WO2024094192A1

WO2024094192A1 - Downlink control information transmission method and communication apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2024094192A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/129735
Authority: WO
Inventors: 高飞; 花梦; 焦淑蓉; 黄秀璇
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2022-11-04
Filing date: 2023-11-03
Publication date: 2024-05-10
Also published as: CN117997468A

Abstract

Provided are a downlink control information (DCI) transmission method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal receives first configuration information, wherein the first configuration information is used for indicating a DCI format configured for each of L search space sets, the DCI format configured for each of the L search space sets comprises a DCI format used for scheduling a plurality of uplink carrier units and/or a DCI format used for scheduling a plurality of downlink carrier units, and L is an integer greater than 1; and the terminal can determine, according to the first configuration information, a length obtained after DCI sizes corresponding to DCI formats configured for the L search space sets are aligned, and receive DCI on the L search space sets according to the length obtained after the DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats configured for the L search space sets are aligned.

Description

A method and communication device for transmitting downlink control information

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of the Chinese patent application filed with the Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on November 4, 2022, with application number 202211380859.0 and application name "A method and communication device for transmitting downlink control information", all contents of which are incorporated by reference in this application.

Technical Field

The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a method and a communication device for transmitting downlink control information.

Background technique

Carrier aggregation (CA) refers to a transmission technology that aggregates two or more carriers together to obtain a larger transmission bandwidth. In CA technology, a base station can simultaneously schedule multiple uplink carrier components or multiple downlink carrier components through a single DCI on a carrier component.

Scheduling different numbers of uplink carrier units or downlink carrier units will generate single DCIs with different DCI sizes. The more different DCI sizes there are, the higher the blind detection complexity of the terminal.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present application provide a method and a communication device for transmitting downlink control information, in order to reduce the blind detection complexity of a terminal.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for transmitting downlink control information, comprising: a terminal receives first configuration information, the first configuration information being used to indicate a DCI format configured for each search space set in L search space sets; wherein the DCI format configured for each search space set in the L search space sets includes a DCI format for scheduling multiple uplink carrier units and/or a DCI format for scheduling multiple downlink carrier units, and L is an integer greater than 1; the terminal determines, according to the first configuration information, the length after DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured for the L search space sets; and the terminal receives DCI on the L search space sets according to the length after DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured for the L search space sets.

In the above design, DCI is received according to the length aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format configured in multiple search space sets. This can reduce the number of different lengths of single DCI, help reduce the blind detection complexity of terminals on multiple search space sets, and can effectively improve the transmission efficiency of the downlink control channel.

In one possible design, the terminal may also receive second configuration information, where the second configuration information is used to configure at least one of DCI format 0_2, DCI format 1_2, DCI format 0_1, and DCI format 1_1. The terminal determines, based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information, the length of the DCI size after alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information; further, the terminal may receive the DCI based on the length of the DCI size after alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information.

Exemplarily, when the DCI format 0_2 and the DCI format 1_2 are configured in the second configuration information, the length of the DCI format 1_2 after the DCI size alignment is the same as the length of the DCI format 1_0 after the DCI size alignment; when the DCI format 0_1 and the DCI format 1_1 are configured in the second configuration information, the length of the DCI format 1_1 after the DCI size alignment is the same as the minimum length of the K groups of DCI formats after the DCI size alignment; when the DCI format 0_2, the DCI format 1_2, the DCI format 0_1 and the DCI format 1_1 are configured in the second configuration information, the length of the DCI format 1_2 after the DCI size alignment is the same as the length of the DCI format 1_1 after the DCI size alignment.

Such a design can be used in scenarios where both single DCI and traditional DCI that schedules an uplink or downlink carrier unit are scheduled, and can control the number of different lengths of single DCI and traditional DCI, such as the sum of the number of different lengths of single DCI and traditional DCI is controlled within the DCI length budget specified in the protocol.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for transmitting downlink control information, comprising: a base station sends first configuration information, wherein the first configuration information is used to indicate a DCI format configured for each search space set in L search space sets; wherein the DCI format configured for each search space set in the L search space sets includes a DCI format for scheduling multiple uplink carrier units and/or a DCI format for scheduling multiple downlink carrier units, and L is an integer greater than 1; and the base station sends DCI on the L search space sets according to the length aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format configured for the L search space sets.

In one possible design, the base station may also send second configuration information, where the second configuration information is used to configure at least one of DCI format 0_2, DCI format 1_2, DCI format 0_1, and DCI format 1_1; the base station configures the DCI format 0_2, DCI format 1_2, DCI format 0_1, and DCI format 1_1 according to each of the L search space sets. The DCI format configured in the search space set and the DCI format configured in the second configuration information determine the length of the DCI size aligned with the DCI format configured in the second configuration information; and then send the DCI according to the length of the DCI size aligned with the DCI format configured in the second configuration information.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal, a module or a chip in a terminal, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a terminal. In one design, the device may include a module that corresponds to the method described in the first aspect, and the module may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In one design, the device may include a processing unit and a transceiver unit.

Among them, the transceiver unit is used to receive the first configuration information in the above-mentioned first aspect; the processing unit is used to determine the length after the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured by the L search space sets according to the first configuration information; the processing unit is also used to receive DCI on the L search space sets using the transceiver unit according to the length after the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured by the L search space sets.

In one possible design, the transceiver unit is further used to receive the second configuration information in the first aspect. The processing unit is further used to determine the length of the DCI size after alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information according to the first configuration information and the second configuration information; and the processing unit is further used to receive the DCI using the transceiver unit according to the length of the DCI size after alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a base station, or a module or chip in a base station, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a base station. In one design, the device may include a module that corresponds to the method described in the second aspect, and the module may be a hardware circuit, or software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In one design, the device may include a processing unit and a transceiver unit.

A transceiver unit is used to send the first configuration information in the above-mentioned second aspect; a processing unit is used to send DCI on the L search space sets using the transceiver unit according to the length of the DCI size aligned with the DCI format configured by the L search space sets.

In one possible design, the transceiver unit is also used to send the second configuration information in the above-mentioned second aspect; the processing unit is also used to determine the length after DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information based on the DCI format configured for each search space set in the L search space sets and the DCI format configured in the second configuration information; and the processing unit is also used to send DCI using the transceiver unit based on the length after DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information.

In a possible design of the first to fourth aspects above, the DCI formats configured by the L search space sets are divided into K groups of DCI formats, each group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats corresponds to a length after DCI size alignment, and K is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to L. Optionally, a group of DCI formats may include a DCI format for scheduling an uplink carrier component and/or a DCI format for scheduling a downlink carrier component, and different groups of DCI formats correspond to different lengths after DCI alignment, and the length after DCI size alignment corresponding to a DCI format is related to the number of uplink carrier components or downlink carrier components scheduled by it, that is, the length after DCI size alignment corresponding to a DCI format may be one or more.

In a possible design of the first to fourth aspects above, k is an integer from 1 to K, and the length of a DCI size corresponding to the kth group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats after alignment is any one of the following: the DCI size of the DCI format with the largest number of scheduled uplink carrier units in the kth group of DCI formats; the DCI size of the DCI format with the largest number of scheduled downlink carriers in the kth group of DCI formats; the maximum DCI size corresponding to the DCI format in the kth group of DCI formats. Through such a design, it can be achieved that after the DCI formats configured in multiple search space sets are grouped, the lengths of the DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats in the same group after alignment are the same.

The grouping method of DCI formats configured by multiple search space sets is described in detail below.

In a possible design of any one of the first to fourth aspects above, K is 2, the number of uplink carrier units or downlink carrier units scheduled by each DCI format in the first group of DCI formats of the K groups of DCI formats is less than or equal to N, and the number of downlink carriers scheduled by each DCI format in the second group of DCI formats of the K groups of DCI formats is greater than N; wherein N is the maximum number of uplink carrier units scheduled by the DCI format configured by the L search space sets, M is the maximum number of downlink carrier units scheduled by the DCI format configured by the L search space sets, and N is less than M.

In a possible design of any one of the first to fourth aspects above, K is 2, the number of uplink carrier units or downlink carrier units scheduled by each DCI format in the first group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats is less than or equal to I, and the number of uplink carrier units or downlink carrier units scheduled by each DCI format in the second group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats is greater than I; wherein I is equal to represents a round-up symbol; N is the maximum number of uplink carrier components scheduled by the DCI format configured by the L search space sets or the maximum number of downlink carrier components scheduled by the DCI format configured by the L search space sets.

In the above design, the DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats configured in multiple search space sets are grouped and aligned based on the number of scheduled carrier units. This can effectively control the number of single DCIs of different lengths and reduce the blind detection complexity of the terminal.

In a possible design of any one of the first to fourth aspects above, the first configuration information includes DCI format grouping identification information corresponding to each search space set in the L search space sets, and the DCI format grouping identification information is used to indicate a group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats. The DCI format configured by the one search space set belongs to a group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats. Optionally, the DCI format grouping identification information corresponding to different search space sets is the same or different. The design of the DCI format grouping identification information helps the terminal to quickly group the DCI formats, and can improve the efficiency of the DCI size alignment operation.

In a possible design of any one of the first to fourth aspects above, L is equal to K, and the L search space sets correspond one to one with the K groups of DCI. Through such a design, the terminal can determine that the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format configured by a search space set is aligned to a length without additional grouping, which can improve the efficiency of the DCI size alignment operation.

In a possible design of any one of the first to fourth aspects above, when one of the L search space sets is configured with a DCI format for scheduling a first number of uplink carrier units and a DCI format for scheduling a second number of downlink carrier units, the difference between the first number and the second number is less than or equal to a preset threshold. Such a design can achieve alignment of the DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats configured in the same search space set to one length, which is beneficial to reducing the blind detection complexity of terminal devices in a single search space set.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, the communication device comprising a processor, configured to implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible design of the first aspect. The processor is coupled to a memory, the memory is configured to store instructions and data, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the first aspect and any possible design of the first aspect can be implemented.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, the communication device comprising a processor, configured to implement the method described in the second aspect and any possible design of the second aspect. The processor is coupled to a memory, the memory is configured to store instructions and data, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the second aspect and any possible design of the second aspect can be implemented.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, comprising a communication device as described in the third aspect or the fifth aspect, and the fourth aspect or the sixth aspect.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the method provided in any one of the first to second aspects above.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, comprising instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, enable the communication device to execute the method provided in any one of the first to second aspects above.

In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the method provided in any one of the first to second aspects above.

In the eleventh aspect, the embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, the chip is used to execute the method provided in any one of the first aspect to the second aspect. Optionally, the chip is used to read a computer program stored in a memory to execute the method provided in any one of the first aspect to the second aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, the chip system including a processor, for supporting a communication device to implement the method provided in any one of the first to second aspects above. In a possible design, the chip system also includes a memory, the memory being used to store programs and data of the communication device. The chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

For the beneficial effects that can be achieved by any of the second to twelfth aspects above, reference can be made to the corresponding description in the first aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system;

2A and 2B are schematic diagrams of carrier scheduling;

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a method for transmitting downlink control information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

4A to 4D are schematic diagrams of configurations of search space sets provided in embodiments of the present application;

FIG5A is a schematic diagram of a group alignment operation provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG5B is a schematic diagram of a DCI format grouping provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of another method for transmitting downlink control information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

7A to 7D are schematic diagrams of alignment operations provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

At least one (item) involved in the embodiments of the present application as follows indicates one (item) or more (items). More than one (item) refers to two (items) or more than two (items). "And/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and/or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship. In addition, it should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used to describe each object in the embodiments of the present application, these objects should not be limited to these terms. There is no order of precedence or size order between the technical features described by the "first", "second", "third", "A", "B", etc., and these terms are only used to distinguish each object from each other.

The terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof mentioned in the following description of the embodiments of the present application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device comprising a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally also includes other steps or units that are not listed, or optionally also includes other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations or explanations. Any method or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other methods or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific manner.

In the embodiments of the present application, the term "communication" may also be described as "data transmission", "information transmission" or "transmission".

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG1 , the communication system includes a wireless access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300. Among them, the wireless access network 100 may include at least one wireless access network device (such as 110a and 110b in FIG1 ), and may also include at least one terminal device (such as 120a-120j in FIG1 ). The terminal device is connected to the wireless access network device by wireless means, and the wireless access network device is connected to the core network by wireless or wired means. The core network device and the wireless access network device may be independent and different physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the wireless access network device may be integrated on the same physical device, or the functions of some core network devices and some wireless access network devices may be integrated on one physical device. Terminal devices and terminal devices and wireless access network devices and wireless access network devices may be connected to each other by wire or wireless means. FIG1 is only a schematic diagram, and the communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in FIG1 .

The wireless access network device and terminal device involved in FIG. 1 are described in detail below.

The radio access network device is an access device that the terminal device uses to access the communication system wirelessly. The radio access network device can provide wireless access services for the terminal device. According to the signal coverage range, the radio access network device can include one or more cells, and the radio access network device provides services to the terminal device through the cell. The radio access network device can 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 the fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) mobile communication system, a next generation base station in the sixth generation (6th generation, 6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc.; it can also be a module or unit that completes part of the functions of a base station, for example, it can be a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The CU here completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete the functions of part or all of the physical layer. For a detailed description of the above protocol layers, please refer to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3rd Generation Partnership Project). The wireless access network equipment can be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 1), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 1), a relay node or a donor node, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, or a wireless access network device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN).

The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the wireless access network device. For example, the communication device used to implement the function of the wireless access network device can be a wireless access network device, or a device with some functions of the wireless access network device, or a device that can support the wireless access network device to implement the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the wireless access network device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices. For the convenience of description, the following description takes the base station as an example of the wireless access network device.

Terminal equipment is a device with wireless transceiver function, which can send signals to base stations or receive signals from base stations. Terminal equipment can communicate with one or more core network devices through base stations. Terminal equipment can also be called terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (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 wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. Terminal equipment can be deployed on land, such as indoors, outdoors, and terminal equipment can be portable, pocket-sized, handheld, built-in or vehicle-mounted mobile devices; terminal equipment can also be deployed on the water (such as ships, etc.); terminal equipment can also be deployed on air interfaces, such as airplanes, balloons, aerial platforms and satellites. Optionally, the terminal device can provide voice and/or data connectivity to the user. Some examples of terminal devices include: personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless network cameras, mobile phones, tablet computers or computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices such as Smart watches, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, terminals in vehicle networking systems, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in telemedicine, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, terminal equipment on vehicles, airplanes, ships, high-speed railways, as well as smart home devices, robots, robotic arms, etc. in smart homes.

The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the terminal device. For example, the communication device used to implement the function of the terminal device can be a terminal device, or a device with some terminal functions, or a device that can support the terminal device to implement the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices. In the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application, the device used to implement the function of the terminal device is a terminal as an example for description.

Base stations and terminals can be fixed or movable. Base stations and terminals can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on the water surface; they can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons, and artificial satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of base stations and terminals.

The roles of the base station and the terminal can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in FIG. 1 can be configured as a mobile base station. For the terminal 120j that accesses the wireless access network 100 through 120i, the terminal 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, that is, 110a and 120i communicate through the wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate through the interface protocol between base stations. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a base station. Therefore, base stations and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in FIG. 1 can be referred to as communication devices with base station functions, and 120a-120j in FIG. 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functions.

Base stations and terminals, base stations and base stations, and terminals and terminals can communicate through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; they can communicate through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. 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 (such as a chip) in the base station, or by a control subsystem including the base station function. The control subsystem including the base station function here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The functions of the terminal may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal, or by a device including the terminal function.

In the present application, the base station sends a downlink signal or downlink information to the terminal, and the downlink information is carried on the downlink channel; the terminal sends an uplink signal or uplink information to the base station, and the uplink information is carried on the uplink channel. In order to communicate with the base station, the terminal needs to establish a wireless connection with the cell controlled by the base station. Among them, the downlink channel includes a downlink control channel and a downlink data channel, and the uplink channel includes an uplink control channel and an uplink data channel. As an example, in an embodiment of the present application, the downlink data channel is a physical downlink shared channel (physical downlink share channel, PDSCH), the downlink control channel is a physical downlink control channel (physical downlink control channel, PDCCH), and the uplink data channel is a physical uplink shared channel (physical uplink share channel, PUSCH). It can be understood that PDSCH, PDCCH and PUSCH are just examples of downlink data channels, downlink control channels and uplink data channels, respectively. In different systems and different scenarios, data channels and control channels may have different names, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

Some technical terms in the embodiments of the present application are explained below to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

(1) Downlink control information

The terminal needs to be scheduled by the base station for sending uplink data and receiving downlink data. The base station can send relevant scheduling information to the terminal. For example, the base station sends the above scheduling information through the downlink control information (DCI) carried by the PDCCH. The terminal does not know the exact location of the PDCCH carrying the DCI, and needs to perform blind detection (BD) in the search space set (SS set) within the control resource set (CORESET) to receive the DCI. In this application, "receiving DCI" can also be referred to as "blind detection of DCI".

The base station can configure the number of candidate PDCCHs. For example, the base station can configure multiple candidate PDCCHs for the terminal. However, not all of the multiple candidate PDCCHs carry the DCI that the terminal expects to receive, that is, not all candidate PDCCHs carry the DCI sent to the terminal. Therefore, the terminal needs to attempt to decode each candidate PDCCH in the search space set to determine whether these candidate PDCCHs carry the DCI that it expects to receive. The terminal can attempt to decode each candidate PDCCH in one or more search space sets according to the corresponding configuration information (such as DCI format, etc.), and the behavior of attempting to decode can be called blind detection. Optionally, the terminal monitors DCI on a candidate PDCCH, which can also be understood as the terminal performing blind detection on a candidate PDCCH. Blind detection can also be referred to as blind detection.

For example, the terminal expects to receive DCI that meets the following characteristics: the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code of the DCI is masked by the cell-radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI). The terminal can perform a CRC check on each candidate PDCCH in the search space set according to the C-RNTI. If the CRC check succeeds, the terminal determines that the DCI that it expects to receive is decoded on the candidate PDCCH. Otherwise, the terminal determines that the DCI that it expects to receive is not decoded on the candidate PDCCH.

(2) Carrier aggregation

Carrier aggregation (CA) refers to a transmission technology that aggregates two or more carriers to obtain a larger transmission bandwidth. Based on carrier aggregation technology, a terminal can use several carriers for uplink and downlink transmission at the same time according to its own capabilities and bandwidth transmission requirements. Among them, the multiple carriers accessed by the terminal at the same time can belong to the same frequency band, or belong to multiple different frequency bands.

Carrier: In a wireless communication system, a carrier is a radio signal (such as an electromagnetic wave) with a specific frequency, bandwidth, and format emitted by a base station, which is used to carry the main body of information. A carrier can also be called a carrier frequency. A cell in a base station can correspond to one or more carriers. In the embodiment of the present application, taking one carrier corresponding to one cell as an example, in the CA technology, a terminal configured with carrier aggregation can be connected to multiple cells at the same time. For example, the terminal can be connected to a primary cell (primary cell, PCell) and at least one secondary cell (secondary cell, SCell) at the same time. The terminal can perform uplink and downlink transmission through the carrier corresponding to the PCell and the carrier corresponding to at least one SCell. The PCell and the at least one SCell constitute a serving cell set of the terminal. In the embodiment of the present application, a carrier is also called a component carrier (CC).

Primary cell (PCell): refers to the cell where the terminal establishes the initial connection, or the cell where the radio resource control (RRC) connection is reestablished, or refers to the primary cell designated during the handover process. PCell is responsible for RRC transmission communication with the terminal. The carrier corresponding to PCell can be called the primary carrier, or primary component carrier (PCC).

Secondary cell (SCell): refers to a cell added through the RRC connection reconfiguration message after the initial security activation procedure to provide additional wireless resources to the terminal. The carrier corresponding to the SCell can be called a secondary carrier, or a secondary component carrier (SCC). The base station can configure at least one secondary cell through the RRC signaling of the primary cell, and flexibly activate or deactivate the secondary cell through the media access control element (MAC control element, MAC CE) or DCI.

(3) Carrier Scheduling

A carrier can be used for transmission of uplink data channels or downlink data channels. The carrier used for downlink data channel transmission is referred to as an uplink carrier or an uplink carrier unit, and the carrier used for downlink data channel transmission can be referred to as a downlink carrier or a downlink carrier unit. The embodiments of the present application are described below by taking the uplink carrier unit and the downlink carrier unit as examples. Exemplarily, the base station can schedule the terminal to transmit PUSCH on the uplink carrier unit, and schedule the terminal to transmit the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH on the downlink carrier unit. In the embodiments of the present application, the scheduling of uplink data channel transmission by the base station in the uplink carrier unit is referred to as scheduling of the uplink carrier unit, and the scheduling of downlink data channel transmission by the base station in the downlink carrier unit is referred to as scheduling of the downlink carrier unit. The base station can schedule the uplink carrier unit or the downlink carrier unit by sending DCI.

In the CA scenario, the base station can schedule multiple carriers at the same time, such as scheduling multiple uplink carrier units or multiple downlink carrier units at the same time. For example, the base station can implement the scheduling of multiple carrier units by sending multiple DCIs. Among them, one of the multiple carrier units can be an uplink carrier unit or a downlink carrier unit, and the multiple carrier units correspond to multiple DCIs one by one, that is, each of the multiple carrier units requires a DCI for scheduling, or it can be understood that in this implementation, one DCI is used for scheduling an uplink carrier unit or a downlink carrier unit. According to the carrier unit that sends the DCI, it can be divided into two methods: self-carrier scheduling and cross-carrier scheduling. As shown in (a) in 2A, when the self-carrier scheduling method is used, the DCI used to schedule the transmission of PDSCH or PUSCH on a carrier unit is also sent on the carrier. For example, CC1 sends a DCI for scheduling the transmission of PDSCH1 on CC1, and CC2 sends a DCI for scheduling the transmission of PDSCH2 on CC2. As shown in (b) of Figure 2A, when cross-carrier scheduling is used, the base station can send DCI on one carrier to schedule PDSCH or PUSCH transmission on the carrier and other carriers, so as to achieve the effect of sending multiple DCIs on only one carrier. For example, CC1 sends DCI to schedule PDSCH1 transmission on CC1 and DCI to schedule PDSCH2 transmission on CC2.

As mentioned above, regardless of self-carrier scheduling or cross-carrier scheduling, the number of DCIs that need to be sent is proportional to the number of carriers used simultaneously. On the one hand, compared with continuous broadband carriers, discrete multi-carrier scheduling requires more control channel resources to carry multiple DCIs using the same bandwidth to transmit data. This method of scheduling multiple DCIs will increase the overhead of the control channel, which is particularly evident in frequency division duplex (FDD) small bandwidth scenarios. On the other hand, based on the current CA mechanism, using multi-carrier transmission scheduled by multiple DCIs, the terminal needs to blindly decode multiple DCIs, and the number of DCIs will increase with the increase in the number of carriers, which will also increase the complexity of the terminal blind decoding.

Therefore, a method based on a single DCI to schedule the transmission of PDSCH or PUSCH on multiple carrier units came into being. In this method, the base station can send a single DCI on a carrier unit. The single DCI used to schedule multiple carrier units can be a carrier unit with continuous bandwidth or a discrete carrier unit. As shown in Figure 2B, a single DCI is sent on CC1, and the single DCI can schedule the transmission of PDSCH1 on CC1 and the transmission of PDSCH2 on CC2. CC1 and CC2 can be continuous broadband carrier units or discrete discontinuous carrier units. This method uses a single DCI for discrete multi-carrier scheduling. Compared with scheduling through multiple DCIs, especially when there is consistent redundant information such as CRC in multiple DCIs, it can reduce the overhead of the control channel, release more downlink resources for PDSCH transmission, improve downlink capacity, and approach the performance of continuous broadband carriers.

(4) DCI format

According to the introduction of carrier scheduling above, it can be understood that there are currently two types of DCI. One type is the DCI used to schedule one uplink carrier unit or one downlink carrier unit, which can be called legacy DCI; the other type is a single DCI (Single DCI) used to schedule multiple uplink carrier units or multiple downlink carrier units.

When traditional DCI is used for uplink and downlink scheduling, the corresponding DCI formats (DCI formats) include DCI format 0_0, DCI format 1_0, DCI format 0_1, DCI format 1_1, DCI format 0_2, and DCI format 1_2. In the aforementioned DCI formats, the first number (i.e., the number before the "_") indicates uplink or downlink, such as "0" for uplink and "1" for downlink. The second number (i.e., the number after the "_") "0" can indicate fallback, "1" can indicate non-fallback, and "2" indicates load compression. For example, DCI format 1_0 indicates a fallback DCI format for scheduling downlink data such as PDSCH reception, DCI format 1_1 indicates a non-fallback DCI format for scheduling downlink data such as PDSCH reception, and DCI format 0_2 indicates a compressed DCI format for scheduling uplink data such as PUSCH transmission. The characteristic of DCI format 0_0/1_0 is that most of the domain information in the DCI using this format is not affected by the high-level parameter configuration, and the bit size of the domain information is fixed. Therefore, compared with other DCI formats, the number of information bits (or, load bits) of DCI format 0_0/1_0 is relatively stable, and the communication link between the base station and the terminal can be kept uninterrupted during the fuzzy period of RRC parameter reconfiguration. It can be understood that DCI format 0_0/1_0 supports basic NR features for better robustness. The characteristics of DCI format 0_1/1_1 are that the size of most of the domain information in the DCI using this format will be affected by the configuration of high-level parameters (such as RRC parameters) related to different features. It can be understood that DCI format 0_1/1_1 is compatible with more NR features for flexibility. The characteristic of DCI format 0_2/1_2 is that the size of most of the domain information in the DCI using this format can be directly configured through high-level parameters (such as RRC parameters), so that the overall DCI information bits are relatively small, the transmission code rate is relatively low, and the transmission reliability is improved, which can be used in high-reliability communication scenarios.

Table 1 below shows the functions of each DCI format for uplink scheduling and the possible associated wireless network temporary identifiers. (radio network temporary identifier, RNTI) is introduced. It can be understood that RNTI is used to scramble or mask DCI. Some examples of RNTI include: cell-radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), configured scheduling-RNTI (CS-RNTI), modulation coding scheme cell RNTI (MCS-C-RNTI), temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (TC-RNTI), semi-persistent channel state information-RNTI (SP-CSI-RNTI), system information-RNTI (SI-RNTI), paging-RNTI (P-RNTI), random access-RNTI (RA-RNTI), message B radio network temporary identifier (MsgB-RNTI).

Table 1

The DCI format of a single DCI includes a DCI format for scheduling multiple uplink carrier units and a DCI format for scheduling multiple downlink carrier units. For example, DCI format 0_X represents a DCI format for scheduling multiple uplink carrier units; DCI format 1_X represents a DCI format for scheduling multiple downlink carrier units. Among them, the value of X can be any number different from the second number in the DCI format of the traditional DCI. For example, if X is 5, DCI format 0_X can also be replaced by DCI format 0_5, and DCI format 0_X can also be replaced by DCI format 1_5.

In addition, it can be understood that the DCI format for scheduling multiple uplink carrier units described in the embodiments of the present application refers to the DCI format supporting the scheduling of multiple uplink carrier units, but the DCI format can actually schedule part or all of the maximum number of uplink carrier units it supports, for example, DCI format 0_X supports scheduling of up to 4 uplink carrier units, then the number of uplink carrier units that can actually be scheduled by the DCI format 0_X can be one of 1, 2, 3, and 4, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. Similarly, the DCI format for scheduling multiple downlink carrier units described in the embodiments of the present application refers to the DCI format supporting the scheduling of multiple downlink carrier units, but the DCI format can actually schedule part or all of the maximum number of downlink carrier units it supports, for example, DCI format 1_X supports scheduling of up to 4 downlink carrier units, then the number of downlink carrier units that can actually be scheduled by the DCI format 0_X can be one of 1, 2, 3, and 4, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

(5) Configuration of search space set and configuration of related cell/carrier unit set

The search space set SS set can be a common search space set (CSS set) or a user-specific search space set (USS set). Among them, the common search space set can be used to send a common control channel for transmitting paging, system information, etc. to the terminal device. The UE-specific search space set can be used to send a control channel for transmitting a certain UE-specific control information to the terminal. It can be understood that the common search space set can also be used to send a control channel for transmitting a certain UE-specific control information to the terminal, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. The base station can send configuration information of a search space set to the terminal, and the configuration information may include the starting OFDM symbol for PDCCH monitoring, the PDCCH monitoring period, and the control resource set (CORESET) associated with the search space set, corresponding one or more DCI formats, etc. The terminal can receive the PDCCH by monitoring the search space set. In the embodiment of the present application, it mainly involves the configuration of the USS set. The base station can also configure the SS set and the DCI format schedulable for the search space set SS set used to monitor DCI through RRC parameters. The association relationship between the uplink carrier units or the downlink carrier units.

Taking the configuration of multiple USS sets for single DCI on a cell as an example, it is assumed that the base station configures a UE to monitor single DCI on PCell through RRC parameters, and configures the single DCI on PCell to schedule up to four carrier units CC#1, CC#2, CC#3 and CC#4 at the same time. One carrier unit corresponds to one cell, that is, it can also be understood that the base station configures the single DCI on PCell to schedule up to four cells at the same time. These four carrier units can constitute multiple carrier unit sets, and one carrier unit set includes at least one carrier unit. Examples of some carrier unit sets include: {CC#1}, {CC#1, CC#2}, {CC#2, CC#3}, {CC#1, CC#2, CC#3}, {CC#1, CC#2, CC#3, CC#4}, and each USS set in multiple USS sets can be associated with at least one carrier unit set.

The carrier unit includes an uplink carrier unit for uplink information transmission and a downlink carrier unit for downlink information transmission, and the carrier unit set can be divided into an uplink carrier unit set and a downlink carrier unit set. Some examples of uplink carrier unit sets include: {UL CC#1}, {UL CC#1, UL CC#2}, {UL CC#2, UL CC#3, UL CC#4}; some examples of downlink carrier unit sets include: {DL CC#1}, {DL CC#1, DL CC#2}, {DL CC#1, DL CC#2, DL CC#3, DL CC#4}. Each USS set in multiple USS sets can be associated with at least one uplink carrier unit set and/or at least one downlink carrier unit set. For example, assuming that the DCI format configured by a USS set includes DCI format 0_X, and DCI format 0_X can schedule UL CC#1 and UL CC#2 at the same time, then the uplink carrier unit set that the USS set can be associated with is {UL CC#1, UL CC#2}. For example, DCI format 0_X can schedule UL CC#1 and UL CC#2 at the same time, or DCI format 0_X can schedule UL CC#2, UL CC#3 and UL CC#4 at the same time, then the two uplink carrier unit sets that the USS set can be associated with include {UL CC#1, UL CC#2} and {UL CC#2, UL CC#3 and UL CC#4}. Similarly, assuming that the DCI format configured by a USS set includes DCI format 1_X, and DCI format 1_X can schedule DL CC#1 and DL CC#2 at the same time, then the uplink carrier unit set that the USS set can be associated with is {DL CC#1, DL CC#2}. For example, DCI format 1_X can schedule DL CC#1 and DL CC#2 at the same time, or DCI format 0_X can schedule DL CC#1, DL CC#2, DL CC#3 and DL CC#4 at the same time, then the USS set can be associated with two downlink carrier unit sets, including {DL CC#1, DL CC#2} and {DL CC#1, DL CC#2, DL CC#3 and DL CC#4}.

The DCI size of a single DCI is related to the maximum number of carrier units that its corresponding DCI format supports scheduling. For example, the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format 1_X that supports scheduling of up to 4 downlink carrier units is larger than the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format 1_X that supports scheduling of up to 2 downlink carrier units. The DCI size can also be replaced by the description of the DCI payload size or the DCI information bit size. The DCI payload size is positively correlated with the number of information bits in the DCI. It can be understood that the more information bits in the DCI, the larger the DCI payload size. It can also be understood that the DCI payload size is positively correlated with the maximum number of carrier units scheduled, that is, the more the maximum number of carrier units that the DCI supports scheduling, the larger the DCI payload size. Based on this, it can be known that the DCI formats configured with different USS sets may have different DCI sizes. In the scenario where multiple USS sets are configured on a cell, there may be multiple different DCI sizes on a cell, resulting in a high blind detection complexity of the terminal. It can be understood that the DCI payload size is the payload size before the DCI length alignment operation.

(6) DCI length alignment rules

In order to reduce the blind detection complexity caused by different DCI lengths, the NR technology defines a DCI size budget "3+1" in the protocol. The DCI size budget means that the terminal monitors at most 3 unicast-scheduled DCIs of different lengths in one cell, and the total number of DCIs of different lengths is 4. Among them, the unicast-scheduled DCI can be scrambled by C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, or MCS-C-RNTI. In addition to the unicast-scheduled DCI, the DCI scrambled by other RNTIs occupies 1 DCI size budget.

Based on high-level parameter configurations such as PDCCH configuration information, the base station may configure the terminal to monitor multiple DCI formats. The high-level parameter configurations corresponding to different DCI formats may result in different DCI sizes corresponding to different DCI formats. Limited by the aforementioned DCI length budget, both the base station and the terminal need to align the DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats according to specific DCI format alignment rules (DCI size alignment) to ensure that the number of different DCI sizes in the same cell does not exceed 4, and the number of different DCI sizes for unicast scheduling such as DCI scrambled by C-RNTI does not exceed 3.

The PDCCH configuration information sent by the base station to the terminal device must meet the two "3+1" conditions at the same time after passing the DCI size alignment rule (DCI size alignment), otherwise the UE will consider this PDCCH configuration information to be an invalid configuration.

Currently, the DCI length alignment rule is followed, and there is an alignment method for the traditional DCI size, as follows: align the DCI sizes corresponding to DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 to the same length (size), align the DCI sizes corresponding to DCI format 0_1 and DCI format 1_1 to the same length (size), and align the DCI sizes corresponding to DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 to the same length (size). For example, based on the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0, the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 is adjusted to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0 by padding with zeros or truncating. Alternatively, it can be understood that the aligned lengths of the DCI sizes corresponding to DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 are both the DCI sizes corresponding to DCI format 1_0. The zero padding method refers to adding one or more zeros in the DCI. Multiple bits "0" are used to increase the length of the DCI. The truncation method may be to truncate the frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) field or other field information in the DCI to achieve the effect of reducing the length of the DCI.

A single DCI in the CA scenario can be used to schedule multiple uplink carrier units or multiple downlink carrier units. Different numbers of uplink carrier units or downlink carrier units will generate multiple different DCI sizes, resulting in higher blind detection complexity of the terminal. Considering that there may be a large difference between the number of uplink carrier units scheduled by a single carrier and the number of downlink carrier units scheduled, if the traditional DCI size alignment method is used, a large number of zero padding is involved, which will reduce the transmission efficiency of the PDCCH, occupy more downlink resources and affect the transmission of the downlink data channel.

Based on this, the embodiment of the present application provides a DCI size alignment scheme for a single DCI in a CA scenario, and aligns the DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats with the same or similar number of scheduling carrier units, thereby reducing the complexity of terminal blind detection through DCI size alignment, while reducing the number of DCI zero padding required for alignment, which can improve the transmission efficiency of PDCCH and reduce the occupancy of downlink resources. It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the same or similar number of carrier units can all be uplink carrier units or all be downlink carrier units, and can also include uplink carrier units and downlink carrier units, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. The DCI size alignment scheme provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below.

FIG3 illustrates a method for transmitting downlink control information, which mainly includes the following process.

S301: A base station determines a DCI format configured for each search space set in L search space sets.

Among them, one search space set among the L search space sets can be configured with a DCI format for scheduling multiple uplink carrier units and/or a DCI format for scheduling multiple downlink carrier units. For example, in the CA scenario, it can be understood that in S301, the base station configures a DCI format of a single DCI in each search space set, including DCI format 0_X and/or DCI format 1_X, wherein DCI format 0_X represents a DCI format for scheduling multiple uplink carrier units, and DCI format 1_X represents a DCI format for scheduling multiple downlink carrier units.

Optionally, the search space set may be a user-specific search space set USS set. The base station may configure the DCI format of the aforementioned single DCI for L USS sets on a cell. The cell may be the cell with the most DCI formats (0_0/1_0/0_1/1_1/0_2/1_2) configured for unicast scheduling in the co-scheduled cell, or the primary cell PCell configured to monitor single DCI, or the cell used to count the number of blind detections BD of the terminal and/or the number of non-overlapping control channel elements (CCE) sent by the base station.

It can be understood that when a search space set is configured with DCI format 0_X, the DCI format 0_X configured by the search space set can schedule at least one uplink carrier unit set, and the number of uplink carrier units included in different uplink carrier unit sets is different. It can be understood that there is an association relationship between the search space set and at least one uplink carrier unit set. Similarly, when a search space set is configured with DCI format 1_X, the DCI format 1_X configured by the search space set can schedule at least one downlink carrier unit set, and the number of downlink carrier units included in different downlink carrier unit sets is different. It can be understood that there is an association relationship between the search space set and at least one downlink carrier unit set.

In an optional implementation, the DCI format configured for each of the L search space sets may be predefined through a protocol or other means, and the base station may directly obtain the DCI format configured for each of the L search space sets according to the predefined content. In this implementation, the DCI format configured for each of the L search space sets may also be regarded as known information, so the base station may not need to perform S301, so S301 is indicated as an optional step in a dotted box in FIG3 .

In another optional implementation, the base station may configure the number of component carriers in an uplink component carrier set or a downlink component carrier set by itself, and configure an uplink component carrier set and/or a downlink component carrier set associated with a search space set.

Example 1: The base station can configure the maximum number of uplink carrier units scheduled by the DCI format configured by L search space sets to be different from the maximum number of downlink carrier units scheduled. For example, when L is 3, the three USS sets are recorded as USS#1, USS#2, and USS#3. Figure 4A illustrates a configuration of a search space set, where DCI format 0_X and DCI format 1_X are configured on USS#1, and an uplink carrier unit set = {UL CC#1, UL CC#2, UL CC#3} and a downlink carrier unit set = {DL CC#1, DL CC#2} are associated; USS#2 is only configured with DCI format 0_X, and an uplink carrier unit set = {UL CC#3} is associated; USS#3 is only configured with DCI format 1_X, and a downlink carrier unit set = {DL CC#1, DL CC#2, DL CC#3, DL CC#4} is associated. In this case, the maximum number of uplink carrier units scheduled by the DCI format configured by these three USS sets is 3, and the maximum number of downlink carrier units scheduled by the DCI format configured by these three USS sets is 4.

Example 2: The base station can configure the maximum number of uplink carrier units scheduled by the DCI format configured by L search space sets to be the same as the maximum number of downlink carrier units scheduled. For example, when L is 3, the three USS sets are recorded as USS#1, USS#2, and USS#3. Figure 4B illustrates a configuration of a search space set, where DCI format 0_X and DCI format 1_X are configured on USS#1, and an uplink carrier unit set is associated ={UL CC#1, UL CC#2} and a downlink carrier component set ={DL CC#1, DL CC#2}; USS#2 is configured with only DCI format 0_X, and is associated with an uplink carrier component set ={UL CC#1, UL CC#2, UL CC#3, UL CC#4}; USS#3 is configured with only DCI format 1_X, and is associated with a downlink carrier component set ={DL CC#1, DL CC#2, DL CC#3, DL CC#4}. The maximum number of uplink carrier components and the maximum number of downlink carrier components scheduled by the DCI formats configured by these three USS sets are both 4.

Example 3: The base station can configure DCI format 0_X and DCI format 1_X in a search space set, and DCI format 0_X and DCI format 1_X satisfy one or more of the following conditions: the number of uplink carrier units scheduled by DCI format 0_X is the same as or similar to the number of downlink carrier units scheduled by DCI format 1_X, or is described as DCI format 0_X scheduling a first number of uplink carrier units and DCI format 1_X scheduling a second number of downlink carrier units, and the difference between the first number and the second number is less than or equal to a preset threshold, for example, the preset threshold is 1; the number of uplink carrier units scheduled by DCI format 0_X and the number of downlink carrier units scheduled by DCI format 1_X are both less than or equal to a set value; DCI format 0_X and DCI format 1_X schedule the same carrier units for uplink information transmission and downlink information transmission.

For example, when L is 3, the three USS sets are recorded as USS#1, USS#2, and USS#3. FIG4C illustrates a configuration of a search space set, where DCI format 0_X and DCI format 1_X are configured on USS#1, and an uplink carrier unit set = {UL CC#1, UL CC#2, UL CC#3, UL CC#4} and a downlink carrier unit set = {DL CC#1, DL CC#2, DL CC#3, DL CC#4} are associated. The DCI format 0_X and DCI format 1_X configured by USS#1 schedule the same carrier units (CC#1 and CC#2) for uplink information transmission and downlink information transmission. DCI format 0_X and DCI format 1_X are configured on USS#2, and an uplink carrier component set = {UL CC#3, UL CC#4} and a downlink carrier component set = {DL CC#1, DL CC#2} are associated. The number of uplink carrier components scheduled by DCI format 0_X configured on USS#2 is the same as the number of downlink carrier components scheduled by DCI format 1_X. DCI format 0_X and DCI format 1_X are configured on USS#3, and an uplink carrier component set = {UL CC#1} and a downlink carrier component set = {DL CC#2, DL CC#4} are associated. The number of uplink carrier components scheduled by DCI format 0_X configured on USS#2 is similar to the number of downlink carrier components scheduled by DCI format 1_X.

In addition, between USS#1, USS#2 and USS#3 shown in FIG4C , the maximum number of carrier units scheduled by USS#2 and USS#3 is the same, and the maximum number of carrier units scheduled by USS#2 and USS#1 is different. In an embodiment of the present application, when a search space set is only configured with DCI format 0_X, the maximum number of carrier units may refer to the maximum number of uplink carrier units scheduled by DCI format 0_X; when a search space set is only configured with DCI format 1_X, the maximum number of carrier units may refer to the maximum number of downlink carrier units scheduled by DCI format 1_X; when a search space set is configured with DCI format 0_X and DCI format 1_X, the maximum number of carrier units may refer to the larger value of the maximum number of uplink carriers scheduled by DCI format 0_X and the maximum number of downlink carrier units scheduled by DCI format 1_X. It is also possible to distinguish the number of uplink carrier units and the number of downlink carrier units and define them separately. Taking USS#3 as an example, the DCI format 0_X corresponding to USS#3 can only schedule data channels on UL CC#1, while the DCI format 1_X corresponding to USS#3 can schedule data channels on at least one carrier unit of DL CC#1 and DL CC#2. The maximum number of carriers that can be scheduled corresponding to USS#3 can be understood as follows: the maximum number of uplink carriers scheduled by the DCI format 0_X configured by USS#3 is 1, and the maximum number of downlink carriers scheduled by the DCI format 1_X configured by USS#3 is 2.

For another example, when L is 2, the two USS sets are recorded as USS#1 and USS#2. FIG4D illustrates a configuration of a search space set, where DCI format 0_X and DCI format 1_X are configured on USS#1, and an uplink carrier unit set = {UL CC#1, UL CC#2, UL CC#3, UL CC#4} and a downlink carrier unit set = {DL CC#1, DL CC#2, DL CC#3, DL CC#4} are associated. The DCI format 0_X and DCI format 1_X configured by USS#1 schedule the same carrier units (CC#1, CC#2, CC#3 and CC#4) for uplink information transmission and downlink information transmission. USS#2 is configured with DCI format 0_X and DCI format 1_X, and two uplink carrier component sets and two downlink carrier component sets are associated, that is, uplink carrier component set 1 = {UL CC#3, UL CC#4}, uplink carrier component set 2 = {UL CC#1}, downlink carrier component set 1 = {DL CC#1, DL CC#2}, downlink carrier component set 2 = {DL CC#2, DL CC#4}, and the number of uplink carrier components scheduled by DCI format 0_X configured by USS#2 and the number of downlink carrier components scheduled by DCI format 1_X are both less than the set value such as 3, or it can be understood that the number of uplink carrier components scheduled by DCI format 0_X configured by USS#2 is similar to the number of downlink carrier components scheduled by DCI format 1_X. In addition, the maximum number of carrier components scheduled by USS#1 and USS#2 shown in FIG4D is different.

S302: The base station sends first configuration information to the terminal.

The first configuration information is used to indicate the DCI format configured for each search space set in the L search space sets, and the DCI format configured for one search space set in the L search space sets includes a DCI format for scheduling multiple uplink carrier units and/or a DCI format for scheduling multiple downlink carrier units, or can also be replaced by a description as: the DCI format configured for one search space set in the L search space sets includes DCI format 0_X and/or DCI format 1_X.

For example, the first configuration information includes configuration information of L search space sets. The terminal can determine the resources of each search space set in the L search space sets and the DCI format configured for each search space set according to the configuration information of the L search space sets. Which of the following: only DCI format 0_X; only DCI format 1_X; DCI format 0_X and DCI format 1_X. In an optional implementation, for one search space set among the L search space sets, the association relationship between the one search space set and the uplink carrier component set and/or downlink carrier component set scheduled by the configured DCI format is pre-configured, and the terminal can determine the uplink carrier component set and/or downlink carrier component set associated with the one search space set according to the DCI format configured by the one search space set in the first configuration information. In another optional implementation, the base station may indicate in the first configuration information the uplink carrier component set and/or downlink carrier component set scheduled by the DCI format configured by each search space set, for example, the first configuration information includes the identifiers of the uplink carrier component set and/or downlink carrier component set associated with each search space set; or it may also be understood that the first configuration information includes configuration information of the uplink carrier component set and/or downlink carrier component set, for example, a list of carrier component identifiers representing the uplink carrier component set and/or downlink carrier component set, for example, the search space set identifier associated with the uplink carrier component set and/or downlink carrier component set. Optionally, the first configuration information may be implemented using RRC configuration information or RRC configuration parameters.

Optionally, the base station may include in the first configuration information the DCI format grouping identification information corresponding to each search space set in the L search space sets, and the DCI format grouping identification information is used to indicate a group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats. If the DCI format grouping identification information corresponding to a search space set indicates the first group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats, it can be understood that the DCI format configured by the search space set belongs to the first group of DCI formats. Optionally, the DCI format grouping identification information corresponding to different search space sets is the same or different, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. Optionally, due to the grouping according to the number of carrier units, the DCI format grouping identification information corresponding to the search space set can also be referred to as sizeGroup. As an example, for USS#1, USS#2, and USS#3 shown in Figure 4C, USS#1 is separately divided into a group of DCI formats, and the DCI format grouping identification information sizeGroup corresponding to USS#1 takes a value of "0", USS#2 and USS#3 are divided into a group of DCI formats, and the DCI format grouping identification information sizeGroup corresponding to USS#2 and USS#3 is "1". Through such a design, the terminal can quickly determine the DCI format grouping configured in the search space set according to the DCI format grouping identification information (sizeGroup) carried in the first configuration information, which is beneficial to the efficiency of the terminal in performing DCI size alignment.

S303: The terminal determines, according to the first configuration information, the length of the aligned DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats configured in the L search space sets.

For example, the terminal determines the DCI format configured for each search space set in the L search space sets based on the first configuration information. The terminal device may also determine the number of uplink carrier units and/or the number of downlink carrier units scheduled by the DCI format configured for each of the aforementioned search space sets based on the first configuration information, such as the terminal may first determine the uplink carrier unit set and/or the downlink carrier unit set associated with each search space set, and then determine the number of uplink carrier units and/or the number of downlink carrier units scheduled by the DCI format configured for each search space set.

The terminal may divide all DCI formats configured by the L search space sets into K groups of DCIs according to the DCI format configured by each search space set in the L search space sets. Each group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats corresponds to a length after DCI size alignment, and the lengths of DCI sizes aligned corresponding to different groups of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats are different. K is an integer greater than 1. For example, based on the aforementioned DCI length rule, the value of K may be a value of 2 or 3. For another example, K may be any integer from 2 to L.

Corresponding to the example described in S301, the following describes a solution for aligning the DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats of the L search space sets according to different situations in which the DCI formats of the L search space sets are configured.

Case 1: N indicates the maximum number of uplink carrier units scheduled by the DCI format (i.e., DCI format 0_X) configured by the L search space sets, M indicates the maximum number of downlink carrier units scheduled by the DCI format (i.e., DCI format 1_X) configured by the L search space sets, and N is less than M.

First, the terminal can divide all DCI formats configured by L search space sets into K groups of DCI formats according to the value of N, where K is 2. The number of uplink carrier units or downlink carrier units scheduled by each DCI format in the first group of DCI formats of the K groups of DCI formats is less than or equal to N, and the number of downlink carriers scheduled by each DCI format in the second group of DCI formats of the K groups of DCI formats is greater than N. It can be understood that when K is 2, the first group and the second group are used as examples to distinguish two groups of DCI formats in the embodiment of the present application, but this is not limited. For example, the first group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats can also be replaced by a description as a group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats, and the second group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats can also be replaced by a description as another group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats.

Then, the terminal may align the DCI size within each group of the K groups of DCI formats respectively, so that the length of a DCI size corresponding to the kth group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats after alignment is any one of the following: the DCI size of the DCI format with the largest number of uplink carrier units scheduled in the kth group of DCI formats; the DCI size of the DCI format with the largest number of downlink carriers scheduled in the kth group of DCI formats; the maximum DCI size corresponding to the DCI format in the kth group of DCI formats. Wherein, k is an integer from 1 to K, and when K is 2, the value range of k includes 1 and 2.

Taking the configuration of the search space set shown in FIG4A as an example, N is 3 and M is 4. The DCI format 1_X scheduled on USS#1 The number of downlink carrier components is 2, the number of uplink carrier components scheduled by DCI format 0_X configured on USS#2 is 1, and DCI format 1_X configured on USS#1 and DCI format 0_X configured on USS#2 are classified into the first group of DCI formats. The number of uplink carrier components scheduled by DCI format 0_X configured on USS#1 is 3, the number of downlink carrier components scheduled by DCI format 1_X configured on USS#3 is 4, and DCI format 0_X configured on USS#1 and DCI format 1_X configured on USS#3 are classified into the second group of DCI formats. As shown in FIG5A, the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_X configured on USS#2 in the first group can be aligned to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_X configured on USS#1 by zero padding; the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_X configured on USS#1 in the second group can be aligned to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_X configured on USS#3 by zero padding.

In addition, it can be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the terminals to group first and then perform alignment operations within the group. As an optional implementation method, the terminals may not be grouped, but may align the DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats in which the number of scheduling uplink and downlink carrier units is less than or equal to N, and align the DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats in which the number of scheduling uplink and downlink carrier units is greater than N. Wherein, the uplink and downlink carrier units represent uplink carrier units and/or downlink carrier units.

Case 2: N indicates the maximum number of uplink carrier units scheduled by the DCI format (i.e., DCI format 0_X) configured by the L search space sets, M indicates the maximum number of downlink carrier units scheduled by the DCI format (i.e., DCI format 1_X) configured by the L search space sets, and N is equal to M. Optionally, Case 2 may also be described as: the maximum number of uplink carrier units or downlink carrier units scheduled by the DCI format configured by the L search space sets is N or M.

First, the terminal may divide all DCI formats configured by the L search space sets into K groups of DCI formats according to the value of N, where K is 2. The number of uplink carrier units or downlink carrier units scheduled by each DCI format in the first group of DCI formats of the K groups of DCI formats is less than or equal to I, and the number of downlink carrier units scheduled by each DCI format in the second group of DCI formats of the K groups of DCI formats is greater than I. Optionally, I is equal to Indicates the round-up character.

As an example, FIG. 5B illustrates the corresponding grouping modes when N is 2 to 4. As shown in FIG.

For example, when N is 4, I is 2, which means that the DCI formats that schedule the number of uplink carrier components or the number of downlink carrier components are 1 or 2 can be divided into the first group, and the DCI formats that schedule the number of uplink carrier components or the number of downlink carrier components are 2 or 3 can be divided into the second group. For example, in the configuration of the search space set shown in FIG. 4B , N is 4. The number of uplink carrier components scheduled by the DCI format 0_X configured on USS#1 and the number of downlink carrier components scheduled by the DCI format 1_X configured on USS#1 are both 2, and the DCI format 0_X configured on USS#1 and the DCI format 1_X configured on USS#1 are divided into the first group of DCI formats. The number of uplink carrier components scheduled by the DCI format 0_X configured on USS#2 is 4, and the number of downlink carrier components scheduled by the DCI format 1_X configured on USS#3 are both 4, and the DCI format 0_X configured on USS#2 and the DCI format 1_X configured on USS#3 are divided into the second group of DCI formats. The numbers in the solid or dotted boxes represent the DCI format or DCI length corresponding to the carrier component with the same scheduling number, for example, "4" represents the DCI format or DCI length corresponding to scheduling 4 carrier components.

For example, when N is 3, I is 2, which means that the DCI format for scheduling the number of uplink carrier components or scheduling the number of downlink carrier components is 1 or 2 can be divided into the first group, and the DCI format for scheduling the number of uplink carrier components or scheduling the number of downlink carrier components is 3 can be divided into the second group.

For example, when N is 2, I is 1, indicating that the DCI format for scheduling the number of uplink carrier components or scheduling the number of downlink carrier components is 1 can be divided into the first group, and the DCI format for scheduling the number of uplink carrier components or scheduling the number of downlink carrier components is 2 can be divided into the second group.

Based on the above example, in FIG5B , the first group is represented by a solid-line frame, and the second group is represented by a dotted-line frame.

Optionally, when N takes a specific value, you can also set the value of I to not match I equals Instead, a predefined or preconfigured value may be adopted. For example, when N is 3, I may be set to 1, indicating that the DCI format in which the number of scheduled uplink carrier components or the number of scheduled downlink carrier components is 1 may be divided into the first group, and the DCI format in which the number of scheduled uplink carrier components or the number of scheduled downlink carrier components is 2 or 3 may be divided into the second group.

In addition, it can be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the terminals to grouping first and then performing the alignment operation within the group. As an optional implementation, the terminals may not be grouped, but may align the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format in which the number of scheduling uplink and downlink carrier units is less than or equal to 1, and align the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format in which the number of scheduling uplink and downlink carrier units is greater than 1. Wherein, the uplink and downlink carrier units refer to the uplink carrier unit and/or the downlink carrier unit.

Case 3: corresponding to Example 3 described in S301, the number of carrier components scheduled by the DCI format configured in each search space set in the L search space sets is the same or similar.

If there are at least two search space sets with the same maximum number of carrier components in the L search spaces, the terminal can group the DCI formats configured by the at least two search space sets into one group of DCI formats. For example, FIG. 4C illustrates that the maximum number of carrier components of USS#2 is the same as the maximum number of carrier components of USS#3, and the maximum number of carrier components of USS#2 is different from the maximum number of carrier components of USS#1. The terminal can group the DCI formats configured by USS#2 and USS#3 into one group of DCI formats, and group the DCI formats configured by USS#1 into another group of DCI formats.

If there are not at least two search space sets with the same maximum number of carrier components in the L search spaces, the terminal may regard the DCI format configured by each search space set as a group of DCI formats. That is, the L search space sets correspond to the K groups of DCI formats one by one, and L is equal to K. For example, FIG4D illustrates that the maximum number of carrier components of USS#1 is different from the maximum number of carrier components of USS#2, and the terminal may group the DCI formats configured by USS#1 into one group of DCI formats, and group the DCI formats configured by USS#2 into another group of DCI formats.

Based on the above grouping, the terminal aligns the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format in each group. The alignment method of the DCI size in a group of DCI formats can be understood by referring to the alignment method of the aforementioned kth group of DCI, which is not elaborated in the embodiments of the present application.

S304: The base station determines, according to the DCI formats configured by the L search space sets, the lengths of the aligned DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats configured by the L search space sets.

The base station may adopt the DCI size alignment scheme implemented by the terminal in S303 to determine the length of the DCI size after alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured by the L search space sets. This step may be implemented with reference to S303, and this embodiment of the present application will not be described in detail.

S305, the base station sends DCI on the L search space sets according to the length of the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured by the L search space sets. Correspondingly, the terminal receives DCI on the L search space sets according to the length of the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured by the L search space sets.

The above method provided in the embodiment of the present application can reduce the blind detection complexity of the terminal by grouping and aligning the number of carrier units scheduled according to the DCI format for single DCI in the CA scenario. The DCI formats with the same or similar number of scheduled carrier units are divided into a group. Such a design can reduce the number of zero padding involved in the alignment operation, improve the transmission efficiency of PDCCH, maintain the coverage performance of PDCCH, and reduce the occupancy of PDCCH on downlink resources.

In addition, in an embodiment of the present application, the same group of DCI formats may include a DCI format for scheduling an uplink carrier unit and a DCI format for scheduling a downlink carrier unit. Different groups of DCI formats correspond to different lengths after DCI size alignment. A DCI format may have multiple lengths, which is more flexible than the existing traditional DCI in which a DCI format has only one length.

Taking into account that single DCI and legacy DCI may be scheduled simultaneously in a CA scenario, referring to FIG6 , an embodiment of the present application also provides a DCI transmission method, which mainly includes the following process.

S601: A base station sends first configuration information and second configuration information to a terminal.

The first configuration information is used to indicate the DCI format configured for each search space set in the L search space sets. The definition of the first configuration information can be understood with reference to the embodiment described in the aforementioned FIG3. This application will not elaborate on this.

The second configuration information is used to configure the format of legacy DCI. For example, the second configuration information can be used to configure at least one of DCI format 0_2, DCI format 1_2, DCI format 0_1, and DCI format 1_1.

S602: The terminal determines, according to the first configuration information and the second configuration information, a length of the DCI size after alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information.

Among them, the terminal device can determine the length of the DCI size after alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured by the L search space sets according to the first configuration information. It can be implemented specifically with reference to the method described in S303, and the embodiments of the present application will not go into details. In the embodiment of the present application, the DCI format configured by the L search space sets is divided into two groups of DCI formats, and each group of DCI formats in the two groups of DCI formats corresponds to a length after the DCI size is aligned as an example. Among them, one group of DCI formats in the two groups of DCI formats may include DCI format 0_X and/or DCI format 1_X.

Based on the aforementioned traditional DCI size alignment method, the terminal can determine a length after the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 is aligned, such as recorded as the first length; a length after the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 is aligned, recorded as the second length; and a length after the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_1 and DCI format 1_1 is aligned, recorded as the third length. Among them, the first length is less than the second length, and the second length is less than the third length. Based on this, when the terminal device receives the second configuration information, it can also determine that the DCI format configured in the second configuration information corresponds to one of the first length, the second length or the third length. For example, when the DCI format 0_2 and the DCI format 1_2 are configured in the second configuration information, the terminal can determine that the DCI format 0_2 and the DCI format 1_2 correspond to the second length. When the DCI format 0_1 and the DCI format 1_1 are configured in the second configuration information, the terminal can To determine that the DCI format 0_1 and the DCI format 1_1 correspond to the third length.

The following describes different situations of configuring the format of legacy DCI in the second configuration information.

For example, when the DCI format 0_2 and the DCI format 1_2 are configured in the second configuration information, the terminal may determine that the DCI format 0_2 and the DCI format 1_2 correspond to the second length. The terminal may align the second length to the first length corresponding to the DCI format 0_0 and the DCI format 1_0, and finally make the length of the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format 1_2 or the DCI format 0_2 the same as the length of the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format 1_0. As shown in FIG. 7A, the length of the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format 1_0 and the DCI format 0_0 remains unchanged at the first length, and the length of the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format 0_2 and the DCI format 1_2 is changed from the second length to the first length, that is, the DCI size of the DCI format 0_2 and the DCI format 1_2 is aligned to the first length by truncation. FIG7A also illustrates two lengths of the single DCI after the DCI size is aligned, which are denoted as length 1 corresponding to DCI format 0_X/1_X and length 2 corresponding to DCI format 0_X/1_X.

For example, when the DCI format 0_1 and the DCI format 1_1 are configured in the second configuration information, the terminal may determine that the DCI format 0_1 and the DCI format 1_1 correspond to a third length. The terminal may align the third length to the minimum length after the DCI size alignment corresponding to the K groups of DCI formats, and finally make the length after the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format 0_2 or the DCI format 1_2 the same as the minimum length after the DCI size alignment corresponding to the K groups of DCI formats. As shown in FIG. 7B , the length after the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format 1_0 and the DCI format 0_0 remains unchanged at the first length, and the length after the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format 0_1 and the DCI format 1_1 is changed from the third length to the minimum length of the two lengths after the DCI size alignment of the single DCI, that is, the DCI size of the DCI format 0_1 and the DCI format 1_1 is aligned to the aforementioned minimum length by zero padding. For example, the minimum length of the two lengths after the DCI size alignment of the single DCI is the length 1 corresponding to the DCI format 0_X/1_X.

For another example, when the DCI format 0_2, the DCI format 1_2, the DCI format 0_1 and the DCI format 1_1 are configured in the second configuration information, in an optional implementation, the terminal may align the second length to the third length, so that the length of the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format 0_2 or the DCI format 1_2 is ultimately the same as the length of the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format 1_1 or the DCI format 0_1. As shown in FIG. 7C , the length of the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format 1_0 and the DCI format 0_0 remains unchanged at the first length, and the length of the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format 0_2 and the DCI format 1_2 is changed from the second length to the third length corresponding to the DCI format 0_1 and the DCI format 1_1, that is, the DCI size of the DCI format 0_2 and the DCI format 1_2 is aligned to the aforementioned third length by zero padding. FIG. 7C also illustrates two lengths of the DCI size alignment of the single DCI. In another optional implementation, the terminal may align the second length to the first length in combination with the alignment method illustrated in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B , and align the third length to the minimum length of the two lengths after the DCI size alignment of the single DCI. Finally, as illustrated in FIG. 7D , the length after the DCI size alignment corresponding to DCI format 1_0 and DCI format 0_0 remains unchanged at the first length, the length after the DCI size alignment corresponding to DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 changes from the second length to the first length; the length after the DCI size alignment corresponding to DCI format 0_1 and DCI format 1_1 changes from the third length to the minimum length of the two lengths after the DCI size alignment of the single DCI. For example, the minimum length of the two lengths after the DCI size alignment of the single DCI is the length 1 corresponding to DCI format 0_X/1_X.

The embodiment of the present application provides the above method, which controls the number of different DCI sizes between single DCI and legacy DCI through alignment. For example, the sum of the number of different lengths of different DCI sizes of single DCI and legacy DCI after alignment does not exceed 3. This method can ensure that the introduction of single DCI on the basis of legacy DCI still meets the DCI alignment length rules and is compatible with the current protocol regulations.

S603: The base station determines the length of the DCI size after alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information according to the DCI format indicated in the first configuration information and the DCI format configured in the second configuration information.

Specifically, the base station may refer to the description in S602 to determine the length of the DCI size after alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information. This embodiment of the present application will not be described in detail.

S604, the base station sends DCI according to the length of the DCI size aligned with the DCI format configured in the second configuration information; correspondingly, the terminal receives DCI according to the length of the DCI size aligned with the DCI format configured in the second configuration information. It can be understood that the DCI described in S604 and S305 is a general concept, which does not mean that S604 and S305 are the same DCI.

It is understandable that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the base station and the terminal include hardware structures and/or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

FIG8 and FIG9 are schematic diagrams of possible communication devices provided in the embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal or base station in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be one of the terminals 120a-120j shown in FIG1, or can be the base station 110a or 110j shown in FIG1. 110b may also be a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal or a base station.

As shown in Fig. 8, the communication device 800 includes a processing unit 810 and a transceiver unit 820. The communication device 800 is used to implement the functions of the terminal or base station in the method embodiments shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 6 above.

When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the terminal in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3: the transceiver unit 820 is used to receive the first configuration information; the processing unit 810 is used to determine the length of the DCI size after alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured by the L search space sets according to the first configuration information; the processing unit 810 is also used to receive DCI on the L search space sets using the transceiver unit 820 according to the length of the DCI size after alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured by the L search space sets.

In one possible design, the transceiver unit 820 is also used to receive second configuration information; the processing unit 810 is used to determine the length after the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information; the processing unit 810 is also used to receive DCI using the transceiver unit 820 based on the length after the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information.

When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the base station in the method embodiment shown in FIG3: the transceiver unit 820 is used to send the first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used to indicate the DCI format configured for each of the L search space sets. The processing unit 810 is used to send the DCI on the L search space sets using the transceiver unit 820 according to the length of the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured for the L search space sets.

In one possible design, the transceiver unit 820 is also used to send second configuration information; the processing unit 810 is used to determine the length after DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information based on the DCI format indicated in the first configuration information and the DCI format configured in the second configuration information; the processing unit 810 is also used to receive DCI using the transceiver unit 820 based on the length after DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information.

For a more detailed description of the processing unit 810 and the transceiver unit 820, reference may be made to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 3 .

As shown in FIG9 , the communication device 900 includes a processor 910 and an interface circuit 920. The processor 910 and the interface circuit 920 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 920 may be a transceiver or an input/output interface. Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include a memory 930 for storing instructions executed by the processor 910 or storing input data required by the processor 910 to execute instructions or storing data generated after the processor 910 executes instructions.

When the communication device 900 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 3 , the processor 910 is used to implement the function of the processing unit 810 , and the interface circuit 920 is used to implement the function of the transceiver unit 820 .

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

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

It is understandable that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can 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, register, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and the storage medium can also be present in a base station or a terminal as discrete components.

In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product may include one or more computer programs. Program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is executed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device or other programmable device. The computer program or instruction 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 instruction may be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center by wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; it may also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; it may also be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state hard disk. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or provided in a logical conflict, the terms and/or descriptions between the different embodiments are consistent and may be referenced to each other, and the technical features in the different embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

Claims

A method for transmitting downlink control information, characterized in that it is applied to a terminal device, comprising:

Receive first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used to indicate a DCI format configured for each search space set in L search space sets; wherein the DCI format configured for each search space set in the L search space sets includes a DCI format for scheduling multiple uplink carrier components and/or a DCI format for scheduling multiple downlink carrier components, and L is an integer greater than 1;

Determine, according to the first configuration information, a length after DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI formats configured by the L search space sets;

DCI is received on the L search space sets according to the lengths of the aligned DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats configured by the L search space sets.
The method as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that the DCI formats configured by the L search space sets are divided into K groups of DCI formats, each group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats corresponds to a length after DCI size alignment, and K is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to L.
The method according to claim 2, wherein k is an integer from 1 to K, and the length of a DCI size corresponding to the kth group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats after alignment is any one of the following:

The DCI size of the DCI format with the largest number of scheduled uplink carrier units in the kth group of DCI formats;

The DCI size of the DCI format with the largest number of scheduled downlink carriers in the kth group of DCI formats;

The maximum DCI size corresponding to the DCI format in the kth group of DCI formats.
The method according to claim 2 or 3 is characterized in that K is 2, the number of uplink carrier units or downlink carrier units scheduled by each DCI format in the first group of DCI formats of the K groups of DCI formats is less than or equal to N, and the number of downlink carriers scheduled by each DCI format in the second group of DCI formats of the K groups of DCI formats is greater than N; wherein N is the maximum number of uplink carrier units scheduled by the DCI format configured by the L search space sets.
The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that K is 2, the number of uplink carrier components or downlink carrier components scheduled by each DCI format in the first group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats is less than or equal to I, and the number of uplink carrier components or downlink carrier components scheduled by each DCI format in the second group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats is greater than I; wherein I is equal to represents a round-up symbol; N is the maximum number of uplink carrier components scheduled by the DCI format configured by the L search space sets or the maximum number of downlink carrier components scheduled by the DCI format configured by the L search space sets.
The method according to claim 2 or 3 is characterized in that the first configuration information includes DCI format group identification information corresponding to each search space set in the L search space sets, and the DCI format group identification information is used to indicate a group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats.
The method according to any one of claims 2-6 is characterized in that when one of the L search space sets is configured with a DCI format for scheduling a first number of uplink carrier units and a DCI format for scheduling a second number of downlink carrier units, the difference between the first number and the second number is less than or equal to a preset threshold.
The method according to any one of claims 2 to 7, further comprising:

Receive second configuration information, where the second configuration information is used to configure at least one of DCI format 0_2, DCI format 1_2, DCI format 0_1, and DCI format 1_1;

Determine, according to the first configuration information and the second configuration information, a length of the DCI size after alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information;

Receive DCI according to the length of the DCI size aligned with the DCI format configured in the second configuration information.
The method according to claim 8, characterized in that

When the DCI format 0_2 and the DCI format 1_2 are configured in the second configuration information, the length of the DCI format 1_2 after the DCI size alignment is the same as the length of the DCI format 1_0 after the DCI size alignment;

When the DCI format 0_1 and the DCI format 1_1 are configured in the second configuration information, the length of the DCI format 1_1 after the DCI size alignment is the same as the minimum length of the DCI formats of the K groups after the DCI size alignment;

When the DCI format 0_2, the DCI format 1_2, the DCI format 0_1 and the DCI format 1_1 are configured in the second configuration information, the length of the DCI format 1_2 after the DCI size alignment is the same as the length of the DCI format 1_1 after the DCI size alignment.
A method for transmitting downlink control information, characterized by comprising:

Sending first configuration information, wherein the first configuration information is used to indicate the configuration of each search space set in the L search space sets DCI format; wherein the DCI format configured for each of the L search space sets includes a DCI format for scheduling multiple uplink carrier components and/or a DCI format for scheduling multiple downlink carrier components, and L is an integer greater than 1;

The DCI is sent on the L search space sets according to the lengths of the aligned DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats configured by the L search space sets.
The method as claimed in claim 10 is characterized in that the DCI formats configured by the L search space sets are divided into K groups of DCI formats, each group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats corresponds to a length after DCI size alignment, and K is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to L.
The method according to claim 11, wherein k is an integer from 1 to K, and the length of a DCI size corresponding to the kth group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats after alignment is any one of the following:

The DCI size of the DCI format with the largest number of scheduled uplink carrier units in the kth group of DCI formats;

The DCI size of the DCI format with the largest number of scheduled downlink carriers in the kth group of DCI formats;

The maximum DCI size corresponding to the DCI format in the kth group of DCI formats.
The method according to claim 11 or 12 is characterized in that K is 2, the number of uplink carrier units or downlink carrier units scheduled by each DCI format in the first group of DCI formats of the K groups of DCI formats is less than or equal to N, and the number of downlink carriers scheduled by each DCI format in the second group of DCI formats of the K groups of DCI formats is greater than N; wherein N is the maximum number of uplink carrier units scheduled by the DCI format configured by the L search space sets.
The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that K is 2, the number of uplink carrier components or downlink carrier components scheduled by each DCI format in the first group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats is less than or equal to I, and the number of uplink carrier components or downlink carrier components scheduled by each DCI format in the second group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats is greater than I; wherein I is equal to represents a round-up symbol; N is the maximum number of uplink carrier components scheduled by the DCI format configured by the L search space sets or the maximum number of downlink carrier components scheduled by the DCI format configured by the L search space sets.
The method as claimed in claim 11 or 12 is characterized in that the first configuration information includes DCI format group identification information corresponding to each search space set in the L search space sets, and the DCI format group identification information is used to indicate a group of DCI formats in the K groups of DCI formats.
The method according to any one of claims 11-15 is characterized in that when one of the L search space sets is configured with a DCI format for scheduling a first number of uplink carrier units and a DCI format for scheduling a second number of downlink carrier units, the difference between the first number and the second number is less than or equal to a preset threshold.
The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, further comprising:

Sending second configuration information, where the second configuration information is used to configure at least one of DCI format 0_2, DCI format 1_2, DCI format 0_1, and DCI format 1_1;

Determine, according to the DCI format indicated in the first configuration information and the DCI format configured in the second configuration information, a length after the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information;

Send DCI according to the length after the DCI size alignment corresponding to the DCI format configured in the second configuration information.
The method according to claim 17, characterized in that

When the DCI format 0_2 and the DCI format 1_2 are configured in the second configuration information, the length of the DCI format 1_2 after the DCI size alignment is the same as the length of the DCI format 1_0 after the DCI size alignment;

When the DCI format 0_1 and the DCI format 1_1 are configured in the second configuration information, the length of the DCI format 1_1 after the DCI size alignment is the same as the minimum length of the DCI formats of the K groups after the DCI size alignment;

When the DCI format 0_2, the DCI format 1_2, the DCI format 0_1 and the DCI format 1_1 are configured in the second configuration information, the length of the DCI format 1_2 after the DCI size alignment is the same as the length of the DCI format 1_1 after the DCI size alignment.
A communication device, characterized by comprising a module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, or a module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 18.
A communication system, characterized by comprising a communication device for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, and a communication device for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 18.
A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a computer program or instruction is stored in the storage medium, and when the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9 or the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 18 is implemented.