CN114128373A

CN114128373A - Transmission method and device of Downlink Control Information (DCI)

Info

Publication number: CN114128373A
Application number: CN201980098446.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 侯海龙; 李超君
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-08-16
Filing date: 2019-08-16
Publication date: 2022-03-01
Also published as: WO2021031026A1

Abstract

A method and a device for transmitting Downlink Control Information (DCI), wherein the method comprises the following steps: the network device may send the first DCI to the first terminal device according to first DCI format information in a first DCI format set, where the first DCI format set includes N pieces of DCI format information, and the N pieces of DCI format information correspond to data transmission functions of N different terminal devices, respectively. Because the first DCI set may include one or more pieces of DCI format information, each piece of DCI format information corresponds to a data transmission function of a terminal device, when the network device transmits the first DCI, the network device may select a suitable DCI format according to the data transmission function supported by the terminal device to transmit the first DCI, thereby effectively reducing resource overhead in the DCI transmission process and improving flexibility of transmitting the energy-saving signal.

Description

Transmission method and device of Downlink Control Information (DCI)

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for transmitting downlink control information DCI.

Background

In order to reduce power consumption of a terminal device, a Wake Up Signal (WUS) or a power saving signal/channel (power saving signal/channel) may be introduced in a New Radio (NR) system of a fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G), and the WUS may be combined with a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) mechanism in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection state. For terminal devices that support WUS, a network device may transmit WUS during the inactive time or outside the active time of the terminal device every DRX cycle.

For WUS design, one possible solution is to multiplex the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) in the existing NR, i.e., the WUS is designed as a downlink control channel, such as PDCCH, and the terminal device can determine whether to "wake up" by detecting the corresponding PDCCH. WUS can also be designed as a PDCCH for a group of terminal devices (UE groups) in view of resource consumption on the network side. The network device may configure and detect the same Group PDCCH for a Group of terminal devices, where the Group PDCCH carries a Group DCI for indicating corresponding energy saving information (e.g., whether to "wake up") of each terminal device in the Group.

In an internet of things (IoT) scenario, there are different types of customized terminal devices, such as cameras for video monitoring, industrial sensors, and the like. These different types of terminals have different traffic and power characteristics and may be configured with different power saving functions. Different power saving functions mean that different length bits in the DCI are required to indicate. In the prior art, a WUS may indicate multiple power saving functions, and the lengths of group DCIs sent by a network device to mtc-type terminal devices are all the same, and if a certain type of terminal device is configured with only part of the power saving functions, more resource waste may occur in the DCI.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a method and a device for transmitting Downlink Control Information (DCI), which are used for providing different DCI formats for different types of terminal equipment, so that the flexibility of sending energy-saving signals is enhanced, and the resource loss is reduced.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for transmitting DCI, where the method is applicable to a network device, and the method includes: the network equipment sends first DCI format information to first terminal equipment, wherein the first DCI format information is contained in a first DCI format set, the first DCI format set comprises N DCI format information, the N DCI format information respectively corresponds to data transmission functions of N different terminal equipment, and N is a positive integer; and the network equipment sends the first DCI to the first terminal equipment according to the first DCI format information.

By adopting the technical scheme provided by the application, the network equipment can send the first DCI to the first terminal equipment according to the first DCI format information in the first DCI format set. Because the first DCI set may include one or more pieces of DCI format information, each piece of DCI format information corresponds to a data transmission function of a terminal device, when the network device transmits the first DCI, the network device may select a suitable DCI format according to the data transmission function supported by the terminal device to transmit the first DCI, thereby effectively reducing resource overhead in the DCI transmission process and improving flexibility of transmitting the energy-saving signal.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible design of the first aspect, the data transmission function includes one or more of the following: whether to wake up in a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) active period, whether to configure a Channel State Information (CSI) measurement and reporting function before the DRX active period, a bandwidth part (BWP) switching scheme, a configuration scheme of the number of receiving antennas in the DRX active period, a cross-subframe scheduling scheme in the DRX active period and a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) skipping scheme in the DRX active period.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible design of the first aspect, the first DCI includes M information blocks, where M is a positive integer; the first DCI format information comprises indication information used for indicating one or more items of the following items: indexes of information blocks corresponding to the first terminal equipment in the M information blocks; alternatively, the length of the first DCI; or, the length of the information block. In this way, after receiving the first DCI, the second terminal device may determine, according to the content indicated in the first DCI format information, an information block corresponding to the second terminal device from the M information blocks included in the first DCI, so as to obtain the energy saving information.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible design of the first aspect, the network device may further send, to the first terminal device, information indicating a first radio network temporary identity RNTI, where the first RNTI is used for the first terminal device to receive the first DCI, and the first RNTI corresponds to the first DCI format information. That is, different DCI formats may correspond to different RNTIs.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible design of the first aspect, a time domain position where the network device sends the first DCI is in an inactive period of DRX, and the network device may further send, to the first terminal device, information indicating a timing advance of the time domain position of the first DCI with respect to a next DRX active period.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible design of the first aspect, the network device may send one or more of the following information through a radio resource control, RRC, message: the first DCI format information, the information for indicating the first RNTI, and the information for indicating the time advance of the time domain position of the first DCI relative to the next DRX activation period. Thereby facilitating the terminal device to receive the first DCI.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for transmitting DCI, where the method is applicable to a terminal device, and the method includes: a first terminal device receives first DCI format information from a network device, where the first DCI format information is included in a first DCI format set, the first DCI format set includes N DCI format information, the N DCI format information respectively corresponds to data transmission functions of N different terminal devices, and N is a positive integer; the first terminal device receives the first DCI from the network device according to the first DCI format information.

By adopting the technical scheme provided by the application, the first terminal device can receive the first DCI sent by the network device according to the first DCI format information in the first DCI format set. Because the first DCI set may include one or more pieces of DCI format information, each piece of DCI format information corresponds to a data transmission function of a terminal device, when the network device transmits the first DCI, the network device may select a suitable DCI format according to the data transmission function supported by the terminal device to transmit the first DCI, thereby effectively reducing resource overhead in the DCI transmission process and improving flexibility of transmitting the energy-saving signal.

With reference to the second aspect, in one possible design of the second aspect, the data transmission function includes one or more of the following: whether to wake up in a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) active period, whether to configure a Channel State Information (CSI) measurement and reporting function before the active period, a bandwidth part (BWP) switching scheme, a configuration scheme of the number of receiving antennas in the DRX active period, a cross-subframe scheduling scheme in the DRX active period and a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) skipping scheme in the DRX active period.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible design of the second aspect, the first DCI includes M information blocks, where M is a positive integer; the first DCI format information comprises indication information used for indicating one or more items of the following items: indexes of information blocks corresponding to the first terminal equipment in the M information blocks; alternatively, the length of the first DCI; or, the length of the information block. In this way, after receiving the first DCI, the second terminal device may determine, according to the content indicated in the first DCI format information, an information block corresponding to the second terminal device from the M information blocks included in the first DCI, so as to obtain the energy saving information.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible design of the second aspect, the first terminal device may further receive, from the network device, information indicating a first radio network temporary identity RNTI, where the first RNTI corresponds to the first DCI format information, that is, different DCI formats may correspond to different RNTIs; and the first terminal equipment receives the first DCI according to the first RNTI.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible design of the second aspect, the time domain position where the first terminal device receives the first DCI is in an inactive period of DRX, and the first terminal device may further receive, from the network device, information indicating a time advance of the time domain position of the first DCI with respect to a next DRX active period.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible design of the second aspect, the first terminal device may further receive, through a radio resource control, RRC, message, one or more of the following information: the first DCI format information, the information for indicating the first RNTI, and the information for indicating the time advance of the time domain position of the first DCI relative to the next DRX activation period. Thereby facilitating the terminal device to receive the first DCI.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus has a function of implementing the terminal device in the first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect, and the communication apparatus may be a terminal device, such as a handheld terminal device, a vehicle-mounted terminal device, or the like, or may be a device, such as a chip, included in the terminal device, or may be a device including the terminal device. The functions of the terminal device may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software, where the hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions.

The communication device may also have the functionality of a network device in any of the possible designs implementing the second aspect or the second aspect described above. The communication device may be a network device, such as a base station, or may be a device included in the network device, such as a chip. The functions of the network device may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software, where the hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions.

In one possible design, the communication device includes a processing module and a transceiver module in a structure, where the processing module is configured to support the communication device to perform a corresponding function in any one of the designs of the first aspect or perform a corresponding function in any one of the designs of the second aspect or the second aspect. The transceiver module is configured to support communication between the communication apparatus and other communication devices, for example, when the communication apparatus is a network device, the transceiver module may send the first DCI format information to the first terminal device. The communication device may also include a memory module, coupled to the processing module, that stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. As an example, the processing module may be a processor, the communication module may be a transceiver, the storage module may be a memory, and the memory may be integrated with the processor or disposed separately from the processor, which is not limited in this application.

In another possible design, the communication device may be configured to include a processor and a memory, where the processor is coupled to the memory and configured to execute computer program instructions stored in the memory to cause the communication device to perform the method in the first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the possible designs of the second aspect. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a communication interface, the processor being coupled to the communication interface. When the communication device is a terminal device, the communication interface may be a transceiver or an input/output interface; when the communication means is a chip included in the terminal device, the communication interface may be an input/output interface of the chip. Alternatively, the transceiver may be a transmit-receive circuit and the input/output interface may be an input/output circuit.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, including: a processor coupled to a memory for storing a program or instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system-on-chip to implement the method in any one of the possible designs of the first aspect described above or the method in any one of the possible designs of the second aspect described above.

Optionally, the chip system further comprises an interface circuit. The interface circuit is used for receiving code instructions and transmitting the code instructions to the processor.

Optionally, the system on a chip may have one or more processors. The processor may be implemented by hardware or by software. When implemented in hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like. When implemented in software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor implemented by reading software code stored in a memory.

Optionally, the memory in the system-on-chip may also be one or more. The memory may be integrated with the processor or may be separate from the processor, which is not limited in this application. For example, the memory may be a non-transitory processor, such as a read only memory ROM, which may be integrated with the processor on the same chip or separately disposed on different chips, and the type of the memory and the arrangement of the memory and the processor are not particularly limited in this application.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, which, when read and executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method in any one of the possible designs of the first aspect or the method in any one of the possible designs of the second aspect.

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product, which when read and executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method in any one of the possible designs of the first aspect or the second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, where the communication system includes the network device and at least one terminal device described in the foregoing aspects.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic network architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a DCI transmission method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a DCI format according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is another schematic flowchart of a DCI transmission method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of multiple DCI formats in a first DCI format set according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is another schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is another schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: global system for mobile communications (GSM) systems, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) systems, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunications system (universal mobile telecommunications system, UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX) communication systems, fifth generation (5G) or new NR systems, etc., or other similar communication systems applied to future communications.

Please refer to fig. 1, which is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication system includes a network device 110, a terminal device 101, a terminal device 102, a terminal device 103, a terminal device 104, a terminal device 105, and a terminal device 106. A network device may communicate with at least one terminal device, such as terminal device 101, via an Uplink (UL) and a Downlink (DL).

The network device in fig. 1 may be an access network device, such as a base station. Wherein the access network equipment corresponds to different equipment on different systems, e.g. on the fourth generation mobile communication technology (the 4)^thgeneration, 4G) systemThe eNB, in a 5G system, corresponds to an access network device in 5G, e.g., a gNB. However, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application may also be applied to a future mobile communication system, and therefore, the network device in fig. 1 may also correspond to an access network device in the future mobile communication system.

It should be understood that a plurality of network devices may also exist in the communication system, each network device may provide services for a plurality of terminal devices, and the number of network devices and terminal devices in the communication system is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The network device in fig. 1, and each of a part of the plurality of terminal devices or all of the plurality of terminal devices may implement the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application. In addition, the terminal devices in fig. 1 may be different types of terminal devices, for example, the terminal devices may include mtc type terminal devices such as a mobile phone, an intelligent water meter in an internet of things, and an electric meter, and the various types of terminal devices shown in fig. 1 are only some examples thereof, and it should be understood that the terminal devices in the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

Hereinafter, some terms in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

1) A terminal device, which may also be referred to as a User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Terminal (MT), etc., is a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user. The terminal device may communicate with a core network via a Radio Access Network (RAN), and exchange voice and/or data with the RAN. For example, the terminal device may be a handheld device, an in-vehicle device, a vehicle user device, or the like, having a wireless connection function. Currently, some examples of terminal devices are: a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palm top computer, a Mobile Internet Device (MID), a wearable device, a Virtual Reality (VR) device, an Augmented Reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote surgery (remote medical supply), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (smart security), a wireless terminal in city (smart city), a wireless terminal in home (smart home), and the like.

By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable equipment can also be called wearable smart device or intelligent wearable equipment etc. is the general term of using wearable technique to carry out intelligent design, develop the equipment that can dress to daily wearing, like glasses, gloves, wrist-watch, dress and shoes etc.. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the clothing or accessories of the user. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also realizes powerful functions through software support, data interaction and cloud interaction. The generalized wearable smart device includes full functionality, large size, and can implement full or partial functionality without relying on a smart phone, such as: smart watches or smart glasses and the like, and only focus on a certain type of application functions, and need to be used in cooperation with other devices such as smart phones, such as various smart bracelets, smart helmets, smart jewelry and the like for monitoring physical signs.

The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may also be an on-board module, an on-board component, an on-board chip, or an on-board unit that is built in the vehicle as one or more components or units, and the vehicle may implement the method of the present application through the built-in on-board module, the on-board component, the on-board chip, or the on-board unit.

2) The network device is a device in the network for accessing the terminal device to the wireless network. The network device may be a node in a radio access network, which may also be referred to as a base station, and may also be referred to as a Radio Access Network (RAN) node (or device). The network device may be configured to interconvert received air frames and Internet Protocol (IP) packets as a router between the terminal device and the rest of the access network, which may include an IP network. The network device may also coordinate attribute management for the air interface. For example, the network device may include an evolved Node B (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system or an evolved LTE system (LTE-Advanced, LTE-a), such as a conventional macro base station eNB and a micro base station eNB in a heterogeneous network scenario, or may also include a next generation Node B (gNB) in a fifth generation mobile communication technology (5th generation, 5G) New Radio (NR) system, or may also include a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), a home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, home Node B), a Base Band Unit (BBU), a BBU point, or a WiFi Access Point (AP), and the like, or may also include a centralized access point (cloud access point) in a cloud access network (cloud access network, CU) and Distributed Unit (DU), embodiments of the present application are not limited. As another example, one type of network device in V2X technology is a Road Side Unit (RSU), which may be a fixed infrastructure entity supporting V2X applications and may exchange messages with other entities supporting V2X applications.

3) A downlink control channel, such as a PDCCH, or an Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel (EPDCCH), or may also include other downlink control channels. The details are not intended to be limiting.

4) The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application may be used interchangeably. The "plurality" means two or more, and in view of this, the "plurality" may also be understood as "at least two" in the embodiments of the present application. "at least one" is to be understood as meaning one or more, for example one, two or more. For example, the inclusion of at least one means that one, two or more are included, and does not limit which is included. For example, at least one of A, B and C is included, then inclusion can be A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. Similarly, the understanding of the description of "at least one" and the like is similar. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning 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. In addition, the character "/" generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship, unless otherwise specified.

Unless stated to the contrary, the embodiments of the present application refer to the ordinal numbers "first", "second", etc., for distinguishing between a plurality of objects, and do not define the order, sequence, priority, or importance of the plurality of objects, and the descriptions of "first", "second", etc., do not define that the objects are necessarily different.

Please refer to fig. 2, which is a flowchart illustrating a method for transmitting downlink control information DCI according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method specifically includes the following steps S201 to S204.

Step S201, the network device sends first DCI format information to the first terminal device, where the first DCI format information is used to indicate a first DCI format.

The DCI format information described in the embodiment of the present application is used to indicate a DCI format. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a DCI format provided in an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 3, one DCI may include multiple information blocks with the same length, each information block includes energy saving information corresponding to a terminal device, and a last information block of the multiple information blocks stores a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) for scrambling the DCI, where the RNTI may be used to indicate a PDCCH packet where the terminal device is located, so that the terminal device can recognize and receive the DCI. In one possible design, the RNTI may be, for example, a Power Saving (PS) -RNTI. The same length of the information blocks means that the number of bits of information that can be included in each information block is the same.

It should be understood that terminal devices corresponding to multiple information blocks in one DCI may be different, and thus, multiple terminal devices may multiplex the same DCI to obtain the energy saving information, which is beneficial to reducing resource consumption on the network side and improving the efficiency of the energy saving signal. Further, for each of the plurality of information blocks, the terminal device corresponding to the information block may also be one or more, that is, the plurality of terminal devices may also multiplex one information block in the DCI, indicating that the terminal devices have the same energy saving information.

Step S202, the first terminal device receives the first DCI format information from the network device.

Step S203, the network device sends the first DCI to the first terminal device according to the first DCI format information.

The network device may send the first DCI to the first terminal device according to the first DCI format information, where the network device sends the first DCI to the first terminal device by using the first DCI format indicated by the first DCI format information. Since the first DCI transmitted by the network device adopts the first DCI format, in step S201, the network device needs to transmit first DCI format information for indicating the first DCI format to the first terminal device, so that the terminal device can obtain the energy saving information according to the first DCI format. It will be appreciated that the network device may transmit the first DCI format information to the first terminal device before transmitting the first DCI.

As can be seen from the DCI format shown in fig. 3, if the first DCI includes M information blocks, where M is a positive integer, the first DCI format information may include information indicating one or more of an index of the information block corresponding to the first terminal device in the M information blocks, a length of the first DCI, and a length of each of the M information blocks.

It should be noted that the DCI may be a group DCI. Therefore, the network device may also send the first DCI to the first terminal device according to the first DCI format information, where the network device may send the first DCI to a group of terminal devices, and the first terminal device is one of the group of terminal devices.

Step S204, the first terminal device receives the first DCI from the network device according to the first DCI format information.

After receiving the first DCI, the first terminal device may determine, according to the length of the first DCI indicated in the first DCI indication information, the length of each information block in the first DCI, the number M of information blocks included in the first DCI, and an index of the information block corresponding to the first terminal device in the M information blocks, an information block corresponding to the first terminal device, and then obtain the energy saving information from the information block.

In this embodiment, the network device may further send, to the first terminal device, information indicating the first RNTI. When the network device transmits the first DCI, the first DCI is scrambled by using the first RNTI. The first RNTI corresponds to a first DCI format adopted by the first DCI, and can be used for the first terminal device to identify the PDCCH group in which the first terminal device is located. That is, the first terminal device may detect DCI based on the first RNTI, and determine whether an information block including its own energy saving information exists in a certain DCI based on whether the first RNTI can descramble the DCI. Optionally, the first RNTI may be a PS-RNTI.

The network device may specifically send the first DCI through the PDCCH channel, where the time domain position where the first DCI is sent may be located in an active period of DRX or in an inactive period of DRX, and if the time domain position where the first DCI is sent is located in the inactive period of DRX, the network device may further send, to the first terminal device, information indicating a time advance of the time domain position of the first DCI with respect to a next DRX active period.

It should be noted that the network device may send, to the first terminal device through an RRC message, one or more of the information including the first DCI format information, the information indicating the first RNTI, and the information indicating the time advance of the time domain position of the first DCI with respect to the next DRX activation period. The information may be included in the same RRC message and sent to the first terminal device, or may be included in different RRC messages and sent to the first terminal device, which is not limited in this application. For example, as shown in steps S401 to S406 in fig. 4, before transmitting the first DCI, the network device may transmit an RRC message to the first terminal device, where the RRC message includes the first DCI format information, information indicating the first RNTI, and information indicating a time advance of a time domain position of the first DCI with respect to a next DRX activation period.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first DCI format information is included in the first DCI format set. The first DCI format set includes N DCI format information sets, where the N DCI format information sets are different from each other, and are respectively used to indicate different DCI formats and respectively correspond to data transmission functions of N different terminal devices, and N is a positive integer. The first DCI format information refers to one of the N DCI format information.

Since the DCI format information is used to indicate the DCI format, if the N DCI format information are different from each other, it indicates that the DCI formats indicated by the N DCI format information are different. Each DCI format may be used to support the data transmission function of one terminal device, and different DCI formats may support different terminal devices with different data transmission functions.

The DCI formats may be different, and the DCI formats may include one or more of a length of the DCI, a length of each information block in the DCI, a type of energy saving information included in each information block in the DCI, an RNTI used for scrambling the DCI, and a supported data transmission function. That is, if at least one of the two DCI formats is different in DCI length, DCI length per information block, DCI type of energy saving information included in each information block, RNTI used for scrambling DCI, and supported data transmission function, the two DCI formats may be considered as different DCI formats.

The data transfer functions mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may include one or more of the following:

whether to wake up in a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) active period, whether to configure Channel State Information (CSI) measurement and report before the DRX active period, a bandwidth part (BWP) switching scheme, a configuration scheme of the number of receiving antennas in the DRX active period, a cross-subframe scheduling scheme in the DRX active period, and a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) skipping (physical downlink control channel) skipping) scheme in the DRX active period.

Other types of data transmission functions for power saving functions may optionally be included in some embodiments.

The data transmission function of the terminal device may also be understood as a combination of power saving schemes employed by the terminal device. Specifically, whether to wake up in the DRX active period may be understood as a wake up function of the terminal device. Usually wake up is the basic function of WUS and all types of terminals should support it. The WUS typically transmits at a time before the DRX active period, i.e., the WUS transmits during the DRX inactive period, indicating whether the terminal device wakes up for monitoring the PDCCH and other traffic activities during the following DRX active period. The wake-up function may explicitly indicate, through 1-bit information in the DCI, whether the terminal device activates the monitoring PDCCH in the active period or enters the sleep state sleep. For example, when the value of the bit is "1" indicating that monitoring of the PDCCH is activated, the value of the bit is "0" indicating that the sleep state is entered.

Whether the CSI measurement and reporting function is configured before the DRX active period may be understood as CSI measurement and reporting of the terminal device. Because the terminal device will sleep for a long time before entering the active period, the terminal device does not perform CSI measurement during the sleep period, and the CSI measurement uses include channel quality measurement, beam management, channel phase tracking, and the like. For some terminal devices moving at certain positions, after a long-time sleep state, the conditions that the current channel quality estimation is inaccurate and the beams are not matched by the network device and the terminal devices occur, so that the terminal devices can be instructed to carry out CSI measurement and report when being awakened. The notification terminal device can be displayed by 1-bit information in the DCI. The CSI measurement and reporting function is optional configuration of the terminal device, and the CSI measurement and reporting function may be configured for some terminal devices, and only the terminal device configured with the CSI measurement and reporting function has indication information of the CSI measurement and reporting function in DCI.

BWP switching (switch), i.e., a BWP switching function. The BWP is a bandwidth resource for the terminal device to work, each terminal device can configure 4 BWPs at most, only one BWP is activated each time, the terminal device conducts service transmission and RRM measurement on the activated BWP, and the BWP with a proper size is selected according to data to be transmitted, so that power consumption is reduced. For different service models, the arrival time and size of the data packet are different, so that the current data volume to be transmitted is different for a certain activation time, and therefore, when the terminal device is instructed to wake up, the currently activated BWP can be adjusted at the same time to perform BWP switching. The function is more effective for bursty traffic models, switching among configured 4 BWPs can be indicated by 2-bit information in DCI, and for a terminal device with a relatively stable traffic reaching period, the function of BWP switching may not be included, and the BWP switching function is a configuration selectable by the terminal device.

Fig. 5 exemplarily shows a plurality of pieces of DCI format information in a first DCI format set provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 5, the first DCI format set includes 4 pieces of DCI format information, where a data transmission function supported by DCI format 1 includes wake-up, a data transmission function supported by DCI format 2 includes wake-up and CSI measurement and reporting, a data transmission function supported by DCI format 3 includes wake-up and BWP switching, and a data transmission function supported by DCI format 4 includes wake-up, BWP switching, and CSI measurement and reporting. It should be understood that the number of DCI format information shown in fig. 5 is only an example, and the number of DCI format information in the first DCI format set is not specifically limited in this application and may be set by a person skilled in the art according to actual needs.

The 4 DCI formats shown in fig. 5 have different DCI lengths, L shown in fig. 5_max1、L _max2、L _max3And L_max4. And the length of the information block in different DCI formats is also different. Generally, the more power saving schemes included in the data transmission function, the larger the length of the information block. In addition, the 4 DCI formats may be scrambled using a dedicated RNTI corresponding to the DCI format.

It should be noted that the lengths of the DCIs indicated by the N pieces of DCI format information in the first DCI format set may be the same, or the DCI lengths indicated by each piece of DCI format information may be configured separately, and the configured DCI lengths may be the same or different. Since the lengths of the information blocks in different DCI formats are different, if the DCI lengths of the N DCI formats are the same, this means that the number of terminal devices that can be accommodated in different DCI formats is different, and the smaller the length of the information block is, more terminal devices can be multiplexed. However, it should also be understood that the present application does not limit that the lengths of the information blocks of different DCI formats are necessarily different, and in a scenario where the supported data transmission functions are different, the lengths of the information blocks in different DCI formats may be the same.

For example, in conjunction with the DCI format shown in fig. 3, it is assumed that the DCI lengths of the 4 DCI formats are all 24 bits. If 50 terminal devices exist, the terminal devices are respectively terminal devices 49, and the terminal devices are divided into four groups according to the service and power characteristics of the terminal devices, wherein the first group adopts DCI format 1 and comprises terminal devices 0-23, and PS-RNTI (power save-RNTI) is configured as OXAAAA; the second group adopts DCI format 2, and comprises terminal equipment 24-35, and PS-RNTI is configured as OXBBBB; the third group adopts DCI format 3, which comprises terminal equipment 36-43, and PS-RNTI is configured as OXCCC; the fourth group adopts DCI format 4, which comprises terminal equipment 44-49, PS-RNTI is configured as OXDDD.

Table 1 grouping of terminal devices and DCI formats used

The DCI formats adopted by the four terminal device groups may be as shown in table 1, and taking the group of UEs 0-23 as an example, the network device may respectively configure the UE 0-UE 23 through RRC signaling:

DCI pattern：pattern1-wake up；

block index: the value range [0, 23 ];

DCI length: 24 bits;

PS-RANTI:OXAAAA；

the network device indicates in a corresponding block index in the DCI whether the corresponding terminal device wakes up according to the higher layer configuration, and scrambles CRC check bits of the DCI by PS-RANTI OXAAAA. The terminal equipment monitors a PDCCH scrambled by PS-RNTI OXAAAA, reads an awakening instruction in a block index according to the configuration if the PDCCH of the terminal equipment packet is successfully detected, and awakens in the following DRX activation period if the awakening instruction is received, and monitors the PDCCH; if no wake-up is indicated, no wake-up is performed in the following DRX active period and the DRX-off state is continuously entered.

As can be seen from table 1, when the lengths of all DCI formats are 24 bits, the minimum number of users supported is 24, 12, 8, and 6, and the smaller the length of each information block of different DCI formats is, the more the number of users is supported, and by introducing different DCI formats to different data transmission functions, the usage efficiency of DCI is improved.

Referring to fig. 6, a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application is provided, where the communication device 600 includes: a transceiver module 610 and a processing module 620. The communication device can be used for realizing the functions related to the network equipment in any one of the method embodiments. For example, the communication means may be a network device or a chip included in the network device.

When the communication apparatus is used as a network device to execute the method embodiment shown in fig. 3, the transceiver module 610 is configured to send first DCI format information to a first terminal device, where the first DCI format information is included in a first DCI format set, the first DCI format set includes N pieces of DCI format information, the N pieces of DCI format information respectively correspond to data transmission functions of N different terminal devices, and N is a positive integer; a processing module 620, configured to send the first DCI to the first terminal device through the transceiver module 610 according to the first DCI format information.

In one possible design, the data transfer function includes one or more of:

whether to wake up in a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) active period, whether to configure a Channel State Information (CSI) measurement and reporting function before the DRX active period, a bandwidth part (BWP) switching scheme, a configuration scheme of the number of receiving antennas in the DRX active period, a cross-subframe scheduling scheme in the DRX active period and a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) skipping scheme in the DRX active period.

In one possible design, the first DCI includes M information blocks, where M is a positive integer; the first DCI format information comprises indication information used for indicating one or more items of the following items: indexes of information blocks corresponding to the first terminal equipment in the M information blocks; alternatively, the length of the first DCI; or, the length of the information block.

In one possible design, the transceiver module 610 is further configured to send, to the first terminal device, information indicating a first radio network temporary identity RNTI, where the first RNTI is used for the first terminal device to receive the first DCI, and the first RNTI corresponds to the first DCI format information.

In one possible design, the time domain location where the transceiver module 610 transmits the first DCI is in the inactive period of DRX, and the transceiver module 610 is further configured to: and sending information for indicating the time advance of the time domain position of the first DCI relative to the next DRX activation period to the first terminal equipment.

In one possible design, the transceiver module 610 is further configured to send one or more of the following information via a radio resource control, RRC, message: the first DCI format information, the information for indicating the first RNTI, and the information for indicating the time advance of the time domain position of the first DCI relative to the next DRX activation period.

It should be understood that the processing module 620 involved in the communication device may be implemented by a processor or processor-related circuit components, and the transceiver module 610 may be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuit components. The operations and/or functions of the modules in the communication apparatus are respectively for implementing the corresponding flows of the methods shown in fig. 3 or fig. 4, and are not described herein again for brevity.

Please refer to fig. 7, which is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be embodied as a network device, such as a base station, for implementing the functions related to the network device in any of the above method embodiments.

The network device includes: one or more radio frequency units, such as a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) 701 and one or more baseband units (BBUs) (which may also be referred to as digital units, DUs) 702. The RRU 701 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., and may include at least one antenna 7011 and a radio frequency unit 7012. The RRU 701 section is mainly used for transceiving radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals and baseband signals. The BBU 702 is mainly used for performing baseband processing, controlling a base station, and the like. The RRU 701 and the BBU 702 may be physically disposed together or may be physically disposed separately, that is, distributed base stations.

The BBU 702 is a control center of the base station, and may also be referred to as a processing unit, and is mainly used for performing baseband processing functions, such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulation, spreading, and the like. For example, the BBU (processing unit) 702 can be used to control the base station to execute the operation flow related to the network device in the above method embodiment.

In an example, the BBU 702 may be formed by one or more boards, and the boards may jointly support a radio access network (e.g., an LTE network) with a single access indication, or may respectively support radio access networks (e.g., LTE networks, 5G networks, or other networks) with different access schemes. The BBU 702 can also include a memory 7021 and a processor 7022, the memory 7021 being used to store necessary instructions and data. The processor 7022 is configured to control the base station to perform necessary actions, for example, to control the base station to perform the transmitting operation in the above-described method embodiment. The memory 7021 and the processor 7022 may serve one or more boards. That is, the memory and processor may be provided separately on each board. Multiple boards may share the same memory and processor. In addition, each single board can be provided with necessary circuits.

Referring to fig. 8, a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown, where the communication device 800 includes: a transceiver module 810 and a processing module 820. The communication device can be used for realizing the functions related to the terminal equipment in any of the above method embodiments. For example, the communication device may be a terminal device, such as a handheld terminal device or a vehicle-mounted terminal device; the communication device may also be a chip included in a terminal apparatus, or a device including a terminal apparatus, such as various types of vehicles and the like.

When the communication apparatus is used as a terminal device to execute the method embodiment shown in fig. 3, the transceiver module 810 is configured to receive first DCI format information from a network device, where the first DCI format information is included in a first DCI format set, the first DCI format set includes N pieces of DCI format information, the N pieces of DCI format information respectively correspond to data transmission functions of N different terminal devices, and N is a positive integer; a processing module 820 configured to receive the first DCI from the network device according to the first DCI format information.

In one possible design, the data transfer function includes one or more of:

whether to wake up in a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) active period, whether to configure a Channel State Information (CSI) measurement and reporting function before the active period, a bandwidth part (BWP) switching scheme, a configuration scheme of the number of receiving antennas in the DRX active period, a cross-subframe scheduling scheme in the DRX active period and a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) skipping scheme in the DRX active period.

In one possible design, the transceiver module 810 is further configured to receive, from the network device, information indicating a first radio network temporary identity RNTI, where the first RNTI corresponds to the first DCI format information; and receiving the first DCI according to the first RNTI.

In one possible design, the time domain location where the first DCI is received is located in the inactive period of DRX, and the transceiver module 810 is further configured to receive information from the network device indicating a time advance of the time domain location of the first DCI relative to the next DRX active period.

In one possible design, the transceiver module 810 is further configured to receive, via a radio resource control, RRC, message, one or more of the following: the first DCI format information, the information for indicating the first RNTI, and the information for indicating the time advance of the time domain position of the first DCI relative to the next DRX activation period.

The processing module 820 involved in the communication apparatus may be implemented by a processor or processor-related circuit components, and the transceiver module 810 may be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuit components. The operations and/or functions of the modules in the communication apparatus are respectively for implementing the corresponding flows of the methods shown in fig. 3 or fig. 4, and are not described herein again for brevity.

Please refer to fig. 9, which is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may specifically be a terminal device. For ease of understanding and illustration, in fig. 9, the terminal device is exemplified by a mobile phone. As shown in fig. 9, the terminal device includes a processor and may further include a memory, and of course, may also include a radio frequency circuit, an antenna, an input/output device, and the like. The processor is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, controlling the terminal equipment, executing software programs, processing data of the software programs and the like. The memory is used primarily for storing software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing the radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as touch screens, display screens, keyboards, etc., are used primarily for receiving data input by a user and for outputting data to the user. It should be noted that some kinds of terminal devices may not have input/output devices.

When data needs to be sent, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs baseband signals to the radio frequency circuit, and the radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signals and sends the radio frequency signals to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal equipment, the radio frequency circuit receives radio frequency signals through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signals into baseband signals and outputs the baseband signals to the processor, and the processor converts the baseband signals into the data and processes the data. For ease of illustration, only one memory and processor are shown in FIG. 9. In an actual end device product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. The memory may be provided independently of the processor, or may be integrated with the processor, which is not limited in this embodiment.

In the embodiment of the present application, the antenna and the radio frequency circuit having the transceiving function may be regarded as a transceiving unit of the terminal device, and the processor having the processing function may be regarded as a processing unit of the terminal device. As shown in fig. 9, the terminal device includes a transceiving unit 910 and a processing unit 920. A transceiver unit may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiving device, etc. A processing unit may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, or the like. Optionally, a device for implementing a receiving function in the transceiving unit 910 may be regarded as a receiving unit, and a device for implementing a transmitting function in the transceiving unit 910 may be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the transceiving unit 910 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. A transceiver unit may also sometimes be referred to as a transceiver, transceiving circuitry, or the like. A receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving circuit, or the like. A transmitting unit may also sometimes be referred to as a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc. It should be understood that the transceiving unit 910 is configured to perform the transmitting operation and the receiving operation on the terminal device side in the above method embodiments, and the processing unit 920 is configured to perform other operations besides the transceiving operation on the terminal device in the above method embodiments.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, including: a processor coupled to a memory for storing a program or instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system-on-chip to implement the method of any of the above method embodiments.

The system-on-chip may be, for example, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a system on chip (SoC), a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), a digital signal processing circuit (DSP), a Microcontroller (MCU), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), or other integrated chips.

It will be appreciated that the steps of the above described method embodiments may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where computer-readable instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer-readable instructions are read and executed by a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the method in any of the above method embodiments.

The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, which when read and executed by a computer, causes the computer to execute the method in any of the above method embodiments.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, where the communication system includes a network device and at least one terminal device described in the foregoing method embodiments.

It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), and may also be other general purpose processors, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, and the like. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

It will also be appreciated that the memory referred to in the embodiments of the application may be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM, enhanced SDRAM, SLDRAM, Synchronous Link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, the memory (memory module) is integrated in the processor.

It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

It should be understood that, in the various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present invention.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. 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.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application or portions thereof that substantially contribute to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium and including instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and shall be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A method for transmitting Downlink Control Information (DCI), the method comprising:

the network equipment sends first DCI format information to first terminal equipment, wherein the first DCI format information is contained in a first DCI format set, the first DCI format set comprises N DCI format information, the N DCI format information respectively corresponds to data transmission functions of N different terminal equipment, and N is a positive integer;

and the network equipment sends the first DCI to the first terminal equipment according to the first DCI format information.
The method of claim 1, wherein the data transfer function comprises one or more of:

whether to wake up in a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) active period, whether to configure a Channel State Information (CSI) measurement and reporting function before the DRX active period, a bandwidth part (BWP) switching scheme, a configuration scheme of the number of receiving antennas in the DRX active period, a cross-subframe scheduling scheme in the DRX active period and a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) skipping scheme in the DRX active period.
The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first DCI comprises M information blocks, where M is a positive integer; the first DCI format information comprises indication information used for indicating one or more items of the following items:

the index of the information block corresponding to the first terminal device in the M information blocks; or,

a length of the first DCI; or,

the length of the information block.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

the network device sends information for indicating a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) to the first terminal device, wherein the first RNTI is used for the first terminal device to receive the first DCI, and the first RNTI corresponds to the first DCI format information.
The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein a time domain location where the network device transmits the first DCI is located in an inactive period of the DRX, the method further comprising:

and the network equipment sends information used for indicating the time advance of the time domain position of the first DCI relative to the next DRX activation period to the first terminal equipment.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising:

the network device sends one or more of the following information through a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message:

the first DCI format information, the information for indicating the first RNTI, and the information for indicating the time advance of the time domain position of the first DCI relative to the next DRX activation period.
A method for transmitting DCI, the method comprising:

a first terminal device receives first DCI format information from a network device, where the first DCI format information is included in a first DCI format set, the first DCI format set includes N DCI format information, the N DCI format information respectively corresponds to data transmission functions of N different terminal devices, and N is a positive integer;

and the first terminal equipment receives first DCI from the network equipment according to the first DCI format information.
The method of claim 7, wherein the data transfer function comprises one or more of:

whether to wake up in a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) active period, whether to configure a Channel State Information (CSI) measurement and reporting function before the active period, a bandwidth part (BWP) switching scheme, a configuration scheme of the number of receiving antennas in the DRX active period, a cross-subframe scheduling scheme in the DRX active period and a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) skipping scheme in the DRX active period.
The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein the first DCI comprises M information blocks, and wherein M is a positive integer; the first DCI format information comprises indication information used for indicating one or more items of the following items:

the index of the information block corresponding to the first terminal device in the M information blocks; or,

a length of the first DCI; or,

the length of the information block.
The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, further comprising:

the first terminal equipment receives information used for indicating a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) from the network equipment, wherein the first RNTI corresponds to the first DCI format information;

and the first terminal equipment receives the first DCI according to the first RNTI.
The method according to any of claims 7 to 10, wherein the time domain location where the first terminal device receives the first DCI is in an inactive period of the DRX, the method further comprising:

the first terminal device receives information from the network device indicating a timing advance of a time domain location of the first DCI with respect to a next DRX activation period.
The method according to any one of claims 7 to 11, further comprising:

the first terminal equipment receives one or more of the following items of information through a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message:

the first DCI format information, the information for indicating the first RNTI, and the information for indicating the time advance of the time domain position of the first DCI relative to the next DRX activation period.
A communications apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a transceiver module, configured to send first DCI format information to a first terminal device, where the first DCI format information is included in a first DCI format set, the first DCI format set includes N DCI format information, the N DCI format information respectively corresponds to data transmission functions of N different terminal devices, and N is a positive integer;

and the processing module is used for sending the first DCI to the first terminal equipment through the transceiver module according to the first DCI format information.
The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the data transfer function comprises one or more of:

whether to wake up in a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) active period, whether to configure a Channel State Information (CSI) measurement and reporting function before the DRX active period, a bandwidth part (BWP) switching scheme, a configuration scheme of the number of receiving antennas in the DRX active period, a cross-subframe scheduling scheme in the DRX active period and a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) skipping scheme in the DRX active period.
The apparatus according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the first DCI comprises M information blocks, where M is a positive integer; the first DCI format information comprises indication information used for indicating one or more items of the following items:

the index of the information block corresponding to the first terminal device in the M information blocks; or,

a length of the first DCI; or,

the length of the information block.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the transceiver module is further configured to:

and sending information for indicating a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) to the first terminal equipment, wherein the first RNTI is used for the first terminal equipment to receive the first DCI, and the first RNTI corresponds to the first DCI format information.
The apparatus of any of claims 13 to 16, wherein the transceiver module transmits the first DCI with a time domain position located in an inactive period of the DRX, and wherein the transceiver module is further configured to:

and sending information used for indicating the time advance of the time domain position of the first DCI relative to the next DRX activation period to the first terminal equipment.
The apparatus according to any of claims 13 to 17, wherein the transceiver module is further configured to send one or more of the following information via a radio resource control, RRC, message:

the first DCI format information, the information for indicating the first RNTI, and the information for indicating the time advance of the time domain position of the first DCI relative to the next DRX activation period.
A communications apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a transceiver module, configured to receive first DCI format information from a network device, where the first DCI format information is included in a first DCI format set, the first DCI format set includes N DCI format information, the N DCI format information respectively corresponds to data transmission functions of N different terminal devices, and N is a positive integer;

a processing module, configured to receive a first DCI from the network device according to the first DCI format information.
The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the data transfer function comprises one or more of:

whether to wake up in a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) active period, whether to configure a Channel State Information (CSI) measurement and reporting function before the active period, a bandwidth part (BWP) switching scheme, a configuration scheme of the number of receiving antennas in the DRX active period, a cross-subframe scheduling scheme in the DRX active period and a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) skipping scheme in the DRX active period.
The apparatus of claim 19 or 20, wherein the first DCI comprises M information blocks, where M is a positive integer; the first DCI format information comprises indication information used for indicating one or more items of the following items:

the index of the information block corresponding to the first terminal device in the M information blocks; or,

a length of the first DCI; or,

the length of the information block.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein the transceiver module is further configured to:

receiving information indicating a first Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) from the network device, the first RNTI corresponding to the first DCI format information;

and receiving the first DCI according to the first RNTI.
The apparatus of any of claims 19 to 22, wherein the time domain location at which the first DCI is received is in an inactive period of the DRX, and wherein the transceiver module is further configured to:

receiving, from the network device, information indicating a timing advance of a time domain location of the first DCI relative to a next DRX activation period.
The apparatus according to any of claims 19 to 23, wherein the transceiver module is further configured to receive, via a radio resource control, RRC, message, one or more of the following information:

the first DCI format information, the information for indicating the first RNTI, and the information for indicating the time advance of the time domain position of the first DCI relative to the next DRX activation period.
An apparatus for communication, the apparatus comprising at least one processor coupled with at least one memory:

the at least one processor configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in the at least one memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 6, or to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 7 to 12.
A readable storage medium for storing instructions that, when executed, cause the method of any one of claims 1 to 6 to be implemented, or cause the method of any one of claims 7 to 12 to be implemented.
A communication device comprising a processor and interface circuitry;

the interface circuit is used for receiving code instructions and transmitting the code instructions to the processor;

the processor is configured to execute the code instructions to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 6 or the processor is configured to execute the code instructions to perform the method of any one of claims 7 to 12.