Communication method and device

Abstract

The present application discloses a communication method and apparatus, wherein the method comprises: a terminal device receives first configuration information from an access network device, the first configuration information is used to configure M CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals, and the M CG resources are used by the terminal device to send uplink information when in a non-connected state; after the terminal device enters a non-connected state, it receives first reconfiguration information from the access network device, and the first reconfiguration information is used to update the downlink reference signals corresponding to some or all of the M CG resources. By adopting the above-mentioned method, by configuring M CG resources to correspond to N downlink reference signals, the receiving performance of the access network device can be effectively improved. The correspondence between the CG resources and the downlink reference signals is updated by the first reconfiguration information, so that when the terminal device moves in the RRC non-connected state, the correspondence can be adjusted in a timely and flexible manner to ensure data transmission of the terminal device in the RRC non-connected state.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0002] In the fifth generation (5G) communication system, terminal devices have three radio resource control (RRC) states: RRC-connected, RRC-idle, and RRC-inactive. A terminal device in the RRC-connected state can transmit data with an access network device, while a terminal device in the RRC-inactive state (or RRC-idle) needs to complete multiple information exchanges to enter the connected state before transmitting data with the access network device. In other words, a terminal device in the RRC-inactive state needs to first enter the RRC-connected state before transmitting data with the access network device.

[0003] To reduce power consumption of terminal devices in the RRC inactive state, a solution for small packet data transmission scenarios is currently available. This allows terminal devices to send uplink data to access network devices in the RRC inactive state, without having to enter the RRC connected state before sending uplink data. However, further research is needed to improve the reception performance of access network devices for small packet data transmission scenarios. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for improving the reception performance of an access network device in receiving uplink data sent by a terminal device on CG resources.

[0005] On the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is used to implement functions on the terminal device side. For example, the method can be applied to a terminal device or a chip in a terminal device. The embodiment of the present application is not limited to the specific execution subject of the method. Taking the application of this method to a terminal device as an example, in this method, the terminal device receives first configuration information from an access network device, and the first configuration information is used to configure M CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals. Optionally, when the terminal device is in a non-connected state, it can send uplink information on the CG resource according to the first configuration information. The uplink information can be information carried on the PUSCH and / or PUCCH.

[0006] Using the above method, the access network device can configure M CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals for the terminal device. Therefore, when the terminal device sends uplink data (such as small packet data) on the CG resource corresponding to a certain downlink reference signal, the access network device can use the corresponding receiving beam to receive the uplink data on the CG resource, thereby effectively improving the access network device's reception performance of uplink data.

[0007] In one possible design, after the terminal device enters the unconnected state, it may also receive first reconfiguration information from the access network device. The first reconfiguration information is used to update the downlink reference signals corresponding to some or all of the M CG resources; where M and N are positive integers. Optionally, the first reconfiguration information may be carried in a DCI, MAC CE, or RRC message; or, the first reconfiguration information may be carried in a message transmitted during a random access process, such as MsgB in a two-step random access process, or Msg2 or Msg4 in a four-step random access process.

[0008] Using the above method, the access network device can send the first reconfiguration information to the terminal device to update the correspondence between the CG resources and the downlink reference signal, so that when the terminal device moves in the RRC non-connected state, the correspondence between the CG resources and the downlink reference signal can be adjusted in a timely and flexible manner, so that after the terminal device selects the current downlink reference signal, it can have more CG resources to send uplink data to ensure data transmission of the terminal device in the RRC non-connected state.

[0009] In one possible design, when the first reconfiguration information is carried in a DCI, the DCI may further include second information, where the second information includes HARQ feedback information and / or scheduling information; the HARQ feedback information is used to indicate whether the uplink data of the terminal device is successfully received, and the scheduling information is used to schedule the PUSCH or PDSCH of the terminal device. Optionally, the uplink information includes the uplink data.

[0010] In one possible design, M CG resources correspond to N downlink reference signals, including at least one of the following: the M CG resources belong to one or more sets of CG resources, each CG resource belongs to one of the sets of CG resources, and each set of CG resources corresponds to one or more downlink reference signals among the N downlink reference signals; the M CG resources are located in one or more periods, each CG resource is located in one of the periods, and each period corresponds to one or more downlink reference signals among the N downlink reference signals; one or more CG resources among the M CG resources correspond to one or more downlink reference signals among the at least one downlink reference signal.

[0011] Using the above method, when the access network device configures M CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals, it can configure the correspondence according to a variety of possible granularities (for example, configuring the CG resources according to the granularity of "set", "cycle", "individual", etc.), so that the correspondence is more flexible, and the terminal device also has higher flexibility in selecting CG resources, which facilitates data transmission under RRC non-connection.

[0012] In one possible design, M CG resources belong to W sets of CG resources, the W sets of CG resources include a first set of CG resources, and the first configuration information includes at least one of the following: the type of downlink reference signal corresponding to the first set of CG resources, the identifier of the downlink reference signal corresponding to the first set of CG resources, and the measurement threshold of the downlink reference signal (such as a first threshold). When the measured value of a downlink reference signal is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the terminal device can use the CG resource corresponding to the downlink reference signal to send uplink data.

[0013] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving P downlink reference signals from an access network device, the P downlink reference signals including N downlink reference signals; where P is a positive integer and P is greater than or equal to N; and further, sending first information to the access network device based on measured values of the P downlink reference signals. Here, the first information may be used to request an update of a correspondence between CG resources and downlink reference signals.

[0014] Using the above method, the terminal device can actively request the access network device to update the correspondence between CG resources and downlink reference signals; for example, the access network device can update the correspondence according to the first information after receiving the first information. If the first information is not received, the correspondence can be temporarily not updated.

[0015] In one possible design, the N downlink reference signals include a first downlink reference signal; the method also includes: sending first information to the access network device on the CG resource corresponding to the first downlink reference signal.

[0016] In one possible design, the method also includes: sending uplink data to the access network device on the CG resource corresponding to the first downlink reference signal.

[0017] By adopting the above method, the terminal device can send the first information and uplink data together with the CG resources corresponding to the first downlink reference signal, thereby making more effective use of the CG resources.

[0018] In one possible design, before sending the first information to the access network device on the CG resource corresponding to the first downlink reference signal, the method also includes: selecting the first downlink reference signal from the N downlink reference signals based on the measurement values of the N downlink reference signals; wherein the measurement value of the first downlink reference signal is greater than or equal to the first threshold; or, the measurement value of the first downlink reference signal is greater than or equal to the measurement values of other downlink reference signals in the N downlink reference signals.

[0019] In one possible design, the P downlink reference signals include a second downlink reference signal, and the measured value of the second downlink reference signal is greater than the measured value of the first downlink reference signal; the first information includes the measured value of the first downlink reference signal and the measured value of the second downlink reference signal; or, the first information includes an index of the second downlink reference signal; or, the first information includes the measured values of the P downlink reference signals.

[0020] In one possible design, M CG resources include a first CG resource, and the first configuration information is used to configure the first CG resource and the first CG resource corresponding to the first downlink reference signal; the first reconfiguration information is used to configure the first CG resource to correspond to the second downlink reference signal.

[0021] In one possible design, the M CG resources also include a second CG resource, and the first configuration information is used to configure the second CG resource and the second CG resource to correspond to the second downlink reference signal; the first reconfiguration information is also used to configure the second CG resource to correspond to the first downlink reference signal.

[0022] In one possible design, the P downlink reference signals include a third downlink reference signal; the method further includes: initiating a random access process based on the random access resources corresponding to the third downlink reference signal; the first information is carried in a first message, and the first message is used for the random access process.

[0023] In one possible design, M CG resources include a third CG resource, and the first configuration information is used to configure the third CG resource and the third CG resource corresponding to the fourth downlink reference signal; the first reconfiguration information is used to configure the third CG resource to correspond to the third downlink reference signal.

[0024] In one possible design, the M CG resources also include a fourth CG resource, and the first configuration information is used to configure the fourth CG resource and the fourth CG resource corresponding to the third downlink reference signal; the first reconfiguration information is also used to configure the fourth CG resource to correspond to the fourth downlink reference signal.

[0025] In one possible design, the M CG resources include a fifth CG resource, and the HARQ process number corresponding to the fifth CG resource is obtained based on a first bias, and the first bias is determined based on a downlink reference signal corresponding to the fifth CG resource.

[0026] Using the above method, since the HARQ process number corresponding to the CG resource is related to the downlink reference signal corresponding to the CG resource, it is convenient to increase the number of CG resources corresponding to a certain HARQ process number, that is, increase the selection opportunities of the terminal device and reduce the transmission delay of the uplink data.

[0027] In one possible design, the method also includes: receiving second configuration information from the access network device, the second configuration information being used to configure the maximum number of retransmissions of the HARQ process corresponding to the HARQ process number and / or the effective duration of the HARQ process corresponding to the HARQ process number.

[0028] The above-mentioned method can effectively avoid the terminal device from performing excessive retransmissions in the HARQ process corresponding to the HARQ process number, thereby wasting resources.

[0029] On the second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is used to implement functions on the access network device side, for example, it can be applied to the access network device or a chip in the access network device. The embodiment of the present application is not limited to the specific execution subject of the method. Taking the application of this method to the access network device as an example, in this method, the access network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device, and the first configuration information is used to configure M configuration authorization CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals, and the M CG resources are used to receive uplink information from the terminal device when the terminal device is in a non-connected state; after the terminal device enters the non-connected state, the access network device can receive uplink information on the CG resources according to the first configuration information.

[0030] In one possible design, when the terminal device is in a non-connected state, the access network device can send first reconfiguration information to the terminal device, and the first reconfiguration information is used to update the downlink reference signal corresponding to some or all of the M CG resources; wherein M and N are positive integers.

[0031] For the introduction of M configuration authorization CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals, as well as the first reconfiguration information, please refer to the first aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0032] In one possible design, sending first reconfiguration information to a terminal device includes: receiving first information from the terminal device; and sending first reconfiguration information to the terminal device based on the first information.

[0033] In one possible design, the N downlink reference signals include a first downlink reference signal; the method also includes: receiving first information from the terminal device on a CG resource corresponding to the first downlink reference signal.

[0034] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving uplink data from the terminal device on a CG resource corresponding to the first downlink reference signal.

[0035] In one possible design, the measured value of the first downlink reference signal is greater than or equal to a first threshold; or, the measured value of the first downlink reference signal is greater than or equal to measured values of other downlink reference signals among the N downlink reference signals.

[0036] In one possible design, the method also includes: sending P downlink reference signals, the P downlink reference signals including N downlink reference signals; wherein P is a positive integer and P is greater than or equal to N; the P downlink reference signals include a second downlink reference signal; the first information includes a measured value of the first downlink reference signal and a measured value of the second downlink reference signal, the measured value of the second downlink reference signal being greater than the measured value of the first downlink reference signal; or, the first information includes an index of the second downlink reference signal; or, the first information includes the measured values of the P downlink reference signals.

[0037] In one possible design, M CG resources include a first CG resource, and the first configuration information is used to configure the first CG resource and the first CG resource corresponding to the first downlink reference signal; the first reconfiguration information is used to configure the first CG resource to correspond to the second downlink reference signal.

[0038] In one possible design, the M CG resources also include a second CG resource, and the first configuration information is used to configure the second CG resource and the second CG resource corresponding to the second downlink reference signal; the first reconfiguration information is also used to configure the second CG resource to correspond to the first downlink reference signal.

[0039] In one possible design, the method also includes: sending P downlink reference signals, the P downlink reference signals including N downlink reference signals; wherein P is a positive integer, and P is greater than or equal to N; the P downlink reference signals include a third downlink reference signal; the first information is carried in a first message, the first message is used for a random access process, and the resources used to carry the first message are random access resources corresponding to the third downlink reference signal.

[0040] In one possible design, M CG resources include a third CG resource, and the first configuration information is used to configure the third CG resource and the third CG resource corresponding to the fourth downlink reference signal; the first reconfiguration information is used to configure the third CG resource to correspond to the third downlink reference signal.

[0041] In one possible design, the M CG resources also include a fourth CG resource, and the first configuration information is used to configure the fourth CG resource and the fourth CG resource corresponding to the third downlink reference signal; the first reconfiguration information is also used to configure the fourth CG resource to correspond to the fourth downlink reference signal.

[0042] In one possible design, the M CG resources include a fifth CG resource, and the HARQ process number corresponding to the fifth CG resource is obtained based on a first bias, and the first bias is determined based on a downlink reference signal corresponding to the fifth CG resource.

[0043] In one possible design, the method also includes: sending second configuration information to the terminal device, the second configuration information being used to configure the maximum number of retransmissions of the HARQ process corresponding to the HARQ process number and / or the effective duration of the HARQ process corresponding to the HARQ process number.

[0044] It should be noted that the method described in the above-mentioned second aspect corresponds to the method described in the first aspect. The beneficial effects of the relevant technical features in the method described in the second aspect can be found in the description of the first aspect, and the details will not be repeated here.

[0045] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal device or a chip that can be disposed within a terminal device. The communication device has the functions of implementing the first aspect described above. For example, the communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to executing the steps involved in the first aspect described above. The functions, units, or means may be implemented through software or hardware, or may be implemented through hardware executing the corresponding software implementation.

[0046] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The communication unit can be used to send and receive signals to enable communication between the communication device and other devices, for example, the communication unit is used to receive configuration information from an access network device; and the processing unit can be used to perform certain internal operations of the communication device. The functions performed by the processing unit and the communication unit can correspond to the operations described in the first aspect above.

[0047] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and may also include a transceiver, the transceiver being used to transmit and receive signals, and the processor uses the transceiver to perform the method in any possible design or implementation of the first aspect. The communication device may also include one or more memories, the memories being used to couple with the processor, and the memories being used to store computer programs or instructions that implement the functions involved in the first aspect. The processor may execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memories, and when the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method in any possible design or implementation of the first aspect.

[0048] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor, which may be coupled to a memory. The memory may store a computer program or instructions for implementing the functions of the first aspect. The processor may execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design or implementation of the first aspect.

[0049] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method in any possible design or implementation of the first aspect above.

[0050] In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication device, which may be an access network device or a chip that can be disposed within the access network device. The communication device is capable of implementing the functions of the second aspect described above. For example, the communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to performing the operations involved in the second aspect described above. The modules, units, or means may be implemented through software or hardware, or may be implemented through hardware executing corresponding software implementations.

[0051] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The communication unit can be used to send and receive signals to enable communication between the communication device and other devices, for example, the communication unit is used to receive uplink information from a terminal device; and the processing unit can be used to perform certain internal operations of the communication device. The functions performed by the processing unit and the communication unit can correspond to the operations involved in the second aspect described above.

[0052] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and may also include a transceiver, the transceiver being used to transmit and receive signals, and the processor uses the transceiver to perform the method in any possible design or implementation of the second aspect. The communication device may also include one or more memories, the memories being used to couple with the processor, and the memories being used to store computer programs or instructions that implement the functions involved in the second aspect. The processor may execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memories, and when the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method in any possible design or implementation of the second aspect.

[0053] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor, which may be coupled to a memory. The memory may store a computer program or instructions that implement the functions of the second aspect. The processor may execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design or implementation of the second aspect.

[0054] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method in any possible design or implementation of the second aspect above.

[0055] It can be understood that in the third aspect or the fourth aspect above, the processor can be implemented by hardware or by software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc.; when implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, which is implemented by reading the software code stored in the memory. In addition, the above processors can be one or more, and the memories can be one or more. The memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor can be set separately. In the specific implementation process, the memory can be integrated with the processor on the same chip, or can be set on different chips respectively. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of memory and the setting method of the memory and the processor.

[0056] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the communication device described in the third aspect and the communication device described in the fourth aspect.

[0057] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer-readable instructions are stored. When a computer reads and executes the computer-readable instructions, the computer executes the method in any possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect mentioned above.

[0058] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product. When a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the computer executes the method in any possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect mentioned above.

[0059] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory and is used to read and execute a software program stored in the memory to implement a method in any possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0060] These and other aspects of the present application will become more readily apparent from the description of the following embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] Figures 1 to 3 A schematic diagram of a network architecture applicable to embodiments of the present application;

[0062] Figure 4 An example diagram of a terminal device transitioning between three RRC states provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of SSB provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a synchronous burst set provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] Figure 7 An example diagram of the correspondence between SSB and RO provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of two random access processes provided in embodiments of the present application;

[0067] Figure 9 This is a flow chart corresponding to the communication method provided in Example 1 of the present application;

[0068] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the beam corresponding to SSB provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] Figures 11 to 13 Schematic diagram of the correspondence between CG resources and downlink reference signals provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] Figure 14 This is a flow chart corresponding to the communication method provided in Example 2 of the present application;

[0071] Figure 15 A schematic diagram of the correspondence between CG resources and downlink reference signals provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] Figure 16A possible exemplary block diagram of the apparatus involved in the embodiments of the present application;

[0073] Figure 17 A schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] Figure 18 A schematic diagram of the structure of an access network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0075] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0076] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as long-term evolution (LTE) systems, fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication systems, wireless-fidelity (WiFi) systems, future communication systems, or systems integrating multiple communication systems, etc., without limitation in the embodiments of the present application. 5G can also be referred to as new radio (NR).

[0077] The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to communication between communication devices. Communication between communication devices may include but is not limited to: communication between access network devices and terminal devices, communication between access network devices and access network devices, and / or communication between terminal devices and terminal devices. In the embodiment of the present application, the term "communication" can also be described as "transmission", "information transmission", "data transmission", or "signal transmission", etc. Transmission may include sending and / or receiving. The technical solution of the embodiment of the present application is described by taking the communication between access network devices and terminal devices as an example. Those skilled in the art may also use this technical solution for communication between other scheduling entities and subordinate entities, such as communication between a macro base station and a micro base station, such as communication between a first terminal device and a second terminal device. Among them, the scheduling entity can allocate wireless resources, such as air interface resources, to the subordinate entity.

[0078] First, some of the terms used in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0079] (1) Terminal device: This can be referred to as a terminal. It is a wireless terminal device that can communicate wirelessly with access network devices. For example, it can receive scheduling information and instructions from access network devices. A wireless terminal device can be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users, or a handheld device with wireless connection capabilities, or other processing devices. The terminal device can communicate with one or more core networks or the Internet via a radio access network (RAN).

[0080] The terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.). The terminal device can be user equipment (UE). Among them, UE includes handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices or computing devices with wireless communication functions. Exemplarily, UE can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer or a computer with wireless transceiver functions. The terminal device can also be a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. In the embodiment of the present application, the device for realizing the function of the terminal device can be a terminal device; it can also be a device that can support the terminal device to realize the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal device or used in combination with the terminal device. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices. Taking the terminal device as an example, the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application is described.

[0081] (2) Access network equipment: It can be a device in a wireless network. For example, the access network equipment can be a RAN node that connects a terminal device to a wireless network, and can also be called a RAN device or a base station. Some examples of access network equipment are: next generation Node B (gNodeB), transmission reception point (TRP), evolved node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), base band unit (BBU), or wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP). In one network structure, the access network equipment can be a centralized unit (CU) node, a distributed unit (DU) node, or an access network equipment including a CU node and a DU node. In other possible cases, the access network equipment can be other devices that provide wireless communication functions for the terminal device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the access network device. For the convenience of description, in the embodiments of the present application, the device that provides wireless communication functions for the terminal device is called the access network device. In the embodiments of the present application, the device for realizing the function of the access network device can be the access network device; it can also be a device that can support the access network device to realize the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the access network device or used in combination with the access network device. Taking the device for realizing the function of the access network device as the access network device as an example, the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application is described.

[0082] (3) The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application can be used interchangeably. "At least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, "at least one of A, B and C" includes A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A, B and C. Unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the number, order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects.

[0083] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a network architecture applicable to the embodiment of this application. Figure 1 As shown, the terminal device can access the wireless network to obtain services of the external network (such as the Internet) through the wireless network, or communicate with other devices through the wireless network, such as communicating with other terminal devices. The wireless network includes a RAN and a core network (CN), wherein the RAN is used to access the terminal device (such as the terminal device 1301 or the terminal device 1302) to the wireless network, and the CN is used to manage the terminal device and provide a gateway for communicating with the external network.

[0084] The RAN may include one or more access network devices, such as access network device 1101 and access network device 1102 .

[0085] The CN may include one or more CN devices, such as CN device 120. Figure 1 When the network architecture shown is applicable to a 5G communication system, the CN may include an access and mobility management function (AMF) entity, a session management function (SMF) entity, and a user plane function (UPF) entity.

[0086] It should be understood that Figure 1 The number of devices in the communication system shown is for illustration only, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. In actual applications, the communication system may further include more terminal devices, more access network devices, and other devices.

[0087] Figure 2 This is another network architecture diagram applicable to the embodiment of this application. Figure 2 As shown, the network architecture includes CN equipment, access network equipment, and terminal equipment. The access network equipment includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device, wherein the baseband device can be implemented by one node or multiple nodes, and the radio frequency device can be implemented independently from the baseband device, or integrated into the baseband device, or some functions can be integrated independently and some functions can be integrated into the baseband device. For example, in an LTE communication system, the access network equipment includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device, wherein the radio frequency device can be arranged remotely relative to the baseband device, for example, a remote radio unit (RRU) is a remote wireless unit arranged relative to the BBU.

[0088] Communication between access network equipment and terminal devices follows a specific protocol layer structure. For example, the control plane protocol layer structure may include the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, and physical layer. The user plane protocol layer structure may include the functions of the PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, and physical layer. In one possible implementation, the user plane protocol layer structure may also include a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer above the PDCP layer.

[0089] The access network device can implement the functions of the protocol layers such as the RRC layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer and physical layer by one node, or can implement the functions of these protocol layers by multiple nodes. For example, in an evolutionary structure, the access network device can include CU and DU, and multiple DUs can be centrally controlled by one CU. Figure 2 As shown, CU and DU can be divided according to the protocol layers of the wireless network, for example, the functions of the PDCP layer and above protocol layers are set in CU, and the functions of the protocol layers below PDCP, such as the RLC layer, MAC layer and physical layer, are set in DU.

[0090] This protocol layer division is merely an example. Division can also be performed at other protocol layers, such as the RLC layer, where functions at and above the RLC layer are located in the CU, while functions at layers below the RLC layer are located in the DU. Alternatively, division can be performed within a specific protocol layer, such as where some functions at the RLC layer and functions at layers above the RLC layer are located in the CU, while the remaining functions at the RLC layer and functions at layers below the RLC layer are located in the DU. Furthermore, division can be performed in other ways, such as by latency, where functions that require processing time to meet latency requirements are located in the DU, while functions that do not require latency requirements are located in the CU.

[0091] In addition, the radio frequency device can be independently integrated and not placed in the DU, or it can be integrated in the DU, or part of it can be remotely located and part of it can be integrated in the DU. There is no limitation here.

[0092] Figure 3 This is another network architecture diagram applicable to the embodiment of this application. Figure 2 The network architecture shown, Figure 3 The control plane (CP) and user plane (UP) of the CU can also be separated and implemented into different entities, namely the control plane (CP) CU entity (i.e., CU-CP entity) and the user plane (UP) CU entity (i.e., CU-UP entity).

[0093] In the above network architecture, signaling generated by the CU can be sent to the terminal device via the DU, and vice versa. For example, signaling from the RRC or PDCP layer is ultimately processed into PHY layer signaling and sent to the terminal device, or converted from received PHY layer signaling. In this architecture, the RRC or PDCP layer signaling can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or by the DU and RF payload.

[0094] above Figure 1 、 Figure 2 or Figure 3The network architecture shown can be applicable to communication systems of various radio access technologies (RATs), for example, a 4G communication system, a 5G communication system, or a transition system between a 4G communication system and a 5G communication system, which may also be referred to as a 4.5G communication system, and of course, a future communication system. The network architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. It is understood by those skilled in the art that with the evolution of communication network architectures and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0095] The devices in the following embodiments of the present application may be located in a terminal device or an access network device, depending on the functions they implement. When the above CU-DU structure is adopted, the access network device may be a CU, a DU, or an access network device including a CU and a DU.

[0096] The following first explains the relevant technical features involved in the embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that these explanations are intended to make the embodiments of the present application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed by the present application.

[0097] 1. RRC status of terminal equipment

[0098] exist Figure 1 、 Figure 2 or Figure 3 In the illustrated network architecture, a terminal device can establish an RRC connection with an access network device. Once an RRC connection is established with the access network device, the terminal device enters the RRC connected state. Subsequently, the RRC state of the terminal device can transition between the following states: RRC idle state, RRC connected state, and RRC inactive state.

[0099] First, the three RRC states of the terminal device are introduced:

[0100] (1)RRC connected state

[0101] For example, when a terminal device is in an RRC connected state, there is an RRC connection between the terminal device and the access network device. At this point, the access network device knows that the terminal device is within the coverage range of the access network device or within the management range of the access network device. For example, the access network device knows that the terminal device is within the coverage range of the cell managed by the access network device. The core network knows which access network device the terminal device is within the coverage range or management range, and the core network knows which access network device can be used to locate or find the terminal device.

[0102] Furthermore, when the terminal device is in the RRC connection state, the access network device and the terminal device can transmit data channels and / or control channels specific to the terminal device, thereby transmitting specific information or unicast information of the terminal device. For example, the access network device can send a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and / or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) specific to the terminal device to the terminal device, and / or the terminal device can send a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and / or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) specific to the terminal device to the access network device. The terminal device can receive an uplink scheduling indication or a downlink scheduling indication sent by the access network device through the PDCCH. The terminal device can send hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information to the access network device through the PUCCH to indicate the demodulation status of the downlink data by the terminal device.

[0103] (2)RRC idle state

[0104] For example, when the terminal device is in the RRC idle state, the RRC connection between the terminal device and the access network is released. At this time, the terminal device can receive paging messages, broadcast channels, and / or system information from the access network device.

[0105] Furthermore, when the terminal device is in the RRC idle state, the access network device may not know whether the terminal device is within the coverage of the access network device or the management scope of the access network device. For example, the access network device may not know whether the terminal device is within the coverage of the cell managed by the access network device; the core network may not know which access network device the terminal device is within the coverage or management scope, and the core network may not know through which access network device the terminal device can be located or found.

[0106] (3)RRC inactive state

[0107] For example, when a terminal device is in an RRC inactive state, there is no RRC connection between the terminal device and the access network device. At this time, the access network device may not know whether the terminal device is within the coverage area of the access network device or within the management area of the access network device. For example, the access network device may not know whether the terminal device is within the coverage area of the cell managed by the access network device. The core network may know which access network device(s) the terminal device is within the coverage area or management area, and may know which access network device(s) can be used to locate or find the terminal device.

[0108] Furthermore, when the terminal device is in the RRC inactive state, the terminal device can receive paging messages, synchronization signals, broadcast messages, and / or system information from the access network device.

[0109] In the embodiment of the present application, the RRC inactive state and the RRC idle state may be collectively referred to as the RRC non-connected state.

[0110] Figure 4 This is an example diagram of the terminal device switching between the three RRC states mentioned above. Figure 4 As shown, the following possible conversion scenarios can be included:

[0111] (1)RRC connected state →RRC idle state

[0112] Exemplarily, the access network device may send an RRC connection release (RRC connection release) message to the terminal device, so that the terminal device switches from an RRC connected state to an RRC idle state.

[0113] (2)RRC connected state →RRC inactive state

[0114] Exemplarily, the access network device may send an RRC connection suspend message or an RRC connection release message to the terminal device, so that the terminal device is converted from an RRC connected state to an RRC inactive state.

[0115] (3)RRC Idle State →RRC Connected State

[0116] Exemplarily, the terminal device can convert the terminal device from the RRC idle state to the RRC connected state through the RRC connection establishment process with the access network device. The RRC establishment process can be triggered by the upper layer of the terminal device. For example, when the terminal device has a need to send uplink data, the upper layer of the terminal device triggers the RRC establishment process. Alternatively, the RRC establishment process can also be triggered by the access network device. For example, when the terminal device is in the RRC idle state, the access network device sends a paging message to the terminal device, and the paging message includes the identifier of the terminal device. Accordingly, after the terminal device receives the paging message from the access network device, it triggers the RRC establishment process.

[0117] Specifically, the RRC connection establishment process may be that the terminal device sends an RRC connection establishment request (RRC connection request) message to the access network device. After the access network device receives the request message, if the access network device sends an RRC connection establishment (RRC connection setup) message to the terminal device, it means that the access network device agrees to the access of the terminal device, and the RRC state of the terminal device can be converted to an RRC connected state. If the access network device sends an RRC connection reject (RRC connection reject) message to the terminal device, it means that the access network device rejects the access of the terminal device, and the RRC state of the terminal device continues to remain in the RRC idle state.

[0118] (4)RRC inactive state →RRC connected state

[0119] Exemplarily, when the terminal device is in the RRC inactive state, the RRC state of the terminal device can be converted to the RRC connected state through the RRC connection establishment or RRC connection recovery process.

[0120] In the RRC inactive state, after the terminal device receives a paging message from the access network device or is triggered by the upper layer of the terminal device, the terminal device can initiate an RRC recovery process to attempt to restore the RRC connection with the access network device to enter the RRC connected state. For example, the RRC recovery process between the terminal device and the access network device includes: the terminal device sends an RRC connection resume request message to the access network device, and after receiving the request: the access network device sends an RRC connection establishment message or an RRC connection recovery message to the terminal device, so that the state of the terminal device can be converted to the RRC connected state; or, the access network device sends an RRC release message to the terminal device, so that the state of the terminal device is converted from the RRC inactive state to the RRC idle state; or, the access network device sends an RRC connection rejection message to the terminal device, so that the terminal device continues to stay in the RRC inactive state.

[0121] (5)RRC inactive state →RRC idle state

[0122] Exemplarily, when the terminal device is in the RRC inactive state, the access network device can convert the terminal device from the RRC inactive state to the RRC idle state through a release process.

[0123] 2. Beam

[0124] Since communication systems (such as 5G communication systems or future communication systems) will adopt higher carrier frequencies (for example, greater than or equal to 6 gigahertz (GHz)), such as 28GHz, 38GHz, or 72GHz frequency bands, to achieve wireless communication with larger bandwidth and higher transmission rate. However, the wireless signals in these carrier frequencies may experience more severe fading during spatial propagation, and it may even be difficult to detect the wireless signals at the receiving end. Therefore, beamforming (BF) technology will be used in this communication system to obtain a beam with good directivity to improve antenna gain and increase the power in the transmission direction. Beamforming in this communication system is not limited to high frequency bands, but can also be applied to low frequency bands less than 6GHz.

[0125] A beam can be understood as a communication resource. A beam can be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other types of beams. Different beams can be considered as different communication resources, and the same information or different information can be sent through different beams. Beams include transmit beams and receive beams. A transmit beam can refer to the distribution of signal strength formed in different directions in space when a signal is transmitted through an antenna. A receive beam can refer to the distribution of wireless signals received by an antenna array in different directions in space to strengthen or weaken the signal. Among them, the transmit beam can be achieved by configuring a transmit filter, and the receive beam can be achieved by configuring a receive filter. The filter described in the embodiment of the present application may include a digital filter, an analog filter, or a digital-analog hybrid filter, without specific limitation.

[0126] For example, the access network device uses transmit beam x to send a downlink reference signal. Correspondingly, the terminal device can use receive beam y to receive the downlink reference signal. In this case, transmit beam x and receive beam y can be understood as a beam pair. Furthermore, if the measurement value of the downlink reference signal received by the terminal device using receive beam y is larger, then based on the reciprocity of the spatial channel, the access network device uses receive beam x' to receive the signal sent by the terminal device, and the reception performance is also better. Among them, receive beam x' has a high correlation with transmit beam x, that is, the parameters of the receive filter corresponding to receive beam x' and the transmit filter corresponding to transmit beam x are the same or highly close, which is reflected in the result that the shaping effect of receive beam x' is the same or similar to that of transmit beam x.

[0127] 3. SSB

[0128] exist Figure 1 、 Figure 2 or Figure 3 In the network architecture shown, the terminal device can synchronize with the access network device and obtain system information by receiving the synchronous signal / physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH block, also referred to as SSB) sent by the access network device.

[0129] (1) Composition of SSB

[0130] In the embodiment of the present application, the SSB may include a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) and a physical broadcast channel ( physical broadcast channel , PBCH). Figure 5 As shown in the figure, in the time domain, one SSB occupies four orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, which are denoted as symbols 0 to 3. In the frequency domain, one SSB occupies 20 resource blocks (RBs) (one RB includes 12 subcarriers), that is, 240 subcarriers, and the subcarriers are numbered from 0 to 239. The PSS is located on the middle 127 subcarriers of symbol 0, and the SSS is located on the middle 127 subcarriers of symbol 2. In order to protect the PSS and SSS, there are different protection subcarriers. The protection subcarriers are not used to carry signals. Subcarriers are reserved on both sides of the SSS as protection subcarriers, as shown in the figure. Figure 5The blank areas on both sides of the SSS in the PBCH are the guard subcarriers. The PBCH occupies all subcarriers in symbols 1 and 3, and a portion of the remaining subcarriers in symbol 2, excluding those occupied by the SSS (i.e., the remaining subcarriers excluding the guard subcarriers).

[0131] (2) SSB transmission mechanism

[0132] For a cell (or carrier), the access network equipment can send SSB through different transmission beams at different times to complete the broadcast beam coverage of the cell. Figure 6 As shown, the access network device sends SSB#0 through transmission beam 0, sends SSB#1 through transmission beam 1, sends SSB#2 through transmission beam 2, and so on; at this time, it can be understood that transmission beam 0 corresponds to SSB#0, transmission beam 1 corresponds to SSB#1, and transmission beam 2 corresponds to SSB#2.

[0133] The set of SSBs sent by an access network device during a beam scan is called a synchronization signal burst set (SS burst set) or SSB burst set. The period of an SS burst set is equivalent to the period of the SSB corresponding to a specific beam and can be configured to 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms, or 160ms.

[0134] For example, there are a maximum of 4, 8, or 64 SSBs in an SS burst set within the authorized spectrum. When the carrier frequency band is less than or equal to 3 GHz, there are a maximum of 4 SSBs in an SS burst set. Each SS burst set is within a 5 ms time interval. For a schematic diagram of an SS burst set, please refer to Figure 6 , Figure 6 For example, the period of an SS burst set is 20 ms, and an SS burst set includes P SSBs, where P is a positive integer. Figure 6 In the example, the P SSBs are located within a 5ms period within the 20ms.

[0135] (3) SSB corresponds to the random access channel (RACH) occasion (abbreviated as RO)

[0136] The access network device may indicate the correspondence between the SSB and the RO to the terminal device. For example, the network device may indicate the correspondence between the SSB and the RO to the terminal device through system information. In other possible examples, the correspondence between the SSB and the RO may also be predefined by the protocol. The RO can be understood as a random access resource or random access opportunity, that is, a time-frequency resource used to carry a random access preamble.

[0137] For example, when the access network device indicates the correspondence between SSB and RO to the terminal device, it may indicate the number of SSBs corresponding to one RO and the number of candidate preamble codes corresponding to one SSB in one RO. The following takes an SSB burstset including four SSBs (SSB1 to SSB4) and the frequency division multiplexing parameter of the RO as 4 (i.e., four ROs are frequency-division multiplexed in one time unit) as an example to describe the correspondence between SSB and RO in combination with two examples.

[0138] Example 1, see Figure 7 As shown in (a) in the figure, the access network device indicates that the number of SSBs corresponding to one RO is oneEighth, and the number of candidate preamble codes corresponding to one SSB in one RO is four. In this case, the number of SSBs corresponding to one RO is 1 / 8, that is, eight ROs correspond to one SSB. Therefore, the eight ROs in the first two time units correspond to SSB1, the eight ROs in the next two time units correspond to SSB2, and so on. The index of the preamble codes corresponding to each RO is 0 to 3. When the terminal device measures a high value for SSB1, it can select any RO from the eight ROs corresponding to SSB1 and send any preamble code with an index of 0 to 3.

[0139] In Example 2, see Figure 7As shown in (b), the access network device indicates that the number of SSBs corresponding to one RO is two, and the number of candidate preamble codes corresponding to one SSB in one RO is 16. In this case, the number of SSBs corresponding to one RO is 2. Therefore, the RO at the first frequency domain position in the first time unit corresponds to SSB1 and SSB2, the RO at the second frequency domain position in the first time unit corresponds to SSB3 and SSB4, the RO at the third frequency domain position in the first time unit corresponds to SSB1 and SSB2, the RO at the fourth frequency domain position in the first time unit corresponds to SSB3 and SSB4, and so on. In addition, the preamble codes corresponding to SSB1 have indices of 0 to 15, the preamble codes corresponding to SSB2 have indices of 16 to 31, the preamble codes corresponding to SSB3 have indices of 0 to 15, and the preamble codes corresponding to SSB4 have indices of 16 to 31. When the terminal device measures a higher value for SSB1, it can choose to send any preamble code with an index of 0 to 15 on any RO corresponding to SSB1.

[0140] It should be noted that the time unit involved in the above two examples may include one or more symbols, or one or more time slots, and the specific length of the time unit may not be limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0141] Based on the description of the above-mentioned relevant technical features, for terminal devices in the RRC non-connected state (taking the RRC non-activated state as an example), before Release 16 (Release 16) of the mobile communications standardization organization 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), terminal devices in the RRC non-activated state are not supported for unicast data transmission, that is, the terminal device needs to restore the RRC connection and enter the RRC connected state before it can perform unicast data transmission. However, in some scenarios, the data packets that need to be transmitted by the terminal device in the RRC non-activated state are usually very small (that is, small data packets). If the terminal device performs an RRC connection establishment process every time it performs data transmission in order to enter the RRC connected state from the RRC non-activated state, it will cause unnecessary power consumption and signaling overhead.

[0142] Among them, there can be many small packet data transmission scenarios, which can specifically cover smartphone-related services, such as instant messaging of WeChat or QQ, heartbeat packets or push messages of applications (APP); and non-smartphone-related services, such as periodic data of wearable devices (such as heartbeat packets), periodic data sent by industrial wireless sensor networks, etc. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the specific size of the small packet data may not be limited. For example, a data packet of 100 to 300 bytes can be considered as a small packet data. For example, a data packet that can be sent in a time slot can be considered as a small packet data (for example, a time slot with a bandwidth resource of 5M and a subcarrier spacing of 30kHz, if modulated by quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), can transmit approximately 500 bytes). For example, the user plane data packet and / or control plane data packet sent when the RRC is not activated can be considered as a small packet data.

[0143] For small packet data transmission scenarios, the terminal device can be supported to transmit small packet data when the RRC is not activated without state transition, thereby significantly reducing signaling overhead and power consumption of the terminal device.

[0144] Exemplarily, the terminal device performs packet data transmission when the RRC is in an inactive state, which can be achieved specifically through the following two methods.

[0145] (1) Data transmission based on random access (RA)

[0146] Different from traditional random access, data transmission based on random access means that the terminal device sends uplink data to the access network device during the random access process (for simplicity, the data described below in the embodiments of this application represent user plane data unless otherwise specified) or receives downlink data.

[0147] Exemplarily, the random access procedure may include a four-step random access procedure and a two-step random access procedure. The terminal device may send uplink data via message 3 (Msg3) in the four-step random access procedure, or receive downlink data via message 4 (Msg4); alternatively, the terminal device may send uplink data via message A (MsgA) in the two-step random access procedure, or receive downlink data via message B (MsgB).

[0148] Figure 8 (a) is a schematic diagram of a four-step random access process provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 As shown in (a) in FIG, the four-step random access process may include:

[0149] S8011, the terminal device sends a random access preamble (preamble) to the access network device through the physical random access channel (PRACH), that is, sends message 1 (Msg1) to the access network device.

[0150] Exemplarily, the preamble may be a sequence used by the access network device to determine the timing advance (TA) amount of the terminal device.

[0151] S8012: After detecting the random access preamble sent by the terminal device, the access network device sends a random access response (RAR) to the terminal device, that is, sends a message 2 (Msg2) to the terminal device. Message 2 may indicate the resource location of the PUSCH.

[0152] S8013: The terminal device sends message 3 to the access network device via the PUSCH according to the PUSCH resource location indicated by message 2. Message 3 may include uplink data, such as uplink packet data, and optionally, may also include an identifier of the terminal device.

[0153] S8014, the access network device receives message 3 and sends message 4 to the terminal device. Message 4 may include feedback information for informing the terminal device whether the uplink data is successfully received.

[0154] It should be noted that the PRACH resources, preamble, and RAR receiving resources involved in the four-step random access process can all be configured by the access network device for the terminal device. For example, the access network device can configure dedicated resources for the terminal device when the terminal device is in a connected state, or it can broadcast the resources for contention in a system message.

[0155] Figure 8 (b) is a schematic diagram of a two-step random access process provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 As shown in (b) in FIG. , the two-step random access process may include:

[0156] S8021: The terminal device sends message A to the access network device. Specifically, the terminal device sends a random access preamble to the access network device via the PRACH, and sends uplink data (such as uplink packet data) to the access network device via the corresponding PUSCH. Optionally, the terminal device identifier may also be sent.

[0157] S8022: After receiving message A, the access network device sends message B to the terminal device. Message B may include RAR, which may include feedback information of message A, used to inform the terminal device whether the uplink data is successfully received.

[0158] It should be noted that the PRACH resources, preamble, PUSCH resources (including the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) resources in the PUSCH), and resources for receiving the RAR involved in the above two-step random access process can all be configured by the access network device for the terminal device. For example, the access network device can configure exclusive resources for the terminal device when the terminal device is in a connected state, or it can broadcast the resources for contention in a system message.

[0159] (2) Data transmission based on configured grant (CG) resources

[0160] Data transmission based on CG resources means that the access network device can configure resources for uplink data (such as PUSCH) transmission for the terminal device. When the terminal device has uplink data to send, it directly uses the CG resources to send data to the access network device without having to receive the dynamic grant (dynamic grant) from the access network device or send a preamble. Data transmission based on CG resources can also be called grant free (GF) data transmission. Since the terminal device does not need to send a preamble, it can further save signaling overhead and power consumption of the terminal device compared to data transmission schemes based on random access.

[0161] However, in data transmission based on CG resources, since terminal devices in the RRC inactive state do not have a beam management process similar to that in the RRC connected state, the access network device is usually unaware of the location information (or channel information) of the terminal device in the RRC inactive state, and therefore does not know which receiving beam to use to receive the uplink data sent by the terminal device on the CG resource. When the access network device does not know the channel information of the terminal device, if the access network device receives uplink data through an omnidirectional antenna, it will cause a loss in reception performance; one way to improve performance is to rely on digital filtering processing, but in the absence of the terminal device's channel information, it will significantly increase the access network device's reception complexity.

[0162] Based on this, the embodiments of this application will study the relevant implementation of data transmission based on CG resources.

[0163] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with embodiments 1 to 3.

[0164] Example 1

[0165] In order to solve the problem of access network equipment not knowing the channel information of terminal equipment, which causes reception performance loss, one possible idea is to establish a correspondence between CG resources and channel information. In this way, the access network equipment can use the corresponding receiving beam to receive uplink data on the CG resources based on the channel information corresponding to the CG resources, thereby improving the reception performance of the uplink data.

[0166] Specifically, the access network device can broadcast the downlink reference signal periodically. It is a basic behavior for the terminal device to measure the downlink reference signal when it is in the RRC non-connected state. Based on the reciprocity relationship of the spatial channel, when the terminal device determines that the measurement value of a certain downlink reference signal is large by measuring the downlink reference signal (for example, the measurement value of the downlink reference signal 1 is large, and the beam used by the access network device to send the downlink reference signal 1 is the transmitting beam x), the access network device uses the corresponding receiving beam x' to receive the signal sent by the terminal device, and the receiving performance is also better. Therefore, the communication method provided in the first embodiment of the present application may include: the access network device may send first configuration information to the terminal device, and the first configuration information is used to configure M CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals, and the N downlink reference signals include downlink reference signal 1; furthermore, after entering the RRC non-connected state, the terminal device may send uplink data on the CG resource corresponding to the downlink reference signal 1, and accordingly, the access network device may use the corresponding receiving beam to receive the uplink data sent by the terminal device on the CG resource. Wherein, M and N are positive integers. Compared with a method in which the access network device does not know the channel information of the terminal device and receives uplink data through an omnidirectional antenna, this method can effectively improve the receiving performance of the access network device.

[0167] The following combination Figure 9 The communication method provided in Example 1 of the present application is described in detail.

[0168] Figure 9 This is a flow chart corresponding to the communication method provided in Example 1 of this application, such as Figure 9 As shown, the method includes:

[0169] Optionally, S900, the terminal device enters the RRC connection state.

[0170] Here, the terminal device can convert the RRC state into the RRC connected state through the RRC connection establishment or RRC connection recovery process.

[0171] Optionally, S901, the access network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device, where the first configuration information is used to configure M CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals.

[0172] Correspondingly, in S902, the terminal device may receive first configuration information from the access network device.

[0173] Here, the access network device can also configure M CG resources for the terminal device. In one example, the access network device can configure M CG resources for the terminal device through the first configuration information, that is, the first configuration information can be used to configure M CG resources and configure M CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals. Among them, there can be multiple ways for the access network device to send the first configuration information to the terminal device. For example, the access network device can send an RRC message to the terminal device, and the RRC message includes the first configuration information. Exemplarily, the RRC message can be an RRC connection release message, or other possible messages, which are not specifically limited.

[0174] In another example, the access network device may configure M CG resources for the terminal device through the third configuration information. Exemplarily, the access network device may send the first configuration information and the third configuration information to the terminal device through the same message; or, the access network device may send the first configuration information and the third configuration information to the terminal device through different messages. For example, the access network device may first send RRC message 1 to the terminal device, where RRC message 1 includes the third configuration information, and then send RRC message 2 to the terminal device, where RRC message 2 includes the first configuration information.

[0175] 1. Introduce M CG resources.

[0176] M CG resources can be used by the terminal device to send uplink information to the access network device when the RRC is not connected. For example, M CG resources can be dedicated to the terminal device to send uplink information when the RRC is not connected; for another example, M CG resources can be used by the terminal device to send uplink information when the RRC is connected, and can also be used by the terminal device to send uplink information when the RRC is not connected. The uplink information may include uplink data and / or uplink signaling, and the uplink signaling may include at least one of the following: signaling of the physical layer, signaling of the MAC layer, and signaling of the RRC layer. These uplink data and / or uplink signaling can be carried on the PUSCH and / or PUCCH specific to the terminal device.

[0177] In an embodiment of the present application, CG resources can support a variety of possible granularities, such as "set" as the granularity, "period" as the granularity, and "individual" as the granularity. For example, a set of CG resources may correspond to a period (length), and one or more CG resources may be included in one period. One CG resource can be used for one data transmission, and the multiple CG resources included in one period can be used to repeatedly transmit the same data, and the redundant versions of the data transmitted by the multiple CG resources may be the same or different. In other words, the multiple CG resources included in one period can be understood as multiple repetition opportunities. Any two different CG resources among the multiple CG resources in one period may be time-divided and / or frequency-divided, without restriction.

[0178] The configuration information of W sets of CG resources is sent (for example, through the first configuration information) to the terminal device using the access network device, where W is a positive integer. For example, W=3, and the W sets of CG resources may include a first set of CG resources, a second set of CG resources, and a third set of CG resources. Taking the first set of CG resources as an example, the configuration information of the first set of CG resources may include at least one of the following: (1) the duration of the period corresponding to the first set of CG resources; (2) the number of repetitions within a period, or the number of repetition opportunities included in a period, or the number of CG resources included in a period; (3) the time-frequency position information of each CG resource within a period. Optionally, a set of CG resources may also be referred to as a group of CG resources or other names, without limitation.

[0179] Optionally, the configuration information of the first set of CG resources may also include other possible information, such as one or more of the following: frequency hopping indication information (used to indicate frequency hopping within a time slot or between time slots), DMRS configuration information (used to indicate the type, position, length, and / or whether it is precoded, etc. of DMRS), modulation and coding scheme (MCS) table, resource allocation method (used to indicate Type0, Type1 or dynamic switching), power control indication information, number of HARQ processes (for example, it can be one of 1 to 16) and redundant version used during repetition, etc., without specific limitation.

[0180] 2. Introduction to N downlink reference signals.

[0181] For example, the downlink reference signal may be an SSB, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), a downlink DMRS, or other possible downlink reference signals, without limitation. In the embodiment of the present application, the downlink reference signal is described as an SSB.

[0182] As described above, an SS burst set may include multiple SSBs. For example, if an SS burst set includes four SSBs, namely SSB1, SSB2, SSB3, and SSB4, then N may be a positive integer less than or equal to 4. That is, the N downlink reference signals may include at least one of SSB1, SSB2, SSB3, and SSB4. For another example, if an SS burst set includes eight SSBs, namely SSB1, SSB2, ..., SSB8, then N may be a positive integer less than or equal to 8. That is, the N downlink reference signals may include at least one of SSB1, SSB2, ..., SSB8.

[0183] 3. Introduce the correspondence between M CG resources and N downlink reference signals.

[0184] Exemplarily, there may be multiple specific correspondence methods for M CG resources to correspond to N downlink reference signals. Three possible correspondence methods are described below.

[0185] (1) Correspondence mode 1: M CG resources correspond to N downlink reference signals at the granularity of "sets". For example, M CG resources belong to one or more sets of CG resources, where each CG resource can belong to and only belongs to one set of CG resources. Each set of CG resources can correspond to one or more downlink reference signals among the N downlink reference signals. In addition, one downlink reference signal can also correspond to one or more sets of CG resources.

[0186] For example, M CG resources belong to W sets of CG resources. Taking W=3 as an example, the W sets of CG resources may include the first set of CG resources, the second set of CG resources and the third set of CG resources. For example, the M CG resources may include all CG resources included in the first set of CG resources, all CG resources included in the second set of CG resources and all CG resources included in the third set of CG resources. The N downlink reference signals include SSB1, SSB2, SSB3 and SSB4. Among them, SSB1 corresponds to transmit beam 1, SSB2 corresponds to transmit beam 2, SSB3 corresponds to transmit beam 3, and SSB4 corresponds to transmit beam 4. See Figure 10In this case, a possible corresponding situation is: See Figure 11 As shown, the first set of CG resources can correspond to SSB1, the second set of CG resources can correspond to SSB2, and the third set of CG resources can correspond to SSB3 and SSB4. It can be understood that all CG resources included in the first set of CG resources correspond to SSB1, all CG resources included in the second set of CG resources correspond to SSB2, and all CG resources included in the third set of CG resources correspond to SSB3 and SSB4.

[0187] To give another example, M CG resources belong to W sets of CG resources. Taking W=3 as an example, the W sets of CG resources can include the first set of CG resources, the second set of CG resources and the third set of CG resources. For example, the first set of CG resources includes 2 CG resources in one cycle, the second set of CG resources includes 3 CG resources in one cycle, and the third set of CG resources includes 3 CG resources in one cycle, then M resources are 2+3+3=8 CG resources. In this case, a possible corresponding situation is: the first set of CG resources can correspond to SSB1, the second set of CG resources can correspond to SSB2, and the third set of CG resources can correspond to SSB3 and SSB4. It can be understood that the 2 CG resources in each cycle of the first set of CG resources correspond to SSB1, the 3 CG resources in each cycle of the second set of CG resources correspond to SSB2, and the 3 CG resources in each cycle of the third set of CG resources correspond to SSB3 and SSB4.

[0188] When the access network device uses this corresponding method to configure M CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals, for any set of CG resources, a possible configuration example is as follows:

[0189]

[0190] (2) Corresponding mode 2: M CG resources correspond to N downlink reference signals with "period" as the granularity. For example, the M CG resources are located in one or more periods, and each CG resource can be located in one and only one period. Each period can correspond to one or more downlink reference signals among the N downlink reference signals. In addition, one downlink reference signal can correspond to one or more periods.

[0191] For example, M CG resources are located in multiple periods, which may mean that M CG resources are located in multiple periods of a set of CG resources, that is, the M CG resources include CG resources located in multiple periods of the set of CG resources. For example, M CG resources are located in period i, period i+1, and period i+2 of the set of CG resources, that is, M CG resources include CG resources located in period i, period i+1, and period i+2, and i can be a positive integer. N downlink reference signals include SSB1, SSB2, SSB3, and SSB4, where SSB1 corresponds to transmit beam 1, SSB2 corresponds to transmit beam 2, SSB3 corresponds to transmit beam 3, and SSB4 corresponds to transmit beam 4, see Figure 10 In this case, one possible correspondence is: cycle i corresponds to SSB1, cycle i+1 corresponds to SSB2, cycle i+2 corresponds to SSB3 and SSB4. In other words, all CG resources in cycle i correspond to SSB1, all CG resources in cycle i+1 correspond to SSB2, and all CG resources in cycle i+3 correspond to SSB3 and SSB4.

[0192] To give another example, M CG resources are located in multiple periods, which may also mean that M CG resources are located in multiple periods of multiple sets of CG resources. For example, M CG resources are located in one or more periods of the first set of CG resources (such as period i, period i+1, period i+2) and one or more periods of the second set of CG resources (such as period j, period j+1, period j+2), that is, the M CG resources include CG resources located in one or more periods of the first set of CG resources and CG resources located in one or more periods of the second set of CG resources. The N downlink reference signals include SSB1, SSB2, SSB3, and SSB4, where SSB1 corresponds to transmit beam 1, SSB2 corresponds to transmit beam 2, SSB3 corresponds to transmit beam 3, and SSB4 corresponds to transmit beam 4, see Figure 10 In this case, a possible corresponding situation is: See Figure 12 As shown, in the first set of CG resources, period i corresponds to SSB1, period i+1 corresponds to SSB2, and period i+2 corresponds to SSB3 and SSB4; in the second set of CG resources, period j and period j+1 correspond to SSB1, period j+2 corresponds to SSB2, and period j+3 corresponds to SSB3 and SSB4, and j can be a positive integer. It should be noted that the period of the first set of CG resources and the period of the second set of CG resources can independently correspond to the downlink reference signal. For example, when the CG resources in period i of the first set of CG resources overlap with the CG resources in period j of the second set of CG resources in the time domain, the period i of the first set of CG resources and the period j of the second set of CG resources can correspond to the same SSB, or they can correspond to different SSBs, without specific limitation. In addition, it can be seen that Figure 12The corresponding relationship shown is compared with Figure 11 The corresponding relationship shown can enable the terminal device to have better flexibility in selecting the cycle.

[0193] (3) Corresponding mode 3: M CG resources correspond to N downlink reference signals at a granularity of "pieces". For example, one or more CG resources among the M CG resources correspond to one or more downlink reference signals among at least one downlink reference signal. In other words, one CG resource can correspond to one or more downlink reference signals, and / or one downlink reference signal can correspond to one or more CG resources.

[0194] For example, the M CG resources may be M CG resources in a set of CG resources. Alternatively, the M CG resources may also be M CG resources in multiple sets of CG resources, for example, the M CG resources may include M1 CG resources in the first set of CG resources and M2 CG resources in the second set of CG resources, M1 and M2 are positive integers, and M1+M2=M. The N downlink reference signals include SSB1, SSB2, SSB3, and SSB4, where SSB1 corresponds to transmit beam 1, SSB2 corresponds to transmit beam 2, SSB3 corresponds to transmit beam 3, and SSB4 corresponds to transmit beam 4, see Figure 10 As shown. Taking the case where M CG resources can be M CG resources in a set of CG resources as an example, in this case, a possible corresponding situation is: See Figure 13 As shown, the first CG resource of each cycle of the set of CG resources (such as cycle 1) corresponds to SSB1, the second CG resource corresponds to SSB2, and the third CG resource corresponds to SSB3 and SSB4. In addition, it can be seen that Figure 13 The corresponding relationship shown is compared with Figure 11 or Figure 12 The corresponding relationship shown can enable the terminal device to have better flexibility in selecting CG resources.

[0195] It should be noted that when the access network device configures M CG resources to correspond to N downlink reference signals, it may adopt one of corresponding methods 1, 2, and 3 alone, or may adopt two or three of corresponding methods 1, 2, and 3 in combination. Taking the case where the access network device adopts corresponding method 2 and corresponding method 3 in combination as an example, for example, the M CG resources are CG resources in W sets of CG resources, such as W=2, and the W sets of CG resources may include a first set of CG resources and a second set of CG resources. The M CG resources include CG resources located in period i, period i+1, and period i+2 of the first set of CG resources and CG resources located in period j and period j+1 of the second set of CG resources. The N downlink reference signals include SSB1, SSB2, SSB3, and SSB4. In this case, a possible corresponding situation is: in the first set of CG resources, period i corresponds to SSB1, period i+1 corresponds to SSB2, and period i+2 corresponds to SSB3 and SSB4; in the second set of CG resources, the first and second CG resources in period j correspond to SSB1, the third CG resource in period j corresponds to SSB2, and the remaining CG resources in period j (such as the fourth, fifth, and sixth CG resources in period j) correspond to SSB3 and SSB4; all CG resources in period j+1 correspond to SSB1.

[0196] S903, the terminal device enters the RRC unconnected state.

[0197] Here, a terminal device can enter the RRC non-connected state in a variety of ways. For example, the access network device can send an RRC connection release message to the terminal device, and the terminal device can then enter the RRC non-connected state after receiving the RRC connection release message. For another example, when the terminal device is in a weak coverage area and the signal reception quality is poor and the RRC connected state cannot be maintained, the terminal device can actively enter the non-connected state.

[0198] Optionally, in S904, the access network device sends P downlink reference signals, where the P downlink reference signals may include N downlink reference signals.

[0199] For example, if an SS burst set includes 4 SSBs, namely SSB1, SSB2, SSB3, and SSB4, then P may be equal to 4, and the P downlink reference signals include SSB1, SSB2, SSB3, and SSB4; N may be a positive integer less than or equal to 4, and the N downlink reference signals include at least one of SSB1, SSB2, SSB3, and SSB4. For another example, if an SS burst set includes 8 SSBs, namely SSB1, SSB2, ..., SSB8, then P may be equal to 8, and the P downlink reference signals include SSB1, SSB2, ..., SSB8; N may be a positive integer less than or equal to 8, and the N downlink reference signals include at least one of SSB1, SSB2, SSB3, and SSB4.

[0200] Optionally, in S905, the terminal device receives P downlink reference signals and measures the P downlink reference signals.

[0201] The terminal device may obtain P downlink reference signal measurement values by measuring P downlink reference signals. The measurement value of each downlink reference signal may include at least one of the following: reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), without limitation.

[0202] Optionally, S906, the terminal device sends uplink data to the access network device on the CG resource corresponding to the downlink reference signal 1.

[0203] If the terminal device determines that it needs to send uplink data, it can select downlink reference signal 1 from the N downlink reference signals based on the measurement values of the N downlink reference signals, and send the uplink data on the CG resource corresponding to downlink reference signal 1.

[0204] Exemplarily, there may be multiple ways for a terminal device to select downlink reference signal 1 from N downlink reference signals based on the measurement values of the N downlink reference signals. For example, the terminal device determines one or more downlink reference signals (such as downlink reference signal 1 and downlink reference signal 2) among the N downlink reference signals whose measurement values are greater than or equal to a first threshold value based on the measurement values of the N downlink reference signals, and then selects one of the downlink reference signals (such as downlink reference signal 1) from these downlink reference signals; wherein the first threshold value can be set according to actual needs and is not specifically limited. For another example, the terminal device selects the downlink reference signal (such as downlink reference signal 1) with the largest measurement value from the N downlink reference signals based on the measurement values of the N downlink reference signals.

[0205] Optionally, S907, the access network device uses the corresponding receiving beam to receive uplink data on the CG resource corresponding to the downlink reference signal 1.

[0206] by Figure 11 Taking the corresponding relationship shown as an example, if the terminal device measures the highest or higher measurement value of SSB1, uplink data can be sent on the CG resource corresponding to SSB1, such as selecting a CG resource (such as CG resource 1) from the first set of CG resources to send uplink data. Accordingly, after the access network device configures the CG resource for the terminal device, it can use the corresponding beam to try to receive on the configured CG resource. For example, the access network device can use receiving beam 1' to try to receive on CG resource 1, so that the uplink data sent by the terminal device can be received. Among them, receiving beam 1' has a high correlation with transmitting beam 1.

[0207] If the terminal device measures the highest or higher value of SSB2, uplink data can be sent on the CG resource corresponding to SSB2, for example, by selecting a CG resource (such as CG resource 2) from the second set of CG resources to send uplink data. Accordingly, the access network device can use receive beam 2' to attempt to receive on CG resource 2, so that the uplink data sent by the terminal device can be received. Among them, receive beam 2' has a high correlation with transmit beam 2, for example, receive beam 2' can be the same as or similar to transmit beam 2.

[0208] If the terminal device measures the highest or higher measurement value of SSB3 (or SSB4), uplink data can be sent on the CG resource corresponding to SSB3 (or SSB4), such as selecting a CG resource (such as CG resource 3) from the third set of CG resources to send uplink data. Accordingly, the access network device can use receiving beam 3' to try to receive on CG resource 3, so that the uplink data sent by the terminal device can be received; wherein, receiving beam 3' has a high correlation with transmitting beam 3 and transmitting beam 4. Alternatively, the access network device can also use receiving beam 3a' or receiving beam 3b' to receive uplink data on CG resource 3; wherein, receiving beam 3a' has a high correlation with transmitting beam 3, and receiving beam 3b' has a high correlation with transmitting beam 4.

[0209] by Figure 12 Taking the corresponding relationship shown as an example, if the measured value of SSB1 is the highest or higher, the terminal device can send uplink data on the CG resource corresponding to SSB1, such as selecting CG resources from the period i of the first set of resources to send uplink data, and / or selecting CG resources from the period j and / or period j+1 of the second set of resources to send uplink data. Accordingly, the access network device can use the receiving beam 1' to try to receive on the period i of the first set of resources, the period j of the second set of resources, and the period j+1 of the second set of resources. Other situations are similar to the above. Figure 11 The description is not repeated here.

[0210] by Figure 13 Taking the corresponding relationship shown in the figure as an example, if the measured value of SSB1 is the highest or higher, the terminal device can send uplink data on the CG resource corresponding to SSB1, such as selecting the first CG resource in a period of the first set of resources to send uplink data. Accordingly, the access network device can use the receiving beam 1' to try to receive on the first CG resource in each period of the first set of resources. Other situations are similar to the above Figure 11 The description is not repeated here.

[0211] It should be noted that the number of CG resources corresponding to different downlink reference signals in the N downlink reference signals may be the same or different. For example, the N downlink reference signals include downlink reference signal 1 and downlink reference signal 2, and the number of CG resources corresponding to downlink reference signal 1 and the number of CG resources corresponding to downlink reference signal 2 may be the same or different.

[0212] Furthermore, when the terminal device is in the RRC connected state, a service beam can be maintained between the terminal device and the access network device through the beam management process, and when the terminal device enters the RRC non-connected state, the probability of the terminal device being within the coverage of the service beam is the highest, and the probability of being within the coverage of other beams is lower. Assuming that the service beam is the beam corresponding to the downlink reference signal 1, when the terminal device is within the coverage of the service beam, the measurement value of the downlink reference signal 1 measured by the terminal device is usually the largest. Therefore, the number of CG resources corresponding to the downlink reference signal 1 can be set to be greater than or equal to the number of CG resources corresponding to other downlink reference signals in the N downlink reference signals. In this way, it is convenient for the terminal device to use CG resources to send uplink data in the RRC non-connected state, reducing the air check overhead of the access network device on the CG resources.

[0213] It can be understood that the number of CG resources corresponding to the downlink reference signal may include at least one of the number of sets, number of cycles, and number of CG resources corresponding to the downlink reference signal, without specific limitation.

[0214] Using the above method, since the access network device can configure M CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals for the terminal device, when the terminal device sends uplink data on the CG resource corresponding to a certain downlink reference signal, the access network device can use the corresponding receiving beam to receive the uplink data on the CG resource, thereby effectively improving the receiving performance of the access network device. On the other hand, since the access network device can configure the corresponding relationship according to a variety of possible granularities when configuring M CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals, the terminal device has a higher flexibility in selecting CG resources, which facilitates data transmission under RRC non-connection.

[0215] Example 2

[0216] As described in the first embodiment above, the access network device can configure M CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals for the terminal device. However, due to the mobility of the terminal device, the above correspondence configured by the access network device for the terminal device may not be reasonable after a period of time, thereby affecting the data transmission of the terminal device in the RRC non-connected state.

[0217] For example, the downlink reference signals sent by the access network device to the terminal device include downlink reference signal 1 (corresponding to transmit beam 1), downlink reference signal 2 (corresponding to transmit beam 2), downlink reference signal 3 (corresponding to transmit beam 3), and downlink reference signal 4 (corresponding to transmit beam 4). The access network device configures M1 CG resources corresponding to downlink reference signal 1, M2 CG resources corresponding to downlink reference signal 2, and M3 CG resources corresponding to downlink reference signal 3. Downlink reference signal 4 does not correspond to a CG resource. For example, in the T1 time period, the terminal device is within the coverage of transmit beam 1, and can then send uplink data to the access network device on the CG resource corresponding to downlink reference signal 1; while in the T2 time period, the terminal device may move to the coverage of transmit beam 4. Since downlink reference signal 4 does not correspond to a CG resource, the terminal device will not be able to use the CG resource to send uplink data, thereby affecting the data transmission of the terminal device when it is in the RRC non-connected state.

[0218] Based on this, the communication method provided in the second embodiment of the present application may include: the terminal device receives first configuration information from the access network device, the first configuration information is used to configure M CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals; and after the terminal device enters the non-connected state, it can receive first reconfiguration information from the access network device, the first reconfiguration information is used to update the downlink reference signals corresponding to some or all of the M CG resources; wherein M and N are positive integers. In this way, since the access network device can send reconfiguration information to the terminal device to update the downlink reference signals corresponding to some or all of the M CG resources, the terminal device can flexibly adjust the correspondence between the CG resources and the downlink reference signals in a timely manner when moving in the RRC non-connected state, thereby ensuring data transmission of the terminal device in the RRC non-connected state.

[0219] The following combination Figure 14 The communication method provided in Example 2 of the present application is described in detail.

[0220] Figure 14 This is a flow chart corresponding to the communication method provided in Example 2 of this application, such as Figure 14 As shown, the method includes:

[0221] Optionally, S1400, the terminal device enters the RRC connection state.

[0222] S1401, the access network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device, where the first configuration information is used to configure M CG resources to correspond to N downlink reference signals.

[0223] Correspondingly, in S1402, the terminal device may receive first configuration information from the access network device.

[0224] Optionally, S1403, the terminal device enters the RRC non-connected state.

[0225] Optionally, in S1404, the access network device sends P downlink reference signals, where the P downlink reference signals may include N downlink reference signals.

[0226] Optionally, in S1405, the terminal device receives P downlink reference signals and measures the P downlink reference signals.

[0227] The specific implementation of the above S1400 to S1405 can be found in Example 1 and will not be repeated here.

[0228] Optionally, S1406, the terminal device sends first information to the access network device based on the measurement values of P downlink reference signals.

[0229] The first information can be used to request an update of the downlink reference signals corresponding to some or all of the M CG resources, or in other words, the first information can be used to request an update of the correspondence between the CG resources and the downlink reference signals. Alternatively, the first information can indicate the measurement values of one or more downlink reference signals among the P downlink reference signals. Alternatively, the first information can indicate the order of the measurement values of one or more downlink reference signals among the P downlink reference signals. Alternatively, the first information can indicate one or more downlink reference signals among the P downlink reference signals, the measurement values of the one or more downlink reference signals being greater than the measurement values of other reference signals, or the measurement values of the one or more downlink reference signals being greater than or equal to a first threshold.

[0230] In an embodiment of the present application, there may be multiple reasons for triggering the terminal device to send the first information to the access network device. For example, the P downlink reference signals include a first downlink reference signal and a second downlink reference signal, and also include other possible downlink reference signals. After the terminal device determines that the measured value of the second downlink reference signal is greater than the measured values of other downlink reference signals in the P reference signals (that is, the measured value of the second downlink reference signal in the P downlink reference signals is the largest), if it is determined that at least one of the following situations 1 and 2 is met, the first information may be sent to the access network device. Among them, situation 1: The second downlink reference signal has no corresponding CG resource, that is, the second downlink reference signal does not belong to the N downlink reference signals. Situation 2: The number of CG resources corresponding to the second downlink reference signal is small, for example, the number of CG resources corresponding to the second downlink reference signal is less than the number of CG resources corresponding to other reference signals in the N downlink reference signals.

[0231] In the embodiment of the present application, there may be multiple specific ways for the terminal device to send the first information to the access network device. Three possible implementations are described below.

[0232] (1) Implementation 1: This implementation can be applied to the above-mentioned scenario 1.

[0233] The terminal device can select a first downlink reference signal from the N downlink reference signals based on the measured values of the N downlink reference signals, and send the first information to the access network device on the CG resource corresponding to the first downlink reference signal. Optionally, the terminal device can also send uplink data to the access network device on the CG resource corresponding to the first reference signal. The specific implementation of the terminal device selecting the first downlink reference signal from the N downlink reference signals can be found in the description of Example 1.

[0234] In this implementation, the first information may include the measured value of the first downlink reference signal and the measured value of the second downlink reference signal; or, the first information may include the index of the second downlink reference signal (i.e., the index of the downlink reference signal with the largest measured value among the P downlink reference signals); or, the first information may include the measured values of the P downlink reference signals. This scenario can be understood as the terminal device explicitly requesting to update the correspondence between the CG resource and the downlink reference signal.

[0235] (2) Implementation method 2: This implementation method can be applied to the above-mentioned scenario 1.

[0236] As mentioned above, the access network device can indicate the correspondence between SSB and random access resources to the terminal device. Therefore, taking the downlink reference signal being SSB as an example, the terminal device can initiate a random access process based on the random access resource corresponding to the second downlink reference signal, and send the first information to the access network device during the random access process. For example, the first information is carried in a first message, and the first message is used for the random access process or the first message is transmitted during the random access process. If the random access process is a two-step random access process, the first message may be MsgA; if the random access process is a four-step random access process, the first message may be Msg1 or Msg3. Optionally, the terminal device may also send uplink data to the access network device through the random access process, such as sending uplink data through MsgA or Msg3 in the random access process.

[0237] In this implementation, the first information may be a random access preamble, in which case it can be understood that the terminal device implicitly requests to update the correspondence between the CG resource and the downlink reference signal. Alternatively, the first information may include the measurement values of P downlink reference signals, in which case it can be understood that the terminal device explicitly requests to update the correspondence between the CG resource and the downlink reference signal.

[0238] (3) Implementation 3: This implementation can be applied to the above-mentioned scenario 2.

[0239] The terminal device may select a second downlink reference signal from the N downlink reference signals based on the measured values of the N downlink reference signals, and send the first information to the access network device on the CG resource corresponding to the second downlink reference signal. Optionally, the terminal device may also send uplink data to the access network device on the CG resource corresponding to the second reference signal.

[0240] In this implementation, the first information may include the measurement values of P downlink reference signals. This situation can be understood as the terminal device explicitly requesting to update the correspondence between CG resources and downlink reference signals.

[0241] It should be noted that there may be multiple specific implementations of the terminal device sending the first information on the CG resource. For example, the terminal device may send a PUCCH on the CG resource, the PUCCH including the first information, and the PUCCH may be multiplexed in the PUSCH on the CG resource. For another example, the terminal device may send a MAC control element (control element CE) on the CG resource, the MAC CE including the first information. For another example, the terminal device may send an RRC message on the CG resource, the RRC message including the first information.

[0242] Optionally, S1407, the access network device receives the first information and sends first reconfiguration information to the terminal device, where the first reconfiguration information is used to update the downlink reference signal corresponding to some or all of the M CG resources.

[0243] Accordingly, in S1408 , the terminal device may receive the first reconfiguration information.

[0244] Exemplarily, assuming that the first configuration information configures the first CG resource to correspond to the first downlink reference signal, if the access network device receives the first information sent by the terminal device through the above-mentioned implementation method 1, implementation method 2 or implementation method 3, the first reconfiguration information sent by the access network device can be used to configure the first CG resource to correspond to the second downlink reference signal. In this way, after the terminal device receives the first reconfiguration information, it can update the CG resource corresponding to the first downlink reference signal to the CG resource corresponding to the second downlink reference signal. Optionally, if the first configuration information also configures the second CG resource to correspond to the second downlink reference signal, the first reconfiguration information can also be used to configure the second CG resource to correspond to the first downlink reference signal. In this way, after the terminal device receives the first reconfiguration information, it can also update the CG resource corresponding to the second downlink reference signal to the CG resource corresponding to the first downlink reference signal.

[0245] In addition, if the access network device receives the first information sent by the terminal device through the above-mentioned implementation method 1 or implementation method 3, the first reconfiguration information can be carried in the DCI, MAC CE or RRC message. As a possible implementation, the DCI may include second information, and the second information may include HARQ feedback information and / or scheduling information. Among them, the HARQ feedback information is used to indicate whether the uplink data of the terminal device is successfully received (for example, the terminal device sends uplink data to the access network device, and then the access network device can inform the terminal device whether the uplink data is successfully received through the HARQ feedback information); the HARQ feedback information can be an acknowledgment (ACK) or a negative acknowledgment (NACK). The scheduling information can be used to schedule subsequent uplink and downlink transmissions of the terminal device, for example, the scheduling information can be used to schedule the PUSCH or PDSCH of the terminal device. If the access network device receives the first information sent by the terminal device through the above-mentioned implementation method 2, the first reconfiguration information can be carried in the second message, and the second message is used for the above-mentioned random access process or the second message is transmitted during the above-mentioned random access process. For example, the second message may be MsgB in the random access process, or may also be Msg2 or Msg4 in the random access process.

[0246] It should be noted that the above description is based on an example of the first reconfiguration information being used to update the downlink reference signal corresponding to some of the M CG resources. In other possible examples, the first reconfiguration information can also be used to update the downlink reference signal corresponding to all of the M CG resources.

[0247] The following describes possible contents of the first reconfiguration information with reference to several possible examples.

[0248] In one example, the M CG resources include CG resource 1, CG resource 2, CG resource 3, and CG resource 4, and the N downlink reference signals include SSB1, SSB2, SSB3, and SSB4. The first configuration information configures CG resource 1 to correspond to SSB1, CG resource 2 to correspond to SSB2, CG resource 3 to correspond to SSB3, and CG resource 4 to correspond to SSB4. In this case, the first reconfiguration information may include two bits, and the values of the two bits are used to indicate the number of cyclic shifts. For example, when the value of the two bits is "01", it indicates a cyclic shift once, that is, CG resource 1 corresponds to SSB2, CG resource 2 corresponds to SSB3, CG resource 3 corresponds to SSB4, and CG resource 4 corresponds to SSB1; when the value of the two bits is "10", it indicates a cyclic shift twice, that is, CG resource 1 corresponds to SSB3, CG resource 2 corresponds to SSB4, CG resource 3 corresponds to SSB1, and CG resource 4 corresponds to SSB2; when the value of the two bits is "11", it indicates a cyclic shift three times, that is, CG resource 1 corresponds to SSB4, CG resource 2 corresponds to SSB1, CG resource 3 corresponds to SSB2, and CG resource 4 corresponds to SSB3. In this way, since the number of bits included in the first reconfiguration information is relatively small, the implementation is relatively simple, and the downlink reference signals corresponding to multiple CG resources can be updated.

[0249] In another example, the content included in the first reconfiguration information may also refer to the content included in the previous first configuration information. The difference between the two is that the downlink reference signal corresponding to the CG resource configured in the first reconfiguration information may be different from the downlink reference signal corresponding to the CG resource configured in the first configuration information.

[0250] In another example, assuming that the first configuration information configures the first CG resource corresponding to the first downlink reference signal, if the access network device receives the first information sent by the terminal device through the above-mentioned implementation method 1 (that is, the first information sent by the terminal device on the first CG resource), the first reconfiguration information sent by the access network device may include the index of the second downlink reference signal. The index of the second downlink reference signal indicates that the downlink reference signal corresponding to the first CG resource (or all CG resources corresponding to the first downlink reference signal) is updated to the second downlink reference signal.

[0251] It should be noted that the above S1406 is an optional step. That is, the terminal device can request the access network device to update the correspondence between the CG resources and the downlink reference signal by sending the first information, and then the access network device sends the first reconfiguration information to the terminal device based on the request of the terminal device to update the correspondence between the CG resources and the downlink reference signal.

[0252] Alternatively, the access network device may also actively send the first reconfiguration information to update the correspondence between the CG resources and the downlink reference signal. In this case, the terminal device may not need to send the first information to the access network device. For example, when the terminal device selects the second downlink reference signal and sends uplink data to the access network device on the CG resource corresponding to the second downlink reference signal, if the access network device determines that the number of CG resources corresponding to the second downlink reference signal is small, it may actively send the first reconfiguration information to increase the CG resources corresponding to the second downlink reference signal. For another example, when the terminal device initiates a random access process based on the random access resource corresponding to the second downlink reference signal, the access network device may learn that the measured value of the second downlink reference signal is the largest or larger, and may then actively send the first reconfiguration information to increase the CG resources corresponding to the second downlink reference signal.

[0253] It can be understood that after the access network device sends the first reconfiguration information to the terminal device, if the correspondence between the CG resources and the downlink reference signal needs to be updated again subsequently, the second reconfiguration information can also be sent to the terminal device to update the correspondence between the CG resources and the downlink reference signal.

[0254] Using the above method, since the access network device can send reconfiguration information to the terminal device to update the correspondence between CG resources and downlink reference signals, when the terminal device moves in the RRC non-connected state, the correspondence between CG resources and downlink reference signals can be adjusted in a timely and flexible manner, so that after the terminal device selects the current downlink reference signal, it can have more CG resources to send uplink data to ensure data transmission of the terminal device in the RRC non-connected state.

[0255] Example 3

[0256] As described in the first or second embodiment above, the access network device can configure M CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals for the terminal device. On this basis, in the third embodiment, further research will be conducted on the HARQ process ID corresponding to the CG resource.

[0257] Multiple HARQ processes can be used between the terminal device and the access network device for data transmission to support the parallel transmission of multiple data packets. It should be noted that the parallel here is not equivalent to simultaneous transmission. A HARQ process can include the entire process from the initial transmission to the final receipt of ACK (that is, the receipt of information from the receiver confirming the correct reception of the data packet), or the entire process from the initial transmission to exceeding the maximum number of retransmissions. Optionally, these two processes can include processes such as receiving NACK and sending retransmissions. This entire process can be marked with a HARQ process number. In this way, since the HARQ process numbers of the initial transmission and the retransmission are the same, the relationship between the initial transmission data packet and the retransmission data packet can be established, which facilitates the correct reception by the receiver. When multiple HARQ processes are used between the terminal device and the access network device, it means that multiple such processes can be carried out in parallel, that is, when one HARQ process is not completed, other HARQ processes can be carried out simultaneously.

[0258] In dynamically scheduled data transmission, the access network device can use DCI to schedule a PUSCH / PDSCH, and the DCI may include a field for indicating the HARQ process number. For example, 4 bits can be used to indicate the HARQ process number (the value range of the HARQ process number is 0 to 15) to mark the HARQ process number of the data packet transmitted on the PUSCH / PDSCH. However, in data transmission based on CG resources, since there is no DCI dynamic scheduling, there is no method for dynamically determining the HARQ process number between the access network device and the terminal device. In this case, one way to determine the HARQ process number is to determine the HARQ process number of the data packet based on the starting time position (such as the starting symbol) of the CG resource carrying the data packet. Specifically, the terminal device and the access network device can determine the HARQ process number of the data packet by the following formula:

[0259] HARQ Process ID=[floor(CURRENT_symbol / periodicity)]modulo nrofHARQ-Processes+harq-ProcID-Offset2

[0260] Among them, CURRENT_symbol=(SFN×numberOfSlotsPerFrame×numberOfSymbolsPerSlot+slot number in the frame×numberOfSymbolsPerSlot+symbol number in the slot)

[0261] The meaning of each parameter in the above formula can be found in Table 1.

[0262] Table 1: Meaning of each parameter

[0263]

[0264] Using the above method to determine the HARQ process number, from the perspective of CG resources, usually the HARQ process number corresponding to the CG resources in one cycle is the same, and the HARQ process numbers corresponding to the CG resources in adjacent cycles may be different.

[0265] For example, assume that the access network device configures a set of CG resources for the terminal device and the corresponding relationship between the set of CG resources and the downlink reference signal, wherein the corresponding relationship between the set of CG resources and the downlink reference signal is: Figure 15 As shown, SSB1 corresponds to cycle 1, SSB2 corresponds to cycle 2, SSB3 corresponds to cycle 3, SSB4 corresponds to cycle 4, SSB1 corresponds to cycle 5, SSB2 corresponds to cycle 6, SSB3 corresponds to cycle 7, SSB4 corresponds to cycle 8, and so on. Assume that each system frame includes 10 time slots, each time slot includes 14 symbols, the length of each cycle is 1 time slot, the system frame number of the first CG resource in cycle 1 is 0, the time slot is time slot 0, the starting symbol is symbol 0, the total number of HARQ processes is 16, and the value of harq-ProcID-Offset2 is 0.

[0266] In this case, for the CG resource in cycle 1 (for example, the first CG resource in cycle 1), the corresponding HARQ process number can be obtained as:

[0267] CURRENNT_symbol=(0*10*14+0*14+0)=0

[0268] HARQ Process ID=[floor(0 / 14)]modulo 16=0modulo 16=0

[0269] For the CG resource in cycle 2 (for example, the first CG resource in cycle 2), the corresponding HARQ process number can be obtained as:

[0270] CURRENNT_symbol=(0*10*14+1*14+0)=14

[0271] HARQ Process ID=[floor(14 / 14)]modulo 16=1modulo 16=1

[0272] For the CG resources in cycle 3 (for example, the first CG resource in cycle 3), the corresponding HARQ process number can be obtained as:

[0273] CURRENNT_symbol=(0*10*14+2*14+0)=28

[0274] HARQ Process ID=[floor(28 / 14)]modulo 16=2modulo 16=2

[0275] For the CG resource in cycle 4 (for example, the first CG resource in cycle 4), the corresponding HARQ process number can be obtained as:

[0276] CURRENNT_symbol=(0*10*14+3*14+0)=42

[0277] HARQ Process ID=[floor(42 / 14)]modulo 16=3modulo 16=3

[0278] And so on:

[0279] For the CG resources in cycle 5, the corresponding HARQ process ID is: HARQ Process ID = 4

[0280] For the CG resources in cycle 6, the corresponding HARQ process ID is: HARQ Process ID = 5

[0281] For the CG resources in cycle 7, the corresponding HARQ process ID is: HARQ Process ID = 6

[0282] For the CG resources in cycle 8, the corresponding HARQ process ID is: HARQ Process ID = 7

[0283] However, in some possible scenarios, there may be some problems with the calculation method of the above HARQ process number. For example, in the above example, assuming that the measurement values of SSB3 and SSB4 in SSB1 to SSB4 are greater than or equal to the first threshold, that is, the terminal device can send uplink data on the CG resource corresponding to SSB3 or the CG resource corresponding to SSB4; if the terminal device finds that the HARQ process with HARQ Process ID = 3 is available, since the HARQ process number corresponding to the CG resource in cycle 4 is 3, the terminal device can only choose to send uplink data on the CG resource corresponding to SSB4, but cannot choose to send uplink data on the CG resource corresponding to SSB3, thereby limiting the terminal device's choice of CG resources and increasing the transmission delay of uplink data.

[0284] Based on this, in the third embodiment of the present application, for a certain CG resource among the M CG resources, the HARQ process number corresponding to the CG resource can be obtained according to a first offset, and the first offset can be determined according to a downlink reference signal corresponding to the CG resource. Exemplarily, the first offset can be configured by the access network device for the downlink reference signal corresponding to the CG resource.

[0285] In an example, the HARQ process number corresponding to the CG resource can be determined by the following formula:

[0286] HARQ Process ID=[floor(CURRENT_symbol / periodicity)]modulo nrofHARQ-Processes+harq-ProcID-Offset2+harq-ProcID-offset-forSSB-n

[0287] Among them, harq-ProcID-offset-forSSB-n is the first offset.

[0288] For example, in the above example, offset 1, offset 2, offset 3, and offset 4 are introduced. Among them, offset 1 can be determined according to SSB1, such as offset 1 = 3; offset 2 can be determined according to SSB2, such as offset 2 = 2; offset 3 can be determined according to SSB3, such as offset 3 = 1; offset 4 can be determined according to SSB4, such as offset 4 = 0. In this case:

[0289] For the CG resources in cycle 1, the corresponding HARQ process ID is: HARQ Process ID = 3

[0290] For the CG resources in cycle 2, the corresponding HARQ process ID is: HARQ Process ID = 3

[0291] For the CG resources in cycle 3, the corresponding HARQ process ID is: HARQ Process ID = 3

[0292] For the CG resources in cycle 4, the corresponding HARQ process ID is: HARQ Process ID = 3

[0293] In this way, when the terminal device can send uplink data on the CG resources corresponding to SSB3 or the CG resources corresponding to SSB4, if the terminal device finds that the HARQ process with HARQ Process ID = 3 is available, the terminal device can choose to send uplink data on the CG resources corresponding to SSB3, or can also choose to send uplink data on the CG resources corresponding to SSB4, thereby increasing the number of CG resources corresponding to a certain HARQ process number, that is, increasing the selection opportunities of the terminal device, which facilitates reducing the transmission delay of the uplink data.

[0294] Furthermore, when the terminal device uses a HARQ process to send an initial data packet and does not receive an ACK fed back by the access network device, the terminal device can use the HARQ process to retransmit once or multiple times. In order to avoid excessive retransmissions by the terminal device and cause waste of resources, in the third embodiment of the present application, the access network device can send a second configuration information to the terminal device, and the second configuration information is used to configure the maximum number of retransmissions of the HARQ process corresponding to the HARQ process number and / or the effective duration of the HARQ process corresponding to the HARQ process number. Among them, there are many ways for the access network device to send the second configuration information to the terminal device, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this. For example, the access network device can send the first configuration information and the second configuration information to the terminal device through the same message. In this way, for a certain HARQ process number, when the terminal device finds that the number of retransmissions of the HARQ process corresponding to the HARQ process number reaches the maximum number of retransmissions or the duration of the HARQ process corresponding to the HARQ process number reaches the effective duration, the HARQ process can be discarded. Optionally, the terminal device may initiate a random access process to the access network device to enter the RRC connection state, or perform data transmission based on random access.

[0295] Regarding the above-mentioned embodiments 1 to 3, it should be noted that:

[0296] (1) The above-mentioned embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 can be implemented separately, and the above-mentioned embodiment 3 can be combined with embodiment 1 or embodiment 2 for implementation.

[0297] (2) The above description focuses on the differences between the first embodiment to the third embodiment. Except for the differences, the first embodiment to the third embodiment can refer to each other.

[0298] (3) The step numbers in the flowcharts described in Examples 1 and 2 are merely examples of the execution process and do not limit the order in which the steps are executed. In the embodiments of this application, there is no strict execution order for steps that have no temporal dependencies. Furthermore, not all steps shown in the flowcharts are mandatory, and steps may be added or deleted based on actual needs.

[0299] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of the interaction between the access network device and the terminal device. It can be understood that in order to realize the above functions, the terminal device may include a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the embodiments of 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 a hardware or computer software driven hardware manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0300] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can be divided into functional units according to the above method examples. For example, each functional unit can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one unit. The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0301] In the case of an integrated unit, Figure 16 A possible exemplary block diagram of the device involved in the embodiments of the present application is shown. Figure 16 As shown, apparatus 1600 may include a processing unit 1602 and a communication unit 1603. Processing unit 1602 is used to control and manage the operations of apparatus 1600. Communication unit 1603 is used to support communication between apparatus 1600 and other devices. Optionally, communication unit 1603, also known as a transceiver unit, may include a receiving unit and / or a transmitting unit, each configured to perform receiving and transmitting operations. Apparatus 1600 may also include a storage unit 1601 for storing program code and / or data of apparatus 1600.

[0302] The apparatus 1600 may be a terminal device as described in the above embodiments, or may be a chip disposed within the terminal device. The processing unit 1602 may support the apparatus 1600 in executing the terminal device actions described in the above method examples. Alternatively, the processing unit 1602 may primarily execute the internal actions of the terminal device described in the method examples, and the communication unit 1603 may support communication between the apparatus 1600 and other devices.

[0303] Specifically, in one embodiment, the communication unit 1603 is used to receive first configuration information from an access network device, the first configuration information is used to configure M configuration authorization CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals, and the M CG resources are used for the terminal device to send uplink information when it is in a non-connected state; and after the terminal device enters the non-connected state, receive first reconfiguration information from the access network device, the first reconfiguration information is used to update the downlink reference signals corresponding to some or all of the M CG resources; wherein M and N are positive integers.

[0304] The apparatus 1600 may be the access network device described in the above embodiments, or may be a chip disposed within the access network device. The processing unit 1602 may support the apparatus 1600 in executing the access network device operations described in the above method examples. Alternatively, the processing unit 1602 may primarily execute the internal operations of the access network device described in the method examples, and the communication unit 1603 may support communication between the apparatus 1600 and other devices.

[0305] Specifically, in one embodiment, the communication unit 1603 is used to: send first configuration information to the terminal device, the first configuration information is used to configure M configuration authorization CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals, and the M CG resources are used to receive uplink information from the terminal device when the terminal device is in a non-connected state; and after the terminal device enters the non-connected state, send first reconfiguration information to the terminal device, the first reconfiguration information is used to update the downlink reference signals corresponding to some or all of the M CG resources; wherein M and N are positive integers.

[0306] It should be understood that the division of units in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into one physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Moreover, the units in the device can all be implemented in the form of software calling through processing elements; or they can all be implemented in the form of hardware; or some units can be implemented in the form of software calling through processing elements, and some units can be implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit can be a separately established processing element, or it can be integrated into a certain chip of the device. In addition, it can also be stored in the memory in the form of a program, called by a certain processing element of the device and execute the function of the unit. In addition, all or part of these units can be integrated together, or they can be implemented independently. The processing element described here can also be a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each operation of the above method or each unit above can be implemented by the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor element or in the form of software calling through the processing element.

[0307] In one example, the unit in any of the above devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more digital singnal processors (DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. For another example, when the unit in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element can be a processor, such as a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), or other processor that can call a program. For another example, these units can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0308] The above-mentioned receiving unit is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the receiving unit is the interface circuit of the chip used to receive signals from other chips or devices. The above-mentioned sending unit is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to send signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the sending unit is the interface circuit of the chip used to send signals to other chips or devices.

[0309] Figure 17 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application, which may be the terminal device in the above embodiment, and is used to implement the operations of the terminal device in the above embodiment. Figure 17 As shown, the terminal device includes an antenna 1710, a radio frequency section 1720, and a signal processing section 1730. Antenna 1710 is connected to radio frequency section 1720. In the downlink direction, radio frequency section 1720 receives information sent by network devices via antenna 1710 and sends the information to signal processing section 1730 for processing. In the uplink direction, signal processing section 1730 processes the information from the terminal device and sends it to radio frequency section 1720. Radio frequency section 1720 then processes the information from the terminal device and sends it to the network device via antenna 1710.

[0310] Signal processing unit 1730 may include a modem subsystem for processing data at various communication protocol layers; a central processing unit for processing the terminal device's operating system and application layers; and other subsystems, such as a multimedia subsystem for controlling the terminal device's camera and screen display, and a peripheral subsystem for connecting to other devices. The modem subsystem may be a separate chip.

[0311] The modem subsystem may include one or more processing elements 1731, such as a main control CPU and other integrated circuits. Furthermore, the modem subsystem may include a storage element 1732 and an interface circuit 1733. Storage element 1732 is used to store data and programs. However, the program used to execute the method performed by the terminal device in the above method may not be stored in storage element 1732 but rather in a memory external to the modem subsystem, and loaded by the modem subsystem when in use. Interface circuit 1733 is used to communicate with other subsystems.

[0312] The modem subsystem can be implemented using a chip comprising at least one processing element and an interface circuit, wherein the processing element is configured to execute each step of any of the methods performed by the terminal device described above, and the interface circuit is configured to communicate with other devices. In one implementation, the unit for implementing each step of the method described above can be implemented as a processing element scheduler. For example, the terminal device may include a processing element and a storage element, with the processing element invoking a program stored in the storage element to execute the method performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The storage element can be a storage element located on the same chip as the processing element, i.e., an on-chip storage element.

[0313] In another implementation, the program for executing the method executed by the terminal device in the above method can be stored in a memory element on a different chip from the processing element, i.e., an off-chip memory element. In this case, the processing element calls or loads the program from the off-chip memory element to the on-chip memory element to call and execute the method executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment.

[0314] In another implementation, the unit of the terminal device that implements each step of the above method may be configured as one or more processing elements, which are provided in the modem subsystem. The processing elements here may be integrated circuits, such as one or more ASICs, one or more DSPs, one or more FPGAs, or a combination of these integrated circuits. These integrated circuits may be integrated together to form a chip.

[0315] The units that implement the various steps of the above method in the terminal device can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a SOC chip, which is used to implement the above method. The chip can integrate at least one processing element and a storage element, and the method performed by the terminal device can be implemented by the processing element calling the program stored in the storage element; alternatively, the chip can integrate at least one integrated circuit to implement the method performed by the terminal device; alternatively, the above implementation methods can be combined, with the functions of some units being implemented by the processing element calling the program, and the functions of some units being implemented by the integrated circuit.

[0316] As can be seen, the above-mentioned apparatus for a terminal device may include at least one processing element and an interface circuit, wherein the at least one processing element is used to execute any of the methods provided in the above method embodiments. The processing element may execute some or all of the steps executed by the terminal device in a first manner: by calling a program stored in a storage element; or in a second manner: by executing some or all of the steps executed by the terminal device through the hardware integrated logic circuit in the processor element in combination with instructions. Of course, the first and second manners may also be combined to execute some or all of the steps executed by the terminal device.

[0317] The processing element here is the same as described above and can be implemented by a processor. The function of the processing element can be Figure 16 The processing unit described in the preceding claims has the same function. For example, the processing element may be a general-purpose processor, such as a CPU, or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as one or more ASICs, or one or more microprocessors DSPs, or one or more FPGAs, or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. The storage element may be implemented by a memory, and the function of the storage element may be the same as Figure 16 The function of the storage unit described in the above is the same. The storage element can be realized by a memory, and the function of the storage element can be the same as Figure 16 The storage element can be a single memory or a collective term for multiple memories.

[0318] Figure 17 The terminal device shown is capable of implementing various processes related to the terminal device in the above method embodiment. Figure 17 The operations and / or functions of the various modules in the terminal device shown are for implementing the corresponding processes in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description in the above method embodiments. To avoid repetition, detailed description is appropriately omitted here.

[0319] See also Figure 18 , is a structural diagram of an access network device provided in an embodiment of the present application, the access network device (or base station) can be applied to Figure 1 In the illustrated system architecture, the functions of the access network device described in the above method embodiment are implemented. Access network device 180 may include one or more DUs 1801 and one or more CUs 1802. DU 1801 may include at least one antenna 18011, at least one radio frequency unit 18012, at least one processor 18013, and at least one memory 18014. DU 1801 is primarily responsible for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals, converting radio frequency signals into baseband signals, and performing some baseband processing. CU 1802 may include at least one processor 18022 and at least one memory 18021.

[0320] The CU 1802 is primarily responsible for baseband processing and controlling access network devices. The DU 1801 and CU 1802 can be physically located together or separately, i.e., as a distributed base station. The CU 1802 is the control center of the access network device, also known as a processing unit, and is primarily responsible for performing baseband processing functions. For example, the CU 1802 can be used to control the access network device to execute the operational procedures for the access network device described in the above-described method embodiments.

[0321] In addition, the access network device 180 may optionally include one or more radio frequency units, one or more DUs, and one or more CUs. The DU may include at least one processor 18013 and at least one memory 18014, the radio frequency unit may include at least one antenna 18011 and at least one radio frequency unit 18012, and the CU may include at least one processor 18022 and at least one memory 18021.

[0322] In one example, the CU1802 may be composed of one or more single boards, and the multiple single boards may jointly support a wireless access network with a single access indication (such as a 5G network), or may respectively support wireless access networks with different access standards (such as an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks). The memory 18021 and the processor 18022 may serve one or more single boards. That is, a memory and a processor may be separately set on each single board. It is also possible that multiple single boards share the same memory and processor. In addition, necessary circuits may be provided on each single board. The DU1801 may be composed of one or more single boards, and the multiple single boards may jointly support a wireless access network with a single access indication (such as a 5G network), or may respectively support wireless access networks with different access standards (such as an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks). The memory 18014 and the processor 18013 may serve one or more single boards. That is, a memory and a processor may be separately set on each single board. It is also possible that multiple single boards share the same memory and processor. In addition, necessary circuits may be provided on each single board.

[0323] Figure 18 The access network device shown can implement various processes related to the access network device in the above method embodiments. Figure 18 The operations and / or functions of the modules in the access network device are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description in the above method embodiments. To avoid repetition, detailed description is appropriately omitted here.

[0324] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0325] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems) and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or block in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of processes and / or blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the processes in the flowchart and / or block diagram. Figure 1 a process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0326] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to work in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture comprising an instruction device, which implements the process Figure 1 a process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0327] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operational steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device for implementing the process. Figure 1 a process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A step that specifies a function in one or more boxes.

[0328] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receive first configuration information from an access network device, where the first configuration information is used to configure M configuration authorization CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals, where the M CG resources are used for the terminal device to send uplink information in a non-connected state; Receiving P downlink reference signals from the access network device, where the P downlink reference signals include the N downlink reference signals; wherein P is a positive integer and P is greater than or equal to N; Sending first information to the access network device according to the measurement values of the P downlink reference signals; When the terminal device is in a non-connected state, receiving first reconfiguration information from the access network device, where the first reconfiguration information is used to update downlink reference signals corresponding to some or all of the M CG resources; Wherein, M and N are positive integers.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The M CG resources correspond to N downlink reference signals, including at least one of the following: The M CG resources belong to one or more sets of CG resources, each CG resource belongs to one set of CG resources, and each set of CG resources corresponds to one or more downlink reference signals of the N downlink reference signals; The M CG resources are located in one or more periods, each CG resource is located in one period, and each period corresponds to one or more downlink reference signals among the N downlink reference signals; One or more CG resources among the M CG resources correspond to one or more downlink reference signals among the at least one downlink reference signal.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The non-connected state is an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The N downlink reference signals include a first downlink reference signal; The method further comprises: Send first information to the access network device on the CG resource corresponding to the first downlink reference signal.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send uplink data to the access network device on the CG resource corresponding to the first downlink reference signal.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The measured value of the first downlink reference signal is greater than or equal to a first threshold; or the measured value of the first downlink reference signal is greater than or equal to the measured values of other downlink reference signals in the N downlink reference signals.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that The P downlink reference signals include a second downlink reference signal, and a measured value of the second downlink reference signal is greater than a measured value of the first downlink reference signal; The first information includes a measurement value of the first downlink reference signal and a measurement value of the second downlink reference signal; or, The first information includes an index of the second downlink reference signal; or, The first information includes measurement values of the P downlink reference signals.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The M CG resources include a first CG resource, and the first configuration information is used to configure the first CG resource and the first CG resource corresponds to a first downlink reference signal; The first reconfiguration information is used to configure the first CG resource to correspond to the second downlink reference signal.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The M CG resources also include a second CG resource, the first configuration information is used to configure the second CG resource, and the second CG resource corresponds to the second downlink reference signal; The first reconfiguration information is also used to configure the second CG resource to correspond to the first downlink reference signal.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The first reconfiguration information is carried in downlink control information DCI, media access control MAC control element CE or radio resource control RRC message.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The DCI also includes second information, which includes HARQ feedback information and / or scheduling information; the HARQ feedback information is used to indicate whether the uplink data of the terminal device is successfully received, and the scheduling information is used to schedule the physical uplink shared channel PUSCH or physical downlink shared channel PDSCH of the terminal device.

12. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The P downlink reference signals include a third downlink reference signal; The method further includes: initiating a random access process according to the random access resource corresponding to the third downlink reference signal; The first information is carried in a first message, and the first message is used for the random access process.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The M CG resources include a third CG resource, and the first configuration information is used to configure the third CG resource and the third CG resource corresponds to a fourth downlink reference signal; The first reconfiguration information is used to configure the third CG resource to correspond to the third downlink reference signal.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The M CG resources further include a fourth CG resource, and the first configuration information is used to configure the fourth CG resource, and the fourth CG resource corresponds to the third downlink reference signal; The first reconfiguration information is also used to configure the fourth CG resource to correspond to the fourth downlink reference signal.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that The first reconfiguration information is carried in a second message, and the second message is used for the random access process.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The M CG resources include a fifth CG resource, and the hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ process number corresponding to the fifth CG resource is obtained based on a first offset, and the first offset is determined based on a downlink reference signal corresponding to the fifth CG resource.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive second configuration information from the access network device, where the second configuration information is used to configure the maximum number of retransmissions of the HARQ process corresponding to the HARQ process number and / or the effective duration of the HARQ process corresponding to the HARQ process number.

18. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending first configuration information to a terminal device, where the first configuration information is used to configure M configuration grant CG resources corresponding to N downlink reference signals, where the M CG resources are used to receive uplink information from the terminal device when the terminal device is in a non-connected state; Sending P downlink reference signals, where the P downlink reference signals include the N downlink reference signals; where P is a positive integer and is greater than or equal to N; receiving first information from the terminal device; and When the terminal device is in a non-connected state, sending first reconfiguration information to the terminal device, where the first reconfiguration information is used to update downlink reference signals corresponding to some or all of the M CG resources; Wherein, M and N are positive integers.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The M CG resources correspond to N downlink reference signals, including at least one of the following: The M CG resources belong to one or more sets of CG resources, each CG resource belongs to one set of CG resources, and each set of CG resources corresponds to one or more downlink reference signals of the N downlink reference signals; The M CG resources are located in one or more periods, each CG resource is located in one period, and each period corresponds to one or more downlink reference signals among the N downlink reference signals; One or more CG resources among the M CG resources correspond to one or more downlink reference signals among the at least one downlink reference signal.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein Sending first reconfiguration information to the terminal device includes: The first reconfiguration information is sent to the terminal device according to the first information.

21. The method according to claim 18, wherein The N downlink reference signals include a first downlink reference signal; The method further comprises: Receive first information from the terminal device on the CG resource corresponding to the first downlink reference signal.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The method further comprises: Uplink data from the terminal device is received on the CG resource corresponding to the first downlink reference signal.

23. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The measured value of the first downlink reference signal is greater than or equal to a first threshold; or the measured value of the first downlink reference signal is greater than or equal to the measured values of other downlink reference signals in the N downlink reference signals.

24. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that The P downlink reference signals include a second downlink reference signal; The first information includes a measurement value of the first downlink reference signal and a measurement value of a second downlink reference signal, and the measurement value of the second downlink reference signal is greater than the measurement value of the first downlink reference signal; or, The first information includes an index of the second downlink reference signal; or, The first information includes measurement values of the P downlink reference signals.

25. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 23, characterized in that The M CG resources include a first CG resource, and the first configuration information is used to configure the first CG resource and the first CG resource corresponds to a first downlink reference signal; The first reconfiguration information is used to configure the first CG resource to correspond to the second downlink reference signal.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The M CG resources also include a second CG resource, the first configuration information is used to configure the second CG resource, and the second CG resource corresponds to the second downlink reference signal; The first reconfiguration information is also used to configure the second CG resource to correspond to the first downlink reference signal.

27. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 23, characterized in that The first reconfiguration information is carried in a DCI, a MAC CE or an RRC message.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that The DCI also includes second information, which includes HARQ feedback information and / or scheduling information; the HARQ feedback information is used to indicate whether the uplink data of the terminal device is successfully received, and the scheduling information is used to schedule the PUSCH or PDSCH of the terminal device.

29. The method according to claim 18, wherein The P downlink reference signals include a third downlink reference signal; The first information is carried in a first message, the first message is used for a random access process, and the random access resources used in the random access process are random access resources corresponding to the third downlink reference signal.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein The M CG resources include a third CG resource, and the first configuration information is used to configure the third CG resource and the third CG resource corresponds to a fourth downlink reference signal; The first reconfiguration information is used to configure the third CG resource to correspond to the third downlink reference signal.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein The M CG resources further include a fourth CG resource, and the first configuration information is used to configure the fourth CG resource, and the fourth CG resource corresponds to the third downlink reference signal; The first reconfiguration information is also used to configure the fourth CG resource to correspond to the fourth downlink reference signal.

32. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 31, characterized in that The first reconfiguration information is carried in a second message, and the second message is used for the random access process.

33. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 23, characterized in that The M CG resources include a fifth CG resource, and the HARQ process number corresponding to the fifth CG resource is obtained based on a first offset, and the first offset is determined based on a downlink reference signal corresponding to the fifth CG resource.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein The method further comprises: Send second configuration information to the terminal device, where the second configuration information is used to configure the maximum number of retransmissions of the HARQ process corresponding to the HARQ process number and / or the effective duration of the HARQ process corresponding to the HARQ process number.

35. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising means for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

36. A communication device, characterized in that Comprising means for performing the method of any one of claims 18 to 34.

37. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 or the method according to any one of claims 18 to 34 is implemented.

38. A computer program product, characterized in that When a computer reads and executes the program or instructions in the computer program product, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 34 is performed.

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