Processing method and device for time advance (TA)

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a processing method for time advance (TA), which is applied to a terminal, the terminal is in a low-speed moving state, the low-speed moving comprises that the moving speed is within a first speed range, and the method comprises the following steps: receiving a first message which is sent by a base station and indicates a first TA, and after the first message is received, sending the first TA to the base station; and receiving a second message which is sent by the base station and indicates the second TA, and in response to meeting a first condition, sending the uplink signal by using the first TA to obtain an uplink transmission error rate meeting the requirement, the meeting requirement comprising: less than an error rate threshold, and the first condition comprising: an absolute difference between the first TA and the second TA is greater than a difference threshold. If the first condition is met, it is indicated that the second TA is likely to be abnormal, so that the uplink information is sent by using the first TA instead of the second TA, and the uplink transmission error rate meeting the requirement is obtained.

Description

Method and device for processing time advance TA

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on March 29, 2023, with application number 2023103742144 and invention name “Processing method and device for time advance TA”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method and device for processing a timing advance (TA). Background Art

[0003] Timing Advance (TA) is a parameter configured by the base station to the terminal, with the purpose of ensuring that the uplink signal sent by the terminal is received within the uplink signal reception time.

[0004] There is still room for improvement in the existing TA mechanism.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a method and apparatus for processing a timing advance (TA), aiming to solve the problem of how to improve the TA mechanism.

[0007] In order to achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solutions:

[0008] The first aspect of the present application provides a method for processing a timing advance (TA), which is applied to a terminal, wherein the terminal is in a low-speed moving state, wherein the low-speed moving includes a moving speed within a first speed range. The method includes: receiving a first message indicating a first TA sent by a base station; after receiving the first message, receiving a second message indicating a second TA sent by the base station; in response to satisfying a first condition, an uplink transmission bit error rate that meets the requirements is obtained by using the first TA to send an uplink signal, wherein satisfying the requirements includes being less than a bit error rate threshold, and the first condition includes: the absolute difference between the first TA and the second TA is greater than the difference threshold. Satisfaction of the first condition indicates that the second TA may be abnormal, and therefore, the first TA is used instead of the second TA to send uplink information to obtain an uplink transmission bit error rate that meets the requirements.

[0009] In some implementations, the first condition further includes: an estimated speed greater than an actual speed, where the estimated speed is obtained based on the first message and the second message, and the actual speed is obtained based on sensor data collected by sensors on the terminal. The estimated speed being greater than the actual speed indicates that the TA indicated by the base station may be abnormal. Therefore, the condition that the estimated speed is greater than the actual speed can improve the accuracy of determining whether the second TA is abnormal.

[0010] In some implementations, the process of determining whether the first condition is satisfied includes: determining whether the first condition is satisfied when the first message and the second message are sent from the same cell. If the first message and the second message are sent from the same cell, then if the absolute difference is large, it is likely that the second TA is abnormal. Therefore, determining whether the cells are the same cell can further improve the accuracy of determining whether the second TA is abnormal.

[0011] In some implementations, a first message indicates a first time offset, and a second message indicates a second time offset, the first time offset is used to generate a first TA, and the second time offset is used to generate a second TA. The process of determining whether the first condition is satisfied includes: if the absolute difference between the first time offset and the second time offset is not equal to zero, determining whether the first condition is satisfied. If the absolute difference between the first time offset and the second time offset is equal to zero, it means that the TA indicated by the second message is the same as the TA indicated by the first message. Because the TA stored in the terminal is the TA indicated by the most recently received message (i.e., the previous time), even if the TA indicated by the currently received message is inaccurate (i.e., erroneous), it cannot be replaced with the correct TA. Therefore, there is no need to determine whether the first condition is satisfied, thereby saving resources.

[0012] In some implementations, the first message and / or the second message includes: a TAC.

[0013] The second aspect of the present application provides a processing method for TA, which is applied to a terminal, and the terminal is in a low-speed moving state. The low-speed moving includes a moving speed less than a speed threshold. The method includes: receiving messages sent by a base station multiple times, the multiple received messages include a first message and a second message received after the first message, the first message indicates a first TA, and the second message indicates a second TA. In response to satisfying a first condition, an uplink transmission bit error rate that meets the requirements is obtained by using the first TA to send an uplink signal, and satisfying the requirements includes: being less than a first bit error rate threshold. The first condition includes: the estimated speed is greater than the actual speed, the estimated speed is obtained based on the first message and the second message, and the actual speed is obtained based on sensor data collected by sensors on the terminal. Using the messages received within a period of time as a basis for judging whether the TA is wrong is equivalent to introducing the relationship between the TAs indicated by the continuously received messages as a basis for judgment, so it is possible to more accurately judge whether the TA is wrong.

[0014] In some implementations, the first condition also includes: the uplink transmission bit error rate is greater than the second bit error rate threshold. When the uplink transmission bit error rate is not greater than the second bit error rate threshold, it indicates that there may be no abnormality in the second TA, and there is no need to perform subsequent processing steps for the TA abnormality to save resources.

[0015] In some implementations, a first message and a second message are received consecutively, the first message being received first, the first message indicating a first time offset used to generate a first time interval (TA), and the second message indicating a second time offset used to generate a second time interval (TA). The process of determining whether the first condition is satisfied includes: determining whether the first condition is satisfied if the result of subtracting the first time offset from the second time offset is greater than or equal to a difference threshold. If the result of subtracting the first time offset from the second time offset is less than the difference threshold, this indicates that the TAs indicated by the previously received messages may be fluctuating in a trend represented by a sawtooth curve, rather than being abnormal. Therefore, there is no need to determine the first condition, thereby saving resources.

[0016] In some implementations, the first message and the second message are consecutively received messages, the first message indicates a first time offset, the first time offset being used to generate a first TA, and the second message indicates a second time offset, the second time offset being used to generate a second TA. The process of determining whether the first condition is satisfied includes: if the absolute difference between the first time offset and the second time offset is not equal to zero, determining whether the first condition is satisfied. If the absolute difference between the first time offset and the second time offset is equal to zero, it indicates that the TA indicated by the second message (the currently received message) is the same as the TA indicated by the first message (the previously received message). Because the TA stored in the terminal is the TA indicated by the most recently received message, even if the TA indicated by the currently received message is inaccurate (i.e., incorrect), it cannot be replaced with the correct TA. Therefore, there is no need to determine whether the first condition is satisfied, thereby saving resources.

[0017] In some implementations, the first message and the second message are received consecutively, and the process of determining whether the first condition is satisfied includes: determining whether the first condition is satisfied when the first message and the second message are sent from the same cell. If the first message and the second message are sent from the same cell, if the absolute difference is large, it is likely that the second TA is abnormal. Therefore, determining whether the cells are the same cell can further improve the accuracy of determining whether the second TA is abnormal.

[0018] In some implementations, sending an uplink signal using the first TA includes: sending the uplink signal using the first TA when the terminal has re-performed an access procedure, where the re-performing access procedure includes re-performing an access procedure in the first cell after performing an initial random access procedure in the first cell. If the terminal has re-performed the access procedure after the initial access procedure, indicating that the access procedure cannot obtain a correct TA, then the uplink signal is sent using the most recent TA before the TA determined to be abnormal, i.e., the first TA, to achieve correct uplink synchronization as much as possible.

[0019] In some implementations, the method provided in the second aspect further includes: initiating an access process in the first cell without the terminal performing the access process again, and obtaining a third TA in response to the access process being successful, so as to obtain correct uplink synchronization through access.

[0020] In some implementations, the method provided in the second aspect also includes: in response to a failure of the access process, triggering a redirection process, and after redirecting to the second cell through the redirection process, obtaining a fourth TA through the access process in the second cell to obtain correct uplink synchronization as much as possible.

[0021] In some implementations, the method provided in the second aspect further includes: in response to the access process failure, marking the first cell as an abnormal cell to reduce the possibility of uplink synchronization abnormality caused by subsequent access to the abnormal cell.

[0022] The third aspect of the present application provides an electronic device, comprising: a memory and at least one processor; the memory is used to store applications, and the at least one processor is used to execute applications to implement the processing method for TA provided in the first aspect or the second aspect of the present application.

[0023] The fourth aspect of the present application provides a computer storage medium for storing a computer program. When the computer program is executed, it is used to implement the processing method for TA provided in the first aspect or the second aspect of the present application.

[0024] A fifth aspect of the present application provides a chip, characterized in that it includes a modem, and the modem is used to run the processing method for TA provided in the first aspect or the second aspect of the present application.

[0025] The sixth aspect of the present application provides a computer program product. When the computer program product is run on a computer, it enables the computer to execute the processing method for TA provided in the first aspect or the second aspect of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] FIG1 is an example diagram of time synchronization of uplink signals received by a base station;

[0027] FIG2 is a flow chart of a method for processing TA provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] FIG3 is a flowchart of another method for processing TA provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] FIG4 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a terminal provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. The terms used in the following embodiments are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to be limiting of the present application. As used in the specification and appended claims of the present application, the singular expressions "one", "a kind of", "said", "above", "the" and "this" are intended to also include expressions such as "one or more", unless there is a clear contrary indication in the context. It should also be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "one or more" refers to one, two or more; "and / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist; for example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0031] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" in this specification mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with that embodiment is included in one or more embodiments of the present application. Thus, phrases such as "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," and "in yet other embodiments" appearing in various places in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more but not all embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "including," "comprising," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0032] The "multiple" involved in the embodiments of the present application means greater than or equal to two. It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are only used for the purpose of distinguishing the description and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or order.

[0033] A time division duplex (TDD) radio frame (hereinafter referred to as a radio frame) used by a base station includes a downlink portion and an uplink portion. The downlink portion is used for the base station to send downlink signals to a terminal, and the uplink portion is used for the base station to receive uplink signals sent by the terminal.

[0034] It is understandable that the base station has requirements for the time of receiving the uplink signal, that is, the base station needs to receive the uplink signal at a specified time, such as the starting time T of the uplink part.

[0035] Because it takes time for signals to transmit in space, in order to ensure that the base station receives the uplink signal at the specified time, the time when the terminal sends the uplink signal to the base station needs to be determined based on the wireless frame used by the base station and the transmission delay of the signal.

[0036] Moreover, for multiple terminals, the farther the terminal is from the base station, the greater the signal transmission delay. If the uplink signals of multiple terminals do not reach the base station within the same time range (such as the cyclic prefix (CP)), the orthogonality of the uplink signals between different terminals may not be guaranteed, resulting in inter-code interference, further affecting the performance of uplink communication.

[0037] To address this issue, the base station configures a timing advance (TA) for the terminal. TA specifies the advance in time that the terminal sends the uplink signal compared to the radio frame specified by the base station. In practice, TA is based on the time the terminal receives the downlink signal. That is, the terminal sends the uplink signal TA in advance of the time it receives the downlink signal, ensuring that the uplink signal is received at the specified time specified in the radio frame. Furthermore, the base station assigns different TAs to terminals at different distances from the base station, ensuring that uplink signals from different terminals arrive at the base station at approximately the same time, thereby reducing the possibility of inter-symbol interference.

[0038] Taking Figure 1 as an example, time axis T1 represents the time when the base station sends a downlink signal (DL symbol), and time axis T2 represents the time when the uplink signal specified in the radio frame is received. In Figure 1, T1 = T2 is used as an example.

[0039] After a transmission time of Tp1, the DL symbol is received by Terminal 1. To ensure that the uplink signal (UL symbol) reaches the base station at the time T2 specified by the base station, Terminal 1 takes into account the signal transmission latency and sends the UL symbol TA1 = 2 * Tp1 in advance of the time when the DL symbol is received. TA1 ensures that the base station receives Terminal 1's UL symbol at T2.

[0040] Compared with terminal 1, terminal 2 is farther away from the base station. Assuming that the delay required for the DL symbol to be transmitted from the base station to terminal 2 is Tp2, terminal 2 sends the UL symbol TA2 = 2*Tp2 in advance of the time when the DL symbol is received. TA2 can ensure that the base station receives the UL symbol of terminal 1 at T2. Moreover, it can be understood that TA1 and TA2 can ensure that their respective UL symbols reach the base station at the same time, that is, align the time when the base station receives the UL symbol.

[0041] That is to say, based on Figure 1, from the terminal side, TA is essentially a negative offset between the start time of receiving the downlink subframe and the time of transmitting the uplink subframe. By appropriately controlling the time offset of each terminal, the base station can control the arrival time of uplink signals from different terminals to be basically aligned. For terminals farther away from the base station, due to the larger transmission delay, they need to send uplink data earlier than terminals closer to the base station. At the same time, it can be seen from Figure 1 that the time when the base station receives the uplink symbol and sends the downlink symbol is the same, while there is an offset between the time when the terminal sends the uplink symbol and receives the downlink symbol. It can also be seen from Figure 1 that different terminals have different TA values, that is, the TA value is a terminal-level configuration. TA is also called round trip time (RTT).

[0042] The following describes an example of how the base station configures a TA for the terminal:

[0043] In the process of the terminal's initial access to the base station, the terminal sends a preamble sequence to the base station in the first step of the access process. The base station obtains the initial TA by measuring the preamble, and in the second step of the access process, sends the initial TA to the terminal through the Timing Advance Command (TAC) field in the Access Response (RAR) message (i.e., message 2) (the length of this field in the NR standard is 12 bits and the length in the LTE standard is 11 bits).

[0044] The terminal sends an uplink signal to the base station based on the initial TA in the TAC. That is, the terminal obtains the initial TA during the initial access to the base station.

[0045] After a terminal connects to a base station, the delay of the uplink signal reaching the base station may change due to factors such as high-speed movement of the terminal (such as the terminal being on a moving high-speed train), switching of the transmission path between the terminal and the base station (such as a user carrying the terminal to the corner of a building in a densely built city), uplink timing errors caused by the long-term accumulation of offsets in the terminal's crystal oscillator, and Doppler frequency shift caused by the terminal's movement. In other words, the terminal goes from an uplink synchronized state to an uplink out-of-sync state.

[0046] Therefore, to keep the terminal in uplink synchronization with the base station, the base station measures the timing of uplink signals sent by the terminal (including but not limited to Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), Hybrid Automatic Repeat-request (HARQ), and Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)), updates the TA, and sends the updated TA to the terminal at the appropriate time. This process is called uplink synchronization update.

[0047] The uplink synchronization update process includes: the base station sends a TAC MAC layer control element (TAC MAC CE) to the terminal. The terminal has saved the most recent timing advance adjustment value NTAold (NTA refers to a variable carried by RAR or MAC CE). After receiving the TAC MAC CE, the terminal calculates the latest advance adjustment value NTAnew.

[0048] In other words, the TA obtained by the terminal through the initial random access process can be regarded as an absolute value, i.e., a TA value. The adjustment value (time offset) is obtained through the uplink synchronization update process, and the TA value is adjusted based on the adjustment value (time offset) to obtain a new TA value. In either case, it can be understood that the messages sent by the base station, such as TAC, all indicate the TA.

[0049] It is understandable that the above is the mechanism adopted by the base station to ensure the uplink synchronization state of the terminal. The mechanism adopted by the terminal to ensure the uplink synchronization state is as follows: the base station configures a timing threshold for the terminal, indicating the validity period of the TA (such as a time alignment timer (TimeAlignmentTimer)). Each time the terminal receives a TA, the time alignment timer is reset to zero. After the time alignment timer exceeds the timer threshold, it means that the terminal has not received the TA for a long time. The TA recorded by the terminal has expired and is not suitable for transmitting uplink signals using the TA. Instead, the terminal needs to re-access the base station to obtain the initial TA again.

[0050] During the research process, the inventors found that although the mechanisms adopted by the above-mentioned base station and terminal can ensure the uplink synchronization state of the terminal and the base station, they cannot prevent the base station from sending an erroneous TA.

[0051] If the base station incorrectly calculates the TA for some reason (such as incompatibility issues caused by base station and / or terminal upgrades), the terminal receives the incorrect TA and sends uplink signals with the incorrect TA, which may destroy the orthogonality of the uplink transmission and cause intra-cell interference, thereby causing a high bit error rate in the uplink transmission, affecting the effective transmission of data (such as call freezes or even dropped calls).

[0052] In order to solve the problem of high uplink bit error rate caused by the terminal not receiving the correct TA, in an embodiment of the present application, a method and device for processing TA are provided, the purpose of which is to identify abnormal (i.e., wrong) TA and process the abnormal TA, thereby avoiding the terminal from using the abnormal TA.

[0053] The processing method for TA disclosed in the embodiments of this application is applicable to but not limited to the following scenarios:

[0054] The base station and the terminal are devices in the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, the LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, the LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, the Fifth Generation Mobile Communication Systems (5G), or the 5G New Radio (5G NR, referred to as NR).

[0055] The base station is a wireless device in the above communication system, and can also be called the next generation node (gNB).

[0056] The terminal may also be called terminal equipment (Terminal Equipment), user equipment (User Equipment, UE), mobile station (Mobile Station, MS), mobile terminal (Mobile Terminal), etc.

[0057] In addition to being applicable to scenarios with a single subcarrier, the method described in this embodiment is also applicable to scenarios with carrier aggregation. In the scenario with carrier aggregation, different carriers supported by the terminal (including one primary carrier and the rest are secondary carriers) are allowed to have different TA values. For this scenario, the concept of Timing Advance Group (TAG) is introduced. A TAG can include the TAs of one or more serving cells, and one or more serving cells have the same TA. If the TAG only contains the TA of the primary cell (Pcell), it is called the primary timing advance group; if it only contains the TA of the secondary cell, it is called the secondary timing advance group (sTAG). In the Rel 11 standard, due to radio frequency limitations, carrier aggregation allows a maximum of two downlink carriers. Therefore, there are only two TAGs at most. The concept of TAG is adopted in NR. For the scenario with carrier aggregation, the following process can be performed cell by cell.

[0058] To handle abnormal TAs, embodiments of the present application improve the TA update logic of the terminal's baseband processor. It is understood that the baseband processor includes a modem. In this embodiment, the modem executes the TA processing method shown in FIG2 , which includes the following steps:

[0059] S101. Receive TAC[i] sent by a base station. TAC[i] is the i-th TAC received by a terminal, where i is a value greater than or equal to 0.

[0060] If i is greater than 0, it indicates that uplink synchronization has been established between the terminal and the base station before executing the process shown in Figure 2. That is, the base station has sent a TAC to the terminal at least once, and the terminal has stored NTAold. If i is 0, it indicates that TAC[i] is the first TAC received by the terminal in the current cell.

[0061] As mentioned above, the TA obtained by the terminal through the initial random access process is an absolute value, and the TAC obtained after the initial access indicates the time offset. For the sake of convenience, the TA indicated by the TAC described later is an absolute TA if it is the TAC issued by the initial random access process. If it is the TAC issued after the initial random access process, it is the TA adjusted based on the time offset.

[0062] S102. Determine whether Pci[i]=Pci[i-1] holds.

[0063] Pci[i] is the cell where the terminal is located when TAC[i] is received, and Pci[i-1] is the cell where the terminal is located when TAC[i-1] is received. Pci[i]=Pci[i-1] means that Pci[i] is equal to Pci[i-1].

[0064] If the cell where the terminal is located has changed (i.e., it is not the same cell), the TA needs to be updated. The TA after the cell change is likely to be significantly different from the TA stored by the terminal. Therefore, the NTAold stored by the terminal last time cannot be used. Therefore, if Pci[i] is not equal to Pci[i-1] (i.e., the judgment result is no), the TA is updated according to the existing standard (logic), that is, S107 is executed. If the judgment result is yes, S103 is executed.

[0065] S103. Determine whether |TAC[i]-TAC[i-1]|!=0 holds.

[0066] |TAC[i]-TAC[i-1]|!=0 means that the absolute difference between TAC[i] and TAC[i-1] is not equal to zero.

[0067] If the absolute difference between TAC[i] and TAC[i-1] is equal to 0, it means that the TA indicated by the currently received TAC is the same as the TA indicated by the previously received TAC. Furthermore, because the TA stored in the terminal is the TA indicated by the most recently received (i.e., previously received) TAC, even if the TA indicated by the currently received TAC is inaccurate (i.e., wrong), it cannot be replaced with the correct TA. Therefore, there is no need to perform subsequent steps. That is, if the judgment result is negative, execute S107; if the judgment result is positive, execute S104.

[0068] S104. Determine whether |TAC[i]-TAC[i-1]|>5.

[0069] |TAC[i]-TAC[i-1]| represents the absolute difference between the TA indicated by the base station last time and the TA indicated by the base station this time. If the absolute difference between TAC[i] and TAC[i-1] is too large, it means that the TA indicated this time may be wrong.

[0070] It can be understood that 5 is an example of a threshold indicating that the absolute difference is too large. The threshold indicating that the absolute difference is too large in this step is called the first threshold. The first threshold can be set based on experience and pre-configured in the terminal.

[0071] In some implementations, when the terminal is in a low-speed movement state, the first threshold value ranges from [3, 6]. In other implementations, when the terminal is in a high-speed movement state, the first threshold value ranges from [7, 20]. The low-speed movement state can be understood as a state where the movement speed is within the first speed range, such as when the user is walking or stationary with the terminal. The high-speed movement state can be understood as a state where the movement speed is within the second speed range, such as when the user is carrying the terminal on a high-speed train. The first speed range and the second speed range can be configured as needed.

[0072] It can be understood that if the absolute difference between TAC[i] and TAC[i-1] is less than the first threshold, it means that the difference between the TA indicated by the base station last time and the TA indicated by the base station this time is small, and it is more likely that the TA indicated by TAC[i] is correct. Therefore, if the judgment result of S104 is yes, execute S105, and if the judgment result of S104 is no, execute S107.

[0073] S105. Determine whether (((|TAC[i]-31|*16*64*Tc) / 2μ)*c) / (TTAC[i]-TTAC[i-1])>2*sensor speed is established.

[0074] TTAC[i] represents the time at which the TAC is received for the i-th time, TTAC[i-1] represents the time at which the TAC is received for the i-1th time, and TTAC[i]-TTAC[i-1] represents the time interval between the i-th and i-1-th TAC transmissions. Since the NR subcarrier spacing is expanded by a power of 2 based on LTE's 15kHz, μ represents the subcarrier. Tc is a time unit in the NR system. (16*64*Tc) / 2μ represents the actual adjustment amount indicated by the TAC for a system with a subcarrier spacing of 2μ*15kHz, i.e., the basic unit of TAC adjustment. (|TAC[i]-31|*16*64) / 2μ represents the absolute difference between TTAC[i] and TTAC[i-1]. Based on Figure 1, this absolute difference can be used to represent the time offset before and after the terminal moves. c represents the speed of light, i.e., the speed of electromagnetic wave transmission. Therefore, ((|TAC[i]-31|*16*64) / 2μ)*c represents the distance the terminal moves in the interval between TTAC[i-1] and TTAC[i]. (((|TAC[i]-31|*16*64*Tc) / 2μ)*c) / (TTAC[i]-TTAC[i-1]) represents the speed at which the terminal moves in the interval between TTAC[i-1] and TTAC[i].

[0075] The sensor speed is the speed sensed by the speed sensor configured in the terminal, indicating the speed at which the terminal moves.

[0076] (((|TAC[i]-31|*16*64) / 2μ)*c) / (TTAC[i]-TTAC[i-1])>2*Sensor speed represents the difference between the moving speed of the terminal calculated based on TAC (estimated speed) and the moving speed of the terminal sensed by the sensor (which can be understood as the actual speed of the terminal).

[0077] If the judgment result of S105 is yes, it means that the moving speed of the terminal obtained based on TAC is greater than the actual speed of the terminal, and the difference is large (which can be understood as much greater), so it is possible that the TA indicated by TAC[i] is wrong, so execute S106. If the judgment result of S105 is no, it means that the moving speed of the terminal obtained based on TAC is relatively close to the actual moving speed of the terminal, and the TA indicated by TAC[i] is likely to be correct, so execute S107.

[0078] It is understood that the value 2 is merely an example, referred to herein as a coefficient threshold. The coefficient threshold may be pre-configured in the terminal, and the coefficient range depends on the terminal type. In some implementations, the terminal is a user-portable terminal such as a mobile phone or watch, where low-speed movement is the norm and the coefficient threshold range is [3, 6]. In other implementations, the terminal is a motorcycle where high-speed movement is the norm and the coefficient threshold range is [7, 20]. S106. The TA indicated by TAC[i-1] is taken as the latest TA, i.e., TA = TAC[i-1].

[0079] Because the TA indicated by TAC[i-1] has been stored in the terminal, in some implementations, the processing module discards the TA indicated by TAC[i] and does not process the stored TA.

[0080] It can be understood that TA=TAC[i-1] means that the TA indicated by TAC[i-1] is used as the latest TA. In some cases, it is possible that TAC[i-1] carries an offset. The TA indicated by TAC[i-1] can be understood as the TA calculated based on the offset on the basis of the existing TA.

[0081] S107. The TA indicated by TAC[i] is taken as the latest TA, that is, TA = TAC[i].

[0082] As can be seen from the process shown in Figure 2, the abnormal judgment module determines whether the TA indicated by the latest received TAC is correct based on pre-configured conditions. If the judgment is incorrect, the processing module uses the TA indicated by the last received TAC as the most recent TA to reduce the problem of high uplink transmission bit error rate caused by the incorrect TA.

[0083] It is understandable that if the terminal is in a high-speed mobile state (within the second speed range), the change in the TA sent by the base station is likely to be relatively large. However, if the terminal is not in a high-speed mobile state (low-speed movement includes stationary movement, with a mobile speed within the first speed range), if the change in the TA sent by the base station is large, it is likely that the TA is calculated incorrectly. In this case, the terminal's uplink transmission has a high bit error rate. S105 in the process shown in Figure 2 is set based on the above principle, and the processing method of S106 is conducive to reducing the bit error rate of the terminal's uplink transmission.

[0084] The purpose of steps S102-S104 in Figure 2 is to qualitatively determine the likelihood of the most recently received TA being incorrect from multiple perspectives. If the likelihood is low, the process ends, thereby conserving resources. It is also understood that the judgment conditions of S103 fall within the scope of the judgment conditions of S104, so S103 and S104 can be combined into S104. Therefore, steps S102-S104 are optional.

[0085] To sum up, the process shown in Figure 2 can be summarized as follows: when the terminal moves at a low speed (that is, the moving speed is within the first speed range, such as standing still or walking indoors, etc.), the terminal determines that the absolute difference between the TA indicated by TAC[i] sent by the base station and the TA indicated by TAC[i-1] is greater than the difference threshold, but the terminal transmits the uplink signal using the TA indicated by TAC[i-1], so that the uplink transmission bit error rate is less than the uplink bit error rate threshold.

[0086] In some implementations, the modem is configured with executable software modules: an abnormality determination module and a processing module. Steps S101 to S105 shown in FIG2 are executed by the abnormality determination module, and steps S106 and S107 are executed by the processing module.

[0087] FIG3 shows another method for processing TA, which differs from the process shown in FIG2 mainly in that it determines whether the TA is abnormal based on TACs received multiple times in succession. That is, it can identify and process the scenario where consecutive TACs indicate an erroneous TA.

[0088] Specifically, within the same cell, the following evaluation is performed on the most recent 10 consecutive TACs issued by the base station: First, if the TA changes from the previous one, the terminal's velocity V1 is calculated based on the absolute difference between the TA indicated by the current TAC and the first TA at the start of the count. V1 is then compared with V2, twice the velocity detected by the terminal's sensors. If V1 is less than V2, the change in TA is considered to be due to high-speed movement of the terminal. The TA is updated to the TA indicated by the latest TAC, and the new TAC is received. If V1 is greater than V2, and the uplink bit error rate (BER) is already greater than 40%, the TA indicated by the most recent TAC issued by the base station is considered an outlier. This means that transmitting uplink signals with the TA indicated by the most recent TAC will disrupt uplink orthogonality and cause intra-cell interference. In this case, the UE initiates a random access for uplink synchronization. If the random access is successful, the above anomaly evaluation is repeated. If no anomalies are detected, uplink synchronization is considered successfully restored. If random access fails, the current cell is added to the black cell list and redirection is triggered to access a new cell. If anomalies are still detected after random access, the terminal uses the TAC when the most recent anomaly was detected as the timing advance for sending uplink frames and discards all TACs received after that time.

[0089] The implementation based on the above guidance is shown in FIG3 . The process shown in FIG3 includes the following steps:

[0090] S201: Receive TAC[i] sent by a base station. For details, see S101.

[0091] S202. Determine whether Pci[i]=Pci[i-1]. If yes, execute S204; if not, execute S203.

[0092] S202 can refer to S102.

[0093] S203: Set the random access (RA) flag to 0 (RA flag=0), and set the TA counter value to 0 (TA counter=0).

[0094] The RA identifier indicates whether random access has been performed again in the current cell in addition to the initial random access. It can be understood that if the judgment result of S202 is yes, it means that the terminal has performed at least one more access in addition to the initial access, then the RA identifier is set to 1, otherwise, the RA identifier is set to 0.

[0095] It can be understood that, in combination with the logic of jumping from S202 to S203 , before S203 , the terminal has not yet performed random access in the current cell, so the RA flag is set to 0.

[0096] The purpose of the TA counter is to count the number of received TACs so as to determine whether the TA indicated by the latest received TAC is abnormal based on multiple consecutive received TACs.

[0097] The initial value of the TA counter is 0. For the convenience of description, the value of the TA counter is recorded as TA counter.

[0098] S204: Determine whether |TAC[i]-TAC[i-1]|!=0. If yes, execute S205; if not, execute S209.

[0099] S204 can refer to S103.

[0100] S205. Increase the TA counter by 1 (TA counter++).

[0101] Combining S205 and S203, it can be seen that starting from S206, the steps are to determine whether the TA indicated by the base station is incorrect based on TACs received multiple times (10 times in this embodiment). The purpose of S204 is to determine if the TA indicated by the TACs received twice is the same, indicating that the TA is very likely correct. Therefore, it is not used as the basis for subsequent judgments and subsequent judgments are not performed to save resources and power consumption. It is understandable that S204 can also be omitted.

[0102] S206. Determine whether TAC[i]-TAC[i-1]≥1. If not, execute S209; if yes, execute S207.

[0103] TAC[i]-TAC[i-1] represents the difference between the TA indicated by the base station for the i-1th time and the TA indicated for the i-th time. If the difference between TAC[i] and TAC[i-1] is less than 1, it indicates that the TA indicated by the two received TACs has decreased. The TA indicated by the two received TACs may have fluctuated in a trend represented by a sawtooth curve, indicating that the TA indicated for the i-th time is likely not incorrect compared to the TA indicated for the i-1th time. Therefore, if the judgment result of S206 is yes, execute S207; if the judgment result of S206 is no, execute S209.

[0104] It can be understood that 1 is an example of a difference threshold value. The difference threshold value in this step is referred to as a second threshold value. The second threshold value can be set based on experience and pre-configured in the terminal.

[0105] It can be understood that, because this embodiment determines whether the TA is abnormal based on TACs received multiple times, the second threshold is smaller than the first threshold, and a relatively ideal determination result can also be obtained.

[0106] In some implementations, the second threshold is in the range of [1, 3].

[0107] S207. Determine whether / (TTAC[i]-TTAC[i-TA counter])>2*sensor speed is established. If yes, execute S208; if not, execute S209.

[0108] Referring to S105, it can be understood that / (TTAC[i]-TTAC[i-TA counter])>2*sensor speed represents the difference between the moving speed of the terminal calculated based on TAC and the moving speed of the terminal sensed by the sensor (which can be understood as the actual speed of the terminal).

[0109] If the result of S207 is yes, it means that the moving speed of the terminal obtained based on TAC is greater than the actual speed of the terminal, and the difference is large (which can be understood as much greater than), so it is possible that the TA indicated by TAC[i] is wrong, so S208 is executed.

[0110] If the judgment result of S207 is no, it means that the moving speed of the terminal obtained based on TAC is relatively close to the actual moving speed of the terminal, and the TA indicated by TAC[i] is more likely to be correct, so S209 is executed.

[0111] Furthermore, it can be understood that the judgment method described in S207 can determine the error of the TA indicated by the TAC received multiple times in a row in the form of a continuous linear curve or a step curve within a period of time (such as receiving 10 TACs), and can filter out the sawtooth jitter of the TAC value.

[0112] S208 , determine whether TA counter ≤ 10 and uplink transmission bit error rate ≥ 40% are established. If yes, execute S210 ; if not, execute S209 .

[0113] TA counter≤10 indicates that the TAC received within 10 times is used as the judgment basis. It can be understood that 10 is only an example. It is called the number threshold here. An example of the value range of the number threshold is [8, 30].

[0114] An uplink transmission bit error rate ≥ 40% indicates a high uplink transmission bit error rate. It is understood that 40% is only an example, referred to herein as a bit error rate threshold, and an example of a value range of the bit error rate threshold is [20%, 40%].

[0115] As previously mentioned, if the determination result in S207 is yes, it can be determined that the TA error is increasing in a continuous linear or step-like manner. However, during research, the inventors discovered that a TA error that increases continuously linearly over a period of time may not affect uplink transmission. Therefore, S208 can exclude this situation to save resources. It is understood that the bit error rate determination condition is optional, and the bit error rate determination may not be required.

[0116] If the judgment result of S208 is yes, it means that the TA indicated by the latest received TAC is abnormal based on the TACs received multiple times, then execute S210. If the judgment result of S208 is no, it means that the TAC has not been judged enough times, or the bit error rate is not high, then execute S209.

[0117] S209: Set TA counter to 0 (TA counter=0). After S209, the process returns to S201.

[0118] S210: Determine whether the RA flag is 0. If yes, execute S211; if not, execute S212.

[0119] S211. The TA indicated by TAC[i-1] is taken as the latest TA, that is, TA=TAC[i-1], and TAC[i] is discarded.

[0120] For details, please refer to S106.

[0121] S212: Initiate a random access procedure to the base station.

[0122] After a persistent TA anomaly, it can be considered that the UE and the base station have lost synchronization. In some implementations, the random access procedure is a non-synchronized type of random access procedure specified in the protocol.

[0123] It is understandable that after the random access process is completed, the terminal obtains the TA, that is, re-establishes uplink synchronization with the base station.

[0124] S213: Set the RA flag to 1 (RA flag=1).

[0125] S214: Determine whether the random access process is successful. If yes, execute S215; if not, execute S216.

[0126] The random access process is successful, indicating that uplink synchronization with the base station has been achieved, so S215 is executed.

[0127] S215: Use the TA indicated by the TAC received in the most recent random access procedure as the latest TA.

[0128] It is understandable that after S215, the process can return to S201 to continuously monitor whether the TA sent by the base station is incorrect and promptly handle the error. Since the TA obtained by the random access process is likely to be correct, S215 can ensure that the correct TA is obtained as soon as possible.

[0129] An alternative to step S215 is to, upon receiving the TAC issued by the most recent random access procedure, record the TA indicated therein and return to step S201. That is, upon confirming that the TA obtained continuously after this re-access is correct, the TA obtained after the next random access is not used, thereby fully ensuring the correctness of the TA.

[0130] S216: Mark the current cell as an abnormal cell and trigger the redirection process.

[0131] In some implementations, the current cell is added to a blacklist to be marked as an abnormal cell.

[0132] The redirection process is used to reselect a cell. After the terminal is redirected to a new cell, it performs a random access process in the new cell to obtain a TA.

[0133] In some implementations, after S216, the process returns to S201. It can be understood that in the process of returning to execution, after S201-S210, because S216 has performed random access, the judgment result of S210 is yes, then S211 is executed, and the TAC[i-1] in S211 is the most recent TAC before the TAC[i] that is judged to be abnormal.

[0134] In some other implementations, S215 is executed after S216, and after S215, the process returns to S201 for execution, with the goal of obtaining a normal TA as quickly as possible.

[0135] As shown in S210-S216 of Figure 3, different approaches are implemented for handling abnormal TAs depending on the severity of the problem: For situations where random access has not been performed since the initial random access, another random access process is performed to obtain a TA. If the random access is successful, the obtained TA is used as the latest TA. If the random access fails, indicating a more serious problem, the call is redirected to a new cell. If the TA is still incorrect in the new cell, indicating a more serious problem, the TA before the incorrect TA is used as the latest TA.

[0136] In summary, the process shown in Figure 3 uses TACs received over a period of time (i.e., multiple TACs) as the basis for determining whether a TA is incorrect. This is equivalent to introducing the relationship between the offsets indicated by the TACs as a basis for judgment, thereby more accurately determining whether a TA is incorrect. Furthermore, after determining that a TA is incorrect, in addition to discarding the TAC, access procedures and redirection procedures can also be initiated, which helps to increase the possibility of achieving correct uplink synchronization.

[0137] It can be understood that S201-S209 shown in FIG. 3 are executed by the abnormality determination module running in the modem, and S210-S216 are executed by the processing module running in the modem.

[0138] The terminals to which the processing method for TA described in the above embodiments is applicable may be mobile phones, tablet computers, desktop or laptop computers, ultra-mobile personal computers (UMPCs), handheld computers, netbooks, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wearable electronic devices, smart watches, and other electronic devices that can support calls.

[0139] Figure 4 shows an example of the components of a terminal provided in an embodiment of the present application. Taking a mobile phone as an example, the terminal includes a processor 310, an external memory interface 320, an internal memory 321, a display 330, a camera 340, antenna 1, antenna 2, a mobile communication module 350, and a wireless communication module 360.

[0140] It should be understood that the structure illustrated in this embodiment does not constitute a specific limitation on the electronic device. In other embodiments, the electronic device may include more or fewer components than shown, or some components may be combined or separated, or the components may be arranged differently. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0141] The processor 310 may include one or more processing units. For example, the processor 310 may include an application processor (AP), a modem processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), an image signal processor (ISP), a controller, a video codec, a digital signal processor (DSP), a baseband processor, and / or a neural-network processing unit (NPU). The different processing units may be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors.

[0142] It is understood that the interface connection relationship between the modules illustrated in this embodiment is only a schematic illustration and does not constitute a structural limitation on the terminal. In other embodiments of the present application, the terminal may also adopt a different interface connection method from the above embodiment, or a combination of multiple interface connection methods.

[0143] External memory interface 320 can be used to connect an external memory card, such as a Micro SD card, to expand the storage capacity of the electronic device. The external memory card communicates with processor 310 via external memory interface 320 to implement data storage functions. For example, files such as music and videos can be stored on the external memory card.

[0144] The internal memory 321 can be used to store computer executable program codes, and the executable program codes include instructions. The processor 310 executes various functional applications and data processing of the terminal by running the instructions stored in the internal memory 321. The internal memory 321 may include a program storage area and a data storage area. Among them, the program storage area can store an operating system, an application required for at least one function (such as a sound playback function, an image playback function, etc.), etc. The data storage area can store data created during the use of the electronic device (such as audio data, a phone book, etc.), etc. In addition, the internal memory 321 may include a high-speed random access memory, and may also include a non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, a flash memory device, a universal flash storage (UFS), etc. The processor 310 executes various functional applications and data processing of the electronic device by running the instructions stored in the internal memory 321, and / or the instructions stored in the memory provided in the processor.

[0145] The electronic device implements its display functionality through a GPU, display screen 330, and an application processor. The GPU is a microprocessor for image processing that connects the display screen 330 and the application processor. The GPU is used to perform mathematical and geometric calculations for graphics rendering. The processor 310 may include one or more GPUs, which execute program instructions to generate or modify display information.

[0146] The display screen 330 is used to display images, videos, etc. The electronic device can realize the shooting function through the ISP, camera 340, video codec, GPU, display screen 330 and application processor.

[0147] The wireless communication function of the electronic device can be implemented through antenna 1, antenna 2, mobile communication module 350, wireless communication module 360, modem processor and baseband processor.

[0148] Antenna 1 and Antenna 2 are used to transmit and receive electromagnetic wave signals. Each antenna in an electronic device can be used to cover a single or multiple communication frequency bands. Different antennas can also be reused to improve antenna utilization. For example, antenna 1 can be reused as a diversity antenna for a wireless local area network. In other embodiments, the antennas can be used in conjunction with a tuning switch.

[0149] The mobile communication module 350 can provide solutions for wireless communications including 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G applied to electronic devices. The mobile communication module 350 may include at least one filter, a switch, a power amplifier, a low noise amplifier (LNA), etc. The mobile communication module 350 can receive electromagnetic waves from the antenna 1, and filter, amplify, and process the received electromagnetic waves, and transmit them to the modulation and demodulation processor for demodulation. The mobile communication module 350 can also amplify the signal modulated by the modulation and demodulation processor, and convert it into electromagnetic waves for radiation through the antenna 1. In some embodiments, at least some of the functional modules of the mobile communication module 350 can be set in the processor 310. In some embodiments, at least some of the functional modules of the mobile communication module 350 can be set in the same device as at least some of the modules of the processor 310.

[0150] In some embodiments, the electronic device initiates or receives a call request via the mobile communication module 350 and the antenna 1 .

[0151] The wireless communication module 360 ​​can provide wireless communication solutions for electronic devices, including wireless local area networks (WLAN) (such as wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) networks), Bluetooth (BT), global navigation satellite system (GNSS), frequency modulation (FM), near field communication (NFC), infrared (IR), etc. The wireless communication module 360 ​​can be one or more devices that integrate at least one communication processing module. The wireless communication module 360 ​​receives electromagnetic waves via the antenna 3, frequency modulates and filters the electromagnetic wave signals, and sends the processed signals to the processor 310. The wireless communication module 360 ​​can also receive the signal to be sent from the processor 310, frequency modulate it, amplify it, and convert it into electromagnetic waves for radiation through the antenna 2.

[0152] The terminal can implement audio functions such as music playback and recording through the audio module 370, speaker 370A, receiver 370B, microphone 370C, headphone jack 370D, and application processor.

Claims

1. A processing method for a timing advance TA, characterized in that: Applied in a terminal, the terminal is in a low-speed moving state, the low-speed moving includes a moving speed within a first speed range, and the method includes: receiving a first message sent by a base station, where the first message indicates a first TA; After receiving the first message, receiving a second message sent by the base station, where the second message indicates a second TA; In response to satisfying a first condition, an uplink transmission bit error rate that meets requirements is obtained by sending an uplink signal using the first TA, wherein satisfying the requirements includes: being less than a bit error rate threshold, and the first condition includes: an absolute difference between the first TA and the second TA is greater than a difference threshold.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first condition also includes: The estimated speed is greater than the actual speed, the estimated speed is obtained based on the first message and the second message, and the actual speed is obtained based on sensor data collected by a sensor on the terminal.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The process of determining whether the first condition is met includes: When the first message and the second message are messages sent in the same cell, determine whether the first condition is met.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first message indicates a first time offset, and the second message indicates a second time offset, the first time offset is used to generate the first TA, and the second time offset is used to generate the second TA; The process of determining whether the first condition is met includes: When the absolute difference between the first time offset and the second time offset is not equal to zero, it is determined whether the first condition is satisfied.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first message and / or the second message includes: TAC.

6. A processing method for TA, characterized in that: Applied in a terminal, the terminal is in a low-speed moving state, the low-speed moving includes a moving speed less than a speed threshold, and the method includes: receiving messages sent by a base station multiple times, the multiple received messages including a first message and a second message received after the first message, the first message indicating a first TA, and the second message indicating a second TA; In response to satisfying the first condition, an uplink transmission bit error rate that meets the requirement is obtained by sending an uplink signal using the first TA, wherein satisfying the requirement includes: being less than a first bit error rate threshold, and the first condition includes: an estimated speed being greater than an actual speed, and the estimated speed is obtained based on a first message and a second message, and the actual speed is obtained based on sensor data collected by a sensor on the terminal.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first condition also includes: an uplink transmission bit error rate is greater than a second bit error rate threshold.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The first message and the second message are messages received successively, and the first message is the message received first; The first message indicates a first time offset, the first time offset is used to generate the first TA, and the second message indicates a second time offset, the second time offset is used to generate a second TA; The process of determining whether the first condition is met includes: When the result of subtracting the first time offset from the second time offset is greater than a difference threshold, it is determined whether the first condition is satisfied.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that: The first message and the second message are messages received continuously, the first message indicates a first time offset, the first time offset is used to generate the first TA, and the second message indicates a second time offset, the second time offset is used to generate a second TA; The process of determining whether the first condition is met includes: When the absolute difference between the first time offset and the second time offset is not equal to zero, it is determined whether the first condition is satisfied.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that: The first message and the second message are messages received continuously; The process of determining whether the first condition is met includes: When the first message and the second message are messages sent in the same cell, determine whether the first condition is met.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: The using the first TA to send an uplink signal includes: In a case where the terminal has performed an access procedure again, an uplink signal is sent using the first TA, and the re-access procedure includes an access procedure performed again in the first cell after an initial random access procedure is performed in the first cell.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that Also includes: Initiating an access procedure in the first cell when the terminal does not perform the access procedure again; In response to the access procedure being successful, a third TA is obtained.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that Also includes: In response to failure of the access process, triggering a redirection process; After being redirected to the second cell through the redirection process, a fourth TA is obtained through an access process in the second cell.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that Also includes: In response to the access procedure failing, marking the first cell as an abnormal cell.

15. A terminal, characterized in that: include: memory and at least one processor; The memory is used to store an application program, and the at least one processor is used to execute the application program to implement the processing method for TA according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. A computer storage medium, used for storing a computer program, which, when executed, is used to implement the processing method for TA according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

17. A chip, characterized in that: It comprises a modem, and the modem is used to run the processing method for TA according to any one of claims 1-14.

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