WO2024160143A1 - Communication method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application disclose a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal device receives configuration information sent by a network device, the configuration information being used for indicating that first downlink control information (DCI) and second DCI are simultaneously monitored on a candidate physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) comprised in a user-specific search space (USS) set, the first DCI being used for scheduling data channels of a plurality of cells, and the second DCI being used for scheduling a data channel of one cell; and the terminal device, according to the configuration information, simultaneously monitors the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH comprised in the USS set, the cell in which a candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI occupies a count resource is the same as the cell in which a candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupies a count resource. By employing the embodiments of the present application, the complexity of blind detection by a UE can be reduced, the flexibility of scheduling is improved, and the probability of PDCCH blocking is reduced.

Description

A communication method and device

This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on February 2, 2023, with application number 202310120366.1, and priority to the Chinese patent application with the invention name “A communication method and device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference in this application.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device.

Background Art

With the emergence of new services such as high-definition video, augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), wireless data traffic is growing rapidly. In order to meet the growing demand for wireless transmission, wireless communication technology needs to evolve further to improve the network capacity and transmission rate of wireless networks. In order to support future network capacity and transmission rate requirements, a larger transmission bandwidth is required. Carrier aggregation (CA) is a key technology to solve the problem of limited bandwidth of a single carrier. It aggregates two or more component carriers (CC) together to support a larger transmission bandwidth.

As of the new radio access technology (NR) Rel-17, based on the CA mechanism, if the base station schedules the physical downlink share channel (PDSCH) or physical uplink share channel (PUSCH) transmission of user equipment (UE) on multiple carriers at the same time, it needs to send multiple downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling, and one DCI is required for scheduling on each carrier. This type of DCI can be called legacy DCI. The 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) Rel-18 has established the use of a single DCI to schedule PDSCH or PUSCH transmission on multiple frequency bands or carriers, thereby reducing the control channel overhead and avoiding placing a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) on each carrier. However, since the scheduling relationship between the traditional DCI and the single DCI is not specified, the blind detection complexity of the UE is high.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and device, which can reduce the blind detection complexity of UE, improve scheduling flexibility, and reduce the PDCCH blocking probability.

In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including: a terminal device receives configuration information sent by a network device, the configuration information is used to indicate that a first downlink control information DCI and a second DCI are simultaneously monitored on a candidate physical downlink control channel PDCCH included in a user-specific search space USS set, the first DCI is used to schedule data channels of multiple cells, and the second DCI is used to schedule a data channel of one cell; according to the configuration information, the first DCI and the second DCI are simultaneously monitored on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set, and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI is the same as the cell in which the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupies counting resources.

The network equipment is configured to monitor both legacy DCI and single DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in a USS set. The UE can monitor both legacy DCI and single DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set. It is also stipulated that legacy DCI follows the counting method of single DCI in terms of BD/CCE counting and DCI size budget, which further constrains the scheduling method of legacy DCI, so that the cells occupied by legacy DCI and single DCI are the same, avoiding two counting methods for one USS and reducing the complexity of UE blind detection.

In one possible design, the cell in which the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupies counting resources is a reference cell. When the reference cell is a primary cell among multiple cells, the cell in which the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI occupies counting resources is the primary cell. By configuring the candidate PDCCH included in a USS set to monitor legacy DCI and single DCI simultaneously, the blind detection allocation of legacy DCI is flexibly adjusted to avoid having two counting methods for a USS set, thereby reducing the complexity of UE implementation.

In another possible design, the second DCI is only used for self-carrier scheduling. In the case where the counting resources occupied by the first DCI and the second DCI are both the primary cell, that is, only the resources of one cell are occupied. Through scheduling restrictions, the blind detection complexity is greatly reduced.

In another possible design, the terminal device selects a search space set to be monitored from the search space set configured on the primary cell according to the PDCCH mapping rule, wherein the search space set configured on the primary cell includes at least one of the following: a user-specific search space set for receiving the first DCI, a user-specific search space set for receiving the second DCI, and a type 3 common search space set for receiving DCI for scheduling multicast. Through the PDCCH mapping rule, the terminal device selects the candidate PDCCH configured by the network device. Screening is performed to select the number of candidate PDCCHs that need to be blindly detected within a range, thereby ensuring the feasibility of the terminal equipment.

In another possible design, the cell in which the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupies counting resources is a reference cell. When the reference cell is a secondary cell among multiple cells, the cell in which the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI occupies counting resources is the secondary cell. Since both the first DCI and the second DCI occupy the counting resources of the secondary cell, the scheduling of the first DCI and the second DCI in the primary cell does not occupy the counting resources of the primary cell, so the USS set does not participate in the PDCCH mapping operation of the primary cell, thereby avoiding the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set from being deleted. Without increasing the complexity of blind detection, fallback DCI and other DCI can obtain more blind detection positions, making PDCCH scheduling more flexible and reducing the probability of PDCCH blocking.

In another possible design, the terminal device sends indication information to the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate support for simultaneously monitoring the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set. Through the indication information, it is determined whether the terminal device is configured to simultaneously monitor the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in a USS set, thereby ensuring the validity of the configuration information.

In another possible design, the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy counting resources including at least one of the following: a blind detection BD count, a control channel element CCE count, and a DCI size budget count.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including: a network device sends configuration information to a terminal device, the configuration information being used to indicate simultaneous monitoring of a first downlink control information DCI and a second DCI on a candidate physical downlink control channel PDCCH included in a user-specific search space USS set, the first DCI being used to schedule data channels of multiple cells, and the second DCI being used to schedule a data channel of one cell; sending the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set, wherein the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI is the same as the cell in which the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupies counting resources.

The network equipment is configured to monitor both legacy DCI and single DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in a USS set. The UE can monitor both legacy DCI and single DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set. It is also stipulated that legacy DCI follows the counting method of single DCI in terms of BD/CCE counting and DCI size budget, which further constrains the scheduling method of legacy DCI, so that the cells occupied by legacy DCI and single DCI are the same, avoiding two counting methods for one USS and reducing the complexity of UE blind detection.

In another possible design, the cell in which the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupies counting resources is a reference cell. When the reference cell is a primary cell among multiple cells, the cell in which the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI occupies counting resources is the primary cell. By configuring the candidate PDCCH included in a USS set to monitor legacy DCI and single DCI simultaneously, the blind detection allocation of legacy DCI is flexibly adjusted to avoid having two counting methods for a USS set, thereby reducing the complexity of UE implementation.

In another possible design, the second DCI is only used for self-carrier scheduling. In the case where the counting resources occupied by the first DCI and the second DCI are both the primary cell, that is, only the resources of one cell are occupied. Through scheduling restrictions, the blind detection complexity is greatly reduced.

In another possible design, the cell in which the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupies counting resources is a reference cell. When the reference cell is a secondary cell among multiple cells, the cell in which the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI occupies counting resources is the secondary cell. Since both the first DCI and the second DCI occupy the counting resources of the secondary cell, the scheduling of the first DCI and the second DCI in the primary cell does not occupy the counting resources of the primary cell, so the USS set does not participate in the PDCCH mapping operation of the primary cell, thereby avoiding the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set from being deleted. Without increasing the complexity of blind detection, fallback DCI and other DCI can obtain more blind detection positions, making PDCCH scheduling more flexible and reducing the probability of PDCCH blocking.

In another possible design, the network device receives indication information sent by the terminal device, and the indication information is used to indicate support for simultaneously monitoring the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set. Through the indication information, it is determined whether to configure the terminal device to simultaneously monitor the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in a USS set, thereby ensuring the validity of the configuration information.

In another possible design, the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy counting resources including at least one of the following: a blind detection BD count, a control channel element CCE count, and a DCI size budget count.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including:

A receiving module, configured to receive configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the configuration information is used to indicate to simultaneously monitor first downlink control information DCI and second DCI on a candidate physical downlink control channel PDCCH included in a user-specific search space USS set, wherein the first DCI is used to schedule data channels of multiple cells, and the second DCI is used to schedule a data channel of one cell;

A processing module is used to simultaneously monitor the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set according to the configuration information, wherein the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy the same cell of counting resources.

In one possible design, the cell whose candidate PDCCH occupies counting resources corresponding to the first DCI is a reference cell. When the reference cell is a primary cell among multiple cells, the cell whose candidate PDCCH occupies counting resources corresponding to the second DCI is the primary cell.

In another possible design, the processing module is also used to select a search space set to be monitored from the search space set configured on the main cell according to the PDCCH mapping rule, wherein the search space set configured on the main cell includes at least one of the following: a user-specific search space set for receiving the first DCI, a user-specific search space set for receiving the second DCI, and a type 3 public search space set for receiving DCI for scheduled multicast.

In another possible design, the cell whose candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponds to the first DCI is a reference cell. When the reference cell is a secondary cell among multiple cells, the cell whose candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponds to the second DCI is the secondary cell.

In another possible design, the apparatus further includes: a sending module, configured to send indication information to the network device, wherein the indication information is used to indicate support for simultaneously monitoring the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set.

In another possible design, the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy counting resources including at least one of the following: a blind detection BD count, a control channel element CCE count, and a DCI size budget count.

The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device can refer to the method and beneficial effects described in the first aspect above, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including:

A sending module, configured to send configuration information to a terminal device, wherein the configuration information is used to indicate to simultaneously monitor first downlink control information DCI and second DCI on a candidate physical downlink control channel PDCCH included in a user-specific search space USS set, wherein the first DCI is used to schedule data channels of multiple cells, and the second DCI is used to schedule a data channel of one cell;

The sending module is further used to send the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set, wherein the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy the same cell of counting resources.

In one possible design, the cell whose candidate PDCCH occupies counting resources corresponding to the first DCI is a reference cell. When the reference cell is a primary cell among multiple cells, the cell whose candidate PDCCH occupies counting resources corresponding to the second DCI is the primary cell.

In another possible design, the cell whose candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponds to the first DCI is a reference cell. When the reference cell is a secondary cell among multiple cells, the cell whose candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponds to the second DCI is the secondary cell.

In another possible design, the device further includes:

A receiving module is used to receive indication information sent by the terminal device, where the indication information is used to indicate support for simultaneously monitoring the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set.

In another possible design, the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy counting resources including at least one of the following: a blind detection BD count, a control channel element CCE count, and a DCI size budget count.

The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device can refer to the method and beneficial effects described in the second aspect above, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

In the fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is configured to implement the method and functions performed by the terminal device in the first aspect above, and is implemented by hardware/software, and its hardware/software includes modules corresponding to the above functions.

In the sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is configured to implement the method and functions performed by the network device in the second aspect above, and is implemented by hardware/software, and its hardware/software includes modules corresponding to the above functions.

In the seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal device, or a device in a terminal device, or a device that can be used in combination with a terminal device. Among them, the communication device may also be a chip system. The communication device may execute the method described in the first aspect. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. The module may be software and/or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device may refer to the methods and beneficial effects described in the first aspect above, and the repetitive parts will not be repeated.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a network device, or a device in a network device, or a device that can be used in combination with a network device. The communication device may also be a chip system. The communication device may execute the method described in the second aspect. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. The module may be software and/or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device may refer to the methods and beneficial effects described in the second aspect above, and the repetitive parts will not be repeated.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor, and when the processor calls a computer program in a memory, the method described in any one of the first aspect and the second aspect is executed.

In the tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor and a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program; the processor being used to execute the computer program stored in the memory so that the communication device performs a method as described in any one of the first aspect and the second aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium is used to store instructions. When the instruction is executed, the method described in any one of the first aspect and the second aspect is implemented.

In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed, enables the method described in any one of the first and second aspects to be implemented.

In the thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes at least one terminal device and at least one network device, the terminal device is used to execute the steps in the above-mentioned first aspect, and the network device is used to execute the steps in the above-mentioned second aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the background technology, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present application or the background technology will be described below.

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a carrier scheduling method;

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of another carrier scheduling method;

FIG4 is a schematic diagram of non-overlapping CCEs;

FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a self-carrier scheduling method;

FIG6 is a schematic diagram of self-carrier scheduling and cross-carrier scheduling;

FIG7 is a schematic diagram of scheduling of a reference cell;

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of another scheduling of reference cells;

FIG9 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a scheduling method in which a reference cell is a primary cell;

FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a scheduling method in which a reference cell is a secondary cell;

FIG12 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments of the present application are described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

As shown in Figure 1, Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication system may include communication equipment, and communication equipment may use air interface resources for wireless communication. Among them, the communication equipment may include network equipment and terminal equipment. The air interface resources may include at least one of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, code resources and space resources. In the embodiment of the present application, at least one may also be described as one or more, and a plurality may be two, three, four or more, which is not limited in the present application.

The terminal device involved in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a terminal, which can be a device with wireless transceiver function, which can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted. It can also be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.). It can also be deployed in the air (for example, on airplanes, balloons, and satellites, etc.). The terminal device can be a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE includes a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, or a computing device with wireless communication function. Exemplarily, the UE can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or a computer with wireless transceiver function. The terminal device can also be a VR terminal device, an AR terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, and the like.

The network devices involved in the embodiments of the present application include access network devices, such as base stations (BS), which can be a device deployed in a wireless access network that can communicate wirelessly with a terminal. Among them, the base station may have multiple forms, such as a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay station, and an access point. Exemplarily, the base station involved in the embodiments of the present application may be a base station in 5G or an evolved base station (evolved Node B, eNB) in long-term evolution (LTE), wherein the base station in 5G can also be called a transmission reception point (TRP) or a 5G base station (next-generation Node B, gNB). In the embodiments of the present application, the device for realizing the function of the network device may be a network device; it may also be a device that can support the network device to realize the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the network device. In the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application, the device for realizing the function of the network device is a network device, and the network device is a base station as an example to describe the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application.

The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to wireless communication between communication devices. The wireless communication between communication devices may include: wireless communication between network devices and terminal devices, wireless communication between network devices and network devices, and wireless communication between terminal devices and terminal devices. Communication. In the embodiments of the present application, the term "wireless communication" may also be referred to as "communication", and the term "communication" may also be described as "data transmission", "information transmission" or "transmission".

Cell and carrier: An area of wireless coverage identified by a base station identification code or a global cell identification code.

Among them, a cell is an area where a base station provides wireless coverage. In NR, in non-carrier aggregation (CA) scenarios, the UE is generally connected to only one cell, which can be considered as the user's only serving cell. The carrier is a radio signal (also called electromagnetic wave) with a specific frequency, bandwidth, and format emitted by network equipment. It is used to carry the main body of information, so it is called "carrier" or "carrier frequency".

In a carrier aggregation scenario, a UE may be connected to multiple cells. The cell that initiates the initial access is called the primary cell (PCell), which is used by the UE to establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection with the network device. According to the transmission requirements of the UE, the network device can configure a secondary cell (SCell) for the UE to provide additional uplink or downlink transmission resources. Among them, the secondary cell can be configured through the RRC signaling of the primary cell, and can be flexibly activated/deactivated through the media access control control element (MAC CE) and/or downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

In this application, the meanings of "cell" and "carrier" are not distinguished.

Among the current sub-6GHz spectrum resources, large-bandwidth continuous spectrum resources are very scarce, that is, the bandwidth of a single carrier is limited. Carrier aggregation is a key technology to solve the problem of limited bandwidth of a single carrier. Carrier aggregation aggregates two or more component carriers (CCs) to support a larger transmission bandwidth. In the CA scenario, there can be multiple cells providing services to the UE, that is, the UE has multiple service cells. Among them, the multiple service cells of the UE include a primary cell and one or more secondary cells.

As of NR Rel-17, based on the existing CA mechanism, if the base station schedules PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions of UEs simultaneously on multiple carriers, multiple DCIs need to be sent for scheduling, and each carrier requires one DCI for scheduling. According to the carrier on which the DCI is sent, there are two methods: self-scheduling and cross-carrier scheduling. As shown in Figure 2, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a carrier scheduling method. When the self-carrier scheduling method is used, the DCI that schedules the transmission of PDSCH or PUSCH on one carrier is also sent on the downlink carrier corresponding to the carrier or the uplink carrier. It can be understood that the DCI and the data scheduled by the DCI are on the same carrier. When the cross-carrier scheduling method is used, the DCI that schedules the transmission of PDSCH or PUSCH on one carrier can be sent on another carrier or on other downlink carriers other than the downlink carrier corresponding to the uplink carrier, thereby achieving the effect that the DCI is sent on only one carrier.

It can be noted that, regardless of self-carrier scheduling or cross-carrier scheduling, the number of DCIs required is proportional to the number of carriers used simultaneously. Compared with continuous broadband carriers, which use the same bandwidth to transmit data, discrete multi-carriers based on the existing CA mechanism require more control channel resources to carry multiple DCIs. For the multi-DCI scheduling method, the control channel overhead is increased. In addition, based on the existing CA mechanism, for multi-carrier transmission using multiple DCI schedules, the UE needs to blindly detect multiple DCIs, and the UE's blind detection budget will increase with the increase in the number of carriers. Compared with continuous broadband carriers with the same transmission bandwidth, the complexity of UE blind detection is increased.

3GPP Rel-18 has established the use of a single DCI (Single DCI) to schedule PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions on multiple frequency bands or carriers, thereby reducing the overhead of the control channel and avoiding the placement of PDCCH on each carrier. As shown in Figure 3, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of another carrier scheduling method. Compared with multiple DCI scheduling under the existing CA mechanism, the use of Single DCI in discrete multi-carriers can significantly reduce the overhead of the control channel, release more downlink resources for PDSCH or PUSCH transmission, and improve downlink capacity. In particular, considering that a lot of information contained in the DCI of multiple carriers is redundant and consistent, such as cyclic redundancy check (CRC), etc. These overheads are particularly evident in small bandwidth scenarios in frequency division duplexing (FDD) mode.

The single DCI is used to schedule data channels of one or more cells. The single DCI format used to schedule uplink cell data channels can be DCI format 0_X or DCI format 0_5; the single DCI format used to schedule downlink cell data channels can be DCI format 1_X or DCI format 1_5. The original intention of the single DCI design is to schedule data on multiple uplink carriers through one uplink DCI, and to schedule data on multiple downlink carriers through one downlink DCI. But in fact, single DCI also includes the function of legacy DCI to schedule data on one carrier, that is, single DCI can schedule data channels of one cell as well as data channels of multiple cells. Therefore, in order to distinguish it from legacy DCI, regardless of whether single DCI schedules data of multiple cells at the same time or schedules data of one cell in a real scheduling, it is understood here that single DCI is used to schedule data of multiple cells.

The following is an explanation of the main terms involved in this application:

1. Blind detection (BD) and BD limit

The UE needs to be scheduled by the gNB for sending uplink data and receiving downlink data. The scheduling information is sent through the DCI carried by the PDCCH channel. The UE does not know the exact location of the PDCCH carrying the scheduling information. Therefore, the UE performs blind detection (BD) in the search space set (SS set) within the control-resource set (CORESET).

The network device can configure the number of candidate PDCCHs. For example, the network device can configure multiple candidate PDCCHs for the UE. Not all of the multiple candidate PDCCHs carry the DCI that the UE expects to receive, that is, not all of the candidate PDCCHs carry the DCI sent to the UE. Therefore, the UE needs to attempt to decode each candidate PDCCH in the search space set to determine whether these candidate PDCCHs carry the DCI that it expects to receive. Among them, the behavior of the UE attempting to decode each candidate PDCCH in one or more search space sets according to the corresponding configuration information (such as DCI format, etc.) can be called blind detection (abbreviated as: blind detection). Monitoring DCI on a candidate PDCCH can be understood as performing blind detection on a candidate PDCCH.

For example, the CRC of the DCI that the UE expects to receive is masked by the cell-radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI). The UE can perform a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) on each candidate PDCCH in the search space set according to the C-RNTI. If the CRC succeeds, the UE determines that the DCI that it expects to receive is decoded on the candidate PDCCH. Otherwise, the UE determines that the DCI that it expects to receive is not decoded on the candidate PDCCH.

The blind detection upper limit may refer to the maximum number of candidate PDCCHs supported by the UE for monitoring in a time slot or a time span. For example, the UE will not monitor (or will not blindly detect) candidate PDCCHs exceeding the maximum number of candidate PDCCHs monitored. The blind detection upper limit may be predefined by the protocol. The non-overlapping CCE upper limit may be related to information such as the subcarrier spacing and UE capabilities. For example, for a cell with a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, the blind detection upper limit corresponding to 1 time slot is 44.

2. Control channel element (CCE), non-overlapping CCE and non-overlapping CCE limit

CCE is the smallest unit of resource allocation for control information, that is, resource allocation for control information is based on CCE as the smallest unit. One CCE is equal to six resource element groups (REGs), and one REG is defined as one physical resource block (PRB) on one OFDM symbol.

During the transmission process, DCI will be affected by the wireless channel environment, which greatly affects the transmission performance. Therefore, before blind detection, the UE needs to perform channel estimation on the pilot inserted in the PDCCH to offset the impact of the wireless channel on the transmission signal and try to accurately restore the transmission signal of the transmitter at the receiving end. The pilot sequence is located on the pattern of the #1, #5 and #9 RE on 1 RB, and the PDCCH is allocated in CCE as the minimum unit, so the number of times the UE performs PDCCH channel estimation is counted in units of CCE. For multiple overlapping CCEs, the UE only needs to perform one PDCCH channel estimation, while for multiple non-overlapping CCEs, the UE needs to perform multiple PDCCH channel estimations.

Exemplarily, the counting rule of non-overlapping CCE is: the CCE count corresponding to one configured candidate PDCCH is one non-overlapping CCE; or, the CCE count corresponding to multiple or any two configured candidate PDCCHs overlapping in the time-frequency resource position is multiple or two non-overlapping CCEs, and the multiple configured candidate PDCCHs overlapping in the time-frequency resource position need to meet at least one of the two conditions. The two conditions are: the CCEs corresponding to multiple configured candidate PDCCHs overlapping in the time-frequency resource position belong to different CORESETs. For example, it can be determined whether they belong to different CORESETs according to the index of CORESET; the reception start symbol of each candidate PDCCH in multiple configured candidate PDCCHs overlapping in the time-frequency resource position is different. For example, PDCCH#1 belongs to CORESET#1, and the aggregation level (aggregation level, AL) of PDCCH#1 is 2, that is, PDCCH#1 occupies 2 CCEs, and candidate PDCCH#2 belongs to CORESET#2, and the AL of PDCCH#2 is also 2, that is, PDCCH#2 also occupies 2 CCEs. Since PDCCH#1 and PDCCH#2 belong to different CORESETs, even if the time-frequency resource positions of PDCCH#1 and PDCCH#2 are the same, the four CCEs corresponding to PDCCH#1 and PDCCH#2 are non-overlapping CCEs, that is, a total of four non-overlapping CCEs.

It is worth noting that the number of non-overlapping CCEs in a search space set can be understood as the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to candidate PDCCHs for monitoring obtained by a search space set according to a non-overlapping CCE counting rule.

As shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of non-overlapping CCEs. CCE 0 belongs to CORESET#0, and the reception start symbol of the PDCCH corresponding to CCE 0 is OFDM symbol #0. Even if CCE 0 and CCE 1 belong to the same CORESET, and the reception start symbol of the PDCCH corresponding to CCE 0 and CCE 1 is the same, since the two CCEs do not overlap in time-frequency resources, CCE 0 and CCE 1 are two non-overlapping CCEs. CCE 0 and CCE 2 do not overlap in time-frequency resources, and there is no need to judge the two conditions, so CCE 0 and CCE 2 are two non-overlapping CCEs. Similarly, even if CCE 1 and CCE 2 overlap in time-frequency resources, but CCE 1 belongs to CORESET#0 and CCE 2 belongs to CORESET#1, CCE 1 and CCE 2 are also two non-overlapping CCEs. CCE 0 and CCE 3 do not overlap in time-frequency resources, so there is no need to judge the two conditions. CCE 0 and CCE 3 are two non-overlapping CCEs. Similarly, CCE 1 and CCE 3 are also two non-overlapping CCEs, and CCE 2 and CCE 3 are also two non-overlapping CCEs. Finally, it can be determined that Figure 4 includes 4 non-overlapping CCEs.

The non-overlapping CCE upper limit may refer to the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs supported by the UE in a time slot or a time span. For example, the UE will not monitor (or will not blindly detect) candidate PDCCHs exceeding the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs. Among them, the non-overlapping CCE upper limit may be predefined by the protocol. The non-overlapping CCE upper limit may be related to information such as the subcarrier spacing and UE capabilities. For example, for a cell with a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, the non-overlapping CCE upper limit corresponding to 1 time slot is 56.

3. DCI format

NR currently has 19 DCI formats, of which DCI format 0_0/0_1/1_0/1_1/0_2/1_2 is the DCI used for uplink and downlink scheduling. As shown in Table 1, in the DCI used for uplink and downlink scheduling, the first number represents uplink and downlink, "0" represents uplink, and "1" represents downlink. The second number "0" can represent fallback, "1" can represent non-fallback, or "2" represents load compression. For example, DCI format 1_0 represents the fallback DCI format for scheduling downlink data PDSCH reception, DCI format 1_1 represents the non-fallback DCI format for scheduling downlink data PDSCH reception, and DCI format 0_2 represents the compressed DCI format for scheduling uplink data PDSCH transmission. The characteristic of DCI format 0_0/1_0 is that most of the domain information is not affected by the high-level parameter configuration, and the bit size of the domain information is fixed. Therefore, compared with other DCI formats, the payload bits of DCI format 0_0/1_0 are relatively stable, and the communication link can be kept uninterrupted during the period of RRC parameter reconfiguration. It can be understood that DCI format 0_0/1_0 supports basic NR features for better robustness. The characteristic of DCI format 0_1/1_1 is that the size of most of the domain information of DCI will be affected by the configuration of high-level parameters (such as RRC parameters) related to different features. For example, DCI can schedule downlink multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) dual codeword transmission to improve data transmission efficiency, or DCI can schedule CBG-level transmission to improve the hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) codebook feedback and data retransmission efficiency. It can be understood that DCI format 0_1/1_1 is compatible with more NR features for flexibility. The characteristic of DCI format 0_2/1_2 is that the size of most field information of DCI can be directly configured through high-level parameters (such as RRC parameters), which makes the overall DCI load size relatively small and the transmission bit rate relatively low, thereby improving transmission reliability and can be used in high-reliability communication scenarios.

Table 1

In addition to the above DCI formats, the remaining DCI formats are DCIs for other purposes, such as DCI format 2_0 for indicating the time slot format of a group of UEs, DCI format 2_1 for notifying a group of UEs that there is no signal transmission on the indicated PRB and OFDM symbols, DCI format 3_0 for NR sidelink scheduling in one cell, DCI format 3_1 for LTE sidelink scheduling in one cell, DCI format 4_0 for broadcast PDSCH scheduling, DCI formats 4_1 and 4_2 for multicast scheduling, etc. The DCI length alignment operation in this application does not involve these DCI formats and will not be described in detail.

4. DCI size budget

Considering the complexity of UE implementation, NR defines a DCI length budget of "3+1" for each cell, that is, the UE monitors at most 3 DCIs scrambled by C-RNTIs of different lengths in one cell, and the total number of DCIs of different lengths is at most 4. Therefore, it can be inferred that other RNTIs except unicast scheduled DCIs (the RNTI scrambled by CRC is C-RNTI, or CS-RNTI, or MCS-C-RNTI) occupy at least 1 DCI size budget. The PDCCH configuration information sent by the base station to the UE needs to meet both conditions of "3+1" after the DCI length alignment rule (DCI size alignment), otherwise the UE will consider this PDCCH configuration to be an invalid configuration, and no requirements are made for the UE behavior protocol. For example, the UE can monitor one or some DCI formats in the PDCCH configuration that are identified as invalid, or not monitor the PDCCH at all.

Note: Before R18, the DCI size budget is for the scheduled cell. As shown in Figure 5, Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the self-carrier scheduling method. CC1 self-carrier schedules CC1, then there is a "3+1" DCI length margin for CC1, and all DCI configured on CC1 need to meet the "3+1" constraint. As shown in Figure 6, Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of self-carrier scheduling and cross-carrier scheduling. CC1 self-carrier schedules CC1, and CC1 cross-carrier schedules CC2. There are "3+1" constraints for CC1 and CC2 respectively. Only the DCI scheduled by CC1 from the self-carrier will occupy the "3+1" margin on CC1, and will not occupy the "3+1" margin on CC2; the DCI scheduled by CC2 on CC1 across carriers will occupy the "3+1" margin of CC2, and will not occupy the "3+1" margin of CC1.

The current discussion in Rel-18 has basically reached a conclusion: in the scenario supporting single DCI, the estimated DCI length corresponding to each scheduled cell remains unchanged, that is, "3+1".

5. Reference Community

The RAN1#111 meeting defined single DCI BD/CCE counting cells and DCI size counting cells as reference cells. The definition of reference cells is divided into the following two scenarios:

(1) Primary scheduling cell. If the primary scheduling cell is included in the cell set, and the user-specific search space (UE-specific Search Space, USS) set that monitors single DCI is only configured on the primary scheduling cell. The cell set is a set of cells that can be scheduled by single DCI. As shown in Figure 7, Figure 7 is a scheduling diagram of a reference cell. The cell set includes PCell (cell index is 0), SCell#1 (secondary cell 1, cell index is 1) and SCell#2 (secondary cell 2, cell index is 2). The base station can configure the cell set to which the UE belongs to be associated with USS#1 through high-level parameters (such as RRC parameters). The single DCI monitored by the UE in USS#1 can schedule any combination of cells included in the cell set. For example, PCell, SCell#1 and SCell#2 can be scheduled at the same time, or SCell#1 and SCell#2 can be scheduled at the same time. It can also be only one cell in the cell set, for example, only SCell#2 is scheduled. The cell set may be a co-scheduled cell set, the cells included in the set may be simultaneously scheduled by one DCI, and any combination of the cells included in the set may also be simultaneously scheduled by one DCI. Cells from different cell sets may not be simultaneously scheduled by one DCI.

(2) A cell in the cell set. If, in addition to the main scheduling cell, there is another cell in the cell set that is configured with a USS for monitoring single DCI, the index of this USS is the same as the index of the USS configured for monitoring single DCI on the main scheduling cell. The specific cell that configures this USS depends on the gNB implementation. As shown in Figure 8, Figure 8 is a scheduling diagram of another reference cell. The base station may select a cell with sufficient PDCCH resources as a reference cell and configure USS on this cell to implicitly notify the UE that the number of BD/CCEs corresponding to the single DCI monitored in this USS on the main scheduling cell is counted to the reference cell, and the size budget of the single DCI is also counted to the reference cell. The cell with sufficient PDCCH resources can be understood as a cell with less occupied DCI size margin 3+1, and there is still a lot left. The number of BD/CCEs corresponding to the DCI scheduled for this cell is far from reaching the upper limit of the UE blind detection capability of the cell.

It should be noted that which cell in the co-scheduled cell set is the reference cell is determined by the network side. If the network side believes that there is sufficient BD/CCE and DCI size budget on a SCell, it will configure the USS to the SCell to indicate to the UE the BD/CCE and DCI size budget of the USS to be allocated to or occupy the SCell.

6. PDCCH mapping operation

In LTE, the PDCCH configured by the base station for the UE does not exceed the blind detection capability of the UE. In NR, in order to increase the scheduling flexibility of the base station, the base station may configure a search space set that exceeds the blind detection capability of the UE for the UE in the primary cell, namely PDCCH overbooking. In order not to exceed the blind detection capability of the UE, NR introduces the PDCCH mapping rule. In the primary cell, the UE selects the search space set to be monitored from the PDCCH configuration sent by the base station according to the PDCCH mapping rule. Among them, the selected search space set to be monitored will not exceed the blind detection capability of the UE. The specific information of the PDCCH mapping rule is in Chapter 10.1 of the communication protocol 38.213.

The existing protocol does not specify whether it is allowed to monitor single DCI and legacy DCI simultaneously on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS. And if it is allowed to monitor single DCI and legacy DCI simultaneously on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS, how to define the counting rules of which cell the BD/CCE of this USS is counted to and which cell's DCI size budget is occupied by the load size of the DCI corresponding to this USS.

In order to solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application provide the following solutions.

As shown in Figure 9, Figure 9 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method mainly includes the following steps:

S901, the terminal device receives configuration information sent by the network device, the configuration information is used to indicate to simultaneously monitor the first downlink control information DCI and the second DCI on a candidate physical downlink control channel PDCCH included in a user-specific search space USS set, the first DCI is used to schedule data channels of multiple cells, and the second DCI is used to schedule a data channel of one cell.

The first DCI may be a single DCI, and the second DCI may be a legacy DCI. The first DCI is used to schedule multiple uplink carrier units or multiple downlink carrier units, and the second DCI is used to schedule one uplink carrier unit or one downlink carrier unit. When the legacy DCI is used for uplink and downlink scheduling, the corresponding DCI format (DCI format) includes at least one of the following: DCI format 0_0, DCI format 1_0, DCI format 0_1, DCI format 1_1, DCI format 0_2, and DCI format 1_2. The format of a single DCI includes a DCI format for scheduling multiple uplink carrier units and a DCI format for scheduling multiple downlink carrier units. For example, DCI format 0_X represents a DCI format for scheduling multiple uplink carrier units; DCI format 1_X represents a DCI format for scheduling multiple downlink carrier units. The value of X may be any number different from the second number in the DCI format of the legacy DCI. For example, X may be 5, DCI format 0_X may be replaced by DCI format 0_5, and DCI format 0_X may be replaced by DCI format 1_5.

Optionally, before the network device sends configuration information to the terminal device, it may receive indication information from the terminal device, the indication information being used to indicate support for simultaneously monitoring the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set. The network device may determine, based on the indication information, whether to configure the terminal device to simultaneously monitor the first downlink control information DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in a USS set. Optionally, the indication information may also be used to indicate that simultaneously monitoring the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set is not supported, and the network device may determine, based on the indication information, not to configure the terminal device to simultaneously monitor the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in a USS set. The indication information may be indication information of the terminal device capability.

S902: The terminal device monitors the first DCI and the second DCI simultaneously on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set according to the configuration information, and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy the same cell of counting resources.

Among them, the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy counting resources including at least one of the following: the count of blind detection BD, the count of CCE and the count of DCI size budget. The count of blind detection BD can indicate the count of the terminal device attempting to decode each candidate PDCCH in the search space set to determine whether the candidate PDCCH carries the DCI it expects to receive. The count of CCE can indicate the number of times the terminal device performs PDCCH channel estimation in units of CCE. The count of DCI size budget indicates the count of the terminal device monitoring C-RNTI-scrambled DCI of different lengths and/or the count of DCI of different lengths on a cell.

In one implementation, the cell of candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the first DCI is a reference cell, and when the reference cell is a primary cell among multiple cells, the cell of candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the second DCI is the primary cell. The multiple cells may belong to the same co-scheduled cell or different co-scheduled cells, or the multiple cells may belong to the same co-scheduled cell set or different co-scheduled cell sets.

Optionally, the second DCI is only used for self-carrier scheduling. In the case where the counting resources occupied by the first DCI and the second DCI are both primary cells, that is, only resources of one cell are occupied. By introducing scheduling restrictions, the complexity of blind detection is greatly reduced.

Optionally, the terminal device may select a search space set to be monitored from the search space set configured on the primary cell according to the PDCCH mapping rule, wherein the search space set configured on the primary cell includes at least one of the following: a user-specific search space set for receiving the first DCI, a user-specific search space set for receiving the second DCI, and a type 3 public search space set for receiving DCI for scheduling multicast. That is, the search space set configured on the primary cell participates in the PDCCH mapping operation. Among them, the format of the DCI for scheduling multicast may include DCI format 4_1 and DCI format 4_2. Through the PDCCH mapping rule, the terminal device screens the candidate PDCCHs configured by the network device, and screens the number of candidate PDCCHs that need to be blindly detected into a range, thereby ensuring the feasibility of the terminal device.

For example, as shown in Figure 10, Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a scheduling method in which a reference cell is a primary cell. The first DCI is a single DCI, and the second DCI is a traditional DCI. The co-scheduled cell set includes a primary cell, secondary cell 1, and secondary cell 2. A single DCI is used to schedule the primary cell (PCell), secondary cell #1 (SCell#1), and secondary cell #2 (SCell#2). Traditional DCI is used to schedule the primary cell. Since the primary cell is a reference cell, a single DCI occupies the count of blind detection BD, the count of CCE, and the count of DCI size budget of the primary cell. The traditional DCI occupies the same cell of counting resources as a single DCI, and also occupies the count of blind detection BD, the count of CCE, and the count of DCI size budget of the primary cell.

In another implementation, the cell of the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resource corresponding to the first DCI is a reference cell, and when the reference cell is a secondary cell among multiple cells, the cell of the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resource corresponding to the second DCI is the secondary cell. The multiple cells may belong to the same co-scheduled cell or different co-scheduled cells, or the multiple cells may belong to the same co-scheduled cell set or different co-scheduled cell sets.

It should be noted that the network device can select a secondary cell with sufficient PDCCH resources as a reference cell, configure USS on the secondary cell, and instruct the terminal device to count the BD/CCE and DCI size budget corresponding to a single DCI monitored in the USS on the primary cell to the secondary cell. Among them, the index (index) of the USS configured in the secondary cell to monitor a single DCI is the same as the index of the USS configured on the primary cell to monitor a single DCI, and the configuration parameters of the USS configured on the secondary cell are not configured except for the parameter used to indicate the number of candidate PDCCHs (nrofCandidates) of an aggregation level.

It should be noted that since both the first DCI and the second DCI occupy the counting resources of the secondary cell, the first DCI and the second DCI do not occupy the counting resources of the primary cell in the primary cell, so the USS set does not participate in the PDCCH mapping operation of the primary cell, thereby avoiding the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set from being deleted. Without increasing the complexity of blind detection, fallback DCI and other DCI (2_x, 4_x) can obtain more blind detection positions, making PDCCH scheduling more flexible and reducing the probability of PDCCH blocking.

For example, as shown in FIG. 11, FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a scheduling method in which the reference cell is a secondary cell. The first DCI is a single DCI, and the second DCI is a traditional DCI. The single DCI is used to schedule the primary cell (PCell), secondary cell #1 (SCell #1), and secondary cell #2 (SCell #2). The traditional DCI is used to schedule the primary cell. Since secondary cell #1 is a reference cell, the single DCI occupies the count of the blind detection BD of the secondary cell #1, the CCE The conventional DCI occupies the same counting resource as the single DCI cell, and also occupies the blind detection BD count, CCE count and DCI size budget count of the secondary cell #1.

Optionally, the second DCI can be used for self-carrier scheduling, that is, the DCI for scheduling the transmission of PDSCH or PUSCH on one carrier is also sent on the carrier. For example, the DCI sent on the primary cell is used to schedule the transmission of PDSCH or PUSCH on the primary cell. The second DCI can also be used for cross-carrier scheduling, and the DCI for scheduling the transmission of PDSCH or PUSCH on one carrier can be sent on another carrier. For example, the DCI sent on the primary cell is used to schedule the transmission of PDSCH or PUSCH on the secondary cell #1.

The second DCI in Figures 10 and 11 above are both used for self-carrier scheduling. In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also use the second DCI for cross-carrier scheduling of any one of multiple cells according to the cell scheduling relationship configured by the RRC parameters. When the second DCI is used for cross-carrier scheduling, the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI is the same as the cell in which the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupies counting resources. Specifically, if the reference cell is a primary cell among multiple cells, the cell in which the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI occupies counting resources is the primary cell, and the search space set configured on the primary cell participates in the PDCCH mapping operation. If the reference cell is a secondary cell among multiple cells, the cell in which the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI occupies counting resources is the secondary cell. The USS set does not participate in the PDCCH mapping operation of the primary cell.

In the embodiment of the present application, the network device monitors legacy DCI and single DCI simultaneously on the candidate PDCCH included in a USS set by configuration. The UE can monitor legacy DCI and single DCI simultaneously on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set. It is also stipulated that legacy DCI follows the counting method of single DCI in terms of BD/CCE counting and DCI size budget, thereby constraining the scheduling method of legacy DCI, so that the cells occupied by legacy DCI and single DCI are the same, avoiding two counting methods for one USS, and reducing the complexity of UE blind detection.

As shown in Figure 12, Figure 12 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method mainly includes the following steps:

S1201, the terminal device receives configuration information sent by the network device, the configuration information is used to indicate monitoring of a first DCI on a candidate PDCCH included in a first USS set, and monitoring of a second DCI on a candidate PDCCH included in a second USS set, the first DCI being used to schedule data channels of multiple cells, and the second DCI being used to schedule a data channel of one cell.

The index of the first USS set is different from the index of the second USS set. For a detailed description of the first DCI and the second DCI, reference may be made to the first DCI and the second DCI in the embodiment shown in FIG9 .

S1202: The terminal device monitors the first DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the first USS set and monitors the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the second USS set according to the configuration information.

Specifically, on the primary cell or the secondary cell, the first DCI and the second DCI cannot be configured in the same USS set.

Optionally, when the reference cell is a primary cell among multiple cells, the first DCI and the second DCI can be configured in the same USS set, that is, the first DCI and the second DCI can be monitored simultaneously on the candidate PDCCH included in one USS set, and the second DCI occupies the same cell of counting resources as the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI. When the reference cell is a secondary cell among multiple cells, the first DCI and the second DCI cannot be configured in the same USS set, that is, the first DCI is monitored on the candidate PDCCH included in the first USS set, and the second DCI is monitored on the candidate PDCCH included in the second USS set. It can be understood that the UE does not expect (UE does not expect or UE is not expected) to be configured to monitor the first DCI and the second DCI simultaneously in the same USS, or the UE does not expect to be configured to include the first DCI and the second DCI in one USS at the same time. If the UE finds that at least one USS includes both the first DCI and the second DCI according to the configuration information sent by the network device, or is configured to monitor the first DCI and the second DCI in one USS at the same time, the configuration information is determined to be incorrect configuration information. The terminal device may further operate to ignore the configuration, or not process, or not monitor the PDCCH, or not decode, etc.

In the embodiment of the present application, the network device monitors legacy DCI and single DCI on candidate PDCCHs included in different USS sets by configuration. The UE can monitor legacy DCI and single DCI on candidate PDCCHs included in different USS sets. The implementation is simple and the communication efficiency is improved.

It can be understood that in the above-mentioned method embodiments, the methods and operations implemented by the terminal device can also be implemented by components that can be used for the terminal device (such as chips or circuits), and the methods and operations implemented by the network device can also be implemented by components that can be used for the network device (such as chips or circuits).

The embodiments of the present application can divide the functional modules of the terminal device or network device according to the above method examples. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. The following uses the corresponding modules to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device. The functional division is explained by taking each functional module as an example.

The method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above in conjunction with Figures 9 and 12. The communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 13 and 14. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, the content not described in detail can be referred to the method embodiment above, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

Please refer to Figure 13, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may include a receiving module 1301, a processing module 1302 and a sending module 1303. The receiving module 1301 and the sending module 1303 can communicate with the outside, and the processing module 1302 is used to perform processing, such as performing PDCCH mapping operations. The receiving module 1301 and the sending module 1303 can also be referred to as a communication interface, a transceiver unit or a transceiver module. The receiving module 1301 and the sending module 1303 can be used to perform the actions performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment.

In one possible design, the communication device may implement the steps or processes executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment, for example, it may be a terminal device, or a chip or circuit configured in the terminal device. The receiving module 1301 and the sending module 1303 are used to perform the receiving and sending related operations on the terminal device side in the above method embodiment, and the processing module 1302 is used to perform the processing related operations of the terminal device in the above method embodiment.

A receiving module 1301 is configured to receive configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the configuration information is used to indicate that first downlink control information DCI and second DCI are monitored simultaneously on a candidate physical downlink control channel PDCCH included in a user-specific search space USS set, wherein the first DCI is used to schedule data channels of multiple cells, and the second DCI is used to schedule a data channel of one cell;

The processing module 1302 is used to simultaneously monitor the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set according to the configuration information, wherein the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy the same cell of counting resources.

Optionally, the cell whose candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponds to the first DCI is a reference cell. When the reference cell is a primary cell among multiple cells, the cell whose candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponds to the second DCI is the primary cell.

Optionally, the processing module 1302 is also used to select a search space set to be monitored from the search space set configured on the main cell according to the PDCCH mapping rule, wherein the search space set configured on the main cell includes at least one of the following: a user-specific search space set for receiving the first DCI, a user-specific search space set for receiving the second DCI, and a type 3 common search space set for receiving DCI for scheduled multicast.

Optionally, the cell of the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the first DCI is a reference cell. When the reference cell is a secondary cell among multiple cells, the cell of the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the second DCI is the secondary cell.

Optionally, the sending module 1303 is used to send indication information to the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate support for simultaneously monitoring the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set.

Optionally, the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy counting resources including at least one of the following: a blind detection BD count, a control channel element CCE count and a DCI size budget count.

It should be noted that the implementation of each module can also correspond to the corresponding description of the method embodiment shown in Figures 9 and 12, and execute the methods and functions executed by the terminal device in the above embodiments.

Please refer to Figure 14, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may include a receiving module 1401 and a sending module 1402, and the receiving module 1401 and the sending module 1402 may communicate with the outside. The receiving module 1401 and the sending module 1402 may also be referred to as a communication interface, a transceiver module, or a transceiver unit. The receiving module 1401 and the sending module 1402 may be used to perform the actions performed by the network device in the above method embodiment.

In one possible design, the communication device can implement the steps or processes executed by the network device in the above method embodiment, for example, it can be a network device, or a chip or circuit configured in the network device. The receiving module 1401 and the sending module 1402 are used to perform the sending and receiving related operations on the network device side in the above method embodiment.

A sending module 1402 is configured to send configuration information to a terminal device, where the configuration information is used to indicate to simultaneously monitor first downlink control information DCI and second DCI on a candidate physical downlink control channel PDCCH included in a user-specific search space USS set, where the first DCI is used to schedule data channels of multiple cells, and the second DCI is used to schedule a data channel of one cell;

The sending module 1402 is further configured to send the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set, wherein the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy the same cell of counting resources.

Optionally, the cell whose candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponds to the first DCI is a reference cell. When the reference cell is a primary cell among multiple cells, the cell whose candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponds to the second DCI is the primary cell.

Optionally, the cell of the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resource corresponding to the first DCI is a reference cell. When the reference cell is multiple When the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI occupies counting resources, the secondary cell is the secondary cell.

Optionally, the receiving module 1401 is used to receive indication information sent by the terminal device, where the indication information is used to indicate support for simultaneously monitoring the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set.

Optionally, the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy counting resources including at least one of the following: a blind detection BD count, a control channel element CCE count and a DCI size budget count.

It should be noted that the implementation of each module may also correspond to the corresponding description of the method embodiments shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 12 , and execute the methods and functions executed by the network devices in the above embodiments.

Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device can be applied to the system shown in Fig. 1 to perform the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiment, or to implement the steps or processes performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment.

As shown in FIG15 , the terminal device includes a processor 1501 and a transceiver 1502. Optionally, the terminal device also includes a memory 1503. The processor 1501, the transceiver 1502 and the memory 1503 can communicate with each other through an internal connection path to transmit control and/or data signals. The memory 1503 is used to store a computer program, and the processor 1501 is used to call and run the computer program from the memory 1503 to control the transceiver 1502 to send and receive signals. Optionally, the terminal device may also include an antenna for sending the uplink data or uplink control signaling output by the transceiver 1502 through a wireless signal.

The processor 1501 and the memory 1503 may be combined into a processing device, and the processor 1501 is used to execute the program code stored in the memory 1503 to implement the above functions. In specific implementation, the memory 1503 may also be integrated into the processor 1501, or independent of the processor 1501. The processor 1501 may correspond to the processing module in FIG13.

The transceiver 1502 may correspond to the receiving module and the sending module in FIG13 , and may also be referred to as a transceiver unit or a transceiver module. The transceiver 1502 may include a receiver (or receiver, receiving circuit) and a transmitter (or transmitter, transmitting circuit). The receiver is used to receive signals, and the transmitter is used to transmit signals.

It should be understood that the terminal device shown in FIG15 can implement various processes involving the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in FIG9 and FIG12. The operations and/or functions of each module in the terminal device are respectively to implement the corresponding processes in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description in the above method embodiments. To avoid repetition, the detailed description is appropriately omitted here.

The processor 1501 can be used to execute the actions implemented by the terminal device in the previous method embodiment, and the transceiver 1502 can be used to execute the actions of the terminal device sending to or receiving from the network device in the previous method embodiment. Please refer to the description in the previous method embodiment for details, which will not be repeated here.

Among them, the processor 1501 can be a central processing unit, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute various exemplary logic blocks, modules and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of this application. The processor 1501 can also be a combination that implements a computing function, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, and the like. The communication bus 1504 can be a peripheral component interconnection standard PCI bus or an extended industrial standard structure EISA bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one thick line is used in Figure 15, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus. The communication bus 1504 is used to realize the connection communication between these components. Among them, in the embodiment of the present application, the transceiver 1502 is used to communicate signaling or data with other node devices. The memory 1503 may include a volatile memory, such as a nonvolatile random access memory (NVRAM), a phase change RAM (PRAM), a magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), etc., and may also include a nonvolatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory device, such as a NOR flash memory or a NAND flash memory, a semiconductor device, such as a solid state disk (SSD), etc. The memory 1503 may optionally be at least one storage device located away from the aforementioned processor 1501. The memory 1503 may optionally store a set of computer program codes or configuration information. Optionally, the processor 1501 may also execute the program stored in the memory 1503. The processor can cooperate with the memory and the transceiver to execute any one of the methods and functions of the terminal device in the above-mentioned application embodiments.

Figure 16 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The network device can be applied to the system shown in Figure 1 to perform the functions of the network device in the above method embodiment, or to implement the steps or processes performed by the network device in the above method embodiment.

As shown in FIG16 , the network device includes a processor 1601 and a transceiver 1602. Optionally, the network device also includes a memory 1603. The processor 1601, the transceiver 1602 and the memory 1603 can communicate with each other through an internal connection path to transmit control and/or data signals, the memory 1603 is used to store a computer program, and the processor 1601 is used to call and run the computer program from the memory 1603 to control the transceiver 1602 to send and receive signals. Optionally, the network device may also include an antenna for sending the uplink data or uplink control signaling output by the transceiver 1602 through a wireless signal.

The processor 1601 and the memory 1603 may be combined into a processing device, and the processor 1601 is used to execute the program code stored in the memory 1603 to implement the above functions. In specific implementation, the memory 1603 may also be integrated into the processor 1601, or independent of the processor 1601.

The transceiver 1602 may correspond to the receiving module and the sending module in FIG14 , and may also be referred to as a transceiver unit or a transceiver module. The transceiver 1602 may include a receiver (or receiver, receiving circuit) and a transmitter (or transmitter, transmitting circuit). The receiver is used to receive signals, and the transmitter is used to transmit signals.

It should be understood that the network device shown in FIG16 can implement various processes involving the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG9 and FIG12. The operations and/or functions of each module in the network device are respectively to implement the corresponding processes in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description in the above method embodiments. To avoid repetition, the detailed description is appropriately omitted here.

The processor 1601 can be used to execute the actions implemented by the network device in the previous method embodiment, and the transceiver 1602 can be used to execute the actions of the network device sending to or receiving from the terminal device described in the previous method embodiment. Please refer to the description in the previous method embodiment for details, which will not be repeated here.

Among them, the processor 1601 can be the various types of processors mentioned above. The communication bus 1604 can be a peripheral component interconnection standard PCI bus or an extended industrial standard structure EISA bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one thick line is used in Figure 16, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus. The communication bus 1604 is used to realize the connection communication between these components. Among them, the transceiver 1602 of the device in the embodiment of the present application is used to communicate signaling or data with other devices. The memory 1603 can be the various types of memories mentioned above. The memory 1603 can also be at least one storage device located away from the aforementioned processor 1601. A group of computer program codes or configuration information are stored in the memory 1603, and the processor 1601 executes the program in the memory 1603. The processor can cooperate with the memory and the transceiver to execute any method and function of the network device in the above-mentioned application embodiment.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a terminal device or a network device to implement the functions involved in any of the above embodiments, such as generating or processing the SDT data involved in the above method. In one possible design, the chip system may also include a memory, which is used for the necessary program instructions and data for the terminal device or the network device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices. Among them, the input and output of the chip system correspond to the receiving and sending operations of the terminal device or the network device in the method embodiment.

According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the present application also provides a computer program product, which includes: a computer program, when the computer program is run on a computer, the computer executes the method of any one of the embodiments shown in Figures 9 and 12.

According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the present application also provides a computer-readable medium, which stores a computer program. When the program code runs on a computer, the computer executes the method of any one of the embodiments shown in Figures 9 and 12.

According to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the present application also provides a communication system, which includes one or more terminal devices and one or more network devices as mentioned above.

In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website site, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disc (SSD)), etc.

The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the present technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (29)

A communication method, characterized in that the method comprises: The terminal device receives configuration information sent by the network device, where the configuration information is used to indicate to simultaneously monitor first downlink control information DCI and second DCI on a candidate physical downlink control channel PDCCH included in a user-specific search space USS set, where the first DCI is used to schedule data channels of multiple cells, and the second DCI is used to schedule a data channel of one cell; The terminal device monitors the first DCI and the second DCI simultaneously on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set according to the configuration information, and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy the same cell of counting resources. The method as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that the cell of candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the first DCI is a reference cell, and when the reference cell is a primary cell among multiple cells, the cell of candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the second DCI is the primary cell. The method as claimed in claim 2 is characterized in that the second DCI is only used for self-carrier scheduling. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the method further comprises: The terminal device selects a search space set to be monitored from the search space set configured on the main cell according to the PDCCH mapping rule, wherein the search space set configured on the main cell includes at least one of the following: a user-specific search space set for receiving the first DCI, a user-specific search space set for receiving the second DCI, and a type 3 public search space set for receiving DCI for scheduled multicast. The method as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that the cell of the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the first DCI is a reference cell, and when the reference cell is a secondary cell among multiple cells, the cell of the candidate occupancy counting resources corresponding to the second DCI is the secondary cell. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the method further comprises: The terminal device sends indication information to the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate support for simultaneously monitoring the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set. The method as described in any one of claims 1-6 is characterized in that the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy counting resources including at least one of the following: a blind detection BD count, a control channel element CCE count, and a DCI size budget count. A communication method, characterized in that the method comprises: The network device sends configuration information to the terminal device, where the configuration information is used to indicate to monitor first downlink control information DCI and second DCI simultaneously on a candidate physical downlink control channel PDCCH included in a user-specific search space USS set, where the first DCI is used to schedule data channels of multiple cells, and the second DCI is used to schedule a data channel of one cell; The network device sends the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set, wherein the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy the same cell of counting resources. The method as claimed in claim 8 is characterized in that the cell of candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the first DCI is a reference cell, and when the reference cell is a primary cell among multiple cells, the cell of candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the second DCI is the primary cell. The method as claimed in claim 9 is characterized in that the second DCI is only used for self-carrier scheduling. The method according to claim 9 or 10 is characterized in that the cell of the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resource corresponding to the first DCI is a reference cell, and when the reference cell is a secondary cell among multiple cells, the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resource corresponding to the second DCI The cell with the largest number of resources is the secondary cell. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the method further comprises: The network device receives indication information sent by the terminal device, where the indication information is used to indicate support for simultaneously monitoring the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set. The method as described in any one of claims 8-12 is characterized in that the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy counting resources including at least one of the following: a blind detection BD count, a control channel element CCE count, and a DCI size budget count. A communication device, characterized in that the device comprises: A receiving module, configured to receive configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the configuration information is used to indicate to simultaneously monitor first downlink control information DCI and second DCI on a candidate physical downlink control channel PDCCH included in a user-specific search space USS set, wherein the first DCI is used to schedule data channels of multiple cells, and the second DCI is used to schedule a data channel of one cell; A processing module is used to simultaneously monitor the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set according to the configuration information, wherein the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy the same cell of counting resources. The device as described in claim 14 is characterized in that the cell of the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the first DCI is a reference cell, and when the reference cell is a primary cell among multiple cells, the cell of the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the second DCI is the primary cell. The method as claimed in claim 15 is characterized in that the second DCI is only used for self-carrier scheduling. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The processing module is also used to select a search space set to be monitored from the search space set configured on the main cell according to the PDCCH mapping rule, wherein the search space set configured on the main cell includes at least one of the following: a user-specific search space set for receiving the first DCI, a user-specific search space set for receiving the second DCI, and a type 3 public search space set for receiving DCI for scheduling multicast. The device as described in claim 14 is characterized in that the cell of the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the first DCI is a reference cell, and when the reference cell is a secondary cell among multiple cells, the cell of the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the second DCI is the secondary cell. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that the device further comprises: A sending module is used to send indication information to the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate support for simultaneously monitoring the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set. The device as described in any one of claims 14-19 is characterized in that the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy counting resources including at least one of the following: a blind detection BD count, a control channel element CCE count, and a DCI size budget count. A communication device, characterized in that the device comprises: A sending module, configured to send configuration information to a terminal device, wherein the configuration information is used to indicate to simultaneously monitor first downlink control information DCI and second DCI on a candidate physical downlink control channel PDCCH included in a user-specific search space USS set, wherein the first DCI is used to schedule data channels of multiple cells, and the second DCI is used to schedule a data channel of one cell; The sending module is further used to send the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set, wherein the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy the same cell of counting resources. The device as described in claim 21 is characterized in that the cell of the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the first DCI is a reference cell, and when the reference cell is a primary cell among multiple cells, the cell of the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the second DCI is the primary cell. The method as claimed in claim 22 is characterized in that the second DCI is only used for self-carrier scheduling. The device as described in claim 22 or 23 is characterized in that the cell of the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the first DCI is a reference cell, and when the reference cell is a secondary cell among multiple cells, the cell of the candidate PDCCH occupancy counting resources corresponding to the second DCI is the secondary cell. The device according to any one of claims 21 to 24, characterized in that the device further comprises: A receiving module is used to receive indication information sent by the terminal device, where the indication information is used to indicate support for simultaneously monitoring the first DCI and the second DCI on the candidate PDCCH included in the USS set. The device as described in any one of claims 21-25 is characterized in that the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the second DCI and the candidate PDCCH corresponding to the first DCI occupy counting resources including at least one of the following: a blind detection BD count, a control channel element CCE count, and a DCI size budget count. A communication device, characterized in that it comprises a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor runs the computer program so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A communication device, characterized in that it comprises a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor runs the computer program so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 8 to 13. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a computer program is stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer-readable storage medium is executed on a processor, the method described in any one of claims 1 to 13 is implemented.