CN111865536A

CN111865536A - Search space monitoring and configuration method and device

Info

Publication number: CN111865536A
Application number: CN201910364474.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 薛祎凡; 王键
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-04-30
Filing date: 2019-04-30
Publication date: 2020-10-30
Anticipated expiration: 2039-04-30
Also published as: WO2020221093A1; CN111865536B

Abstract

The application provides a method and a device for monitoring and configuring a search space, relates to the technical field of communication, and is used for meeting specific requirements for the search space at different times. The method comprises the following steps: the terminal monitors a first signal in a search space according to a first set of configuration parameters of the search space at a first time; the terminal monitors the first signal in the search space at a second time according to a second set of configuration parameters of the search space. The method and the device are suitable for the process of monitoring the search space.

Description

Search space monitoring and configuration method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for monitoring and configuring a search space.

Background

In a wireless communication system, a base station transmits a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carrying various Downlink Control Information (DCI) to a terminal. The terminal needs to monitor the PDCCH in a search space (search space), and then obtain DCI carried in the PDCCH. The search space is a set of multiple PDCCH candidates. Currently, how to make the search space meet specific requirements at different times, the industry has not proposed a corresponding solution.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a method and a device for monitoring and configuring a search space, which are used for realizing specific requirements on the search space at different times.

In a first aspect, a method for monitoring a search space is provided, including: the terminal monitors a first signal in a search space according to a first set of configuration parameters of the search space at a first time; the terminal then monitors the first signal in the search space at a second time according to a second set of configuration parameters of the search space. Based on the technical scheme, the terminal adopts different groups of configuration parameters at different times and monitors the first signal in the search space so as to meet the specific requirements of the first signal on the search space at different times.

In one possible design, the first signal is used to indicate power saving information. In this case, the first signal is a PDCCH-based power consumption saving signal. Based on the technical scheme of the application, the terminal monitors the power consumption saving signal based on the PDCCH only in one search space, namely, the network equipment only needs to utilize one search space to bear the power consumption saving signal based on the PDCCH, so that more search spaces can be used for other purposes, and the scheduling of the network equipment to the terminal is facilitated.

In one possible design, the method further includes: the terminal receives a search space configuration message sent by the network equipment, wherein the search space message parameters comprise a first group of configuration parameters and a second group of configuration parameters, the first group of configuration parameters correspond to a first time, and the second group of configuration parameters correspond to a second time.

In one possible design, any one of the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters may include at least one of the following parameters: the method comprises the steps of searching the type of a space, an aggregation level, the number of candidate PDCCHs corresponding to the aggregation level, a monitoring period, an offset value, a time domain length and a starting symbol to be monitored in a time slot.

In one possible design, the first set of configuration parameters differs from the second set of configuration parameters in at least one configuration parameter. For example, the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters are different in time domain length. As another example, the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters differ over the monitoring period.

In one possible design, the first time is an activation time and the second time is an deactivation time. It can be understood that the active time refers to a time when the terminal needs to monitor a PDCCH for data scheduling, for example, an duration in a DRX cycle. The inactive time refers to a time when the terminal does not need to monitor a PDCCH for data scheduling, for example, opportunity for DRX in a DRX cycle.

In one possible design, in a case where the first time is an active time and the second time is an inactive time, the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters differ in at least one configuration parameter, which includes at least one of: (1) for the same aggregation level, the number of the candidate PDCCHs in the first group of configuration parameters is less than that in the second group of configuration parameters; (2) the monitoring period in the first set of configuration parameters is less than the monitoring period in the second set of configuration parameters; (3) the time domain length in the first set of configuration parameters is greater than the time domain length in the second set of configuration parameters.

In a second aspect, a method for configuring a search space is provided, including: the network equipment generates a search space configuration message, wherein the search space configuration message comprises a first group of configuration parameters and a second group of configuration parameters, the first group of configuration parameters are configuration parameters adopted by the terminal when monitoring a first signal in the search space at a first time, and the second group of configuration parameters are configuration parameters adopted by the terminal when monitoring the first signal in the search space at a second time; the network device sends a search space configuration message to the terminal. Based on the technical scheme, the network equipment configures two groups of configuration parameters for one search space of the terminal through the search space configuration message, wherein the two groups of configuration parameters correspond to different times. The terminal can monitor the first signal in the search space by adopting a corresponding set of configuration parameters at different times so as to meet specific requirements for the search space at different times.

In one possible design, the first signal is used to indicate power saving information. That is, the first signal is a PDCCH-based power consumption saving signal. Therefore, based on the technical scheme of the application, the network device only needs to use one search space to carry the power consumption saving signal based on the PDCCH, so that a larger number of search spaces can be used for other purposes, and the scheduling of the network device to the terminal is facilitated.

In one possible design, the first set of configuration parameters differs from the second set of configuration parameters in at least one configuration parameter.

In one possible design, the first time is an activation time and the second time is an deactivation time.

In one possible design, in a case where the first time is an active time and the second time is an inactive time, the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters differ in at least one configuration parameter, which includes at least one of: (1) for the same aggregation level, the number of the candidate PDCCHs in the first group of configuration parameters is less than the monitoring period in the second group of configuration parameters; (2) the monitoring period in the first set of configuration parameters is less than the number of candidate PDCCHs in the second set of configuration parameters; (3) the time domain length in the first set of configuration parameters is greater than the time domain length in the second set of configuration parameters.

In a third aspect, a terminal is provided, including: one or more processors; a memory; and one or more computer programs, wherein the one or more computer programs are stored in the memory, the one or more computer programs comprising instructions which, when executed by the terminal, cause the terminal to perform the steps of: monitoring a first signal in a search space at a first time according to a first set of configuration parameters of the search space; the first signal is monitored in the search space at a second time according to a second set of configuration parameters of the search space.

In one possible design, the first signal is used to indicate power saving information.

In one possible design, the instructions, when executed by the terminal, further cause the terminal to perform the steps of: receiving a search space configuration message sent by network equipment, wherein the search space message parameters comprise a first group of configuration parameters and a second group of configuration parameters, the first group of configuration parameters correspond to a first time, and the second group of configuration parameters correspond to a second time.

In a fourth aspect, a network device is provided, comprising: one or more processors; a memory; and one or more computer programs, wherein the one or more computer programs are stored in the memory, the one or more computer programs comprising instructions which, when executed by the terminal, cause the terminal to perform the steps of: generating a search space configuration message, wherein the search space configuration message comprises a first group of configuration parameters and a second group of configuration parameters, the first group of configuration parameters are configuration parameters adopted by the terminal when monitoring the first signal in the search space at a first time, and the second group of configuration parameters are configuration parameters adopted by the terminal when monitoring the first signal in the search space at a second time; and sending a search space configuration message to the terminal.

In a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, having stored therein instructions, which, when run on a computer, may cause the computer to perform the method of the first or second aspect.

A sixth aspect provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, enable a terminal to perform the method of the first or second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, a chip is provided, where the chip includes a processor, and when the processor executes instructions, the processor is configured to perform the method according to any one of the first aspect or the second aspect. The instructions may come from memory internal to the chip or from memory external to the chip. Optionally, the chip further comprises an input-output circuit.

In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided that includes a terminal and a network device. The terminal is configured to perform the method for monitoring the search space according to the first aspect. The network device is configured to execute the method for configuring the search space according to the second aspect.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a DRX cycle;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a PDCCH-based power saving signal;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of another PDCCH-based power saving signal;

fig. 4 is a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of a terminal and a network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 is a flowchart of a method for configuring a search space according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of a method for configuring a search space according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a flowchart of a method for monitoring a search space according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a terminal monitoring a first signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In the description of this application, "/" means "or" unless otherwise stated, for example, A/B may mean A or B. "and/or" herein is merely an association describing an associated object, and means that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. Further, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. The terms "first", "second", and the like do not necessarily limit the number and execution order, and the terms "first", "second", and the like do not necessarily limit the difference.

It is noted that, in the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean exemplary, illustrative, or descriptive. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "e.g.," is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, use of the word "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present concepts related in a concrete fashion.

In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the present application, the following briefly introduces terms related to the present application.

1、PDCCH

The PDCCH is used to carry scheduling and other control information, such as Downlink Control Information (DCI). The PDCCH is configured of a Control Channel Element (CCE).

2、DCI

The DCI may include contents such as Resource Block (RB) allocation information, Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), and the like. The information carried by different DCIs is different, and the functions are also different. In order to classify DCI, a plurality of DCI formats (formats) are defined in the protocol.

For example, the current communication standard defines the following DCI format:

DCI format 0-0: the terminal uplink data scheduling method is used for scheduling terminal uplink data;

DCI format 1-0: the terminal downlink data scheduling method is used for scheduling terminal downlink data;

DCI format 2-0: for indicating the slot format;

DCI format 2-1: for indicating an interrupted transmission;

the above is only an example of DCI format, and the description is not repeated here.

3. Power saving signal (power saving signal)

The power saving signal is used to indicate power saving information. The power saving signal may be used to achieve power saving.

Optionally, the power saving signals may be classified into the following categories: the first type of power saving signal is a wake-up signal, which functions to inform the terminal when to switch from a sleep state to a normal operation state when the terminal is in the sleep state. The second type of power saving signal is a sleep signal (go-to-sleep signal), which is used to inform the terminal when to switch from a normal operating state to a sleep state when the terminal is in a normal operating state. When the terminal is in a sleep state, the terminal can close some circuits or functions to reduce the power consumption of the terminal. For example, when the terminal is in a sleep state, the terminal does not perform data scheduling (i.e., does not receive and does not transmit data). In addition, the power consumption saving signal may also be used to instruct other functions, such as instructing the terminal to skip PDCCH monitoring (blanking PDCCH monitoring), instructing the terminal to handover BWP (bandwidth part), instructing the secondary cell to activate or deactivate, triggering channel state measurements, and so on.

Optionally, the power saving signal may be implemented based on PDCCH, or the power saving signal may be implemented based on DCI. It should be noted that, in the case where the power saving signal is implemented based on DCI, the power saving signal may be expressed in a specific DCIformat. For example, in the embodiment of the present application, the power consumption saving signal may be represented by DCI format M. The implementation mode has the advantages of high reliability and low probability of missed detection/false detection.

4. Search space

The search space is a set of candidate PDCCHs. The search space can be divided into: a common search space (common search space) and a UE-specific search space (UE-specific search space). The common search space is used for transmitting Paging (Paging) messages, system information, and the like, related control information. The UE-specific search space is used for control information related to a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH), an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH), and the like. Of course, the common search space may also be used to transmit control information belonging to a specific UE, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

It is to be understood that the network device may configure one or more search spaces for the terminal, and the network device may delete a search space previously configured for the terminal. Illustratively, the following shows the corresponding configuration signaling of the network device as the terminal in the current protocol.

Wherein searchSpacesToAddModList is a list of newly added search spaces. searchSpacesToReleaseList is a list of search spaces to be deleted.

The above signaling can be described in detail with reference to the prior art, and is not described herein again.

5. Configuration parameters of search space

Optionally, the configuration parameters of the search space may be: aggregation level, the number of candidate PDCCHs corresponding to the aggregation level, a monitoring period, an offset value, a time domain length, a symbol to be monitored in a time slot and the type of a search space.

For example, the protocol may use a SearchSpace cell (IE) to configure configuration parameters of a search space. The SearchSpace IE may be as follows. The specific contents of this cell can be referred to the related description in the third generation partnership project (3 GPP) Technical Standard (TS) 38.331.

The following briefly introduces each configuration parameter of the search space in conjunction with the above-mentioned cells.

(1) monitongslotperiodiciandoffset is used to indicate the monitoring period of the search space and the offset value.

In the embodiment of the present application, one monitoring period may include at least one time slot. In the above information element, the network device may select one parameter from S1, S2, … …, S12560 to configure the monitoring period. Where S1 denotes that one monitoring cycle includes 1 slot, S2 denotes that one monitoring cycle includes 2 slots, and so on, and S12560 denotes that one monitoring cycle includes 12560 slots.

The offset value is used for determining a starting time slot of the terminal for monitoring in the monitoring period. Specifically, the value of the offset value is used to determine that the terminal starts to monitor the search space at the time slot of the monitoring period. For example, if the monitoring period includes 4 slots and the offset value is 2, it indicates that the terminal starts monitoring the search space in the third slot of the monitoring period. It should be noted that the value of the offset value cannot be larger than the size of the monitoring period (i.e., the number of timeslots included in the monitoring period). For example, the monitoring period is S2, and the offset value has a value range of {0,1 }; the monitoring period is S4, and the offset value ranges from {0,1,2,3 }.

(2) duration is used to indicate the time-domain length of the search space. The time domain length of the search space is the number of time slots that the search space lasts for each occurrence, that is, the number of time slots that the terminal needs to monitor. For example, if the time domain length of the search space is 3 slots, the terminal needs to monitor the search space over consecutive 3 slots.

(3) monitorngsymbols within the slot are used to indicate the starting symbol to be monitored. The symbol refers to an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol.

The monitorngsymbols within the slot is implemented as a 14-bit sequence. Wherein each bit in the 14-bit sequence corresponds one-to-one to each OFDM symbol in the slot. The value of each bit in the 14-bit sequence is used to indicate whether the OFDM symbol corresponding to the bit is the starting symbol. Specifically, when a value of one bit in the 14-bit sequence is 1, it indicates that the OFDM symbol corresponding to the bit is a start symbol; when the value of one bit in the 14-bit sequence is 0, it indicates that the OFDM symbol corresponding to the bit is not the starting symbol. For example, the 14-bit sequence is 1000000100000, and symbol #0 and symbol #7 in the slot are the starting symbols.

It should be noted that, if the Cyclic Prefix (CP) of the symbol is set as the extended cyclic prefix (extended) in the Bandwidth (BWP) configured by the network device for the terminal, the last 2 bits of the monitongsymbols within slot may be ignored.

It should be noted that the starting symbol is the first symbol in a plurality of consecutive symbols to be monitored in a time slot. One slot may include a plurality of start symbols. The terminal may determine which symbols in a slot are to be monitored according to a starting symbol configured by monitorngsymbols within a slot and a specific number of consecutive symbols to be monitored configured by a control resource set (CORESET). For example, when the monitorngsymbols within the slot is 1000000100000, and the specific number of consecutive symbols to be monitored configured by the control resource set (CORESET) is 3, then the symbol #0, the symbol #1, the symbol #2, the symbol #7, the symbol #8, and the symbol #9 in the slot are the symbols to be monitored.

(4) The nrofCandidate is used for configuring the number of candidate PDCCHs corresponding to each aggregation level in a plurality of aggregation levels of the search space.

Herein, the aggregation level refers to the number of CCEs constituting one PDCCH. Various aggregation levels are defined in the protocol, such as 1,2,4,8,16, etc. Taking the aggregation level of the search space as 16 as an example, it indicates that the PDCCH carried in the search space is composed of 16 CCEs.

Unless otherwise specified, the number of PDCCH candidates corresponding to each aggregation level in the search space in which nrofCandidate is arranged is applied to any DCI format.

(5) searchSpaceType is used to indicate the type of search space, i.e. to indicate whether the search space is a common search space or a UE-specific search space.

Wherein, when the searchSpaceType is configured to common, the search space is represented as a common search space. In this case, the searchSpaceType may also include any one or more of the following parameters: dci-Format0-0-AndFormat1-0, dci-Format2-0, dci-Format2-1, dci-Format2-2 and dci-Format 2-3. When any one of the parameters is selected, it indicates that the terminal needs to monitor the DCIformat corresponding to the parameter in the search space. When one of the parameters is not selected, it indicates that the terminal does not need to monitor the DCI format corresponding to the parameter in the search space. For example, the searchSpaceType includes DCI-Format0-0-AndFormat1-0, and when no other parameter is included, it indicates that the terminal needs to monitor DCI Format0-0 and DCI Format1-0 in the search space, and does not need to monitor DCI Format2-0, DCI Format2-1, DCI Format2-2, and DCI Format 2-3.

When searchSpaceType is configured as UE-specific, it indicates that the search space is UE-specific. In this case, the searchSpaceType may also include any one or more of the following parameters: formats0-0-And-1-0 or formats 0-1-And-1-1. When any one of the parameters is selected, it indicates that the terminal needs to monitor the DCI format corresponding to the parameter in the search space. When one of the parameters is not selected, it indicates that the terminal does not need to monitor the DCI format corresponding to the parameter in the search space. If the searchSpaceType is configured with formats0-0-And-1-0 And is not configured with formats0-1-And-1-1, the terminal needs to monitor the DCI format0-0 And the DCI format1-0 in the search space, And does not need to monitor the DCI format0-1 And the DCI format 1-1.

6. Discontinuous Reception (DRX)

The DRX mechanism is divided into two modes, one is IDLE (IDLE) DRX and the other is connected (connected) DRX. The specific implementation of these two DRX types is different. The embodiment of the present application mainly introduces connected DRX (C-DRX).

The DRX mechanism is to configure one DRX cycle (cycle) for a terminal in RRC connected. As shown in fig. 1, the DRX cycle is composed of "on duration" and "opportunity for DRX". In the "on duration" time, the terminal is in an active period, and monitors and receives a downlink control channel (e.g., PDCCH); in the time of "opportunity for DRX", the terminal is in a sleep period and does not receive data of a downlink channel to save power consumption.

In general, after a terminal is scheduled to receive or transmit data in a certain subframe, it is likely to continue scheduling in the next several subframes. Additional delay may result if the data is waited to be received or transmitted again by the next DRX cycle. Therefore, in order to reduce such delay, the terminal may continue to be in the active period after being scheduled to continuously monitor the PDCCH. The realization mechanism is as follows: when the terminal is scheduled to initially transmit data, the terminal starts (or restarts) a timer drxinactivationtimer, and the terminal is in an active period until the timer drxinactivationtimer times out.

In addition, in order to allow the terminal to sleep during a Round Trip Time (RTT) of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), each DL HARQ Process (Process) defines a timer HARQ RTT timer, and each UL HARQ Process defines a timer UL HARQ RTTtimer. When decoding of a transport block of a certain HARQ Process fails, the terminal may assume that there is a retransmission at least after the HARQ RTT subframe, and thus the terminal does not need to monitor the PDCCH when the HARQ RTT timer or the UL HARQ RTT timer is running.

When the HARQ RTT timer or the UL HARQ RTT timer expires and the data received by the corresponding HARQ process is not decoded successfully, the terminal starts a timer drxrensmissiontimer or drxulrensmissiontimer for the HARQ process. When the drxransmissiontimer or the drxulransmissiontimer is running, the terminal monitors the PDCCH for HARQ retransmission.

It should be noted that initial transmission refers to the first transmission of a Transmission Block (TB). Retransmission, refers to every retransmission of the same transport block after the first transmission.

The above is a brief introduction to the terms involved in the embodiments of the present application, and the details are not described below.

Compared with a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication system, a 5G new air interface (NR) communication system supports a larger bandwidth, a higher transmission speed, and a wider coverage, which results in that the power consumption of the NR terminal is larger than that of the LTE terminal. Therefore, in order to guarantee the user experience, it is necessary to optimize the power consumption of the terminal.

Currently, the industry proposes a power consumption saving scheme for terminals: the base station sends a power consumption saving signal based on the PDCCH to the terminal to instruct the terminal to perform corresponding operation (for example, skipping one or more PDCCH monitoring, skipping PDCCH monitoring of a plurality of time slots, and the like) so as to save the power consumption of the terminal.

As shown in fig. 2, the network device may send a PDCCH-based power saving signal to the terminal before the OnDuration of the DRX cycle, and thus the terminal needs to monitor the PDCCH-based power saving signal before the OnDuration of the DRX cycle.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 3, the network device may send a PDCCH-based power saving signal to the terminal within the OnDuration of the DRX cycle, and thus the terminal needs to monitor the PDCCH-based power saving signal in the OnDuration of the DRX cycle.

In fig. 2 or 3, the solid-line boxes indicate the OnDuration in which the terminal is in the awake state, and the dotted-line boxes indicate the OnDuration in which the terminal is in the sleep state.

It can be appreciated that the PDCCH-based power saving signal needs to be transmitted in the search space, and thus the terminal needs to monitor the PDCCH-based power saving signal in the search space. The requirements for the search space due to the PDCCH-based power saving signal are different at active time (e.g., OnDuration) and non-active time (e.g., opportunity for DRX), while the current search space can only be configured with a set of configuration parameters. Therefore, currently, a solution is proposed: the network device configures at least two search spaces, for example, a search space #1 and a search space #2, for the terminal. Wherein, the search space #1 may correspond to the activation time, and the configuration parameters of the search space #1 satisfy the requirement of the PDCCH-based power saving signal for the search space during the activation time. The search space #2 may correspond to an inactive time, and the configuration parameters of the search space #2 satisfy the requirement of the PDCCH-based power saving signal for the inactive time of the search space. In this way, the terminal monitors the PDCCh-based power saving signal within the search space #1 during the activation time; the terminal monitors a PDCCH-based power consumption saving signal in the search space #2 during the inactive time.

That is, the network device configures at least two search spaces for the terminal to monitor the PDCCH-based power saving signal. In this way, the configuration parameters of the at least two search spaces may be different to accommodate two different application scenarios, an active time and an inactive time.

However, in each BWP, the number of search spaces that the terminal can configure is limited. For example, the current terminal can configure only 10 search spaces. Therefore, if at least two search spaces are configured for the PDCCH-based power saving signal, the configurable number of search spaces for other purposes (e.g., data scheduling) may be reduced, thereby affecting the scheduling of the terminal by the network device.

In order to solve the technical problem, the present application provides a method for configuring a search space and a method for monitoring a search space. The detailed description thereof can be found below and is not repeated herein.

The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to various communication systems, for example, a New Radio (NR) communication system that adopts a fifth generation (5G) communication technology, a future evolution system, or a multiple communication convergence system, and the like. The technical scheme provided by the application can be applied to various application scenarios, for example, scenarios such as machine-to-machine (M2M), macro-micro communication, enhanced mobile internet (eMBB), ultra-reliable and ultra-low latency communication (urlcc), and mass internet of things communication (mtc). These scenarios may include, but are not limited to: communication scenarios between communication devices, network devices, communication scenarios between network devices and communication devices, etc. The following description is given by way of example as applied to a communication scenario between a network device and a terminal.

In addition, the network architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiment of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation to the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and it can be known by a person skilled in the art that the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems along with the evolution of the network architecture and the appearance of a new service scenario.

Fig. 4 shows an architecture diagram of a communication system to which the technical solution provided by the present application is applicable, and the communication system may include one or more network devices (only 1 is shown in fig. 4) and one or more terminals (only one is shown in fig. 4).

The network device may be a base station or base station controller for wireless communication, etc. For example, the base station may include various types of base stations, such as: a micro base station (also referred to as a small station), a macro base station, a relay station, an access point, and the like, which are not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the base station may be a base station (BTS) in a global system for mobile communication (GSM), a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), a base station (node B) in a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), an evolved base station (evolved node B, eNB or e-NodeB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE), an internet of things (internet of things, IoT) or a narrowband internet of things (eNB-NB), a base station in a future 5G mobile communication network or a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), which is not limited in this embodiment. In this embodiment of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the network device may be a network device, or may be an apparatus capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, for example, a chip system. In this embodiment of the present application, a device for implementing a function of a network device is taken as an example of a network device, and a technical solution provided in this embodiment of the present application is described.

A network device, such as a base station, generally includes a Base Band Unit (BBU), a Radio Remote Unit (RRU), an antenna, and a feeder for connecting the RRU and the antenna. Wherein, the BBU is used for being responsible for signal modulation. The RRU is responsible for radio frequency processing. The antenna is responsible for the conversion between guided waves on the cable and space waves in the air. On one hand, the length of a feeder line between the RRU and the antenna is greatly shortened by the distributed base station, so that the signal loss can be reduced, and the cost of the feeder line can also be reduced. On the other hand, the RRU and the antenna are smaller, so that the RRU can be installed anywhere, and the network planning is more flexible. Besides RRU remote, BBUs can be centralized and placed in a Central Office (CO), and the centralized mode can greatly reduce the number of base station rooms, reduce the energy consumption of corollary equipment, particularly air conditioners, and reduce a large amount of carbon emission. In addition, after the scattered BBUs are collected and become the BBU baseband pool, unified management and scheduling can be realized, and resource allocation is more flexible. In this mode, all physical base stations evolve into virtual base stations. All virtual base stations share information of data receiving and sending, channel quality and the like of users in a BBU baseband pool, and cooperate with each other to realize joint scheduling.

In some deployments, a base station may include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU). The base station may also include an Active Antenna Unit (AAU). The CU realizes part of the functions of the base station and the DU realizes part of the functions of the base station. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, and implementing functions of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer and a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU is responsible for processing a physical layer protocol and a real-time service, and implements functions of a Radio Link Control (RLC), a Medium Access Control (MAC), and a Physical (PHY) layer. The AAU implements part of the physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing and active antenna related functions. Since the information of the RRC layer eventually becomes or is converted from the information of the PHY layer, the higher layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling or PDCP layer signaling, can also be considered to be sent by the DU or from the DU + AAU under this architecture. It is to be understood that the network device may be a device comprising one or more of a CU node, a DU node, an AAU node. In addition, a CU may be divided into network devices in the RAN, and may also be divided into network devices in a Core Network (CN), which is not limited herein.

The terminal is a device with wireless transceiving function. The terminal can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, hand-held or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface (such as a ship and the like); and may also be deployed in the air (e.g., airplanes, balloons, satellites, etc.). The terminal device may be a User Equipment (UE). Wherein the UE comprises a handheld device, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, or a computing device with wireless communication capabilities. Illustratively, the UE may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer, or a computer with wireless transceiving function. The terminal device may also be a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an Augmented Reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), and so on. In the embodiment of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the terminal may be the terminal, or may be an apparatus capable of supporting the terminal to implement the function, such as a chip system. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system may be composed of a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices. In the embodiment of the present application, a device for implementing a function of a terminal is taken as an example, and a technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is described.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of hardware structures of a network device and a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application.

The terminal comprises at least one processor 101 and at least one transceiver 103. Optionally, the terminal may also include an output device 104, an input device 105, and at least one memory 102.

The processor 101, memory 102 and transceiver 103 are connected by a bus. The processor 101 may be a general-purpose Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more ics for controlling the execution of programs in accordance with the present disclosure. The processor 101 may also include multiple CPUs, and the processor 101 may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, or processing cores that process data (e.g., computer program instructions).

Memory 102 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that may store static information and instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that may store information and instructions, but is not limited to, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, optical disk storage (including compact disk, laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disk, blu-ray disk, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. The memory 102 may be a separate device and is connected to the processor 101 via a bus. The memory 102 may also be integrated with the processor 101. The memory 102 is used for storing application program codes for executing the scheme of the application, and the processor 101 controls the execution. The processor 101 is configured to execute the computer program code stored in the memory 102, thereby implementing the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application.

The transceiver 103 may use any transceiver or other device for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as ethernet, Radio Access Network (RAN), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), etc. The transceiver 103 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx.

The output device 104 is in communication with the processor 101 and may display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 104 may be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Light Emitting Diode (LED) display device, a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display device, a projector (projector), or the like. The input device 105 is in communication with the processor 101 and may receive user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 105 may be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, or a sensing device, among others.

The network device comprises at least one processor 201, at least one memory 202, at least one transceiver 203 and at least one network interface 204. The processor 201, memory 202, transceiver 203 and network interface 204 are connected by a bus. The network interface 204 is configured to connect with a core network device through a link (e.g., an S1 interface), or connect with a network interface of another network device through a wired or wireless link (e.g., an X2 interface) (not shown in the drawings), which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the description of the processor 201, the memory 202 and the transceiver 203 may refer to the description of the processor 101, the memory 102 and the transceiver 103 in the terminal, and will not be repeated herein.

The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are specifically described below with reference to the drawings of the specification.

As shown in fig. 6, a method for configuring a search space provided in an embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

s101, the network equipment generates a search space configuration message.

The search space configuration message is used for configuring corresponding configuration parameters for the search space. In an embodiment of the present application, the search space is used for carrying a first signal. Optionally, the first signal is used to indicate power consumption saving information. In this case, the first signal corresponds to the PDCCH-based power consumption saving signal described above. Of course, the first signal may also be other types of signals, which is not limited by the embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that, the description herein is mainly given in terms of the first signal being a power consumption saving signal based on a PDCCH, and the description is unified here and will not be repeated below.

The search space configuration message includes a first set of configuration parameters and a second set of configuration parameters. Any one of the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters includes at least one of: the method comprises the steps of searching the type of a space, the aggregation level, the number of candidate PDCCHs corresponding to the aggregation level, a monitoring period, an offset value, a time domain length and a starting symbol to be monitored in a time slot. The specific meaning of the above parameters can be referred to above, and will not be described herein again.

The first set of configuration parameters corresponds to a first time. Alternatively, the first set of configuration parameters is the configuration parameters that the terminal employs when monitoring the first signal in the search space at the first time.

The second set of configuration parameters corresponds to a second time. Alternatively, the second set of configuration parameters is the configuration parameters used by the terminal to monitor the first signal in the search space at the second time.

In an embodiment of the application, the first time is different from the second time. Alternatively, the first time may be an active time and the second time may be an inactive time. The active time refers to a time when the terminal needs to monitor the PDCCH for data scheduling, for example, an on duration in a DRX cycle, a time when a timer drxinactivtytimer runs, and the like. The inactive time is a time other than the active time. Or, the inactivity time is a time when the terminal does not need to monitor the PDCCH for data scheduling, such as opportunity for DRX in a DRX cycle, and a time when a timer HARQ RTT timer runs in the case where the terminal has only one HARQ process, etc.

The time granularity of the first time and the second time may be a symbol, a slot, a subframe, a radio frame, and the like, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto. That is, the first time (or the second time) may include at least one symbol, or at least one slot, or at least one subframe, or at least one radio frame.

In the 5G NR system, the radio frame time length is 10 ms. One radio frame may include a plurality of subframes. One subframe may include a plurality of slots. One slot may include a plurality of symbols.

Optionally, the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters may differ in at least one configuration parameter in order to accommodate different application scenarios.

Illustratively, if the first time is an active time and the second time is an inactive time, the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters differ in at least one configuration parameter, including one of the following situations:

(1) for the same aggregation level, the number of the PDCCH candidates in the first set of configuration parameters is smaller than the number of the PDCCH candidates in the second set of configuration parameters. It can be understood that, during the inactive time, the terminal only needs to monitor the first signal in the search space, and does not need to monitor other scheduling signals, so the number of PDCCH candidates in the inactive time in the search space may be greater to avoid missing the first signal.

(2) The monitoring period in the first set of configuration parameters is less than the monitoring period in the second set of configuration parameters. It is to be understood that the time domain length of the active time is generally smaller than the time domain length of the inactive time, so as to enable the terminal to better save power consumption. In this case, since the time domain length of the activation time is small and the terminal needs to monitor the first signal for the activation time a plurality of times, the monitoring period of the search space for the activation time should be small. Accordingly, since the time domain length of the inactive time is large, and the terminal only needs to monitor the first signal once in the inactive time, the monitoring period of the search space in the inactive time should be large.

(3) The time domain length in the first set of configuration parameters is greater than the time domain length in the second set of configuration parameters. It can be understood that, since the terminal needs to monitor the first signal for the active time multiple times, the time domain length of the search space in the active time should be relatively large. Accordingly, since the terminal only needs to monitor the first signal once during the inactive time, the time domain length of the search space during the inactive time should be relatively small.

The existing SearchSpace IE can only be used to configure a set of configuration parameters for one search space, and therefore the existing SearchSpace IE is not suitable for the technical solution shown in fig. 6.

For this reason, the embodiment of the present application proposes the following scheme:

in the first aspect, a new cell is provided in the embodiments of the present application. The new information element is dedicated to configuring parameters of a search space carrying the first signal. For convenience of description, the new cell may be referred to as searchbaceforpowersave IE hereinafter.

It is understood that a search space for other purposes may follow the current SearchSpace IE to configure the corresponding configuration parameters. Therefore, the terminal can know which search space is used for bearing the first signal according to the cell issued by the network equipment.

For example, taking the first time as the active time and the second time as the inactive time, the difference compared to the searchbace IE searchbaceforpowersaving IE is as follows:

(1) if there is a difference between the monitoring period and the offset value of the search space in the active time and the monitoring period and the offset value of the search space in the inactive time, the searchbaceforpowersaving IE may be implemented as follows:

the monitor period corresponding to the activation time and the offset value are used for indicating the monitor period corresponding to the activation time.

The monitongslotperiodicityandOffsetOutActiveTime is used to indicate the monitoring period corresponding to the inactivity time and the offset value.

(2) If the time domain length of the search space in the active time is different from the time domain length of the search space in the inactive time, the searchbaceforpowersaving IE may be implemented as follows:

wherein, the duration InActiveTime is used for indicating the time domain length corresponding to the activation time.

The duration outactivetime is used to indicate a time domain length corresponding to the inactivity time.

(3) For a search space, if the start symbol to be monitored in a time slot corresponding to an active time is different from the start symbol to be monitored in a time slot corresponding to an inactive time, the searchbaceforpowersaving IE may be implemented as follows:

The monitorngsymbols within the slot corresponding to the activation time are used to indicate a start symbol to be monitored.

The monitorngsymbols within the slot corresponding to the inactivity time are used to indicate the start symbol to be monitored.

(4) If the aggregation level to be monitored in the activation time and the number of candidate PDCCHs corresponding to each aggregation level in the search space are different from the aggregation level to be monitored in the deactivation time and the number of candidate PDCCHs corresponding to each aggregation level in the search space, the SearchSpaceForPowerSaving IE may be implemented in the following form:

the nrofCandidateInActiveTime is used for indicating a plurality of aggregation levels of the search space corresponding to the activation time and the number of PDCCH candidates corresponding to each aggregation level in the plurality of aggregation levels.

The nrofcandidateinactivetime is used for indicating a plurality of aggregation levels of the search space corresponding to the inactive time, and the number of candidate PDCCHs corresponding to each aggregation in the plurality of aggregation levels.

Alternatively, the searchbaceforpowersaving IE may not include the configuration parameter of the type of search space. That is, when the search space configuration message employs the searchbaceforpowersaving IE, the search space configuration message may not include the type of the search space. This is advantageous in saving signalling overhead.

It will be appreciated that in this case, the type of search space carrying the first signal may be defined in the protocol or determined by a network device and terminal negotiation beforehand. For example, the search space carrying the first signal may default to a common search space, or the search space carrying the first signal may default to a UE-specific search space.

Scheme two, this application embodiment improves current SearchSpace IE. The improved searchspace ie can be applied to any configuration of search space. That is, no matter whether the search space is used for carrying the first signal or for other purposes, the search space configuration message corresponding to the search space may employ the improved SearchSpace IE.

In this case, the terminal determines whether the corresponding search space is used for carrying the first signal according to the DCI format carried in the improved SearchSpace IE. Taking the first signal as the power consumption saving signal based on the PDCCH as an example, if the improved SearchSpace IE carries the DCI format M, it indicates that the terminal needs to monitor the power consumption saving signal based on the PDCCH in the search space, that is, the search space is used for carrying the power consumption saving signal based on the PDCCH. The DCI format is the DCI format corresponding to the power saving signal defined in the foregoing.

Exemplarily, taking the first time as the activation time and the second time as the deactivation time as an example, compared with the current SearchSpace IE, the difference of the improved SearchSpace IE is that:

(1) if there is a difference between the monitoring period and the offset value of the search space in the active time and the monitoring period and the offset value of the search space in the inactive time, the modified SearchSpace IE may be implemented as follows:

(2) If the time domain length of the search space in the active time is different from the time domain length of the search space in the inactive time, the improved SearchSpace IE may be implemented as follows:

(3) For a search space, if the start symbol to be monitored in a time slot corresponding to an active time is different from the start symbol to be monitored in a time slot corresponding to an inactive time, the improved SearchSpace IE may be implemented as follows:

(4) If the aggregation level to be monitored in the activation time and the number of candidate PDCCHs corresponding to each aggregation level in the search space are different from the aggregation level to be monitored in the deactivation time and the number of candidate PDCCHs corresponding to each aggregation level in the search space, the improved SearchSpace IE may be implemented in the following form:

In addition, as can be seen from the example of SearchSpaceForPowerSaving IE and the example of modified SearchSpace IE, in the example of modified SearchSpace IE, nrofcandidateinactive time and nrofcandidateinactive time are located in the structure of dci-formatted powersaving to illustrate that the aggregation level corresponding to the activation time indicated by nrofcandidateinactive time and the number of candidate PDCCHs are applicable to the power save signal and the aggregation level corresponding to the deactivation time indicated by nrofcandidateinactive time and the number of candidate PDCCHs are applicable to the power save signal, compared to the SearchSpaceForPowerSaving IE.

S102, the network equipment sends the search space configuration message to the terminal, so that the terminal receives the search space configuration message sent by the network equipment.

S103, the terminal determines a first group of configuration parameters and a second group of configuration parameters according to the search space configuration message.

Based on the technical scheme shown in fig. 6, the network device configures two sets of configuration parameters of a search space for the terminal through the search space configuration message, where the two sets of configuration parameters correspond to different times. In this way, the terminal may monitor the first signal in the search space using the corresponding set of configuration parameters at different times to meet specific requirements for the search space at different times.

In addition, when the first signal is used to indicate the power consumption saving information, that is, when the first signal is a power consumption saving signal based on a PDCCH, based on the technical scheme shown in fig. 7, the network device configures only one search space for the power consumption saving signal for the terminal. Therefore, compared with the scheme that two search spaces for power consumption signal saving are needed to be configured for the terminal in the prior art, the technical scheme of the application can enable the network device to have a larger number of search spaces for other purposes, and is beneficial to scheduling the terminal by the network device.

As shown in fig. 7, a method for configuring a search space provided in an embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

s201, the network device sends a first search space configuration message to the terminal, so that the terminal receives the first search space configuration message sent by the network device.

Wherein the first search space configuration message comprises a first set of configuration parameters for the search space. The first set of configuration parameters corresponds to a first time. Alternatively, the first set of configuration parameters is the configuration parameters that the terminal employs when monitoring the first signal in the search space at the first time.

Optionally, the first search space configuration message further includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that a set of configuration parameters included in the first search space configuration message is a first set of configuration parameters. In other words, the first indication information is used to indicate that a set of configuration parameters included in the first search space configuration message corresponds to the first time.

S202, the network equipment sends a second search space configuration message to the terminal, so that the terminal receives the second search space configuration message sent by the network equipment.

Wherein the second search space configuration message comprises a second set of configuration parameters for the search space. The second set of configuration parameters corresponds to a second time. Alternatively, the second set of configuration parameters is the configuration parameters used by the terminal to monitor the first signal in the search space at the second time.

Optionally, the second search space configuration message further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that a set of configuration parameters included in the second search space configuration message is a second set of configuration parameters. Alternatively, the second indication information is used to indicate that a set of configuration parameters included in the second search space configuration message corresponds to the second time.

It should be noted that the first search space configuration message and the second search space configuration message are used to indicate configuration parameters of the same search space. Optionally, the current searchspace IE may be used for the first search space configuration message and the second search space configuration message, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The execution sequence of steps S201 and S202 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. For example, step S201 may be performed first, and then step S202 may be performed. Alternatively, step S202 may be performed first, and then step S201 may be performed. Still alternatively, steps S201 and S202 are performed simultaneously.

S203, the terminal determines a first group of configuration parameters according to the first search space configuration message, and determines a second group of configuration parameters according to the second search space configuration message.

Based on the technical scheme shown in fig. 7, the network device configures two sets of configuration parameters corresponding to the same search space for the terminal through two search space configuration messages, where the two sets of configuration parameters are applicable to different times. Thus, the terminal can monitor the first signal at different times using the corresponding set of configuration parameters to meet the specific requirements at different times.

After the configuration method based on the search space shown in fig. 6 or fig. 7, the terminal may monitor the search space according to the method shown in fig. 8. As shown in fig. 8, a method for monitoring a search space provided in an embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

s301, the terminal monitors a first signal in a search space according to a first set of configuration parameters of the search space at a first time.

Alternatively, the first time may be an activation time. The active time refers to a time when the terminal needs to monitor the PDCCH for data scheduling, for example, an on duration in a DRX cycle, a time when a timer drxinactivtytimer runs, and the like.

In this embodiment, the first time may be configured for the terminal in advance by the network device, or determined by the terminal itself, or determined according to a protocol, which is not limited herein.

Optionally, step 301 may also be described as: the terminal monitors a first signal at a first time according to a first set of configuration parameters of a search space.

As an implementation manner, the terminal determines a time domain position of a search space at a first time according to a first set of configuration parameters; and performing blind detection on the search space according to the time domain position of the search space to determine whether the search space bears the first signal. The blind detection process of the search space may refer to the prior art, and is not described herein again.

And S302, the terminal monitors the first signal in the search space at a second time according to a second group of configuration parameters of the search space.

Wherein the second time is different from the first time. The second time is a time other than the first time.

Optionally, the second time is an inactive time. The inactivity time is a time when the terminal does not need to monitor a PDCCH for data scheduling, such as opportunity for DRX in a DRX cycle, and a time when a timer HARQ RTT timer runs in the case where the terminal has only one HARQ process.

In this embodiment of the application, the second time may be configured for the terminal in advance by the network device, or determined by the terminal itself, or determined according to a protocol, which is not limited herein.

Optionally, step 302 may also be described as: the terminal monitors the first signal at a second time according to a second set of configuration parameters of the search space.

As an implementation manner, the terminal determines the time domain position of the search space at the second time according to the second set of configuration parameters; and performing blind detection on the search space according to the time domain position of the search space to determine whether the search space bears the first signal.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 9, the terminal monitors the first signal using a first set of configuration parameters at active times and monitors the first signal using a second set of configuration parameters at inactive times.

Based on the technical solution shown in fig. 8, the terminal adopts different sets of configuration parameters at different times to monitor the first signal in the search space, so as to meet specific requirements of the first signal on the search space at different times.

In addition, under the condition that the first signal is the power consumption saving signal based on the PDCCH, the technical scheme shown in fig. 8 may enable the terminal to monitor the power consumption saving signal based on the PDCCH only in one search space, that is, the network device only needs to utilize one search space to carry the power consumption saving signal based on the PDCCH, so that a greater number of search spaces may be used for other purposes, which is beneficial for the network device to schedule the terminal.

The above-mentioned scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application is mainly introduced from the perspective of interaction between each network element. It is understood that each network element, such as the network device and the terminal, includes a hardware structure or a software module or a combination of both for performing each function in order to realize the functions. Those of skill in the art would readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In the embodiment of the present application, the network device and the terminal may be divided into the functional modules according to the above method example, for example, each functional module may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in a hardware mode, and can also be realized in a software functional module mode. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the division of the module is schematic, and is only one logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation. The following description will be given by taking the case of dividing each function module corresponding to each function:

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 10, the terminal includes a communication module 301 and a processing module 302. The communication module 301 is configured to support the terminal to perform step S102 in fig. 6, steps S201 and S202 in fig. 7, and/or other processes for supporting the technical solution described herein. The processing module 302 is configured to support the terminal to perform step S103 in fig. 6, step S103 in fig. 7, steps S301 and S302 in fig. 8, and/or other processes for supporting the technical solutions described herein.

As an example, in conjunction with the terminal shown in fig. 5, the communication module 301 in fig. 10 may be implemented by the transceiver 103 in fig. 5, and the processing module 302 in fig. 10 may be implemented by the processor 101 in fig. 5, which is not limited in this embodiment.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 11, the network device includes a communication module 401 and a processing module 402. The communication module 401 is configured to support the terminal to perform step S102 in fig. 6, steps S201 and S202 in fig. 7, and/or other processes for supporting the technical solution described herein. The processing module 402 is used to support the terminal to execute step S101 in fig. 6, and/or to support other processes of the technical solutions described herein.

As an example, in conjunction with the network device shown in fig. 5, the communication module 401 in fig. 11 may be implemented by the transceiver 203 in fig. 5, and the processing module 402 in fig. 11 may be implemented by the processor 201 in fig. 5, which is not limited in this embodiment.

The embodiment of the application also provides a computer readable storage medium, wherein the computer readable storage medium stores computer instructions; the computer readable storage medium, when run on a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the method as shown in fig. 6-8. The computer instructions may be stored on a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wire (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or can comprise one or more data storage devices, such as a server, a data center, etc., that can be integrated with the medium. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium, or a semiconductor medium (e.g., Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product containing computer instructions, which when run on a communication apparatus, enables the communication apparatus to perform the methods shown in fig. 6 to 8.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application. The chip shown in fig. 12 may be a general-purpose processor or may be a dedicated processor. The chip includes a processor 501. The processor 501 is configured to support the communication device to execute the technical solutions shown in fig. 6 to 8.

Optionally, the chip further includes a transceiver pin 502, where the transceiver pin 502 is used for receiving the control of the processor 501, and is used to support the communication device to execute the technical solutions shown in fig. 6 to 8.

Optionally, the chip shown in fig. 12 may further include: a storage medium 503.

It should be noted that the chip shown in fig. 12 can be implemented by using the following circuits or devices: one or more Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuitry, or any combination of circuitry capable of performing the various functions described throughout this application.

The terminal, the network device, the computer storage medium, the computer program product, and the chip provided in the embodiments of the present application are all configured to execute the method provided above, so that the beneficial effects achieved by the terminal, the network device, the computer storage medium, the computer program product, and the chip can refer to the beneficial effects corresponding to the method provided above, and are not described herein again.

While the present application has been described in connection with various embodiments, other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art from a review of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the word "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Although the present application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be evident that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, the specification and figures are merely exemplary of the present application as defined in the appended claims and are intended to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of the present application. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as well.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring a search space, the method comprising:

the terminal monitors a first signal in a search space according to a first set of configuration parameters of the search space at a first time;

the terminal monitors a first signal in the search space at a second time according to a second set of configuration parameters of the search space.

2. The method of monitoring a search space of claim 1, further comprising:

the terminal receives a search space configuration message sent by network equipment, wherein the search space message parameters comprise a first group of configuration parameters and a second group of configuration parameters, the first group of configuration parameters correspond to first time, and the second group of configuration parameters correspond to second time.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein any one of the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters comprises at least one of the following parameters:

the method comprises the steps of searching the type of a space, an aggregation level, the number of candidate Physical Downlink Control Channels (PDCCH) corresponding to the aggregation level, a monitoring period, an offset value, a time domain length and a starting symbol to be monitored in a time slot.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters differ in at least one configuration parameter.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the first time is an active time and the second time is an inactive time.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters differ in at least one configuration parameter, including at least one of:

for the same aggregation level, the number of the candidate PDCCHs in the first group of configuration parameters is less than that in the second group of configuration parameters;

a monitoring period in the first set of configuration parameters is less than a monitoring period in the second set of configuration parameters;

the time domain length in the first set of configuration parameters is greater than the time domain length in the second set of configuration parameters.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first signal is used to indicate power saving information.

8. A method for configuring a search space, the method comprising:

the network equipment generates a search space configuration message, wherein the search space configuration message comprises a first group of configuration parameters and a second group of configuration parameters, the first group of configuration parameters are configuration parameters adopted by the terminal when monitoring a first signal in the search space at a first time, and the second group of configuration parameters are configuration parameters adopted by the terminal when monitoring the first signal in the search space at a second time;

and the network equipment sends the search space configuration message to a terminal.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein any one of the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters comprises at least one of:

the method comprises the steps of searching the type of a space, the aggregation level, the number of candidate Physical Downlink Control Channels (PDCCH) corresponding to the aggregation level, a monitoring period, an offset value, a time domain length and a starting symbol to be monitored in a time slot.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters differ in at least one configuration parameter.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the first time is an active time, and the second time is an inactive time.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters differ in at least one configuration parameter, which includes at least one of:

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the first signal is used to indicate power saving information.

14. A terminal, comprising: one or more processors; a memory; and one or more computer programs, wherein the one or more computer programs are stored in the memory, the one or more computer programs comprising instructions which, when executed by the terminal, cause the terminal to perform the steps of:

Monitoring a first signal in a search space at a first time according to a first set of configuration parameters of the search space;

monitoring a first signal in the search space at a second time according to a second set of configuration parameters of the search space.

15. The terminal of claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed by the terminal, further cause the terminal to perform the steps of:

receiving a search space configuration message sent by a network device, where the search space message parameters include a first set of configuration parameters and a second set of configuration parameters, the first set of configuration parameters corresponds to a first time, and the second set of configuration parameters corresponds to a second time.

16. The terminal according to claim 14 or 15, wherein any one of the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters comprises at least one of the following parameters:

the method comprises the steps of searching the type of a space, the aggregation level, the number of candidate physical downlink control channels corresponding to the aggregation level, a monitoring period, an offset value, a time domain length and a starting symbol to be monitored in a time slot.

17. The terminal of claim 16, wherein the first set of configuration parameters is different from the second set of configuration parameters in at least one configuration parameter.

18. The terminal of claim 17, wherein the first time is an active time and the second time is an inactive time.

19. The terminal of claim 18, wherein the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters differ in at least one configuration parameter, including at least one of:

20. The terminal according to any of claims 14 to 19, wherein the first signal is used to indicate power saving information.

21. A network device, comprising: one or more processors; a memory; and one or more computer programs, wherein the one or more computer programs are stored in the memory, the one or more computer programs comprising instructions which, when executed by the network device, cause the network device to perform the steps of:

Generating a search space configuration message, wherein the search space configuration message comprises a first set of configuration parameters and a second set of configuration parameters, the first set of configuration parameters are configuration parameters adopted by the terminal when monitoring the first signal in the search space at a first time, and the second set of configuration parameters are configuration parameters adopted by the terminal when monitoring the first signal in the search space at a second time;

and sending the search space configuration message to a terminal.

22. The network device of claim 21, wherein any one of the first set of configuration parameters and the second set of configuration parameters comprises at least one of:

23. The network device of claim 22, wherein the first set of configuration parameters differs from the second set of configuration parameters in at least one configuration parameter.

24. The network device of claim 23, wherein the first time is an active time and the second time is an inactive time.

25. The network device of claim 24, wherein the first set of configuration parameters differs from the second set of configuration parameters in at least one configuration parameter, comprising at least one of:

26. Network device according to any of claims 21 to 25, wherein said first signal is used to indicate power saving information.

27. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method of monitoring a search space according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or cause the processor to perform a method of configuring a search space according to any one of claims 8 to 13.

28. A chip comprising a processor which, when executing instructions, performs the method of monitoring a search space according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or the method of configuring a search space according to any one of claims 8 to 13.