Communication method and communication device

Abstract

Provided are a communication method and a communication device, the method comprising: receiving first information from a network device through a first RAT, the first information being used for indicating a time-frequency resource of an SSB of a second RAT; the PDSCH from the network equipment is received through the first RAT, and the time-frequency resource of the SSB of the second RAT is not used for transmitting the PDSCH. Through the method, the network equipment can indicate the time-frequency resource of the SSB of the second RAT to the terminal equipment through the first RAT, so that the first RAT and the second RAT can share a frequency spectrum.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] Spectrum sharing can transmit new and old format data on the same spectrum through frequency division multiplexing or time division multiplexing. During the handover between new and old formats, smooth evolution between different formats can be achieved, ensuring the performance experience of old format users while accelerating the deployment rhythm of new formats and maximizing spectrum utilization.

[0003] In future communication technologies, for example, when new radio (NR) and 6th generation (6G) communication technologies share spectrum, how to achieve spectrum sharing is crucial for the rational use of spectrum resources. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method to achieve reasonable sharing of spectrum resources.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a terminal device or by components (such as chips or circuits or chip systems) of the terminal device. For ease of understanding, the following description takes the execution by the terminal device as an example.

[0006] The method includes: receiving first information from a network device through a first radio access technology (RAT), where the first information is used to indicate the time-frequency resources of the synchronization signal block (SSB) of a second RAT; receiving a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from the network device through the first RAT, where the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT are not used for transmitting the PDSCH.

[0007] Based on the above technical solution, the network device can indicate the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT to the terminal device through the first RAT, enabling the first RAT and the second RAT to share the spectrum.

[0008] In one implementation, receiving first information from a network device through the first RAT includes: receiving the first information through a first cell of the first RAT, where the frequency domain resources of the first cell include M downlink carriers, and M is an integer greater than 1.

[0009] Based on the above solution, the first cell includes at least two downlink carriers, so that the terminal device can use a larger spectrum when accessing the first cell, and compared with carrier aggregation, it can reduce the cell management overhead.

[0010] In one implementation, the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT include the time-frequency resources of N SSBs, and the time-frequency resources of the N SSBs correspond one-to-one with N downlink carriers among the M downlink carriers, where N is a positive integer.

[0011] Based on the above solution, each carrier in the first cell can be configured with at least one SSB of the second RAT, so as to better utilize the transmission resources of each carrier and improve the resource utilization rate.

[0012] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the M downlink carriers include a first carrier and a second carrier, and the method further includes: receiving, by the first RAT, first carrier information and second carrier information from a network device, where the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of a resource block group (RBG) and / or a precoding resource block group (PRG) of the first carrier, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier.

[0013] Based on the above solution, through the first carrier information and the second carrier information, the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of carriers of different carrier types can be indicated. Further, the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of shared carriers and non-shared carriers can be made independent of each other.

[0014] In one implementation, the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier type, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier type, where the first carrier type and the second carrier type are different.

[0015] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a network device or by a component (such as a chip or a circuit or a chip system) of the network device. For ease of understanding, the following description takes the network device as an example.

[0016] The method includes: sending, by the first RAT, first information to a terminal device, where the first information is used to indicate the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT; sending, by the first RAT, a PDSCH to the terminal device, where the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT are not used for transmitting the PDSCH.

[0017] In one implementation, the first information is sent to the terminal device via the first RAT, including: sending the first information to the terminal device via the first cell of the first RAT, where the frequency-domain resources of the first cell include M downlink carriers, and M is an integer greater than 1.

[0018] In one implementation, the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT include the time-frequency resources of N SSBs, and the time-frequency resources of the N SSBs correspond one-to-one with N of the M downlink carriers, where N is a positive integer.

[0019] Combined with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the M downlink carriers include a first carrier and a second carrier, and the method further includes: sending the first carrier information and the second carrier information to the terminal device via the first RAT, where the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier.

[0020] In one implementation, the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier type, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier type, where the first carrier type and the second carrier type are different.

[0021] It should be understood that the beneficial effects of the second aspect and any of its implementations can refer to the first aspect and any of its implementations.

[0022] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by the terminal device or by components (such as chips or circuits or chip systems) of the terminal device. For ease of understanding, the following description is given by taking the terminal device as an example.

[0023] The method includes: receiving the first information from the network device via the first cell of the first RAT, where the first information is used to indicate the first time-frequency resources, and the frequency-domain resources of the first cell include M downlink carriers, and M is an integer greater than 1; receiving the PDSCH from the network device via the first RAT, where the first time-frequency resources are not used for transmitting the PDSCH.

[0024] Based on the above solution, in a scenario where the first cell includes multiple downlink carriers, the network device can indicate the resources not used for transmitting the PDSCH to the first terminal device, so that the first terminal device can communicate with the network device in the time-frequency resources other than the first time-frequency resources, improving the communication efficiency.

[0025] On the other hand, since the first cell includes multiple downlink carriers, the terminal device can use a larger spectrum when accessing the first cell, which can reduce the cell management overhead compared with carrier aggregation.

[0026] In one implementation, the first time-frequency resource includes N time-frequency resources, and the N time-frequency resources correspond one-to-one to N downlink carriers among the M downlink carriers, where N is a positive integer.

[0027] Based on the above solution, each carrier in the first cell can include at least one resource not used for transmitting PDSCH, so as to better utilize the transmission resources of each carrier and improve resource utilization.

[0028] In one implementation, the first information includes a first bitmap and a second bitmap. The first bitmap is used to indicate the time-domain resources in the first time-frequency resource, and the second bitmap is used to indicate the frequency-domain resources in the first time-frequency resource.

[0029] Combined with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the M downlink carriers include a first carrier and a second carrier, and the method further includes: receiving, by the first RAT, first carrier information and second carrier information from a network device, where the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier.

[0030] Based on the above solution, through the first carrier information and the second carrier information, the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of carriers of different carrier types can be indicated. Further, the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of shared carriers and non-shared carriers can be made independent of each other.

[0031] In one implementation, the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier type, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier type, where the first carrier type and the second carrier type are different.

[0032] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a network device or by a component of the network device (such as a chip or a circuit or a chip system). For ease of understanding, the following description takes the network device as an example.

[0033] The method includes: sending, to a terminal device through a first cell of the first RAT, first information for indicating a first time-frequency resource, where the frequency-domain resources of the first cell include M downlink carriers, and M is an integer greater than 1; sending, through the first RAT, PDSCH to the terminal device, where the first time-frequency resource is not used for transmitting PDSCH.

[0034] In one implementation, the first time-frequency resource includes N time-frequency resources, and the N time-frequency resources correspond one-to-one to N downlink carriers among the M downlink carriers, where N is a positive integer.

[0035] In one implementation, the first information includes a first bitmap and a second bitmap. The first bitmap is used to indicate the time-domain resources in the first time-frequency resource, and the second bitmap is used to indicate the frequency-domain resources in the first time-frequency resource.

[0036] Combined with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the M downlink carriers include a first carrier and a second carrier. The method further includes: sending, to the terminal device via a first RAT, first carrier information and second carrier information, where the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier.

[0037] In one implementation, the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of a first carrier type, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of a second carrier type, where the first carrier type and the second carrier type are different.

[0038] It should be understood that the beneficial effects of the fourth aspect and any of its implementations can be referred to those of the third aspect and any of its implementations.

[0039] A fifth aspect provides a communication device. The device can be a terminal device or a component of a terminal device (such as a chip, a circuit, or a chip system).

[0040] The device includes: an interface unit, configured to receive, via a first RAT, first information from a network device, where the first information is used to indicate the time-frequency resources of the SSB of a second RAT; the interface unit is further configured to: receive, via the first RAT, a PDSCH from the network device, where the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT are not used for transmitting the PDSCH.

[0041] In one implementation, the interface unit is specifically configured to: receive the first information via a first cell of the first RAT, where the frequency-domain resources of the first cell include M downlink carriers, and M is an integer greater than 1.

[0042] In one implementation, the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT include the time-frequency resources of N SSBs, and the time-frequency resources of the N SSBs correspond one-to-one to N downlink carriers among the M downlink carriers, where N is a positive integer.

[0043] Combined with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the M downlink carriers include a first carrier and a second carrier. The interface unit is further configured to: receive, via the first RAT, first carrier information and second carrier information from the network device, where the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier.

[0044] In one implementation, the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier type, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier type, where the first carrier type and the second carrier type are different.

[0045] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device may be a network device or a component of a network device (such as a chip, a circuit, or a chip system).

[0046] The device includes: an interface unit, configured to send first information to a terminal device via a first RAT, where the first information is used to indicate the time-frequency resources of the SSB of a second RAT; the interface unit is further configured to: send a PDSCH to the terminal device via the first RAT, where the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT are not used for transmitting the PDSCH.

[0047] In one implementation, the interface unit is specifically configured to: send the first information to the terminal device via a first cell of the first RAT, where the frequency-domain resources of the first cell include M downlink carriers, and M is an integer greater than 1.

[0048] In one implementation, the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT include the time-frequency resources of N SSBs, and the time-frequency resources of the N SSBs correspond one-to-one to N downlink carriers among the M downlink carriers, where N is a positive integer.

[0049] In combination with the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the M downlink carriers include a first carrier and a second carrier, and the interface unit is specifically configured to: send first carrier information and second carrier information to the terminal device via the first RAT, where the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier.

[0050] In one implementation, the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier type, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier type, where the first carrier type and the second carrier type are different.

[0051] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided. The device may be a terminal device or a component of a terminal device (such as a chip, a circuit, or a chip system).

[0052] The device includes: an interface unit, configured to receive first information from a network device through a first cell of a first RAT, the first information being used to indicate first time-frequency resources, the frequency-domain resources of the first cell including M downlink carriers, where M is an integer greater than 1; the interface unit is further configured to: receive a PDSCH from the network device through the first RAT, and the first time-frequency resources are not used for transmitting the PDSCH.

[0053] In one implementation, the first time-frequency resources include N time-frequency resources, and the N time-frequency resources correspond one-to-one to N of the M downlink carriers, where N is a positive integer.

[0054] In one implementation, the first information includes a first bitmap and a second bitmap, the first bitmap being used to indicate the time-domain resources in the first time-frequency resources, and the second bitmap being used to indicate the frequency-domain resources in the first time-frequency resources.

[0055] Combined with the seventh aspect, in some implementations of the seventh aspect, the M downlink carriers include a first carrier and a second carrier, and the interface unit is further configured to: receive first carrier information and second carrier information from the network device through the first RAT, the first carrier information being used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier, and the second carrier information being used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier.

[0056] In one implementation, the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of a first carrier type, the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of a second carrier type, and the first carrier type and the second carrier type are different.

[0057] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device can be a network device or a component of a network device (such as a chip or a circuit or a chip system).

[0058] The device includes: an interface unit, configured to send first information to a terminal device through a first cell of a first RAT, the first information being used to indicate first time-frequency resources, the frequency-domain resources of the first cell including M downlink carriers, where M is an integer greater than 1; the interface unit is further configured to: send a PDSCH to the terminal device through the first RAT, and the first time-frequency resources are not used for transmitting the PDSCH.

[0059] In one implementation, the first time-frequency resources include N time-frequency resources, and the N time-frequency resources correspond one-to-one to N of the M downlink carriers, where N is a positive integer.

[0060] In one implementation, the first information includes a first bitmap and a second bitmap, the first bitmap being used to indicate the time-domain resources in the first time-frequency resources, and the second bitmap being used to indicate the frequency-domain resources in the first time-frequency resources.

[0061] In combination with the eighth aspect, in some implementations of the eighth aspect, the M downlink carriers include a first carrier and a second carrier, and the interface unit is further configured to: send the first carrier information and the second carrier information to the terminal device through the first RAT, where the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier.

[0062] In one implementation, the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier type, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier type, where the first carrier type and the second carrier type are different.

[0063] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes: a memory for storing programs; and at least one processor for executing the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory to perform the method provided by any of the above aspects or its implementations.

[0064] In one implementation, the device is a terminal device or a network device.

[0065] In another implementation, the device is a chip, a chip system or a circuit for a terminal device or a network device.

[0066] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes: at least one processor and a communication interface, where the at least one processor is configured to obtain the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory through the communication interface to perform the method provided by any of the above aspects or its implementations. The communication interface can be implemented by hardware or software.

[0067] In one implementation, the device further includes a memory.

[0068] In an eleventh aspect, a processor is provided for performing the methods provided by the above aspects.

[0069] For operations such as sending and obtaining / receiving involved by the processor, if there is no special description, or if it does not conflict with its actual role or internal logic in the relevant description, then it can be understood as operations such as outputting, receiving, and inputting by the processor, and it can also be understood as operations of sending and receiving performed by the radio frequency circuit and the antenna. This application does not make any limitations in this regard.

[0070] In a twelfth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores program codes for a device to execute, and the program codes include those for performing the method provided by any of the above aspects or its implementations.

[0071] In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product containing instructions, which, when running on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method provided in any of the above aspects or its implementation manners.

[0072] In a fourteenth aspect, there is provided a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The processor reads instructions stored in a memory through the communication interface and executes the method provided in any of the above aspects or its implementation manners. The communication interface can be implemented by hardware or software.

[0073] Optionally, as an implementation manner, the chip further includes a memory, in which a computer program or instructions are stored. The processor is configured to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory, and when the computer program or instructions are executed, the processor is configured to execute the method provided in any of the above aspects or its implementation manners.

[0074] Wherein, when the method provided in this application is executed by a chip, this application does not limit the number of chips for specifically implementing the method of this application. For example, it can be executed by one chip, or can be executed by two or more chips. And when the number of chips for implementing the method of this application is two or more, the chip manufacturers are not limited, and they can be the same manufacturer or different manufacturers.

[0075] In a fifteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program, which, when running on a computer, causes the method provided in any of the above aspects or its implementation manners to be executed.

[0076] In a sixteenth aspect, there is provided a communication system, which includes the above-mentioned terminal device and network device.

[0077] It should be understood that the beneficial effects of the fifth aspect to the sixteenth aspect and any of their implementation manners can refer to the first aspect to the fourth aspect and any of their implementation manners. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0078] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 to which the embodiments of this application are applied.

[0079] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of carrier aggregation.

[0080] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an SSB.

[0081] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an SSB time-domain transmission pattern.

[0082] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a BWP included in a carrier.

[0083] Figure 6It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by this application.

[0084] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of carrier sharing provided by an embodiment of this application.

[0085] Figure 8 and Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of this application. Detailed implementation manners

[0086] Figure 1 It is a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system 1000 to which an embodiment of this application is applied. As Figure 1 shown, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may further include a core network 200 and the Internet 300.

[0087] Among them, the RAN 100 may include at least one RAN node (such as Figure 1 110a and 110b in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 110), and may further include at least one terminal (such as Figure 1 120a - 120j in

[0088] The RAN 100 may be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, an NR system, a sixth-generation (6G) wireless access system, and a future wireless access system defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), or may be a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 100 may further include two or more different wireless access systems as described above. The RAN 100 may also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0089] A RAN node, also known as a radio access network device, a RAN entity, or an access node, is used to assist a terminal in accessing a communication system wirelessly. In one application scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next generation NodeB in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. A RAN node can be a macro base station (such as Figure 1 110a in Figure 1 ), or a micro base station or an indoor station (such as

[0090] 110b in

[0091] ), or a relay node or a donor node.

[0090] In another application scenario, multiple RAN nodes can cooperate to assist a terminal in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement some functions of a base station. For example, a 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 a 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 a base station, and can also complete some or all of the functions of the physical layer. For specific descriptions of the above protocol layers, reference can be made to the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP. The RU can be used to implement the functions of transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals. The CU and the DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or integrated in the same RAN node, for example, integrated in a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device, for example, included in a remote radio unit (RRU) or an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: CU-control plane and CU-user plane.

[0091] In different systems, the RAN node may have different names. For example, in the O-RAN system, the CU may also be referred to as an open CU (O-CU), the DU may also be referred to as an open DU (O-DU), and the RU may be referred to as an open RU (O-RU). In this application, the RAN node can be implemented by means of a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. For example, the RAN node can be a server loaded with the corresponding software module. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the RAN node. For the convenience of description, a network device or a base station is taken as an example of the RAN node in the following text.

[0092] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver functions that can send signals to a base station or receive signals from a base station. A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, remote medical treatment, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart city, etc. A terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver functions, a wearable device, a vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a robotic arm, a smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the terminal.

[0093] The base station and the terminal can be fixed in position or movable. The base station and the terminal can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; they can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons, and artificial satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the terminal.

[0094] The roles of the base station and the terminal can be relative. For example, Figure 1The helicopter or drone 120i therein can be configured as a mobile base station. For the terminals 120j accessing the radio access network 100 through 120i, 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, that is, the communication between 110a and 120i is through the radio air interface protocol. Of course, the communication between 110a and 120i can also be through the interface protocol between base stations. At this time, relative to 110a, 120i is also a base station. Therefore, both base stations and terminals can be uniformly referred to as communication devices. Figure 1 110a and 110b therein can be referred to as communication devices with base station functions. Figure 1 120a - 120j therein can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0095] The communication between base stations and terminals, between base stations and base stations, and between terminals and terminals can be carried out through authorized spectrum, or through unlicensed spectrum, or through both authorized spectrum and unlicensed spectrum at the same time; it can communicate through the spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), or through the spectrum above 6 GHz, or use both the spectrum below 6 GHz and the spectrum above 6 GHz at the same time. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0096] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station can be executed by modules (such as chips) in the base station, or by a control subsystem including base station functions. The control subsystem including base station functions here can be the control center in the above application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal can also be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) in the terminal, or by a device including terminal functions.

[0097] In the present application, the base station sends downlink signals or downlink information to the terminal, and the downlink information is carried on the downlink channel; the terminal sends uplink signals or uplink information to the base station, and the uplink information is carried on the uplink channel. In order to communicate with the base station, the terminal needs to establish a wireless connection with the cell controlled by the base station. The cell that has established a wireless connection with the terminal is called the serving cell of the terminal. When the terminal communicates with the serving cell, it will also be interfered by the signals from neighboring cells.

[0098] In the embodiments of the present application, the time-domain symbol may be an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or a discrete Fourier transform-spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbol. Unless otherwise specified, the symbols in the embodiments of the present application all refer to time-domain symbols.

[0099] In this document, PDSCH is only used as an example of a downlink data channel. In different systems and different scenarios, the data channel may have different names, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0100] To facilitate the understanding of the embodiments of the present application, some basic concepts related to the present application are briefly described.

[0101] 1. Cell: A set of resources managed by a base station, including frequency-domain resources and spatial-domain resources. The frequency-domain resources of a cell include uplink frequency-domain resources and / or downlink frequency-domain resources; the spatial-domain resources of a cell can be the spatial-domain resources corresponding to a beam or a group of beams, or can be understood as a specific physical coverage area corresponding to a cell. In the embodiments of the present application, different cells can be managed by different base stations. For example, Cell #1 and Cell #2 can be managed by different base stations. In this case, it can be said that Cell #1 and Cell #2 are not co-located. Cell #1 and Cell #2 can also be managed by the same base station and have the same baseband processing unit and / or radio frequency processing unit. The present application does not limit this.

[0102] 2. Carrier aggregation (CA): Aggregating two or more carrier units (component carriers, CCs) together to support a larger transmission bandwidth. The CA technology in NR is used to increase the transmission bandwidth of a single user. Specifically, the carrier aggregation technology can achieve the integration of multi-frequency resources. For example, through the CA technology, the spectrum resources in the same frequency band or different frequency bands can be aggregated and provided to the terminal for use, thereby improving the overall network resource utilization rate and enhancing the user experience. For the sake of easy understanding, Figure 2 CA technology is briefly introduced.

[0103] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a carrier aggregation scenario. From Figure 2It can be seen that the carrier units corresponding to cell #1, the carrier units corresponding to cell #2, and the carrier units corresponding to cell #3 are aggregated together to provide services for the terminal. Among them, cell #1 is the primary cell (PCell), and cell #2 and cell #3 are secondary cells (SCells). Among them, the PCell is the cell where the terminal establishes the initial connection, or the cell for radio resource control (RRC) connection reconstruction. The PCell is responsible for RRC communication with the terminal. The carrier unit corresponding to the PCell is called the primary component carrier (PCC) (such as the PCC shown in Figure 2 ). The downlink (DL) carrier of the PCell is called the DL PCC, and the uplink (UL) carrier of the PCell is called the UL PCC; the SCell is added during RRC reconfiguration to provide additional radio resources. There is no RRC communication between the SCell and the UE. The carrier unit corresponding to the SCell is called the secondary component carrier (SCC) (such as the SCC#1 and SCC#2 shown in Figure 2 ). The downlink carrier of the SCell is called the DL SCC, and the uplink carrier of the SCell is called the UL SCC.

[0104] 3. Synchronization signal block (SSB)

[0105] The SSB can also be called the synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block. In 5G, the SSB includes synchronization signals and PBCH. Specifically, the synchronization signals include the primary synchronization signal (PSS) and the secondary synchronization signal (SSS).

[0106] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an SSB. As shown in Figure 3 , one SSB occupies 4 consecutive OFDM symbols in the time domain and 20 consecutive resource blocks (RBs) in the frequency domain. The first symbol of the SSB is the PSS, and the third symbol is the SSS. Both the PSS and the SSS occupy 127 subcarriers, that is, Figure 3Sub - carriers numbered from 56 to 182 in Figure 3 Sub - carriers numbered from 0 to 239 in Figure 3 Sub - carriers numbered from 0 to 47 and sub - carriers numbered from 192 to 239 in

[0107] One of the functions of the SSB is cell access. Specifically, the master information block (MIB) information can be received through the SSB, so that the system information block (SIB) associated with the SSB can be obtained to access the cell. Since the SSB includes the PSS and SSS, and the PBCH includes the PBCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS), the SSB can also be used for the terminal device to perform time - frequency tracking (or time - frequency synchronization), beam management, radio resource management (RRM) measurement, radio link monitoring (RLM) measurement, channel state information (CSI) measurement, etc.

[0108] 4. Synchronization signal (SS) burst set

[0109] An SS burst set represents a set of one or more SSBs. An SS burst set is located in the first half - frame or the second half - frame of a radio frame. The period of the SSB can also be regarded as the period of the SS burst set. The maximum number of SSBs Lmax included in an SS burst set represents the number of SSBs that the network device may send in an SS burst set. The actual number of SSBs sent in an SS burst set is less than or equal to Lmax. Lmax is related to the frequency range. For example, when the carrier frequency is in FR1 and less than or equal to 3 GHz, Lmax = 4; when the carrier frequency is in FR1 and greater than 3 GHz, Lmax = 8; when the carrier frequency is in FR2, Lmax = 64.

[0110] A beam is a spatial communication resource. A network device or a terminal device can shape a transmit beam in an analog, digital, or hybrid manner through an antenna array. Different beams are generally considered as resources in different spaces. Therefore, the same information can be transmitted through different beams to cover multiple different spatial regions, or different information can also be transmitted to maximize spatial resources.

[0111] Beams can be divided into the transmit beams and receive beams of network devices, and the transmit beams and receive beams of terminal devices.

[0112] SSBs in the NR network generally use multiple above-mentioned beams for transmission. There is a transmission period for SSBs. In the low frequency (or called Frequency Range 1, FR1), this period is generally 20 ms. Within each SSB period, the network device can use time division to transmit SSBs of multiple different beams within a short time length. This short time length is called an SS burst. In the NR system, according to different working frequency bands, SSBs of different beams are transmitted according to different time domain patterns.

[0113] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an SSB time domain transmission pattern. As Figure 4 shown, in case A, the subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz, and the length of an SS burst is 2 ms, that is, the network device can transmit SSBs within 2 time slots with a length of 1 ms. At most 4 SSBs in different directions can be transmitted within this SS burst, namely SSB0, SSB1, SSB2, and SSB3 in the figure. The filled parts in the figure are the symbol positions where SSBs can be transmitted. It should be understood that within an SS burst, the network device does not necessarily need to transmit all 4 SSBs in different directions. The network device can configure the number of actually transmitted SSBs and the symbol positions used for transmitting SSBs through system messages. For example, the network device can only transmit SSB0 and SSB1, or only transmit SSB1 and SSB3.

[0114] As Figure 4 shown, in case B and case C, the subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz, and two time domain transmission patterns as shown in the figure can be supported respectively. When the subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz, the length of an SS burst is 2 ms, including 4 time slots with a length of 0.5 ms. In Figure 4 each, each filling pattern represents an SSB in a beam direction. The network device can choose to transmit SSBs of 1, 2, 4, or 8 beams. At most 8 SSBs in different directions can be transmitted within an SS burst. Each SSB in a beam direction occupies 4 OFDM symbols in time domain resources. The content carried in the 4 OFDM symbols of the SSB can be as Figure 3 shown.

[0115] When the terminal device powers on and camps on a cell or switches to a cell, it can measure multiple SSBs within one SSB period of the cell to determine the beam with the best received quality. When performing beam selection during subsequent cell access and uplink / downlink data transmission, the beam quality of the measured SSB is used as a reference.

[0116] 5. Bandwidth Part (BWP): A BWP is a continuous frequency resource segment on a carrier. One or more BWPs can be configured in a carrier, and the bandwidth of the BWP in a carrier is less than or equal to the bandwidth of this carrier. When a BWP is configured and activated, this BWP is called an active BWP.

[0117] Exemplarily, a terminal has an active downlink BWP on a downlink carrier and an active uplink BWP on an uplink carrier. Generally, the data and control information sent by the terminal uplink are sent within the uplink active BWP, and the downlink data and control information are received within the downlink active BWP. For the sake of easy understanding, combined with Figure 5 A form in which a carrier includes a BWP is briefly introduced.

[0118] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the BWP included in the carrier. From Figure 5 it can be seen that three BWPs are configured in a 50 MHz carrier, namely BWP#1, BWP#2, and BWP#3. The bandwidth of BWP#1 is 25 MHz, the bandwidth of BWP#2 is 10 MHz, and the bandwidth of BWP#3 is 50 MHz. Among them, the active BWP can be BWP#2.

[0119] In NR Rel-15, the maximum channel bandwidth of each carrier is 400 MHz, and the maximum bandwidth supported by the terminal device can be less than 400 MHz. Each BWP corresponds to a numerology, bandwidth, and frequency location.

[0120] 6. RBG

[0121] RBG is a set of continuous centralized physical resource blocks, and RBG is the unit for allocating traffic channel resources.

[0122] 7. PRG

[0123] Resources that adopt the same precoding can be referred to as a PRG, or as the bundling of physical resource blocks (PRBs). The granularity of the PRG can also be referred to as the granularity of the PRB bundling. The granularity of the PRG can be a PRB or resources with other granularities, without limitation. Exemplarily, if the granularity of the PRG is a PRB, multiple PRBs in the frequency domain can adopt the same precoding. In this way, the receiving end can jointly perform channel estimation on multiple PRBs, thereby improving the accuracy of channel estimation. In this case, a PRG can include the above-mentioned multiple PRBs. Currently, NR stipulates that one or more consecutive PRBs are used as a PRB bundling or PRG, and the number of consecutive values can be {2, 4, continuous scheduling bandwidth}.

[0124] With the evolution of communication technologies, communication technologies corresponding to new standards will be introduced. Through frequency-division multiplexing or time-division multiplexing, spectrum sharing can transmit data of new and old standards on the same spectrum. During the handover between new and old standards, smooth evolution between different standards can be achieved, ensuring the performance experience of old-standard users while accelerating the deployment rhythm of new standards. The flexible occupation of spectrum resources between new and old standards can maximize spectrum utilization.

[0125] For example, in the initial stage of NR network construction, on the one hand, operators want to quickly introduce the NR network. On the other hand, the overall penetration rate of NR terminals is relatively low, and the growth rate of NR traffic varies in different regions, which brings great planning difficulties to the refarming of the long term evolution (LTE) band to the NR spectrum and affects the progress of NR network construction. In addition, the frequency bands of NR include FR1 and FR2. FR1 includes the C-band (4 - 8 GHz), and FR2 includes frequency bands above 6 GHz, such as the millimeter-wave band. Since the coverage of high-frequency bands is poor, NR also hopes to use some low-frequency bands of LTE for communication to meet the coverage requirements. For this reason, technical personnel have introduced dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) between LTE and NR. Through frequency-division multiplexing or time-division multiplexing, LTE and NR data can be transmitted on the same spectrum, thereby ensuring the performance experience of LTE users, minimizing the impact on existing LTE users, and accelerating the deployment of NR.

[0126] In future communication technologies, for example, when NR and 6G communication technologies share the spectrum, how to achieve spectrum sharing is crucial for the rational utilization of spectrum resources. [[ID=?]] [[ID=?]]

[0127] In view of this, the present application provides a communication method and a communication device, aiming to achieve reasonable sharing of spectrum resources in a scenario where a cell includes multiple carriers.

[0128] It should be understood that the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a system that communicates through multi-antenna technology. For example, Figure 1 the communication system 1000 shown in FIG. The communication system may include at least one network device and at least one terminal device. Communication between the network device and the terminal device can be carried out through multi-antenna technology.

[0129] It should also be understood that the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is not particularly limited in the embodiments shown below. As long as it can communicate according to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application by running a program recorded with the code of the method provided by the embodiments of the present application. For example, the execution subject of the method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be a terminal device and a network device, or a functional module in the terminal device and the network device that can call and execute the program.

[0130] Figure 6 FIG. is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 400 provided by the present application. As Figure 6 shown, the method 400 includes the following steps.

[0131] S410, the network device sends first information to a first terminal device through a first RAT. Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the first information.

[0132] In the present application, RAT is also referred to as radio access technology, which connects a terminal to a network node through a wireless medium to achieve information transfer between the terminal and the network. RAT includes communication protocols, which are the protocols that signals transmitted through a wireless channel should follow. Specifically, RAT can include 3GPP access technologies (such as LTE, NR, 6G, etc.) and non-3GPP access technologies (such as WiFi, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), etc.).

[0133] In the present application, the first terminal device and the network device communicate through a first RAT, and the first RAT can be a 3GPP access technology. For example, the first RAT is LTE, NR, 6G, etc.

[0134] It should be understood that the first RAT can also be an access technology in future communication technologies, which is not limited in the present application.

[0135] Among them, the first information is used to indicate first time-frequency resources.

[0136] S420, the network device sends a PDSCH to the first terminal device via the first RAT. Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the PDSCH.

[0137] Among them, the first time-frequency resource is not used for transmitting the PDSCH. Or rather, rate matching is performed around the first time-frequency resource. Before sending the PDSCH to the first terminal device, the network device may also send downlink control information to the first terminal device. This downlink control information is used to schedule the above PDSCH, and this downlink control information indicates the second time-frequency resource. The first time-frequency resource is not used for transmitting this PDSCH, which can also be understood as the REs in the second time-frequency resource that overlap with the first time-frequency resource are not used for transmitting this PDSCH.

[0138] In this application, the first time-frequency resource indicated by the network device to the first terminal device is a resource that is not used for transmitting the PDSCH. Thus, the first terminal device can communicate with the network device in the time-frequency resource outside the first time-frequency resource, improving the communication efficiency.

[0139] Some examples of the first time-frequency resource are given below.

[0140] Example 1: The first time-frequency resource includes the time-frequency resource of the SSB of the second RAT. Or rather, the first time-frequency resource can be used for transmitting the SSB of the second RAT.

[0141] Among them, the second RAT can also be a 3GPP access technology. For example, the second RAT is LTE, NR, 6G, etc.

[0142] Optionally, the first RAT and the second RAT are different. For example, the first RAT is 6G and the second RAT is NR.

[0143] Optionally, the second terminal device and the network device communicate via the second RAT. In other words, the second terminal device and the first terminal device are terminal devices of different standards. In this case, the SSB of the second RAT can be understood as: the SSB transmitted by the network device to the second terminal device, and the time-frequency resource of the SSB of the second RAT can be understood as: the time-frequency resource used by the network device when transmitting the SSB to the second terminal device.

[0144] Among them, the structure of the SSB of the second RAT can be as Figure 3 shown.

[0145] In this example, the first information may include the time domain position, frequency domain position, subcarrier spacing, power, etc. of the SSB of the second RAT.

[0146] Taking the second RAT as NR as an example, the number of RBs occupied by the SSB of NR in the frequency domain is fixed, and the number of symbols occupied in the time domain is also fixed (such as Figure 3As shown, however, the position of the NR SSB in the frequency domain is random. Considering the relationship between the NR SSB and the beam, the transmission time of the NR SSB in the time domain is also flexibly variable. Therefore, through the first piece of information, the time-frequency position of the NR SSB can be indicated to the first terminal device, so that the first terminal device can determine that the first time-frequency resource is not used for transmitting the PDSCH transmitted by the network device to it.

[0147] As an implementation of this example, the time-domain position of the SSB of the second RAT can be indicated by the period of the SSB and the SSB index in the SS burst set, as Figure 4 shown.

[0148] For example, in this example, the cell structure of the first piece of information is as follows:

[0149] RateMatchPatternNR-SSB::=SEQUENCE{

[0150] ssbSubcarrierSpacing ENUMERATED{kHz15,kHz30,kHz60,kHz120,kHz240}

[0151] absoluteFrequencySSB ARFCN-ValueNR

[0152] ssb-PositionsInBurst SEQUENCE{

[0153] inOneGroup BIT STRING(SIZE(8)),

[0154] groupPresence BIT STRING(SIZE(8))OPTIONAL

[0155] },

[0156] ssb-PeriodicityServingCell ENUMERATED{ms5,ms10,ms20,ms40,ms80,ms160},

[0157] ss-PBCH-BlockPower INTEGER(-60..50),

[0158] }

[0159] Among them, ssb-PositionsInBurst may include the following content:

[0160] ssb-PositionsInBurst CHOICE{

[0161] shortBitmap BIT STRING(SIZE(4)),

[0162] mediumBitmap BIT STRING(SIZE(8)),

[0163] longBitmap BIT STRING(SIZE(64))

[0164] }

[0165] Optionally, the time domain position of the SSB of the second RAT can also be indicated by the time domain start position and the time length occupied by the SSB. Similarly, the frequency domain position of the SSB of the second RAT can also be indicated by the frequency domain start position and the frequency range occupied in the frequency domain.

[0166] Based on the above solution, the network device can indicate the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT to the first terminal device through the first RAT, so that the first RAT and the second RAT can share the spectrum and improve the spectrum resource utilization rate.

[0167] Optionally, in this example, the method 200 further includes: the first terminal device determines the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT according to the first information.

[0168] Specifically, the first terminal device can determine the specific positions occupied by the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT according to the communication protocol in the second RAT.

[0169] Example 2: The first time-frequency resource is the time-frequency resource not used for transmitting PDSCH, or rather, the first time-frequency resource is the time-frequency resource for the first terminal device to perform rate matching.

[0170] It should be understood that in Example 2, the use of the first time-frequency resource is similar to that in Example 1, and it also includes the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT, or rather, the first time-frequency resource is also used to transmit the SSB of the second RAT. The difference from Example 1 is that for the first terminal device, it cannot determine the relationship between the first time-frequency resource and the SSB of the second RAT, and it will directly use the first time-frequency resource as the resource for rate matching.

[0171] In this example, the first information may include frequency domain position, time domain position, period, subcarrier spacing, etc.

[0172] Specifically, the first information may include a first bitmap and a second bitmap. The first bitmap is used to indicate the time domain resources in the first time-frequency resource, and the second bitmap is used to indicate the frequency domain resources in the first time-frequency resource.

[0173] Among them, the number of bits of the first bitmap can be determined according to the number of symbols within 5 ms.

[0174] For example, when the maximum subcarrier spacing is 120 kHz, there are 40 time slots (slots) within 5 ms, and each time slot includes 14 symbols, that is, there are 560 symbols within 5 ms. Therefore, the first bitmap can include 560 bits. Similarly, when the maximum subcarrier spacing is 240 kHz, the first bitmap can include 1120 bits; when the maximum subcarrier spacing is 480 kHz, the first bitmap can include 2240 bits; when the maximum subcarrier spacing is 960 kHz, the first bitmap can include 4480 bits; when the maximum subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, the first bitmap can include 280 bits.

[0175] Exemplarily, 0 in the first bitmap may indicate that the symbol does not belong to the first time-frequency resource (or is used for transmitting PDSCH, or does not require rate matching), and 1 in the first bitmap may indicate that the symbol belongs to the first time-frequency resource (or is not used for transmitting PDSCH, or requires rate matching).

[0176] Among them, the number of bits of the second bitmap can be determined according to the maximum number of RBs on a carrier. For example, if the bandwidth of the carrier is 100 MHz and it consists of 273 RBs, the second bitmap can include 273 bits.

[0177] Exemplarily, 0 in the second bitmap may indicate that the RB does not belong to the first time-frequency resource (or is used for transmitting PDSCH, or does not require rate matching), and 1 in the second bitmap may indicate that the RB belongs to the first time-frequency resource (or is not used for transmitting PDSCH, or requires rate matching).

[0178] Among them, the first time-frequency resource can be in the granularity of BWP, or in other words, one or more first time-frequency resources are configured for each BWP. In this case, the subcarrier spacing of the first time-frequency resource can be the same as that of the BWP, and at this time, the number of bits of the second bitmap is determined according to the maximum number of RBs on the BWP.

[0179] For example, in this example, the cell structure of the first information is as follows:

[0180] RateMatchPattern::=SEQUENCE{

[0181] rateMatchPatternId RateMatchPatternId,

[0182] resourceBlocks BIT STRING(SIZE(275)),symbolsInResourceBlock BITSTRING(SIZE(560))

[0183] PeriodicityServingCell ENUMERATED{ms5,ms10,ms20,ms40,ms80,ms160},

[0184] ssbSubcarrierSpacing ENUMERATED{kHz15,kHz30,kHz60,kHz120}

[0185] }

[0186] Based on the above solution, the network device can indicate to the first terminal device the resources not used for transmitting PDSCH, so that the first terminal device can communicate with the network device in the time-frequency resources outside the first time-frequency resources, improving the communication efficiency.

[0187] Optionally, the first information is carried in the RRC signaling.

[0188] In one implementation, S410 specifically includes: the network device sends the first information to the first terminal device through the first cell of the first RAT.

[0189] In this application, the first cell is a cell managed by the network device.

[0190] It should be understood that the cells managed by the network device may include other cells in addition to the first cell, or may only include the first cell, which is not limited.

[0191] Wherein, the first cell includes M downlink carriers, and M is an integer greater than 1.

[0192] It should be understood that the first cell includes M downlink carriers, which can be understood as that M carriers for downlink signal transmission are configured in the first cell, and the M downlink carriers may belong to one frequency band or multiple frequency bands.

[0193] Based on the above solution, the first cell includes at least two downlink carriers, so that the terminal device can use a larger spectrum when accessing the first cell, and compared with carrier aggregation, the cell management overhead can be reduced.

[0194] Optionally, in the above Example 2, the first time-frequency resources include N time-frequency resources, and the N time-frequency resources correspond one-to-one to N of the M downlink carriers, where N is a positive integer.

[0195] It should be understood that the N time-frequency resources in the first time-frequency resource can be understood as N time-frequency resources not used for transmitting PDSCH.

[0196] Specifically, the N time-frequency resources correspond one-to-one with N of the M downlink carriers. It can be understood that among the M downlink carriers, there can be N downlink carriers, and each of these N downlink carriers includes a frequency-domain resource in a time-frequency resource not used for transmitting PDSCH.

[0197] Among them, the M downlink carriers include the frequency-domain resources in the first time-frequency resource.

[0198] Optionally, in the above Example 1, the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT may include the time-frequency resources of N SSBs, that is, the N time-frequency resources are the time-frequency resources of N SSBs, and the time-frequency resources of the N SSBs correspond one-to-one with N of the M downlink carriers.

[0199] Specifically, among the M downlink carriers, there can be N downlink carriers, and each of these N downlink carriers includes a frequency-domain resource in the time-frequency resource of an SSB of the second RAT.

[0200] Among them, the N downlink carriers among the M downlink carriers can be understood as N shared carriers, and their spectra are shared by the first RAT and the second RAT.

[0201] Exemplarily, the time-frequency resources of the N SSBs can also be referred to as the time-frequency resources of N rate matching. When the second RAT is 5G, the signaling indicating the time-frequency resources of the N SSBs can be:

[0202] RateMatchPatternNR-SSBList::=SEQUENCE(SIZE(1..maxNR-SSB-Patterns))OFRateMatchPatternNR-SSB

[0203] Among them, the value of maxNR-SSB-Patterns is N, a positive integer, such as 1, 3, 6.

[0204] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of carrier sharing provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 7As shown, the first RAT is 6G, the second RAT is 5G, M is equal to 3, and N = 2. Specifically, the 6G cell (an example of the first cell) includes 4 downlink carriers, denoted as carrier #1, carrier #2, carrier #3, and carrier #4, where both carrier #1 and carrier #2 are shared carriers for 5G and 6G. Carrier #1 corresponds to 5G cell #1, carrier #2 corresponds to 5G cell #2, and 1 5G SSB is configured on each of carrier #1 and carrier #2. Carrier #3 and carrier #4 are exclusive carriers for 6G. Therefore, the first time-frequency resource includes the time-frequency resources of 2 5G SSBs, and 2 of the 4 downlink carriers correspond one-to-one to the time-frequency resources of these 2 5G SBBs. Carrier #1 corresponds to the time-frequency resources of 1 5G SBB, and carrier #2 corresponds to the time-frequency resources of 1 5G SBB.

[0205] Based on the above solution, at least 1 SSB of the second RAT can be configured on each carrier in the first cell, so as to better utilize the transmission resources of each carrier and improve the resource utilization rate.

[0206] It should be understood that the above is described by taking the example that each carrier includes a time-frequency resource not used for transmitting PDSCH. However, the present application does not limit the number of time-frequency resources not used for transmitting PDSCH included on each carrier. In other words, in the present application, the first time-frequency resource may include N1 time-frequency resources, where N1 is greater than N. For example, continuing with the Figure 7 scenario in, 2 5G SSBs can be configured on carrier #1 and carrier #2 respectively. At this time, the first time-frequency resource includes the time-frequency resources of 4 5G SSBs, that is, N1 = 4 = 2N. And 2 of the 4 downlink carriers correspond one-to-one to the time-frequency resources of these 4 5G SBBs. Carrier #1 corresponds to the time-frequency resources of 2 5G SBBs, and carrier #2 corresponds to the time-frequency resources of 2 5G SBBs.

[0207] It should also be understood that the above is described by taking the example that the number of time-frequency resources not used for transmitting PDSCH included on each carrier is the same. However, the present application does not limit this. The number of time-frequency resources not used for transmitting PDSCH included on each carrier may be the same or different. For example, continuing with the Figure 7 scenario in, 2 5G SSBs can be configured on carrier #1, and 1 5G SSB can be configured on carrier #2. At this time, the first time-frequency resource includes the time-frequency resources of 4 5G SSBs, that is, N1 = 4 = 2N. And 2 of the 4 downlink carriers correspond one-to-one to the time-frequency resources of these 3 5G SBBs. Carrier #1 corresponds to the time-frequency resources of 2 5G SBBs, and carrier #2 corresponds to the time-frequency resources of 1 5G SBB.

[0208] Optionally, the M downlink carriers may be frequency-domain continuous or frequency-domain discontinuous.

[0209] In this application, continuous carriers refer to two carriers belonging to the same frequency band and being continuous in the frequency domain. Discontinuous carriers include two cases:

[0210] Case 1: Two carriers belong to the same frequency band, but are discontinuous in the frequency domain.

[0211] Case 2: Two carriers belong to different frequency bands.

[0212] Among them, the M downlink carriers can correspond to k frequency bands, where k is an integer less than or equal to M.

[0213] In one implementation, the M downlink carriers include a first carrier and a second carrier. The method 400 further includes: S430, the network device sends the first carrier information and the second carrier information to the first terminal device through the first RAT. Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the first carrier information and the second carrier information.

[0214] Among them, the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier.

[0215] Specifically, the first carrier information can be used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier type, and the second carrier information can be used to indicate the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier type, where the first carrier type and the second carrier type are different.

[0216] Optionally, in this implementation, the method 400 further includes: S440, determining the size of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier according to the first carrier information, and determining the size of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier according to the second carrier information.

[0217] Based on the above solution, through the first carrier information and the second carrier information, the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of carriers of different carrier types can be indicated. Further, the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG of shared carriers and non-shared carriers can be made independent of each other.

[0218] It should be understood that the carrier types include DSS carriers and non-DSS (non-DSS) carriers. In order to implement multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) on a shared carrier, the configuration of the RBG and / or PRG on the shared carrier needs to be aligned with the second RAT. The CRB0 positions of the same numerology of the first RAT and the second RAT need to be aligned, and the RBG and / or PRG of the first terminal device and the second terminal device also need to be aligned. The configuration of the RBG and / or PRG on the non-shared carrier can be configured according to the requirements of the first RAT. Therefore, the RBG and / or PRG of the shared carrier and the RBG and / or PRG of the non-shared carrier can be configured independently. In other words, the DSS carrier corresponds to one configuration method of the RBG and / or PRG, and the non-DSS carrier corresponds to another configuration method of the RBG and / or PRG.

[0219] For example, continuing with the scenario in Figure 7 as an example, assume that the bandwidths of carrier #1, carrier #2, carrier #3, and carrier #4 are all 20 MHz. If BWPs are configured on carrier #1, carrier #2, carrier #3, and carrier #4, then the size of the RBG on carrier #1 and carrier #2 can be configured according to the shared 5G cell, and carrier #3 and carrier #4 can jointly determine the RBG size. For example, the first terminal device determines that the RBG size configured on carrier #1 and carrier #2 is 4, and the RBG size configured on carrier #3 and carrier #4 is 8.

[0220] In one example, the first carrier information and the second carrier information are carrier types. For example, if the first carrier is a DSS carrier and the second carrier is a non-DSS carrier, then the first carrier information is the DSS carrier and the second carrier information is the non-DSS carrier.

[0221] In one example, the first carrier information and the second carrier information are carrier groups. For example, if the first carrier is a DSS carrier and the second carrier is a non-DSS carrier, then the first carrier information is carrier group 1 and the second carrier information is carrier group 2. Among them, the carriers in carrier group 1 are DSS carriers, and the carriers in carrier group 2 are non-DSS carriers.

[0222] It should be understood that the magnitudes of the sequence numbers of the above processes do not mean the order of execution. The order of execution of each process should be determined according to its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0223] It should also be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, without special instructions and logical conflicts, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referred to, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

[0224] It should also be understood that in some of the above embodiments, devices in the existing network architecture are mainly used as examples for illustrative purposes (such as network devices, terminal devices, etc.). It should be understood that the specific forms of the devices are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, devices that can achieve the same functions in the future are applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0225] It can be understood that in each of the above method embodiments, the methods and operations implemented by devices (such as network devices, terminal devices) can also be implemented by components of the devices (such as chips or circuits).

[0226] Above, in combination with Figures 1 to 7 The method of communication provided by the embodiments of the present application has been described in detail. The above method of communication has been mainly introduced from the perspective of the interaction between the terminal device and the network device. It can be understood that in order to implement the above functions, the terminal device and the network device include the corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function.

[0227] It can be understood that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal device and the network device include the corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the present 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 form of hardware or computer software driving the hardware depends on the specific application scenarios and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0228] Figure 8 and Figure 9 are schematic block diagrams of possible communication devices provided by the embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the first terminal device or the network device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be the terminal 120 as shown in Figure 1 or the network device 110 as shown in Figure 1 , and can also be a module (such as a chip) applied to the terminal or the network device.

[0229] Such as Figure 8As shown, the communication device 1200 includes a transceiver unit 1210. The transceiver unit 1210 can implement corresponding communication functions. The transceiver unit 1210 can also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit. Optionally, the communication device 1200 further includes a processing unit 1220 for data processing. The communication device 1200 is used to implement the function of the first terminal device or the network device in the foregoing Figure 6 method embodiment shown.

[0230] When the communication device 1200 is used to implement Figure 6 the function of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown, the transceiver unit 1210 is used to receive first information from the network device through the first RAT, and receive the PDSCH from the network device through the first RAT.

[0231] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 is further used to receive first carrier information and second carrier information from the network device through the first RAT.

[0232] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 is used to determine the size of the RBG and / or PRG of the first carrier according to the first carrier information, and determine the size of the RBG and / or PRG of the second carrier according to the second carrier information.

[0233] When the communication device 1200 is used to implement Figure 6 the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown, the transceiver unit 1210 is used to send first information to the terminal device through the first RAT, and send the PDSCH to the terminal device through the first RAT.

[0234] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 is further used to send first carrier information and second carrier information to the terminal device through the first RAT.

[0235] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 is used to determine the first information, the first carrier information, the second carrier information, etc.

[0236] For a more detailed description of the above transceiver unit 1210 and processing unit 1220, as well as the meanings of terms such as the first information, the first carrier information, and the second carrier information, reference can be made to Figure 6 the description in the method embodiment shown.

[0237] As Figure 9As shown, the communication device 1300 includes a processor 1310 and an interface circuit 1320. The processor 1310 and the interface circuit 1320 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1320 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1300 may further include a memory 1330 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1310 or for storing input data required for the processor 1310 to run instructions or for storing data generated after the processor 1310 runs instructions. Sometimes, the interface circuit 1320 can also be understood as a part of the processor 1310. In this case, the communication device 1300 includes the processor 1310.

[0238] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement Figure 6 the method shown, the processor 1310 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned processing unit 1220, and the interface circuit 1320 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 1210.

[0239] When the above-mentioned communication device is a chip applied to a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The terminal chip receives information from a network device. It can be understood that the information is first received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal and then sent by these modules to the terminal chip. The terminal chip sends information to the network device. It can be understood that the information is first sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal and then sent by these modules to the network device.

[0240] When the above-mentioned communication device is a chip applied to a network device, the network device chip implements the functions of the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The network device chip receives information from a terminal. It can be understood that the information is first received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the network device and then sent by these modules to the network device chip. The network device chip sends information to the terminal. It can be understood that the information is first sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the network device and then sent by these modules to the terminal.

[0241] In this application, when entity A sends information to entity B, it can be directly sent from A to B, or A can indirectly send it to B via other entities. Similarly, when entity B receives information from entity A, entity B can directly receive the information sent by entity A, or entity B can indirectly receive the information sent by entity A via 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 also 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.

[0242] 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.

[0243] The method steps in the embodiments of this 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, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, removable hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium well-known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. 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.

[0244] 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 described in 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 computer-readable storage medium. 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 data center that integrates 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.

[0245] In the above respective embodiments, if there is no special description 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.

[0246] "At least one" herein means one or more. "Multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects and indicates that three relationships can exist. 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 written description of the present application, the character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after; in the formulas of the present 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.

[0247] It should be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the first, second, and various numerical numbers are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The magnitude of the sequence numbers of the above processes does not mean the order of execution is prior or subsequent, and the order of execution of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Comprising: Receiving, via a first radio access technology (RAT), first information from a network device, where the first information is used to indicate the time-frequency resources of a synchronization signal block (SSB) of a second RAT; Receiving, via the first RAT, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) from the network device, where the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT are not used for transmitting the PDSCH.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The receiving, via the first RAT, first information from a network device includes: Receiving the first information via a first cell of the first RAT, where the frequency-domain resources of the first cell include M downlink carriers, and M is an integer greater than 1.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT include the time-frequency resources of N SSBs, and the time-frequency resources of the N SSBs correspond one-to-one with N of the M downlink carriers, where N is a positive integer.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The M downlink carriers include a first carrier and a second carrier, and the method further includes: Receiving, via the first RAT, first carrier information and second carrier information from the network device, where the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of a resource block group (RBG) or a precoding resource block group (PRG) of the first carrier, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG or PRG of the second carrier.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG or PRG of a first carrier type, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG or PRG of a second carrier type, where the first carrier type and the second carrier type are different.

6. A communication method, characterized in that, Comprising: Sending, via a first RAT, first information to a terminal device, where the first information is used to indicate the time-frequency resources of an SSB of a second RAT; Sending, via the first RAT, a PDSCH to the terminal device, where the time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT are not used for transmitting the PDSCH.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein The sending, via the first RAT, first information to a terminal device includes: Sending the first information to the terminal device via a first cell of the first RAT, where the frequency-domain resources of the first cell include M downlink carriers, and M is an integer greater than 1.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The time-frequency resources of the SSB of the second RAT include the time-frequency resources of N SSBs, and the time-frequency resources of the N SSBs correspond one-to-one with N of the M downlink carriers, where N is a positive integer.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, The M downlink carriers include a first carrier and a second carrier, and the method further includes: Sending, via the first RAT, first carrier information and second carrier information to the terminal device, where the first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG or PRG of the first carrier, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG or PRG of the second carrier.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The first carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG or PRG of a first carrier type, and the second carrier information is used to indicate the configuration of the RBG or PRG of a second carrier type, where the first carrier type and the second carrier type are different.

11. A communication device, characterized in that, comprising a module or unit for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, or, comprising a module or unit for performing the method according to any one of claims 6 to 10.

12. 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 outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, the processor being configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 by means of logic circuits or by executing code instructions, or, to implement the method according to any one of claims 6 to 10.

13. A chip, characterized in that, comprising a processor, the processor being coupled to a memory, the memory being configured to store a computer program, the processor being configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, or, to implement the method according to any one of claims 6 to 10.

14. 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 5 is implemented, or, the method according to any one of claims 6 to 10 is implemented.

15. A computer program product, characterized in that, comprising a computer program, which when run, implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, or, implements the method according to any one of claims 6 to 10.

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