Communication method and device, readable storage medium and computer program product

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method and device, a readable storage medium and a computer program product, relates to the technical field of communication, and is used for improving the success rate of forwarding information by a relay device. In the present application, a relay device receives first information at a first time unit. The first information is used for indicating resources of the information forwarded by the relay device. And the relay device receives the second information and sends the second information at a second time unit, and the second time unit is determined according to the first duration and the first time unit. The first duration is associated with a signal transmission round-trip delay between the relay device and the network device. Therefore, the time unit for forwarding the information determined by the relay device is more reasonable, the success rate of forwarding the information in a satellite communication scene through the relay device can be improved, the deployment number of the gateway stations and the ground stations can be reduced along with the deployment of the relay device, and the communication cost can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method, apparatus, readable storage medium, and computer program product. Background Art

[0002] Currently, the 5th generation (5G) new radio (NR) technology in the mobile network is evolving from Release 18 to Release 19. At the same time, the NR technology has also entered the commercial deployment stage from the standardization stage. The NR standard protocol was originally designed as a wireless communication technology for terrestrial cellular network scenarios and can provide users with wireless communication services with ultra-low latency, ultra-high reliability, ultra-high speed, and ultra-large connection. Compared with terrestrial communication, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) communication has the characteristics of a large coverage area and flexible networking, and can achieve seamless global network coverage. NTN communication includes using devices such as drones, high-altitude platforms, and satellites to form a network and provide services such as data transmission and voice communication for user equipment (UE).

[0003] In a satellite communication system, a terminal device in the satellite system can send data to a gateway or a ground station through a satellite device, and then establish a connection with a core network or the Internet. If a large number of gateways and ground stations are deployed, the cost will increase. How to reduce the cost has become an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method, apparatus, readable storage medium, and computer program product, which are used to enable a relay device to determine a time unit of the information to be forwarded based on a first duration after receiving the information to be forwarded. This solution can improve the success rate of the relay device in forwarding information in a scenario with a large transmission delay. Furthermore, this solution can enable information transmission through the relay device in a satellite communication scenario. Since relay devices can be deployed in a satellite communication scenario, the number of deployed gateways and ground stations can be reduced, and thus the communication cost can be reduced.

[0005] In a satellite communication scenario, the relay device may include a satellite device and / or a ground station. For example, in a typical scenario, the transmission path between the terminal device and the network device includes at least two satellite devices, and a ground station is included between the two satellite devices. In this way, the signaling between the two satellite devices can also be transmitted through the ground station (for example, one satellite device transmits the signaling to the ground station, and the ground station transmits the signaling to the other satellite device). This solution can reduce the load on the direct connection link between the two satellite devices.

[0006] In the satellite communication scenario, the round-trip delay between the relay device and the network device is relatively large. In an information forwarding scenario, the network device sends the first information to the relay device, and the relay device determines the time unit of the information to be forwarded according to the time unit where the first information is located. However, due to the timing advance between the uplink and downlink frame boundaries, and the timing advance is associated with the round-trip delay between the relay device and the network device, and this value is usually large. If the difference between the time unit where the first information is located and the time unit of the information to be forwarded is small, it will result in an inappropriate position of the time unit of the information to be forwarded determined by the relay device.

[0007] To solve this problem, the present application provides an implementation manner. In this implementation manner, the relay device can determine the time unit of the information to be forwarded according to the first duration, and the first duration is associated with the round-trip delay between the relay device and the network device. Therefore, the time unit of the information to be forwarded determined by the present application is more reasonable, and then the success rate of the relay device forwarding information in the satellite communication scenario can be improved.

[0008] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a relay device. The relay device can be a satellite device or a chip (or chip system) inside the satellite device, or a network device deployed on the ground or a chip (or chip system) inside the network device.

[0009] In the present application, the relay device receives the first information in the first time unit. The first information can come from the network device. The first information is used to indicate the resource of the information sent by the relay device. In the embodiment of the present application, the "resource of the information sent by the relay device" can also include or be replaced by the "resource of the information forwarded by the relay device". It can also be understood that the first information is used to indicate the resource of the information forwarded by the relay device. There are various possibilities for the transmission direction of the information forwarded by the relay device. For the sake of easy understanding, some examples in the present application take the information forwarded by the relay device as the uplink information for illustration. In this example, it can also be understood that the first information can be used to indicate the resource of the uplink information forwarded by the relay device. The relay device receives the information used to indicate the first duration, and the first duration is associated with the round-trip signal transmission delay between the relay device and the network device. The relay device receives the second information, and the relay device sends the second information in the second time unit, and the second time unit is determined according to the first duration and the first time unit.

[0010] In this application, after receiving the second information, the relay device will send the second information, which can also be referred to as "the relay device forwards the second information". In this application, "forward" can also be replaced by "send". The second information can be understood as the information that needs to be forwarded by the relay device. In this application, the relay device forwarding the second information can be transparent forwarding or regenerative forwarding. In this application, the second information received by the relay device can come from the terminal device or other relay devices, or can come from other devices, such as from the network device, etc. The relay device sending the second information can be sending the second information to the network device or other relay devices, or can be sending the second information to other devices, such as sending the second information to the terminal device. For ease of understanding, in some examples of the embodiments of this application, the second information is taken as an example of uplink information for introduction. When the second information is uplink information, the second information received by the relay device can come from the terminal device or other relay devices, and the relay device can send the second information to other relay devices or the network device.

[0011] Since the position of the time unit for forwarding information (i.e., the position of the time unit for forwarding the second information) is also determined according to the first duration, and the first duration is associated with the signal transmission round-trip delay between the relay device and the network device. Therefore, the time unit for forwarding information determined in this application is more reasonable, and then the success rate of uplink transmission in the satellite communication scenario through the relay device can be improved.

[0012] In a possible implementation manner, the resources for indicating the information sent by the relay device (such as the information forwarded by the relay device) include at least one of the following: information for indicating the start position of the time domain of the second time unit; information for indicating the length of the time domain resources occupied by the second time unit, and information for indicating the frequency domain resources occupied by the information sent by the relay device. In this way, the relay device can determine the relevant information of the time unit for sending the second information according to the first information.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first information further includes at least one of the following: the sending address corresponding to the information sent by the relay device (such as the information relayed by the relay device); the sending path corresponding to the information sent by the relay device (such as the information relayed by the relay device); the sending direction corresponding to the information sent by the relay device (such as the information relayed by the relay device), and the sending direction includes an uplink transmission direction or a downlink transmission direction; the sending mode for the relay device to send information (such as the relay device to relay information), and the sending mode includes transparent relaying or regenerative relaying; the frequency point corresponding to the information sent by the relay device (such as the information relayed by the relay device). In this way, the relay device can determine the relevant content of the information to be relayed according to the first information, and then forward the received information based on this content. This solution provides support for the application of relay devices in satellite communication systems, thereby improving the success rate of the relay device in forwarding information.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the first duration is greater than or equal to the round-trip signal transmission delay between the relay device and the network device. Since the first duration is greater than or equal to the round-trip signal transmission delay between the relay device and the network device, the position of the time unit determined in this application for forwarding information is more reasonable, and the relay device has sufficient time to set the timing offset. This solution can improve the success rate of uplink transmission in a satellite communication scenario through the relay device.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the first duration may also be less than the round-trip signal transmission delay between the relay device and the network device. In this implementation, the relay device can also determine the time unit for forwarding information based on the first duration, or the relay device determines the time unit for forwarding information based on other parameters and the first duration. This solution can make the determined time unit more reasonable. In another possible implementation, when the first duration is less than the round-trip signal transmission delay between the relay device and the network device, the network device side can perform timing compensation on the uplink data, that is, delay the reception of the uplink signal, and the frame boundary of the uplink data received by the network device side is later than the frame boundary of the downlink data.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the second time unit is further determined according to at least one of the following: the value of K and the time unit offset value. The value of K is associated with the latency of the relay device in processing uplink information and / or the latency of processing downlink information; or the value of K is indicated by the network device. The first information further indicates the time unit offset value. In this way, this solution can be more compatible with the prior art, and this solution can avoid modifying the parameter range supported by the relay device in the terrestrial scenario (that is, it can avoid modifying the value of K or the time unit offset value), and it is not necessary for the terrestrial relay device (low-latency scenario) to support the capabilities of the large-latency scenario, thereby avoiding increasing the capabilities of the terrestrial relay device. The solution provided in the embodiments of the present application only needs to increase the capabilities of the relay device in the large-latency scenario.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the number of time units between the second time unit and the third time unit is determined according to the sum of the first duration, the value of K, and the time unit offset value. The third time unit is the time domain resource for uplink transmission, and the index value of the third time unit is equal to that of the first time unit. For example, if the first time unit is time slot n, then the third time unit is also time slot n, and the number of time units between the second time unit and the time slot n of the third time unit can be determined according to the sum of the first duration, the value of K, and the time unit offset value.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the relay device receives the third information. The third information is used to determine the updated first duration, and the updated first duration is used by the relay device to determine the time unit of the information to be sent, and the updated first duration is associated with the round-trip latency between the relay device and the network device. In the present application, "the relay device determines the time unit of the information to be sent" can also be replaced by "the relay device determines the time unit of the information to be forwarded". It can also be understood that the updated first duration is used by the relay device to determine the time unit of the information to be forwarded. For example, as the relay device moves, the latency between the relay device and the network device (such as the round-trip latency of signal transmission) changes. Therefore, in order to reduce the latency, the first duration can be updated as the latency changes, or updated periodically. For example, the network device can determine to update the first duration when it determines that the change amount of the latency between the relay device and the network device is greater than the threshold.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the third information includes: information for indicating the updated first duration; or information for indicating the difference between the first duration and the updated first duration.

[0020] In a possible implementation, before receiving the third information, the relay device may send fourth information to the network device, where the fourth information indicates the location information of the relay device and / or the timing advance corresponding to the relay device, and the third information is determined based on the fourth information. The location or timing advance of the relay device can reflect the time delay between the relay device and the network device. Therefore, by determining the updated first duration based on at least one of the two, a more accurate first duration can be obtained, and then the time delay can be further reduced.

[0021] The first duration in this application can be a newly defined value or can reuse existing parameters. For example, in a possible implementation, the first duration is determined based on the scheduling offset value. Since the relay device can reuse the scheduling offset value as the first duration, the network device does not have to send additional signaling for configuring the first duration, thus saving signaling overhead.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the scheduling offset value is further used to perform at least one of the following: used to adjust the transmission timing of the information of the terminal device; used to adjust the transmission timing of the feedback information of the terminal device; used to adjust the transmission timing of the reference signal of the terminal device; used to adjust the random access opportunity of the terminal device.

[0023] In a second aspect, an embodiment of this application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a network device. The network device can be a network equipment or a chip (or chip system) inside the network equipment.

[0024] In this application, the network device sends first information to the relay device in a first time unit, where the first information is used to indicate the resources of the information sent by the relay device. The network device sends information used to indicate the first duration, and the first duration is associated with the round-trip time delay of the signal transmission between the relay device and the network device. The network device receives second information, and the forwarding process of the second information by the relay device is included in the transmission process of the second information. The second time unit is determined based on the first duration and the first time unit.

[0025] In this application, there may be one or more relay devices between the network device and the terminal device. Multiple relay devices may all forward the second information in the second time unit. Correspondingly, the network device may also receive the second information in the second time unit. In another possible implementation, the time units for two relay devices to forward the second information may be different. If the relay device is adjacent to the network device, the network device may receive the second information in the second time unit. If there are other relay devices between the relay device and the network device, the time unit for the network device to receive the second information may not be the second time unit, but the time unit for the relay device adjacent to the network device to forward the second information. For ease of understanding, some examples in the embodiments of this application are introduced by taking the network device receiving the second information in the second time unit as an example. The method for other relay devices to determine the time unit for forwarding the second information is similar to the method for the relay device in this application to determine the second time unit, and will not be elaborated.

[0026] Since the position of the time unit for forwarding information is also determined according to the first duration, and the first duration is associated with the round-trip time delay of signal transmission between the relay device and the network device. Therefore, the time unit for forwarding information determined in this application is more reasonable, and then the success rate of uplink transmission in the satellite communication scenario through the relay device can be improved.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the network device sends the third information, and the third information is used to determine the updated first duration. The updated first duration is used for the relay device to determine the time unit of the information to be sent (such as the information to be forwarded by the relay device), and the updated first duration is associated with the round-trip time delay between the relay device and the network device.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the network device receives the fourth information. The fourth information indicates the position information of the relay device and / or the timing advance TA corresponding to the relay device. The network device determines the third information according to the fourth information.

[0029] For the relevant content of the resources for indicating the information sent by the relay device (such as the information forwarded by the relay device), the first information, the first duration, the second time unit, the third information, and the scheduling offset value, refer to the relevant description in the first aspect and will not be elaborated.

[0030] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, which can be the aforementioned relay device or network device. The communication device may include a communication unit and a processing unit to perform any one of the first aspect to the second aspect above, or to perform any possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the second aspect. The communication unit is used to perform functions related to sending and receiving. The communication unit may be referred to as a transceiver unit. Optionally, the communication unit includes a receiving unit and a sending unit. In one design, the communication device is a communication chip, the processing unit may be one or more processors or processor cores, and the communication unit may be the input / output circuit, input / output interface or antenna port of the communication chip.

[0031] In another design, the communication unit may be a transmitter and a receiver, or the communication unit is a transmitter and a receiver.

[0032] Optionally, the communication device further includes various modules that can be used to perform any one of the first aspect to the second aspect above, or to perform any possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0033] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, which can be the aforementioned relay device or network device. The communication device may include a processor and a memory to perform any one of the first aspect to the second aspect above, or to perform any possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the second aspect. Optionally, a transceiver is further included. The memory is used to store computer programs or instructions, and the processor is used to call and run the computer programs or instructions from the memory. When the processor executes the computer programs or instructions in the memory, the communication device is caused to perform any one of the first aspect to the second aspect above, or to perform any possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0034] Optionally, there is one or more processors, and there is one or more memories.

[0035] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory is separately provided from the processor.

[0036] Optionally, the transceiver may include a transmitter (emitter) and a receiver (receiver).

[0037] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which can be the aforementioned relay device or network device. The communication device may include a processor to perform any one of the first aspect to the second aspect above, or to perform any possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the second aspect. The processor is coupled to a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0038] In one implementation, when the communication device is a relay device or a network device, the communication interface can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0039] In yet another implementation, when the communication device is a chip or a chip system, the communication interface can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or a related circuit, etc. on the chip or the chip system. The processor can also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0040] In a sixth aspect, a system is provided, and the system includes the above-mentioned relay device.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the system can further include a network device.

[0042] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, and the computer program product includes: a computer program (which can also be referred to as code or instruction), when the computer program is run, it causes the computer to execute any one of the first aspect to the second aspect, or execute any possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0043] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, and the computer-readable medium stores a computer program (which can also be referred to as code or instruction), when it runs on a computer, it causes the computer to execute any one of the first aspect to the second aspect, or execute any possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0044] In a ninth aspect, a processing device is provided, including: an interface circuit and a processing circuit. The interface circuit can include an input circuit and an output circuit. The processing circuit is used to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that any one of the first aspect to the second aspect, or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the second aspect is implemented.

[0045] In a specific implementation process, the above-mentioned processing device can be a chip, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the processing circuit can be transistors, gate circuits, flip-flops, and various logic circuits, etc. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example, but not limited to, a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit can be output to, for example, but not limited to, a transmitter and transmitted by the transmitter, and the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, and this circuit is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times respectively. The present application does not limit the specific implementation manners of the processor and various circuits.

[0046] In one implementation, when the communication device is a relay device or a network device, the interface circuit may be a radio frequency processing chip in the relay device or the network device, and the processing circuit may be a baseband processing chip in the relay device or the network device.

[0047] In another implementation, the communication device may be some components in the relay device or the network device, such as integrated circuit products like a system-on-chip or a communication chip. The interface circuit may be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or a related circuit, etc. on the chip or the chip system. The processing circuit may be the logic circuit on the chip. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048] Figure 1A A possible schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Figure 1B Another possible schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] Figure 1C Another possible schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Figure 2A Another possible schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Figure 2B Another possible schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 2C Another possible schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 2D Another possible schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 2E Another possible schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing the relationship between the corresponding time units of the uplink and the downlink on the relay device side provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 4 A schematic flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing the relationship between the corresponding time units of the uplink and the downlink on the relay device side provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the relationship between the uplink and downlink corresponding time units on the relay device side provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the relationship between the uplink and downlink corresponding time units on the relay device side provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Figure 8 A possible structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Figure 9 Another possible structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0063] The following introduces the nouns and terms involved in the embodiments of the present application.

[0064] (1) Time unit.

[0065] The time units involved in the embodiments of the present application, such as the first time unit and the second time unit involved later. The time units in the embodiments of the present application belong to time domain resources. The time domain resources may include at least one of a radio frame, a subframe, a time slot, a mini slot, or an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol. A time unit may include a radio frame, a subframe, a time slot, a mini slot, or an OFDM symbol. A time unit may also include a resource aggregated by multiple radio frames or multiple subframes or multiple time slots or multiple mini slots or multiple OFDM symbols. Among them, a radio frame may include multiple subframes, a subframe may include one or more time slots, and a time slot may include at least one symbol. Or, a radio frame may include multiple time slots, and a time slot may include at least one symbol. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, an OFDM symbol may also be simply referred to as a symbol.

[0066] (2) Frequency domain resources.

[0067] Frequency domain resources may include at least one of resource elements (REs), resource blocks (RBs), channels, sub-channels, carriers, or bandwidth parts (BWPs). A frequency domain unit may include one RE, one RB, one channel, one sub-channel, one carrier, or one BWP, etc. A frequency domain unit may also include resources aggregated and composed of multiple REs, multiple RBs, multiple sub-channels, multiple carriers, or multiple BWPs. In the embodiments of the present application, a channel may be equivalently replaced with a resource block set (RB set), and the frequency domain bandwidth of an RB set may be 20 megahertz (MHz).

[0068] The technical solutions of the present application can be applied to non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems such as satellite communication systems, high altitude platform stations (HAPS) communications, and unmanned aerial vehicles, for example, integrated communication and navigation (IcaN) systems, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), and ultra-dense low-earth orbit satellite communication systems. Satellite communication systems can be integrated with traditional mobile communication systems. For example: the mobile communication system can be a fourth-generation (4G) communication system (e.g., long term evolution (LTE) system), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, fifth-generation (5G) communication system (e.g., new radio (NR) system), and future mobile communication systems, etc.

[0069] Figure 1A and Figure 1B Exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the network architecture of several communication systems applicable to the embodiments of the present application. The communication system may include satellites, network devices, and terminal devices, etc. The communication system may also include gateways and core network devices. Figure 1A and Figure 1BAn exemplary integrated network architecture of NTN and the terrestrial network is shown. It will be introduced below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0070] (1) Satellite.

[0071] The satellite can be a highly elliptical orbiting (HEO) satellite, a GEO satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, or a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the working mode of the satellite. For example, the working mode of the satellite can be a transparent mode or a regenerative mode. Figure 1A The following is an example with the working mode of the satellite being the transparent mode for illustration. Figure 1B The following is an example with the working mode of the satellite being the regenerative mode for illustration.

[0072] When the satellite works in the transparent mode, the satellite has the function of transparent relay forwarding. The gateway has the function of a network device (such as a base station) or part of the function of a network device (such as a base station). At this time, the gateway can be regarded as a network device (such as a base station). Or, the network device (such as a base station) can be deployed separately from the gateway. Then, the delay of the feeder link includes two parts: the delay from the satellite to the gateway and the delay from the gateway to the gNB. The following discussion of the transparent mode takes the case where the gateway and the gNB are together or in close proximity as an example. For the case where the gateway and the gNB are far apart, the feeder link delay can be obtained by adding the delay from the satellite to the gateway and the delay from the gateway to the gNB.

[0073] When the satellite works in the regenerative mode, the satellite has data processing capabilities, has the function of a network device (such as a base station) or part of the function of a network device (such as a base station). At this time, the satellite can be regarded as a network device (such as a base station).

[0074] The satellite can communicate wirelessly with the terminal through broadcast communication signals, navigation signals, etc. Optionally, each satellite can provide communication services, navigation services, positioning services, etc. for the terminal device through multiple beams. For example, each satellite uses multiple beams to cover the service area, and the relationship between different beams can be one or more of time division, frequency division, and space division.

[0075] (2) Gateway.

[0076] A gateway (also known as a ground station, earth station, satellite gateway, or gateway station) can be used to connect satellites and terrestrial network devices (such as terrestrial base stations). One or more satellites can be connected to one or more terrestrial network devices (such as terrestrial base stations) through one or more gateways, without limitation here.

[0077] The link between a satellite and a terminal is called a service link, and the link between a satellite and a gateway is called a feeder link. The network device can be deployed separately from the gateway, and then the latency of the feeder link can include two parts: the latency from the satellite to the gateway and the latency from the gateway to the network device.

[0078] (3) Network device.

[0079] The network device in the embodiments of this application can include network devices deployed on satellites (such as satellite base stations), network devices deployed on gateways, or network devices deployed on the ground (such as terrestrial base stations).

[0080] The network device involved in the embodiments of this application can be a radio access network (RAN) node. The RAN can be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, an NR system, and a future radio access system defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). The RAN can also include two or more different radio access systems mentioned above. The RAN can also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0081] The RAN node, also known as a radio access network device, RAN entity, or access node, is used to help terminals access the communication system wirelessly. In one application scenario, the RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next generation NodeB in the 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system. The RAN node can be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, a relay node, or a donor node.

[0082] In another application scenario, the cooperation of multiple RAN nodes can be used to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement some functions of the base station. For example, the RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). Here, the CU completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete some or all of the functions of the physical layer. For the specific descriptions of the above various protocol layers, reference can be made to the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP. The RU can be used to implement the functions of receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals. The CU and the DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or can be integrated in the same RAN node, for example, integrated in the baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in the radio frequency device, for example, included in the remote radio unit (RRU) or the active antenna unit (AAU). The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: CU-control plane and CU-user plane.

[0083] In different systems, the RAN nodes may have different names. For example, in the O-RAN system, the CU can be called an open CU (O-CU), the DU can be called an open DU (O-DU), and the RU can be called an open RU (O-RU). The RAN nodes in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in the form of software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules. For example, the RAN node can be a server loaded with the corresponding software module. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the RAN nodes. For the convenience of description, in the following text, the base station is used as an example of the RAN node for description.

[0084] (4) Core network equipment (core network, CN).

[0085] The core network device is a device installed on the ground and capable of communicating with NTN devices in the NTN system. The CN device is a network element included in the CN part of the mobile communication system. The CN device can connect the terminal device to different data networks and perform services such as authentication, charging, mobility management, session management, policy control, and user plane forwarding. The CN device can be a CN device in the current mobile communication system (such as the 5th generation (5 th generation, 5G) mobile communication system) or a CN device in a future mobile communication system. In mobile communication systems of different standards, the names of CN devices with the same functions may vary. However, the embodiments of this application do not limit the specific names of CN devices with each function.

[0086] For example, in the 4th generation (4 th generation, 4G) mobile communication system (i.e., Long Term Evolution (LTE)), the network element responsible for functions such as access control, security control, and signaling coordination is the Mobility Management Entity (MME); the network element serving as the local mobility management anchor is the Serving Gateway (S-GW); the network element serving as the anchor for handover to an external data network and responsible for Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation is the Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW); the network element storing user-related data and subscription data is the Home Subscriber Server (HSS); the network element responsible for policy and charging functions is called the Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF) network element.

[0087] For another example, in a 5G mobile communication system, according to specific logical function divisions, the core network can be divided into a control plane (CP) and a user plane (UP). Among them, the network elements responsible for the control plane functions in the CN can be collectively referred to as control plane network elements, and the network elements responsible for the user plane functions can be collectively referred to as user plane network elements. Specifically, in the user plane, the network element that serves as the interface of the data network and is responsible for functions such as user plane data forwarding is the user plane function (UPF) network element. In the control plane, the network element responsible for access control and mobility management functions is called the access and mobility management function (AMF) network element; the network element responsible for session management and the execution of control policies is called the session management function (SMF) network element; the network element responsible for functions such as managing subscription data and user access authorization is called the unified data management (UDM) network element; the network element responsible for charging and policy control functions is called the policy and charging function (PCF) network element; the network element responsible for transmitting the requirements of the application side to the network side is the application function (AF) network element.

[0088] (5) Terminal.

[0089] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to a base station or receive signals from a base station. A terminal can also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely applied in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, remote healthcare, smart grid, smart home, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart city, etc. A terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the terminal.

[0090] The embodiments of the present application can also be applicable to other communication system architectures, such as air-to-ground (ATG) communication systems, which include at least one network device and at least one high-altitude terminal. High-altitude terminals include, for example, high-altitude aircraft and on-board terminals, etc. The above Figure 1A and Figure 1B The satellites in can also be replaced by other relay devices, such as other NTN devices like high altitude platform stations (HAPS). Figure 1A or Figure 1B Taking the communication system shown as an example, it does not limit the communication systems to which the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is applicable.

[0091] It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application can also be applicable to air-to-ground (ATG) communication systems. As an example, please refer to Figure 1C , which is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of another communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application. This communication system includes at least one network device and at least one high-altitude terminal device. High-altitude terminal devices include, for example, high-altitude aircraft and on-board terminal devices, etc.

[0092] Based on Figure 1A , Figure 1B and Figure 1C the content shown and the above other content, Figure 2A exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application. As shown in Figure 2A , this communication system includes a terminal device and a network device, and there is also at least one relay device between the terminal device and the network device, such as Figure 2A the relay device #1, relay device #2, and relay device #3 shown in. Figure 2A The terminal device in can be Figure 1A , Figure 1B and Figure 1C the terminal equipment involved or the chip (or chip system) inside the terminal equipment. Figure 2A The network device in can be Figure 1A , Figure 1B and Figure 1C the network equipment involved (such as access network equipment) or the chip (or chip system) inside the network equipment (such as access network equipment). Figure 2A The relay device in can be Figure 1A , Figure 1B and Figure 1C the satellite equipment involved or the chip system inside the satellite equipment, and can also be Figure 1A , Figure 1B and Figure 1CNetwork devices deployed on the ground (such as ground base stations) or chips (or chip systems) inside network devices (such as ground base stations) involved.

[0093] Figure 2B Exemplarily shown is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture applicable to embodiments of the present application. As Figure 2B shown, the communication system includes a UE and a 5G core network (5G Core Network, 5GC). The UE can be Figure 1A , Figure 1B , Figure 1C or Figure 2A the terminal devices shown in Figure 1A , Figure 1B , Figure 1C or Figure 2A the network devices shown in Figure 2B shown, the communication system further includes one or more relay devices, and the relay device is represented as a network controlled transparent node (NCTN) in Figure 2B . The transparent forwarding node has an Amplify-and-Forward (AF) relay function, where the amplify-and-forward relay means that after the relay node receives a signal, it does not decode or encode the signal and directly forwards the received signal to the destination node. As Figure 2B shown, the communication system further includes a base station (such as a gNobeB) and a parent node (such as a gNobeB-NCTN-donor). Figure 2B The relay device shown in Figure 2A can be any one of the relay devices in Figure 1A , Figure 1B and Figure 1C the satellite devices involved or the chip systems inside the satellite devices, and can also be Figure 1A , Figure 1B and Figure 1C the network devices deployed on the ground (such as ground base stations) or chips (or chip systems) inside network devices (such as ground base stations) involved.

[0094] As Figure 2BAs shown, the relay device included in the communication system belongs to the equipment in NG-RAN. The relay device can support NR access and backhaul functions and can include NCTN-Mobile Termination (MT) and NCTN-DU. Among them, NCTN-MT can be connected to the CU or NCTN-DU of its parent node as an ordinary terminal device as the control link. NCTN-MT sends or receives beam direction information of the control backhaul / control link / access link, information for switch forwarding transmission, routing-related information, etc. NCTN-DU can provide access for NCTN-MT / Network Controlled Regenerative Node (NCRN)-MT and establish a lower-level control link. The relay device can also include a forwarding function, and the forwarding can provide amplification and forwarding (such as transparent forwarding) of UL / DL radio frequency signals between the parent node (gNB-donor) / regenerative node and the terminal device.

[0095] The parent node can be a gNodeB that supports additional functions of the relay device (also called gNodeB-donor) and can be connected to the core network, such as optical fiber. The parent node can include NCTN-Parent Node-CU (also called NCTN-donor-CU) and NCTN-Parent Node-DU (also called NCTN-donor-DU). Among them, NCTN-Parent Node-CU can provide connections for NCTN-Parent Node-DU and NCTN-DU of the relay device. NCTN-Parent Node-CU can be connected to other base stations as a base station (such as through the Xn-C interface), the base station accesses 5GC, or NCTN-Parent Node-CU directly accesses 5GC (such as through the NG interface). The base station accesses 5GC (such as through the NG interface). NCTN-Parent Node-DU can provide access for the terminal device or NCTN-MT.

[0096] Among them, the F1 interface is used for the connection between NCTN-DU and NCTN-Parent Node-CU and is completely inherited from the F1 interface between DU and CU. The Uu interface (such as the NR Uu interface) is used for the connection between NCTN-Parent Node-DU and NCTN-MT. It can also be used for the connection between the relay network and the UE. As Figure 2B shown, NCTN accesses the parent node as the terminal device and establishes a Uu interface connection. As Figure 2B shown, the UE can be connected to the forwarding of NCTN, and the forwarding of each NCTN, and access NCTN-Parent Node-DU.

[0097] Figure 2C and Figure 2D and Figure 2E exemplarily show several schematic diagrams of communication system architectures applicable to embodiments of the present application.

[0098] Compared with Figure 2B in Figure 2C the difference is that Figure 2B the three relay devices in Figure 2C are all NCTN, while Figure 2B one of the relay devices in Figure 2C For other content of Figure 2B please refer to the foregoing

[0099] Compared with Figure 2B in Figure 2D the difference is that Figure 2D the relay devices in Figure 2D For other content of Figure 2B please refer to the foregoing

[0100] Compared with Figure 2C in Figure 2E the difference is that Figure 2E the NCTN in Figure 2E For other content ofFigure 2B , Figure 2C and Figure 2D The description is not repeated here.

[0101] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing the relationship between time units corresponding to uplink and downlink on a relay device side provided in an embodiment of the present application is exemplified.

[0102] See also Figure 3 , due to the large round-trip delay between the relay device and the network device, in order to ensure that the frame boundaries of the downlink and uplink at the network device are aligned (timing relationship alignment) or to ensure that the frame boundaries of the downlink and uplink at the network device maintain a fixed offset, there is an offset value t1 between the frame boundaries or timing relationships of the downlink and uplink at the relay device, and the offset value t1 is related to the "round-trip delay between the network device and the relay device, and the internal processing delay of the relay device". For example, taking the satellite orbit altitude of 1200 kilometers as an example, the round-trip delay range of different communication angles for transmitting signals through the relay device (such as satellite equipment) is 16 milliseconds to 32.7 milliseconds, which is much larger than the time length indicated by the current (K+time unit offset value (slot_offset)). Since the round-trip delay between the network device and the relay device is large in the satellite communication scenario, t1 is large, which results in that the time slot (n+1) used to forward the uplink information is located before the time slot n for receiving the first information in the timing relationship, that is, the time for forwarding the uplink information is located before the time for receiving the first information. Alternatively, it is understood that in terms of timing, the time for forwarding information is earlier than the time for receiving the first information (eg, DCI), which results in the relay device being unable to successfully forward information in a large-latency communication scenario.

[0103] Based on this problem, an embodiment of the present application provides a possible implementation method, in which the relay device can determine the time unit for forwarding information based on the first duration, and then make the determined time unit for forwarding information more reasonable and meet the timing relationship requirements. For example, in terms of timing relationship, the time unit for forwarding information is located after the time unit where the first information (such as DCI) is located, that is, the time for forwarding information is located after the reception time of the first information, so that the relay device can successfully forward the information. The solution provided by the embodiment of the present application can solve the problem of relay devices forwarding information in scenarios with large delays. It is precisely because this problem has been solved that relay devices can be introduced in large delay scenarios, and then the deployment of equipment such as ground stations in large delay scenarios can be reduced, thereby reducing costs.

[0104] The embodiments provided in this application are further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0105] based on Figure 1A , Figure 1B , Figure 1C, Figure 2A , Figure 2B , Figure 2C , Figure 2D , Figure 2E or Figure 3 the content shown above and the above other content Figure 4 exemplarily shows a possible flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. For ease of understanding, Figure 4 the interaction between a terminal device, a network device, and a relay device is taken as an example for introduction. The relay device in the embodiment of the present application can be Figure 2A any one of the relay devices in Figure 1A , Figure 1B , Figure 1C , Figure 2A , Figure 2B , Figure 2C , Figure 2D , Figure 2E a satellite device or a chip (or chip system) in a satellite device, or can also be Figure 1A , Figure 1B , Figure 1C , Figure 2A , Figure 2B , Figure 2C , Figure 2D , Figure 2E a network device deployed on the ground or a chip (or chip system) in a network device. The terminal device can be Figure 1A , Figure 1B , Figure 1C or Figure 2A a terminal or a chip system inside the terminal in Figure 1A , Figure 1B , Figure 1C , Figure 2A , Figure 2B , Figure 2C , Figure 2D , Figure 2E a network device or a chip system inside a network device. In the embodiment of the present application, the network device can be integrated with the satellite device in the same device. For example, both the network device and the satellite device are satellite base stations. In this case, it can also be understood that the satellite device operates in the regeneration mode. In another possible implementation manner, the network device and the satellite device can also belong to two devices. In this case, it can also be understood that the satellite device operates in the transparent transmission mode.

[0106] The following is introduced in conjunction with Figure 4 .

[0107] Step 401, the network device sends the first information.

[0108] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the first information in the first time unit.

[0109] In an embodiment of the present application, the first time unit may be, for example, a symbol or a time slot, etc. For the description of the time unit, reference may be made to the foregoing content. In this embodiment of the present application, an example is given with the first time unit being a time slot.

[0110] The first information is used to indicate the resources of the information sent by the relay device. In an embodiment of the application, "the resources of the information sent by the relay device" may also include or be replaced by "the resources of the information relayed by the relay device". It can also be understood that the first information is used to indicate the resources of the information relayed by the relay device. There are multiple possibilities for the transmission direction of the information relayed by the relay device. For ease of understanding, in some examples of the present application, an example is given with the information relayed by the relay device being uplink information (that is, the transmission direction of the information relayed by the relay device is from the terminal device to the network device). In this example, it can also be understood that the first information can be used to indicate the resources of the uplink information relayed by the relay device. In an embodiment of the present application, the information relayed by the relay device can be uplink information, or other information. For example, the information relayed by the relay device can also be information in other transmission directions, such as information from one terminal device to another terminal device, or information from one network device to another network device, or information from one relay device to another relay device.

[0111] In an embodiment of the present application, the first information may include multiple types of information. For example, the first information may include at least one of the resources (information A1) for indicating the information sent by the relay device (such as the information relayed by the relay device), the sending address (information A2) corresponding to the information sent by the relay device (such as the information relayed by the relay device), the sending path (information A3), the sending direction (information A4), the sending method (information A5), and the frequency point (information A6).

[0112] Information A1 is used to indicate the resources of the information sent by the relay device.

[0113] The resources for indicating the information sent by the relay device may include or be replaced by: the resources for indicating the information relayed by the relay device.

[0114] The resources for indicating the information sent by the relay device (such as the information relayed by the relay device) may include: information for indicating the starting position of the time domain of the second time unit; and / or, information for indicating the length of the time domain resources occupied by the second time unit.

[0115] The resources for indicating the information sent by the relay device (such as the information relayed by the relay device) may also include frequency domain resources, such as the starting RB index and / or the number of RBs, etc. The relay device may send the second information on this frequency domain resource subsequently.

[0116] Information A2, used to indicate the sending address corresponding to the information sent by the relay device.

[0117] Used to indicate the sending address corresponding to the information sent by the relay device, for example, it may include or be replaced by: used to indicate the sending address corresponding to the information forwarded by the relay device.

[0118] Information A2 may include, for example, the sending address corresponding to the information sent by the relay device (such as the information forwarded by the relay device), such as the next-hop address or the address of the network device.

[0119] Information A3, used to indicate the sending path corresponding to the information sent by the relay device.

[0120] Used to indicate the sending path corresponding to the information sent by the relay device, for example, it may include or be replaced by: used to indicate the sending path corresponding to the information forwarded by the relay device.

[0121] Information A2 may include, for example, the information of the sending path corresponding to the information sent by the relay device (such as the information forwarded by the relay device), such as the identifier of the path or the addresses of each node on the path.

[0122] Information A4, used to indicate the sending direction corresponding to the information sent by the relay device.

[0123] Used to indicate the sending direction corresponding to the information sent by the relay device, for example, it may include or be replaced by: used to indicate the sending direction corresponding to the information forwarded by the relay device.

[0124] The sending direction corresponding to the information sent by the relay device (such as the information forwarded by the relay device) includes the uplink transmission direction or the downlink transmission direction. The first information may indicate the transmission direction of the information that the relay device is about to send.

[0125] Information A5, used to indicate the sending method of the information sent by the relay device.

[0126] Used to indicate the sending method of the information sent by the relay device, for example, it may include or be replaced by: used to indicate the sending method of the information forwarded by the relay device.

[0127] The sending method of the information sent by the relay device (such as the information forwarded by the relay device) includes transparent forwarding or regenerative forwarding. It can also be understood that the relay device operates in the transparent forwarding mode or the regenerative forwarding mode.

[0128] Information A6, used to indicate the frequency point corresponding to the information sent by the relay device.

[0129] Used to indicate the frequency point corresponding to the information sent by the relay device, for example, it may include or be replaced by: used to indicate the frequency point corresponding to the information forwarded by the relay device.

[0130] The frequency points corresponding to the information sent by the relay device (such as the information relayed by the relay device) may include, for example: 20 giga Hertz (GHz) or 30 GHz, etc. The relay device may send information at these frequency points, for example, relay information at these frequency points.

[0131] Step 402, the network device sends information for indicating a first duration.

[0132] The relay device receives the information for indicating the first duration.

[0133] The information for indicating the first duration received by the relay device may be directly sent by the network device to the relay device, or may be sent by the network device to the relay device through other devices (such as other relay devices).

[0134] In the embodiments of the present application, the information for indicating the first duration and the first information in the foregoing step 401 may be carried in the same signaling, or may be carried in two separate signaling and sent respectively. There is no absolute order between step 401 and step 402. Step 402 may be executed first and then step 401.

[0135] The first duration is associated with the delay between the relay device and the network device (such as the round-trip signal transmission delay). In one possible implementation, the network device may calculate the first duration according to the delay between the relay device and the network device (such as the round-trip signal transmission delay). The first duration is greater than or equal to the delay between the relay device and the network device (such as the round-trip signal transmission delay). In this way, in terms of timing, the second time unit for the relay device to forward information determined based on the first duration will be later than the first time unit, so that the relay device can successfully forward the information.

[0136] In another possible implementation, the first duration may also be less than the round-trip signal transmission delay between the relay device and the network device. In this implementation, the relay device may also determine the time unit for forwarding information based on the first duration, or the relay device determines the time unit for forwarding information based on other parameters and the first duration. This solution can make the determined time unit more reasonable. In another possible implementation, when the first duration is less than the round-trip signal transmission delay between the relay device and the network device, the network device side may perform timing compensation on the uplink data, that is, delay receiving the uplink signal, and the frame boundary of the uplink data received by the network device side is later than the frame boundary of the downlink data.

[0137] The information received by the relay device for indicating the first duration may include the information of the first duration, or may include the information of the time unit corresponding to the first duration. The number of time units corresponding to the first duration may be, for example, the quotient of the first duration and the duration of one time unit. The relay device may calculate the second time unit based on the first duration, or may calculate the second time unit based on the number of time units corresponding to the first duration.

[0138] In the embodiments of this application, taking the first duration as △T time slots as an example for introduction, the meaning of this parameter in other positions is the same as this, and the meaning of △T will not be repeatedly described. In a possible implementation manner, Or Wherein, represents rounding up, RTD(network device, relay device) represents the time delay between the relay device and the network device (such as the round-trip time delay of signal transmission), slot_duration represents the length of one time unit, and TA represents the timing advance (TimingAdvance, TA) of the relay device.

[0139] Step 403, the terminal device sends the second information.

[0140] The relay device receives the second information.

[0141] In this application, the second information received by the relay device may be from the terminal device or other relay devices, or may be from other devices, such as from the network device, etc. The relay device sending the second information may be sending the second information to the network device or other relay devices, or may be sending the second information to other devices, such as sending the second information to the terminal device.

[0142] In the embodiments of this application, the second information can be understood as the information that needs to be relayed by the relay device, or understood as the information to be relayed. The second information may belong to the uplink information, that is, the sending direction of the second information is from the terminal device to the network device. For the sake of easy understanding, in some examples of the embodiments of this application, taking the second information belonging to the uplink information as an example for introduction, when the second information belongs to the uplink information, in step 403, the second information received by the relay device may be from the terminal device or other relay devices; in the subsequent step 404, the relay device may send the second information to other relay devices or the network device. In the embodiments of this application, the second information may be uplink information, or may be other information, such as the sending direction of the second information may also be information in other sending directions, such as information from one terminal device to another terminal device, or information from one network device to another network device, or information from one relay device to another relay device.

[0143] Step 404: The relay device sends the second information in the second time unit.

[0144] Correspondingly, the network device receives the second information.

[0145] In step 404, the relay device may send the second information to the network device or other relay devices in the second time unit, and the network device may receive the second information from the relay device or other relay devices.

[0146] In this application, there may be one or more relay devices between the network device and the terminal device. Multiple relay devices may all forward the second information in the second time unit. Correspondingly, the network device may also receive the second information in the second time unit. In another possible implementation, the time units for two relay devices to forward the second information may be different. If the relay device is adjacent to the network device, the network device may receive the second information in the second time unit. If there are other relay devices between the relay device and the network device, the time unit for the network device to receive the second information may not be the second time unit, but the time unit for the relay device adjacent to the network device to forward the second information. For ease of understanding, some examples in the embodiments of this application are introduced by taking the network device receiving the second information in the second time unit as an example. The method for other relay devices to determine the time unit for forwarding the second information is similar to the method for the relay device in this application to determine the second time unit, and will not be elaborated here.

[0147] In the embodiments of this application, the second time unit may be, for example, a symbol or a time slot, etc. For the description of the time unit, reference may be made to the foregoing content. In the embodiments of this application, the second time unit is taken as a time slot as an example for introduction. In these examples, the time slot may also be replaced by other time units, for example, the time slot may be replaced by a symbol, etc.

[0148] In the embodiments of this application, the relay device may transparently forward the second information or regeneratively forward it. Or it can be understood that the relay device may operate in the transparent forwarding mode to send the second information. Or the relay device operates in the regenerative forwarding mode to send the second information. For example, the relay device may have the AF relay function. For example, after the relay master notifies you that the second information is received, it does not decode or encode the second information and directly forwards the received second information to the destination node. Or, the relay device has the DF relay function. After the relay device receives the second information, it decodes the second information, then re-encodes the decoding result, and forwards the re-encoded second information to the destination node.

[0149] The second time unit is determined according to the first duration and the first time unit. For example, the number of time units between the second time unit and the third time unit is determined according to the first duration, such as the number of time units corresponding to the first duration. The number of time units corresponding to the first duration can be, for example, the quotient of the first duration and the duration of one time unit.

[0150] The third time unit is the time domain resource for uplink transmission, and the index value of the third time unit is equal to that of the first time unit.

[0151] For example, the first time unit is slot n. Then the third time unit is also slot n. The indexes of the third time unit and the first time unit are the same. The second time unit can be determined according to (n + the first duration). For example, the second time unit can be the slot corresponding to (n + the first duration), and the slot corresponding to (n + the first duration) can also be referred to as slot (n + the first duration). In the embodiments of the present application, the first duration is taken as △T as an example for introduction. The unit of △T can be a slot, or other units, such as the unit of time (such as milliseconds). The second time unit can be: slot (n + △T), or the second time unit can be slot (n + △T + S0). In the embodiments of the present application, S0 can be a predefined value or a value configured by a network device. The unit of S0 can be a slot, or other units, such as the unit of time (such as milliseconds). The meaning of this parameter in other positions is the same as this and will not be described repeatedly.

[0152] In the embodiments of the present application, the units of the parameters (such as n, △T, and S0) used to calculate the second time unit may be the same or different. When the units of these parameters are different, the units of these parameters can be converted to the same unit for calculation. For example, the units of the parameters (such as n, △T, and S0) used to calculate the second time unit can all be the slot lengths corresponding to the same subcarrier spacing. In this case, slot (n + △T) can be understood as the slot with the index number (n + △T), and slot (n + △T + S0) can be understood as the slot with the index number (n + △T + S0). The units of the parameters (such as n, △T, and S0) used to calculate the second time unit can also all be the units of time (such as milliseconds), or the slot lengths corresponding to different subcarrier spacings (the slot lengths corresponding to different subcarrier spacings are different). In this case, slot (n + △T) can be understood as the slot where the time corresponding to (the time of slot n + △T) (or the time domain resource) is located. Similarly, slot (n + △T + S0) can be understood as the slot where the time corresponding to (the time of slot n + △T + S0) (or the time domain resource) is located. There are also slot calculation formulas in other positions in the embodiments of the present application. For the units of the respective parameters used to calculate the slot, and the meaning of the slot, refer to the description here and will not be elaborated.

[0153] Since the second time unit for forwarding information determined by the relay device is based on the first duration, the second time unit determined by the relay device is later than the first time unit in terms of timing relationship, which satisfies the timing relationship of uplink signal forwarding, thereby enabling the relay device to improve the success rate of forwarding information.

[0154] In another possible implementation, the second time unit is further determined according to the value of K and / or the time unit offset value. The value of K is associated with the delay of the relay device in processing uplink information and / or the delay in processing downlink information. Or K is a specified value. Among them, the delay of the relay device in processing uplink and / or downlink information can include, for example, the time required to adjust the beam direction and the data processing time, etc. The delay of the relay device in processing uplink information and the delay in processing downlink information can be equal or unequal. The first information also indicates the time unit offset value. The time unit offset value in the embodiments of the present application can be expressed as slot_offset.

[0155] The number of time units between the second time unit and the third time unit is determined according to the sum of the first duration, the value of K, and the time unit offset value. For example, the first time unit is downlink time slot n. Then the third time unit is uplink time slot n. For example, if the first duration is △T time slots, the second time unit can be time slot (n + △T + K + slot_offset). Or the second time unit can be time slot (n + △T + K + slot_offset + S0).

[0156] In the embodiments of the present application, the units of the parameters (such as n, △T, K, slot_offset, and S0) used to calculate time slots may or may not be the same. When the units of these parameters are different, the units of these parameters can be converted to the same unit for calculation. In one possible implementation, the units of the parameters (such as n, △T, K, slot_offset, and S0) used to calculate time slots can all be the time slot lengths corresponding to the same subcarrier spacing. In this case, the time slot A described in the embodiments of the present application can be understood as the time slot with index A. For example, the time slot (n + △T + K + slot_offset) can be understood as the time slot with index (n + △T + K + slot_offset), and the time slot (n + △T + K + slot_offset + S0) can be understood as the time slot with index (n + △T + K + slot_offset + S0). In another possible implementation, the units of the parameters (such as n, △T, K, slot_offset, and S0) used to calculate time slots can also all be units of time (such as milliseconds). In this case, the time slot A described in the embodiments of the present application can be understood as the time slot where the time (or time domain resource) corresponding to A is located. For example, the time slot (n + △T + K + slot_offset) can be understood as the time slot where the time (or time domain resource) corresponding to (the time corresponding to time slot n + △T + K + slot_offset) is located. Similarly, the time slot (n + △T + K + slot_offset + S0) can be understood as the time slot where the time (or time domain resource) corresponding to (the time corresponding to time slot n + △T + K + slot_offset + S0) is located. In another possible implementation, the units of the parameters (such as n, △T, K, slot_offset, and S0) used to calculate time slots can also be the time slot lengths corresponding to different subcarrier spacings. In this case, each parameter can be multiplied by a conversion factor to be transformed into the time slot length with the same subcarrier spacing. The time slot (n + △T + K + slot_offset) described in the embodiments of the present application can be understood as the time slot index when (n + △T + K + slot_offset) is converted to a unified time slot length, and the time slot (n + △T + K + slot_offset + S0) can be understood as the time slot index when (n + △T + K + slot_offset + S0) is converted to a unified time slot length. There are also time slot calculation formulas in other positions in the embodiments of the present application. For the units of each parameter used to calculate time slots and the meaning of time slots, refer to the description here and will not be elaborated. The time slot A in this paragraph is an example, and A can be any formula expression. For example, A can be (n + △T + K + slot_offset), or A can be (n + △T + K + slot_offset + S0). In the subsequent content, A in time slot A can also be other formulas.

[0157] In another possible implementation, the second time unit may be a time slot (n + ΔT + K + 2 u *slot_offset). For the relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter in this formula, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter for calculating the time slot mentioned above, which will not be elaborated here. Among them, 2 u is for converting the time length represented by slot_offset due to the different time slot lengths (different subcarrier spacings) between downlink (DL) and uplink (UL). For example, the time unit used for slot_offset can be the time slot length (i.e., 1 ms) according to a subcarrier spacing of 15 kilo Hertz (Khz). Therefore, here u can correspond to the subcarrier spacing for transmitting uplink information, that is, the subcarrier spacing of the uplink information = 2 u *15 Khz. The information in the embodiments of the present application can also be replaced by signals, the uplink information can also be replaced by uplink signals, and the downlink information can also be replaced by downlink signals.

[0158] In another possible implementation, the use of ΔT in the embodiments of the present application can be extended to consider different time units. For example, the second time unit may be a time slot or the second time unit may be a time slot (n*s1 + ΔT*s2 + K + slot_offset), or the second time unit may be a time slot (n + ΔT*s2 + K + slot_offset). For the relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter in this formula, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter for calculating the time slot mentioned above, which will not be elaborated here. Among them, s1 and s2 can be scaling factors, for example, related to the subcarrier spacing. For example, where, μ PDCCH is related to the PUSCH subcarrier spacing, that is μ PDCCH is related to the PDSCH subcarrier spacing, that is μ △T is related to the subcarrier spacing corresponding to the defined ΔT, that is In another possible implementation, K and slot_offset can also be determined with different scaling factors (or conversion factors) according to the subcarrier spacing or using different time units. For example, in the embodiments of the present application, s3 is used to represent the scaling factor (or conversion factor) for determining K according to the subcarrier spacing or using different time units, and s4 is used to represent the scaling factor (or conversion factor) for determining slot_offset according to the subcarrier spacing or using different time units. The second time unit may be a time slot Or the second time unit can be a time slot (n*s1 + △T*s2 + K*s3 + slot_offset*s4). In the embodiments of the present application can represent floor division, and * can represent multiplication. u can be the subcarrier spacing for transmitting uplink information. n is the index number of the first time unit. The values of △T and K and the definition of slot_offset can be referred to the description of the foregoing content and will not be elaborated here. The relevant description of the units of each parameter in these formulas can be referred to the relevant description of the units of each parameter used to calculate the time slot and will not be elaborated here.

[0159] The solution provided by the embodiments of the present application can increase the fixed time interval between the information to be forwarded and the downlink signaling (such as the first information) of the resource used to indicate the information to be forwarded, thereby solving the problem of insufficient timing offset of the time domain resource of the information.

[0160] Compared with directly expanding the existing parameter K or slot_offset value, a new parameter, the first duration, can be introduced in the solution provided by the embodiments of the present application. In this way, this solution can avoid modifying the parameter range supported by the ground scenario relay device (that is, avoid modifying the values of K or slot_offset), and does not require the ground relay device (small delay scenario) to support the ability of the large delay scenario, so as to avoid increasing the ability of the ground relay device. The solution provided by the embodiments of the present application only needs to increase the ability of the relay device in the large delay scenario.

[0161] On the other hand, the value of K can ensure that the relay device has enough time to complete internal signal processing, beam adjustment, etc. The value of slot_offset can provide more flexibility for indicating information forwarding. For example, the relay device can forward information within a certain time range. On the other hand, the value of K can ensure the effectiveness and availability of the value of slot_offset. The "first duration" proposed in the embodiments of the present application can "resist" the influence brought by the large round-trip delay between the relay device and the network device.

[0162] Figure 5 Exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the relationship between the corresponding time units of the uplink and downlink on the relay device side provided by the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 5As shown in the figure, the relay device receives the first information in time slot n. For the sake of easy understanding, in the figure, the first information is carried in DCI as an example for introduction. In actual applications, the first information can also be carried in other information, that is, DCI can also be replaced by other signaling. Time slot n is the time unit when the first information (such as DCI) is received. The first information (such as DCI) is used to indicate the resources for uplink forwarding. The relay device needs to determine the resources for uplink forwarding based on time slot n. The second time unit can be time slot (n + △T + K + slot_offset). In the embodiments of the present application, the value of K is associated with the delay in processing uplink information and / or the delay in processing downlink information by the relay device, or K is a specified value. The meaning of this parameter in other positions is the same as this, and the relevant content of the value of K will not be described repeatedly. In the embodiments of the present application, slot_offset is a time unit offset value, which can be a value specified for the first information (such as DCI). The meaning of this parameter in other positions is the same as this, and the relevant content of slot_offset will not be described repeatedly.

[0163] Via Figure 5 It can be seen that since the relay device determines the resources for forwarding information based on the first duration, even if the delay between the relay device and the network device (such as the round-trip delay of signal transmission) is large, in terms of timing relationship, the time-domain resources for forwarding information will not be earlier than the time when the forwarded information is received. Subsequently, in a large-delay communication scenario, the success rate of the relay device in forwarding information can be improved.

[0164] In the embodiments of the present application, the first duration can be updated. For example, as the relay device moves, the delay between the relay device and the network device (such as the round-trip delay of signal transmission) changes, and then the first duration can change accordingly. Therefore, in order to reduce the delay, the first duration can be updated as the delay changes, or updated periodically. For example, the network device can determine to update the first duration when it determines that the change amount of the delay between the relay device and the network device is greater than a threshold. In the embodiments of the present application, for the sake of easy understanding, the two first durations can be respectively referred to as the first duration before update and the first duration after update. The first duration before update is updated to obtain the first duration after update.

[0165] In a possible implementation, the relay device may send fourth information to the network device. The network device may receive the fourth information. The fourth information indicates the location information of the relay device and / or the TA corresponding to the relay device. The relay device may be a satellite device or a chip (or chip system) inside the satellite device. Therefore, as the relay device moves, the time delay between the relay device and the network device will change. In another possible implementation, the relay device has the function of establishing a control link with the access base station or the previous node and transmitting control signaling. When the relay device sends information to the base station or the previous node, it will use the TA to adjust the timing of forwarding information (such as uplink information). The TA corresponding to the relay device is related to the round-trip time delay (two-way transmission time delay) between the relay device and the network device, and also changes with the time delay between the relay device and the network device. Therefore, the relay device reporting the TA can also reflect the time delay between the relay device and the network device. Subsequently, the network device can update the first duration based on the TA, or update the number of time units corresponding to the first duration. For example, the updated first duration can be the TA, or the number of time units corresponding to the updated first duration is the quotient of the TA and the duration of one time unit.

[0166] The network device may determine third information according to the fourth information. The network device may send the third information to the relay device. Correspondingly, the relay device may receive the third information. The third information is used to determine the updated first duration. The updated first duration is used for the relay device to determine the time unit of the subsequent information to be forwarded. The updated first duration is associated with the time delay between the relay device and the network device (such as the updated round-trip time delay).

[0167] In a possible implementation, the third information includes: information for indicating the updated first duration. The information for indicating the updated first duration may include the information of the updated first duration, or include the number of time units corresponding to the updated first duration. The relay device directly determines the updated first duration or the number of time units corresponding to the updated first duration according to the third information. In this example, the network device can calculate the updated first duration. In a possible implementation, Or where, △T updated value represents the updated first duration, represents rounding up, RTD(network device, relay device) represents the time delay between the relay device and the network device (such as the updated signal transmission round-trip time delay), TA represents the TA of the relay device (such as the updated TA of the relay device), and slot_duration represents the length of one time unit.

[0168] In yet another possible implementation, the third information includes information for indicating the difference between the first duration before the update and the first duration after the update. This difference can be the time difference between the first duration before the update and the first duration after the update, or it can be the difference between the number of time units corresponding to the first duration before the update and the number of time units corresponding to the first duration after the update. In this example, the network device can calculate the difference between the first duration before the update and the first duration after the update. The relay device can determine the first duration after the update or the number of time units corresponding to the first duration after the update based on this difference. For example: the first duration after the update = the first duration before the update - △S. Another example: the first duration after the update = the first duration before the update + △S. △S can be the difference between the first duration before the update and the first duration after the update. Another example: the number of time units corresponding to the first duration after the update = the number of time units corresponding to the first duration before the update - the number of time units corresponding to △S. Another example: the number of time units corresponding to the first duration after the update = the number of time units corresponding to the first duration before the update + the number of time units corresponding to △S. The relationships between the various parameters in these examples can be expressed by the following formula, △S = △T initial value - △T update value, or △S = △T update value - △T initial value, where △T initial value can be understood as the first duration before the update, and △T update value can be understood as the first duration after the update. The relay device can also calculate the first duration after the update based on this relationship, such as △T update value = △T initial value - △S, or △T update value = △S + △T initial value.

[0169] In the embodiments of this application, there can be multiple ways to send the signaling or information sent by the network device (such as the first information, the information for indicating the first duration, or the third information). For example, any one of these signaling or information can be carried in at least one of the broadcast information such as system information block (SIB) 1, SIB19, other system information (OSI), master information block (MIB), and physical broadcast channel message. The signaling or information sent by the network device (such as the first information, the information for indicating the first duration, the third information) is broadcast, multicast, or unicast by the network device to the relay device. Broadcasting or multicasting the above signaling to the relay device can avoid scheduling different resources for different relay devices to send the above signaling, saving the signaling overhead of scheduling resources and reducing the system scheduling complexity.

[0170] In another possible implementation, if it is sent during the radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment phase and subsequent communication processes, the signaling or information sent by the network device (such as the first information, the information for indicating the first duration, or the third information) can be carried in at least one of RRC signaling (for example, RRC setup message, RRC reconfiguration signaling, RRC resume signaling, etc.), DCI, group DCI, media access control (MAC) control element (CE), and timing advance command (TAC). The signaling or information sent by the network device (such as the first information, the information for indicating the first duration, or the third information) can be indicated in an information or table manner, or sent to the relay device by unicast or multicast along with data transmission or in a separately allocated PDSCH bearer. The advantage of sending the above signaling to the relay device individually or in groups is that the parameter values of each / group of relay devices can be flexibly controlled, and different parameter values can be configured for the relay device according to different positions or regions where the relay device is located to achieve the purpose of optimizing system parameters and optimizing the communication performance of the relay device / system communication performance. For example, different values of the first duration can be configured for the relay device according to its location to optimize the forwarding delay of each / group of relay devices and improve the communication efficiency of the system.

[0171] The first duration in the embodiments of this application can be a newly defined value. In another possible implementation, the first duration can reuse the scheduling offset value. For example, the first duration is determined according to the scheduling offset value. The scheduling offset value in the embodiments of this application is represented as K offset . For example, the first duration is K offset , or the number of time units corresponding to the first duration is K offset corresponding number of time units. For another example, the first duration = K offset + adjustment value, or the first duration = K offset - adjustment value. The adjustment value can be predefined by the protocol or a value indicated by the network device to the relay device. Or, the first duration can be other calculation formulas of K offset and the adjustment value, such as multiplication, etc. Since the relay device can reuse K offset as the first duration, the network device does not have to send additional signaling for configuring the first duration, thus saving signaling overhead.

[0172] K offset can be broadcast by the network device, such as broadcasting to the terminal device, K offsetIt can be associated with the time delay (such as round-trip time delay) between the network device and the terminal device. Therefore, based on this K, offset the determined second time unit can also be more reasonable.

[0173] In the embodiments of the present application, K offset can also be updated. For example, as the time delay between the terminal device and the network device changes, K offset can also be updated accordingly. The relay device can use the updated K offset to calculate the subsequent time unit for forwarding information. The determination scheme of the updated K offset can refer to the determination scheme of the updated first duration described above. Similarly, it will not be elaborated here.

[0174] In the embodiments of the present application, the units of parameters such as the first duration, K offset , the value of K, and the time unit offset value can be flexibly set. For example, it can be set as the number of time units, or set as a time unit, such as milliseconds, etc. The related definition of the value of K can refer to the foregoing description and will not be elaborated here. For example, the time unit of K offset can be milliseconds, or can be the time slot length with a 15KHz subcarrier spacing as the unit. In the calculation formula, the units of each parameter can be converted. For example, when the time unit of K offset is inconsistent with the time units of other parameters in the formula, unit conversion can be performed by multiplying a coefficient, and it will not be elaborated later.

[0175] In the embodiments of the present application, K offset can also be used in other scenarios. For example, K offset is also used to perform at least one of the following: for adjusting the transmission timing of the information of the terminal device; for adjusting the transmission timing of the feedback information of the terminal device; for adjusting the transmission timing of the reference signal of the terminal device; for adjusting the random access opportunity of the terminal device.

[0176] The following is an example of the scenario using K offset : 1) The problem of insufficient scheduling delay of the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgement instruction (hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)-acknowledgement (ACK)) corresponding to the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) data fed back by the terminal device; 2) The problem of insufficient scheduling delay of the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) data scheduled by the network side through the DCI instruction.

[0177] After the terminal device receives the PDSCH data sent by the network device, it needs to send a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest - Acknowledgement (HARQ ACK) or Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) to feedback whether the decoding is successful. If the terminal device receives the PDSCH data in the downlink time slot n0, then the UE needs to feedback the ACK / NACK information in the uplink time slot where (n0 + K1 + K offset ) is located. As Figure 5 shown, the maximum value of the timing advance adjustment that the UE can make can be (K1 + K offset - 1) time slot lengths. The maximum value of K1 is 15. When the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is 15 KHz, the length of one time slot is 1 ms. Then the maximum timing advance adjustment that the UE can make is (14 ms + K offset ).

[0178] In the satellite communication scenario, the round - trip delay between the terminal device and the network device will be greater than 14 ms, that is, the timing advance adjustment that the terminal device needs to make for the uplink data will also be greater than 14 ms. Therefore, (14 ms + K offset ) time slot lengths can provide enough time length for the terminal device to make the timing advance adjustment, so as to meet the timing advance requirements of the terminal device for round - trip delay compensation in large - delay transmission scenarios (such as NTN scenarios). Figure 6 Exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the relationship between the uplink and downlink corresponding time units on the relay device side. As Figure 6 shown, the timing advance adjustment amount of the uplink data sent by the terminal device is not greater than (K1 + K offset - 1) time slot lengths, and the terminal device can deliver the ACK information to the network device on time. Through this solution, it can be seen that in the embodiments of the present application, by introducing the K offset parameter, the time slot where the terminal device sends the HARQ - ACK information can be adjusted through the K offset value, increasing the scheduling delay of the terminal device to feedback the ACK / NACK, so as to give the UE enough time length to make the timing advance adjustment.

[0179] The above is the scenario where K offset is introduced in the HARQ - ACK / NACK feedback. Similarly, when the uplink PUSCH data is scheduled by the DCI instruction, the problem that the scheduling delay is less than the TA adjustment length will also be encountered. Figure 7 Exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the relationship between the uplink and downlink corresponding time units provided by the embodiments of the present application. For ease of understanding, DCI is used as an example for introduction in the figure. In actual applications, DCI can also be replaced by other signaling. As Figure 7As shown in (a) thereof, the terminal device receives a DCI-scheduled uplink grant in downlink time slot n0 and transmits PUSCH uplink data in the corresponding uplink time slot n1 (time slot n1 is time slot ). In the embodiments of the present application, μ PUSCH and μ PDCCH are related to the subcarrier spacing of PUSCH and the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). For example, *15 KHz. The meaning of this parameter in other positions in the embodiments of the present application is the same and will not be described repeatedly. In the embodiments of the present application, represents rounding down. The meaning of this symbol in other positions in the embodiments of the present application is the same and will not be elaborated. In the embodiments of the present application, K2 = 0,..., 32, and the value of K2 is indicated by a DCI instruction. The meaning of this symbol in other positions in the embodiments of the present application is the same and will not be elaborated. The "*" in the formulas of the embodiments of the present application all means multiplication. The meaning of this symbol in other positions is the same and will not be elaborated. The relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter in this formula can refer to the relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter used to calculate time slots before and will not be elaborated.

[0180] When the time length of the timing advance adjustment amount for transmitting uplink data is greater than (K2 - 1) time slot lengths, the terminal device will not be able to transmit data in uplink time slot n1 and cannot make the network device receive the corresponding uplink PUSCH data in uplink time slot n1 as agreed. The value range of K2 is 0 to 32. When the uplink subcarrier width is different, the K2 time slot lengths will also be different. As shown in Table 1, when SCS = 15 KHz, the maximum value of the K2 time slot lengths is 32 milliseconds (ms). According to the above analysis, it can be seen that under the conditions of different subcarrier widths, the maximum value of the timing advance that the terminal device can perform when transmitting DCI-scheduled PUSCH data is 32 ms. For the GEO scenario, the maximum round-trip delay is 541.46 ms, and the K2 value cannot meet the timing advance requirements. Similarly, for the LEO-1200 scenario, when the subcarrier width is 30 KHz, the maximum value of the K2 time slot lengths is 16 ms, and the maximum round-trip delay in the LEO-1200 scenario is greater than 20 ms. Therefore, the K2 value also cannot meet the requirements for the timing advance adjustment value in this scenario.

[0181] Table 1 Different subcarrier widths correspond to different K2 time slot lengths

[0182] Uplink subcarrier width <![CDATA[The maximum value of the length of K2 time slots]]> 15KHz 32ms 30KHz 16ms 60KHz 8ms 120KHz 4ms

[0183] Similar to the feedback HARQ-ACK / NACK scenario, the embodiments of the present application can introduce a timing offset Koffset There is sufficient time length between the terminal device receiving the downlink DCI signaling and the uplink PUSCH data, so that the terminal device has sufficient scheduling delay for transmitting uplink data to perform TA adjustment. As Figure 7 shown in (b) of offset , after increasing K s (time slot K s is time slot ), the terminal device will transmit PUSCH in uplink time slot K. For the relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter in this formula, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter for calculating time slots mentioned above, and details will not be repeated. In the formulas of the embodiments of this application, "·" all means multiplication, and the meaning of this symbol in other positions is the same, and details will not be repeated. Among them, and are coefficients adjusted due to different time units. represents the subcarrier corresponding to Koffset, that is . For the descriptions of other parameters and symbols of this formula, reference can be made to the relevant content descriptions mentioned above, and details will not be repeated. This solution increases the delay of DCI scheduling uplink data and can ensure that the UE has sufficient time interval to perform TA adjustment.

[0184] In addition to the application scenarios of K offset described above, some other application scenarios of K offset are also provided in the embodiments of this application, which will be introduced separately below.

[0185] 1) Transmission timing of PUSCH scheduled by DCI.

[0186] If the UE receives uplink grant / scheduling information in downlink time slot n0, then the PUSCH data of the UE should be in:

[0187] uplink time slot for transmission. For the meanings of each parameter and symbol of this formula, reference can be made to the relevant content descriptions mentioned above, and details will not be repeated. For the relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter in this formula, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter for calculating time slots mentioned above, and details will not be repeated.

[0188] There is another way to schedule PUSCH besides DCI: configured grant. In this scheduling method, K offset is also required.

[0189] For example, the uplink resource grant of configured grant type 2. When the terminal device receives the uplink grant message of configured grant type 2 configured by the network side, the terminal device uses K offset, such as the first PUSCH transmission opportunity after the time length represented by K after the UE receives the uplink grant message of configured grant type 2 to transmit uplink data. offset The uplink data is transmitted at the first PUSCH transmission opportunity after the time length represented by K.

[0190] 2) The RAR carried on the downlink PDSCH schedules the uplink PUSCH data.

[0191] The UE receives the RAR message carried on the PDSCH. The downlink PDSCH RAR message ends at slot n0. The UE transmits the correspondingly scheduled PUSCH at slot (n0 + k2 + Δ + 2 u K offset ), where 2 u is to convert the time length represented by K due to the different slot lengths (different subcarrier spacings) of DL and UL. K offset is defined in the standard. The time unit used by K offset is the slot length (i.e., 1 ms) according to the subcarrier spacing = 15 Khz. Therefore, here u can be the subcarrier spacing for transmitting the uplink signal. For example, K offset is indicated according to the slot length (i.e., 1 ms) with a subcarrier spacing of 15 Khz. u is related to the subcarrier spacing of the uplink signal, that is, the uplink subcarrier spacing = 2 u *15 Khz. In the embodiments of the present application, Δ is a value agreed upon by the protocol. The meaning of this symbol in other positions is the same as this and will not be elaborated. Other parameters and symbols of this formula refer to the foregoing related content description and will not be elaborated. The relevant description of the units of each parameter in this formula can refer to the relevant description of the units of each parameter used to calculate the slot and will not be elaborated.

[0192] In the two-step random access process, the terminal device sends information A (message, MsgA) to the network device side. If the network device side fails to successfully decode all MsgA messages (for example, only successfully decodes the preamble), then the network device side sends a fallback RAR message (fallbackRAR) to the terminal device. After the terminal device receives the PDSCH data carrying the RAR message, it needs to send the random access message 3 (message 3, Msg3) scheduled by the fallback RAR message on the uplink PUSCH. The timing of sending message 3 can also refer to the introduction of K for the RAR scheduling message 3 above offset .

[0193] 3) The transmission timing of the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying HARQ-ACK.

[0194] The terminal device receives PDSCH data or semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) PDSCH data in the downlink time slot n0, and the terminal device needs to feedback HARQ-ACK in the time slot (n0 + K1 + K offset ) of the uplink PUCCH, where K1 is a value obtained from the PDSCH-to-HARQ-time (timing)-indicator instruction index table in the DCI (such as the table transmitted by the dl-DataToUL-ACK signaling). For the relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter in these formulas, refer to the relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter for calculating the time slot mentioned above, and will not be elaborated here.

[0195] In the two-step random access process, after the terminal device receives MsgB sent by the network side, it needs to feedback the PUCCH carrying HARQ-ACK / negative-acknowledgement (NACK) to the network side, and the timing for sending this HARQ-ACK / NACK also needs to use K offset .

[0196] 4) Transmission timing of the PUSCH carrying CSI.

[0197] When the terminal device receives the DCI requesting channel state information (CSI) in the downlink time slot n0, the terminal device needs to send CSI in the time slot (n0 + K + K offset ) of the uplink PUSCH. In this formula, K can be selected by the DCI instruction. For the other parameters and symbols in this formula, refer to the relevant content descriptions mentioned above, and will not be elaborated here. For the relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter in this formula, refer to the relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter for calculating the time slot mentioned above, and will not be elaborated here.

[0198] 5) CSI reference resource timing.

[0199] When the terminal device needs to send a CSI report in the uplink time slot n', the CSI reference resource needs to be sent to the terminal device in the downlink time slot (n - n csi_ref - K offset ). Among them, the time slot n can be calculated according to the following formula:

[0200]

[0201] In the embodiments of this application, n csi_ref is a value related to the CSI report type agreed upon by the protocol, μ DL and μ UL are related to the uplink and downlink data subcarrier spacings, and can refer to the above μPUSCH and μ PDCCH For other parameters and symbols of the formula, please refer to the above-mentioned description of the relevant content, which will not be repeated here. For the relevant description of the units of each parameter in the formula, please refer to the relevant description of the units of each parameter used to calculate the time slot, which will not be repeated here.

[0202] 6) Aperiodic sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission timing.

[0203] The terminal device receives a DCI instruction for triggering aperiodic sounding reference signals (SRS) in the downlink time slot n0. Each time the SRS resource group is triggered, the terminal device The SRS signal is sent in the corresponding uplink time slot, wherein the K3 value is configured by the high-level parameter offset value (offset value offset, which has a different meaning from the aforementioned slot_offset) of each triggering of the SRS resource group (the value of K3 may be the same as or different from the aforementioned value of K. In order to distinguish it from the aforementioned value of K, K3 is used in the formula here to write the formula. In actual applications, K3 is also replaced by other parameters, such as K), μ SRS andμ PDCCH The subcarrier spacing of the SRS is related to the subcarrier spacing of the PDCCH, which can be referred to as μ PUSCH and μ PDCCH For other parameters and symbols of the formula, please refer to the above-mentioned description of the relevant content, which will not be repeated here. For the relevant description of the units of each parameter in the formula, please refer to the relevant description of the units of each parameter used to calculate the time slot, which will not be repeated here.

[0204] 7) The PDCCH command triggers the random access process.

[0205] The network side indicates / configures the random access opportunity to the terminal device through the PDCCH command (randomly selects a random access opportunity with medium probability in consecutive physical random access (PRACH) occasions through medium access control (MAC) entity signaling), and the terminal device determines the next available random access opportunity according to the instruction. The terminal device receives the K after the last symbol of the PDCCH command. offset After the length of time indicated (if the uplink time slot length is used as the unit, then it is K offsetAfter a time slot length, the terminal device determines the next available random access opportunity according to the PDCCH command (MAC entity signaling), and sends a random access signal (such as a random access preamble) at this random access opportunity.

[0206] In addition, the time interval between the first symbol of the random signal sent by the terminal device at the determined random access opportunity and the last symbol of the received PDCCH command is greater than or equal to (N T，2 +Δ BWPSwitching +Δ Delay +T switch ) milliseconds, where N T，2 represents the time length of N2 symbols, which is the ability of the terminal device for the PUSCH preparation time, assuming that the subcarrier spacing is the minimum subcarrier spacing configuration in the subcarrier spacing configurations of the PDCCH command and the random access transmission. If the activated uplink bandwidth part (BWP) does not change, then Δ BWPSwitching = 0. In other cases, the value of Δ configured by the network side or agreed upon by the protocol is used. If the frequency range used is frequency response (FR) 1, then Δ BWPSwitching = 0.5 ms; if the frequency range used is FR2, then Δ Delay = 0.25 ms (generally, FR1 represents a frequency range not greater than 6 GHz, and FR2 represents a frequency range greater than 6 GHz and less than 52.6 GHz.). T Delay is the conversion interval time, which is configured by the network side or agreed upon by the protocol. switch

[0207] In this application, the time unit of K offset takes the (uplink / downlink) time slot length as an example of the time unit. It can be understood that K offset can also use other units, such as using milliseconds as the time length unit. If the millisecond time length unit is used, then K offset The usage descriptions in each scenario also need to be modified accordingly. For example, taking the PUSCH transmission timing scenario of RAR authorization scheduling as an example:

[0208] The terminal device receives the PDSCH data carrying the RAR message in the downlink time slot n0, and the terminal device needs to be in the time slot of the uplink PUSCH ) to send message 3 of the random access scheduled by the RAR. The relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter in these formulas can refer to the relevant descriptions of the units of each parameter used to calculate the time slot mentioned above, and will not be elaborated here. Among them, Δ is a numerical value agreed upon by the protocol. The reason for modifying the description is that if K offset offsetThe time unit is ms, and the length of the uplink time slot is related to the uplink subcarrier spacing, that is, related to μ UL related, K offset The ms length is equal to the length of the time slots. Similarly, if K offset uses ms as the unit, then the K offset description in other application scenarios can be replaced with or For K offset using other units, only the K offset needs to be converted into the number of corresponding time slot length units. Or, convert other parameters representing the time slot length into the same time unit as that used by K offset . The principle is similar to the above description and will not be elaborated here. For other parameters and symbols of this formula, refer to the foregoing relevant content description and will not be elaborated here.

[0209] It can be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal device, the relay device, and the network device may include corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, combining the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the way of hardware or computer software driving the hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraint conditions of the technical solution.

[0210] Based on Figure 1A 、 Figure 1B 、 Figure 1C 、 Figure 2A 、 Figure 2B 、 Figure 2C 、 Figure 2D 、 Figure 2E 、 Figure 3 、 Figure 4 、 Figure 5 、 Figure 6 and Figure 7 the content shown above and other content above, Figure 8 and Figure 9 are schematic structural diagrams of possible communication devices provided by the embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device, the relay device, or the network device in the above Figure 4 method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, the communication device can be such as Figure 1A 、 Figure 1B 、 Figure 1C 、 Figure 2A 、 Figure 2B 、 Figure 2C 、 Figure 2D or Figure 2EThe terminal device, network device (such as a RAN node deployed on the ground), or satellite device shown; it can also be applied to Figure 1A , Figure 1B , Figure 1C , Figure 2A , Figure 2B , Figure 2C , Figure 2D or Figure 2E The chip (or chip system) of the terminal device, network device or satellite device shown. In an embodiment of the present application, when the communication device is used to execute the function of the relay device in the above Figure 4 , the communication device can be such as Figure 1A , Figure 1B , Figure 1C , Figure 2A , Figure 2B , Figure 2C , Figure 2D or Figure 2E The network device (such as a RAN node deployed on the ground) or satellite device shown; it can also be applied to Figure 1A , Figure 1B , Figure 1C , Figure 2A , Figure 2B , Figure 2C , Figure 2D or Figure 2E The chip (or chip system) of the network device or satellite device shown.

[0211] As shown in Figure 8 , the communication device 1300 includes a processing unit 1310 and a transceiver unit 1320. The transceiver unit 1320 can also be referred to as a communication unit. The transceiver unit 1320 can include a sending unit and a receiving unit.

[0212] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the relay device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4 , in a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive the first information in the first time unit, receive the information for indicating the first duration, receive the second information, and send the second information in the second time unit.

[0213] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the relay device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4 , in a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive the third information.

[0214] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the relay device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4 , in a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send the fourth information to the network device.

[0215] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement Figure 4 In a possible implementation manner when the functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown, the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to send first information to the relay device at a first time unit, send information for indicating a first duration, and receive second information.

[0216] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement Figure 4 In a possible implementation manner when the functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown, the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to send third information.

[0217] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement Figure 4 In a possible implementation manner when the functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown, the transceiver unit 1320 is configured to receive fourth information. The processing unit 1310 is configured to determine third information according to the fourth information.

[0218] For a more detailed description of the above processing unit 1310 and transceiver unit 1320, reference can be made to Figure 4 The relevant description in the method embodiment shown.

[0219] As Figure 9 shown, the communication device 1400 includes a processor 1410 and an interface circuit 1420. The processor 1410 and the interface circuit 1420 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1420 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. The input / output interface is used for inputting and / or outputting information, and output can be understood as sending, and input can be understood as receiving. Optionally, the communication device 1400 may further include a memory 1430, configured to store instructions executed by the processor 1410 or store input data required for the processor 1410 to run instructions or store data generated after the processor 1410 runs instructions.

[0220] When the communication device 1400 is used to implement Figure 8 the method shown, the processor 1410 is configured to implement the functions of the above processing unit 1310, and the interface circuit 1420 is configured to implement the functions of the above transceiver unit 1320.

[0221] When the above communication device is a chip applied to a relay device, the chip of the relay device implements the functions of the relay device in the above method embodiment. The chip of the relay device receives information from the base station. It can be understood that the information is first received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the relay device, and then sent to the chip of the relay device by these modules. The chip of the relay device sends information to the base station. It can be understood that the information is first sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the relay device, and then sent to the base station by these modules.

[0222] When the above communication device is a chip applied to a base station, the base station chip implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. The base station chip receives information from the relay device, which can be understood as the information is first received by other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the base station and then sent to the base station chip by these modules. The base station chip sends information to the relay device, which can be understood as the information is sent to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the base station and then sent to the relay device by these modules.

[0223] In this application, entity A sending information to entity B can be that A directly sends to B or A indirectly sends to B through other entities. Similarly, entity B receiving information from entity A can be that entity B directly receives the information sent by entity A or entity B indirectly receives the information sent by entity A through other entities. Here, entity A and B can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules inside RAN nodes or terminals. The sending and receiving of information can be the information interaction between a RAN node and a terminal, for example, the information interaction between a base station and a terminal; the sending and receiving of information can also be the information interaction between two RAN nodes, for example, the information interaction between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can further be the information interaction between different modules within a device, for example, the information interaction between a terminal chip and other modules of the terminal, or the information interaction between a base station chip and other modules in the base station.

[0224] It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0225] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a removable hard disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. Additionally, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a base station or a terminal.

[0226] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions of the embodiments of the present application are executed in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable devices. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired or wireless manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that the computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or a data center integrating one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

[0227] In the various embodiments of the present application, if there is no special indication and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be cross-referenced. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0228] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between associated objects and indicates that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after; in the formulas of this application, the character " / " represents a "division" relationship between the associated objects before and after. "Including at least one of A, B, and C" can represent: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B, and C.

[0229] It can be understood that in the embodiments of this application, the various numbers involved (such as the numerical numbers "first", "second", and the letter numbers "A1", "A2", etc.) are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The magnitudes of the sequence numbers of the above processes do not mean the sequence of execution, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applicable to a relay device, and the method includes: Receiving first information in a first time unit, where the first information is used to indicate a resource of information sent by the relay device; Receiving information for indicating a first duration, where the first duration is associated with a round-trip time delay of signal transmission between the relay device and the network device; Receiving second information; Sending the second information in a second time unit, where the second time unit is determined according to the first duration and the first time unit.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The resource for indicating the information sent by the relay device includes at least one of the following: Information for indicating a time domain start position of the second time unit; Information for indicating a length of time domain resources occupied by the second time unit; Frequency domain resources occupied by the information sent by the relay device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first information further includes at least one of the following: Information for indicating a sending address corresponding to the information sent by the relay device; Information for indicating a sending path corresponding to the information sent by the relay device; Information for indicating a sending direction corresponding to the information sent by the relay device, where the sending direction includes an uplink transmission direction or a downlink transmission direction; Information for indicating a sending mode of the relay device for sending information, where the sending mode includes transparent forwarding or regenerative forwarding; Information for indicating a frequency point corresponding to the information sent by the relay device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The first duration is less than, greater than, or equal to the round-trip time delay of signal transmission between the relay device and the network device.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The second time unit is further determined according to at least one of the following: A value of K, where the value of K is associated with a time delay for the relay device to process uplink information and / or a time delay for the relay device to process downlink information; A time unit offset value, and the first information further indicates the time unit offset value.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein The number of time units between the second time unit and a third time unit is determined according to the sum of the first duration, the value of K, and the time unit offset value; Wherein, the third time unit is a time domain resource for uplink transmission, and an index value of the third time unit is equal to that of the first time unit.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving third information, where the third information is used to determine an updated first duration, and the updated first duration is used for the relay device to determine a time unit of the information to be sent, and the updated first duration is associated with the round-trip time delay between the relay device and the network device.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The third information includes: information for indicating the updated first duration; or, information for indicating a difference between the first duration and the updated first duration.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, Before receiving the third information, it further includes: Sending fourth information to the network device, where the fourth information indicates location information of the relay device and / or a timing advance TA corresponding to the relay device, and the third information is determined according to the fourth information.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The first duration is determined according to a scheduling offset value.

11. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applicable to a network device, and the method includes: Sending first information to a relay device in a first time unit, where the first information is used to indicate a resource of information sent by the relay device; Send information for indicating a first duration, where the first duration is associated with the round-trip time delay of signal transmission between the relay device and the network device, and the first duration is used for the relay device to determine the time unit of the information to be sent; Receive second information, where the second information is sent by the relay device in a second time unit, and the second information is received by the relay device from a terminal device or another relay device.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The resources for indicating the information sent by the relay device include at least one of the following: Information for indicating the start position of the time domain of the second time unit; Information for indicating the length of the time domain resources occupied by the second time unit; Frequency domain resources occupied by the information sent by the relay device.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, The first information further includes at least one of the following: Information for indicating the sending address corresponding to the information sent by the relay device; Information for indicating the sending path corresponding to the information sent by the relay device; Information for indicating the sending direction corresponding to the information sent by the relay device, where the sending direction includes an uplink transmission direction or a downlink transmission direction; Information for indicating the sending mode of the information sent by the relay device, where the sending mode includes transparent forwarding or regenerative forwarding; Information for indicating the frequency point corresponding to the information sent by the relay device.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11-13, characterized in that, The first duration is less than, greater than, or equal to the round-trip time delay of signal transmission between the relay device and the network device.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11-14, characterized in that, The second time unit is further determined according to at least one of the following: The value of K, where the value of K is associated with the time delay of the relay device for processing uplink information and / or the time delay of processing downlink information; A time unit offset value, and the first information further indicates the time unit offset value.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The number of time units between the second time unit and the third time unit is determined according to the sum of the first duration, the value of K, and the time unit offset value; Wherein, the third time unit is the time domain resource of uplink transmission, and the index value of the third time unit is equal to that of the first time unit.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11-16, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send third information, where the third information is used to determine an updated first duration, and the updated first duration is used for the relay device to determine the time unit of the information to be sent, and the updated first duration is associated with the round-trip time delay between the relay device and the network device.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The third information includes: information for indicating the updated first duration; or, information for indicating the difference between the first duration and the updated first duration.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, Before sending the third information, it further includes: Receive fourth information, where the fourth information indicates the location information of the relay device and / or the timing advance TA corresponding to the relay device; Determine the third information according to the fourth information.

20. The method according to any one of claims 11-19, characterized in that The first duration is determined according to a scheduling offset value.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, Comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being configured to receive signals from other communication devices and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices, the processor being configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20 by logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, Comprising a processor, the processor being configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20 by logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer program or instructions are stored in the storage medium, and when the computer program or instructions are executed by a communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20 is implemented.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product stores a computer program, the computer program comprising program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20.

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