier.

[0209] It should be noted that those skilled in the art may understand that the methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be performed alone or in combination with certain methods according to other embodiments of the present invention or other methods in the prior art.

[0210] As shown in Fig. 8, embodiments of the present invention provide a method for skipping monitoring. The method is performed by a terminal and includes the following step.

[0211] At step 81, PDCCH monitoring skip information sent by the base station is received on the primary component carrier.

[0212] Here, the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier includes at least one of a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier.

[0213] In one embodiment, the terminal receives PDCCH monitoring skip information sent by the base station on the primary component carrier, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier. Here, the primary component carrier may be Pcell or Pscell. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal skips PDCCH monitoring on the predetermined carrier.

[0214] It should be noted that those skilled in the art may understand that the methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be performed alone or in combination with certain methods according to other embodiments of the present invention or other methods in the prior art.

[0215] In one embodiment, the predetermined carrier is a secondary component carrier; and the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates: at least one secondary component carrier; and/or at least one group of secondary component carriers. The group of secondary component carriers includes a plurality of secondary component carriers in the same frequency range (FR).

[0216] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on at least one secondary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on at least one secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Here, the at least one secondary component carrier may be some or all of the secondary component carriers supported by the terminal.

[0217] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a secondary component carrier in at least one group of secondary component carriers. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in at least one group of secondary component carriers in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Here, the at least one group of secondary component carriers may be some or all of the groups of secondary component carriers supported by the terminal. The group of secondary component carriers may include a plurality of secondary component carriers.

[0218] As shown in Fig. 9, embodiments of the present invention provide a method for skipping monitoring. The method is performed by a terminal and includes the following step.

[0219] In step 91, skipping PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier is not prematurely terminated in accordance with the indication of PDCCH monitoring skip information, when it is determined that a random access process has been initiated on the secondary component carrier. In an embodiment, the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates not to prematurely terminate skipping PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier when a random access process has been initiated on the secondary component carrier. In an embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal does not prematurely terminate skipping PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier when a random access process has been initiated on the secondary component carrier.

[0220] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal does not prematurely stop skipping PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier when the random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier. Here, since RAR is monitored on the primary component carrier, the terminal will not prematurely stop monitoring PDCCH on the secondary component carrier, that is, monitoring on the primary component carrier is not affected.

[0221] It should be noted that those skilled in the art may understand that the methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be performed alone or in combination with certain methods according to other embodiments of the present invention or other methods in the prior art.

[0222] In one embodiment, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information is determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the bandwidth portion (BWP) configured by the group of secondary component carriers; or the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information is determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the BWP used by the terminal on the secondary component carrier.

[0223] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a secondary component carrier in a group of secondary component carriers, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the minimum BWP subcarrier spacing configured by the effective group of secondary component carriers. It should be noted that within the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid; outside the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid. If the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid, the terminal will ignore the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Alternatively, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. In one embodiment, the starting point of the effective duration may be the time when the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0224] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a secondary component carrier in a group of secondary component carriers, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring skip information may be determined in accordance with the BWP subcarrier spacing used by the terminal on the secondary component carrier. It should be noted that within the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid; outside the effective duration, the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid. If the PDCCH monitoring skip information is invalid, the terminal will ignore the PDCCH monitoring skip information. Alternatively, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information is valid, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. In one embodiment, the starting point of the effective duration may be the time when the terminal receives the PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0225] It should be noted that those skilled in the art may understand that the methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be performed alone or in combination with certain methods according to other embodiments of the present invention or other methods in the prior art.

[0226] As shown in Fig. 10, embodiments of the present invention propose a method for skipping monitoring. The predetermined carrier is a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier. The method is performed by a terminal and includes the following step.

[0227] In step 101, PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier is skipped, and PDCCH monitoring is performed on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the indication of PDCCH monitoring skip information; or PDCCH monitoring is skipped on both the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier in accordance with the indication of PDCCH monitoring skip information.

[0228] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal skips PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and continues monitoring PDCCH on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. It should be noted that the terminal does not skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information. That is, monitoring on the secondary component carrier will not be affected.

[0229] In one embodiment, the base station sends PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier. After receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information, the terminal will skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier according to the PDCCH monitoring skip information. It should be noted that the terminal will also skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier according to the PDCCH monitoring skip information. That is, monitoring on the secondary component carrier will be affected.

[0230] It should be noted that those skilled in the art may understand that the methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be performed alone or in combination with certain methods according to other embodiments of the present invention or other methods in the prior art.

[0231] In one embodiment, the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the secondary component carrier is determined in accordance with the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the primary component carrier.

[0232] Here, the PDCCH monitoring gap duration on the primary component carrier is the same as the PDCCH monitoring gap duration on the secondary component carrier.

[0233] In one embodiment, the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information is determined in accordance with the BWP subcarrier spacing of the configured primary component carrier; or the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information is determined in accordance with the BWP subcarrier spacing of the configured primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier; or the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information is determined in accordance with the BWP subcarrier spacing used by the terminal on the primary component carrier.

[0234] As shown in Fig. 11, embodiments of the present invention propose a method for skipping monitoring. The predetermined carrier is a primary component carrier. The method is performed by a terminal and includes the following step.

[0235] In step 111, skipping the PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier is terminated early in accordance with the indication of the PDCCH monitoring skip information, upon determining that a random access process has been initiated on the primary component carrier; or skipping the PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier is terminated early in accordance with the indication of the PDCCH monitoring skip information, upon determining that a random access process has been initiated on the secondary component carrier; or skipping the PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier is terminated early in accordance with the indication of the PDCCH monitoring skip information, upon determining that a random access process has been initiated on the secondary component carrier.

[0236] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier, and a random access process is initiated on the primary component carrier, the terminal will stop skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier in advance. That is, the PDCCH skip will be affected.

[0237] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, and a random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier, the terminal will pre-terminate the PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier. That is, the PDCCH skip will be affected. Here, pre-termination of the PDCCH monitoring skip on the primary component carrier may be stopping a timer set for the primary component carrier.

[0238] In one embodiment, if the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier, and a random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier, the terminal will stop skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier in advance. That is, the PDCCH skip will be affected. Here, stopping skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier early may be stopping a timer set for the primary component carrier and/or the secondary component carrier early.

[0239] It should be noted that those skilled in the art may understand that the methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be performed alone or in combination with certain methods according to other embodiments of the present invention or other methods in the prior art.

[0240] As shown in Fig. 12, embodiments of the present invention propose a method for skipping monitoring. The predetermined carrier is a primary component carrier. The method is performed by a terminal and includes the following step.

[0241] In step 121, supplementary information is sent to the base station, and the supplementary information at least includes information that a PDCCH monitoring skip is expected.

[0242] In one embodiment, the auxiliary information includes one or more of the following: a number of secondary cell groups; information about a predetermined carrier; or information about the capabilities of the terminal that skipping PDCCH monitoring on the predetermined carrier is supported or not supported.

[0243] In one embodiment, the terminal sends assistance information to the base station, and the assistance information is used to assist the base station in sending PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal.

[0244] In one embodiment, the terminal reports auxiliary information to the base station that a monitoring gap is expected. For example, the auxiliary information indicates the number of groups of secondary component carriers on which a monitoring gap is expected. For example, the auxiliary information indicates that both the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier are expected to be idle.

[0245] In one embodiment, the terminal reports to the base station auxiliary information that indicates the possibility of skipping monitoring of the terminal. For example, the auxiliary information indicates support or non-support of skipping monitoring; and/or the auxiliary information indicates support or non-support of skipping monitoring on the secondary component carrier of the carrier aggregation; and/or the auxiliary information indicates support or non-support of skipping monitoring on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier.

[0246] It should be noted that those skilled in the art may understand that the methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be performed alone or in combination with certain methods according to other embodiments of the present invention or other methods in the prior art.

[0247] As shown in Fig. 13, embodiments of the present invention provide a device for skipping monitoring. The device includes a sending module 131.

[0248] The sending module 131 is configured to send physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring skip information to the terminal. The PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier includes at least one of a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier.

[0249] It should be noted that those skilled in the art may understand that the methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be performed alone or in combination with certain methods according to other embodiments of the present invention or other methods in the prior art.

[0250] As shown in Fig. 14, embodiments of the present invention provide a device for skipping monitoring. The device includes a receiving module 141.

[0251] The receiving module 141 is configured to receive physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring skip information sent by the base station. The PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier includes at least one of a primary component carrier or a secondary component carrier.

[0252] It should be noted that those skilled in the art may understand that the methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be performed alone or in combination with certain methods according to other embodiments of the present invention or other methods in the prior art.

[0253] Embodiments of the present invention provide a communication device that includes: a processor; and a memory for storing instructions executable by the processor. The processor is configured to implement the method as described in any embodiment of the present invention when running the instructions executable by the processor.

[0254] The processor may include various types of storage media that are computer storage media and may continue to store information stored thereon after the communication device is turned off.

[0255] The processor may be connected to the memory via a bus or the like and configured to read executable programs stored in the memory.

[0256] Embodiments of the present invention provide a computer storage medium having computer-executable programs stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the implementation of a method described in any embodiment of the present invention.

[0257] With respect to the device in the previous embodiments, the specific manner in which each module performs operations has been described in detail in the embodiments related to the method and will not be described in detail here.

[0258] As shown in Fig. 15, an embodiment of the present invention proposes a terminal structure.

[0259] Referring to Fig. 15, which shows a terminal 800 according to embodiments of the present invention, the terminal 800 may be a mobile phone, a computer, a digital broadcast terminal, a messaging device, a game console, a tablet device, a medical device, a fitness device, a personal digital assistant, or the like.

[0260] Referring to Fig. 15, terminal 800 may include one or more of the following components: processing component 802, memory 804, power component 806, multimedia component 808, audio component 810, input/output (I/O) interface 812, measurement component 814, and communication component 816.

[0261] The processing component 802 typically controls general operations of the terminal 800, such as operations related to display, telephone calls, data transmission, camera operations, and recording operations. The processing component 802 may include one or more processors 820 for executing instructions for performing all or some of the steps in the above-described methods. In addition, the processing component 802 may include one or more modules that facilitate interaction between the processing component 802 and other components. For example, the processing component 802 may include a multimedia module to facilitate interaction between the multimedia component 808 and the processing component 802.

[0262] Memory 804 is configured to store various types of data to support the operation of terminal 800. Examples of such data include instructions for any applications or methods used on terminal 800, contact information, phone book data, messages, images, videos, etc. Memory 804 may be implemented using any type of volatile or nonvolatile memory 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.

[0263] Power component 806 provides power to various components of terminal 800. Power component 806 may include a power management system, one or more power sources, and any other components associated with generating, controlling, and distributing power in terminal 800.

[0264] Multimedia component 808 includes a screen that provides an output interface between terminal 800 and a user. In some embodiments, the screen may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a touch panel (TP). If the screen includes a touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touch screen for receiving input signals from the user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors for detecting touches, swipes, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensors may not only determine the boundary of a touch or swipe action, but also determine the period of time and pressure associated with a touch or swipe action. In some embodiments, multimedia component 808 includes a front camera and/or a rear camera. The front camera and/or the rear camera may receive external multimedia data while terminal 800 is in an operating mode, such as in a photographing or video mode. Each of the front camera and rear camera can be a fixed lens optical system or have focus and optical zoom capability.

[0265] The audio component 810 is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio component 810 includes a microphone (MIC) configured to receive an external audio signal when the terminal 800 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 804 or transmitted via the communication component 816. In some embodiments, the audio component 810 further includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

[0266] The input/output interface 812 provides an interface between the processing component 802 and peripheral interface modules such as keyboards, scroll wheels, buttons, and the like. The buttons may include, but are not limited to, a home button, a volume button, a start button, and a lock button.

[0267] The sensing component 814 includes one or more sensors for providing estimates of the state of various aspects of the terminal 800. For example, the sensing component 814 may determine the open/closed state of the terminal 800, the relative location of components, such as a display and keyboard, of the terminal 800, a change in the position of the terminal 800 or a component of the terminal 800, the presence or absence of user contact with the terminal 800, the orientation or acceleration/deceleration of the terminal 800, and a change in the temperature of the terminal 800. The sensing component 814 may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. The sensing component 814 may also include an illumination sensor, such as a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) or charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor, for use in image processing applications. In some embodiments, the sensing component 814 may further include an accelerometer sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

[0268] Communication component 816 is configured to facilitate communication, wired or wireless, between terminal 800 and other devices. Terminal 800 can access a wireless network based on a communication standard such as Wi-Fi, 2G or 3G, or a combination thereof. In an illustrative embodiment, communication component 816 receives a broadcast signal or broadcast associated information from an external broadcast control system via a broadcast channel. In an illustrative embodiment, communication component 816 further includes 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 association (IrDA) technology, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, Bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

[0269] In an illustrative embodiment, terminal 800 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 elements to perform the above method.

[0270] In an illustrative embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, including instructions, such as included in memory 804, executed by processor 820 in terminal 800, for performing the above method. For example, the computer-readable storage medium may be a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, and the like.

[0271] As shown in Fig. 16, an embodiment of the present invention shows the structure of a base station. For example, a base station 900 may be provided as a sideline network device. Referring to Fig. 16, the base station 900 includes: a processing component 922, which further includes one or more processors, and a memory resource represented by a memory 932 for storing instructions executed by the processing component 922, such as application programs. The application program stored in the memory 932 may include one or more modules, each of which corresponds to a set of instructions. In addition, the processing component 922 is configured to execute instructions for performing any method applied to the base station, as described above.

[0272] The base station 900 may also include a power component 926 configured to manage the power of the base station 900, a wired or wireless network interface 950 configured to connect the base station 900 to a network, and an input/output (I/O) interface 958. The base station 900 may operate under control of an operating system stored in memory 932, such as Windows Server™, Mac OS X™, Unix™, Linux™, FreeBSD™, or the like.

[0273] Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the description and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any modifications, uses, or adaptations of the invention following its general principles and including such departures from the present description as are within known or customary practice in the art. It is intended that the description and examples be considered as illustrative only, with the true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

[0274] It should be understood that the present invention 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 its scope. It is intended that the scope of the invention be limited only by the appended claims.

Claims (44)

1. A method of skipping monitoring performed by a base station and including: sending physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring skip information to the terminal, wherein the PDCCH monitoring skip information instructs the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier comprises a secondary component carrier, wherein the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates: not to skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier when the random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier, and the random access response is monitored on the primary component carrier. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein sending the PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal includes: sending PDCCH monitoring skip information to the terminal on the primary component carrier. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined carrier is a secondary component carrier; and the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates: at least one secondary component carrier; and/or at least one group of secondary component carriers, where the group of secondary component carriers comprises a plurality of secondary component carriers in the same frequency range (FR); and/or skipping PDCCH monitoring by the terminal on the secondary component carrier upon determining that the terminal initiates a random access process on the secondary component carrier. 4. The method according to paragraph 3, also comprising: determining the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the bandwidth portion (BWP) configured by the group of secondary component carriers or in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the BWP used by the terminal on the secondary component carrier. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined carrier is a primary component carrier and a secondary component carrier; and the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to perform: skipping PDCCH monitoring on both the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the secondary component carrier is determined in accordance with the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the primary component carrier. 7. The method according to paragraph 5, also comprising: determining the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information according to the BWP subcarrier spacing of the configured primary component carrier, or according to the BWP subcarrier spacing of the configured primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier, or according to the BWP subcarrier spacing used by the terminal on the primary component carrier. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates: do not skip PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier when determining that a random access process has been initiated on the primary component carrier; not skip monitoring the PDCCH on the primary component carrier when determining that the random access process has been initiated on the secondary component carrier; or do not skip monitoring the PDCCH on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier when determining that the random access process has been initiated on the secondary component carrier. 9. A method for skipping monitoring performed by the terminal and including: receiving physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring skip information sent by a base station, wherein the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates to the terminal the need to skip PDCCH monitoring on a predetermined carrier; and the predetermined carrier includes a secondary component carrier, wherein there is no skipping of PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier when the random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier and the random access response is monitored on the primary component carrier. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein receiving the PDCCH monitoring skip information sent by the base station includes: receiving on the primary component carrier the PDCCH monitoring skip information sent by the base station. 11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined carrier is a secondary component carrier, and the PDCCH monitoring skip information indicates: at least one secondary component carrier; and/or at least one group of secondary component carriers, where the group of secondary component carriers comprises a plurality of secondary component carriers in the same frequency range (FR). 12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising skipping PDCCH monitoring on the secondary component carrier in accordance with the indication of PDCCH monitoring skip information, upon determining that the random access process has been initiated on the secondary component carrier. 13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information is determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the band portion (BWP) configured by the group of secondary component carriers, or in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the BWP used by the terminal on the secondary component carrier. 14. The method of claim 9, wherein the predetermined carrier is a primary component carrier and a secondary component carrier; and the method further includes: skipping PDCCH monitoring on both the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier in accordance with the PDCCH monitoring skip information indication. 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the secondary component carrier is determined in accordance with the duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap on the primary component carrier. 16. The method according to claim 14, wherein the effective duration of the PDCCH monitoring gap information is determined in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the BWP configured on the primary component carrier, in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the BWP configured on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier, or in accordance with the subcarrier spacing of the BWP used by the terminal on the primary component carrier. 17. The method according to paragraph 9, further comprising: not skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier in accordance with the indication of PDCCH monitoring skip information when determining that the random access process has been initiated on the primary component carrier; not skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier in accordance with the indication of PDCCH monitoring skip information, when determining that the random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier; or not skipping PDCCH monitoring on the primary component carrier and the secondary component carrier in accordance with the indication of PDCCH monitoring skip information, when determining that the random access process is initiated on the secondary component carrier. 18. A communication device comprising: memory; and a processor connected to the memory and configured to implement the method according to any one of paragraphs 1-8 by executing computer-executable instructions stored in the memory. 19. A communication device comprising: memory; and a processor connected to the memory and configured to implement the method according to any one of paragraphs 9-17 by executing computer-executable instructions stored in the memory.