CN115701170A

CN115701170A - Communication method and communication device

Info

Publication number: CN115701170A
Application number: CN202110872363.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 曲韦霖; 金哲; 罗之虎; 侯海龙
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-07-30
Filing date: 2021-07-30
Publication date: 2023-02-07
Also published as: WO2023005872A1

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and a communication device. The method comprises the following steps: receiving first Downlink Control Information (DCI), wherein the first DCI is used for scheduling initial data transmission of terminal equipment; receiving a second DCI, wherein the second DCI is used for scheduling data retransmission of the terminal equipment; the format of the first DCI is different from the format of the second DCI, the total bit number occupied by the second DCI is smaller than that occupied by the first DCI, and the bit number of each field in the second DCI is smaller than or equal to that of the same field in the first DCI. According to the scheme, because the total bit number occupied by the second DCI is smaller than that occupied by the first DCI, the bit number borne by the retransmission PDCCH can be reduced, so that the blocking probability of the retransmission PDCCH is reduced, and the reliability of receiving PDCCH information by the terminal equipment and the data transmission efficiency of the base station scheduling terminal equipment are improved.

Description

Communication method and communication device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and a communication apparatus.

Background

In a New Radio (NR) communication system, the more powerful a terminal device generally has, the higher the cost of the terminal device. In some scenarios, such as an Industrial Wireless Sensor Network (IWSN) scenario, a video surveillance (video surveillance) scenario, a wearable device application scenario, etc., in order to reduce the cost of a terminal device, a terminal device with reduced capability (redcapability) is generally adopted. Generally, a terminal device with reduced capability has a narrower bandwidth, a lower transmission rate. Accordingly, the reduced capability terminal device has a longer battery life, lower processing complexity, and lower cost.

Compared with the conventional terminal device, one important feature of the terminal device with reduced capability is that: the number of transmit and/or receive antennas is reduced, for example, a reduced capability terminal device typically employs an antenna configuration of 1-transmit-2-receive or 1-transmit-1-receive. Because the number of receiving antennas is reduced, the problem of blocking (blocking) when the terminal device with reduced capability receives Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) information becomes more serious, and PDCCH blocking affects the reliability of the terminal device receiving PDCCH information, thereby reducing the efficiency when the network device schedules the terminal device for data transmission.

How to reduce the probability of PDCCH blocking to improve the reliability of terminal equipment for receiving PDCCH information and improve the efficiency of wireless network equipment for scheduling the terminal equipment for data transmission does not have a good method at present.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, which are used for improving the efficiency of data transmission.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which may be performed by a terminal device or a module (e.g., a chip) applied in the terminal device. The following description will be given taking as an example that the execution main body is a terminal device. The terminal equipment receives first downlink control information DCI, and the first DCI is used for scheduling data initial transmission of the terminal equipment. And the terminal equipment receives a second DCI, wherein the second DCI is used for scheduling data retransmission of the terminal equipment. The format of the first DCI is different from the format of the second DCI, the total bit number occupied by the second DCI is smaller than that occupied by the first DCI, and the bit number of each field in the second DCI is smaller than or equal to that of the same field in the first DCI.

According to the scheme, because the total bit number occupied by the second DCI is smaller than that occupied by the first DCI, the bit number borne by the retransmission PDCCH can be reduced, so that the blocking probability of the retransmission PDCCH is reduced, and the reliability of receiving PDCCH information by terminal equipment and the data transmission efficiency of the base station scheduling terminal equipment are improved.

In a possible implementation method, the format of the first DCI is a first format, the format of the second DCI is a second format, and the number of fields of the second DCI is smaller than the number of fields of the first DCI.

According to the scheme, the number of the fields of the second DCI is smaller than that of the fields of the first DCI, so that the number of the fields of the second DCI can be reduced, the total bit number occupied by the second DCI is effectively reduced, and the purpose of improving the efficiency during data transmission is achieved.

In one possible implementation, the first format is DCI format X _1, the second format is DCI format X _0, and the number of bits of each field in the second DCI is equal to the number of bits of the same field in the first DCI, where X =0 or 1.

In the above scheme, the first format is DCI format X _1, the second format is DCI format X _0, and since DCI format X _1 is the same as DCI format X _0 in some fields, and the number of bits occupied by DCI format X _0 is greater than or equal to the number of bits occupied by DCI format X _1 in the same fields, by limiting the number of bits of each field in the second DCI to be equal to the number of bits of the same field in the first DCI, it can be achieved that the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is smaller than the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI, thereby effectively achieving reduction of the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI, and achieving the purpose of improving efficiency during data transmission.

In a possible implementation method, the first format is DCI format X _1, and the field of the second DCI includes a field corresponding to DCI format X _0 and at least one field other than the field corresponding to DCI format X _0, where the at least one field includes a bandwidth part BWP indication field, where X =0 or 1.

In one possible implementation method, the first format is DCI format X _1, the second format is DCI format X _2, and the number of bits of at least one field in the second DCI is smaller than the number of bits of the same field in the first DCI, where X =0 or 1.

In the above scheme, since the bit number of at least one field in the second DCI is smaller than the bit number of the same field in the first DCI, the bit number of one or more fields in the second DCI can be reduced, and thus the purpose of effectively reducing the total bit number occupied by the second DCI can be achieved.

In one possible implementation, the at least one field includes a hybrid automatic repeat request process number, HPN, field and/or an antenna port field.

The scheme can be suitable for the Internet of things terminal, and because the Internet of things terminal relaxes the requirement on the sequence, the reduction of the number of the HARQ processes and the number of the antennas can be considered, so that the bit number of the HPN field and/or the bit number of the antenna port field can be reduced, and the DCI overhead can be reduced.

In a possible implementation method, a first radio resource control RRC signaling is received, where the first RRC signaling is used to indicate a format of the first DCI corresponding to initial data transmission.

According to the scheme, the terminal equipment can be informed of the format of the first DCI through RRC signaling, so that the terminal equipment can accurately acquire the format of the first DCI, and accurate communication is facilitated.

In a possible implementation method, a second RRC signaling is received, where the second RRC signaling is used to indicate a format of the second DCI corresponding to a data retransmission.

According to the scheme, the terminal equipment can be informed of the format of the second DCI through the RRC signaling, so that the terminal equipment can accurately know the format of the second DCI, and accurate communication can be realized.

In one possible implementation, the first DCI includes a first field indicating a configuration of a search space and/or a CORESET for receiving the second DCI.

In one possible implementation, data retransmission is performed according to the second DCI; or retransmitting data according to the first DCI and the second DCI.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which may be performed by a network device or a module (e.g., a chip) applied in the network device. The following description will be made taking an example in which the execution subject is a network device. The network equipment sends first downlink control information DCI to the terminal equipment, and the first DCI is used for scheduling data initial transmission of the terminal equipment. And the network equipment sends a second DCI to the terminal equipment, wherein the second DCI is used for scheduling data retransmission of the terminal equipment. The format of the first DCI is different from the format of the second DCI, the total bit number occupied by the second DCI is smaller than that occupied by the first DCI, and the bit number of each field in the second DCI is smaller than or equal to that of the same field in the first DCI.

In a possible implementation method, a first radio resource control RRC signaling is sent to the terminal device, where the first RRC signaling is used to indicate a format of the first DCI corresponding to initial data transmission.

In a possible implementation method, a second RRC signaling is sent to the terminal device, where the second RRC signaling is used to indicate a format of the second DCI corresponding to data retransmission.

According to the scheme, the terminal equipment can be informed of the format of the second DCI through RRC signaling, so that the terminal equipment can accurately acquire the format of the second DCI, and accurate communication is facilitated.

In one possible implementation, the first DCI includes a first field therein, which indicates a configuration of a search space and/or a control resource set CORESET to receive the second DCI.

In a third aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which may be performed by a terminal device or a module (e.g., a chip) applied in the terminal device. The following description will be made taking as an example that the execution subject is a terminal device. The terminal equipment receives first downlink control information DCI, and the first DCI is used for scheduling data initial transmission of the terminal equipment. And the terminal equipment receives a second DCI, wherein the second DCI is used for scheduling data retransmission of the terminal equipment. The format of the first DCI is different from the format of the second DCI, the total bit number occupied by the second DCI is greater than the total bit number occupied by the first DCI, and the bit number of each field in the second DCI is greater than or equal to the bit number of the same field in the first DCI.

According to the scheme, because the total bit number occupied by the second DCI is greater than the total bit number occupied by the first DCI, the bit number borne by the PDCCH which is initially transmitted can be reduced, so that the probability of PDCCH blockage which is initially transmitted is reduced, and the reliability of receiving PDCCH information by terminal equipment and the data transmission efficiency of the base station scheduling terminal equipment are improved.

In a possible implementation method, the format of the first DCI is a first format, the format of the second DCI is a second format, and the number of fields of the second DCI is greater than the number of fields of the first DCI.

According to the scheme, because the number of the fields of the second DCI is greater than that of the fields of the first DCI, the number of the fields of the first DCI can be reduced, and further the total bit number occupied by the first DCI is effectively reduced, so that the purpose of improving the efficiency during data transmission is achieved.

In one possible implementation, the second format is DCI format X _1, the first format is DCI format X _0, and the number of bits of each field in the second DCI is equal to the number of bits of the same field in the first DCI, where X =0 or 1.

In the above scheme, the second format is DCI format X _1, the first format is DCI format X _0, and since DCI format X _1 is the same as DCI format X _0 in some fields, and the number of bits occupied by DCI format X _0 is greater than or equal to the number of bits occupied by DCI format X _1 in the same fields, by limiting the number of bits of each field in the second DCI to be equal to the number of bits of the same field in the first DCI, it can be achieved that the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI is smaller than the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI, thereby effectively achieving reduction of the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI, and achieving the purpose of improving efficiency during data transmission.

In one possible implementation method, the second format is DCI format X _1, and the field of the first DCI includes a field corresponding to DCI format X _0 and at least one field other than the field corresponding to DCI format X _0, where the at least one field includes a bandwidth part BWP indication field, where X =0 or 1.

In one possible implementation method, the second format is DCI format X _1, the first format is DCI format X _2, and the number of bits of at least one field in the second DCI is greater than the number of bits of the same field in the first DCI, where X =0 or 1.

In the above scheme, since the bit number of at least one field in the second DCI is greater than the bit number of the same field in the first DCI, the bit number of one or more fields in the first DCI can be reduced, and thus the purpose of effectively reducing the total bit number occupied by the first DCI can be achieved.

In a possible implementation method, a first RRC signaling is sent to the terminal device, where the first RRC signaling is used to indicate a format of the first DCI corresponding to initial data transmission.

In a possible implementation method, a second RRC signaling is sent to the terminal device, where the second RRC signaling is used to indicate a format of the second DCI corresponding to the data retransmission.

In one possible implementation, the first DCI includes a first field therein, which indicates a configuration of a search space and/or CORESET in which the second DCI is received.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which may be performed by a network device or a module (e.g., a chip) applied in the network device. The method comprises the following steps: the network equipment sends first downlink control information DCI to the terminal equipment, and the first DCI is used for scheduling data initial transmission of the terminal equipment. And the network equipment sends a second DCI to the terminal equipment, wherein the second DCI is used for scheduling data retransmission of the terminal equipment. The format of the first DCI is different from the format of the second DCI, the total bit number occupied by the second DCI is greater than the total bit number occupied by the first DCI, and the bit number of each field in the second DCI is greater than or equal to the bit number of the same field in the first DCI.

In the above scheme, the second format is DCI format X _1, the first format is DCI format X _0, and since DCI format X _1 is the same as part of fields of DCI format X _0, and the number of bits occupied by DCI format X _0 is greater than or equal to the number of bits occupied by DCI format X _1 in the same field, by limiting the number of bits of each field in the second DCI to be equal to the number of bits of the same field in the first DCI, it can be achieved that the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI is smaller than the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI, thereby effectively achieving reduction of the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI, and achieving the purpose of improving efficiency in data transmission.

In one possible implementation method, the second format is a DCI format X _1, and the fields of the first DCI include a field corresponding to a DCI format X _0 and at least one field other than the field corresponding to the DCI format X _0, where the at least one field includes a bandwidth part BWP indication field, where X =0 or 1.

In a possible implementation method, a first radio resource control RRC signaling is sent to the terminal device, where the first RRC signaling is used to indicate a format of the first DCI corresponding to the initial data transmission.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which may be performed by a terminal device or a module (e.g., a chip) applied in the terminal device. The following description will be made taking as an example that the execution subject is a terminal device. The terminal equipment receives the first downlink control information DCI. The terminal equipment receives the second DCI; the first DCI and the second DCI are used to jointly schedule data transmission of the terminal device, where the first DCI includes a first part of fields in a first format DCI, and the second DCI includes a second part of fields in the first format DCI.

According to the scheme, the DCI used for scheduling the primary data transmission is split into two DCIs, the two DCIs are used for scheduling the primary data transmission, and each split DCI is compared with the DCI before splitting, so that the total bit number occupied is reduced, the bit number borne by the PDCCH can be reduced, the probability of PDCCH blocking is reduced, and the reliability of terminal equipment for receiving PDCCH information is improved, and the data transmission efficiency of the base station scheduling terminal equipment is improved.

In one possible implementation, the fields of the first portion and the fields of the second portion contain different fields.

In one possible implementation, the fields of the first part and the fields of the second part contain at least one identical field.

In one possible implementation method, a set of fields of the first part and fields of the second part includes all fields corresponding to the DCI of the first format.

In one possible implementation method, capability information is sent to the network device, where the capability information is used to indicate DCI formats supported by the terminal device during data transmission.

According to the scheme, the terminal equipment reports the capability information for indicating the DCI format supported by the terminal equipment during data transmission to the network equipment, so that the network equipment is facilitated to accurately select the DCI format for the terminal equipment, and correct communication is facilitated to be realized.

In one possible implementation method, first RRC signaling is received, where the first RRC signaling is used to indicate to the terminal device the first part of the fields and the number of bits of each of the fields of the first part.

According to the scheme, the format of the first DCI can be notified to the terminal equipment through RRC signaling, so that the terminal equipment can accurately acquire the format of the first DCI, and accurate communication can be realized.

In one possible implementation method, a second RRC signaling is received, where the second RRC signaling is used to indicate to the terminal device the second part of the fields and the number of bits in each of the second part of the fields.

In a possible implementation method, the first DCI includes a first field, and first information of the first field is used to indicate the second part of the field and the number of bits of each field in the second part of the field to the terminal device.

According to the scheme, the terminal equipment is informed of the format of the second DCI through the first information of the first field, so that the terminal equipment can accurately acquire the format of the second DCI, and accurate communication is facilitated. And, since the terminal device is informed of the format of the second DCI using the first DCI instead of using additional signaling, signaling overhead can be reduced.

In one possible implementation, data transmission is performed according to the first DCI and the second DCI.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which may be performed by a network device or a module (e.g., a chip) applied in the network device. The following description will be made taking an example in which the execution subject is a network device. The network equipment sends first downlink control information DCI to the terminal equipment. And the network equipment sends the second DCI to the terminal equipment. The first DCI and the second DCI are used to jointly schedule data transmission of the terminal device, where the first DCI includes a first part of fields in a first format DCI, and the second DCI includes a second part of fields in the first format DCI.

In one possible implementation method, capability information is received from the terminal device, where the capability information is used to indicate DCI formats supported by the terminal device during data transmission.

In a possible implementation method, first RRC signaling is sent to the terminal device, where the first RRC signaling is used to indicate to the terminal device the first part of fields and the number of bits of each of the first part of fields.

In a possible implementation method, a second RRC signaling is sent to the terminal device, where the second RRC signaling is used to indicate the second part of the fields and the number of bits of each of the fields of the second part to the terminal device.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the apparatus may be a terminal device, and may also be a chip for the terminal device. The apparatus has a function of implementing any of the implementation methods of the first, third, or fifth aspects described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may be a network device and may also be a chip or a module for a network device. The apparatus has a function of implementing any of the implementation methods of the second, fourth, or sixth aspects described above. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, including a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer instructions, and when the apparatus runs, the processor executes the computer instructions stored in the memory, so as to cause the apparatus to perform any implementation method of the first aspect to the sixth aspect.

In a tenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication apparatus, which includes means or units (means) for performing each step of any implementation method in the first to sixth aspects.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, where the processor is configured to communicate with another device through the interface circuit, and perform any implementation method in the first to sixth aspects. The processor includes one or more.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, including a processor coupled to a memory, where the processor is configured to call a program stored in the memory to execute any implementation method in the first aspect to the sixth aspect. The memory may be located within the device or external to the device. And the processor may be one or more.

In a thirteenth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause any implementation method in the first to sixth aspects to be performed.

In a fourteenth aspect, the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed by a communication device, the method of any implementation method in the first to sixth aspects is executed.

In a fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, including: a processor configured to perform any of the implementation methods of the first to sixth aspects.

Drawings

Fig. 1 (a) is a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system applied in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 1 (b) is a communication network architecture in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 1 (c) is another communication network architecture in a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 1 (d) is another communication network architecture in a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 (a) is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system applied in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 1 (a), the communication system 1000 includes a radio access network 100 and a core network 200, and the communication system 1000 may further include the internet 300 by way of example. The radio access network 100 may include at least one Radio Access Network (RAN) device (e.g., 110a and 110b in fig. 1 (a)), and may further include at least one terminal device (e.g., 120a to 120j in fig. 1 (a)). The terminal equipment is connected with the wireless access network equipment in a wireless mode, and the wireless access network equipment is connected with the core network in a wireless or wired mode. The core network device and the radio access network device may be separate physical devices, or the function of the core network device and the logical function of the radio access network device may be integrated on the same physical device, or a physical device may be integrated with a part of the function of the core network device and a part of the function of the radio access network device. The terminal equipment and the wireless access network equipment can be connected with each other in a wired or wireless mode. Fig. 1 (a) is a schematic diagram, and other network devices, such as a wireless relay device and a wireless backhaul device, may also be included in the communication system, which are not shown in fig. 1 (a).

The radio access network device may be a base station (base station), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), a next generation base station (next generation NodeB, gNB) in a fifth generation (5th generation, 5g) mobile communication system, a next generation base station in a sixth generation (6th generation, 6g) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, etc.; the present invention may also be a module or a unit that performs part of the functions of the base station, and for example, the module may be a Centralized Unit (CU) or a Distributed Unit (DU). The radio access network device may be a macro base station (e.g., 110a in fig. 1 (a)), a micro base station or an indoor station (e.g., 110b in fig. 1 (a)), a relay node or a donor node, or the like. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and the specific device forms adopted by the radio access network device. In the embodiments of the present application, a base station is described as an example of a radio access network device.

A terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal, user Equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal, etc. The terminal device can be widely applied to various scenes, for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-electrical (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, automatic driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearing, smart transportation, smart city, and the like. The terminal equipment can be a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer, a computer with a wireless transceiving function, wearable equipment, a vehicle, an unmanned aerial vehicle, a helicopter, an airplane, a steamship, a robot, a mechanical arm, intelligent household equipment and the like. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific technology and the specific device form adopted by the terminal device.

The roles of base station and terminal device may be relative, e.g. the helicopter or drone 120i in fig. 1 (a) may be configured as a mobile base station, for those terminal devices 120j that access the radio access network 100 through 120i, the terminal device 120i is a base station; however, for the

base station

110a, 120i is a terminal device, that is, the base station 110a and the base station 120i communicate with each other through a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i may communicate with each other through an interface protocol between the base station and the base station, and in this case, 120i is also the base station with respect to 110 a. Therefore, the base station and the terminal device can be collectively referred to as a communication apparatus, 110a and 110b in fig. 1 (a) can be referred to as a communication apparatus having a base station function, and 120a to 120j in fig. 1 (a) can be referred to as a communication apparatus having a terminal device function.

Fig. 1 (b) illustrates a communication network architecture in a communication system 1000 provided by the present application, to which the embodiments provided subsequently can be applied. The first network device is a source network device (or called as a working network device or a service network device) of the terminal device, and the second network device is a target network device (or called as a standby network device) of the terminal device, that is, a network device that provides a service for the terminal device after switching. It should be noted that in this application, "failure" may be understood as a failure of a network device and/or a failure of providing service to one or more terminal devices for other reasons, which is simply referred to as failure. The "handover" in this application refers to a handover of a network device that provides a service for a terminal device, and is not limited to "cell handover". The network device in the communication network architecture may be the radio access network device, the core network device, and the like described above, and for convenience of description, in this embodiment, the network device is taken as a base station for example. The "handover" may refer to a handover due to a change in a base station serving a terminal device. For example, when a source base station of a terminal device fails, the terminal device is served by a backup base station. For another example, in the process of switching the terminal device from the source base station to communicate with another base station, the target base station after switching provides service for the terminal device. The accessed cells before and after the terminal device is switched can be changed or not. It will be appreciated that the alternative network device is a relative concept, for example, with respect to one terminal device, base station 2 is the alternative network device for base station 1, and with respect to another terminal device, base station 1 is the alternative network device for base station 2.

The first network device and the second network device may be two different devices, e.g., the first network device and the second network device are two different base stations. For example, the first network device and the second network device may also be two sets of function modules in the same device. The functional modules may be hardware modules, or software modules, or both hardware modules and software modules. For example, the first network device and the second network device are located in the same base station, and are two different functional modules in the base station. In one implementation, the first network device and the second network device are not transparent to the terminal device. When interacting with the corresponding network device, the terminal device can know which network device is interacting with. In another implementation, the first network device and the second network device are transparent to the terminal device. The terminal device is able to communicate with the network devices but does not know with which of the two network devices it is interacting. Alternatively, it may be that only one network device is considered for the terminal device. The first network device and the second network device may not be transparent to the terminal device, or may be transparent.

Fig. 1 (c) illustrates another communication network architecture in the communication system 1000 provided by the present application. As shown in fig. 1 (c), the communication system includes a Core Network (CN) and a Radio Access Network (RAN). Wherein the network equipment (e.g., base stations) in the RAN includes baseband devices and radio frequency devices. The baseband device may be implemented by one or more nodes, and the radio frequency device may be implemented independently as a remote device, integrated into the baseband device, or partially integrated into the baseband device. The network devices in the RAN may include a Central Unit (CU) and Distributed Units (DUs), which may be centrally controlled by one CU. The CU and the DU may be divided according to the protocol layer functions of the wireless network, for example, functions of a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer and protocol layers above the PDCP layer are provided in the CU, and functions of protocol layers below the PDCP layer, for example, a radio link layer control (RLC) layer and a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, are provided in the DU. It should be noted that this division of the protocol layers is only an example, and may be divided in other protocol layers. The radio frequency device may be remote, not placed in the DU, or integrated in the DU, or partially remote and partially integrated in the DU, which is not limited in this application.

Fig. 1 (d) shows another communication network architecture in the communication system 1000 provided by the present application. With respect to the architecture shown in fig. 1 (c), the Control Plane (CP) and the User Plane (UP) of the CU may be separated and implemented by being divided into different entities, which are a control plane CU entity (CU-CP entity) and a user plane CU entity (CU-UP entity), respectively. In the network architecture, signaling generated by a CU may be sent to a terminal device through a DU, or signaling generated by a terminal device may be sent to a CU through a DU. The DU can pass through the signaling directly to the end device or CU without parsing it through protocol layer encapsulation. In the network architecture, the CUs may be divided into network devices on the RAN side and CN side, which is not limited in the present application.

The base stations and terminal devices may be fixed or mobile. The base station and the terminal equipment can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface; it may also be deployed on airborne airplanes, balloons, and satellite vehicles. The embodiment of the application does not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the terminal device.

The base station and the terminal equipment, the base station and the base station, and the terminal equipment can communicate through the authorized spectrum, also can communicate through the unlicensed spectrum, and also can communicate through the authorized spectrum and the unlicensed spectrum at the same time; communication may be performed in a frequency spectrum of 6 gigahertz (GHz) or less, in a frequency spectrum of 6GHz or more, or in a frequency spectrum of 6GHz or less and in a frequency spectrum of 6GHz or more. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station may also be performed by a module (e.g., a chip) in the base station, or may also be performed by a control subsystem including the functions of the base station. The control subsystem including the base station function can be a control center in the application scenarios such as a smart grid, industrial control, intelligent transportation, smart city and the like. The functions of the terminal equipment may be performed by a module (e.g. a chip or a modem) in the terminal equipment, or may be performed by a device including the functions of the terminal equipment.

In the application, a base station sends a downlink signal or downlink information to a terminal device, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel; the terminal equipment sends an uplink signal or uplink information to the base station, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. In order for a terminal device to communicate with a base station, it needs to establish a radio connection with a cell controlled by the base station. The cell in which a radio connection is established with a terminal device is called the serving cell of the terminal device.

Downlink Control Information (DCI) carried on the PDCCH is used to schedule the terminal device to perform uplink data transmission or downlink data reception. One DCI includes a plurality of fields, and the DCI may be in a plurality of formats (formats). For example, the DCI format includes DCI format 0/1/0, DCI format 0/1, DCI format 0/2/1/2, and the like.

The DCI format 0/1/0 may be used to schedule data transmission of the terminal device in a random access procedure, or may also schedule data transmission of the terminal device after Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection is established between the terminal device and the base station.

The DCI format 0/1 is used for data transmission of the terminal equipment after the terminal equipment establishes RRC connection with the base station.

The DCI format 0/1_2 is a DCI format designed for an ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (urrllc) scenario, and is used for data transmission of a terminal device after RRC connection is established between the terminal device and a base station in the uRLLC scenario.

The DCI format0_0, the DCI format0_1 and the DCI format0_2 are used for scheduling the terminal device to transmit uplink data, and the DCI format1_0, the DCI format1_1 and the DCI format1_2 are used for scheduling the terminal device to receive downlink data.

Exemplarily, the names, meanings and occupied bit ranges of the respective fields in the DCI format 0/1/0, DCI format 0/1, DCI format 0/2/1/2 are given below. It should be noted that the following is only an example, and as the communication technology evolves, the names, meanings and occupied bit ranges of the fields in these DCI formats may evolve, but the technical effects of the present invention are not affected.

As shown in table 1 (a), table 1 (b) or table 1 (c), the fields and the number of occupied bits in DCI format0_, DCI format0 _1and DCI format0 _2are shown, respectively.

Table 1 (a): DCI format0_0

Table 1 (b): DCI format0_1

Table 1 (c): DCI format0_2

Field(s)	Number of bits
		DCI format identification	1
Frequency domain resource allocation	13
		Time domain resource allocation	0，1，2，3，4
Frequency hopping marker	0，1
		Modulation and coding strategy	5
Redundancy version	0，1，2
		Initial transmission indicator	1
HARQ process number	0，1，2，3，4
		TPC commands for scheduled PUSCH	2
Downlink allocation index	0，1，2，4
		SRS resource indication	0，1，2，3，4
Precoding information and number of layers	0，1，2，3，4，5，6
		Beta offset indication	0，1，2
DMRS sequence initialization	0，1
		Carrier indication	0，1，2，3
BWP indication	0，1，2
		Antenna port	0，2，3，4，5
SRS requests	0，1，2，3
		CSI request	0，1，2，3，4，5，6
PTRS-DMRSAssociated	0，2
		UL-SCH indication	1
UL/SUL indication	0，1
		Total of	23-73

Wherein the fields in table 1 (a), table 1 (b) or table 1 (c) above have the following meanings:

and DCI format identification: a DCI format for indicating whether the format of the DCI is scheduling uplink transmission or downlink transmission.

And (3) frequency domain resource allocation: for indicating the frequency domain resources occupied by the data transmission.

Time domain resource allocation: for indicating the time domain resources occupied by the data transmission.

Frequency hopping marking: and the device is used for indicating whether to send the uplink PUSCH in a frequency hopping manner.

Modulation and coding strategy: and the modulation mode, the coding rate and the transport block size used for indicating data transmission.

Redundancy version: and the number index is used for indicating the data transmission coding to add the redundant bit mode.

And the initial transmission indicator is used for indicating whether the currently transmitted data is initial transmission or retransmission data.

And the HARQ process number is used for indicating the HARQ process of the corresponding PUSCH transmission.

TPC command of scheduled PUSCH: and the method is used for PUSCH power control and corresponds to an accumulative formula and an absolute formula of the power control.

Downlink allocation index: codebooks for indicating HARQ-ACK transmission may include semi-static HARQ-ACK codebooks or dynamic HARQ-ACK codebooks.

SRS resource indication: for indicating the location of the SRS resource.

Precoding information and number of layers: and the precoding unit is used for indicating the number of layers and the adopted precoding format of the uplink data transmission.

Beta offset indicates: and the method is used for indicating the resource proportion of the PUSCH occupied by the uplink control information.

DMRS sequence initialization: an initialization scrambling code ID for indicating a sequence of the DMRS in data transmission.

And (3) carrier indication: a carrier index used to indicate data transmission.

BWP indicates: a BWP ID indicating data transmission.

An antenna port: for indicating the antenna port number of the reference signal.

And (3) SRS request: for indicating triggering of SRS.

And (3) CSI request: for indicating a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) trigger.

Code block group transmission information: indicating which code block groups need to be retransmitted.

PTRS-DMRS association: the DMRS detection apparatus is used to indicate an association manner between a Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS) and a DMRS.

UL-SCH indicates: for indicating whether the UL-SCH is transmitted on the PUSCH.

UL/SUL indicates: for indicating whether the data transmission is uplink or supplemental uplink.

As shown in table 2 (a), table 2 (b), or table 2 (c), the number of bits occupied by each field in DCI format1_0, DCI format1_1, and DCI format1_2, respectively.

Table 2 (a): DCI format1_0

Table 2 (b): DCI format1_1

Table 2 (c): DCI format1_2

Wherein the fields in table 2 (a), table 2 (b) or table 2 (c) above have the following meanings:

and DCI format identification: a DCI format for indicating whether a format of DCI is scheduling uplink transmission or downlink transmission.

VRB-PRB mapping: and the mapping relation is used for indicating the mapping relation between the data transmission RB and the actual physical RB, and comprises the mapping relation between interleaving and non-interleaving.

Modulation and coding strategy: and the modulation mode, the coding rate and the transport block size used for indicating data transmission are adopted.

Initial transmission of an indicator: for indicating whether the currently transmitted data is the initial transmission or the retransmission data.

HARQ process number: indicating the HARQ process for the corresponding PDSCH transmission.

TPC command of scheduled PUCCH: and is configured to instruct uplink closed loop power control of a PUCCH, where the PUCCH is used to carry feedback information for the received downlink data.

Downlink allocation index: and the counting index is used for indicating the downlink data transmission process.

The PUCCH resource indicates: the method is used for indicating the time-frequency domain resources occupied by the sending PUCCH, and the PUCCH is used for carrying feedback information aiming at the received downlink data.

PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indication: for indicating a time delay between sending feedback information for the received downlink data and receiving the downlink data.

PRB bundling size indication: for indicating the size of Physical Resource Block (PRB) bundling of the PDSCH.

Rate matching indication: a pattern for indicating rate matching in data transmission.

Zero power CSI-RS triggering: a trigger to indicate zero power CSI-RS.

And carrier indication: a carrier index used to indicate data transmission.

BWP indicates: a BWP ID indicating data transmission.

And (3) SRS request: for indicating triggering of SRS transmission.

Sending a configuration indication: the method is used for indicating the quasi co-location relation of downlink transmission.

The CBG sends information: indicating which CBGs need to be retransmitted.

CBG clearance information: and the CBG is used for indicating whether the retransmitted CBG can be combined with the previously received CBG or not, and if the indicated value is 0, the buffer cannot be emptied.

DMRS sequence initialization: a scrambling code ID for indicating sequence initialization of DMRS in data transmission.

It should be noted that, the sequence of the fields in tables 1 (a) to 1 (c) and tables 2 (a) to 2 (c) is only an example, and is not limited in practical application. The fields in the table are also provided for understanding the examples of the present application, and the fields in the table of the present application may be appropriately increased or decreased in a case where the technical problem of the present application can be solved.

For convenience of description, in the following, DCI format X _0 indicates DCI format0_0 or DCI format1_0, DCI format X \ 1 indicates DCI format0_1 or DCI format1_1, and DCI format X \2indicates DCI format0_2 or DCI format1_2. I.e. X =0 or 1.

Since the DCI format X _0 can schedule random transmission of the terminal device during random access, it only includes a common function field for scheduling random access data transmission of the terminal device in the cell.

In the above example, the common function fields may include a DCI format identification field, a frequency domain resource allocation field, a time domain resource allocation field, a frequency hopping flag field, a modulation and coding strategy field, a redundancy version field, an initial transmission indication identifier field, a HARQ process number field, and a TPC command field of a scheduled PUSCH, and are included in DCI format0_0 shown in table 1 (a), DCI format0_1 shown in table 1 (b), and DCI format0_2 shown in table 1 (c). The downlink allocation index field, the SRS resource indication field, the precoding information and layer number field, the Beta offset indication field, the DMRS sequence initialization field, the carrier indication field, the BWP indication field, the antenna port field, the SRS request field, the CSI request field, the code block group transmission information field, the PTRS-DMRS association field, the UL-SCH indication field and the UL/SUL indication field are functional fields of UE-Specific contained in scheduling terminal equipment data transmission when the terminal equipment is in an RRC connection state, and the functional fields of the UE-Specific are all contained in DCI format 0/1 shown in Table 1 (b), wherein the downlink allocation index field, the SRS resource indication field, the precoding information and layer number field, the Beta offset indication field, the DMRS sequence initialization field, the carrier indication field, the BWP indication field, the antenna port field, the SRS request field, the CSI DMRS request field, the PTRS-associated field, the UL-SRS-indication field and the UL/SUL indication field are contained in DCI format 0/2 shown in the DCI format1 (C) table 1.

As an example of the following behavior, the common function field may include a DCI format identification field, a frequency domain resource allocation field, a time domain resource allocation field, a VRB-PRB mapping field, a modulation and coding strategy field, a redundancy version field, an initial transmission indication identification field, an HARQ process number field, a TPC command field of a scheduled PUCCH, a downlink allocation index field, a PUCCH resource indication field, and a PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indication field, and may be included in DCI format1_0 shown in table 2 (a), DCI format1_1 shown in table 2 (b), and DCI format1_2 shown in table 2 (c). The PRB bundling size indication field, the rate matching indication field, the zero-power CSI-RS trigger field, the carrier indication field, the BWP indication field, the antenna port field, the SRS request field, the transmission configuration indication field, the CBG transmission information field, the CBG clear information field, and the DMRS sequence initialization field are functional fields of UE-Specific included in the scheduling terminal device data transmission when the terminal device is in the RRC connected state, the functional fields of UE-Specific are all included in DCI format1 u 1 shown in table 2 (b), and the PRB bundling size indication field, the rate matching indication field, the zero-power CSI-RS trigger field, the carrier indication field, the BWP indication field, the antenna port field, the SRS request field, the transmission configuration indication field, and the DMRS sequence initialization field in the functional fields of UE-Specific are included in DCI format1 u 2 shown in table 2 (c).

Since the DCI format X _2 is designed for the terminal device of URLLC, the range of variation of the number of bits occupied by the partial field of the DCI format X _2is larger compared to the DCI format X _1, and the minimum number of bits occupied by the partial field can be configured to be smaller. It should be noted that, because the number of bits occupied by the partial field of the DCI format X _1 or the DCI format X _2 is variable, the number of bits occupied by the field of the DCI format X _1 or the DCI format X _2 needs to be configured to the terminal device by the base station, for example, configured to the terminal device through RRC signaling.

For convenience of description, when introducing the embodiment of the present application, it is necessary to refer to fields in a table, for convenience of description, for example, as shown in table 2 (a), a DCI format identification field to redundancy version field: the DCI format identification field, the frequency domain resource allocation field, the time domain resource allocation field, the VRB-PRB mapping field, the modulation and coding strategy field, and the redundancy version field are referred to, and therefore the expressions of the fields "a" to "B" are only used to save one expression form of the space of the present application, and the present application includes but is not limited thereto.

In order to reduce the probability of PDCCH blocking, so as to improve the reliability of receiving PDCCH information by a terminal device, thereby improving the efficiency of a base station scheduling the terminal device for data transmission, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, where the method may be executed by the terminal device and a network device (e.g., a base station), or may also be executed by a chip in the terminal device and a chip in the network device. The base station in fig. 2 may be the access network device or the network device in fig. 1 (a) to 1 (d) described above, and the terminal device may be the terminal device in fig. 1 (a) to 1 (d) described above. Referring to fig. 2, the method includes the steps of:

step 201, the base station sends a first DCI to the terminal device, where the first DCI is used to schedule data initial transmission of the terminal device.

The initial data transmission of the scheduling terminal device refers to that the scheduling terminal device performs data transmission for the first time, for example, the scheduling terminal device transmits uplink data for the first time or receives downlink data for the first time. It can be understood that the first DCI is data initial transmission scheduling one Transport Block (TB).

For example, the terminal device may detect the first DCI from the base station according to the format of the first DCI. For example, the terminal device detects the first DCI from the base station according to the format of the first DCI in the first search space.

Illustratively, after step 201, the following step 202 may also be performed.

And step 202, the terminal equipment performs initial data transmission according to the first DCI.

Step 203, the base station sends a second DCI to the terminal device, where the second DCI is used to schedule data retransmission of the terminal device.

For example, the base station sends the second DCI to the terminal device when the initial data transmission of the terminal device fails.

The scheduling of data retransmission of the terminal device means that the terminal device is scheduled to perform data transmission again, for example, the terminal device is scheduled to retransmit uplink data that failed in initial transmission or retransmit downlink data that failed in initial transmission. It can be understood that the second DCI is scheduling data retransmission of one transport block.

For example, the terminal device may detect the second DCI from the base station according to a format of the second DCI. For example, the terminal device detects the second DCI from the base station according to the format of the second DCI in the second search space.

For example, the base station may indicate, to the terminal device, the configuration of a search space (i.e., the second search space) and/or a control resource set (core) for receiving the second DCI through the first field of the first DCI.

Illustratively, after step 203, the following step 204 may also be performed.

And step 204, the terminal equipment retransmits the data according to the second DCI.

And as an implementation method, the terminal equipment retransmits data according to the information indicated by each field in the second DCI.

As another implementation method, the terminal device retransmits data according to the information indicated by each field in the second DCI and the information indicated by some fields in the first DCI. Here, the information indicated by a partial field in the first DCI is not included in the second DCI, that is, the partial information indicated in the first DCI and the information indicated in the second DCI may be used to perform data retransmission.

The format of the first DCI is different from the format of the second DCI, and one possible implementation manner in which the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is smaller than the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI is: the number of bits occupied by one or more fields in the second DCI is less than or equal to the number of bits occupied by one or more fields in the first DCI, wherein the one or more fields in the second DCI are the same as the one or more fields in the first DCI.

The format of the first DCI is different from the format of the second DCI, and another possible implementation manner that the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is smaller than the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI is: the number of bits of each field in the second DCI is less than or equal to the number of bits of the same field in the first DCI. For example, there are 10 fields in the first DCI, 8 fields in the second DCI, and the first DCI and the second DCI have 3 identical fields, where the 3 identical fields are field a, field b, and field c, respectively, the number of bits of field a in the second DCI is less than or equal to the number of bits of field a in the first DCI, the number of bits of field b in the second DCI is less than or equal to the number of bits of field b in the first DCI, and the number of bits of field c in the second DCI is less than or equal to the number of bits of field c in the first DCI. According to the scheme, because the total bit number occupied by the second DCI is smaller than that occupied by the first DCI, the bit number borne by the retransmission PDCCH can be reduced, so that the blocking probability of the retransmission PDCCH is reduced, and the reliability of receiving PDCCH information by terminal equipment and the data transmission efficiency of the base station scheduling terminal equipment are improved.

As an implementation method, before step 202, the base station may further send a first RRC signaling to the terminal device, where the first RRC signaling is used to indicate a format of the first DCI corresponding to the initial data transmission. That is, the base station notifies the terminal device of the format of the first DCI used for initial data transmission, that is, the first format, through an RRC signaling.

As an implementation method, before step 204, the base station may further send a second RRC signaling to the terminal device, where the second RRC signaling is used to indicate a format of a second DCI corresponding to the data retransmission. That is, the base station notifies the terminal device of the format of the second DCI used for data retransmission, that is, the second format, through one RRC signaling.

As another implementation method, the base station may not send the second RRC signaling, but carries indication information in a certain field of the first DCI, where the indication information is used to indicate a format of a second DCI corresponding to data retransmission. By the method, the indication information is carried in the first DCI without additionally sending the second RRC signaling so as to inform the terminal equipment of the format of the second DCI corresponding to the data retransmission, and the signaling overhead can be reduced.

As another implementation method, when the first field in the first DCI is used to indicate a search space for receiving the second DCI (i.e., the second search space described above), the terminal device may also determine, according to the second search space indicated by the first DCI, a format of the second DCI corresponding to the second search space.

As an implementation method, before the base station indicates the first DCI format to the terminal device, the terminal may also report, to the base station, capability information for performing initial data transmission by the terminal device, where the capability information indicates a DCI format supported by the terminal device when performing initial data transmission, and thus the base station may select a corresponding DCI format for initial data transmission according to the capability information of the terminal device.

As an implementation method, before the base station indicates the second DCI format to the terminal device, the terminal may also report, to the base station, capability information for performing initial data transmission by the terminal device, where the capability information indicates a DCI format supported by the terminal device when performing data retransmission, and thus the base station may select a corresponding DCI format for data retransmission according to the capability information of the terminal device.

The following specifically describes the format of the first DCI and the format of the second DCI in the above scheme.

In the implementation method 1, the format of the first DCI is a first format, the format of the second DCI is a second format, the number of fields of the second DCI is smaller than the number of fields of the first DCI, and the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is smaller than the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI.

For example, the first format is DCI format X _1, the second format is DCI format X _0, the number of bits of each field in the second DCI is equal to the number of bits of the same field in the first DCI, and the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is smaller than the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI, where X =0 or 1. Exemplarily, the first format is DCI format1_1 shown in table 2 (b), the second format is DCI format1_0 shown in table 2 (a), and the number of bits occupied by each of the 12 fields (i.e., DCI format identification field to PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indication field) in table 2 (b) is the same as the number of bits occupied by the same field in table 2 (a), that is, the number of bits occupied by the DCI format identification field in table 2 (a) is the same as the number of bits occupied by the DCI format identification field in table 2 (b), and so on, the number of bits occupied by the frequency domain resource allocation field in table 2 (a) is also the same as the number of bits of the frequency domain resource allocation field in table 2 (b), which is not listed herein to save space.

Since the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI is 48 to 73 bits and the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is 41 bits, the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is less than the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI. This approach may be applied to a scenario with poor coverage or poor mobility, and because it is not necessary to dynamically adjust information related to Multiple Input and Multiple Output (MIMO) in DCI X _0 at the time of data initial transmission frequently, at the time of data retransmission, only information of a common function field may be included in the second DCI, and for the information related to MIMO required at the time of data retransmission, the terminal may obtain the information related to MIMO from the first DCI for data initial transmission.

For example, the number of bits occupied by the fields and fields in the first DCI is shown in table 3, and the number of bits occupied by the fields and fields in the second DCI is shown in table 2 (a). In this example, the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI is 59 bits, and the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is 41 bits. Based on this example, in step 204, the terminal device may perform data retransmission according to the indication information from the DCI format identification field in table 2 (a) to the PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indication field and the indication information from the PRB bundling size indication field in table 3 to the DMRS sequence initialization field. Or, the terminal equipment retransmits the data according to the indication information from the DCI format identification field to the PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indication field in table 2 (a).

TABLE 3

For another example, the first format is DCI format X _1, the fields of the second DCI include all fields of DCI format X _0 and at least one field except all fields of DCI format X _0, the number of bits occupied by each field in the second DCI is equal to the number of bits occupied by the same field in the first DCI, and the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is smaller than the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI, where X =0 or 1. Exemplarily, the first format is DCI format1_1 shown in table 2 (b), the second DCI includes all the fields in table 2 (a) and further includes at least one field except the fields in table 2 (a), and the at least one field includes a BWP indication field, for example, the number of bits occupied by the DCI format identification field to the PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indication field in table 2 (b) corresponds to and is the same as the number of bits occupied by the DCI format identification field to the PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indication field in the second DCI, and the number of bits occupied by the BWP indication field in table 2 (b) is the same as the number of bits occupied by the BWP indication field in the second DCI.

Since the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI is 48 to 73 bits and the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is 41 to 43 bits, the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is less than the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI. For example, the bits occupied by the fields and fields in the first DCI are shown in table 3, and the bits occupied by the fields and fields in the second DCI are shown in table 4. In this example, the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI is 59 bits, and the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is 42 bits.

Based on this example, in step 204, the terminal device may perform data retransmission according to the indication information from the DCI format identification field to the BWP indication field in table 4, the indication information from the downlink allocation index field to the carrier indication field in table 3, and the antenna port field to the DMRS sequence initialization field in table 3. Or, the terminal device retransmits the data according to the indication information from the DCI format identification field to the BWP indication field in table 4.

TABLE 4

And implementing the method 2, wherein the format of the first DCI is a first format, the format of the second DCI is a second format, the number of fields of the second DCI is less than or equal to the number of fields of the first DCI, the bit number of at least one field in the second DCI is less than the bit number of the same field in the first DCI, and the total bit number occupied by the second DCI is less than the total bit number occupied by the first DCI.

For example, the first format is DCI format X _1, the second format is DCI format X _2, the number of bits of at least one field in the second DCI is smaller than the number of bits of the same field in the first DCI, and the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is smaller than the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI, where X =0 or 1. Exemplarily, the first format is DCI format1_1 shown in table 2 (b), the second format is DCI format1_2 shown in table 2 (c), and the number of bits occupied by at least one field in the second DCI is smaller than the number of bits occupied by the same field in the first DCI. For example, the number of bits occupied by the time domain resource allocation resource field in the second DCI is smaller than the number of bits occupied by the time domain resource allocation resource field in the first DCI. For another example, the number of bits occupied by the HARQ process number field in the second DCI is smaller than the number of bits occupied by the HARQ process number field in the first DCI, for example, the number of bits occupied by the HARQ process number field in the second DCI is limited to be less than or equal to 2, or less than or equal to 3. For another example, the number of bits occupied by the antenna port field in the second DCI is smaller than the number of bits occupied by the antenna port field in the first DCI. The method can be applied to a scene with a poor channel environment or a poor PDCCH demodulation performance, and the bit number occupied by the partial field region of the second DCI for data retransmission can be configured to be smaller, so that the probability of PDCCH blocking is reduced. Illustratively, the number of bits occupied by the fields in the first DCI is shown in table 3, and the number of bits occupied by the fields in the second DCI is shown in table 5. In this example, the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI is 59 bits, and the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is 46 bits. Based on this example, in step 204, the terminal device may perform data retransmission according to the indication information from the DCI format identification field to the DMRS sequence initialization field in table 5 and the indication information from the CBG transmission information field and the CBG clear information field in table 3. Or, the terminal device retransmits the data according to the indication information from the DCI format identification field to the DMRS sequence initialization field in table 5.

TABLE 5

For another example, the first format is a DCI format X _1, the second format is a modified DCI format X _2, the number of bits occupied by at least one field in the second DCI is smaller than the number of bits occupied by the same field in the first DCI, and the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is smaller than the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI, where X =0 or 1. The modified DCI format X _2 refers to a DCI format obtained by adjusting a range of bit numbers occupied by a partial field of the DCI format X _2. Taking DCI format1_2 in table 2 (c) as an example, one or more fields of the redundancy version field, HARQ process number field, PUCCH resource indication field, and antenna port field may be modified. For example, the number of bits of the HARQ process number field is limited to be less than or equal to 2, or is limited to be less than or equal to 3, the number of bits of the redundancy version field is limited to 2, the number of bits of the pucch resource indication field is limited to be less than or equal to 2, and the number of bits of the antenna port field is limited to be less than or equal to 3. The following examples of modifications to these fields result in a modified table as shown in table 6, which is only one example.

TABLE 6

As can be seen from a comparison between Table 2 (c) and Table 6, the range of the number of bits of the redundancy version field in the DCI format1_2 shown in Table 2 (c) is modified from {0,1,2} to {2}, the range of the number of bits of the HARQ process number field is modified from {0,1,2,3,4} to {0,1,2,3}, the range of the number of bits of the PUCCH resource indication field is modified from {0,1,2,3} to {0,1,2}, and the range of the number of bits of the antenna port field is modified from {0,4,5,6} to {0,1,2,3}, thereby obtaining the modified DCI format shown in Table 6.

Taking table 2 (c) and table 6 as an example, the first format is DCI format1_1, the second format is the modified DCI format1_2 shown in table 6, and the bit number occupied by at least one field in the second DCI is smaller than the bit number occupied by the same field in the first DCI. For example, the number of bits occupied by the time domain resource allocation resource field in the second DCI is smaller than the number of bits occupied by the time domain resource allocation resource field in the first DCI. For another example, the bit number occupied by the HARQ process number field in the second DCI is smaller than the bit number occupied by the HARQ process number field in the first DCI. For another example, the number of bits occupied by the antenna port field in the second DCI is smaller than the number of bits occupied by the antenna port field in the first DCI. For another example, the bit number occupied by the CBG transmission information field in the second DCI is smaller than the bit number occupied by the CBG transmission information field in the first DCI. For another example, the bit number occupied by the CBG removal information field in the second DCI is smaller than the bit number occupied by the CBG removal information field in the first DCI. The method can be applied to the scenes with poor channel environment or poor PDCCH demodulation performance, and the bit number of the partial field domain of the second DCI used for data retransmission can be configured to be smaller, so that the probability of PDCCH blockage is reduced. Illustratively, the number of bits occupied by the fields in the first DCI is shown in table 3, and the number of bits occupied by the fields in the second DCI is shown in table 7. In this example, the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI is 59 bits, and the total number of bits occupied by the second DCI is 46 bits. Based on this example, in step 204, the terminal device may perform data retransmission according to the indication information from the DCI format identification field to the DMRS sequence initialization field in table 7 and the indication information from the CBG transmission information field and the CBG clear information field in table 3. Or, the terminal equipment retransmits the data according to the indication information from the DCI format identification field to the DMRS sequence initialization field in table 7.

TABLE 7

Field(s)	Number of bits
		DCI format identification	1
Frequency domain resource allocation	13
		Time domain resource allocation	3
VRB-PRB mapping	1
		Modulation and coding strategy	5
Redundancy version	2
		Initial transmission indicator	1
HARQ process number	3
		TPC commands for scheduled PUCCH	2
Downlink allocation index	1
		PUCCH resource indication	2
PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indication	2
		PRB bundling size indication	0
Rate matching indication	1
		Zero power CSI-RS triggering	1
Carrier indication	3
		BWP indication	0
Antenna port	2
		SRS request	2
Sending configuration indications	0
		DMRS sequence initialization	1
Total of	46

In order to reduce the probability of PDCCH blocking, so as to improve the reliability of the terminal device receiving PDCCH information, and thus improve the efficiency of the base station scheduling the terminal device for data transmission, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where the method also includes the foregoing steps 201 to 204, but is different from the foregoing method: the method reduces the total bit number occupied by the DCI for the initial transmission of the data of the scheduling terminal equipment, namely the total bit number occupied by the DCI for the initial transmission of the data of the scheduling terminal equipment is less than the total bit number occupied by the DCI for the retransmission of the data of the scheduling terminal equipment; in the method, the total bit number occupied by the DCI for data retransmission of the scheduling terminal equipment is reduced, that is, the total bit number occupied by the DCI for data retransmission of the scheduling terminal equipment is smaller than the total bit number occupied by the DCI for data initial transmission of the scheduling terminal equipment.

Specifically, in the method, a first DCI is used for scheduling data initial transmission of the terminal device, a second DCI is used for scheduling data retransmission of the terminal device, a format of the first DCI is different from a format of the second DCI, a total number of bits occupied by the first DCI is smaller than a total number of bits occupied by the second DCI, and a number of bits occupied by each field in the first DCI is smaller than or equal to a number of bits occupied by the same field in the second DCI. For example, the first DCI has 8 fields, the second DCI has 10 fields, and the first DCI and the second DCI have 3 same fields, where the 3 same fields are field a, field b, and field c, respectively, and then the number of bits occupied by field a in the first DCI is less than or equal to the number of bits occupied by field a in the second DCI, the number of bits occupied by field b in the first DCI is less than or equal to the number of bits occupied by field b in the second DCI, and the number of bits occupied by field c in the first DCI is less than or equal to the number of bits occupied by field c in the second DCI.

According to the scheme, because the total bit number occupied by the first DCI is smaller than that occupied by the second DCI, the bit number borne by the initial transmission PDCCH can be reduced, so that the probability of the blocking of the initial transmission PDCCH is reduced, and the reliability of receiving PDCCH information by the terminal equipment and the data transmission efficiency of the base station scheduling terminal equipment are improved.

In a specific implementation, the implementation method of the first DCI in the method may refer to the implementation method of the second DCI in the above method, and the implementation method of the second DCI in the method may refer to the implementation method of the first DCI in the above method, which is not described again.

It should be noted that, in the prior art, in the case that the number of MIMO layers is greater than or equal to 4, NR supports scheduling transmission of 2 transport blocks in one downlink DCI, some fields (which may be referred to as shared fields) in the DCI are shared when the 2 transport blocks are scheduled, and other fields (which may be referred to as independent fields) in the DCI have two parts, where one part is used for scheduling a first transport block and the other part is used for scheduling a second transport block. Illustratively, the DCI is shown in table 8.

TABLE 8

As can be seen from the example of table 8, the modulation and coding strategy, the redundancy version, and the early indication in the DCI identify that there are two of these three fields, one for scheduling the transmission of the first transport block and the other for scheduling the transmission of the second transport block. The DCI may be used to schedule transmission of both a first transport block and a second transport block.

In the above embodiments of the present application, both the first DCI and the second DCI are used to schedule transmission of one transmission block, and therefore both the first DCI and the second DCI only include the modulation and coding policy, the redundancy version, and the initial transmission indicator flag field of the first transmission block, and do not include the modulation and coding policy, the redundancy version, and the initial transmission indicator flag field of the second transmission block.

In the above embodiment, the example is described in which one DCI schedules transmission of one transport block. For example, the first DCI is used to schedule initial data transmission of one transport block, and the second DCI is used to schedule data retransmission of one transport block. In practical applications, in the embodiment of the present application, one DCI may also schedule transmission of multiple transport blocks. For example, the first DCI schedules transmission of multiple transport blocks, the transmission of the multiple transport blocks scheduled by the first DCI includes at least one initial data transmission, the second DCI also schedules transmission of multiple transport blocks, the transmission of the multiple transport blocks scheduled by the second DCI is all data retransmission, and a relationship between the total number of bits occupied by the first DCI and the second DCI and a relationship between fields of the first DCI and the second DCI are the same as those described in the foregoing embodiments. Based on the implementation method, the bit number borne by the PDCCH for initial transmission or retransmission can be reduced, so that the blocking probability of the PDCCH for initial transmission or retransmission is reduced, the reliability of the terminal equipment for receiving the PDCCH information is improved, and the data transmission efficiency of the base station scheduling terminal equipment is improved.

It should be noted that, in an implementation method for scheduling multiple transport blocks by using one DCI, in one implementation method, multiple transport blocks scheduled in one DCI may share information of all fields except for an initial transmission indicator in the DCI, and in another implementation method, a method similar to the example in table 8 may also be used, where the multiple transport blocks share information of a part of fields in the DCI, and then each of the multiple transport blocks also corresponds to an independent field in the DCI.

In order to reduce the probability of PDCCH blocking, so as to improve the reliability of receiving PDCCH information by a terminal device, thereby improving the efficiency of a base station scheduling terminal device when performing data transmission, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, with reference to fig. 3, where the method includes the following steps:

step 301, the base station sends the first DCI to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal equipment receives the first DCI.

Illustratively, the terminal device detects the first DCI from the base station according to a format of the first DCI. Specifically, the terminal device detects the first DCI from the base station according to the format of the first DCI in the first search space.

Step 302, the base station sends a second DCI to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal equipment receives the second DCI.

Illustratively, the terminal device detects the second DCI from the base station according to a format of the second DCI. Specifically, the terminal device detects the second DCI from the base station according to the format of the second DCI in the second search space.

For example, the base station may indicate the configuration of the search space (i.e., the second search space) and/or the CORESET for receiving the second DCI to the terminal device through the first field of the first DCI.

The first DCI and the second DCI are used for jointly scheduling data transmission of the terminal equipment, the first DCI comprises a field of a first part in the DCI of the first format, and the second DCI comprises a field of a second part in the DCI of the first format. For example, the set of fields of the first part and the fields of the second part contains all fields corresponding to the DCI of the first format. Here, the first format may be, for example, DCIformat X _0, DCI format X _1, DCI format X _2, or the like, where X =0 or 1.

Step 303, the terminal device performs data transmission according to the first DCI and the second DCI.

The data transmission here may be that the terminal device sends uplink data for the first time, or receives downlink data for the first time, or retransmits uplink data, or receives retransmitted downlink data.

Specifically, the terminal device performs data transmission according to the indication information of the field in the second DCI and according to the indication information of the field, which is not included in the second DCI, in the first DCI. Or the terminal equipment transmits data according to the indication information of the field in the first DCI and according to the field indication information which is not contained in the first DCI in the second DCI.

As an implementation method, a first partial field in a first format included in the first DCI and a second partial field in the first format included in the second DCI include different fields, that is, the first partial field in the first format included in the first DCI and the second partial field in the first format included in the second DCI do not have the same field. For example, the first format is DCI format identification field to PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indication field in table 2 (b), and the second DCI contains PRB bundling size indication field to DMRS sequence initialization field in table 2 (b). Therefore, the terminal device may perform data transmission according to the indication information from the PRB bundling size indication field to the DMRS sequence initialization field in the second DCI and according to the indication information from the DCI format identification field to the PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indication field in the first DCI. According to the method, one part of fields in all fields in one DCI splitting is transmitted through first DCI, the other part of fields is transmitted through second DCI, and the first DCI and the second DCI do not have the same field.

As one implementation method, a first partial field in a first format included in the first DCI and a second partial field in the first format included in the second DCI include at least one same field. For example, the first format is DCI format1_1 shown in table 2 (b), the first DCI includes a DCI format identification field in DCI format1_1 to a PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indication field, the second DCI includes a PUCCH resource indication field in DCI format1_1 to a DMRS sequence initialization field, and both the first DCI and the second DCI include a PUCCH resource indication field and a PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indication field. Therefore, the terminal device performs data transmission according to the indication information from the PUCCH resource indication field in the second DCI to the DMRS sequence initialization field, and according to the indication information from the DCI format identification field in the first DCI to the downlink allocation index field. Or the terminal equipment transmits data according to the indication information from the DCI format identification field in the first DCI to the PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indication field and according to the indication information from the PRB bundling size indication field in the first DCI to the DMRS sequence initialization field. According to the method, a part of fields in all fields in one DCI splitting are transmitted through first DCI, the other part of fields are transmitted through second DCI, and the first DCI and the second DCI contain the fields with the same parts. According to the scheme, the DCI used for scheduling the primary data transmission is split into two DCIs, the two DCIs are used for scheduling the primary data transmission, and each split DCI is compared with the DCI before splitting, so that the total bit number occupied is reduced, the bit number borne by the PDCCH can be reduced, the probability of PDCCH blocking is reduced, and the reliability of terminal equipment for receiving PDCCH information is improved, and the data transmission efficiency of the base station scheduling terminal equipment is improved.

As an implementation method, before step 303, the base station may further send, to the terminal device, first RRC signaling, where the first RRC signaling is used to indicate, to the terminal device, the first part of the field in the first format and the bit number of each of the fields in the first part of the field. That is, the base station notifies the terminal device of the fields included in the first DCI and the size of each field through one RRC signaling.

As an implementation method, before step 303, the base station may further send, to the terminal device, second RRC signaling, where the second RRC signaling is used to indicate, to the terminal device, the second part of the field in the first format and the bit number of each of the second part of the field. That is, the base station notifies the terminal device of the fields included in the second DCI and the size of each field through one RRC signaling.

As another implementation method, the base station may not send the second RRC signaling, but carry indication information in a certain field of the first DCI, where the indication information is used to indicate, to the terminal device, the number of bits in the second part of the field and the number of bits in each field of the second part of the field in the first format. By the method, the indication information is carried in the first DCI without additionally sending the second RRC signaling so as to inform the terminal equipment of the fields contained in the second DCI and the size of each field, and the signaling overhead can be reduced.

As an implementation method, before step 301, the terminal may also report capability information of the terminal device to the base station, where the capability information indicates a DCI format supported by the terminal device when performing data transmission, so that the base station may select a corresponding DCI format for data transmission according to the capability information of the terminal device.

It is understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the base station and the terminal device include corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules for performing the respective functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and method steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed in hardware or computer software driven hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the solution.

Fig. 4 and 5 are schematic structural diagrams of a possible communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or the base station in the above method embodiments, and therefore, the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments can also be achieved. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication apparatus may be a terminal device, a base station, or a module (e.g., a chip) applied to the terminal device or the base station.

As shown in fig. 4, the communication device 400 includes a processing unit 410 and a transceiving unit 420. The communication apparatus 400 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device or the base station in the method embodiments shown in fig. 2 or fig. 3.

In the first embodiment, when the communication apparatus 400 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in fig. 2: a transceiving unit 420, configured to receive a first downlink control information DCI, where the first DCI is used to schedule initial data transmission of a terminal device; receiving a second DCI, wherein the second DCI is used for scheduling data retransmission of the terminal equipment; the format of the first DCI is different from the format of the second DCI, the total bit number occupied by the second DCI is smaller than that occupied by the first DCI, and the bit number of each field in the second DCI is smaller than or equal to that of the same field in the first DCI.

In one possible implementation method, the first format is DCI format X _1, and the fields of the second DCI include a field corresponding to DCI format X _0 and at least one field other than the field corresponding to DCI format X _0, where X =0 or 1, and the at least one field includes a bandwidth part BWP indication field.

In one possible implementation method, the first format is DCI format X _1, the second format is DCI format X _2, and the bit number of at least one field in the second DCI is smaller than the bit number of the same field in the first DCI, where X =0 or 1.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 420 is further configured to receive a first radio resource control RRC signaling, where the first RRC signaling is used to indicate a format of the first DCI corresponding to initial data transmission.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 420 is further configured to receive a second RRC signaling, where the second RRC signaling is used to indicate a format of the second DCI corresponding to the data retransmission.

In one possible implementation method, the first DCI includes a first field indicating a configuration of a search space and/or a control resource set CORESET for receiving the second DCI.

In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 410 is configured to perform data retransmission according to the second DCI; or retransmitting data according to the first DCI and the second DCI.

In the second embodiment, when the communication apparatus 400 is used to implement the functionality of the base station in the method embodiment shown in fig. 2: a transceiving unit 420, configured to send a first downlink control information DCI to a terminal device, where the first DCI is used to schedule initial data transmission of the terminal device; and sending a second DCI to the terminal device, wherein the second DCI is used for scheduling data retransmission of the terminal device; the format of the first DCI is different from the format of the second DCI, the total bit number occupied by the second DCI is smaller than the total bit number occupied by the first DCI, and the bit number of each field in the second DCI is smaller than or equal to the bit number of the same field in the first DCI.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 420 is further configured to send a first radio resource control RRC signaling to the terminal device, where the first RRC signaling is used to indicate a format of the first DCI corresponding to the initial data transmission.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 420 is further configured to send a second RRC signaling to the terminal device, where the second RRC signaling is used to indicate a format of the second DCI corresponding to the data retransmission.

In the third embodiment, when the communication apparatus 400 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in fig. 2: a transceiving unit 420, configured to receive first downlink control information DCI, where the first DCI is used to schedule initial data transmission of a terminal device; receiving a second DCI, wherein the second DCI is used for scheduling data retransmission of the terminal equipment;

the format of the first DCI is different from the format of the second DCI, the total bit number occupied by the second DCI is greater than the total bit number occupied by the first DCI, and the bit number of each field in the second DCI is greater than or equal to the bit number of the same field in the first DCI.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 420 is further configured to send a first radio resource control RRC signaling to the terminal device, where the first RRC signaling is used to indicate a format of the first DCI corresponding to the initial data transmission.

In the fourth embodiment, when the communication apparatus 400 is used to implement the functions of the base station in the method embodiment shown in fig. 2: a transceiving unit 420, configured to send a first downlink control information DCI to a terminal device, where the first DCI is used to schedule initial data transmission of the terminal device; sending a second DCI to the terminal equipment, wherein the second DCI is used for scheduling data retransmission of the terminal equipment;

In the fifth embodiment, when the communication apparatus 400 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in fig. 3: a transceiving unit 420, configured to receive first downlink control information DCI; and receiving a second DCI; the first DCI and the second DCI are used to jointly schedule data transmission of the terminal device, where the first DCI includes a field of a first part in a first format of DCI, and the second DCI includes a field of a second part in the first format of DCI.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 420 is further configured to send capability information to the network device, where the capability information is used to indicate DCI formats supported by the terminal device during data transmission.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 420 is further configured to receive a first RRC signaling, where the first RRC signaling is used to indicate the first part of the fields and the number of bits of each of the fields of the first part to the terminal device.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 420 is further configured to receive a second RRC signaling, where the second RRC signaling is used to indicate the second part of the fields and the number of bits of each of the fields of the second part to the terminal device.

In one possible implementation method, the processing unit 410 is configured to perform data transmission according to the first DCI and the second DCI.

In the sixth embodiment, when the communication apparatus 400 is used to implement the functionality of the base station in the method embodiment shown in fig. 3: a transceiving unit 420, configured to send first downlink control information DCI to a terminal device; and transmitting a second DCI to the terminal device; the first DCI and the second DCI are used to jointly schedule data transmission of the terminal device, where the first DCI includes a field of a first part in a first format of DCI, and the second DCI includes a field of a second part in the first format of DCI.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 420 is further configured to receive capability information from the terminal device, where the capability information is used to indicate DCI formats supported by the terminal device during data transmission.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 420 is further configured to send a first RRC signaling to the terminal device, where the first RRC signaling is used to indicate the first part of the fields and the bit number of each of the fields of the first part to the terminal device.

In a possible implementation method, the transceiving unit 420 is further configured to send a second RRC signaling to the terminal device, where the second RRC signaling is used to indicate the second part of the fields and the bit number of each of the fields of the second part to the terminal device.

The more detailed description of the processing unit 410 and the transceiver unit 420 can be directly obtained by referring to the related description in the embodiment of the method shown in fig. 2, which is not repeated herein.

As shown in fig. 5, the communication device 500 includes a processor 510 and an interface circuit 520. Processor 510 and interface circuit 520 are coupled to each other. It will be appreciated that interface circuit 520 may be a transceiver or an input-output interface. For example, the communication device 500 may further include a memory 530 for storing instructions executed by the processor 510 or for storing input data required by the processor 510 to execute the instructions or for storing data generated by the processor 510 after executing the instructions.

When the communication device 500 is used to implement the method shown in fig. 2 or fig. 3, the processor 510 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 410, and the interface circuit 520 is used to implement the functions of the transceiving unit 420.

When the communication device is a chip applied to a terminal device, the terminal device chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment. The terminal device chip receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal device, and the information is sent to the terminal device by the base station; or, the terminal device chip sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal device, where the information is sent by the terminal device to the base station.

When the communication device is a module applied to a base station, the base station module implements the functions of the base station in the above method embodiments. The base station module receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station, and the information is sent to the base station by the terminal equipment; alternatively, the base station module sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station, and the information is sent by the base station to the terminal device. The base station module may be a baseband chip of a base station, or may be a DU or other modules, where the DU may be a DU under an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture.

It is understood that the Processor in the embodiments of the present Application may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), other general purpose Processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other Programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but may be any conventional processor.

The method steps in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by software instructions executed by a processor. The software instructions may be comprised of corresponding software modules, which may be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable hard disk, a compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium may also be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may reside in a base station or a terminal device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a base station or terminal device.

In the above embodiments, all or part of the implementation may be realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, a base station, a terminal device, or other programmable apparatus. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer program or instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire or wirelessly. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; optical media such as digital video disks; but may also be a semiconductor medium such as a solid state disk. The computer readable storage medium may be volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

In the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or conflicting with respect to logic, the terms and/or descriptions in different embodiments have consistency and may be mutually cited, and technical features in different embodiments may be combined to form a new embodiment according to their inherent logic relationship.

In this application, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a alone, A and B together, and B alone, wherein A and B may be singular or plural. In the description of the text of the present application, the character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of the present application, the character "/" indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in a relationship of "division".

It is to be understood that the various numerical references referred to in the embodiments of the present application are merely for descriptive convenience and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The sequence numbers of the above processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of the processes should be determined by the functions and the inherent logic.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

receiving first downlink control information DCI, wherein the first DCI is used for scheduling data initial transmission of terminal equipment;

receiving second DCI, wherein the second DCI is used for scheduling data retransmission of the terminal equipment;

the format of the first DCI is different from the format of the second DCI, the total bit number occupied by the second DCI is smaller than the total bit number occupied by the first DCI, and the bit number of each field in the second DCI is smaller than or equal to the bit number of the same field in the first DCI.

2. The method of claim 1,

the format of the first DCI is a first format, the format of the second DCI is a second format, and the number of fields of the second DCI is smaller than that of the fields of the first DCI.

3. The method of claim 2,

the first format is a DCI format X _1, the second format is a DCI format X _0, and the number of bits of each field in the second DCI is equal to the number of bits of the same field in the first DCI, where X =0 or 1.

4. The method of claim 2,

the first format is a DCI format X _1, the fields of the second DCI include a field corresponding to a DCI format X _0 and at least one field other than the field corresponding to the DCI format X _0, and the at least one field includes a bandwidth part BWP indication field, where X =0 or 1.

5. The method of claim 1,

the first format is a DCI format X _1, the second format is a DCI format X _2, and the number of bits of at least one field in the second DCI is smaller than the number of bits of the same field in the first DCI, where X =0 or 1.

6. The method of claim 5,

the at least one field includes a hybrid automatic repeat request process number, HPN, field and/or an antenna port field.

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising:

and receiving a first Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, wherein the first RRC signaling is used for indicating the format of the first DCI corresponding to the initial data transmission.

8. The method of any of claims 1 to 7, further comprising:

and receiving a second RRC signaling, wherein the second RRC signaling is used for indicating the format of the second DCI corresponding to data retransmission.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein a first field is included in the first DCI, the first field indicating a configuration of a search space and/or a control resource set (CORESET) in which the second DCI is received.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 9, further comprising:

carrying out data retransmission according to the second DCI; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and carrying out data retransmission according to the first DCI and the second DCI.

11. A method of communication, comprising:

sending first downlink control information DCI to terminal equipment, wherein the first DCI is used for scheduling data initial transmission of the terminal equipment;

sending second DCI to the terminal equipment, wherein the second DCI is used for scheduling data retransmission of the terminal equipment;

12. The method of claim 11,

13. The method of claim 12,

14. The method of claim 12,

15. The method of claim 11,

16. The method of claim 15,

17. The method of any of claims 11 to 16, further comprising:

and sending a first Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling to the terminal equipment, wherein the first RRC signaling is used for indicating the format of the first DCI corresponding to the initial data transmission.

18. The method of any of claims 11 to 17, further comprising:

and sending a second RRC signaling to the terminal equipment, wherein the second RRC signaling is used for indicating the format of the second DCI corresponding to data retransmission.

19. The method of any of claims 11 to 18, wherein a first field is included in the first DCI, the first field indicating a configuration of a search space and/or a control resource set, CORESET, in which the second DCI is received.

20. A communication device in a closed-loop application scenario, comprising means for performing the method of any of claims 1 to 10, or means for performing the method of any of claims 11 to 19.

21. A computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by a communication apparatus, implements the method of any of claims 1 to 10, or implements the method of any of claims 11 to 19.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instructions is stored which, when executed by a communication apparatus, implements the method of any one of claims 1 to 10, or implements the method of any one of claims 11 to 19.

23. A communication device comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is configured to receive signals from a communication device other than the communication device and transmit the signals to the processor or transmit the signals from the processor to the communication device other than the communication device, and the processor is configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 19 by using logic circuits or executing code instructions.