CN114978446A

CN114978446A - Method and device for monitoring physical downlink control channel

Info

Publication number: CN114978446A
Application number: CN202111278088.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 薛祎凡; 薛丽霞
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-02-24
Filing date: 2021-10-30
Publication date: 2022-08-30
Also published as: WO2022179398A1

Abstract

A method and a device for monitoring a physical downlink control channel are used for determining how a terminal device monitors a PDCCH. The method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives first information from network equipment, wherein the first information is used for indicating that the terminal equipment does not monitor a PDCCH within a preset time domain length; wherein the preset time domain length is associated with a search space group monitoring the PDCCH; and the terminal equipment does not monitor the PDCCH within the preset time domain length according to the first information. Therefore, when the PDCCH skipping and the search space group switching are supported and indicated at the same time, the matching of the time domain length of the PDCCH skipping and the monitoring period of the search space group is ensured.

Description

Method and device for monitoring physical downlink control channel

The present application claims priority of chinese patent application, filed 24.02/2021 under chinese patent office, having application number 202110209919.1 and entitled "a method for indicating reference signal", which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety; the present application claims priority of chinese patent application entitled "method and apparatus for physical downlink control channel monitoring" filed by the chinese patent office at 29/03/2021 with application number 202110335366.4, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The present application claims priority of chinese patent application entitled "method and apparatus for physical downlink control channel monitoring" filed by the chinese patent office at 27/10/2021 with application number 202111255543.4, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for monitoring a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

Background

Before the network device and the terminal device perform data transmission, the network device may send data scheduling information, such as a PDCCH, to the terminal device, and in order to avoid losing the scheduling information, the terminal device needs to frequently monitor the PDCCH according to the configuration of the network device. And the behavior of the terminal device to frequently monitor the PDCCH may result in higher power consumption of the terminal device. At present, research on power consumption saving of terminal equipment is more and more common, and a detailed optimization scheme for reducing the power consumption of the terminal equipment becomes a research direction in the industry.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a method and a device for monitoring a PDCCH, which are used for determining how a terminal device monitors the PDCCH.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a method for PDCCH monitoring, which may include: the network equipment determines first information, wherein the first information is used for indicating that the terminal equipment does not monitor the PDCCH within a preset time domain length; wherein the preset time domain length is associated with a search space group monitoring the PDCCH; the network equipment sends the first information to the terminal equipment; and then, the terminal equipment does not monitor the PDCCH within the preset time domain length according to the first information.

By the method, the terminal equipment does not monitor the PDCCH within the preset time domain length indicated by the first information, so that the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced, and the preset time domain length is related to the search space group for monitoring the PDCCH, so that the time domain length for skipping the PDCCH is ensured to be matched with the monitoring period of the search space group under the condition that the PDCCH skipping and the search space group switching are supported and indicated at the same time.

In one possible design, the first information may also be used to indicate a search space group for monitoring the PDCCH. Therefore, the terminal equipment can monitor the PDCCH by skipping the PDCCH and switching the search space group in combination, so that the PDCCH monitoring of the terminal equipment is more flexible when the power consumption of the terminal equipment is reduced.

In one possible design, the first information may include a first indication field and a second indication field; when the first indication domain is a first value, the preset time domain length may be a first time domain length, and the second indication domain is used for indicating that the terminal device does not monitor the PDCCH within the first time domain length; the first time domain length is related to a search space group of a PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal equipment; and when the first indication domain is a second value, the second indication domain is used for indicating the terminal equipment to monitor the PDCCH according to the first search space group. Therefore, the time domain length indicating that the terminal equipment does not monitor the PDCCH or the search space indicating that the terminal equipment monitors the PDCCH can be realized through the two indication domains of the first information.

In one possible design, the first information includes a bits, and different values of the a bits correspond to different time domain lengths of non-monitored PDCCHs, and/or different search space groups of the monitored PDCCHs; a is an integer greater than or equal to 2. Therefore, the terminal equipment can be accurately indicated to monitor the time domain length of the PDCCH and/or monitor the search space group of the PDCCH through the first information.

In one possible design, when the first information indicates a second search space group, the values of the a bits correspond to the second search space group and a second time domain length, and the second time domain length is 0. This may enable the first information to indicate only a search space for monitoring the PDCCH by configuring the preset time domain length to be 0.

In a possible design, a monitoring period of the second search space group is greater than a monitoring period of a third search space group, where the third search space group is one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device. Therefore, the search space group with a smaller monitoring period can be used in combination with the skipped PDCCH, while the search space group with a larger monitoring period is not used in combination with the skipped PDCCH, so that the terminal equipment can monitor the PDCCH more flexibly.

In one possible design, the monitoring period of the second search space group may be a preset period; or the monitoring period of the second search space group may be a second monitoring period, where the second monitoring period may be a largest monitoring period or a smallest monitoring period among the monitoring periods of at least one search space included in the second search space group; or, the second monitoring period may be a monitoring period of a search space in which the terminal device currently receives the downlink control information; or, the second monitoring period may be a largest monitoring period or a smallest monitoring period in the monitoring periods of the plurality of search spaces, or a monitoring period of a search space with a largest index value in the plurality of search spaces, or a monitoring period of a search space with a smallest index value in the plurality of search spaces, when the terminal device receives the downlink control information at the time domain position where the plurality of search spaces overlap. This allows to accurately determine the monitoring period of the second search space group.

In one possible design, the monitoring period of the third search space group may be a preset period; or the monitoring period of the third search space group may be a third monitoring period, where the third monitoring period may be a largest monitoring period or a smallest monitoring period among the monitoring periods of at least one search space included in the third search space group; or, the third monitoring period may be a monitoring period of a search space in which the terminal device currently receives the downlink control information; or, the third monitoring period may be a largest monitoring period or a smallest monitoring period among the monitoring periods of the multiple search spaces, or a monitoring period of a search space with a largest index value among the multiple search spaces, or a monitoring period of a search space with a smallest index value among the multiple search spaces, when the terminal device receives the downlink control information at a time domain position where the multiple search spaces are overlapped. This allows to accurately determine the monitoring period of the third search space group.

In one possible design, the preset time domain length may be one of a first set of time domain lengths, where the first set of time domain lengths is one of N sets of time domain lengths, and N is an integer greater than 1 or equal to N; or, the preset time domain length may be an integer multiple of a monitoring period of a search space group of the PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal device. This allows for a flexible configuration of the preset time domain length.

In one possible design, each of the N sets of time domain lengths is associated with one of M sets of search spaces, where the M sets of search spaces are configured for the terminal device by the network device and M is an integer greater than 1. Therefore, when the PDCCH skipping and SSSG switching support are indicated at the same time, the matching of the time domain length of the PDCCH skipping and the monitoring period of the SSSG is ensured.

In one possible design, the monitoring period of the search space group may be a preset period; alternatively, the monitoring period of the search space group may be a first monitoring period; wherein, the first monitoring period may be a maximum monitoring period or a minimum monitoring period in monitoring periods of at least one search space included in the search space group; or, the first monitoring period may be a monitoring period of a search space in which the terminal device currently receives the downlink control information; or, the first monitoring period may be a largest monitoring period or a smallest monitoring period among the monitoring periods of the plurality of search spaces, or a largest monitoring period of a search space with a largest index value among the plurality of search spaces, or a smallest monitoring period of a search space with a smallest index value among the plurality of search spaces, when the terminal device receives the downlink control information at a time domain position where the plurality of search spaces overlap. Therefore, the monitoring period of the search space group can be accurately determined, and further, when the preset time domain length can be integral multiple of the monitoring period of the search space group of the PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal equipment, the preset time domain length can be accurately determined.

In one possible design, the starting position of the preset time domain length may be a first time domain position; the first time domain position may be a time slot in which the terminal device receives the downlink control information; or, the first time domain position may be a next time slot of the time slot in which the terminal device receives the downlink control information; or, when the first monitoring period is a maximum monitoring period or a minimum monitoring period of the monitoring periods of the at least one search space included in the search space group, the first time domain position may be a position of a monitored PDCCH in a search space of a next maximum monitoring period or a minimum monitoring period of the search space corresponding to the first monitoring period. Therefore, the starting time when the terminal equipment does not monitor the PDCCH can be accurately determined.

In a possible design, the monitoring period of the search space group is a preset period, and specifically may be: and the terminal equipment receives second information from the network equipment, wherein the second information is used for configuring a monitoring period for monitoring a search space group of the PDCCH. Therefore, the configuration of the monitoring period of the network equipment to the search space group can be realized.

In a possible design, the search space group configuration information of the fourth search space group includes the second information, the second information includes a monitoring period of the fourth search space group, and the fourth search space group is one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device. Such that the network device can configure a monitoring period for each search space group.

In one possible design, the second information includes at least one monitoring period; when the second information comprises one monitoring period, the monitoring periods of the M search space groups are all the one monitoring period; the M search space groups are configured for the terminal equipment by the network equipment, and M is an integer greater than 1; when the second information includes M monitoring periods, the M search space groups correspond to the M monitoring periods one to one. Such that the network device can configure a monitoring period for each search space group.

In a possible design, the second information is included in bandwidth part configuration information or cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device.

In a possible design, the second information is included in bandwidth part configuration information or cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device, and the terminal device further receives fifth information of the network device, where the fifth information is also used to configure a monitoring period for monitoring a search space group of the PDCCH.

In a possible design, the search space group configuration information of a seventh search space group includes the fifth information, the fifth information includes a monitoring period of the seventh search space group, and the seventh search space group is one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device.

In a possible design, when the network device configures the second information and does not configure the fifth information, the second information includes a monitoring period, and the monitoring period of the search space group corresponding to the second information is the monitoring period.

In a possible design, when the network device configures the second information and also configures the fifth information, the fifth information includes a monitoring period, and the monitoring period of the search space group corresponding to the fifth information is the monitoring period.

In one possible design, the terminal device receives third information from the network device, where the third information is used to configure a time domain length set corresponding to a search space group for monitoring a PDCCH. Such that the network device may configure a corresponding set of time domain lengths for each search space group.

In one possible design, the search space group configuration information of the fifth search space group includes the third information, the third information includes a time domain length set, the time domain length set includes one or more time domain lengths, and the preset time domain length is one of the one or more time domain lengths included in the third information; the fifth search space group is one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device. Such that the network device may configure a corresponding set of time domain lengths for each search space group.

In one possible design, the third information includes at least one set of time domain lengths; when the third information comprises one time domain length set, M search space groups correspond to the one time domain length set; the M search space groups are configured for the terminal equipment by the network equipment, and M is an integer greater than 1; the preset time domain length is one time domain length in the time domain length set; when the third information includes M time domain length sets, the M search space groups correspond to the M time domain length sets one to one, and the preset time domain length is one time domain length in the time domain length set corresponding to the search space group for monitoring the PDCCH. Such that the network device may configure a corresponding set of time domain lengths for each search space group.

In one possible design, the third information is included in bandwidth part configuration information or cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device.

In a possible design, the third information is included in bandwidth part configuration information or cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device, and the terminal device further receives fourth information from the network device, where the fourth information is also used to configure a monitoring period for monitoring a search space group of the PDCCH.

In a possible design, the search space group configuration information of the sixth search space group includes the fourth information, the fourth information includes a time domain length set, the time domain length set includes one or more time domain lengths, and the preset time domain length is one of the one or more time domain lengths included in the third information or the fourth information; the sixth search space group is one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device.

In a possible design, when the network device configures the third information and does not configure the fourth information, the third information includes a set of time domain lengths, and a search space group corresponding to the third information corresponds to the set of time domain lengths; the preset time domain length is one time domain length in the set of time domain lengths.

In a possible design, when the network device configures the third information and also configures the fourth information, the fourth information includes a set of time domain lengths, and a search space group corresponding to the fourth information corresponds to the set of time domain lengths; the preset time domain length is one time domain length in the time domain length set.

In a second aspect, the present application further provides a communication apparatus, which may be a terminal device, and the communication apparatus has a function of implementing the terminal device in the first aspect or each possible design example of the first aspect. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In a possible design, the structure of the communication apparatus includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit, and these units may perform corresponding functions of the terminal device in the first aspect or each possible design example of the first aspect, for which specific reference is made to detailed descriptions in method examples, which are not described herein again.

In one possible design, the communication apparatus includes a transceiver and a processor, and optionally a memory, in its structure, the transceiver is configured to transmit and receive data and is configured to perform communication interaction with other devices in the communication system, and the processor is configured to support the communication apparatus to perform corresponding functions of the terminal device in the first aspect or each possible design example of the first aspect. The memory is coupled to the processor and retains program instructions and data necessary for the communication device.

In a third aspect, the present application further provides a communication apparatus, which may be a network device, and the communication apparatus has a function of implementing the network device in the first aspect or each possible design example of the first aspect. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In a possible design, the structure of the communication apparatus includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit, and these units may perform corresponding functions of the network device in the first aspect or each possible design example of the first aspect, for which specific reference is made to detailed descriptions in method examples, which are not described herein again.

In one possible design, the communication apparatus includes a transceiver and a processor, and optionally a memory, in its structure, the transceiver is configured to transmit and receive data and is configured to perform communication interaction with other devices in the communication system, and the processor is configured to support the communication apparatus to perform corresponding functions of the network device in the first aspect or each possible design example of the first aspect. The memory is coupled to the processor and holds the program instructions and data necessary for the communication device.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which may include the above-mentioned terminal device and network device.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores program instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described in the first aspect and any possible design thereof. By way of example, computer readable storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. Taking this as an example but not limiting: a computer-readable medium may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium, a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, 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.

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product comprising computer program code or instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method described in the first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect.

In a seventh aspect, the present application further provides a chip, including a processor, coupled to a memory, and configured to read and execute program instructions stored in the memory, so as to enable the chip to implement the method described in the first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect.

For each of the second aspect to the seventh aspect and the possible technical effects achieved by each aspect, please refer to the above description of the possible technical effects achieved by the first aspect or the various possible schemes in the first aspect, and details are not repeated here.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system provided in the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a PDCCH monitoring method provided in the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of skipping PDCCH monitoring according to the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a search space group provided herein;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of another monitored PDCCH provided in the present application;

fig. 6 is a flowchart of a PDCCH monitoring method provided in the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in the present application;

fig. 8 is a structural diagram of a communication device according to the present application.

Detailed Description

The present application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The embodiment of the application provides a method and a device for monitoring a PDCCH, which are used for determining how a terminal device monitors the PDCCH. The method and the device are based on the same technical concept, and because the principles of solving the problems of the method and the device are similar, the implementation of the device and the method can be mutually referred, and repeated parts are not repeated.

In the description of the present application, the terms "first," "second," and the like, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, nor order.

In the description of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and a plurality means two or more.

In order to more clearly describe the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, the following describes in detail a method and an apparatus for PDCCH monitoring provided in the embodiment of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows an architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application, where the architecture of the communication system includes a network device and a terminal device, where:

the network device is a device with a wireless transceiving function or a chip that can be set in the network device, and the network device includes but is not limited to: a base station (gbb), a Radio Network Controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a Base Station Controller (BSC), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB or home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an Access Point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, a wireless relay Node, a wireless backhaul Node, a transmission point (TRP or transmission point, TP), and the like, and may also be a network Node that constitutes the gbb or the transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU), or a Distributed Unit (DU), and the like.

In some deployments, the gNB may include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a DU. The gNB may also include a Radio Unit (RU). The CU implements part of functions of the gNB, the DU implements part of functions of the gNB, for example, the CU implements Radio Resource Control (RRC) and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layers, and the DU implements Radio Link Control (RLC), Media Access Control (MAC) and Physical (PHY) layers. Since the information of the RRC layer finally becomes or is converted from the information of the PHY layer, under this architecture, higher layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling or PHCP layer signaling, can also be considered to be transmitted by the DU or by the DU + RU. It is to be understood that the network device may be a CU node, or a DU node, or a device including a CU node and a DU node. The CU may be divided into network devices in the access network RAN, or may be divided into network devices in the core network CN, which is not limited to this.

The terminal equipment may also be referred to as User Equipment (UE), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user equipment. The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with a wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an Augmented Reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote medical (remote medical), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart wearing device (smart glasses, smart watch, smart headset, etc.), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), etc., and may also be a chip or a chip module (or a chip system) that can be installed in the above devices, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios. In the present application, a terminal device having a wireless transceiving function and a chip that can be installed in the terminal device are collectively referred to as a terminal device.

It should be noted that the communication system shown in fig. 1 may be, but is not limited to, a fourth Generation (4G) system, a fifth Generation (5G) system, such as a new radio access technology (NR), and optionally, the method of the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to various future communication systems, such as a sixth Generation (6G) system or other communication networks.

In NR, the procedure of data transmission may be as follows:

when the network device schedules the terminal device to receive downlink data, or when the network device schedules the terminal device to transmit uplink data, Downlink Control Information (DCI) is first transmitted, where the DCI includes one piece of data scheduling information, and the data scheduling information indicates transmission parameters of a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) (including downlink data) or a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) (including uplink data), where the transmission parameters include time-frequency domain resource positions of the PDSCH/PUSCH. Specifically, the PDCCH carries the DCI. For downlink data, the network device may indicate a value K0 through a Time Domain Resource Allocation (TDRA) field in the DCI, which is used to determine a time slot interval between the PDCCH and the PDSCH; for uplink data, the network device may indicate a K2 value through a TDRA field in DCI, which is used to determine a slot interval between the PDCCH and the PUSCH.

The network equipment sends downlink data at the time-frequency domain resource position indicated in the DCI, and the terminal equipment receives the downlink data at the corresponding position; or, the terminal device sends uplink data at the time-frequency domain resource position indicated in the DCI, and the network device receives the uplink data at the corresponding position.

When receiving the DCI, the terminal device needs to perform Blind Detection (BD) on the PDCCH sent to the terminal device in the downlink control region, that is, the terminal device monitors (monitor) a plurality of PDCCH candidate locations (PDCCH candidates) to find out whether there is any PDCCH addressed to the terminal device. A group of candidate positions that the terminal device needs to perform blind detection constitutes a Search Space Set (SSS), which may also be referred to as a search space set. Depending on the configuration of the network device, the terminal device may monitor one (group) or more (group) search spaces to find out whether there is a PDCCH intended for itself. The terminal device needs to monitor the PDCCH position, and may also be referred to as a PDCCH monitoring occasion (PDCCH monitoring occasion).

In some embodiments, the terminal device monitors PDCCH periodically according to the configuration of the search space. As shown in fig. 2, the PDCCH is monitored in a cycle of 1 slot (slot) and 4 slots (slot). When the period shown in fig. 2 (a) is 1 slot, the PDCCH needs to be monitored in each slot. When the period shown in fig. 2 (b) is 4 slots, the PDCCH is monitored every 4 slots.

Based on the above description, the terminal device may frequently monitor the PDCCH, but if there is no service occurring in the terminal device within a period of time, that is, there is no downlink data or uplink data to be transmitted, the terminal device cannot receive the PDCCH sent to the terminal device even though monitoring the PDCCH. If the terminal device still monitors the PDCCH at these times, power consumption of the terminal device may be caused.

In order to reduce the power consumption of the terminal device, a possible scheme is to introduce a concept of skipping PDCCH (PDCCH blanking), and specifically, the network device may send an indication message to the terminal device, indicating that the terminal device may skip PDCCH monitoring for a period of time. A PDCCH monitoring by a terminal device for a period of time may be equivalently described as a terminal device not monitoring PDCCH for a period of time, which may be referred to as a skip duration. For example, as shown in the schematic diagram of skipping PDCCH monitoring shown in fig. 3, the terminal device originally needs to monitor the PDCCH in each time slot, and when the terminal device is indicated by the network device for a period of time and does not need to monitor the PDCCH, the terminal device may not monitor the PDCCH in the indicated period of time.

Another scheme for reducing the power consumption of the terminal device may be: the network device may send an indication message to the terminal device, instructing the terminal device to switch between the two sets of search spaces configured in advance. For example, as shown in fig. 4, the terminal device is configured with 2 groups of search spaces, a period corresponding to the search space group 1 is 1 time slot, and a period corresponding to the search space group 2 is 4 time slots. The network device may send an indication message to the terminal device, indicating that the terminal device may switch from the monitoring search space group 1 to the monitoring search space group 2, thereby reducing the number of times of PDCCH monitoring to save power consumption of the terminal device.

The two schemes can achieve the purpose of reducing PDCCH monitoring. However, in the first scheme, the mode of skipping the PDCCH is more flexible and variable, and is suitable for scheduling change of a small time scale (i.e., change of scheduling is frequent); in the second scheme, the search space switching (hereinafter collectively referred to as Search Space Set Group (SSSG) switching) mode is applicable to the case of larger time scale variation.

In order to obtain the benefits of both of the above modes at the same time, it is considered that both functions are supported at the same time. When skipping PDCCH and SSSG handover can be indicated at the same time, a problem of whether a skip time (skipping duration) of skipping PDCCH and a period of SSSG match needs to be considered. The period of the SSSG may be a monitoring period of a search space included in the SSSG. For example, in the diagram shown in fig. 5, it is assumed that the SSSG0 includes search space 0, the monitoring period of search space 0 is 1 slot, the SSSG1 includes search space 1, and the monitoring period of search space 1 is 5 slots. The skip time for skipping the PDCCH is 3 slots. As shown in fig. 5 (a), when the terminal device monitors the PDCCH according to the SSSG0, the terminal device is instructed to skip PDCCH monitoring of 3 slots by receiving the indication information of the network device. Compared with the method that the PDCCH is always monitored according to the SSSG0, the PDCCH monitoring of 3 time slots can be reduced, and at the moment, the PDCCH is skipped to be matched with the SSSG0 for use. However, as shown in fig. 5 (b), when the terminal device monitors the PDCCH according to SSSG1, the terminal device is instructed to skip PDCCH monitoring of 3 slots when receiving the indication information of the network device, and at this time, there is no PDCCH monitoring occasion for the skipped slot itself, and thus, compared with the case of always using SSSG1, PDCCH monitoring is not actually reduced. Therefore, skipping PDCCH monitoring at this time does not achieve the purpose of energy saving.

Based on this, the present application provides a PDCCH monitoring method, which specifies how to monitor a PDCCH, and can ensure matching of a skip time of skipping the PDCCH and a period of an SSSG, that is, ensuring matching of the skip time of skipping the PDCCH and the period of a search space included in the SSSG.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, what can implement monitoring or not monitoring the PDCCH may be a terminal device, or a processor in the terminal device, or a chip system, or a functional module, etc.; the implementation instructing the terminal device how to monitor the PDCCH may be a network device, or a processor in the network device, or a chip system, or a functional module, etc. In the following embodiments, the PDCCH monitoring method provided in the present application is described in detail only by taking a terminal device and a network device as examples, but the present application is not limited thereto.

Based on the above description, the method for monitoring PDCCH provided in the embodiment of the present application is applicable to the communication system shown in fig. 1. Referring to fig. 6, a specific process of the method may include:

step 601: the network device determines first information.

In one example, the first information may be used to instruct the terminal device not to monitor the PDCCH within a preset time domain length; wherein the preset time domain length is associated with a search space group monitoring the PDCCH.

In another example, the first information may be used to indicate a search space group for monitoring the PDCCH.

In yet another example, the first information may be used to instruct the terminal device not to monitor the PDCCH within a preset time domain length, and to instruct a search space group monitoring the PDCCH, where the preset time domain length is related to the search space group monitoring the PDCCH. In this example, the search space group of the monitored PDCCH related to the preset time domain length may be a search space group of the PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal device (that is, a search space group of the monitored PDCCH when the terminal device receives the first information), or may be a search space group of the monitored PDCCH indicated by the first information.

The non-monitoring PDCCH may be skipping monitoring PDCCH, stopping monitoring PDCCH, or performing PDCCH blind detection.

In an optional implementation manner, the network device may configure N time domain length sets and M search space groups for the terminal device, where each of the N time domain length sets is related to one of the M search space groups, N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and M is an integer greater than 1. For example, a network device configures two search space groups SSSG0 and SSSG1 for a terminal device, where a monitoring period of SSSG0 is 1 slot and a monitoring period of SSSG1 is 5 slots. And the network device configures two sets of time domain lengths (i.e. two sets of skip times) for the terminal device, which are {2, 4} and {10, 20} (the unit is a slot). Optionally, the M search space groups may be M non-empty search space groups, that is, any one of the M search space groups includes at least 1 search space.

The preset time domain length may be one of a first set of time domain lengths, which is one of N sets of time domain lengths. The preset time domain length may be h time slots, or f milliseconds, etc., where h is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and f is an integer greater than or equal to 1. A search space group is associated with a set of time domain lengths. For example, when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG0, the preset time domain length may be 2 slots or 4 slots, that is, SSSG0 is related to the time domain length set {2, 4 }; when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG1, the preset time domain length may be 10 slots or 20 slots, i.e., SSSG1 is related to the time domain length set {10, 20 }.

In an exemplary embodiment, the network device may configure, for the terminal device, a time domain length set corresponding to the search space group for monitoring the PDCCH. For example, the network device sends third information to the terminal device, where the third information is used to configure a time domain length set corresponding to the search space group for monitoring the PDCCH. Optionally, the network device may additionally send fourth information to the terminal device, and if the network device sends both the third information and the fourth information, the third information and the fourth information are used to configure a time domain length set corresponding to the search space group of the monitored PDCCH together. The time domain length set corresponding to each search space group comprises one or more time domain lengths. When the time domain length set only includes one time domain length, it can be understood that the network device configures the terminal device with one time domain length corresponding to the search space group for monitoring the PDCCH.

In the present application, the term "corresponding" may be used to describe "related" and the like, but the present application is not limited thereto.

In a first possible case, the search space group configuration information of the fifth search space group includes third information, the third information includes a set of time domain lengths, the set of time domain lengths includes one or more time domain lengths, and the preset time domain length may be one of the one or more time domain lengths included in the third information. Optionally, the fifth search space group is any one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device. In this case, the network device may include a corresponding set of time domain lengths in the search space group configuration information of each search space group, i.e., one or more time domain lengths in the search space group configuration information of each search space group. For example, the set of time-domain lengths {2, 4} is included in the search space group configuration information of SSSG 0; the set of time-domain lengths {10, 20} is included in the search space group configuration information of the SSSG 1. For another example, when only one time domain length is included in the set of time domain lengths, one time domain length of 2 is included in the search space group configuration information of the SSSG 0; the search space group configuration information of the SSSG1 includes a time domain length of 10.

It should be understood that the fifth search space group is merely a name of one search space group, and does not refer to the number or index of search space groups, which may be the first search space group, the second search space group, or the third search space group that is subsequently referred to.

In the first possible case, the time domain length set included in the third information in the search space group configuration information of each search space group is one of the N time domain length sets.

In a second possible case, the third information may include at least one time domain length set, that is, the N time domain length sets, specifically:

when the third information only includes one time domain length set (that is, N is 1 at this time), the M search space groups all correspond to the one time domain length set; the preset time domain length is one time domain length in the time domain length set. For example, when a network device is configured with only one set of time domain lengths {2, 4}, the SSSG0 and the SSSG1 both correspond to {2, 4 }. For example, when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG0, the preset time domain length may be 2 slots or 4 slots, that is, SSSG0 corresponds to the time domain length set {2, 4 }; when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG1, the preset time domain length may also be 2 slots or 4 slots, that is, SSSG1 also corresponds to the time domain length set {2, 4 }.

When the third information includes M time domain length sets (that is, N is equal to M at this time), the M search space groups correspond to the M time domain length sets one to one, and the preset time domain length is one time domain length in the time domain length set corresponding to the search space group for monitoring the PDCCH. For example, when the network device configures the time domain length sets {2, 4} and {10, 20}, the SSSG0 corresponds to {2, 4} and the SSSG1 corresponds to {10, 20 }. For example, when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG0, the preset time domain length may be 2 slots or 4 slots, that is, SSSG0 corresponds to the time domain length set {2, 4 }; when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG1, the preset time domain length may be 10 slots or 20 slots, i.e., SSSG1 corresponds to the time domain length set {10, 20 }.

When the third information includes T time domain length sets, and T is greater than 1 and T is less than M (i.e., N is greater than 1 and T is less than M), each of the T time domain length sets corresponds to one of the M search space groups, and the specific correspondence relationship is not limited in the present application.

In the second case, the third information may be included in bandwidth part (BWP) configuration information or cell (cell) configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device. Optionally, one time domain length set in the time domain length set configured by the third information may be configured as necessary, and the other time domain length sets are configured optionally. For example, a set of temporal lengths that must be configured (e.g., the set of temporal lengths {2, 4}) may be configured by a parameter skip time list (skipppingduration list), which is a mandatory (regulatory) configuration when the network device configuration starts a skip function; other sets of temporal lengths (e.g., 10, 20) of the optional configuration may be configured by an additional skip time list (optional) of parameters that are optionally configured when the network device configuration initiates the skip function.

In a third possible case, the BWP configuration information or the cell configuration information includes third information, and the third information may include a set of time domain lengths. Optionally, the search space group configuration information of the sixth search space group includes fourth information, and the fourth information includes a time domain length set. Each set of time domain lengths includes one or more time domain lengths. Optionally, the sixth search space group is any one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device. When the network device configures the third information and does not configure the fourth information, a time domain length set included in the third information corresponds to the sixth search space group, and the preset time domain length may be one of one or more time domain lengths included in the third information. When the network device configures the third information and also configures the fourth information, a time domain length set included in the fourth information corresponds to the sixth search space group, and the preset time domain length may be one of one or more time domain lengths included in the fourth information. For example, the network device configures the third information to include a set of time domain lengths {2, 4}, and does not configure the fourth information for SSSG0 and SSSG1, then SSSG0 and SSSG1 both correspond to {2, 4 }. For example, when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG0, the preset time domain length may be 2 slots or 4 slots, that is, SSSG0 corresponds to the time domain length set {2, 4 }; when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG1, the preset time domain length may also be 2 slots or 4 slots, that is, SSSG1 also corresponds to the time domain length set {2, 4 }. As another example, the network device configuration third information includes a set of time domain lengths {2, 4}, and the fourth information configured in the configuration information of the SSSG1 includes a set of time domain lengths {10, 20}, and if the fourth information is not configured for the SSSG0, the SSSG0 corresponds to the set of time domain lengths {2, 4} and the SSSG1 corresponds to the set of time domain lengths {10, 20 }. For example, when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG0, the preset time domain length may be 2 slots or 4 slots, that is, SSSG0 corresponds to the time domain length set {2, 4 }; when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG1, the preset time domain length may be 10 slots or 20 slots, i.e., SSSG1 corresponds to the time domain length set {10, 20 }.

The scheme of the third case may be understood that the time domain length set of the third information configuration is configured as a mandatory (mandatory) configuration, and the time domain length set of the fourth information configuration is configured as an optional (optional). When the network device does not desire to precisely control the preset time domain lengths corresponding to different search space groups, only the third information (e.g., the set of time domain lengths {2, 4}) may be configured. When the network device desires to precisely control the preset time domain length corresponding to a certain search space group, a dedicated time domain length set (e.g., time domain length set {10, 20}) may be configured in the search space group through the fourth information.

The scheme of the third case may also be understood that the time domain length set of the fourth information configuration has a higher priority than the time domain length set of the third information configuration.

The scheme of the third case can be further understood as follows: when the network device configures the fourth information, the set of time domain lengths configured by the fourth information may replace the set of time domain lengths configured by the (replace)/override/overwrite (overwrite) third information.

It should be understood that the sixth search space group is merely a name of one search space group, and does not refer to the number or index of search space groups, which may be the first search space group, the second search space group, or the third search space group that is subsequently referred to.

In the above three cases, each search space group is configured with a corresponding time domain length set, and further, which of the corresponding time domain length sets is determined by the first information specifically by the preset time domain length. In the second case, the network device may control whether to enable the function of "different SSSG corresponds to different time domain length" by whether to configure M sets of time domain lengths, so that the network device is more flexible to configure the skip monitoring PDCCH.

In another optional embodiment, the preset time domain length may be an integer multiple of a monitoring period of a search space group in which the terminal device currently monitors the PDCCH. For example, the preset time domain length may be 2 or 4 monitoring periods. For example, when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG0 (the monitoring period is 1 slot), the preset time domain length may be 2 × 1 ═ 2 slots or 4 × 1 ═ 4 slots; when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG1 (the monitoring period is 5 slots), the preset time domain length may be 2 × 5 ═ 10 slots or 4 × 5 ═ 20 slots.

In one example, the monitoring period of the search space group may be a preset period, and the preset period is independent of a period of a Search Space Set (SSS) included in the search space group.

Optionally, when the monitoring period of the search space group is a preset period, the monitoring period of the search space group may be preset by the following method: and the network equipment sends second information to the terminal equipment, wherein the second information is used for configuring a monitoring period for monitoring the search space group of the PDCCH. Further optionally, the network device may additionally send fifth information to the terminal device, and if the network device sends both the second information and the fifth information, the second information and the fifth information are used to configure a monitoring period for monitoring the search space group of the PDCCH together.

In a first possible manner, the search space group configuration information of the fourth search space group includes second information, and the second information includes a monitoring period of the fourth search space group, and optionally, the fourth search space group is any one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device. In this manner, the network device may include the monitoring period of a corresponding search space group in the search space group configuration information of each search space group. For example, the search space group configuration information of the SSSG0 includes a monitoring period #1 of the search space group, and the length is 1 slot, where the preset time domain length may be 2 × 1 ═ 2 slots or 4 × 1 ═ 4 slots; the search space group configuration information of the SSSG1 includes a monitoring period #2 of the search space group, and the length is 5 slots, where the preset time domain length may be 2 × 5 ═ 10 slots or 4 × 5 ═ 20 slots.

It should be understood that the fourth search space group is merely a name of one search space group, and does not refer to the number or index of search space groups, which may be the first search space group, the second search space group, or the third search space group that is subsequently referred to.

In a second possible manner, the second information includes at least one monitoring period, specifically:

when the second information includes only the monitoring period of one search space group, the monitoring periods of the M search space groups are all the monitoring periods of the one search space group. For example, when the network device is configured with only one monitoring period, that is, the network device is configured with only the monitoring period of the search space group as the monitoring period #1, the monitoring periods of the SSSG0 and the SSSG1 are both the monitoring period #1 of the search space group. If the preset time domain length may be 2 or 4 monitoring periods of the search space group, and the length of the monitoring period #1 of the search space group is 1 slot, at this time, no matter the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG0 or SSSG1, the preset time domain length may be 2 × 1 ═ 2 slots or 4 × 1 ═ 4 slots.

When the second information includes monitoring periods of the M search space groups, the M search space groups correspond to the monitoring periods of the M search space groups one to one. For example, when the network device configures a monitoring period #1 of the search space group and a monitoring period #2 of the search space group, the monitoring period of the SSSG0 may be the monitoring period #1 of the search space group, and the monitoring period of the SSSG1 may be the monitoring period #2 of the search space group. For example, if the preset time domain length may be 2 or 4 monitoring periods, when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG0 (the monitoring period of the search space group is 1 slot), the preset time domain length may be 2 × 1 ═ 2 slots or 4 × 1 ═ 4 slots; when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG1 (the monitoring period of the search space group is 5 slots), the preset time domain length may be 2 × 5 ═ 10 slots or 4 × 5 ═ 20 slots.

When the second information includes monitoring periods of T search space groups, and T is greater than 1 and T is less than M, each monitoring period of the monitoring periods of the T search space groups corresponds to one search space group of the M search space groups, and the specific correspondence relationship is not limited in this application.

In the second possible manner, the second information may be included in the bandwidth part configuration information or the cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device. Optionally, in the monitoring period of the search space group configured by the second information, there may be one monitoring period of the search space group that is necessarily configured, and monitoring periods of other search space groups are optionally configured. For example, the monitoring period of the search space group that must be configured (e.g., the monitoring period #1 of the search space group) may be configured by a default monitoring period (default monitoring period) of a parameter, which is configured for mandatory (directory) when the network device configuration starts the skip function; the monitoring period of the other search space group (for example, the monitoring period #2 of the search space group) of the optional configuration may be configured by an additional monitoring period (additional monitoring period) of a parameter, which is configured for the optional (optional) when the network device configuration starts the skip function.

In a third possible case, the BWP configuration information or the cell configuration information includes the second information, and the second information may include a monitoring period of a search space group. Optionally, the search space group configuration information of the seventh search space group includes fifth information, and the fifth information includes a monitoring period of the search space group. Optionally, the seventh search space group is any one of a plurality of search space groups configured for the terminal device by the network device. When the network device configures the second information and does not configure the fifth information, a monitoring period of the search space group included in the second information corresponds to the seventh search space group, and the preset time domain length may be an integral multiple of the monitoring period of the search space group included in the second information. When the network device configures the second information and also configures the fifth information, a monitoring period of a search space group included in the fifth information corresponds to the seventh search space group, and the preset time domain length may be an integer multiple of the monitoring period of the search space group included in the fifth information. For example, the network device configures a monitoring period #1 of the search space group through the second information, and does not configure the fifth information for the SSSG0 and the SSSG1, where the monitoring period of the SSSG0 may be the monitoring period #1 of the search space group, and the monitoring period of the SSSG1 may also be the monitoring period #1 of the search space group. For example, if the length of the monitoring period #1 of the search space group is 1 slot, the preset time domain length may be 2 or 4 monitoring periods, and the preset time domain length may be 2 × 1 ═ 2 slots or 4 × 1 ═ 4 slots regardless of whether the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG0 or SSSG 1. For another example, the network device configures a monitoring period #1 of the search space group through the second information, does not configure the fifth information for the SSSG0, and configures a monitoring period #2 of the search space group through the fifth information for the SSSG 1. The monitoring period of the SSSG0 may be the monitoring period #1 of the search space group and the monitoring period of the SSSG1 may be the monitoring period #2 of the search space group. For example, if the length of the monitoring period #1 of the search space group is 1 timeslot, and the length of the monitoring period #2 of the search space group is 5 timeslots, the preset time domain length may be 2 or 4 monitoring periods, and when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG0, the preset time domain length may be 2 × 1 ═ 2 timeslots or 4 × 1 ═ 4 timeslots; when the search space group currently used by the terminal device is SSSG1, the preset time domain length may be 2 × 5 ═ 10 slots or 4 × 5 ═ 20 slots.

In the third scenario, it can be understood that the monitoring period of the search space group configured by the second information is configured as a mandatory (mandatory) and the monitoring period of the search space group configured by the fifth information is configured as an optional (optional). When the network device does not desire to precisely control the preset time domain lengths corresponding to different search space groups, only the second information (e.g., the monitoring period #1 of the search space group) may be configured. When the network device desires to precisely control the preset time domain length corresponding to a certain search space group, a dedicated monitoring period of the search space group (e.g., the monitoring period #2 of the search space group) may be configured in the search space group through the fifth information.

The above-mentioned solution of the third case may also be understood that the monitoring period of the search space group of the fifth information configuration has a higher priority than the monitoring period of the search space group of the second information configuration.

The scheme of the third case can be further understood as follows: when the network device configures the fifth information, the monitoring period of the search space group configured by the fifth information may replace (replace)/cover (override)/overwrite) the monitoring period of the search space group configured by the second information.

It should be understood that the seventh search space group is merely a name of one search space group, and does not refer to the number or index of search space groups, which may be the first search space group, the second search space group, or the third search space group that is subsequently referred to.

In the third case described above, the first case,

in the above three cases, each search space group is configured with a monitoring period of the corresponding search space group, and further, the preset time domain length is specifically determined by the first information as a multiple of the monitoring period of the corresponding search space group. In the second possible manner, the network device may control whether to enable the function of "different SSSGs correspond to different time domain lengths" by whether to configure the monitoring period of the M search space groups, so that the network device is more flexible to configure the monitoring-skipping PDCCH.

In another example, the monitoring period of the search space group is a first monitoring period, and the first monitoring period is related to a period of a search space included in the search space group, where the first monitoring period may include the following three cases:

case a 1: the first monitoring period is the largest monitoring period or the smallest monitoring period in the monitoring periods of at least one search space contained in the search space group.

Case a 2: the first monitoring period is a monitoring period of a search space in which the terminal device currently receives downlink control information (e.g., DCI).

Case a 3: the first monitoring period is the largest monitoring period or the smallest monitoring period in the monitoring periods of the plurality of search spaces, or the monitoring period of the search space with the largest index value in the plurality of search spaces, or the monitoring period of the search space with the smallest index value in the plurality of search spaces, when the terminal device receives the downlink control information at the time domain position where the plurality of search spaces are overlapped.

Correspondingly, the starting position of the preset time domain length is a first time domain position, and the first time domain position can have the following three conditions:

case b 1: the first time domain position is a time slot when the terminal equipment receives the downlink control information.

Case b 2: the first time domain position is the next time slot of the time slots of the terminal equipment receiving the downlink control information.

Case b 3: when the first monitoring period is the largest monitoring period or the smallest monitoring period in the monitoring periods of at least one search space included in the search space group, the first time domain position is the position of the monitored PDCCH in the search space of the next largest monitoring period or the smallest monitoring period of the search space corresponding to the first monitoring period.

Step 602: the network device sends the first information to the terminal device.

In an optional implementation manner, the first information may be carried in DCI transmitted by the network device to the terminal device, that is, the first information may be a field in the DCI.

And the terminal equipment executes corresponding operation according to different indications of the first information. Specifically, when the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device does not monitor the PDCCH within the preset time domain length, the terminal device may perform the following step 603 a; when the first information is used to indicate a search space group for monitoring the PDCCH, the terminal device may perform the following step 603 b; when the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device does not monitor the PDCCH within the preset time domain length and indicate to monitor the search space group of the PDCCH, the terminal device may perform the following step 603 c.

Step 603 a: and the terminal equipment does not monitor the PDCCH within the preset time domain length according to the first information.

Step 603 b: and the terminal equipment monitors the PDCCH according to the search space group indicated by the first information.

Step 603 c: and the terminal equipment monitors the PDCCH according to the search space group indicated by the first information and does not monitor the PDCCH within a preset time domain length.

For example, when the first information is a first value, the first information may be used to instruct the terminal device not to monitor the PDCCH within a preset time domain length; when the first information is the second value, the first information may be used to indicate a search space group for monitoring the PDCCH; when the first information is the third value, the first information may be used to indicate that the terminal device does not monitor the PDCCH within the preset time domain length, and indicate a search space group in which the PDCCH is monitored.

Specifically, the first information may include a bits, and different values of the a bits may correspond to different time domain lengths of the unmonitored PDCCH, and/or different search space groups of the monitored PDCCH; a is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

In an alternative embodiment, the a bits included in the first information may be divided into two indication fields to indicate independently, for example, the first information may include a first indication field and a second indication field. Optionally, the first indication field may be a first bit (which may be referred to as 1 flag bit) of the a bits, and the first indication field indicates, through the first bit of the a bits, the terminal device to skip PDCCH monitoring or indicates the terminal device to perform search space group switching. The second indication field is a-1 bits other than the first bit among the a bits. When the first indication domain indicates the terminal equipment to skip the PDCCH monitoring, the second indication domain indicates the terminal equipment not to monitor the PDCCH within the first time domain length through A-1 bits, namely, the second indication domain indicates the time domain length of the non-monitoring PDCCH through A-1 bits to be the first time domain length; the specific value of the first time domain length is indicated by the value of A-1 bits included in the second indication domain. When the first indication domain indicates the terminal equipment to switch the search space group, the second indication domain indicates the terminal equipment to monitor the PDCCH according to the first search space group through A-1 bits, that is, the second indication domain indicates the search space group of the PDCCH monitored by the terminal equipment through A-1 bits to be the first search space group; the first search space group is a specific search space group, for example, the first search space group may be SSSG0 or SSSG 1. Of course, there may be other ways to allocate the first indication field and the second indication field in the a bits of the first information, which is not limited in this application.

It should be noted that, instructing the terminal device to perform search space group switching in the present application may specifically mean instructing the terminal device to switch to another search space group, or instructing the terminal device to keep the current search space group unchanged. That is, when the indicated search space group is different from the current search space group of the terminal device when the terminal device is instructed to perform search space group switching, indicating that the terminal device is instructed to switch to another search space group; when the indicated search space group is the same as the current search space group of the terminal equipment when the terminal equipment is instructed to switch the search space group, indicating that the terminal equipment is instructed to keep the current search space group unchanged. For example, when a terminal device is instructed to perform search space group switching, the indicated search space group is SSSG1, and when the current search space group of the terminal device is SSSG0, the terminal device is instructed to switch to SSSG 0. For another example, when the terminal device is instructed to perform search space group switching, the indicated search space group is SSSG1, and the current search space group of the terminal device is SSSG1, it indicates that the terminal device is instructed to keep SSSG1 unchanged.

Illustratively, when the first indication field is a first value, the second indication field is used for indicating that the terminal device does not monitor the PDCCH within a first time field length, where the first time field length is related to a search space group of the PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal device, and the preset time field length is the first time field length; and when the first indication domain is a second value, the second indication domain is used for indicating the terminal equipment to monitor the PDCCH according to the first search space group. That is, when the first indication field is the first value, the first indication field indicates the terminal device to skip PDCCH monitoring, and when the first indication field is the second value, the first indication field indicates the terminal device to perform search space group switching. When the first indication domain is a first value, the values of the second indication domain are different, and the lengths of the indicated first time domains are different; when the first indication domain is the second value, the values of the second indication domain are different, and the indicated first search space group is different.

For example, the network device configures the terminal device with SSSG0 (monitoring period is 1 slot) and SSSG1 (monitoring period is 5 slots). Meanwhile, the network device configures two time domain length sets for the terminal device, which are {2, 4} time slots and {10, 20} time slots respectively. The first time domain length may be one of the two sets of time domain lengths {2, 4} and {10, 20} and the first search space may be one of SSSG0 and SSSG 1. An example of the first information indicating the first time domain length and/or the first search space group may be as shown in table 1 below, assuming that the first information includes 2 bits, the first bit is the first indication field, and the second bit is the second indication field:

TABLE 1

As can be seen from table 1, when the first information includes two bits, the first indication field is a first value, i.e., the first bit is 0, and the first indication field is a second value, i.e., the first bit is 1. When the first bit is 0, the second indication field is used to indicate the terminal device to monitor the first search space group of the PDCCH, specifically, when the second indication field is 0, the first search space group of the PDCCH is indicated as SSSG0, and when the second indication field is 1, the first search space group of the PDCCH is indicated as SSSG 1. When the first bit is 1, the second indication field is used for indicating the terminal device not to monitor the first time domain length of the PDCCH, specifically, when the second indication field is 1, the indicated first time domain length is the first length, and the first length is related to the search space group of the PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal device; and when the second indication domain is 0, the indicated first time domain length is a second length, and the second length is related to the search space group of the PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal equipment.

Note that the indication shown in table 1 is merely an example, and is not intended to limit the present application. For example, the SSSG handover is indicated when the first bit is 0, the SSSG1 is indicated when the second indication field (i.e., the second bit) is 0, and the SSSG0 is indicated when the field is 1; when the first bit is 1, the PDCCH is indicated to be skipped, when the second indication field is 1, the second length is indicated, and when the second indication field is 0, the first length is indicated. For example, when the first bit is 0, the PDCCH may be instructed to be skipped, when the first bit is 1, the SSSG handover may be instructed, and further, the second instruction field may be instructed accordingly, which will not be described in detail herein. Of course, there may be other indications, which are not listed here.

It should be noted that, in the example in table 1, shown is an example in which the network device configures two time domain length sets {2, 4} slots and {10, 20} slots through the third information, where the two time domain length sets correspond to the SSSG0 and the SSSG1, respectively. In an exemplary case, the network device may configure only one set of time domain lengths corresponding to all the search space groups through the third information. For example, the network device configures a set of time domain lengths {2, 4} slots, with SSSG0 and SSSG1 each corresponding to {2, 4 }. In this case, assuming that the first information includes 2 bits, the first bit is a first indication field, and the second bit is a second indication field, an example where the first information indicates the first time domain length and/or the first search space group may be as shown in table 1a below:

TABLE 1a

Table 1a is the same as table 1 in principle, and the detailed description can be referred to each other, and table 1a is not described herein. It should be noted that the example of table 1a differs from the example of table 1 in that the SSSG0 and the SSSG1 in table 1a correspond to the same set of time domain lengths, and the SSSG0 and the SSSG1 in table 1 correspond to different sets of time domain lengths.

In another exemplary case, the network device configures a set of temporal lengths through third information, where the third information is included in the BWP configuration information or the cell configuration information. The network device may also choose to configure a set of time domain lengths by means of fourth information, which is included in the configuration information of the search space group. In this case, when the network device is configured with only the third information and is not configured with the fourth information, one set of time domain lengths included in the third information corresponds to all the search space groups. For example, the network device configures a time domain length set of {2, 4} slots through the third information, and the SSSG0 and the SSSG1 both correspond to {2, 4 }. In this case, it is assumed that the first information includes 2 bits, the first bit is a first indication field, and the second bit is a second indication field, and an example that the first information indicates the first time domain length and/or the first search space group may be as shown in table 1 a. When the network device configures the third information and configures the fourth information within the configuration information of the SSSG1 to include a set of time domain lengths {10, 20} slots, and the fourth information is not configured for the SSSG0, the set of time domain lengths included in the third information corresponds to the SSSG0 and the set of time domain lengths included in the fourth information corresponds to the SSSG 1. In this case, it is assumed that the first information includes 2 bits, the first bit is the first indication field, and the second bit is the second indication field, and an example that the first information indicates the first time domain length and/or the first search space group may be as shown in table 1. For another example, the network device configures SSSG0 (monitoring period is 1 slot) and SSSG1 (monitoring period is 5 slots) for the terminal device. When the preset time domain length may be an integer multiple of a monitoring period of a search space group of a PDCCH currently monitored by a terminal device, the first time domain length may be 2 times (i.e., 2 monitoring periods) or 4 times (i.e., 4 monitoring periods) a period of an SSSG of the currently monitored PDCCH. The first search space may be one of SSSG0 and SSSG 1. An example of the first information indicating the first time domain length and/or the first search space group may be as shown in table 2 below, assuming that the first information includes 2 bits, the first bit is the first indication field, and the second bit is the second indication field:

TABLE 2

As can be seen from table 2, when the first information includes two bits, the first indication field is a first value, i.e., the first bit is 0, and the first indication field is a second value, i.e., the first bit is 1. When the first bit is 0, the second indication field is used to indicate the terminal device to monitor the first search space group of the PDCCH, specifically, when the second indication field is 0, the first search space group of the PDCCH is indicated as SSSG0, and when the second indication field is 1, the first search space group of the PDCCH is indicated as SSSG 1. When the first bit is 1, the second indication field is used to indicate that the terminal device does not monitor the first time domain length of the PDCCH, specifically, the first time domain length indicated when the second indication field is 1 is 2 monitoring periods, and the specific time domain lengths (i.e. several time slots, etc.) corresponding to the 2 monitoring periods are related to the search space group of the PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal device; when the second indication domain is 0, the length of the first time domain indicated is 4 monitoring periods, and the specific time domain length corresponding to the 2 monitoring periods is related to the search space group of the PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal equipment.

Note that the indication shown in table 2 is merely an example, and is not intended to limit the present application. For example, the SSSG handover is indicated when the first bit is 0, the SSSG1 is indicated when the second indication field (i.e., the second bit) is 0, and the SSSG0 is indicated when the field is 1; the first bit is 1 to indicate skipping of the PDCCH, the second bit is 1 to indicate 4 monitoring periods, and 0 to indicate 2 monitoring periods. For example, when the first bit is 0, the PDCCH may be instructed to be skipped, when the first bit is 1, the SSSG handover may be instructed, and further, the second instruction field may be instructed accordingly, which will not be described in detail herein. Of course, there may be other indications, which are not listed here.

It should be noted that, in the example in table 2, two monitoring periods (1 slot and 5 slots, respectively) are configured by the network device through the second information, and the two monitoring periods correspond to the SSSG0 and the SSSG1, respectively. In an exemplary case, the network device may configure only one kind of monitoring period corresponding to all the search space groups through the second information. For example, the network device configures a monitoring period with a length of 1 slot, and the SSSG0 and the SSSG1 each correspond to the monitoring period with a length of 1 slot. In this case, assuming that the first information includes 2 bits, the first bit is a first indication field, and the second bit is a second indication field, an example where the first information indicates the first time domain length and/or the first search space group may be as shown in table 2a below:

TABLE 2a

Table 2a is the same as table 2 in principle, and the detailed description can be referred to each other, and table 2a is not described here in detail. It should be noted that the example of table 2a differs from the example of table 2 in that the SSSG0 and SSSG1 in table 2a correspond to the same monitoring period, and the SSSG0 and SSSG1 in table 2 correspond to different monitoring periods.

In another exemplary case, the network device configures a monitoring period by using second information, where the second information is included in the BWP configuration information or the cell configuration information. The network device may further select to configure a monitoring period through fifth information, where the fifth information is included in the configuration information of the search space group. In this case, when the network device is configured with only the second information and is not configured with the fifth information, the second information includes a kind of monitoring period corresponding to all the search space groups. For example, the network device configures, through the second information, that the monitoring period is 1 timeslot in length. In this case, it is assumed that the first information includes 2 bits, the first bit is the first indication field, and the second bit is the second indication field, and an example that the first information indicates the first time domain length and/or the first search space group may be as shown in table 2 a. When the network device configures the second information and configures fifth information including a monitoring period (with a length of 5 slots) in the configuration information of the SSSG1 and the fifth information is not configured for the SSSG0, the monitoring period included in the second information corresponds to the SSSG0 and the monitoring period included in the fifth information corresponds to the SSSG 1. In this case, it is assumed that the first information includes 2 bits, the first bit is the first indication field, and the second bit is the second indication field, and an example that the first information indicates the first time domain length and/or the first search space group may be as shown in table 2.

In another optional embodiment, the a bits included in the first information may jointly instruct the terminal device not to monitor the PDCCH within a preset time domain length, and/or instruct to monitor a search space group of the PDCCH. That is, joint encoding (joint encoding) for skipping PDCCH and SSSG handover indicates 2 by a bits ^A A plurality of bit states (states), each bit state corresponding to a time domain length for which the PDCCH is not monitored, and/or a search space group for which the PDCCH is monitored.

For example, the network device configures the terminal device with SSSG0 (monitoring period is 1 slot) and SSSG1 (monitoring period is 5 slots). Meanwhile, the network device configures two time domain length sets for the terminal device, which are {2, 4} time slots and {10, 20} time slots respectively. Wherein the set of time domain lengths {2, 4} is associated with SSSG0, and the set of time domain lengths {10, 20} is associated with SSSG 1. Assuming that the first information includes 2 bits and 2 bits have 4 bit states, the first information indicates a time domain length of a non-monitored PDCCH through the 4 bit states, and/or an example of a search space group of the monitored PDCCH may be as shown in table 3 below:

TABLE 3

As can be seen from table 3, when the first information includes 2 bits, and the bit status of the 2 bits is 00, the terminal device is instructed to monitor that the search space group of the PDCCH is SSSG0 (that is, the terminal device is instructed to switch to SSSG0, where if the current search space group of the terminal device is SSSG0, the terminal device is instructed to keep the search space group SSSG0 unchanged, and if the current search space group of the terminal device is not SSSG0, the terminal device is instructed to switch from other search space groups to SSSG 0); when the bit state of the 2 bits is 01, instructing the terminal device to monitor that the search space group of the PDCCH is SSSG1 (that is, instructing the terminal device to switch to SSSG1, where if the current search space group of the terminal device is SSSG1, it indicates that the terminal device keeps the search space group SSSG1 unchanged, and if the current search space group of the terminal device is not SSSG1, it indicates that the terminal device switches from other search space groups to SSSG 1); when the bit state of the 2 bits is 11, indicating that the preset time domain length of the PDCCH which is not monitored by the terminal equipment is a first length, wherein the first length is related to a search space group of the PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal equipment; and when the bit state of the 2 bits is 10, indicating that the preset time domain length of the terminal device not monitoring the PDCCH is a second length, wherein the second length is related to the search space group of the PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal device.

Note that the indication shown in table 3 is merely an example, and is not intended to limit the present application. For example, when the bit status of 2 bits is 00, the terminal device is instructed to monitor the search space group of the PDCCH as SSSG 1; when the bit state of 2 bits is 01, indicating that the search space group of the terminal equipment monitoring PDCCH is SSSG 0; when the bit state of 2 bits is 10, indicating that the terminal equipment does not monitor the preset time domain length of the PDCCH as a first length; and when the bit state of the 2 bits is 11, indicating that the preset time domain length of the terminal equipment not monitoring the PDCCH is a second length. Of course, there may be other indications, which are not listed here.

It should be noted that, in the example in table 3, shown is an example in which the network device configures two sets of time domain lengths {2, 4} of slots and {10, 20} of slots through the third information, and the two sets of time domain lengths correspond to the SSSG0 and the SSSG1, respectively. In an exemplary case, the network device may configure only one set of time domain lengths corresponding to all the search space groups through the third information. For example, the network device configures a set of time domain lengths {2, 4} slots, with SSSG0 and SSSG1 each corresponding to {2, 4 }. At this time, assuming that the first information includes 2 bits, the 2 bits have 4 bit states, the first information indicates a time domain length of the non-monitored PDCCH through the 4 bit states, and/or an example of a search space group of the monitored PDCCH may be as shown in table 3a below:

TABLE 3a

Table 3a is the same as table 3 in principle, and the detailed description can be referred to each other, and table 3a will not be described herein. It should be noted that the example of table 3a differs from the example of table 3 in that the SSSG0 and SSSG1 in table 3a correspond to the same set of time domain lengths, and the SSSG0 and SSSG1 in table 3 correspond to different sets of time domain lengths.

In another exemplary case, the network device configures a set of time domain lengths through third information, where the third information is included in the BWP configuration information or the cell configuration information. The network device may further select to configure a time domain length set through fourth information, where the fourth information is included in the configuration information of the search space group. In this case, when the network device is configured with only the third information and is not configured with the fourth information, one set of time domain lengths included in the third information corresponds to all the search space groups. For example, the network device configures a time domain length set of {2, 4} slots through the third information, and the SSSG0 and the SSSG1 both correspond to {2, 4 }. It is assumed that the first information includes 2 bits, and the 2 bits have 4 bit states, and the first information indicates a time domain length in which the PDCCH is not monitored through the 4 bit states, and/or an example of monitoring a search space group of the PDCCH may be as shown in table 3 a. When the network device configures the third information and configures the fourth information within the configuration information of the SSSG1 to include a set of time domain lengths {10, 20} slots, and the fourth information is not configured for the SSSG0, the set of time domain lengths included in the third information corresponds to the SSSG0 and the set of time domain lengths included in the fourth information corresponds to the SSSG 1. It is assumed that the first information includes 2 bits and the 2 bits have 4 bit states, and the first information indicates a time domain length of a non-monitored PDCCH through the 4 bit states, and/or an example of a search space group of a monitored PDCCH may be as shown in table 3.

For another example, the network device configures SSSG0 (monitoring period is 1 slot) and SSSG1 (monitoring period is 5 slots) for the terminal device. When the preset time domain length is an integer multiple of a monitoring period of a search space group of a PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal device, for example, 2 times (i.e., 2 monitoring periods) or 4 times (i.e., 4 monitoring periods) a period of an SSSG of the currently monitored PDCCH. Assuming that the first information includes 2 bits and 2 bits have 4 bit states, the first information indicates a time domain length of a non-monitored PDCCH through the 4 bit states, and/or an example of a search space group of the monitored PDCCH may be as shown in table 4 below:

TABLE 4

As can be seen from table 4, when the first information includes 2 bits, and the bit status of the 2 bits is 00, the terminal device is instructed to monitor that the search space group of the PDCCH is SSSG0 (that is, the terminal device is instructed to switch to SSSG0, where if the current search space group of the terminal device is SSSG0, it indicates that the terminal device keeps the search space group SSSG0 unchanged, and if the current search space group of the terminal device is not SSSG0, it indicates that the terminal device switches from other search space groups to SSSG 0); when the bit state of the 2 bits is 01, instructing the terminal device to monitor that the search space group of the PDCCH is SSSG1 (that is, instructing the terminal device to switch to SSSG1, where if the current search space group of the terminal device is SSSG1, it indicates that the terminal device keeps the search space group SSSG1 unchanged, and if the current search space group of the terminal device is not SSSG1, it indicates that the terminal device switches from other search space groups to SSSG 1); when the bit state of 2 bits is 11, indicating that the preset time domain length of the terminal device not monitoring the PDCCH is 2 monitoring periods, wherein the specific time domain length (namely, a plurality of time slots and the like) corresponding to the 2 monitoring periods is related to the search space group of the PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal device; when the bit state of the 2 bits is 10, the preset time domain length indicating that the terminal device does not monitor the PDCCH is 4 monitoring periods, and the specific time domain length (i.e. several time slots, etc.) corresponding to the 4 monitoring periods is related to the search space group of the PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal device.

Note that the indication shown in table 4 is merely an example, and is not intended to limit the present application. For example, when the bit status of 2 bits is 00, the terminal device is instructed to monitor the search space group of the PDCCH as SSSG 0; when the bit state of 2 bits is 01, indicating that the search space group of the terminal equipment monitoring PDCCH is SSSG 1; when the bit state of 2 bits is 10, indicating that the preset time domain length of not monitoring the PDCCH by the terminal equipment is 4 monitoring periods; when the bit state of 2 bits is 11, the preset time domain length for indicating the terminal device not to monitor the PDCCH is 2 monitoring periods. Of course, other indications are possible and are not listed here.

It should be noted that, in the example in table 4, shown is an example in which the network device configures two monitoring periods (1 slot and 5 slots, respectively) through the second information, and the two monitoring periods correspond to the SSSG0 and the SSSG1, respectively. In an exemplary case, the network device may configure only one kind of monitoring period corresponding to all the search space groups through the second information. For example, the network device configures a monitoring period of 1 slot, and the SSSG0 and the SSSG1 each correspond to a monitoring period of 1 slot in length. It is assumed that the first information includes 2 bits, and the 2 bits have 4 bit states, and the first information indicates a time domain length of the non-monitored PDCCH through the 4 bit states, and/or an example of a search space group of the monitored PDCCH may be as shown in table 4a below:

TABLE 4a

Table 4a is the same as table 4 in principle, and the detailed description can be referred to each other, and table 4a is not described here in detail. It should be noted that the example of table 4a differs from the example of table 4 in that the SSSG0 and SSSG1 in table 4a correspond to the same monitoring period, and the SSSG0 and SSSG1 in table 4 correspond to different monitoring periods.

In another exemplary case, the network device configures a monitoring period by using second information, where the second information is included in the BWP configuration information or the cell configuration information. The network device may further select to configure a monitoring period through fifth information, where the fifth information is included in the configuration information of the search space group. In this case, when the network device is configured with only the second information and is not configured with the fifth information, the second information includes a kind of monitoring period corresponding to all the search space groups. For example, the network device configures, through the second information, that the length of the monitoring period is 1 timeslot. It is assumed that the first information includes 2 bits, and the 2 bits have 4 bit states, and the first information indicates a time domain length in which the PDCCH is not monitored through the 4 bit states, and/or an example of monitoring a search space group of the PDCCH may be as shown in table 4 a. When the network device is configured with the second information and the fifth information configured in the configuration information of the SSSG1 includes a monitoring period (length is 5 slots), and the fifth information is not configured for the SSSG0, the monitoring period included in the second information corresponds to the SSSG0, and the monitoring period included in the fifth information corresponds to the SSSG 1. It is assumed that the first information includes 2 bits and the 2 bits have 4 bit states, and the first information indicates a time domain length of a non-monitored PDCCH through the 4 bit states, and/or an example of a search space group of a monitored PDCCH may be as shown in table 4.

In the above tables 3 and 4, each bit state of a bits of the first information indicates a time domain length in which the PDCCH is not monitored or a search space group in which the PDCCH is monitored. When the A bits of the first information are jointly indicated, 2 of the A bits ^A There may be at least one bit state among the plurality of bit states that simultaneously indicates a time domain length for which the PDCCH is not monitored and a search space group for which the PDCCH is monitored.

For example, the network device configures the terminal device with SSSG0 (monitoring period is 1 slot) and SSSG1 (monitoring period is 5 slots). Meanwhile, the network equipment configures 4 time domain lengths D1-D4 for the terminal equipment. Assuming that the first information includes 2 bits for 4 bit states, the first information indicates a time domain length of the non-monitored PDCCH through the 4 bit states, and/or an example of the search space group of the monitored PDCCH may be as shown in table 5 below:

TABLE 5

As can be seen from table 5, when the bit state of the 2 bits of the first information is 00, it indicates that the terminal device skips (skip) PDCCH monitoring within a time period of time duration D1, and after the PDCCH monitoring is finished, SSSG0 is monitored (that is, PDCCH is monitored according to SSSG 0). It can also be understood that the terminal device switches to monitoring SSSG0 first, and then skips PDCCH monitoring during the time with time domain length D1. The bit state of the 2 bits of the first information is 01, 10 or 11, and the same is true, and will not be described in detail here.

It should be noted that the status indications of the bits in table 5 are only examples, and there may be other statuses, which are not described in detail here.

In table 5 above, each bit state indicates SSSG handover and PDCCH skipping at the same time. For example, only some bit states in the first information may correspond to SSSG handover and skip PDCCH, and other bit states may correspond to only one of SSSG handover and skip PDCCH, as shown in table 6.

TABLE 6

It should be noted that the case of each bit state indication in table 6 is only an example, and there may be other cases, for example, when the bit state is 00, the corresponding SSSG0+ skips D1; bit state 01 corresponds to skip D2, and so on. Of course, there are many other situations that are not listed here.

In an implementation manner, when the first information only indicates to monitor the search space group of the PDCCH, the value of a bits of the first information may also correspond to one search space group and one time domain length, but the corresponding time domain length is 0. For example, when the first information indicates the second search space group, the values of the a bits may correspond to the second search space group and a second time domain length, and the second time domain length is 0. That is, the search space group indicating only the monitored PDCCH, that is, performing only the SSSG handover without skipping the PDCCH may be implemented by configuring a value of the preset time domain length to be 0. As shown in table 7 below, when the value (i.e., the bit status) of the first information is 01, it indicates that the first information only indicates monitoring the PDCCH according to SSSG0, and does not skip PDCCH monitoring; when the value (i.e., bit state) of the first information is 11, it indicates that the first information only indicates monitoring the PDCCH according to the SSSG1, and does not skip PDCCH monitoring.

TABLE 7

As can be seen from table 7, when the bit status of the first information is 01, although SSSG0+ is skipped over D2 (that is, the values of a bits at this time correspond to the second search space group and the second time domain lengths are SSSG0 and D2), D2 is configured to be 0 (that is, the second time domain length is 0), that is, the first information only indicates SSSG0 (that is, the first information indicates the second search space group); the same holds true when the bit state of the first information is 11.

In an exemplary embodiment, when the monitoring period of the search space group is short, and the terminal device monitors the PDCCH according to the search space group, the time for monitoring the PDCCH is relatively large, the power consumption of the terminal device is wasted greatly, and at this time, when the network device does not schedule the terminal device, the PDCCH monitoring can be reduced by skipping the PDCCH, so that an energy-saving effect can be achieved. However, when the monitoring period of the search space group is relatively large, and the terminal device monitors the PDCCH according to the search space group, the time for monitoring the PDCCH is relatively small, and the power consumption waste of the terminal device is relatively small, and in some cases, for example, when the monitoring period is large, such as monitoring the PDCCH once every 10 time slots or every 20 time slots, even if the PDCCH is not skipped, a relatively good energy saving effect can be achieved. It can be seen that the search space group with the smaller monitoring period is suitable for being used in combination with the skipped PDCCH, while the search space group with the larger monitoring period may not be suitable for being used in combination with the skipped PDCCH.

When the first information only indicates the second search space, the condition that the second time domain length corresponding to the first information is set to 0 indicates that the second search space group is not suitable for being used in combination with the skipped PDCCH, that is, the monitoring period of the second search space group is relatively long. The monitoring period of the second search space group can be embodied as: the monitoring period of the second search space group is greater than that of a third search space group, and the third search space group is one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device. That is, the second search space group having a large monitoring period is not suitable for use in conjunction with the skipped PDCCH, and the third search space group having a small monitoring period is suitable for use in conjunction with the skipped PDCCH.

For example, when a network device configures SSSG0 and SSSG1 for a terminal device, and a monitoring period of SSSG0 is smaller than SSSG1, SSSG0 may be considered as a third search space group, and SSSG1 is considered as a second search space group. One possible way is that the skipped PDCCH only combines with SSSG0 (i.e., the third search space group is SSSG0 at this time) and cannot combine with SSSG1 (i.e., the second search space group is SSSG1 at this time). That is, when the first information indicates monitoring of the SSSG1 (i.e., when the second search space group is the SSSG1), the terminal device does not perform the skip PDCCH, and only when the first information indicates monitoring of the SSSG0 (i.e., when the third search space group is the SSSG0), the terminal device performs the skip PDCCH. For example, when the first information is 2 bits, the status indication of 4 bits can be shown in table 8:

TABLE 8

As shown in table 8, when the bit status of the first information is 00, or 01, or 10, the first information indicates that the terminal device monitors SSSG0 (i.e., the third search space group is SSSG0), and performs skip PDCCH, i.e., the third search space group with a smaller monitoring period is used in combination with the skip PDCCH. However, when the bit status of the first information is 11, the first information only indicates that the terminal device monitors SSSG1 (i.e. the second search space group is SSSG1 at this time), and does not perform a skip PDCCH, i.e. the second search space group with a larger monitoring period is not used in combination with the skip PDCCH. When the bit state of the first information is 11, D4 (i.e., the second time domain length) corresponding to the bit state 11 is configured to be 0, so that the bit state 11 indicates only the second search space group (i.e., SSSG 1).

It should be noted that table 1 to table 8 only show the indication case that the first information is 2 bits, and of course, the first information may also be 3 bits or a plurality of bits more than 3 bits, and the indication principle is similar to the indication principle of 2 bits, and is not described in detail here.

In one example, the monitoring period of the second search space group (or the third search space group) may be a preset period, and the preset period is independent of the period of the SSS included in the second search space group (or the third search space group).

In another example, the monitoring period of the second search space group (or the third search space group) is a second monitoring period (or a third monitoring period), and the second monitoring period (or the third monitoring period) is related to a period of the SSS included in the second search space group (or the third search space group). Wherein, the second monitoring period (or the third monitoring period) may include the following three cases:

case c 1: the second monitoring period (or the third monitoring period) is the largest monitoring period or the smallest monitoring period among the monitoring periods of at least one search space included in the second search space group (or the third search space group).

Case c 2: the second monitoring period (or the third monitoring period) is a monitoring period of a search space in which the terminal device currently receives downlink control information (e.g., DCI).

Case c 3: the second monitoring period (or the third monitoring period) is a maximum monitoring period or a minimum monitoring period in the monitoring periods of the plurality of search spaces, or a monitoring period of a search space with a maximum index value in the plurality of search spaces, or a monitoring period of a search space with a minimum index value in the plurality of search spaces, when the terminal device receives the downlink control information at the time domain position where the plurality of search spaces overlap.

It should be noted that, in the description of the embodiments of the present application, the first search space group, the second search space group, and the third search space group are all generic terms, and all refer to one search space group, and are used for the purpose of distinguishing descriptions, and have no special meaning, and of course, other names may be also provided, and the present application does not limit this.

By adopting the PDCCH monitoring method provided by the embodiment of the application, the matching of the time domain length of the skipped PDCCH and the monitoring period of the SSSG can be ensured when the PDCCH and SSSG switching is supported and simultaneously indicated.

In the above-mentioned embodiments shown in fig. 6, the predetermined time domain length is described in relation to the search space group (SSSG) monitoring the PDCCH. In some embodiments, the preset time domain length may relate to a search space (SSS) for monitoring the PDCCH. At this time, the network device may configure an association relationship between the preset time domain length and the SSS, and the terminal device determines the preset time domain length according to the SSS where the indicated DCI is received. The specific implementation process of monitoring the PDCCH is similar to the implementation process of monitoring the PDCCH in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, and may be referred to each other, and is not described in detail here.

Optionally, when the terminal device receives the downlink control information at the time domain position where the plurality of search spaces overlap, the terminal device determines the preset time domain length according to a monitoring period of a search space with a largest index value among the plurality of search spaces or a monitoring period of a search space with a smallest index value among the plurality of search spaces.

Based on the above embodiments, the present application further provides a communication apparatus, and referring to fig. 7, the communication apparatus 700 may include a transceiver 701 and a processing unit 702. The transceiver 701 is configured to receive information (message or data) or transmit information (message or data) to the communication apparatus 700, and the processing unit 702 is configured to control and manage an operation of the communication apparatus 700. The processing unit 702 may also control the steps performed by the transceiving unit 701.

The communication apparatus 700 may specifically be the terminal device in the foregoing embodiments, a processor in the terminal device, or a chip system, or a functional module; alternatively, the communication apparatus 700 may specifically be the network device in the foregoing embodiments, a processor, a chip, a system of chips, or a functional module.

In an embodiment, when the communication apparatus 700 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the embodiment described in fig. 6, the method may specifically include:

the transceiver 701 is configured to receive first information from a network device, where the first information may be used to instruct the terminal device not to monitor a PDCCH within a preset time domain length; wherein the preset time domain length is associated with a search space group monitoring the PDCCH; the processing unit 702 is configured to not monitor the PDCCH within the preset time domain length according to the first information.

In an optional embodiment, the first information may also be used to indicate a search space group for monitoring the PDCCH.

Illustratively, the first information may include a first indication field and a second indication field; when the first indication domain is a first value, the preset time domain length is a first time domain length, and the second indication domain is used for indicating the terminal device not to monitor the PDCCH within the first time domain length; the first time domain length is related to a search space group of a PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal equipment; and when the first indication domain is a second value, the second indication domain is used for indicating the terminal equipment to monitor the PDCCH according to the first search space group.

For example, the first information may include a bits, where different values of the a bits correspond to different time domain lengths of non-monitored PDCCHs, and/or different search space groups of monitored PDCCHs; a is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

In an optional implementation manner, when the first information indicates a second search space group, values of the a bits correspond to the second search space group and a second time domain length, and the second time domain length is 0.

Optionally, a monitoring period of the second search space group is greater than a monitoring period of a third search space group, where the third search space group is one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device.

For example, the preset time domain length may be one of a first set of time domain lengths, where the first set of time domain lengths is one of N sets of time domain lengths, and N is an integer greater than 1 or equal to N; or, the preset time domain length may be an integer multiple of a monitoring period of a search space group of the PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal device.

Specifically, each of the N time domain length sets is associated with one of M search space groups, where the M search space groups are configured by the network device for the terminal device, and M is an integer greater than 1.

Illustratively, the monitoring period of the search space group is a preset period; or the monitoring period of the search space group is a first monitoring period, and the first monitoring period may be the largest monitoring period or the smallest monitoring period among the monitoring periods of at least one search space included in the search space group; or, the first monitoring period may be a monitoring period of a search space in which the terminal device currently receives the downlink control information; or, the first monitoring period may be a largest monitoring period or a smallest monitoring period among the monitoring periods of the plurality of search spaces, or a largest monitoring period of a search space with a largest index value among the plurality of search spaces, or a smallest monitoring period of a search space with a smallest index value among the plurality of search spaces, when the terminal device receives the downlink control information at a time domain position where the plurality of search spaces overlap.

In an alternative embodiment, the starting position of the preset time domain length may be a first time domain position; the first time domain position may be a time slot in which the terminal device receives the downlink control information; or, the first time domain position may be a next time slot of the time slot in which the terminal device receives the downlink control information; or, when the first monitoring period is a maximum monitoring period or a minimum monitoring period in monitoring periods of at least one search space included in the search space group, the first time domain position may be a position of a monitored PDCCH in a search space of a next maximum monitoring period or a minimum monitoring period of the search space corresponding to the first monitoring period.

In an optional embodiment, a monitoring period of the search space group is a preset period, and includes: the transceiver unit 701 is further configured to receive second information from the network device, where the second information is used to configure a monitoring period for monitoring a search space group of the PDCCH.

In one example, the search space group configuration information of the fourth search space group includes the second information, the second information includes a monitoring period of the fourth search space group, and the fourth search space group is one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device.

In another example, the second information includes at least one monitoring period; when the second information comprises one monitoring period, the monitoring periods of the M search space groups are all the one monitoring period; the M search space groups are configured for the terminal equipment by the network equipment, and M is an integer greater than 1; when the second information includes M monitoring periods, the M search space groups correspond to the M monitoring periods one to one.

Optionally, the second information is included in bandwidth part configuration information or cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device.

In a possible design, the second information is included in bandwidth part configuration information or cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device, and the transceiver unit 701 is further configured to receive fifth information of the network device, where the fifth information is also used to configure a monitoring period for monitoring a search space group of the PDCCH, and the fifth information is included in search space group configuration information of a seventh search space group. When the network device configures the second information and does not configure the fifth information, a monitoring period of a search space group included in the second information corresponds to the seventh search space group. When the network device is configured with the second information and also configured with the fifth information, a monitoring period of a search space group included in the fifth information corresponds to the seventh search space group.

In an optional implementation manner, the transceiver 701 is further configured to receive third information from the network device, where the third information is used to configure a time domain length set corresponding to a search space group for monitoring a PDCCH.

In one example, the third information is included in the search space group configuration information of the fifth search space group, the third information includes a set of time domain lengths, the set of time domain lengths includes one or more time domain lengths, and the preset time domain length is one of the one or more time domain lengths included in the third information; the fifth search space group is one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device.

In another example, the third information includes at least one set of time domain lengths; when the third information comprises one time domain length set, M search space groups correspond to the one time domain length set; the M search space groups are configured for the terminal equipment by the network equipment, and M is an integer greater than 1; the preset time domain length is one time domain length in the time domain length set; when the third information includes M time domain length sets, the M search space groups correspond to the M time domain length sets one to one, and the preset time domain length is one time domain length in the time domain length set corresponding to the search space group of the monitored PDCCH.

Optionally, the third information is included in bandwidth part configuration information or cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device.

In a possible design, the third information is included in bandwidth part configuration information or cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device, and the transceiver unit 701 is further configured to receive fourth information of the network device, where the fourth information is also used to configure a monitoring period for monitoring a search space group of the PDCCH, and the fourth information is included in search space group configuration information of a sixth search space group. When the network device configures the third information and does not configure the fourth information, a monitoring period of a search space group included in the third information corresponds to the sixth search space group. When the network device is configured with the third information and also configured with the fourth information, a monitoring period of a search space group included in the fourth information corresponds to the sixth search space group.

In another embodiment, when the communication apparatus 700 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the embodiment described in fig. 6, the method may specifically include:

the processing unit 702 is configured to determine first information, where the first information is used to instruct a terminal device not to monitor a PDCCH within a preset time domain length; wherein the preset time domain length is associated with a search space group monitoring the PDCCH; the transceiver 701 is configured to send the first information to the terminal device.

In one example, the first information may include a first indication field and a second indication field; when the first indication domain is a first value, the preset time domain length is a first time domain length, and the second indication domain may be used to indicate that the terminal device does not monitor the PDCCH within the first time domain length; the first time domain length is related to a search space group of a PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal equipment; when the first indication field is a second value, the second indication field may be used to indicate the terminal device to monitor the PDCCH according to the first search space group.

In one example, the first information may include a bits, where different values of the a bits correspond to different time domain lengths of a non-monitored PDCCH, and/or different search space groups of the monitored PDCCH; a is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

In a specific embodiment, when the first information indicates a second search space group, the value of the a bits may correspond to the second search space group and a second time domain length, and the second time domain length is 0.

Illustratively, the preset time domain length is one of a first set of time domain lengths, the first set of time domain lengths is one of a plurality of sets of time domain lengths, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or, the preset time domain length is an integral multiple of a monitoring period of a search space group of the PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal device.

In an optional embodiment, a monitoring period of the search space group is a preset period; or the monitoring period of the search space group is a first monitoring period, and the first monitoring period may be the largest monitoring period or the smallest monitoring period among the monitoring periods of at least one search space included in the search space group; or, the first monitoring period may be a monitoring period of a search space in which the terminal device currently receives downlink control information; or, the first monitoring period may be a largest monitoring period or a smallest monitoring period among the monitoring periods of the plurality of search spaces, or a largest monitoring period of a search space with a largest index value among the plurality of search spaces, or a smallest monitoring period of a search space with a smallest index value among the plurality of search spaces, when the terminal device receives the downlink control information at a time domain position where the plurality of search spaces overlap.

Optionally, the starting position of the preset time domain length may be a first time domain position; the first time domain position may be a time slot in which the terminal device receives the downlink control information; or, the first time domain position may be a next time slot of the time slot in which the terminal device receives the downlink control information; or, when the first monitoring period is a maximum monitoring period or a minimum monitoring period in monitoring periods of at least one search space included in the search space group, the first time domain position may be a position of a monitored PDCCH in a search space of a next maximum monitoring period or a minimum monitoring period of the search space corresponding to the first monitoring period.

In an optional embodiment, a monitoring period of the search space group is a preset period, and may include: the transceiver unit 701 is further configured to send second information to the terminal device, where the second information is used to configure a monitoring period for monitoring a search space group of the PDCCH.

In an example, the second information is included in the search space group configuration information of a fourth search space group, where the second information includes a monitoring period of the fourth search space group, and the fourth search space group is one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device.

In an optional implementation manner, the transceiver 701 is further configured to send third information to the terminal device, where the third information is used to configure a time domain length set corresponding to a search space group for monitoring a PDCCH.

An example is that the search space group configuration information of a fifth search space group includes the third information, the third information includes a time domain length set, the time domain length set includes one or more time domain lengths, and the fifth search space group is one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device; the preset time domain length is one of one or more time domain lengths included in the third information.

For another example, the third information includes at least one set of time domain lengths; when the third information comprises one time domain length set, M search space groups correspond to the one time domain length set; the M search space groups are configured for the terminal equipment by the network equipment, and M is an integer greater than 1; the preset time domain length is one time domain length in the time domain length set; when the third information includes M time domain length sets, the M search space groups correspond to the M time domain length sets one to one, and the preset time domain length is one time domain length in the time domain length set corresponding to the search space group of the monitored PDCCH.

Optionally, the third information is included in the bandwidth partial configuration information or the cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device.

It should be noted that the division of the unit in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation. The 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 integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit.

The integrated unit, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit 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 may be substantially implemented or contributed by the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution may be embodied in a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, or the like) or a processor (processor) 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.

Based on the above embodiments, the present application further provides a communication device, and referring to fig. 8, the communication device 800 may include a transceiver 801 and a processor 802. Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a memory 803. The memory 803 may be disposed inside the communication device 800, or may be disposed outside the communication device 800. The processor 802 may control the transceiver 801 to receive and transmit information or data, etc.

Specifically, the processor 802 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), or a combination of a CPU and an NP. The processor 802 may further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The PLD may be a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a General Array Logic (GAL), or any combination thereof.

Wherein, the transceiver 801, the processor 802 and the memory 803 are connected to each other. Optionally, the transceiver 801, the processor 802 and the memory 803 are connected to each other through a bus 804; the bus 804 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 8, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus.

In an alternative embodiment, the memory 803 is used for storing programs and the like. In particular, the program may include program code comprising computer operating instructions. The memory 803 may include RAM, and may also include non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as one or more disk memories. The processor 802 executes the application program stored in the memory 803 to implement the above-described functions, thereby implementing the functions of the communication apparatus 800.

Exemplarily, the communication apparatus 800 may be a terminal device in the above embodiment; but also the network device in the above embodiment.

In one embodiment, when the communication apparatus 800 implements the functions of the terminal device in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, the transceiver 801 may implement the transceiving operation performed by the terminal device in the embodiment shown in fig. 6; the processor 802 may perform operations other than transceiving operations performed by the terminal device in the embodiment illustrated in fig. 6. The detailed description of the embodiment shown in fig. 6 can be referred to the above description, and will not be described in detail here.

In another embodiment, when the communication apparatus 800 implements the functions of the network device in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, the transceiver 801 may implement the transceiving operations performed by the network device in the embodiment shown in fig. 6; the processor 802 may perform operations other than transceiving operations performed by the network device in the embodiment shown in fig. 6. The detailed description of the embodiment shown in fig. 6 can be referred to the above description, and will not be described in detail here.

Based on the above embodiments, the present application provides a communication system, which may include the terminal device and the network device related to the above embodiments.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where the computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer may implement the method for PDCCH monitoring provided in the foregoing method embodiment.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, where the computer program product is used to store a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer may implement the method for PDCCH monitoring provided in the foregoing method embodiment.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which includes a processor, where the processor is coupled with a memory, and is configured to invoke a program in the memory, so that the chip implements the method for monitoring the PDCCH provided in the above method embodiment.

The embodiment of the application further provides a chip, wherein the chip is coupled with the memory, and the chip is used for realizing the method for monitoring the PDCCH provided by the embodiment of the method.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

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 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 Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) is characterized by comprising the following steps:

the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives first information from network equipment, wherein the first information is used for indicating that the terminal equipment does not monitor a PDCCH within a preset time domain length; wherein the preset time domain length is associated with a search space group monitoring the PDCCH;

and the terminal equipment does not monitor the PDCCH within the preset time domain length according to the first information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information is further for indicating a search space group monitoring a PDCCH.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first information comprises a first indication field and a second indication field;

when the first indication domain is a first value, the preset time domain length is a first time domain length, and the second indication domain is used for indicating the terminal device not to monitor the PDCCH within the first time domain length; the first time domain length is related to a search space group of a PDCCH currently monitored by the terminal equipment;

and when the first indication domain is a second value, the second indication domain is used for indicating the terminal equipment to monitor the PDCCH according to the first search space group.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first information comprises a bits, and different values of the a bits correspond to different time domain lengths of non-monitored PDCCH, and/or different search space groups of monitored PDCCH; a is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein values of the A bits correspond to a second search space group and a second time domain length when the first information indicates the second search space group, the second time domain length being 0.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein a monitoring period of the second search space group is greater than a monitoring period of a third search space group, the third search space group being one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device.

7. The method according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the preset time domain length is one of a first set of time domain lengths, the first set of time domain lengths is one of N sets of time domain lengths, and N is an integer greater than 1 or equal to.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the N sets of time domain lengths is associated with one of M search space groups, the M search space groups configured for the terminal device by the network device, M being an integer greater than 1.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the preset time domain length is an integer multiple of a monitoring period of a search space group in which the terminal device currently monitors PDCCH.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein a monitoring period of the search space group is a preset period; or

The monitoring period of the search space group is a first monitoring period, and the first monitoring period is the largest monitoring period or the smallest monitoring period in the monitoring periods of at least one search space contained in the search space group; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the first monitoring period is a monitoring period of a search space in which the terminal device currently receives downlink control information; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the first monitoring period is a largest monitoring period or a smallest monitoring period in the monitoring periods of the plurality of search spaces, or a largest search space monitoring period in the plurality of search spaces, or a smallest search space monitoring period in the plurality of search spaces, when the terminal device receives the downlink control information at a time domain position where the plurality of search spaces are overlapped.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the starting position of the preset time domain length is a first time domain position;

the first time domain position is a time slot when the terminal equipment receives the downlink control information; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the first time domain position is the next time slot of the terminal equipment receiving the downlink control information; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

when the first monitoring period is the largest monitoring period or the smallest monitoring period among the monitoring periods of at least one search space included in the search space group, the first time domain position is the position of the monitored PDCCH of the search space of the next largest monitoring period or the smallest monitoring period of the search space corresponding to the first monitoring period.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the monitoring period of the search space group is a preset period, comprising:

and the terminal equipment receives second information from the network equipment, wherein the second information is used for configuring a monitoring period for monitoring a search space group of the PDCCH.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein search space group configuration information for a fourth search space group comprises the second information, the second information comprising a monitoring period for the fourth search space group, the fourth search space group being one of a plurality of search space groups configured for the terminal device by the network device.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the second information comprises at least one monitoring period;

when the second information comprises one monitoring period, the monitoring periods of the M search space groups are all the one monitoring period; the M search space groups are configured for the terminal equipment by the network equipment, and M is an integer greater than 1;

when the second information includes M monitoring periods, the M search space groups correspond one-to-one to the M monitoring periods.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the second information is included in bandwidth part configuration information or cell configuration information configured for the terminal device by the network device.

16. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the second information is included in bandwidth part configuration information or cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device, and the terminal device further receives fifth information of the network device, where the fifth information is also used for configuring a monitoring period for monitoring a search space group of the PDCCH, and the fifth information is included in search space group configuration information of a seventh search space group. When the network device configures the second information and does not configure the fifth information, a monitoring period of a search space group included in the second information corresponds to the seventh search space group. When the network device configures the second information and also configures the fifth information, a monitoring period of a search space group included in the fifth information corresponds to the seventh search space group.

17. The method of any one of claims 1-8, further comprising:

and the terminal equipment receives third information from the network equipment, wherein the third information is used for configuring a time domain length set corresponding to the search space group of the monitored PDCCH.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the third information is included in search space group configuration information of a fifth search space group, the third information includes one set of time domain lengths, the one set of time domain lengths includes one or more time domain lengths, and the preset time domain length is one of the one or more time domain lengths included in the third information; the fifth search space group is one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the third information comprises at least one set of time domain lengths;

when the third information comprises one time domain length set, M search space groups correspond to the one time domain length set; the M search space groups are configured for the terminal equipment by the network equipment, and M is an integer greater than 1; the preset time domain length is one time domain length in the time domain length set;

when the third information includes M time domain length sets, the M search space groups correspond to the M time domain length sets one to one, and the preset time domain length is one time domain length in the time domain length set corresponding to the search space group of the monitored PDCCH.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the third information is included in bandwidth part configuration information or cell configuration information configured for the terminal device by the network device.

21. The method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the third information is included in bandwidth section configuration information or cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device, the terminal device further receives fourth information of the network device, the fourth information is also used for configuring a monitoring period for monitoring a search space group of the PDCCH, and the fourth information is included in search space group configuration information of a sixth search space group. When the network device configures the third information and does not configure the fourth information, a monitoring period of a search space group included in the third information corresponds to the sixth search space group. When the network device configures the third information and also configures the fourth information, a monitoring period of a search space group included in the fourth information corresponds to the sixth search space group.

22. A method for monitoring a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) is characterized by comprising the following steps:

the network equipment determines first information, wherein the first information is used for indicating that the terminal equipment does not monitor the PDCCH within a preset time domain length; wherein the preset time domain length is associated with a search space group monitoring the PDCCH;

and the network equipment sends the first information to the terminal equipment.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first information is further used to indicate a search space group for monitoring PDCCH.

24. The method of claim 22 or 23, wherein the first information comprises a first indication field and a second indication field;

25. The method according to claim 22 or 23, wherein the first information comprises a bits, and different values of the a bits correspond to different time domain lengths of non-monitored PDCCH, and/or different search space groups of monitored PDCCH; a is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein a values of the a bits correspond to a second search space group and a second time domain length when the first information indicates the second search space group, the second time domain length being 0.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein a monitoring period of the second search space group is greater than a monitoring period of a third search space group, the third search space group being one of a plurality of search space groups configured by the network device for the terminal device.

28. The method according to any of claims 22-27, wherein the preset time domain length is one of a first set of time domain lengths, the first set of time domain lengths is one of a plurality of sets of time domain lengths, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein each of the N sets of time domain lengths is associated with one of M search space groups, M being an integer greater than 1, the M search space groups being configured for the terminal device by the network device.

30. The method of any one of claims 22-27, wherein the preset time domain length is an integer multiple of a monitoring period of a search space group for which the terminal device currently monitors the PDCCH.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein a monitoring period of the search space group is a preset period; or

The monitoring period of the search space group is a first monitoring period, and the first monitoring period is the largest monitoring period or the smallest monitoring period in the monitoring periods of at least one search space contained in the search space group; or, the first monitoring period is a monitoring period of a search space in which the terminal device currently receives the downlink control information; or, the first monitoring period is a largest monitoring period or a smallest monitoring period among the monitoring periods of the plurality of search spaces, or a largest search space monitoring period among the plurality of search spaces, or a smallest search space monitoring period among the plurality of search spaces, when the terminal device receives the downlink control information at a time domain position where the plurality of search spaces overlap.

32. The method as claimed in claim 31, wherein the starting position of the preset time domain length is a first time domain position; the first time domain position is a time slot when the terminal equipment receives the downlink control information; or, the first time domain position is a next time slot of the time slot in which the terminal device receives the downlink control information; or, when the first monitoring period is a maximum monitoring period or a minimum monitoring period among monitoring periods of at least one search space included in the search space group, the first time domain position is a position of a monitored PDCCH of a search space of a next maximum monitoring period or a minimum monitoring period of a search space corresponding to the first monitoring period.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the monitoring period of the search space group is a preset period, comprising:

and the network equipment sends second information to the terminal equipment, wherein the second information is used for configuring a monitoring period for monitoring a search space group of the PDCCH.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein search space group configuration information for a fourth search space group comprises the second information, the second information comprising a monitoring period for the fourth search space group, the fourth search space group being one of a plurality of search space groups configured for the terminal device by the network device.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the second information comprises at least one monitoring period;

when the second information includes M monitoring periods, the M search space groups correspond to the M monitoring periods one to one.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the second information is included in bandwidth part configuration information or cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device.

37. The method according to claim 33 or 34, wherein the second information is included in bandwidth part configuration information or cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device, and the network device further sends fifth information to the terminal device, where the fifth information is also used for configuring a monitoring period for monitoring a search space group of the PDCCH, and the fifth information is included in search space group configuration information of a seventh search space group. When the network device configures the second information and does not configure the fifth information, a monitoring period of a search space group included in the second information corresponds to the seventh search space group. When the network device configures the second information and also configures the fifth information, a monitoring period of a search space group included in the fifth information corresponds to the seventh search space group.

38. The method of any one of claims 23-30, further comprising:

and the network equipment sends third information to the terminal equipment, wherein the third information is used for configuring a time domain length set corresponding to the search space group of the monitored PDCCH.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein search space group configuration information for a fifth search space group comprises the third information, the third information comprising a set of time domain lengths, the set of time domain lengths comprising one or more time domain lengths, the fifth search space group being one of a plurality of search space groups configured for the terminal device by the network device; the preset time domain length is one of one or more time domain lengths included in the third information.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein the third information comprises at least one set of time domain lengths;

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the third information is included in bandwidth part configuration information or cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device.

42. The method according to claim 38 or 39, wherein the third information is included in bandwidth section configuration information or cell configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device, and the network device further sends fourth information to the terminal device, where the fourth information is also used for configuring a monitoring period for monitoring a search space group of the PDCCH, and the fourth information is included in search space group configuration information of a sixth search space group. When the network device configures the third information and does not configure the fourth information, a monitoring period of a search space group included in the third information corresponds to the sixth search space group. When the network device is configured with the third information and also configured with the fourth information, a monitoring period of a search space group included in the fourth information corresponds to the sixth search space group.

43. A terminal device comprising a memory, a processor, and a transceiver, wherein:

the memory is to store computer instructions;

the transceiver is used for receiving and transmitting information;

the processor is coupled to the memory for invoking computer instructions in the memory to cause the terminal device to perform the method of any one of claims 1-21.

44. A network device comprising a memory, a processor, and a transceiver, wherein:

the memory is to store computer instructions;

the transceiver is used for receiving and transmitting information;

the processor, coupled with the memory, to invoke the computer instructions in the memory to cause the network device to perform the method of any of claims 22-42.

45. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 21 or the method of any one of claims 22 to 42 when invoked by the computer.

46. A computer program product comprising instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 21 or the method of any one of claims 22 to 42 when the computer program product is run on the computer.

47. A chip coupled with a memory for reading and executing program instructions stored in the memory to implement the method of any one of claims 1-21 or to implement the method of any one of claims 22-42.