CN109729586B

CN109729586B - Window-based scheduling method, apparatus and computer readable medium

Info

Publication number: CN109729586B
Application number: CN201711035628.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 武卓; 陶涛; 刘建国; 沈钢; 王钧; 骆喆
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Oyj
Priority date: 2017-10-30
Filing date: 2017-10-30
Publication date: 2021-06-25
Anticipated expiration: 2037-10-30
Also published as: WO2019085911A1; CN109729586A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a window-based scheduling method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium. The method described herein includes transmitting scheduling information associated with a downlink message to a terminal device. The scheduling information indicates a message window in which the network device will send downlink messages to the terminal device. The message window comprises a plurality of consecutive time slots. The method also includes transmitting a downlink message to the terminal device in response to detecting that a channel between the network device and the terminal device is idle in the message window.

Description

Window-based scheduling method, apparatus and computer readable medium

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to communication technology and, more particularly, relate to a method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for window-based scheduling on unlicensed spectrum.

Background

In New Radio (NR) systems that utilize licensed spectrum, network devices may employ fixed timing based scheduling procedures in order to facilitate downlink transmissions to terminal devices. In a fixed timing based scheduling procedure, a network device transmits scheduling information to a terminal device in a current time slot, the scheduling information indicating a single time slot after the current time slot in which the network device will transmit a Downlink (DL) message to the terminal device.

NR systems involve transmission over unlicensed spectrum. To enable downlink transmissions to the terminal device over the unlicensed spectrum, the network device needs to first perform a Listen Before Talk (LBT) operation to determine whether a channel between the network device and the terminal device is idle. The network device can initiate a downlink transmission to the terminal device upon determining that the channel is idle. Due to uncertainty in the results of performing LBT operations on the unlicensed spectrum, if an LBT operation fails at a single time slot indicated by the scheduling information, the network device will be unable to initiate downlink transmissions for the terminal device in the single time slot, resulting in a waste of transmitted scheduling information.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, devices, and computer-readable media for window-based scheduling on unlicensed spectrum.

In a first aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method implemented at a network device. The method includes transmitting scheduling information associated with the downlink message to the terminal device. The scheduling information indicates a message window in which the network device will send downlink messages to the terminal device. The message window comprises a plurality of consecutive time slots. The method also includes transmitting a downlink message to the terminal device in response to detecting that a channel between the network device and the terminal device is idle in the message window.

In some embodiments, the scheduling information indicates at least one of: a starting time slot of the plurality of consecutive time slots, an ending time slot of the plurality of consecutive time slots, and a number of the plurality of consecutive time slots.

In some embodiments, the starting time slot or the ending time slot is determined based on at least one of: the length of the transmission burst in which the scheduling information is transmitted and the condition of the channel between the network device and the terminal device.

In some embodiments, transmitting the scheduling information comprises transmitting, in a time-division manner, multiple copies of the scheduling information via the set of transmission beams, the multiple copies indicating a set of message windows in which the network device is to transmit the set of downlink messages to the terminal device.

In some embodiments, the number of message windows in the set of message windows is the same as the number of the plurality of transmission beams in the set of transmission beams.

In some embodiments, transmitting the downlink message comprises transmitting the set of downlink messages via the set of transmission beams in a time-division manner in the set of message windows.

In some embodiments, transmitting the scheduling information comprises transmitting, in a time-division manner, multiple copies of the scheduling information via the set of transmission beams, the multiple copies indicating a single message window in which the network device is to transmit downlink messages to the terminal device.

In some embodiments, transmitting the downlink message includes transmitting the downlink message in a broadcast manner in a single message window.

In some embodiments, the downlink message comprises at least one of a paging message and a system information message. In some embodiments, the system information message includes Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI).

In some embodiments, transmitting the scheduling information comprises transmitting the scheduling information via at least one of: downlink Control Information (DCI) and higher layer signaling.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method implemented at a terminal device. The method includes receiving scheduling information associated with a downlink message from a network device, the scheduling information indicating a message window in which the network device is to receive the downlink message to a terminal device, the message window comprising a plurality of consecutive time slots. The method also includes receiving a downlink message from the network device in the message window.

In a third aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a network device. The network device includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores instructions. The instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform the method according to the first aspect of the disclosure.

In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a terminal device. The terminal device includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores instructions. The instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal device to perform the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable medium comprising machine-executable instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform a method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the disclosure provide a computer-readable medium comprising machine-executable instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform a method according to the second aspect of the disclosure.

It should be understood that the statements herein reciting aspects are not intended to limit the critical or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor are they intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description.

Drawings

The above and other features, advantages and aspects of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent by referring to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like or similar reference characters designate like or similar elements, and wherein:

fig. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a conventional fixed timing based scheduling process;

figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of a conventional fixed timing based scheduling process in a multi-beam scenario;

FIG. 4 illustrates an interaction diagram of a window-based scheduling process, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of a window-based scheduling process, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

figure 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of a window-based scheduling process in a multi-beam scenario, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a window-based scheduling process in a multi-beam scenario according to other embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart of a method implemented at a network device in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow chart of a method implemented at a terminal device in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of a device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While certain embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it is to be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but rather are provided for a more thorough and complete understanding of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the disclosure are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.

The term "network device" as used herein refers to a base station or other entity or node having a particular function in a communication network. A "base station" (BS) may represent a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved node B (eNodeB or eNB), a gNB, a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Head (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a relay, or a low power node such as a pico base station, a femto base station, or the like. In the context of the present disclosure, the terms "network device" and "base station" may be used interchangeably for purposes of discussion convenience, and may primarily be referred to as an eNB as an example of a network device.

The term "terminal equipment" or "user equipment" (UE) as used herein refers to any terminal equipment capable of wireless communication with a base station or with each other. As an example, the terminal device may include a Mobile Terminal (MT), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station (PSS), a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT), and the above-described devices in a vehicle. In the context of the present disclosure, the terms "terminal device" and "user equipment" may be used interchangeably for purposes of discussion convenience.

The terms "include" and variations thereof as used herein are inclusive and open-ended, i.e., "including but not limited to. The term "based on" is "based, at least in part, on". The term "one embodiment" means "at least one embodiment"; the term "another embodiment" means "at least one additional embodiment". Relevant definitions for other terms will be given in the following description.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The wireless communication system 100 includes a network device 110 and a terminal device 120 served by the network device 110. It should be understood that the number of network devices and the number of terminal devices shown in fig. 1 are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to be limiting. The wireless communication system 100 may include any suitable type and number of network devices, each network device may provide any suitable number of cells, and the wireless communication system 100 may also include any suitable number of terminal devices.

Communication between network device 110 and terminal device 120 may be implemented in accordance with any suitable communication protocol, including, but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), and fifth generation (5G) cellular communication protocols, wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11, and/or any other protocol now known or later developed. Moreover, the communication may utilize any suitable wireless communication technique including, but not limited to, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), and/or any other technique now known or later developed. It should be noted that although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described mainly using the NR system as an example, this is merely exemplary, and the technical solution of the present disclosure can be fully applied to other suitable existing or future developed systems.

In NR systems utilizing licensed spectrum, network devices may employ a fixed timing based scheduling procedure in order to facilitate downlink transmissions to terminal devices. However, this fixed timing based scheduling procedure is not fully applicable to NR systems utilizing unlicensed spectrum. Hereinafter, a conventional fixed timing based scheduling process will be described with reference to fig. 2 and 3.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a conventional fixed timing based scheduling procedure 200 performed in an NR system. As shown in fig. 2, the network device transmits scheduling information associated with the DL message to the terminal device on time slot 210. The scheduling information indicates a single time slot 220 after time slot 210 in which the network device will send a DL message to the terminal device.

To enable downlink transmissions to the terminal device on the unlicensed spectrum, the network device needs to first perform an LBT operation to determine whether a channel between the network device and the terminal device is idle. After the LBT operation is successful (i.e., the channel is determined to be idle), the network device can initiate a downlink transmission for the terminal device. In fig. 2, since the LBT operation fails at the beginning of the time slot 220 indicated by the scheduling information, the network device cannot initiate downlink transmission for the terminal device on the time slot 220, resulting in a waste of the transmitted scheduling information.

Further, in the NR system below 6GHz, an operation for a signal having a broadcast characteristic may be similar to that in the LTE system. However, in NR systems above 6GHz, beamforming is necessary to compensate for path loss. Since a single transmission beam cannot provide full cell coverage, signals with broadcast characteristics need to be transmitted using multiple transmission beams (i.e., beam scanning).

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a conventional fixed timing based scheduling procedure 300 in a multi-beam scenario. As shown in fig. 3, during a Maximum Channel Occupancy Time (MCOT)340, the network device transmits six copies of scheduling information 330 using six transmission beams 311 through 316. The six copies of the scheduling information 330 indicate the time slots 321 to 326 in which the network device will send DL messages to the terminal device.

The MCOT 340 may be defined according to spectral specifications of different regions. For example, in japan, the MCOT of the 5GHz unlicensed band is defined as 4ms, and in europe it is defined as 6 ms. Furthermore, MCOT may be scaled up to 8ms or 10ms under certain conditions. In fig. 3, MCOT 340 is 8 ms. Due to the limitations of the MCOT, network devices cannot complete the transmission of DL messages within the MCOT 340. In order to transmit the DL message, the network device needs to perform the LBT operation again. Since the LBT operation fails on the

time slots

321 and 322, the network device cannot transmit the DL message to the terminal device using the beams 311 and 312 on the

time slots

321 and 322, resulting in a waste of scheduling information transmitted using the beams 311 and 312.

The embodiment of the disclosure provides a window-based scheduling scheme. Unlike conventional fixed timing based scheduling schemes, the network device sends scheduling information associated with the DL message to the terminal device, the scheduling information indicating a message window in which the network device will send the DL message to the terminal device. The message window includes a plurality of consecutive time slots. If the network device detects that the channel between the network device and the terminal device is idle on any time slot within the message window, the network device sends a DL message to the terminal device on the time slot. After receiving the scheduling information, the terminal device only needs to monitor its DL message within the message window indicated by the scheduling information, and does not need to continuously monitor after receiving the scheduling information. In this way, not only is the success rate of DL message reception increased, but also excessive power consumption of the terminal device is not caused. Hereinafter, a window-based scheduling scheme according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to fig. 4 to 9.

FIG. 4 illustrates an interaction diagram of a window-based scheduling process 400 in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. Process 400 may be performed, for example, by network device 110 and terminal device 120 as shown in fig. 1. For ease of discussion, the description of process 400 will be made in connection with network device 110 and terminal device 120. It should be understood that process 400 may also include additional acts not shown and/or may omit acts shown, as the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect.

As shown in fig. 4, network device 110 sends (410) scheduling information associated with the DL message to terminal device 120. The scheduling information indicates a message window in which network device 110 will send DL messages to terminal device 120. The message window includes a plurality of consecutive time slots.

In some embodiments, network device 110 may detect a condition of a channel between network device 110 and terminal device 120, and determine a number of consecutive time slots in a message window based on the detected condition of the channel. For example, in the case that the channel condition is good, the network device 110 may determine the number of consecutive timeslots as a smaller value to reduce the complexity of the terminal device 120 monitoring the message window. In the case of poor channel conditions, network device 110 may determine the number of consecutive time slots to be a larger value to increase the probability of successful transmission of the DL message. Alternatively, network device 110 may also determine the number of consecutive slots in the message window based on the MCOT.

It should be understood that the determination of the number of consecutive time slots in the message window based on the channel conditions is exemplary only and not limiting. Network device 110 may determine the number of consecutive time slots in the message window using any suitable approach, depending on the particular application scenario.

In some embodiments, the scheduling information indicates at least one of a starting slot, an ending slot, and a number of the plurality of consecutive slots in the message window. In some embodiments, the starting time slot or the ending time slot may be determined based on at least one of a length of a transmission burst in which the scheduling information is transmitted and channel conditions.

In some embodiments, network device 110 may dynamically configure the message window using Downlink Control Information (DCI). For example, network device 110 may indicate to terminal device 120 via DCI a starting slot and a number of the plurality of consecutive slots in the message window.

In some embodiments, network device 110 may semi-statically configure the message window using higher layer signaling. Examples of higher layer signaling may include, but are not limited to: radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling and medium access control information element (MAC CE). For example, network device 110 may indicate to terminal device 120 via RRC signaling a starting slot of a plurality of consecutive slots in a message window and a number of the plurality of consecutive slots.

In other embodiments, network device 110 may use DCI in conjunction with higher layer signaling to dynamically configure a message window. For example, network device 110 may dynamically configure the starting slot of the message window using DCI, while semi-statically configuring the number of multiple consecutive slots in the message window using higher layer signaling.

With continued reference to fig. 4. Upon receiving the scheduling information from network device 110, the terminal device may monitor (420) a message window indicated by the scheduling information.

After transmitting the scheduling information described above, network device 110 may perform an LBT operation to detect (430) whether a channel between network device 110 and terminal device 120 is idle. If network device 110 detects that the channel is idle on any of a plurality of time slots in the message window, network device 110 may send (440) a DL message to terminal device 120 on that time slot.

Compared with the conventional scheduling scheme based on fixed timing, in the scheduling scheme of the present disclosure, if the network device detects that a channel between the network device and the terminal device is idle at any time slot within the message window, the network device may send a DL message to the terminal device at the time slot, thereby increasing the success rate of DL message reception.

Fig. 5 shows an example of a window-based scheduling process. In this example, network device 110 transmits scheduling information to terminal device 120 via DCI 512 on nth slot (n is a non-negative integer) 510. The scheduling information may indicate that the network device 110 is to transmit DL messages to the terminal device 120 in a message window 520 containing the n +2 th through n +4

th time slots

521, 522, and 523.

If network device 110 detects that the channel is idle on any of

time slots

521, 522, and 523 in message window 520, network device 110 may send a DL message to terminal device 120 on that time slot. In the example shown in fig. 5, network device 110 sends DL message 524 to terminal device 120 on time slot 522 because network device 110 detected that the channel was idle on time slot 522.

Since the network device 110 can transmit the DL message 524 to the terminal device 120 on any one of the

time slots

521, 522, and 523, the success rate of DL message reception is increased. Furthermore, the terminal device 120 only needs to monitor its DL messages 524 within the message window 520, and does not have to continue monitoring after receiving the scheduling information, thereby not causing excessive power consumption.

In some embodiments, network device 110 may employ multiple transmission beams (i.e., beam scanning) to transmit signals to terminal device 120. In the following, a window-based scheduling procedure according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure in a multi-beam scenario will be described with reference to fig. 6 and 7.

Fig. 6 illustrates one example of a window-based scheduling process 600 in a multi-beam scenario. In the scheduling process 600, the network device 110 transmits multiple copies of scheduling information associated with a set of DL messages to the terminal device 120 via multiple beams and transmits the set of DL messages to the terminal device 120 via multiple beams.

As shown in fig. 6, network device 110 transmits multiple copies 630 of scheduling information via six transmission beams 621-626 in a time-division manner within scheduling window 610. Network device 110 may send information related to scheduling window 610 to terminal device 120 via higher layer signaling in advance. For example, network device 110 may send the location information and size of scheduling window 610 to terminal device 120 via higher layer signaling.

Multiple copies of scheduling information 630 are associated with a set of DL messages 650. The multiple copies of scheduling information 630 contain six copies of scheduling information, the set of DL messages 650 includes six copies of DL messages, each of the six copies of scheduling information is associated with one of the six copies of DL messages.

The multiple copies of scheduling information 630 indicate a set of message windows 640 in which the network device 110 will send a set of DL messages 650. The set of message windows 640 contains six message windows (not shown). The multiple copies of scheduling information 630 indicate six message windows, each of which includes one of time slots 661-666.

Network device 110 may transmit a set 650 of DL messages to terminal device 120 via six transmission beams 621-626 in a time-division manner in a set 640 of message windows. In the example shown in fig. 6, network device 110 may transmit DL messages associated with scheduling information transmitted via beams 621-626 during time slots 661-666 because network device 110 detects that the channel between network device 110 and terminal device 120 is idle during time slots 661-666.

With scheduling process 600, network device 110 may employ scheduling window 610 and a message window separate from scheduling window 610 to schedule transmission of scheduling information associated with a DL message and transmission of a DL message, respectively, increasing scheduling flexibility of network device 110.

It should be understood that the number of transmission beams, the number of copies of scheduling information, and the number of message windows shown in fig. 6 are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to be limiting. Depending on the required transmission accuracy, the network device may employ any suitable number of transmission beams to transmit a corresponding number of copies of the scheduling information, thereby indicating a corresponding number of message windows.

The scheduling process by which network device 110 transmits a set of DL messages to terminal device 120 via multiple beams is described above in connection with fig. 6. However, in some embodiments, network device 110 may transmit the DL message to terminal device 120 in an omnidirectional manner via a single transmission beam. For example, network device 110 may transmit a DL message to terminal device 120 in a broadcast manner via a single transmission beam. In such embodiments, network device 110 transmits multiple copies of the scheduling information via a set of transmission beams in a time-division manner. The multiple copies of the scheduling information indicate a single message window in which network device 110 will send downlink messages to terminal device 120. If network device 110 detects that the channel between network device 110 and terminal device 120 is idle in the single message window, network device 110 sends a downlink message to terminal device 120 in a broadcast manner in the single message window.

The window-based scheduling scheme of the present disclosure may be applicable to transmission of signals having a broadcast characteristic. Examples of signals having broadcast characteristics may include, but are not limited to, paging messages. During paging, a terminal device in idle mode periodically wakes up and monitors a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) to check whether a paging message exists. If the PDCCH includes a paging indicator or DCI indicating that a paging message is transmitted in the slot, the terminal device needs to demodulate a Paging Channel (PCH) to determine whether the paging message is intended for itself. In this way, the terminal device may conserve battery power and obtain paging messages while in sleep mode. In conventional fixed timing based scheduling, if a network device fails LBT operation at a single slot indicated by paging DCI for a paging message, the terminal device will not be able to receive the paging message from the network device on the single slot. Therefore, the terminal device has to wait for the next paging cycle to detect the paging DCI again, which undoubtedly delays the access of the terminal device to the network. By using the window-based scheduling scheme disclosed by the invention, if the network equipment detects that the channel is idle in any one of a plurality of continuous time slots in the message window, the paging message can be sent to the terminal equipment in the time slot, so that the success rate of receiving the paging message is increased, and the delay of accessing the terminal equipment to the network is further avoided.

Examples of the signal having the broadcasting characteristic may include a Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI) message in addition to the paging message. Currently, because the payload of the RMSI message is large, e.g., at least about 200 bits, the network device may schedule transmission of the RMSI message and transmission of DCI associated with the RMSI message (referred to as "RMSI DCI") in separate transmission bursts.

Fig. 7 illustrates one example of a window-based scheduling procedure 700 for RMSI messages in a multi-beam scenario. In scheduling procedure 700, network device 110 schedules transmission of RMSI DCIs 721 through 724 and transmission of RMSI messages 731 through 734 in separate synchronization signal bursts 710 and RMSI bursts 720.

Specifically, in synchronization signal burst 710, network device 110 may frequency-division multiplex RMSI DCIs 721-724 with Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSBs) 711-714 for transmission on the PDCCH.

Network device 110 transmits SSBs 711 and 712 frequency-division multiplexed with

RMSI DCIs

721 and 722 via two transmission beams in a first time slot, and

SSBs

713 and 714 frequency-division multiplexed with

RMSI DCIs

723 and 724 via two transmission beams in a second time slot. Each of the first and second slots includes fourteen symbols, and each of the SSBs 711 to 714 occupies four symbols.

RMSI DCI 721-724 is associated with RMSI messages 731-734, respectively, and indicates RMSI message windows 741-744, respectively, in which network device 110 will send RMSI messages 731-734.

As long as network device 110 detects that the channel between network device 110 and terminal device 120 is idle on any one of the time slots in each of the RMSI message windows 741 through 744, network device 110 may send RMSI messages 731 through 734 to terminal device 120 via the four transmission beams in RMSI message windows 741 through 744, thereby increasing the success rate of reception of RMSI messages.

It should be understood that only SSBs 711 to 714 for four transmission directions and RMSI DCIs 721 to 724 multiplexed therewith are shown in fig. 7 for simplicity. However, the synchronization signal burst 710 may typically contain SSBs for eight transmission directions. In this regard, the network device 110 may schedule RMSI DCI multiplexed with SSBs for eight transmission directions, respectively, in a synchronization signal burst 710.

Furthermore, although embodiments of the present disclosure are described above in connection with RMSI messages, this is merely an example. The scheduling scheme of the present disclosure may also be applicable to scheduling of other system information messages besides RMSI messages. In addition, frequency division multiplexing the RMSI DCI with the SSB is merely an example, and time division multiplexing the RMSI DCI with the SSB is also possible, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

Fig. 8 shows a flow diagram of a method 800 implemented at a network device in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. For ease of description, method 800 is described below in conjunction with fig. 1, taking as an example an implementation at network device 110 shown in fig. 1. It should be understood that method 800 may also include additional steps not shown and/or may omit steps shown, as the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

At block 810, network device 110 sends scheduling information associated with the downlink message to terminal device 120. The scheduling information indicates a message window in which network device 110 will send downlink messages to terminal device 120. The message window includes a plurality of consecutive time slots.

At block 820, the network device 110 sends a downlink message to the terminal device 120 in response to detecting that a channel between the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 is idle in the message window.

In some embodiments, the scheduling information indicates at least one of a starting slot, an ending slot, and a number of the plurality of consecutive slots in the message window.

In some embodiments, the starting time slot or the ending time slot may be determined based on at least one of a length of a transmission burst in which the scheduling information is transmitted and channel conditions.

In some embodiments, transmitting the scheduling information comprises transmitting multiple copies of the scheduling information via the set of transmission beams in a time-division manner. The multiple copies indicate a set of message windows in which network device 110 will send a set of downlink messages to terminal device 120.

In some embodiments, transmitting the scheduling information comprises transmitting multiple copies of the scheduling information via the set of transmission beams in a time-division manner. The multiple copies indicate a single message window in which network device 110 will send downlink messages to terminal device 120.

In some embodiments, the downlink message comprises at least one of: paging messages, and system information messages. In some embodiments, the system information message comprises a RMSI message.

In some embodiments, transmitting the scheduling information includes transmitting the scheduling information via at least one of DCI and higher layer signaling.

It should be appreciated that various operations and features described above with respect to network device 110 with reference to fig. 1 and 4-7 are equally applicable to method 800 and have similar effects. For the sake of simplicity, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

Fig. 9 shows a flow diagram of a method 900 implemented at a terminal device in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. For ease of description, the method 900 is described below in conjunction with fig. 1, taking as an example the implementation at the terminal device 120 shown in fig. 1. It should be understood that method 900 may also include additional steps not shown and/or may omit steps shown, as the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

At block 910, terminal device 120 receives scheduling information associated with a downlink message from network device 110. The scheduling information indicates a message window in which network device 110 will receive downlink messages to terminal device 120. The message window includes a plurality of consecutive time slots.

At block 920, terminal device 120 receives a downlink message from network device 110 in a message window.

In some embodiments, receiving the scheduling information comprises receiving multiple copies of the scheduling information via the set of transmission beams in a time-division manner. The multiple copies indicate a set of message windows in which network device 110 will send a set of downlink messages to terminal device 120.

In some embodiments, receiving the downlink message comprises receiving the set of downlink messages via the set of transmission beams in a time-division manner in the set of message windows.

In some embodiments, receiving the scheduling information comprises receiving multiple copies of the scheduling information via the set of transmission beams in a time-division manner. The multiple copies indicate a single message window in which network device 110 will send downlink messages to terminal device 120.

In some embodiments, receiving the downlink message includes receiving the downlink message in a broadcast manner in a single message window.

In some embodiments, the downlink message comprises at least one of a paging message and a system information message. In some embodiments, the system information message comprises a RMSI message.

In some embodiments, receiving the scheduling information includes receiving the scheduling information via at least one of DCI and higher layer signaling.

It should be understood that the various operations and features described above with respect to terminal device 120 with reference to fig. 1 and 4-7 are equally applicable to method 900 and have similar effects. For the sake of simplicity, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

Fig. 10 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device 1000 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1000 may be used to implement a data sending device or a data receiving device in embodiments of the present disclosure, such as the network device 110 or the terminal device 120 shown in fig. 1.

As shown in the example in fig. 10, the communication device 1000 may include one or more processors 1010, one or more memories 1020 coupled to the processors 1010, and one or more transmitters and/or receivers (TX/RX)1040 coupled to the processors 1010.

The processor 1010 may be of any suitable type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include, but is not limited to, one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microcontrollers, digital signal controllers (DSPs), and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture. The communication device 1000 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time driven from a clock synchronized with the main processor.

The memory 1020 may be of any suitable type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples.

Memory 1020 stores at least a portion of program 1030. TX/RX 1040 is used for bi-directional communication. TX/RX 1040 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, but in practice the device may have several antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements.

The programs 1030 may include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 1010, enable the device 1000 to operate according to embodiments of the disclosure, as described with reference to fig. 2-9. That is, embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1010 of the communication device 1000, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

In general, the various example embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Certain aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While aspects of embodiments of the disclosure have been illustrated or described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof. Examples of hardware devices that may be used to implement embodiments of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to: field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Application Specific Standards (ASSPs), systems on a chip (SOCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), and the like.

By way of example, embodiments of the disclosure may be described in the context of machine-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or divided between program modules as described. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In a distributed facility, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.

Computer program code for implementing the methods of the present disclosure may be written in one or more programming languages. These computer program codes may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, cause the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks to be performed. The program code may execute entirely on the computer, partly on the computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server.

In the context of this disclosure, a machine-readable medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. A machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination thereof. More detailed examples of a machine-readable storage medium include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

Additionally, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking or parallel processing may be beneficial. Likewise, while the above discussion contains certain specific implementation details, this should not be construed as limiting the scope of any invention or claims, but rather as describing particular embodiments that may be directed to particular inventions. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method implemented at a network device, comprising:

transmitting scheduling information associated with a downlink message to a terminal device, the scheduling information indicating a message window in which the network device is to transmit the downlink message to the terminal device to cause the terminal device to monitor for the downlink message within the message window, the message window comprising a plurality of consecutive time slots; and

in response to detecting that a channel between the network device and the terminal device is idle on one of the slots in the message window, transmitting the downlink message to the terminal device on the slot.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the scheduling information indicates at least one of:

a starting time slot of the plurality of consecutive time slots,

an ending time slot of said plurality of consecutive time slots, an

A number of the plurality of consecutive time slots.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the starting time slot or the ending time slot is determined based on at least one of:

the length of the transmission burst in which the scheduling information is transmitted, an

The condition of the channel.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the scheduling information comprises:

transmitting, in a time-division manner, multiple copies of the scheduling information via a set of transmission beams, the multiple copies indicating a set of message windows in which the network device is to transmit a set of downlink messages to the terminal device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a number of message windows in the set of message windows is the same as a number of multiple transmission beams in the set of transmission beams.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein sending the downlink message comprises:

transmitting the set of downlink messages via the set of transmission beams in the time division manner in the set of message windows.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the scheduling information comprises:

transmitting, in a time-division manner, multiple copies of the scheduling information via a set of transmission beams, the multiple copies indicating a single message window in which the network device is to transmit the downlink message to the terminal device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein sending the downlink message comprises:

transmitting the downlink message in a broadcast manner within the single message window.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink message comprises at least one of:

paging message, and

a system information message.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the system information message comprises a Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI) message.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the scheduling information comprises transmitting the scheduling information via at least one of:

downlink Control Information (DCI), and

and (4) high-layer signaling.

12. A method implemented at a terminal device, comprising:

receiving scheduling information associated with a downlink message from a network device, the scheduling information indicating a message window in which the network device is to receive the downlink message to the terminal device, the message window comprising a plurality of consecutive time slots; and

monitoring in the message window to receive the downlink message from the network device on one time slot in the message window, wherein the network device detects that a channel between the network device and the terminal device is idle on the time slot in the message window.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the scheduling information indicates at least one of:

a starting time slot of the plurality of consecutive time slots,

an ending time slot of said plurality of consecutive time slots, an

A number of the plurality of consecutive time slots.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the starting time slot or the ending time slot is determined based on at least one of:

The condition of the channel.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the scheduling information comprises:

receiving, in a time-division manner, multiple copies of the scheduling information via a set of transmission beams, the multiple copies indicating a set of message windows in which the network device is to send a set of downlink messages to the terminal device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein a number of message windows in the set of message windows is the same as a number of multiple transmission beams in the set of transmission beams.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein receiving the downlink message comprises:

receiving the set of downlink messages via the set of transmission beams in the time division manner in the set of message windows.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the scheduling information comprises:

receiving, in a time-division manner, multiple copies of the scheduling information via a set of transmission beams, the multiple copies indicating a single message window in which the network device is to send the downlink message to the terminal device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein receiving the downlink message comprises:

receiving the downlink message in a broadcast manner within the single message window.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the downlink message comprises at least one of:

paging message, and

a system information message.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the system information message comprises a Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI) message.

22. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the scheduling information comprises receiving the scheduling information via at least one of:

downlink Control Information (DCI), and

and (4) high-layer signaling.

23. A network device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform the method of any of claims 1-11.

24. A terminal device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal device to perform the method of any one of claims 12-22.

25. A computer-readable medium comprising machine-executable instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform the method of any one of claims 1-11.

26. A computer-readable medium comprising machine-executable instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 12-22.