Communication method, terminal and network side equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method, a terminal and network side equipment, and belongs to the technical field of communication, and the communication method comprises the steps that the terminal sends an activation signal or a deactivation signal to the network side equipment; the activation signal is used for requesting or notifying the network side equipment to activate the flexible resource for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used for requesting or notifying the network side equipment to deactivate the flexible resource. In the embodiment of the invention, the terminal can trigger the activation or deactivation of the flexible resource by sending the activation or deactivation signal to the network side equipment, so that the flexible resource is activated only when the flexible resource is needed, and is not activated (i.e., deactivated) when the flexible resource is not needed; therefore, signal detection does not need to be carried out on the flexible resource under the condition that the flexible resource is not activated, and the complexity and the power consumption of signal detection can be reduced. And meanwhile, the flexible resources can also be used for scheduling other uplink or downlink transmission, so that the resource utilization rate can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of communication technology, and specifically relates to a communication method, a terminal and a network side device. Background Art

[0002] In a wireless communication system, flexible resources can be configured, which are activated for signal transmission when needed and deactivated when not needed. In the case of deactivation, the device does not need to perform signal detection on the flexible resource. In the case of configuring flexible resources, how to further control the complexity and power consumption of signal detection needs to be solved urgently. Summary of the invention

[0003] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, a terminal, and a network-side device, which are helpful in reducing the complexity and power consumption of signal detection.

[0004] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which is executed by a terminal, and the method includes:

[0005] The terminal sends an activation signal or a deactivation signal to the network side device; the activation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to activate the flexible resources used for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources.

[0006] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which is performed by a network side device, and the method includes:

[0007] The network side device receives an activation signal or a deactivation signal from the terminal; the activation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to activate flexible resources for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources.

[0008] According to a third aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising:

[0009] A sending module is used to send an activation signal or a deactivation signal to a network side device; the activation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to activate flexible resources for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources.

[0010] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, including:

[0011] A receiving module is used to receive an activation signal or a deactivation signal from a terminal; the activation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to activate flexible resources for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources.

[0012] In a fifth aspect, a terminal is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented.

[0013] In the sixth aspect, a terminal is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is used to determine an activation signal or a deactivation signal, and the communication interface is used to send an activation signal or a deactivation signal to a network side device; the activation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to activate flexible resources for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources.

[0014] In the seventh aspect, a network side device is provided, which includes a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores programs or instructions that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the method described in the second aspect are implemented.

[0015] In an eighth aspect, a network side device is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to receive an activation signal or a deactivation signal from a terminal; the activation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to activate a flexible resource for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to deactivate the flexible resource. The processor is used to process the activation signal or the deactivation signal.

[0016] In the ninth aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented, or the steps of the method described in the second aspect are implemented.

[0017] In the tenth aspect, a wireless communication system is provided, including: a terminal and a network side device, wherein the terminal can be used to execute the steps of the method described in the first aspect, and the network side device can be used to execute the steps of the method described in the second aspect.

[0018] In the eleventh aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run a program or instruction to implement the method described in the first aspect, or to implement the method described in the second aspect.

[0019] In a twelfth aspect, a computer program / program product is provided, wherein the computer program / program product is stored in a storage medium, and the program / program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the communication method as described in the first aspect, or the steps of the communication method as described in the second aspect.

[0020] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal can trigger the activation or deactivation of flexible resources by sending an activation or deactivation signal to the network side device, so that the flexible resources are activated only when they are needed, and are not activated (i.e., deactivated) when they are not needed, so that when the flexible resources are not activated, there is no need to perform signal detection on the flexible resources, which can help reduce the complexity and power consumption of signal detection. At the same time, flexible resources can also be used to schedule other uplink or downlink transmissions, which can help improve resource utilization. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which the embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0022] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the mapping from SSB to RO;

[0023] Figure 3 is another diagram of the SSB to RO mapping;

[0024] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the mapping from SSB to RO groups;

[0025] Figure 5 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 6 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Fig. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Fig.10 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Fig.11 It is a schematic structural diagram of a network side device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field belong to the scope of protection of this application.

[0033] The terms "first", "second", etc. of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this way are interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of one type, and the number of objects is not limited, for example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "or" in the present application represents at least one of the connected objects. For example, "A or B" covers three schemes, namely, Scheme 1: including A but not including B; Scheme 2: including B but not including A; Scheme 3: including both A and B. The character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship.

[0034] The term "indication" in this application can be a direct indication (or explicit indication) or an indirect indication (or implicit indication). A direct indication can be understood as the sender explicitly informing the receiver of specific information, operations to be performed, or request results in the sent indication; an indirect indication can be understood as the receiver determining the corresponding information according to the indication sent by the sender, or making a judgment and determining the operation to be performed or the request result according to the judgment result.

[0035] It is worth noting that the technology described in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) / LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) or other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application are often used interchangeably, and the described technology can be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned above, as well as for other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes a New Radio (NR) system for illustrative purposes, and the NR terminology is used in most of the following descriptions, but these technologies can also be applied to systems other than NR systems, such as the 6th generation (6 th Generation, 6G) communication system.

[0036] Figure 1A block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network side device 12. Among them, the terminal 11 can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Tablet Personal Computer), a laptop computer (Laptop Computer), a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA), a handheld computer, a netbook, an ultra-mobile personal computer (Ultra-mobile Personal Computer, UMPC), a mobile Internet device (Mobile Internet Device, MID), an augmented reality (Augmented Reality, AR), a virtual reality (Virtual Reality, VR) device, a robot, a wearable device (Wearable Device), an aircraft (flight vehicle), a vehicle-mounted device (Vehicle User Equipment, VUE), a ship-mounted device, a pedestrian terminal (Pedestrian User Equipment, PUE), a smart home (home appliances with wireless communication functions, such as refrigerators, televisions, washing machines or furniture, etc.), a game console, a personal computer (Personal Computer, PC), a teller machine or a self-service machine and other terminal side devices. Wearable devices include: smart watches, smart bracelets, smart headphones, smart glasses, smart jewelry (smart bracelets, smart bracelets, smart rings, smart necklaces, smart anklets, smart anklets, etc.), smart wristbands, smart clothing, etc. Among them, the vehicle-mounted device can also be called a vehicle-mounted terminal, a vehicle-mounted controller, a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted component, a vehicle-mounted chip or a vehicle-mounted unit, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of the terminal 11 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The network side device 12 may include an access network device or a core network device, wherein the access network device may also be referred to as a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN) device, a radio access network function or a radio access network unit. The access network device may include a base station, a wireless local area network (Wireless Local Area Network, WLAN) access point (Access Point, AS) or a wireless fidelity (Wireless Fidelity, WiFi) node, etc.Among them, the base station can be called Node B (Node B, NB), Evolved Node B (Evolved Node B, eNB), the next generation Node B (the next generation Node B, gNB), New Radio Node B (New Radio Node B, NR Node B), access point, Relay Base Station (Relay Base Station, RBS), Serving Base Station (Serving Base Station, SBS), Base Transceiver Station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS), Radio Base Station, Radio Transceiver, Basic Service Set (Basic Service Set, BSS), Extended Service Set (Extended Service Set, ESS), Home Node B (home Node B, HNB), Home Evolved Node B (home evolved Node B), Transmission Reception Point (Transmission Reception Point, TRP) or other appropriate terms in the field. As long as the same technical effect is achieved, the base station is not limited to specific technical vocabulary. It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, only the base station in the NR system is taken as an example for introduction, and the specific type of the base station is not limited.

[0037] First, the SSB to RO mapping rules involved in this application are introduced.

[0038] The synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH block, SSB) in 5G includes the primary synchronization signal (PSS), the secondary synchronization signal (SSS), the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) and the demodulation reference signal (DMRS). Through the cell search process, the wireless device (terminal) obtains the synchronization signal and broadcast signal / channel provided by the base station cell and performs time-frequency domain synchronization with the base station, and obtains the location of the time-frequency resources of the cell deployed by the base station in the frequency domain and time domain, as well as the physical cell ID.

[0039] The terminal further receives the system information block (SIB) 1 by receiving the SSB, and SIB1 contains various parameters for initial access. The configuration parameters of the PRACH resource and the mapping rules from SSB to RO are configured in the system information block (SIB) 1. In the NR system, a cell can configure multiple FDM ROs at a time domain position for transmitting PRACH. At one time, the number of ROs that can perform FDM can be: {1, 2, 4, 8}, which is configured and determined by the high-level parameter msg1-FDM.

[0040] The random access preamble can only be transmitted on the time domain resources configured by the parameter PRACHConfigurationIndex and the frequency domain resources configured by the parameter msg1-FDM. RA ∈{0,1,…,M-1}, where M is equal to the high-level parameter msg1-FDM. At the time of initial access, the PRACH frequency domain resources are numbered in ascending order starting from the lowest frequency RO resource in the initial active uplink bandwidth part. Otherwise, the PRACH frequency domain resources are numbered in ascending order starting from the lowest frequency RO resource in the active uplink bandwidth part. For example, Figure 2 In the example, the number of ROs of FDM at one time is 8 (msg1-FDM=8), and the RO resources are numbered RO#0 to RO#7 in order from low to high frequency.

[0041] In the NR system, there is an association between the RO and the actual SSB sent. The RO is associated with the SSB in the order of frequency domain (from low frequency to high frequency) and then time domain. One SSB may be associated with multiple consecutive ROs, or multiple SSBs may be associated with one RO (in this case, different SSBs correspond to different Preambles), which is configured by the network through the parameter ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB.

[0042] ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSBCHOICE{

[0043] oneEighth ENUMERATED{n4,n8,n12,n16,n20,n24,n28,n32,n36,n40,n44,n48,n52,n56,n60,n64},

[0044] oneFourth ENUMERATED{n4,n8,n12,n16,n20,n24,n28,n32,n36,n40,n44,n48,n52,n56,n60,n64},

[0045] oneHalf ENUMERATED{n4,n8,n12,n16,n20,n24,n28,n32,n36,n40,n44,n48,n52,n56,n60,n64},

[0046] one ENUMERATED{n4,n8,n12,n16,n20,n24,n28,n32,n36,n40,n44,n48,n52,n56,n60,n64},

[0047] two ENUMERATED{n4,n8,n12,n16,n20,n24,n28,n32},

[0048] four INTEGER(1..16),

[0049] eight INTEGER(1..8),

[0050] sixteen INTEGER(1..4),

[0051] } OPTIONAL,--Need

[0052] For example, oneEighth means that one SSB is associated with eight consecutive ROs, eight means that eight SSBs are associated with one RO, and {n4, n8, n12, …} represents the number of preambles associated with each SSB on an RO. For example, the value n4 means that the number of preambles associated with each SSB on an RO is 4, and n8 means that the number of preambles associated with each SSB on an RO is 4.

[0053] After all SSBs have completed one round of association with RO, a SSB-RO mapping cycle is formed. An SSB-to-RO association period may include one or more SSB-RO mapping periods. An SSB-to-RO association pattern period may include one or more SSB-RO association periods. The mapping from SSB to RO is repeated with the association pattern period as the period, and the maximum association pattern period is 160ms.

[0054] Usually, the base station can use different beams to send different SSBs, where the number of SSBs is configured by the ssb-PositionsInBurst parameter. For example, for FR2, the maximum number of SSBs is 64. The terminal selects the RO / "RO and preamble combination" associated with the SSB with good signal according to the strength of the received downlink beam SSB to send Msg1. In this way, the network can determine the SSB selected by the terminal based on the RO / "RO and preamble combination" of the received Preamble, and send Msg2 on the downlink beam corresponding to the SSB to ensure the reception quality of the downlink signal.

[0055] by Figure 2 For example, the number of FDM ROs at a time is 8, and the number of SSBs actually transmitted is 4, namely SSB#0, SSB#1, SSB#2, SSB#3, and each SSB is associated with 2 ROs. If the terminal determines to send PRACH / Msg1 on the RO corresponding to SSB#0, the UE selects an RO from RO#0 and RO#1 to send PRACH.

[0056] by Figure 3 For example, the number of ROs of FDM at a time is 2, and the number of SSBs actually transmitted is 8, namely SSB#0, SSB#1, ..., SSB#7, and every 2 SSBs are associated with 1 RO. Figure 3 Each square in the table corresponds to a RO, not an SSB. The SSB in the square refers to which SSB the RO is associated with. When multiple SSBs share a RO, the preamble sets associated with the multiple SSBs are different, that is, the same preamble cannot belong to the preamble sets associated with different SSBs at the same time. Figure 3 Taking RO#0 as an example, RO#0 has a total of 60 preambles, of which preambles with indexes 0 to 29 are associated with SSB#0, and preambles with indexes 30 to 59 are associated with SSB#1.

[0057] Before sending PRACH, the terminal first selects an SSB with RSRP higher than the threshold based on the reference signal receiving power (RSRP) of the received beam (SSB). If the RSRP of multiple SSBs is higher than the threshold, the terminal can select any SSB with RSRP higher than the threshold. When there is no SSB with RSRP higher than the threshold, the terminal can select an SSB based on the implementation.

[0058] Based on the network configuration, the terminal can obtain the corresponding relationship between SSB and RO. After selecting the SSB, the RO corresponding to the selected SSB is used as the RO for sending PRACH / Preamble / Msg1. If the selected SSB is associated with multiple ROs, the terminal can select one of the ROs to send PRACH / Preamble / Msg1. For example: Figure 2 In the example shown, assuming that the terminal selects SSB#1, the terminal can select one from RO#2 and RO#3 to send PRACH / Msg1; Figure 3 In the example shown, if the terminal selects SSB#1, the terminal can select the available RO closest to the current time among the ROs (RO#0 or 4) associated with SSB#1 to send PRACH / Msg1. In the selected RO, the terminal selects a preamble from the preamble set associated with the selected SSB to send PRACH. Figure 3 In the example, if one RO is associated with two SSBs, then in the available preamble set associated with the SSB in one RO, the preamble will be divided into two subsets, each subset corresponding to one SSB, and the terminal will select a preamble sequence in the preamble subset corresponding to the selected SSB for sending PRACH / Msg1.

[0059] Secondly, the RO set determination process for repeated PRACH transmission is described. PRACH repeated transmission was introduced in Rel-18 to enhance uplink coverage. For repeated PRACH transmission, the terminal needs to repeatedly send the Preamble on multiple ROs at different positions in the time domain associated with the same SSB. The number of repetitions can be {2, 4, 8}. After the terminal determines the number of PRACH repetitions, it needs to determine the RO set. The number of valid ROs in the RO set is equal to the number of PRACH repetitions. Assuming that the number of PRACH repetitions is N1, the RO group determination rule is as follows: first determine the starting RO of the ROgroup, and then determine the remaining N1-1 ROs of the ROgroup. The remaining N1-1 ROs of each ROgroup are ROs associated with the same SSB, the same frequency position, and the same associated Preamble set as the starting RO. For example, in Figure 4 In the example, assuming that the number of PRACH repetitions is 2, for SSB#0, the ROgroup can be determined as follows: st ROgroup), the second ROgroup (2 st ROgroup), the third ROgroup (3 stROgroup) and the fourth ROgroup (4 st ROgroup).

[0060] In a wireless communication system, flexible resources can be configured, which are activated for signal transmission when needed and can be deactivated when not needed. In the case of deactivation, the device does not need to perform signal detection on the flexible resource, which can help reduce the complexity and power consumption of signal detection. For example, flexible PRACH resources can be configured. For flexible PRACH resources, they are activated when needed, so that in the case of inactivation, the network does not need to perform PRACH signal detection on the flexible PRACH resources. In the case of configuring flexible resources, how to further control the complexity and power consumption of signal detection needs to be solved urgently.

[0061] In view of this, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, a terminal and a network side device, wherein the terminal sends an activation signal or a deactivation signal to the network side device, the activation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to activate the flexible resources used for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources. Therefore, the embodiment of the present application can realize the activation or deactivation of the flexible resources triggered by the terminal, so that when the flexible resources are not activated, there is no need to perform signal detection on the flexible resources, which can help reduce the complexity and power consumption of signal detection. At the same time, flexible resources can also be used to schedule other signal transmissions, which can help improve resource utilization.

[0062] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below through some embodiments and their application scenarios in combination with the accompanying drawings.

[0063] Figure 5 FIG. 1 shows an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 As shown, the communication method at least includes the following step 510:

[0064] 510, the terminal sends an activation signal or a deactivation signal to the network side device; the activation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to activate the flexible resources for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources. Correspondingly, the network side device can receive the activation signal or the deactivation signal from the terminal.

[0065] Exemplarily, the flexible resource described in the embodiment of the present application may be an activated or deactivated resource, including at least one of a flexible time-frequency resource, a DMSR resource or a sequence. As an example, the flexible resource may include but is not limited to at least one of a flexible PRACH transmission occasion (flexible PRACH transmission occasion, flexible RO), a flexible PUSCH transmission occasion (flexible PUSCH transmission occasion), a flexible paging occasion (flexible paging occasion), a flexible PDSCH transmission occasion (flexible PDSCH transmission occasion), a flexible PDCCH transmission occasion (flexible PDCCH transmission occasion), and a flexible Msg APUSCH transmission occasion (flexible Msg APUSCH transmission occasion).

[0066] Exemplarily, activating flexible resources may refer to allowing signals to be sent (or received) on the corresponding flexible resources; deactivating flexible resources may refer to not allowing signals to be sent (or received) on the corresponding flexible resources.

[0067] When the flexible resources include flexibleRO, activating flexibleRO may refer to activating part of the preambles on the flexibleRO, or activating all the preambles, which is not limited in this application. Exemplarily, activating flexibleRO means allowing the terminal to send signals (such as PRACH, MsgA, preamble, etc.) on the corresponding flexibleRO, or allowing the network side equipment to detect signals (such as PRACH, MsgA, preamble, etc.) on the corresponding flexibleRO. Deactivating flexibleRO means not allowing the terminal to send signals (such as PRACH, MsgA, preamble, etc.) on the corresponding flexibleRO, or not allowing the network side equipment to detect signals (such as PRACH, MsgA, preamble, etc.) on the corresponding flexibleRO.

[0068] It should be noted that the activation described in the embodiments of the present application may mean (notification) activation of flexible resources or request for activation of flexible resources, and may sometimes be simply referred to as activation; the deactivation described in the embodiments of the present application may mean (notification) deactivation of flexible resources or request for deactivation of flexible resources, and may sometimes be simply referred to as deactivation. Accordingly, the activation signal described in the embodiments of the present application may be a signal for (notification) activation of flexible resources or a signal for requesting activation of flexible resources; the deactivation signal may be a signal for (notification) deactivation of flexible resources or a signal for requesting deactivation of flexible resources.

[0069] Exemplarily, in an embodiment of the present application, the signals transmitted on the flexible resources include but are not limited to at least one of PRACH, message A (MsgA), MsgA uplink physical shared channel (Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH), paging message, PDSCH, PDCCH, etc.

[0070] It should be noted that when the activation signal is used to request the network side device to activate the flexible resources used for signal transmission, the activation signal can also be called a request activation signal; when the deactivation signal is used to request the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources used for signal transmission, the deactivation signal can also be called a request deactivation signal. It can be understood that when the activation signal is used to request the network side device to activate the flexible resources used for signal transmission, the flexible resource activation needs to be performed with the permission of the network side device; when the deactivation signal is used to request the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources used for signal transmission, the flexible resource deactivation needs to be performed with the permission of the network side device.

[0071] Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal can trigger the activation or deactivation of flexible resources by sending an activation or deactivation signal to the network side device, so that the flexible resources are activated only when they are needed, and are not activated (i.e., deactivated) when they are not needed, so that when the flexible resources are not activated, there is no need to perform signal detection on the flexible resources, which can help reduce the complexity and power consumption of signal detection. At the same time, flexible resources can also be used to schedule other uplink or downlink transmissions, which can help improve resource utilization.

[0072] For example, for flexibleRO, the network does not need to perform PRACH detection on flexibleRO when it is not activated, which can help reduce the complexity of network PRACH detection and network power consumption. In addition, flexibleRO can also be used to schedule other uplink transmissions in the inactive state, which can help improve resource utilization.

[0073] In some embodiments, the activation signal or activation signal resource may be associated with a reference signal. Exemplarily, the reference signal includes but is not limited to SSB, Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS), Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), message A (message A, MsgA), MsgAPUSCH, PRACH, pre-configured grant (configured grant, CG) PUSCH, etc. Exemplarily, the association of the reference signal to the activation signal or activation signal resource includes but is not limited to the association of SSB to the activation signal or activation signal resource, the association of CSI-RS to the activation signal or activation signal resource, the association of TRS to the activation signal or activation signal resource, the association of PRACH resources to the activation signal or activation signal resource, the association of MsgA resources to the activation signal or activation signal resource, the association of PRACH resources to the activation signal or activation signal resource, the association of MsgAPUSCH resources to the activation signal or activation signal resource, and the association of CGPUSCH to the activation signal or activation signal resource.

[0074] The SSB described in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as any module that includes at least one of a synchronization signal, a broadcast signal, a PBCH, and other system message downlink broadcast signals.

[0075] In some embodiments, in order to improve the reliability of the activation signal or the deactivation signal, a retransmission mechanism of the activation signal or the deactivation signal may be introduced. That is, in the embodiments of the present application, the activation signal or the deactivation signal supports retransmission.

[0076] Optionally, when the number of signal transmission failures on the flexible resource exceeds or is not less than a first preset number, the terminal retransmits the activation signal.

[0077] For example, when the flexible resource is flexibleRO, if the number of PRACH transmission failures on flexibleRO exceeds or is not less than the first preset number, the reason for the transmission failure may be that the flexibleRO has not been successfully activated. At this time, the terminal can resend an activation signal to the network side device to activate the flexibleRO. Optionally, the first preset number can be a network side device configuration or protocol specification, which is not limited in this application.

[0078] Optionally, when the terminal receives a response message to the signal transmitted on the flexible resources, the terminal retransmits the deactivation signal.

[0079] For example, when the terminal receives a random access response (RAR) message corresponding to the PRACH on the flexibleRO, the terminal can determine that the PRACH has been sent successfully. At this time, the terminal can resend a deactivation signal to the network side device to deactivate the flexibleRO.

[0080] In some embodiments, the terminal retransmits the activation signal within the first time window or when the first timer does not time out. Specifically, a time window for sending the activation signal (i.e., the first time window) may be introduced, or a timer (i.e., the first timer) may be introduced, and the terminal may retransmit the activation signal within the first time window or when the first timer does not time out. When outside the first time window or when the first timer times out, the terminal may stop transmitting the activation signal.

[0081] Optionally, when the terminal receives a response message to the signal transmitted on the flexible resource, and the number of times the response message is received exceeds a second preset number, the terminal retransmits the deactivation signal.

[0082] For example, when the terminal receives a RAR message corresponding to the PRACH on the flexibleRO, and the number of times the RAR message is received exceeds the second preset number, the terminal can determine that the PRACH has been sent successfully. At this time, the terminal can resend a deactivation signal to the network side device to deactivate the flexibleRO. Optionally, the second preset number can be a network side device configuration or protocol specification, which is not limited in this application.

[0083] In some embodiments, the terminal retransmits the deactivation signal within the second time window or when the second timer does not time out. Specifically, a time window for sending the deactivation signal (i.e., the second time window) may be introduced, or a timer (i.e., the second timer) may be introduced. Within the second time window or when the second timer does not time out, the terminal may retransmit the deactivation signal. When outside the second time window or when the second timer times out, the terminal may stop transmitting the deactivation signal.

[0084] In some embodiments, a maximum number of retransmissions (ie, a maximum number of repeated transmissions) of an activation signal or a deactivation signal may be introduced. When the activation signal or the deactivation signal reaches the maximum number of retransmissions, it is determined that the signal transmission has failed.

[0085] Optionally, the activation signal and the deactivation signal may correspond to the same maximum number of retransmissions, or may correspond to different maximum number of retransmissions, which is not limited in this application. Optionally, the maximum number of retransmissions may be a network-side device configuration or protocol specification, which is not limited in this application.

[0086] Exemplarily, when an activation signal for requesting or notifying activation of flexibleRO reaches a maximum number of retransmissions, or a deactivation signal for requesting or notifying deactivation of flexibleRO reaches a maximum number of retransmissions, it can be determined (eg, announced) that random access has failed.

[0087] Therefore, the embodiments of the present application can help improve the reliability of activation signal or deactivation signal transmission by supporting retransmission of activation signals or deactivation signals, setting the maximum number of retransmissions, setting a sending time window or timer, etc.

[0088] In some embodiments, see Figure 6 The communication method 500 may further include step 520:

[0089] 520, the network side device sends a feedback signal of the activation signal or the deactivation signal to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the feedback signal from the network side device. The feedback signal can be used to feedback the reception status or response of the network side device to the activation signal or the deactivation signal.

[0090] In some embodiments, the feedback signal is used to indicate one or more of the following:

[0091] Whether the activation signal or deactivation signal is received successfully;

[0092] Whether the network-side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation;

[0093] The time when the network-side device activates or deactivates flexible resources.

[0094] Therefore, the embodiment of the present application sends a feedback signal of an activation signal or a deactivation signal to the terminal through the network side device, so that the terminal can determine whether the activation signal or the deactivation signal is successfully received by the network side device, or enables the terminal to determine whether the network side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation, or the time when the network side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation, which is conducive to further improving the reliability of the transmission of the activation signal or the deactivation signal.

[0095] In some embodiments, the feedback signal may include at least one of a specific reference signal, a response message, and physical layer signaling.

[0096] As an implementable manner, step 520 may be specifically implemented as follows: the network side device sends a specific reference signal to the terminal as a feedback signal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the specific reference signal from the network side device.

[0097] Exemplarily, the specific reference signal may include but is not limited to at least one of a specific SSB, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), etc. Optionally, the reference signal may include a reference signal of one cell or reference signals of multiple cells, and the cells may be of the same frequency carrier or different frequency carriers, and may be within a frequency band or in different frequency bands, without limitation.

[0098] Optionally, the specific reference signal may include first indication information for indicating whether the activation signal or the deactivation signal is received successfully, or indicating whether the network side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation, or indicating the time when the network side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation. By including the first indication information in the specific reference signal, the network side device can explicitly indicate to the terminal whether the activation signal or the deactivation signal is successfully received, or explicitly indicate whether to perform activation or deactivation of the flexible resource, or explicitly indicate the time to perform flexible resource activation or deactivation.

[0099] Exemplarily, a specific bit, such as an intra-freq reselction indication bit, may be used in a master information block (MIB) of a specific SSB as the first indication information to indicate whether an activation signal or deactivation signal corresponding to the flexibleRO is received successfully, or to indicate whether the network side device performs activation or deactivation of the flexibleRO, or to indicate the time when the network side device performs activation or deactivation of the flexibleRO.

[0100] Optionally, the specific reference signal may include an on-demand reference signal; the on-demand reference signal is used to indicate successful reception of an activation signal, or to indicate when a network side device performs flexible resource activation, or to indicate when a network side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation.

[0101] Exemplarily, the feedback signal of the activation signal or deactivation signal of flexibleRO is the corresponding on-demandSSB. Specifically, when the flexibleRO is activated, the corresponding on-demandSSB is also activated, and the terminal can determine whether the activation signal is received, or whether the network side device executes the activation of the flexibleRO, or the time when the network side device executes the activation of the flexibleRO based on whether the on-demandSSB is received. For example, after sending the activation signal, the terminal can determine that the activation signal is received based on the receipt of the on-demandSSB, or determine that the network side device executes the activation of the flexibleRO based on the receipt of the on-demandSSB, or determine the time when the network side executes the activation of the flexibleRO based on the received on-demandSSB (the time can be carried in the on-demandSSB).

[0102] Therefore, by including an on-demand reference signal in a specific reference signal, which is activated when the flexible resources are activated, the network side device can indicate to the terminal whether the activation signal or deactivation signal is successfully received, or whether to perform activation or deactivation of the flexible resources, or the time to perform activation or deactivation of the flexible resources.

[0103] Optionally, when the terminal device does not receive the specific reference signal, the terminal determines that the deactivation signal is received successfully, or determines that the network side device performs flexible resource deactivation.

[0104] Exemplarily, when flexibleRO is deactivated, the corresponding on-demandSSB is also deactivated, and the terminal can determine that the deactivation signal is received by the network side device, or the network side device performs the deactivation of flexibleRO, based on the failure to receive the on-demandSSB. For example, after the terminal determines that the network side device performs the activation of flexibleRO based on the receipt of the on-demandSSB, the terminal sends a deactivation signal to the network side device, at which time it can be determined that the deactivation signal is received, or the network side device performs the deactivation of flexibleRO, based on the failure to receive the on-demandSSB.

[0105] Therefore, by including an on-demand reference signal in a specific reference signal, which is deactivated when the flexible resource is deactivated, the network side device can implicitly indicate to the terminal that the deactivation signal is successfully received, or implicitly indicate to perform activation or deactivation of the flexible resource.

[0106] As another possible implementation, step 520 may be specifically implemented as follows: the network side device sends a response message to the terminal as a feedback signal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the response message from the network side device.

[0107] Optionally, the response message may include second indication information for indicating whether the activation signal or deactivation signal is received successfully, or indicating whether the network side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation, or indicating the time when the network side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation. By including the second indication information in the response message, the network side device can explicitly indicate to the terminal whether the activation signal or deactivation signal is successfully received, or explicitly indicate whether to perform flexible resource activation or deactivation, or explicitly indicate the time to perform flexible resource activation or deactivation.

[0108] In some embodiments, when the terminal identifies the response message according to a preset first radio network temporary identifier (Radio Network Temporary Indentifier, RNTI), the terminal determines that the activation signal is successfully received, or determines that the network side device performs flexible resource activation. In some embodiments, when the terminal identifies the response message according to a preset second RNTI, the terminal determines that the deactivation signal is successfully received, or determines that the network side device performs flexible resource deactivation.

[0109] As an example, the first RNTI or the second RNTI can reuse an existing RNTI, such as a P-RNTI for detecting a paging message, or a RA-RNTI for detecting an RAR response, etc., which is not limited in this application. As another example, the first RNTI is configured as an RNTI specifically for detecting a response message of an activation signal, and the second RNTI is configured as an RNTI specifically for detecting a response message of a deactivation signal, which is not limited in this application.

[0110] Therefore, the embodiment of the present application uses the corresponding RNTI to identify the response message, so that the response message indicates whether the activation signal or deactivation signal is successfully received, or indicates the execution of flexible resource activation or deactivation.

[0111] In some embodiments, step 520 may be specifically implemented as follows: the network side device sends a physical layer signaling to the terminal as a feedback signal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the physical layer signaling from the network side device.

[0112] Exemplarily, the physical layer signaling may include but is not limited to a PDCCH order, DCI, etc., which is not limited in the present application.

[0113] Optionally, the terminal may receive a first physical downlink control channel PDCCH command from a network side device, the first PDCCH command being used to indicate the use of flexible resources to transmit the signal, or to indicate the network side device to perform flexible resource activation, or to indicate the time when the network side device performs flexible resource activation. Therefore, by sending the first PDCCH command to the terminal, the network side device can explicitly indicate to the terminal that the activation signal is successfully received, or that the flexible resource activation is performed, or the time when the flexible resource activation is performed.

[0114] For example, after receiving the activation signal for activating flexibleRO, the network device can instruct the use of resources on the corresponding flexibleRO for PRACH transmission through the first PDCCHorder, or instruct the network device to perform flexibleRO resource activation. Optionally, the first PDCCHorder can indicate the time when the network device performs flexibleRO activation.

[0115] Optionally, the terminal may receive a second PDCCH command from a network side device, where the second PDCCH command is used to instruct the use of common resources to transmit a signal, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource deactivation, or to instruct the network side device to perform the time for deactivating flexible resources. Therefore, by sending the second PDCCH command to the terminal, the network side device can explicitly indicate to the terminal that a deactivation signal has been successfully received, or that deactivation of flexible resources has been performed, or the time for deactivating flexible resources has been performed.

[0116] For example, after receiving the deactivation signal for deactivating flexibleRO, the network device can indicate through the second PDCCHorder that the resources on the corresponding normal RO are used for PRACH transmission, or instruct the network device to perform deactivation of flexibleRO resources. Optionally, the second PDCCHorder can be used to indicate the time when the network device performs flexibleRO deactivation.

[0117] In some embodiments, common resources may also become static resources, such as staticRO, which is not limited in this application.

[0118] Optionally, the terminal may receive a third PDCCH command from a network side device, where the third PDCCH command includes a first preamble identifier ID; the first preamble ID is used to indicate that an activation signal is successfully received, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation.

[0119] Optionally, the terminal may receive a fourth PDCCH command from the network side device, where the fourth PDCCH command includes a second preamble code ID, where the second preamble code ID is used to indicate that the deactivation signal is received successfully, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource deactivation.

[0120] Exemplarily, the network side device may use a special PDCCH command, such as configuring the preambleID in the PDCCH command to a special value, to notify the terminal network whether it has received the corresponding activation signal or deactivation signal, or to notify the terminal network whether to perform activation or deactivation of the flexible signal. For example, the network side device may configure the preambleID in the third PDCCH command to a first value (i.e., corresponding to the first preamble ID) to indicate that the activation signal is successfully received, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation. For another example, the network side device may configure the preambleID in the fourth PDCCH command to a second value (i.e., corresponding to the second preamble ID) to indicate that the deactivation signal is successfully received, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource deactivation.

[0121] Therefore, by sending a special PDCCH command to the terminal, such as configuring the preambleID in the PDCCH naming to a special value, the network side device can explicitly indicate to the terminal whether the activation signal is successfully received or whether to perform activation of flexible resources.

[0122] Optionally, the terminal may receive a first common PDCCH from a network side device; the first common PDCCH is in a first DCI format, and is used to indicate that the activation signal is successfully received, or that the network side device performs flexible resource activation. Optionally, the terminal may receive a second common PDCCH from a network side device; the second common PDCCH is in a second DCI format, and is used to indicate that the deactivation signal is successfully received, or that the network side device performs flexible resource deactivation. Exemplarily, the common PDCCH may include a common PDCCH specifically used to feedback whether an activation signal or a deactivation signal is successfully received, or a common PDCCH used for paging, or other common PDCCHs, which are not limited in this application.

[0123] Therefore, the network sends a common PDCCH command to the terminal, implicitly indicating to the terminal whether the activation signal is successfully received or whether to perform activation of flexible resources through a specific DCI format.

[0124] In some embodiments, step 520 may be specifically implemented as follows: the terminal receives the above feedback signal within the third time window.

[0125] Optionally, at least one of the starting position and length of the third time window may be configured by a network-side device or specified by a protocol, and this application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0126] Optionally, the third time window of the feedback signal corresponding to the activation signal, or the third time window of the feedback signal corresponding to the deactivation signal can be configured separately, or the same time window can be configured, which is not limited in this application.

[0127] Optionally, the starting position of the third time window includes the time of the first downlink signal received after sending the activation signal or the deactivation signal. Optionally, the length of the third time window is N times the length of the random access response RAR window, where N is a positive integer, where N is configured by the network side device or specified by the protocol.

[0128] In some embodiments, if the terminal does not receive the above feedback signal within the third time window, the terminal retransmits the activation signal or the deactivation signal.

[0129] As a possible implementation, the terminal may retransmit the activation signal or the deactivation signal at a first time after the third time window ends. Optionally, the first time may be configured by a network device or specified by a protocol, and this application does not limit this.

[0130] Therefore, the embodiment of the present application can help improve the reliability of the transmission of the activation signal or the deactivation signal by setting a receiving window for the feedback signal of the activation signal or the deactivation signal.

[0131] In some embodiments, when flexible resources and ordinary resources are independently configured, or flexible resources and ordinary resources are configured by a common resource, but the flexible resources and ordinary resources are FDM or have a long time domain interval, when the flexible resources are activated, it is necessary to consider under what circumstances to choose to transmit signals on the flexible resources, or under what circumstances to choose to transmit signals on the ordinary resources, so as to ensure that the terminal selects the appropriate RO, reduce conflicts with other terminals on PRACH resources, and increase the probability of successful reception of PRACH.

[0132] In some embodiments, when the terminal determines that the flexible resource has been activated, the terminal uses the flexible resource to send a signal to the network side device. Optionally, when the flexible resource is not successfully activated or deactivated, the terminal can use normal resources to send a signal to the network side device. For example, when the terminal determines that the flexibleRO has been activated or is effective, the terminal can give priority to the activated flexibleRO to send PRACH. When the terminal determines that the flexibleRO is not successfully activated or successfully deactivated, the normalRO can be selected to send PRACH.

[0133] In some embodiments, the terminal uses flexible resources to send the signal to the network side device within a preset time range. The preset time range can be configured by the network side device or specified by the protocol, and this application does not limit this. Optionally, when the preset time range is exceeded, the terminal can use ordinary resources to send the signal to the network side device.

[0134] For example, when the terminal determines that the flexibleRO has been activated or is effective, the terminal preferentially selects the flexibleRO to send PRACH within a preset time range. Exemplarily, the preset time range may include at least one resource configuration period (such as a PRACH resource configuration period). For example, when the terminal determines that the flexibleRO has been activated or is effective, within a PRACH resource configuration period, the terminal preferentially selects the flexibleRO to send PRACH.

[0135] In some embodiments, when the terminal does not receive a response message to the signal transmitted on the flexible resource, the terminal uses the first nearest available resource to transmit the signal in the next time period. For example, when flexibleRO is selected to transmit PRACH, when the terminal does not successfully receive RAR, when entering the next time period, the terminal preferentially selects the first nearest available RO in the period to transmit PRACH resources. The available RO may be flexibleRO or normalRO, which is not limited in this application.

[0136] In some embodiments, when the terminal transmits the above signal for the first time, it uses flexible resources to send the signal to the network side device.

[0137] Optionally, the initial transmission includes at least one of the following:

[0138] Initial transmission without power ramping;

[0139] including initial transmissions of repeated transmissions;

[0140] Initial transmissions of repeated transmissions are not included.

[0141] The initial transmission without power ramping refers to the initial transmission using the initial power.

[0142] During a signal transmission process, multiple repeated signal transmissions, i.e., repetitions, can be performed to ensure that the signal transmission can be successfully received by the other end. The initial transmission including repetitions means that the initial transmission includes the repetitions during the first signal transmission process. The initial transmission not including repetitions means that the initial transmission only includes the first signal transmission during the first signal transmission process.

[0143] Optionally, when the initial signal transmission process only performs one signal transmission, that is, the initial signal transmission does not perform multiple repeated signal transmissions, the initial transmission refers to the first data transmission process including the one signal transmission.

[0144] In some embodiments, when the first measurement metric of the reference signal corresponding to the flexible resource meets the first preset condition, the terminal uses the flexible resource to send a signal to the network side device. In other words, whether the terminal preferentially selects the flexible resource for signal transmission depends on the measurement metric of the reference signal associated with the flexible resource.

[0145] Exemplarily, the reference signal corresponding to (associated with) the flexible resources may include, but is not limited to, at least one of SSB, Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS), and Tracking Reference Signal (TRS).

[0146] Optionally, the first preset condition may include at least one of the following:

[0147] The first measurement metric is greater than or not less than the second measurement metric of the reference signal corresponding to the common time-frequency resource;

[0148] The first measurement metric is greater than or not less than a preset threshold.

[0149] Exemplarily, the first measurement metric or the second measurement metric may include RSRP, or reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ), etc., without limitation. For example, when the RSRP measured by the reference signal SSB associated with flexibleRO is greater than or not less than the RSRP measured by the reference signal SSB associated with normalRO, flexibleRO is selected for PRACH transmission. Conversely, when the RSRP measured by the reference signal SSB associated with flexibleRO is less than the RSRP measured by the reference signal SSB associated with normalRO, normalRO may be selected for PRACH transmission.

[0150] For another example, when the reference signal SSB of a certain direction associated with flexibleRO, such as the RSRP of a specific SSB index (index), is greater than or not less than the RSRP of the same SSBindex associated with normal RO, flexibleRO is selected for PRACH transmission. Conversely, when the reference signal SSB of a certain direction associated with flexibleRO, such as the RSRP of a specific SSB index (index), is less than the RSRP of the same SSBindex associated with normal RO, normalRO may be selected for PRACH transmission.

[0151] For another example, when the RARP measured by the reference signal SSB associated with flexibleRO is greater than or not less than a preset threshold, flexibleRO is selected for PRACH transmission. Conversely, when the RARP measured by the reference signal SSB associated with flexibleRO is less than a preset threshold, normalRO can be selected for PRACH transmission.

[0152] For another example, when the reference signal SSB in a certain direction associated with flexibleRO, such as the RARP of a specific SSBindex, is greater than or not less than a preset threshold, flexibleRO is selected for PRACH transmission. Conversely, when the reference signal SSB in a certain direction associated with flexibleRO, such as the RARP of a specific SSBindex, is less than a preset threshold, normalRO can be selected for PRACH transmission.

[0153] In some embodiments, when the second preset condition is met, the terminal switches from the flexible resource to the common resource to send a signal to the network side device. In other words, the terminal supports switching from the flexible resource to the common resource for signal transmission.

[0154] Optionally, the second preset condition includes at least one of the following:

[0155] The number of failures of the terminal to transmit signals on the flexible resources is greater than or not less than a preset threshold;

[0156] The measurement metric of the reference signal corresponding to the flexible resource does not meet the preset requirements;

[0157] The number of repetitions of the terminal sending the signal on the flexible resource is greater than or not less than a preset threshold;

[0158] The number of retransmissions of the activation signal is greater than or not less than a preset threshold.

[0159] For example, when the flexible resource is flexibleRO, if the number of failed transmissions of the terminal on flexibleRO is greater than or not less than a preset value, such as a certain number of times, the terminal switches from flexibleRO to normalRO for PRACH transmission. For another example, when the terminal measures a reference signal associated with flexibleRO, such as the signal strength (such as RSRP) or quality (such as RSRQ) of SSB, or its function fails to meet certain requirements, the terminal switches from flexibleRO to normalRO for PRACH transmission. For another example, when the terminal has tried the maximum or a certain number of PRACH repetitions on flexibleRO, it switches from flexibleRO to normalRO for PRACH transmission. For another example, when the number of activation signal retransmissions of the terminal on flexibleRO exceeds or is not less than a certain number of times, the terminal switches from flexibleRO to normalRO for PRACH transmission.

[0160] In some embodiments, when the third preset condition is met, the terminal can switch from common resources to flexible resources to send a signal to the network side device. In other words, the terminal also supports switching from common resources to flexible resources for signal transmission.

[0161] Optionally, the third preset condition includes at least one of the following:

[0162] The number of failures of the terminal to transmit signals on common resources is greater than or not less than a preset threshold;

[0163] The measurement metric of the reference signal corresponding to the common resource does not meet the preset requirements;

[0164] The number of repetitions of the terminal sending the signal on the common resource is greater than or not less than the preset threshold.

[0165] For example, when the normal resource is normalRO, if the number of failed transmissions of the terminal on normalRO is greater than or not less than a preset value, such as a certain number of times, the terminal switches from normalRO to flexibleRO for PRACH transmission. For another example, when the terminal measures a reference signal associated with normalRO, such as the signal strength (such as RSRP) or quality (such as RSRQ) of SSB, or its function fails to meet certain requirements, the terminal switches from normalRO to flexibleRO for PRACH transmission. For another example, when the terminal has tried the maximum or a certain number of PRACH repetitions on normalRO, it switches from normalRO to flexibleRO for PRACH transmission.

[0166] That is to say, the terminal supports switching from flexibleRO to normalRO, and also supports switching from normalRO to flexibleRO. For example, when the number of failures of the terminal to transmit (PRACH) on the first RO is greater than or not less than a certain number, the terminal switches to the second RO. For another example, when the terminal measures the reference signal associated with the first RO, and the measured signal strength or instruction or its function cannot meet certain requirements, it switches to the second RO for PRACH transmission. For another example, after the terminal has tried the maximum or a certain number of PRACH repetitions on the first RO, it can switch to the second RO for PRACH transmission. Among them, the first RO is flexibleRO, and the second RO is normalRO; or the first RO is normalRO, and the second RO is flexibleRO.

[0167] Optionally, when the terminal has been trying PRACH transmission on the first resource (such as RO), if the above-mentioned second preset condition or the third preset condition is met, the terminal may be allowed to switch to the second resource (such as RO) to continue trying PRACH transmission. That is to say, the terminal is not allowed to switch back to the resource type previously tried for signal transmission. For example, when the terminal has been trying PRACH transmission on flexibleRO, if the above-mentioned second preset condition is met, the terminal may be allowed to switch to normalRO to continue PRACH transmission. If the terminal continues to try PRACH transmission on normal RO and meets the above-mentioned third preset condition, because the terminal has previously tried PRACH transmission on flexibleRO and failed, the terminal is not allowed to switch to flexibleRO for PRACH transmission. By configuring the terminal not to be allowed to switch to a resource type that has been tried before, it can be helpful to avoid the terminal switching back to a resource that was previously tried and cannot perform signal transmission, thereby helping to improve the reliability of signal transmission.

[0168] Therefore, by choosing to transmit signals on flexible resources when appropriate, or choosing to transmit signals on ordinary resources, the terminal can ensure that the terminal selects appropriate resources for signal transmission, reduce resource conflicts between the terminal and other terminals, and increase the probability of successful signal reception.

[0169] In some embodiments, the flexible resource is used when at least one of the following is used:

[0170] After the terminal sends the activation signal;

[0171] After a first time interval after the terminal sends an activation signal;

[0172] Before the second time interval after the terminal sends the activation signal;

[0173] After the reception time of the feedback signal of the activation signal sent by the network side device;

[0174] After a third time interval after the time when the network side device receives the feedback signal of the activation signal;

[0175] Before the terminal sends a deactivation signal;

[0176] Before a fourth time interval after the terminal sends a deactivation signal;

[0177] Before the time when the network side device receives the feedback signal of sending the deactivation signal;

[0178] The network side device sends the deactivation signal and before the fifth time interval after the reception time of the feedback signal.

[0179] Optionally, the first time interval may be specified by a network configuration or a protocol. Optionally, the first time interval may be based on an uplink signal processing time.

[0180] Optionally, the second time interval may be specified by a network configuration or a protocol. When the flexible resource is used at a time including before the second time interval after the terminal sends the activation signal, the activated flexible resource is automatically deactivated after the second time interval of the activation moment.

[0181] Optionally, the third time interval may be specified by a network configuration or a protocol. Optionally, the third time interval may be determined based on at least one of an uplink signal processing time and a downlink signal receiving and processing time.

[0182] Optionally, the fourth time interval may be specified by a network configuration or a protocol. Optionally, the fourth time interval may be determined according to an uplink signal processing time.

[0183] Optionally, the fifth time interval may be configured by the network or specified by a protocol. Optionally, the fifth time interval may be determined based on at least one of an uplink signal processing time and a downlink signal receiving and processing time.

[0184] Therefore, the embodiment of the present application can ensure that the terminal and the network side device reach a consensus on the effective time of the flexible resources by determining the time when the flexible resources are used, thereby avoiding the terminal blindly sending signals on the flexible resources or the network side device blindly receiving signals on the flexible resources, which is beneficial to improving the reliability of signal transmission.

[0185] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be executed by a communication device. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described by taking the communication device executing the communication method as an example.

[0186] Figure 7FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 700 can execute the steps executed by the terminal in the communication method 500. Figure 7 As shown, the communication device 700 includes a sending module 710 .

[0187] The sending module 710 is used to send an activation signal or a deactivation signal to a network side device; the activation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to activate flexible resources used for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources.

[0188] In some embodiments, the sending module 710 is further configured to:

[0189] When the number of signal transmission failures on the flexible resource exceeds or is not less than a first preset number, retransmitting the activation signal;

[0190] When the terminal receives a response message to the signal transmitted on the flexible resource, the terminal retransmits the deactivation signal;

[0191] When the terminal receives a response message to the signal transmitted on the flexible resource, and the number of times the response message is received exceeds a second preset number, the terminal retransmits the deactivation signal.

[0192] In some embodiments, the communication device 700 further includes a determination module, configured to:

[0193] When the activation signal or the deactivation signal reaches a maximum number of retransmissions, it is determined that the signal transmission has failed.

[0194] In some embodiments, the sending module 710 is specifically used to:

[0195] The activation signal is retransmitted within the first time window or when the first timer does not time out.

[0196] In some embodiments, the sending module 710 is specifically used to:

[0197] The deactivation signal is retransmitted within the second time window or when the second timer does not time out.

[0198] In some embodiments, the communication device 700 further includes a receiving module, configured to:

[0199] A feedback signal of the activation signal or the deactivation signal is received.

[0200] In some embodiments, the feedback signal is used to indicate one or more of the following:

[0201] whether the activation signal or deactivation signal is received successfully;

[0202] Whether the network-side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation;

[0203] The time when the network-side device activates or deactivates flexible resources.

[0204] In some embodiments, the receiving module is specifically configured to:

[0205] The terminal receives a specific reference signal from the network side device;

[0206] The terminal receives a response message from the network side device;

[0207] The terminal receives physical layer signaling from the network side device.

[0208] In some embodiments, the specific reference signal includes an on-demand reference signal; the on-demand reference signal is used to indicate that the activation signal is received successfully, or to indicate that the network side device performs flexible resource activation, or to indicate the time when the network side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation.

[0209] In some embodiments, the determination module is further configured to:

[0210] When the terminal does not receive the specific reference signal, it is determined that the deactivation signal is received successfully, or it is determined that the network side device performs flexible resource deactivation.

[0211] In some embodiments, the determination module is further configured to:

[0212] When the terminal identifies the response message according to the preset first RNTI, it is determined that the activation signal is received successfully, or it is determined that the network side device performs activation of the flexible resource activation;

[0213] When the terminal identifies the response message according to the preset second RNTI, it determines that the deactivation signal is received successfully, or determines that the network side device executes flexible resource deactivation.

[0214] In some embodiments, the receiving module is specifically used for at least one of the following:

[0215] receiving a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) command from the network side device, where the first PDCCH command is used to instruct the use of the flexible resource to transmit the signal, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation time;

[0216] A second PDCCH command is received from the network side device, where the second PDCCH command is used to instruct the use of ordinary resources to transmit the signal, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource deactivation, or to instruct the network side device when to perform flexible resource deactivation.

[0217] In some embodiments, the receiving module is specifically used for at least one of the following:

[0218] receiving a third PDCCH command from the network side device, wherein the third PDCCH command includes a first preamble code identifier ID; the first preamble code ID is used to indicate that the activation signal is received successfully, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation;

[0219] A fourth PDCCH command is received from the network side device, where the fourth PDCCH command includes a second preamble code identifier ID, where the second preamble code ID is used to indicate that the deactivation signal is received successfully, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource deactivation.

[0220] In some embodiments, the receiving module is specifically used for at least one of the following:

[0221] receiving a first public PDCCH from the network side device; the first public PDCCH is in a first DCI format, and is used to indicate that the activation signal is received successfully, or that the network side device performs flexible resource activation;

[0222] A second public PDCCH is received from the network side device; the second public PDCCH is in a second DCI format, and is used to indicate that the deactivation signal is received successfully, or that the network side device performs flexible resource deactivation.

[0223] In some embodiments, the receiving module is specifically configured to:

[0224] The feedback signal is received within a third time window.

[0225] In some embodiments, the starting position of the third time window includes the time of receiving the first downlink signal after sending the activation signal or the deactivation signal.

[0226] In some embodiments, the length of the third time window is N times the length of the random access response RAR window, where N is a positive integer, and N is configured by a network-side device or specified by a protocol.

[0227] In some embodiments, the sending module 710 is further configured to:

[0228] If the terminal does not receive the feedback signal within the third time window, the activation signal or the deactivation signal is retransmitted.

[0229] In some embodiments, the sending module 710 is further configured to:

[0230] The terminal retransmits the activation signal or the deactivation signal at a first time after the end of the third time window.

[0231] In some embodiments, the sending module 710 is further configured to:

[0232] When the terminal determines that the flexible resource has been activated, use the flexible resource to send the signal to the network-side device.

[0233] In some embodiments, the sending module 710 is further configured to:

[0234] Use the flexible resource to send the signal to the network-side device within a preset time range.

[0235] In some embodiments, the preset time range includes at least one resource configuration period.

[0236] In some embodiments, the sending module 710 is further configured to:

[0237] When the terminal does not receive a response message for the signal, transmit the signal using the first nearest available resource in the next time period.

[0238] In some embodiments, the sending module 710 is further configured to:

[0239] When initially transmitting the signal, the terminal uses the flexible resource to send the signal to the network-side device.

[0240] In some embodiments, the initial transmission includes at least one of the following:

[0241] An initial transmission without power ramping;

[0242] An initial transmission including repeated transmission;

[0243] An initial transmission not including repeated transmission.

[0244] In some embodiments, the sending module 710 is further configured to:

[0245] When a first measurement metric of a reference signal corresponding to the flexible resource meets a first preset condition, use the flexible resource to send the signal to the network-side device.

[0246] In some embodiments, the first preset condition includes at least one of the following:

[0247] The first measurement metric is greater than or not less than a second measurement metric of a reference signal corresponding to a common time-frequency resource;

[0248] The first measurement metric is greater than or not less than a preset threshold.

[0249] In some embodiments, the sending module 710 is further configured to:

[0250] When a second preset condition is met, the flexible resource is switched to a common resource to send the signal to the network side device.

[0251] In some embodiments, the second preset condition includes at least one of the following:

[0252] The number of failures of the terminal to transmit the signal on the flexible resource is greater than or not less than a preset threshold;

[0253] The measurement metric of the reference signal corresponding to the flexible resource does not meet the preset requirement;

[0254] The number of repetitions of the terminal sending a signal on the flexible resource is greater than or not less than a preset threshold;

[0255] The number of retransmissions of the activation signal is greater than or not less than a preset threshold.

[0256] In some embodiments, the flexible resource is used when at least one of the following is used:

[0257] After the terminal sends the activation signal;

[0258] After a first time interval after the terminal sends the activation signal;

[0259] Before a second time interval after the terminal sends the activation signal;

[0260] After the reception time of the feedback signal of the activation signal sent by the network side device;

[0261] After a third time interval after the time when the feedback signal of the activation signal is sent by the network side device;

[0262] Before the terminal sends the deactivation signal;

[0263] Before a fourth time interval after the terminal sends the deactivation signal;

[0264] Before the time when the network side device receives the feedback signal of sending the deactivation signal;

[0265] Before the fifth time interval after the time when the network side device sends the feedback signal of the deactivation signal.

[0266] In some embodiments, the flexible resources include at least one of flexible PRACH transmission opportunities, flexible PUSCH transmission opportunities, flexible paging opportunities, flexible PDSCH transmission opportunities, flexible PDCCH transmission opportunities, and flexible MsgAPUSCH transmission opportunities.

[0267] The communication device 700 in the embodiment of the present application may be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device may be a terminal, or may be other devices other than a terminal. For example, the terminal may include but is not limited to the types of the terminal 11 listed above, and other devices may be servers, network attached storage (NAS), etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0268] The communication device 700 provided in the embodiment of the present application can realize Figures 5 and 6 The various processes implemented by the terminal in the method embodiment achieve the same technical effect and are not described here to avoid repetition.

[0269] Figure 8 FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of another communication device 800 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 800 can execute the steps executed by the network side device in the communication method 500. Figure 8 As shown, the communication device 800 includes a receiving module 810 .

[0270] The receiving module 810 is used to receive an activation signal or a deactivation signal from the terminal; the activation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to activate the flexible resources used for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources.

[0271] In some embodiments, the communication device 800 further includes a sending module, configured to:

[0272] Sending a feedback signal of the activation signal or the deactivation signal to the terminal.

[0273] In some embodiments, the feedback signal is used to indicate one or more of the following:

[0274] whether the activation signal or deactivation signal is received successfully;

[0275] Whether the network-side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation;

[0276] The time when the network-side device activates or deactivates flexible resources.

[0277] In some embodiments, the sending module is specifically used for one or more of the following:

[0278] sending a specific reference signal to the terminal;

[0279] Sending a response message to the terminal;

[0280] Sending physical layer signaling to the terminal.

[0281] In some embodiments, the specific reference signal includes an on-demand reference signal; the on-demand reference signal is used to indicate that the activation signal is received successfully, or to indicate that the network side device performs flexible resource activation, or to indicate the time when the network side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation.

[0282] In some embodiments, the sending module is specifically used for one or more of the following:

[0283] The network side device sends a first physical downlink control channel PDCCH command to the terminal, where the first PDCCH command is used to instruct the use of the flexible resource to transmit the signal, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation time;

[0284] The network side device sends a second PDCCH command to the terminal, where the second PDCCH command is used to instruct the use of common resources to transmit the signal, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource deactivation, or to instruct the network side device when to perform flexible resource deactivation.

[0285] In some embodiments, the sending module is specifically used for one or more of the following:

[0286] The network side device sends a third PDCCH command to the terminal, where the third PDCCH command includes a first preamble code identifier ID; the first preamble code ID is used to indicate that the activation signal is successfully received, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation;

[0287] The network side device sends a fourth PDCCH command to the terminal, where the fourth PDCCH command includes a second preamble code identifier ID, where the second preamble code ID is used to indicate that the deactivation signal is received successfully, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource deactivation.

[0288] In some embodiments, the sending module is specifically used for one or more of the following:

[0289] The network side device sends a first public PDCCH; the first public PDCCH is in a first DCI format, and is used to indicate that the activation signal is received successfully, or that the network side device performs flexible resource activation;

[0290] The network side device sends a second public PDCCH; the second public PDCCH is in a second DCI format, and is used to indicate that the deactivation signal is received successfully, or that the network side device performs flexible resource deactivation.

[0291] In some embodiments, the flexible resource is used when at least one of the following is used:

[0292] After the terminal sends the activation signal;

[0293] After a first time interval after the terminal sends the activation signal;

[0294] Before a second time interval after the terminal sends the activation signal;

[0295] After the reception time of the feedback signal of the activation signal sent by the network side device;

[0296] After a third time interval after the time when the feedback signal of the activation signal is sent by the network side device;

[0297] Before the terminal sends the deactivation signal;

[0298] Before a fourth time interval after the terminal sends the deactivation signal;

[0299] Before the time when the network side device receives the feedback signal of sending the deactivation signal;

[0300] Before the fifth time interval after the time when the network side device sends the feedback signal of the deactivation signal.

[0301] In some embodiments, the flexible resources include at least one of flexible PRACH transmission opportunities, flexible PUSCH transmission opportunities, flexible paging opportunities, flexible PDSCH transmission opportunities, flexible PDCCH transmission opportunities, and flexible MsgAPUSCH transmission opportunities.

[0302] The communication device in the embodiment of the present application may be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device may be a network side device, or may be other devices other than the network side device. Exemplarily, the network side device may include but is not limited to the types of network side devices 12 listed above, and other devices may be servers, network attached storage (NAS), etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0303] The communication device 800 provided in the embodiment of the present application can realize Figures 5 and 6In the method embodiment, the various processes implemented by the network side device can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, they will not be described here.

[0304] like Fig. 9 As shown, the embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device 900, including a processor 901 and a memory 902, and the memory 902 stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor 901. For example, when the communication device 900 is a terminal, the program or instruction is executed by the processor m01 to implement the various steps executed by the terminal in the above-mentioned communication method 500 embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. When the communication device 900 is a network side device, the program or instruction is executed by the processor 901 to implement the various steps executed by the network side device in the above-mentioned communication method 500 embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0305] The embodiment of the present application also provides a terminal, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run a program or instruction to implement the following Figures 5 and 6 The steps performed by the terminal in the method embodiment shown. This terminal embodiment corresponds to the above-mentioned terminal side method embodiment, and each implementation process and implementation method of the terminal in the above-mentioned method embodiment can be applied to this terminal embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. Specifically, Fig.10 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a terminal for implementing an embodiment of the present application.

[0306] The terminal 1000 includes but is not limited to: a radio frequency unit 1001, a network module 1002, an audio output unit 1003, an input unit 1004, a sensor 1005, a display unit 1006, a user input unit 1007, an interface unit 1008, a memory 1009 and at least some of the components of a processor 1010.

[0307] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terminal 1000 may also include a power source (such as a battery) for supplying power to various components, and the power source may be logically connected to the processor 1010 through a power management system, thereby implementing functions such as managing charging, discharging, and power consumption management through the power management system. Fig.10 The terminal structure shown in the figure does not constitute a limitation on the terminal. The terminal may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently, which will not be described in detail here.

[0308] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the input unit 1004 may include a graphics processing unit (GPU) 10041 and a microphone 10042, and the graphics processor 10041 processes the image data of the static picture or video obtained by the image capture device (such as a camera) in the video capture mode or the image capture mode. The display unit 1006 may include a display panel 10061, and the display panel 10061 may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode, etc. The user input unit 1007 includes a touch panel 10071 and at least one of other input devices 10072. The touch panel 10071 is also called a touch screen. The touch panel 10071 may include two parts: a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input devices 10072 may include, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard, function keys (such as volume control keys, switch keys, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, and a joystick, which will not be repeated here.

[0309] In the embodiment of the present application, after receiving downlink data from the network side device, the RF unit 1001 can transmit the data to the processor 1010 for processing; in addition, the RF unit 1001 can send uplink data to the network side device. Generally, the RF unit 1001 includes but is not limited to an antenna, an amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low noise amplifier, a duplexer, etc.

[0310] The memory 1009 can be used to store software programs or instructions and various data. The memory 1009 can mainly include a first storage area for storing programs or instructions and a second storage area for storing data, wherein the first storage area can store an operating system, an application program or instruction required for at least one function (such as a sound playback function, an image playback function, etc.), etc. In addition, the memory x09 can include a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), an enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), a synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM) and a direct memory bus random access memory (DRRAM). The memory 1009 in the embodiment of the present application includes but is not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0311] The processor 1010 may include one or more processing units; optionally, the processor 1010 integrates an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly processes operations related to an operating system, a user interface, and application programs, and the modem processor mainly processes wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It is understandable that the modem processor may not be integrated into the processor 1010.

[0312] Among them, the radio frequency unit 1001 is used to send an activation signal or a deactivation signal to the network side device; the activation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to activate the flexible resources used for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources.

[0313] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal can trigger the activation or deactivation of flexible resources by sending an activation or deactivation signal to the network side device, so that the flexible resources are activated only when they are needed, and are not activated (i.e., deactivated) when they are not needed, so that when the flexible resources are not activated, there is no need to perform signal detection on the flexible resources, which can help reduce the complexity and power consumption of signal detection. At the same time, flexible resources can also be used to schedule other uplink or downlink transmissions, which can help improve resource utilization.

[0314] It can be understood that the implementation process of each implementation method mentioned in this embodiment can refer to the relevant description of the method embodiment and achieve the same or corresponding technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0315] The embodiment of the present application also provides a network side device, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run a program or instruction to implement the following Figures 5 and 6 The steps performed by the network side device in the method embodiment shown. This network side device embodiment corresponds to the above network side device method embodiment, and the various implementation processes and implementation methods performed by the network side device in the above method embodiment are applicable to this network side device embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect.

[0316] Specifically, the embodiment of the present application also provides a network side device. Fig.11 As shown, the network side device 1100 includes: an antenna 111, a radio frequency device 112, a baseband device 113, a processor 114 and a memory 115. The antenna 111 is connected to the radio frequency device 112. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 112 receives information through the antenna 111 and sends the received information to the baseband device 113 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 113 processes the information to be sent and sends it to the radio frequency device 112, and the radio frequency device 112 processes the received information and sends it out through the antenna 111.

[0317] The method executed by the network-side device in the above embodiment may be implemented in the baseband device 113, which includes a baseband processor.

[0318] The baseband device 113 may include, for example, at least one baseband board on which a plurality of chips are arranged. Fig.11 As shown, one of the chips is, for example, a baseband processor, which is connected to the memory 115 through a bus interface to call the program in the memory 115 to execute the network device operations shown in the above method embodiment.

[0319] The network side device may further include a network interface 116, which is, for example, a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI).

[0320] Specifically, the network side device 1100 of the embodiment of the present invention further includes: instructions or programs stored in the memory 115 and executable on the processor 114, and the processor 114 calls the instructions or programs in the memory 115 to execute Figure X The methods executed by each module shown in XX achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, they will not be repeated here.

[0321] An embodiment of the present application also provides a readable storage medium, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the various processes executed by the terminal of the above-mentioned communication method embodiment, or the various processes executed by the network side device, can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0322] The processor is the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiment, or the processor in the network side device. The readable storage medium includes a computer readable storage medium, such as a computer read-only memory ROM, a random access memory RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk. In some examples, the readable storage medium may be a non-transient readable storage medium.

[0323] An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement various processes executed by the terminal of the above-mentioned communication method embodiment, or various processes executed by the network, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0324] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

[0325] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program / program product, which is stored in a storage medium, and is executed by at least one processor to implement the various processes executed by the terminal of the above-mentioned communication method embodiment, or the various processes executed by the network, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0326] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including: a terminal and a network side device, wherein the terminal can be used to execute the steps executed by the terminal in the communication method described above, and the network side device can be used to execute the steps executed by the network side device in the communication method described above.

[0327] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "comprise", "include" or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element. In addition, it should be pointed out that the scope of the method and device in the embodiment of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in reverse order according to the functions involved, for example, the described method may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may also be added, omitted or combined. In addition, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0328] Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by means of a computer software product plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course, can also be implemented by hardware. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM, RAM, disk, CD, etc.), including several instructions to enable a terminal or a network-side device to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0329] The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of the present application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms of implementation methods without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope of protection of the claims, and these implementation methods are all within the protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, It is characterized in that include: The terminal sends an activation signal or a deactivation signal to the network side device; the activation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to activate the flexible resources used for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources.

2. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that Also includes one or more of the following: When the number of signal transmission failures on the flexible resource exceeds or is not less than a first preset number, the terminal retransmits the activation signal; When the terminal receives a response message to the signal transmitted on the flexible resource, the terminal retransmits the deactivation signal; When the terminal receives a response message to the signal transmitted on the flexible resource, and the number of times the response message is received exceeds a second preset number, the terminal retransmits the deactivation signal.

3. The method according to claim 2, It is characterized in that Also includes: When the activation signal or the deactivation signal reaches a maximum number of retransmissions, it is determined that the signal transmission has failed.

4. The method according to claim 2, It is characterized in that The terminal retransmitting the activation signal includes: Within the first time window or when the first timer does not time out, the terminal retransmits the activation signal.

5. The method according to claim 2, It is characterized in that The terminal retransmitting the deactivation signal includes: Within the second time window or when the second timer does not time out, the terminal retransmits the deactivation signal.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, It is characterized in that Also includes: The terminal receives a feedback signal of the activation signal or the deactivation signal.

7. The method according to claim 6, It is characterized in that The feedback signal is used to indicate one or more of the following: whether the activation signal or deactivation signal is received successfully; Whether the network-side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation; The time when the network-side device activates or deactivates flexible resources.

8. The method according to claim 5 or 6, It is characterized in that The terminal receives a feedback signal of the activation signal or the deactivation signal, including one or more of the following: The terminal receives a specific reference signal from the network side device; The terminal receives a response message from the network side device; The terminal receives physical layer signaling from the network side device.

9. The method according to claim 8, It is characterized in that The specific reference signal includes an on-demand reference signal; the on-demand reference signal is used to indicate that the activation signal is received successfully, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation, or to indicate the time when the network side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation.

10. The method according to claim 9, It is characterized in that Also includes: When the terminal does not receive the specific reference signal, the terminal determines that the deactivation signal is received successfully, or determines that a network-side device performs flexible resource deactivation.

11. The method according to claim 8, It is characterized in that Also includes one or more of the following: When the terminal identifies the response message according to the preset first RNTI, the terminal determines that the activation signal is received successfully, or determines that the network side device performs activation of the flexible resource activation; When the terminal identifies the response message according to the preset second RNTI, the terminal determines that the deactivation signal is received successfully, or determines that the network side device performs flexible resource deactivation.

12. The method according to claim 8, It is characterized in that The terminal receives physical layer signaling from the network side device, including one or more of the following: The terminal receives a first physical downlink control channel PDCCH command from the network side device, where the first PDCCH command is used to instruct the use of the flexible resource to transmit the signal, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation time; The terminal receives a second PDCCH command from the network side device, where the second PDCCH command is used to instruct the use of common resources to transmit the signal, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource deactivation, or to instruct the network side device when to perform flexible resource deactivation.

13. The method according to claim 8, It is characterized in that The terminal receives physical layer signaling from the network side device, including one or more of the following: The terminal receives a third PDCCH command from the network side device, where the third PDCCH command includes a first preamble code identifier ID; the first preamble code ID is used to indicate that the activation signal is successfully received, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation; The terminal receives a fourth PDCCH command from the network side device, where the fourth PDCCH command includes a second preamble code identifier ID, where the second preamble code ID is used to indicate that the deactivation signal is received successfully, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource deactivation.

14. The method according to claim 8, It is characterized in that The terminal receives physical layer signaling from the network side device, including: The terminal receives a first public PDCCH from the network side device; the first public PDCCH is in a first DCI format, and is used to indicate that the activation signal is received successfully, or that the network side device performs flexible resource activation; The terminal receives a second public PDCCH from the network side device; the second public PDCCH is in a second DCI format, and is used to indicate that the deactivation signal is received successfully, or that the network side device performs flexible resource deactivation.

15. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 14, It is characterized in that The terminal receives a feedback signal from the network side device, including: The terminal receives the feedback signal within a third time window.

16. The method according to claim 15, It is characterized in that The starting position of the third time window includes the time of receiving the first downlink signal after sending the activation signal or the deactivation signal.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, It is characterized in that The length of the third time window is N times the length of the random access response RAR window, where N is a positive integer, and N is configured by the network side device or specified by the protocol.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, It is characterized in that Also includes: If the terminal does not receive the feedback signal within the third time window, the terminal retransmits the activation signal or the deactivation signal.

19. The method according to claim 18, It is characterized in that The terminal retransmitting the activation signal or the deactivation signal includes: The terminal retransmits the activation signal or the deactivation signal at a first time after the end of the third time window.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, It is characterized in that Also includes: When the terminal determines that the flexible resource has been activated, the terminal uses the flexible resource to send the signal to the network side device.

21. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, It is characterized in that Also includes: The terminal uses the flexible resource to send the signal to the network side device within a preset time range.

22. The method according to claim 21, It is characterized in that The preset time range includes at least one resource configuration cycle.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, It is characterized in that Also includes: When the terminal does not receive a response message to the signal, the terminal transmits the signal using the first nearest available resource in a next time period.

24. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, It is characterized in that Also includes: When the terminal transmits the signal for the first time, the terminal uses the flexible resource to send the signal to the network side device.

25. The method according to claim 24, It is characterized in that The initial transmission includes at least one of the following: Initial transmission without power ramping; including initial transmissions of repeated transmissions; Initial transmissions of repeated transmissions are not included.

26. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, It is characterized in that Also includes: When the first measurement metric of the reference signal corresponding to the flexible resource meets a first preset condition, the terminal sends the signal to the network side device using the flexible resource.

27. The method according to claim 26, It is characterized in that The first preset condition includes at least one of the following: The first measurement metric is greater than or not less than a second measurement metric of a reference signal corresponding to a common time-frequency resource; The first measurement metric is greater than or not less than a preset threshold.

28. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 27, It is characterized in that Also includes: When a second preset condition is met, the terminal switches from the flexible resource to the common resource to send the signal to the network side device.

29. The method according to claim 28, It is characterized in that The second preset condition includes at least one of the following: The number of failures of the terminal to transmit the signal on the flexible resource is greater than or not less than a preset threshold; The measurement metric of the reference signal corresponding to the flexible resource does not meet the preset requirement; The number of repetitions of the terminal sending a signal on the flexible resource is greater than or not less than a preset threshold; The number of retransmissions of the activation signal is greater than or not less than a preset threshold.

30. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 29, It is characterized in that The timing when the flexible resource is used includes at least one of the following: After the terminal sends the activation signal; After a first time interval after the terminal sends the activation signal; Before a second time interval after the terminal sends the activation signal; After the reception time of the feedback signal of the activation signal sent by the network side device; After a third time interval after the time when the feedback signal of the activation signal is sent by the network side device; Before the terminal sends the deactivation signal; Before a fourth time interval after the terminal sends the deactivation signal; Before the time when the network side device receives the feedback signal of sending the deactivation signal; Before the fifth time interval after the time when the network side device sends the feedback signal of the deactivation signal.

31. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 30, It is characterized in that The flexible resources include at least one of flexible PRACH transmission opportunities, flexible PUSCH transmission opportunities, flexible paging opportunities, flexible PDSCH transmission opportunities, flexible PDCCH transmission opportunities, and flexible MsgAPUSCH transmission opportunities.

32. A communication method, It is characterized in that include: The network side device receives an activation signal or a deactivation signal from the terminal; the activation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to activate flexible resources for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources.

33. The method according to claim 32, It is characterized in that Also includes: The network side device sends a feedback signal of the activation signal or the deactivation signal to the terminal.

34. The method according to claim 33, It is characterized in that The feedback signal is used to indicate one or more of the following: whether the activation signal or deactivation signal is received successfully; Whether the network-side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation; The time when the network-side device activates or deactivates flexible resources.

35. The method according to claim 33 or 34, It is characterized in that The feedback signal of sending the activation signal or the deactivation signal by the network side device to the terminal includes one or more of the following: The network side device sends a specific reference signal to the terminal; The network side device sends a response message to the terminal; The network side device sends physical layer signaling to the terminal.

36. The method according to claim 35, It is characterized in that The specific reference signal includes an on-demand reference signal; the on-demand reference signal is used to indicate that the activation signal is received successfully, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation, or to indicate the time when the network side device performs flexible resource activation or deactivation.

37. The method according to claim 35, It is characterized in that The network side device sends physical layer signaling to the terminal, including one or more of the following: The network side device sends a first physical downlink control channel PDCCH command to the terminal, where the first PDCCH command is used to instruct the use of the flexible resource to transmit the signal, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation time; The network side device sends a second PDCCH command to the terminal, where the second PDCCH command is used to instruct the use of common resources to transmit the signal, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource deactivation, or to instruct the network side device when to perform flexible resource deactivation.

38. The method according to claim 35, It is characterized in that The network side device sends physical layer signaling to the terminal, including one or more of the following: The network side device sends a third PDCCH command to the terminal, where the third PDCCH command includes a first preamble code identifier ID; the first preamble code ID is used to indicate that the activation signal is successfully received, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource activation; The network side device sends a fourth PDCCH command to the terminal, where the fourth PDCCH command includes a second preamble code identifier ID, where the second preamble code ID is used to indicate that the deactivation signal is received successfully, or to instruct the network side device to perform flexible resource deactivation.

39. The method according to claim 35, It is characterized in that The network side device sends physical layer signaling to the terminal, including one or more of the following: The network side device sends a first public PDCCH; the first public PDCCH is in a first DCI format, and is used to indicate that the activation signal is received successfully, or that the network side device performs flexible resource activation; The network side device sends a second public PDCCH; the second public PDCCH is in a second DCI format, and is used to indicate that the deactivation signal is received successfully, or that the network side device performs flexible resource deactivation.

40. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 39, It is characterized in that The timing when the flexible resource is used includes at least one of the following: After the terminal sends the activation signal; After a first time interval after the terminal sends the activation signal; Before a second time interval after the terminal sends the activation signal; After the reception time of the feedback signal of the activation signal sent by the network side device; After a third time interval after the time when the feedback signal of the activation signal is sent by the network side device; Before the terminal sends the deactivation signal; Before a fourth time interval after the terminal sends the deactivation signal; Before the time when the network side device receives the feedback signal of sending the deactivation signal; Before the fifth time interval after the time when the network side device sends the feedback signal of the deactivation signal.

41. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 40, It is characterized in that The flexible resources include at least one of flexible PRACH transmission opportunities, flexible PUSCH transmission opportunities, flexible paging opportunities, flexible PDSCH transmission opportunities, flexible PDCCH transmission opportunities, and flexible MsgAPUSCH transmission opportunities.

42. A communication device, It is characterized in that include: A sending module is used to send an activation signal or a deactivation signal to a network side device; the activation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to activate flexible resources for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources.

43. A communication device, It is characterized in that include: A receiving module is used to receive an activation signal or a deactivation signal from a terminal; the activation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to activate flexible resources for signal transmission, and the deactivation signal is used to request or notify the network side device to deactivate the flexible resources.

44. A terminal, It is characterized in that It includes a processor and a memory, the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 31 are implemented.

45. A network side device, It is characterized in that It comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the communication method as described in any one of claims 32 to 42 are implemented.

46. ​​A readable storage medium, It is characterized in that The readable storage medium stores a program or instruction, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, it implements the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-31, or implements the steps of the communication method as described in any one of claims 32 to 42.

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