A method of communication and a communication apparatus

Abstract

This application provides a communication method and apparatus. The method includes: a first terminal device acquiring first information, the first information including a set of values ​​for a first formula or offset, the first formula or offset being used to determine a Physical Resource Block (PRB) index; the first terminal device receiving second information, the second information including a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource index; and the first terminal device determining a PRB index for a PUCCH resource based on the first information and the PUCCH resource index, the PUCCH resource being used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. This method can avoid system resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The original application, application number 202111131008.8, was filed on September 26, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The original application claims priority to Chinese patent application dated September 1, 2021, application number 202111022179.7, entitled "A PUCCH Resource Indication Method," the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communications, and more specifically, to a communication method and a communication apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] Different terminal devices have different requirements for mobile communication systems. For example, compared to normal terminal devices such as smartphones, reduced-capability (RedCap) terminal devices such as wearable devices and industrial sensors have lower requirements for communication capabilities. Therefore, the design specifications of reduced-capability terminal devices can be reduced; for example, the bandwidth and number of antennas supported by reduced-capability terminal devices can be reduced, thereby reducing costs and device complexity.

[0004] When terminal devices with different capabilities coexist in a communication network, according to current protocols, before establishing an RRC connection, the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resources of the degraded terminal device will be located within the initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP) of the normal terminal device, and frequency hopping will be performed. Frequency hopping of the PUCCH of the degraded terminal device can only be performed within the bandwidth supported by the degraded terminal device. Because the degraded terminal device supports a narrower bandwidth, this will cause fragmentation of system resources and affect resource utilization.

[0005] Therefore, when terminal devices with different capabilities coexist in a communication network, how to avoid fragmentation of system resources has become an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and communication device that can avoid system resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization.

[0007] Firstly, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a first terminal device, or by a chip or circuit configured in the first terminal device; this application does not limit the method in this regard. The following description uses execution by the first terminal device as an example.

[0008] The method includes: a first terminal device acquiring first information, the first information including a set of values ​​for a first formula or offset, the first formula or offset being used to determine a Physical Resource Block (PRB) index; the first terminal device receiving second information, the second information including a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource index; the first terminal device determining a PRB index for a PUCCH resource based on the first information and the PUCCH resource index, the PUCCH resource being used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information.

[0009] According to the scheme of the embodiment of this application, the first terminal device obtains a set of values ​​for the first formula or offset. Based on the set of values ​​for the first formula or offset and the received PUCCH resource index, the first terminal device can determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource can be used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. This method can avoid causing system resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization.

[0010] On the other hand, the embodiments of this application enable the configuration of greater continuous bandwidth for normal terminal devices, thereby improving the transmission rate of terminal devices.

[0011] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first terminal device receiving third information from a network device, the third information including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate the set of values ​​for the first formula or the offset.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the third information also includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, which is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0013] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first indication information is used to indicate the first formula, wherein the first formula is: or Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. r is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial circular shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down. The first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set.

[0014] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first indication information is used to indicate a set of values ​​for the offset, wherein the set of values ​​for the offset is either a first set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource or a second set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, and the value of the PRB offset in the second set is... The PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set. The set of offset values ​​includes the first PRB offset. The PRB index of the PUCCH resource, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index satisfy the following correspondence:

[0015]

[0016] Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. For the first PRB offset, r PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial cyclic shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down, and the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource, where Y is a positive integer.

[0017] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first terminal device acquires the first information, including:

[0018] The first terminal device determines the first information based on the relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP) and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. The first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource, and the second initial uplink BWP is used by the second terminal device for uplink transmission. The maximum channel bandwidth supported by the second terminal device is greater than the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the first terminal device.

[0019] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first terminal device receiving third information from a network device, the third information including PUCCH resource set configuration information, the PUCCH resource set configuration information being used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0020] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first information includes the first formula. The first terminal device determines the first information based on the relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP) and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, including: when the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first terminal device determines the first formula as follows: When the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is less than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first terminal device determines the first formula as follows: Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. r is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial circular shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down. The first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set.

[0021] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first information includes a set of values ​​for the offset. The first terminal device determines the first information based on the relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP) and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. Specifically, when the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first terminal device determines that the set of values ​​for the offset is a second set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, where the values ​​of the PRB offset in the second set are... When the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is less than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first terminal device determines that the set of values ​​for the offset is the first set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource; wherein, the PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set, the set of values ​​for the offset includes the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource PRB index, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index satisfy the following correspondence:

[0022]

[0023] Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. For the first PRB offset, r PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial cyclic shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down, and the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource, where Y is a positive integer.

[0024] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the third information is further used to indicate the frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP and the frequency position of the second initial uplink BWP, and the method further includes: the first terminal device determining the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP based on the frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, and determining the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP based on the frequency position of the second initial uplink BWP.

[0025] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the third information is System Information Block 1 (SIB1), Downlink Control Information (DCI) of Scheduling SIB1, or Master Information Block (MIB).

[0026] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the third information is also used to indicate that the PUCCH resource is not frequency hopping.

[0027] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first terminal device transmitting uplink control information on the resource associated with the PRB index.

[0028] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first terminal device is a first type of terminal device, and the second terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0029] Optionally, the first terminal device is a terminal device with reduced capabilities, and the second terminal device is a normal terminal device.

[0030] Secondly, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a network device, or by a chip or circuit configured in the network device; this application does not limit this. The following explanation uses execution by a network device as an example.

[0031] The method includes: a network device sending third information to a first terminal device, the third information including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a set of values ​​for a first formula or offset, the first formula or the set of values ​​for the offset being used to determine a Physical Resource Block (PRB) index; the network device sending second information to the first terminal device, the second information including a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource index, the first information and the PUCCH resource index being used to determine a PRB index for a PUCCH resource, the PUCCH resource being used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information.

[0032] According to the scheme of the embodiment of this application, the first terminal device obtains a set of values ​​for the first formula or offset. Based on the set of values ​​for the first formula or offset and the received PUCCH resource index, the first terminal device can determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource can be used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. This method can avoid causing system resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization.

[0033] On the other hand, the embodiments of this application enable the configuration of greater continuous bandwidth for normal terminal devices, thereby improving the transmission rate of terminal devices.

[0034] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the third information also includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, which is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0035] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first information is used to indicate the first formula, and the method further includes: when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the upper edge of the first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP), the network device determines that the first formula is... When the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the lower edge of the first initial uplink BWP, the network device determines the first formula as follows: Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. r is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial circular shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down. The first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set.

[0036] Optionally, this application may also determine the first formula when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a higher frequency position of the first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP). When the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a lower frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, the network device determines the first formula as follows: In other words, the method of this application can also be used when the network device determines that the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a higher or lower frequency position in the first initial uplink BWP.

[0037] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first indication information is used to indicate the set of values ​​for the offset. The method further includes: when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the upper edge of the first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP), the network device determines that the set of values ​​for the offset is a second set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, wherein the PRB offset in the second set is... When the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the lower edge of the first initial uplink BWP, the network device determines the set of values ​​for the offset as the first set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource; wherein, the PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set, and the PRB index of the PUCCH resource, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index satisfy the following correspondence:

[0038]

[0039] Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. For the first PRB offset, r PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial cyclic shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down, and the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource, where Y is a positive integer.

[0040] Optionally, this application can also, when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a higher frequency position in the first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP), determine that the set of values ​​for the offset is a second set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource; when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a lower frequency position in the first initial uplink BWP, the network device determines that the set of values ​​for the offset is a first set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. In other words, the method of this application can also be used when the network device determines that the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a higher or lower frequency position in the first initial uplink BWP.

[0041] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the third information is the downlink control information DCI of the system information block 1 (SIB1), the scheduling SIB1, or the master information block (MIB).

[0042] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the third information is also used to indicate that the PUCCH resource is frequency-free.

[0043] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first terminal device is a first type of terminal device, and the second terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0044] Optionally, the first terminal device is a terminal device with reduced capabilities, and the second terminal device is a normal terminal device.

[0045] It should be understood that in this application, the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the upper edge of the first initial uplink BWP, that is, the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device coincides with the termination frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, and the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the lower edge of the first initial uplink BWP, that is, the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device coincides with the start frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP.

[0046] It should also be understood that the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a higher frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP. This can be understood as the center frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being higher than the center frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, or it can be understood as the termination frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being lower than the termination frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, and the starting frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being higher than the center frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP. Similarly, the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being located at a lower frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP can be understood as the center frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being lower than the center frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, or it can be understood as the starting frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being higher than the starting frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, and the termination frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being lower than the center frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP.

[0047] Thirdly, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a network device, or by a chip or circuit configured in the network device; this application does not limit this. The following description uses execution by a network device as an example.

[0048] The method includes: a network device sending third information to a first terminal device, the third information indicating the frequency position of a first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP) and a second initial uplink BWP, the frequency positions of the first and second initial uplink BWPs used to determine first information, the first information including a first formula or a set of offset values, the first formula or the set of offset values ​​used to determine a physical resource block (PRB) index; the network device sending second information to the first terminal device, the second information including a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource index, the first information and the PUCCH resource index used to determine a PRB index of a PUCCH resource, the PUCCH resource being used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information.

[0049] Wherein, the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource, the second initial uplink BWP is used for uplink transmission by the second terminal device, and the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the second terminal device is greater than the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the first terminal device.

[0050] According to the scheme of the embodiment of this application, the first terminal device obtains a set of values ​​for the first formula or offset. Based on the set of values ​​for the first formula or offset and the received PUCCH resource index, the first terminal device can determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource can be used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. This method can avoid causing system resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization.

[0051] On the other hand, the embodiments of this application enable the configuration of greater continuous bandwidth for normal terminal devices, thereby improving the transmission rate of terminal devices.

[0052] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the third information also includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, which is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0053] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the first information includes the first formula, wherein the first formula is: or Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. r is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial circular shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down. The first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set.

[0054] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the first information includes a set of values ​​for the offset, wherein the set of values ​​for the offset is either a first set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource or a second set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, and the value of the PRB offset in the second set is... The PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set. The set of offset values ​​includes the first PRB offset. The PRB index of the PUCCH resource, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index satisfy the following correspondence:

[0055]

[0056] Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. For the first PRB offset, r PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial cyclic shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down, and the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource, where Y is a positive integer.

[0057] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the third information is the downlink control information DCI of the system information block 1 (SIB1), the scheduling SIB1, or the master information block (MIB).

[0058] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the third information is also used to indicate that the PUCCH resource is frequency-free.

[0059] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the first terminal device is a first type of terminal device, and the second terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0060] Optionally, the first terminal device is a terminal device with reduced capabilities, and the second terminal device is a normal terminal device.

[0061] Fourthly, a communication apparatus is provided, which may be a first terminal device, or a chip or circuit configured in the first terminal device, and this application does not limit it in this regard.

[0062] The device includes: a transceiver unit, configured to acquire first information, the first information including a set of values ​​for a first formula or offset, the first formula or offset being used to determine a Physical Resource Block (PRB) index; the transceiver unit is further configured to: receive second information, the second information including a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource index; and a processing unit, configured to determine a PRB index for a PUCCH resource based on the first information and the PUCCH resource index, the PUCCH resource being used by a first terminal device to transmit uplink control information.

[0063] According to the scheme of the embodiment of this application, the first terminal device obtains a set of values ​​for the first formula or offset. Based on the set of values ​​for the first formula or offset and the received PUCCH resource index, the first terminal device can determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource can be used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. This method can avoid causing system resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization.

[0064] On the other hand, the embodiments of this application enable the configuration of greater continuous bandwidth for normal terminal devices, thereby improving the transmission rate of terminal devices.

[0065] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to: receive third information from a network device, the third information including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate the set of values ​​for the first formula or the offset.

[0066] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the third information also includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, which is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0067] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first indication information is used to indicate the first formula, which is: or Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. r is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial circular shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down. The first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set.

[0068] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first indication information is used to indicate the set of values ​​for the offset, wherein the set of values ​​for the offset is either a first set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource or a second set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, and the value of the PRB offset in the second set is... The PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set. The set of offset values ​​includes the first PRB offset. The PRB index of the PUCCH resource, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index satisfy the following correspondence:

[0069]

[0070] Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. For the first PRB offset, r PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial cyclic shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down, and the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource, where Y is a positive integer.

[0071] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the processing unit is specifically used to: determine the first information based on the relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP) and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, wherein the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource, the second initial uplink BWP is used for uplink transmission by the second terminal device, and the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the second terminal device is greater than the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the first terminal device.

[0072] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to: receive third information from a network device, the third information including PUCCH resource set configuration information, the PUCCH resource set configuration information being used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0073] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first information includes the first formula, and the processing unit is specifically used to: determine the first formula as follows when the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. When the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is less than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first formula is determined to be... Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. r is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial circular shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down. The first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set.

[0074] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first information includes the set of values ​​for the offset. Specifically, the processing unit is used to: when the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, determine that the set of values ​​for the offset is a second set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, wherein the values ​​of the PRB offset in the second set are... When the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is less than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the set of values ​​for the offset is determined to be the first set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource; wherein, the PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set, the set of values ​​for the offset includes the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource PRB index, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index satisfy the following correspondence:

[0075]

[0076] Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. For the first PRB offset, r PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial cyclic shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down, and the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource, where Y is a positive integer.

[0077] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the third information is further used to indicate the frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP and the frequency position of the second initial uplink BWP, and the processing unit is further used to: determine the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP based on the frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, and determine the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP based on the frequency position of the second initial uplink BWP.

[0078] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the third information is the downlink control information DCI of the system information block 1 (SIB1), the scheduling SIB1, or the master information block (MIB).

[0079] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the third information is also used to indicate that the PUCCH resource is frequency-free.

[0080] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is also used to: transmit uplink control information on the resources associated with the PRB index.

[0081] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the device is a first type of terminal device and the second terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0082] Optionally, the device is a de-capacitated terminal device, and the second terminal device is a normal terminal device.

[0083] Fifthly, a communication apparatus is provided, which may be a network device, or a chip or circuit configured in a network device, without limitation thereof.

[0084] The device includes a transceiver unit configured to send third information to a first terminal device, the third information including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a set of values ​​for a first formula or offset, the first formula or the set of values ​​for the offset being used to determine a Physical Resource Block (PRB) index. The transceiver unit is further configured to send second information to the first terminal device, the second information including a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource index, the first information and the PUCCH resource index being used to determine a PRB index for a PUCCH resource, the PUCCH resource being used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information.

[0085] According to the scheme of the embodiment of this application, the first terminal device obtains a set of values ​​for the first formula or offset. Based on the set of values ​​for the first formula or offset and the received PUCCH resource index, the first terminal device can determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource can be used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. This method can avoid causing system resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization.

[0086] On the other hand, the embodiments of this application enable the configuration of greater continuous bandwidth for normal terminal devices, thereby improving the transmission rate of terminal devices.

[0087] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the third information also includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, which is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0088] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first information is used to indicate the first formula, and the apparatus further includes: a processing unit, configured to determine the first formula as follows when the apparatus's PUCCH resource set is located at the upper edge of the first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP). The processing unit is further configured to: determine the first formula as follows when the device's PUCCH resource set is located at the lower edge of the first initial uplink BWP. Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. r is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial circular shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down. The first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set.

[0089] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first indication information is used to indicate the set of values ​​for the offset. The apparatus further includes: a processing unit, configured to determine, when the PUCCH resource set of the apparatus is located at the upper edge of the first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP), that the set of values ​​for the offset is a second set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, wherein the values ​​of the PRB offset in the second set are... The processing unit is further configured to: when the PUCCH resource set of the device is located at the lower edge of the first initial uplink BWP, determine the value set of the offset as the first value set of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource; wherein, the PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set, and the PRB index of the PUCCH resource, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index satisfy the following correspondence:

[0090]

[0091] Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. For the first PRB offset, r PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial cyclic shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down, and the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource, where Y is a positive integer.

[0092] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the third information is the downlink control information DCI of the system information block 1 (SIB1), the scheduling SIB1, or the master information block (MIB).

[0093] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the third information is also used to indicate that the PUCCH resource is frequency-free.

[0094] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first terminal device is a first type of terminal device, and the second terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0095] Optionally, the first terminal device is a terminal device with reduced capabilities, and the second terminal device is a normal terminal device.

[0096] Sixthly, a communication apparatus is provided, which can be executed by a network device, or by a chip or circuit configured in a network device, without limitation herein. The following description uses the example of execution by a network device.

[0097] The device includes: a transceiver unit configured to send third information to a first terminal device, the third information indicating the frequency position of a first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP) and a second initial uplink BWP, the frequency positions of the first and second initial uplink BWPs used to determine first information, the first information including a set of values ​​for a first formula or offset, the first formula or the set of values ​​for the offset used to determine a Physical Resource Block (PRB) index. The transceiver unit is further configured to: send second information to the first terminal device, the second information including a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource index, the first information and the PUCCH resource index used to determine a PRB index for a PUCCH resource, the PUCCH resource being used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information, wherein the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource, the second initial uplink BWP is used by a second terminal device for uplink transmission, and the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the second terminal device is greater than the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the first terminal device.

[0098] According to the scheme of the embodiment of this application, the first terminal device obtains a set of values ​​for the first formula or offset. Based on the set of values ​​for the first formula or offset and the received PUCCH resource index, the first terminal device can determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource can be used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. This method can avoid causing system resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization.

[0099] On the other hand, the embodiments of this application enable the configuration of greater continuous bandwidth for normal terminal devices, thereby improving the transmission rate of terminal devices.

[0100] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the third information also includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, which is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0101] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the first information includes the first formula, wherein the first formula is: or Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. r is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial circular shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down. The first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set.

[0102] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the first information includes a set of values ​​for the offset, wherein the set of values ​​for the offset is either a first set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource or a second set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, and the value of the PRB offset in the second set is... The PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set. The set of offset values ​​includes the first PRB offset. The PRB index of the PUCCH resource, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index satisfy the following correspondence:

[0103]

[0104] Where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. For the first PRB offset, r PUCCH For the PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial cyclic shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down, and the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource, where Y is a positive integer.

[0105] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the third information is the downlink control information DCI of the system information block 1 (SIB1), the scheduling SIB1, or the master information block (MIB).

[0106] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the third information is also used to indicate that the PUCCH resource is frequency-free.

[0107] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the first terminal device is a first type of terminal device, and the second terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0108] Optionally, the first terminal device is a terminal device with reduced capabilities, and the second terminal device is a normal terminal device.

[0109] A seventh aspect provides a communication device comprising: at least one processor coupled to at least one memory, the at least one processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the at least one memory to cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of the first to third aspects or any possible implementation thereof.

[0110] Eighthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods of any one of the first to third aspects or any possible implementation thereof.

[0111] A ninth aspect provides a chip system comprising: a processor for executing computer programs or instructions in a memory to implement the methods of any one of the first to third aspects or any possible implementation of the first to third aspects.

[0112] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program or instructions that, when executed, cause the method in any of the first to third aspects or any possible implementation thereof to be performed.

[0113] In the eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a first terminal device and a network device corresponding to the above aspects. Attached Figure Description

[0114] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of this application.

[0115] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a feedback method for a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) provided in this application.

[0116] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the random access process of the terminal device provided in this application.

[0117] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the spectrum resource location of the terminal device provided in this application.

[0118] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram showing the resource locations of the two terminals with different capabilities provided in this application.

[0119] Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating the communication method provided in this application.

[0120] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the spectrum resource location of the first terminal device provided in this application.

[0121] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the spectrum resource location of the first terminal device provided in this application.

[0122] Figure 9 This is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0123] Figure 10 This is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0124] Figure 11 This is a structural block diagram of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0125] The technical solutions in this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0126] The technical solutions of this application embodiment can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) system, 5th Generation (5G) mobile communication system, or New Radio (NR). Among these, the 5G mobile communication system can be non-standalone (NSA) or standalone (SA) network.

[0127] The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to machine-type communication (MTC), long-term evolution-machine (LTE-M) technology, device-to-device (D2D) networks, machine-to-machine (M2M) networks, Internet of Things (IoT) networks, or other networks. Among these, IoT networks may include, for example, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) networks. The communication methods in V2X systems are collectively referred to as vehicle-to-X (V2X), where X can represent anything. For example, V2X may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication, or vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, etc.

[0128] The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication systems. This application does not limit this application.

[0129] In the embodiments of this application, the terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user apparatus.

[0130] Terminal devices can be devices that provide voice / data connectivity to users, such as handheld devices with wireless connectivity, in-vehicle devices, etc. Currently, some examples of terminals include: mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities (such as laptops, PDAs, etc.), mobile internet devices (MIDs), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical care, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes (e.g., home appliances such as televisions, smart boxes, game consoles), cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Digital assistant (PDA), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or terminal devices in future public land mobile networks (PLMNs), etc.

[0131] Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for devices that utilize wearable technology to intelligently design and develop everyday wearables, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not merely hardware devices; they achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly defined, wearable smart devices include those with comprehensive functions, large sizes, and the ability to perform complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smartwatches or smart glasses. They also include devices focused on a specific application function that require the use of other devices, such as smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0132] Furthermore, terminal devices can also be terminal devices in Internet of Things (IoT) systems. IoT is an important component of future information technology development. Its main technical characteristic is connecting objects to networks through communication technologies, thereby realizing an intelligent network that enables human-machine interconnection and machine-to-machine interconnection. IoT technology can achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and low power consumption at the terminal level through technologies such as narrowband (NB).

[0133] In this application embodiment, the terminal device can also be a vehicle or a complete vehicle, which can communicate through the Internet of Vehicles, or it can be a component located inside the vehicle (e.g., placed inside the vehicle or installed inside the vehicle), namely, an on-board terminal device, an on-board module, or an on-board unit (OBU).

[0134] In addition, terminal devices may also include sensors such as smart printers, train detectors, and gas stations. Their main functions include collecting data (for some terminal devices), receiving control information and downlink data from network devices, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to network devices.

[0135] It should be noted that the terminal devices in this application can be divided into a first type of terminal device and a second type of terminal device. The first type of terminal device is, for example, a low-complexity UE or a reduced-capability UE (RedCap UE). The second type of terminal device can be a normal UE or a legacy UE, such as an eMBBUE.

[0136] The characteristic parameters of the first type of terminal equipment and the second type of terminal equipment are different. The characteristic parameters include one or more of the following: bandwidth, number of supported or configured resources, number of transmit antenna ports and / or number of receive antenna ports, number of radio frequency channels, number of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, supported peak rate, application scenario, latency requirements, processing capacity, protocol version, duplex mode, services, etc.

[0137] The above-mentioned characteristic parameters are illustrated in detail below.

[0138] 1. Bandwidth, or channel bandwidth, or the maximum channel bandwidth supported or configured by the terminal device. The bandwidth differs between Type 1 and Type 2 terminal devices. For example, Type 1 terminal devices may have a bandwidth of 20MHz, 10MHz, or 5MHz, while Type 2 terminal devices may have a bandwidth of 100MHz. Understandably, with the development of communication technology, the maximum channel bandwidth supported by Type 1 terminal devices may no longer be 20MHz, 10MHz, or 5MHz, but may evolve into wider or narrower bandwidths such as 3MHz, 25MHz, or 50MHz.

[0139] 2. The number of resources supported or configured, which may be resource blocks (RBs), time-frequency resource elements (REs), subcarriers, RB groups, resource elementgroup bundles (REG bundles), control channel elements, subframes, radio frames, time slots, mini-time slots, and / or the number of symbols. The number of resources supported or configured differs between Type 1 and Type 2 terminal devices; for example, Type 1 terminal devices support 48 RBs, while Type 2 terminal devices support 96 RBs.

[0140] 3. Number of transmit antenna ports and / or receive antenna ports. The number of transmit antenna ports and / or receive antenna ports of Type I terminal equipment differs from that of Type II terminal equipment. For example, Type I terminal equipment may have 1 transmit antenna port and 2 receive antenna ports, while Type II terminal equipment may have 2 transmit antenna ports and 4 receive antenna ports.

[0141] 4. Number of RF channels. The number of RF channels for Type I terminal devices differs from that for Type II terminal devices. For example, Type I terminal devices may have one RF channel, while Type II terminal devices may have two RF channels.

[0142] 5. Number of HARQ processes. The number of HARQ processes supported by Type 1 terminal devices differs from that of Type 2 terminal devices. For example, Type 1 terminal devices may support 8 HARQ processes, while Type 2 terminal devices may support 16 HARQ processes.

[0143] 6. Supported peak rates. The maximum peak rates of Type 1 and Type 2 terminal devices are different. For example, the maximum peak rate supported by Type 1 terminal devices may be 100Mbps, while the maximum peak rate supported by Type 2 terminal devices may be 200Mbps.

[0144] 7. Application Scenarios. Type I and Type II terminal devices serve different application scenarios. For example, Type I terminal devices are used in industrial wireless sensing, video surveillance, wearable devices, etc., while Type II terminal devices are used in mobile communication, video internet access, etc.

[0145] 8. Latency Requirements. Type I and Type II terminal devices have different requirements for transmission latency. For example, Type I terminal devices may require a latency of 500 milliseconds, while Type II terminal devices may require a latency of 100 milliseconds.

[0146] 9. Processing Capability. Type I and Type II terminal devices differ in their processing timing and speed for channel or data under different subcarrier space (SCS) conditions. For example, Type I terminal devices do not support complex calculations, which may include artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) rendering, while Type II terminal devices support complex calculations. In other words, the processing capability of Type I terminal devices is lower than that of Type II terminal devices.

[0147] 10. Protocol Version. Type 1 terminal devices and Type 2 terminal devices belong to different protocol versions. For example, Type 1 terminal devices support protocol versions Release 17 and later, while Type 2 terminal devices support protocol versions prior to Release 17, such as Release 15 or Release 16.

[0148] 11. Duplex mode, wherein the duplex mode includes half-duplex and full-duplex. The first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device adopt different duplex modes, for example: the first type of terminal device operates in half-duplex mode and the second type of terminal device operates in full-duplex mode.

[0149] 12. Services, including but not limited to IoT applications such as video surveillance and mobile broadband (MBB). The first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device support different services; for example, the first type of terminal device supports video surveillance, while the second type of terminal device supports mobile broadband (MBB). This application does not limit this aspect.

[0150] It should be understood that other types of terminal devices that also support the technical solutions of this application, or new types of terminal devices in the future, are also within the scope of protection of this application.

[0151] The first terminal device or terminal device #1 in this application may be an example of a first type of terminal device, and the second terminal device or terminal device #2 may be an example of a second type of terminal device.

[0152] In this embodiment of the application, the network device can be any device with wireless transceiver capabilities. This equipment includes, but is not limited to: evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), baseband unit (BBU), access point (AP), wireless relay node, wireless backhaul node, transmission point (TP), or transmission and reception point (TRP) in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. It can also be a gNB in ​​a 5G system, such as NR, or a transmission point (TRP or TP), one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB or transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU), or a distributed unit (DU), or a base station in a next-generation communication 6G system.

[0153] In some deployments, a gNB may include a centralized unit (CU) and a distribution unit (DU). A gNB may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some of the gNB's functions, and the DU implements others. For example, the CU handles non-real-time protocols and services, implementing radio resource control (RRC) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer functions. The DU handles physical layer protocols and real-time services, implementing radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layer functions. The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing, and active antenna-related functions. Since RRC layer information ultimately becomes PHY layer information, or is derived from PHY layer information, in this architecture, higher-layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling, can be considered to be sent by the DU, or by both the DU and CU. It is understood that network devices can be devices that include one or more of the following: CU nodes, DU nodes, and AAU nodes. In addition, the CU can be classified as a network device in the radio access network (RAN) or as a network device in the core network (CN), and this application does not limit this.

[0154] Network equipment provides services to cells. Terminal devices communicate with cells through transmission resources (e.g., frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources) allocated by the network equipment. The cell can belong to a macro base station (e.g., macro eNB or macro gNB) or to a base station corresponding to a small cell. Small cells can include: metrocell, microcell, pico cell, femto cell, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage area and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0155] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 applicable to the communication method of embodiments of this application. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the communication system 100 may include at least one network device, such as Figure 1 The network device 110 shown; the communication system 100 may also include at least one terminal device, such as Figure 1The terminal device 120 is shown. Network device 110 and terminal device 120 can communicate via a wireless link. Each communication device, such as network device 110 or terminal device 120, can be configured with multiple antennas. For each communication device in this communication system, the configured multiple antennas may include at least one transmitting antenna for transmitting signals and at least one receiving antenna for receiving signals. Therefore, communication devices in this communication system, and between network device 110 and terminal device 120, can communicate via multi-antenna technology.

[0156] It should be understood that Figure 1 This is a simplified illustration for ease of understanding only. The communication system may also include other network devices or other terminal devices. Figure 1 It was not drawn in the middle.

[0157] It should also be understood that Figure 1 This is merely one application scenario of an embodiment of this application. The method provided in this application is not limited to communication between network devices and terminal devices, but can also be applied to communication between terminal devices, etc. This application does not limit the application scenario of this method. In the embodiments shown below, the method provided in this application is described in detail using the interaction between network devices and terminal devices as an example for ease of understanding and explanation.

[0158] In the physical layer transmission protocol of a wireless communication system, the time-frequency resources of wireless communication are divided into different channels to transmit different types of information. For example, the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) is used to transmit downlink data, the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is used to transmit downlink control information (DCI), the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) is used to transmit uplink data, the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) is used to transmit uplink control information (UCI), and so on. UCI includes channel state information (CSI), acknowledgment (ACK) or negative-acknowledgment (NACK) for downlink data, and scheduling requests (SR). When a terminal device sends a UCI, the network device pre-configures or instructs the terminal device on the specific PUCCH resources to use. This means the terminal device knows which slot, physical resource block (PRB), and cyclic shift (CS) to use for the UCI transmission. Here, PRB is the bandwidth unit of the NR system. Figure 2 This example illustrates the configuration and use of PUCCH resources.

[0159] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a feedback method for a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) provided in this application.

[0160] S201, the network device configures a set of PUCCH resources to the terminal device, which includes multiple PUCCH resources.

[0161] S210, the network device sends a DCI to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the DCI. In the DCI, the network device indicates the time and frequency resources for sending the PDSCH, the modulation and coding scheme used, and other transmission parameters. At the same time, the DCI also indicates which PUCCH resource the terminal device should use when performing ACK / NACK feedback for the PDSCH, that is, to select from the pre-configured set of PUCCH resources.

[0162] S220, the network device sends PDSCH to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives downlink data, i.e., PDSCH, according to the PDSCH instruction information in the DCI.

[0163] S230, the terminal device sends a HARQ response for the PDSCH to the network device. Specifically, if the terminal device receives the PDSCH correctly, it sends an ACK response to the network device; if reception fails, it sends a NACK response. The PUCCH resources used for ACK or NACK, including the time slot where the PUCCH resources are located, PRB, cyclic shift, etc., are also obtained from the pre-configured PUCCH resource set based on the DCI indication information.

[0164] Before communicating with the network device, the terminal device needs to perform a cell search to find cells with suitable signal quality. Then, it initiates a random access procedure to the selected network device and establishes an RRC connection. Step S201 is precisely the process during which the network device configures a PUCCH resource set for the terminal device during the RRC connection establishment. After the RRC connection is established, the network device can instruct the terminal device to use one or more resources from the configured PUCCH resource set, as shown in steps S210-S230.

[0165] Figure 2 This section briefly explains the process of a terminal device using PUCCH resources for UCI transmission after an RRC connection is established. However, communication between the terminal device and network devices is also necessary before RRC is established. Before RRC is established, when terminal devices with different capabilities coexist in the network, such as reduced-capability (RedCap) terminal devices and normal terminal devices, the PUCCH resources of the reduced-capability terminal devices will be located within the initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP) of the normal terminal devices, and frequency hopping will be performed. Since the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the reduced-capability terminal devices is smaller than that of the normal terminal devices, according to the current protocol, the PUCCH resources of the reduced-capability terminal devices will be located within the initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP) of the normal terminal devices and frequency hopping will be performed. The frequency hopping of the PUCCH of the reduced-capability terminal devices can only be performed within the bandwidth supported by the reduced-capability terminal devices. This will cause fragmentation of system resources and affect resource utilization.

[0166] Therefore, when terminal devices with different capabilities coexist in a communication network, how to avoid fragmentation of system resources has become an urgent problem to be solved.

[0167] Before RRC is established, for example during random access, the terminal and the network need to exchange information multiple times, and therefore UCI transmission is also required during this process. The following will further introduce the technical issues involved in this application using the PUCCH resources used by the terminal device to send a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) for a contention resolution message (Msg4) to the network device during random access as an example.

[0168] Random access is a necessary process for establishing a wireless link between a terminal device and the network. Only after random access is completed can the network device and the terminal device perform normal data interoperability (DL / UL transmission) and establish an RRC connection. The terminal device can achieve two basic functions through random access: ① Establishing uplink synchronization to achieve uplink synchronization with the network device. ② Establishing a unique terminal identifier, namely the cell-radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), to request uplink resources from the network device.

[0169] Random access procedures include two modes: contention-based random access and contention-free random access. In contention-based random access, the UE randomly selects a preamble to initiate the access procedure with the network device. Therefore, if multiple UEs use the same preamble to initiate the access procedure at the same time, a conflict will occur, potentially leading to access failure. Contention-free random access, on the other hand, means that the UE uses a specific preamble provided by the network device during access, thus avoiding conflicts with other UEs and ensuring a higher success rate for access.

[0170] Next, combine Figure 3 Taking the four-step random access process based on contention mode as an example, we will first introduce the random access process 300 of the terminal device.

[0171] After powering on, the terminal device needs to search for nearby cells. During this search, the terminal device acquires the cell's system information (SI), which is carried in the master information block (MIB) or system information block (SIB). This system information includes the cell's basic parameters. The terminal device must acquire this system information before initiating random access. After the terminal device and network device synchronize and acquire the cell's system information, if the terminal device wishes to be provided with services by that network device, it will initiate a random access procedure.

[0172] S301, the terminal device initiates a random access request to the network device in the pre-configured random access channel opportunity (RO) resource. The random access request includes a first random access preamble, which can also be message 1 of the random access procedure, i.e., Msg1.

[0173] It should be noted that prior to S301, the random access process also includes: the terminal device receiving a broadcast message from the network device and randomly selecting one random access preamble from several random access preambles in the broadcast message as the first random access preamble mentioned above.

[0174] It should be understood that multiple terminal devices may send random access requests in the same RO resource. These terminal devices can be distinguished based on different preambles. However, since the number of preambles in the above broadcast message is limited, it is also possible that multiple UEs select the same preamble. This problem can be solved in step S304.

[0175] S302, the network device sends a random access response (RAR) (also known as message 2, or Msg2) to the terminal device.

[0176] It should be noted that the random access response includes uplink grant (UL grant) information, which is used to instruct the terminal device to send Msg3 resources.

[0177] S303, the terminal device sends message 3 (which can be called Msg3) to the network device according to the resources indicated by the uplink scheduling information.

[0178] In message 2, the network device instructs the terminal device to send message 3. The terminal device sends message 3 according to the scheduling instruction in message 2. Message 3 includes specific information about the terminal device, such as its device identifier (ID), and also includes an RRC connection request in message 3.

[0179] S304, the network device sends a contention resolution message (also known as new message 4, or Msg4) to the terminal device.

[0180] According to message 3, the network device can determine the identity information of the terminal device and send message 4 to the terminal device.

[0181] Since the preambles selected by different terminal devices may conflict, there may be a situation where multiple terminal devices select the same preamble. In this step, the network device indicates the terminal device that has successfully connected.

[0182] During the random process, both Msg2 and Msg4 are transmitted in the PDSCH. After S304, the terminal device will perform a HARQ response on the PUCCH resource for the received Msg4.

[0183] Next, combine Figure 4 Table 1 further describes the PUCCH resources used by the aforementioned terminal devices to feed back Msg4. Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the spectrum resource location of the terminal device provided in this application.

[0184] As mentioned above, the system information obtained by the terminal device during cell search includes the cell's basic parameters. Among these parameters, the initial BWP information is indicated. The initial BWP is a portion of the network device's system bandwidth. During the initial access phase or in low-power mode after access, the network device can schedule the terminal device only on the initial BWP, thus saving power consumption and reducing signal processing complexity. Specifically, the system information configures the initial downlink (UL) BWP and the initial uplink (UL) BWP separately.

[0185] The frequency and bandwidth of the initial uplink BWP can be flexibly configured by the network device according to operating conditions. The width of the initial uplink BWP can be configured to be smaller than the system bandwidth. Figure 4As shown in (A), the system bandwidth of a cell is W1, and the network device configures the initial uplink BWP bandwidth for the terminal device to be W2, where W2 < W1. Alternatively, the initial uplink BWP width can be configured to be the same as the system bandwidth, especially when the system bandwidth itself is narrow, for example... Figure 4 As shown in (B), the system bandwidth of a cell is W2, and the bandwidth of the network device configuring the initial uplink BWP for the terminal device is also W2.

[0186] Before RRC is established, the PUCCH resource set is configured on both sides of the initial uplink BWP bandwidth, such as... Figure 4 As shown in (A) and (B) in the diagram. The protocol specifies that the PUCCH resource set includes 16 PUCCH resources. Each PUCCH resource is divided into two segments in time, and frequency hopping is required between the two segments. In other words, the PUCCH resources used for frequency hopping are continuous in the time domain but discontinuous in the frequency domain, as shown in (A) and (B). Figure 4 The shaded area in (B) represents a PUCCH resource, with the first segment in the lower frequency range and the second segment in the higher frequency range, achieving frequency hopping. These two segments can be referred to as the first and second segments of the PUCCH resource, respectively. The purpose of frequency hopping is to improve the frequency diversity gain of the PUCCH and obtain more stable performance.

[0187] Network devices send initial uplink BWP configuration information in their system information, including the starting frequency position and bandwidth of the initial uplink BWP. After obtaining the system information, terminal devices can determine the frequency occupied by the initial uplink BWP. The initial uplink BWP configuration information also includes the PUCCH resource set configuration information mentioned earlier; specifically, the PUCCH resource set configuration information consists of 4 bits. The protocol has defined a PUCCH configuration information table, as shown in Table 1. This table has 16 rows, and each row defines the configuration information of a PUCCH resource set, including the PUCCH format, first symbol, number of symbols, PRB offset, and set of initial cyclic shift indexes. The 4 bits of the PUCCH resource set configuration information can be used to indicate a row in the table. For example, if the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0010", corresponding to the row "Index=2" in the table, the terminal device can know that in this initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 0, the start symbol is set to 12, the symbol number is set to 2, the PRB offset is set to 3, and the initial cyclic shift index set is set to {0,4,8}. Based on this information, the terminal device can determine the location of the PUCCH resource set and the individual locations of the 16 PUCCH resources within this set. The number of physical resource blocks (RRBs) contained in the initial uplink BWP.

[0188] Table 1

[0189]

[0190]

[0191] It should be noted that the PUCCH resources of the aforementioned terminal devices can be indicated by the network device. For example, the network device can first indicate the index of a PUCCH resource set through the PUCCH resource set configuration information in the system information block (SIB) (e.g., SIB1), for example, indicating the PUCCH resource set with index 0 in Table 1; then, it can further indicate a specific PUCCH resource in that PUCCH resource set through PUCCH resource indication information. This PUCCH resource indication information consists of 4 bits, with values ​​from 0 to 15, each representing a PUCCH resource index. A PUCCH resource index can be represented as r PUCCH For example, in the PUCCH resource set (containing 16 resources) at index 0, it indicates where rPUCCH The PUCCH resource with a value of 0 has a PUCCH resource set configuration information of "0000" and a PUCCH resource indication information of "0000".

[0192] Figure 3 In a network device, if a network device requires a UCI (User Code Interchange) from an end device, it will indicate the PUCCH resource used to send that UCI in the DCI (Data Access Code Interchange). For example, when a network device sends Msg4 to an end device, it will first send a DCI. The DCI will not only indicate the time-frequency resource location and transmission parameters of the PDSCH (Power Distribution Controller) used by Msg4, but also include PUCCH resource indication information, indicating which PUCCH resource is specifically used for the HARQ transmission of Msg4. After receiving the PUCCH resource indication information, the end device determines r PUCCH For example, if the received PUCCH resource indication information is "0011", then r PUCCH =3. Furthermore, the terminal device can determine the PUCCH resource used for feedback Msg4 based on a row in Table 1 indicated by the PUCCH resource set configuration information. Specifically, this includes the time domain and frequency position of the PUCCH, the cyclic shift used, etc.

[0193] The PRB number corresponding to the first segment and the PRB number corresponding to the second segment of the PUCCH resource used by the terminal device to feed back Msg4 can be calculated in the following way.

[0194] If 0 ≤ r PUCCH If <8, then the PRB number corresponding to the first segment (which can be denoted as X1) is:

[0195]

[0196] The PRB number corresponding to the second segment (which can be denoted as X2) is:

[0197]

[0198] If 8≤r PUCCH If <16, then the PRB number corresponding to the first segment (which can be denoted as X1) is:

[0199]

[0200] The PRB number corresponding to the second segment (which can be denoted as X2) is:

[0201]

[0202] Here, X1 can also be understood as the PRB number used by the first PUCCH resource, and X2 can also be understood as the PRB number used by the second PUCCH resource. Both X1 and X2 are the PUCCH resource numbers within the initial BWP. Let N be the PRB offset specified in Table 1. CS This is the number of elements in the initial circular shift index set in Table 1. Representative to Round the result down. Representative to The result is rounded down.

[0203] As an example, suppose that in the system information, the terminal device obtains an initial uplink BWP width of 100 PRBs, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates "Index = 3". The terminal device can obtain the PRB offset from Table 1. The initial set of circular shift indices is {0, 6}, N CS =2.

[0204] (1) If, during random access, the network device sends Msg4 to the terminal device, it indicates r in the scheduling DCI. PUCCH =3. Therefore, the terminal device can determine:

[0205] The PRB number corresponding to the first segment is

[0206] The PRB number corresponding to the second segment is

[0207] In this way, the PRBs corresponding to the first and second segments of the PUCCH resource are located on both sides of the bandwidth of the initial uplink BWP, thus achieving frequency hopping.

[0208] (2) If, during random access, the network device sends Msg4 to the terminal device, it indicates r in the scheduling DCI. PUCCH =10. Then the terminal device can determine:

[0209] The PRB number corresponding to the first segment is:

[0210]

[0211] The PRB number corresponding to the second segment is

[0212] In this way, the PRBs corresponding to the first and second segments of the PUCCH resource are located on both sides of the bandwidth of the initial uplink BWP, thus achieving frequency hopping.

[0213] It can be seen that when 0≤r PUCCH If 8 < r, then the first segment of the PUCCH resource is located at a lower frequency position, and the second segment is located at a higher frequency position. If 8 ≤ r PUCCH If the value is less than 16, then the first segment of the PUCCH resource is located at a higher frequency position, and the second segment is located at a lower frequency position.

[0214] The frequency hopping of PUCCH resources in the aforementioned terminal device (hereinafter referred to as terminal device #2) will lead to frequency resource fragmentation from the perspective of network devices.

[0215] Figure 5 The diagram illustrates the resource locations of two terminals with different capabilities. Terminal device #1 can be a degraded terminal device, and terminal device #2 can be a normal terminal device. The maximum channel bandwidth supported by the normal terminal device is greater than that supported by the degraded terminal device. If the first and second segments of the PUCCH resource used by the degraded terminal device for HARQ feedback to Msg4 are within the BWP range of the normal terminal device, the frequency domain resources available to the normal terminal device will be divided into three segments: frequency domain resource #1, frequency domain resource #2, and frequency domain resource #3. This results in resource fragmentation. When allocating resources to the normal terminal device, network devices can only use these three fragmented frequency domain resources, significantly limiting network device scheduling and reducing the flexibility of resource allocation. Furthermore, the normal terminal device cannot be configured with a large continuous bandwidth, affecting its peak transmission rate.

[0216] It's important to note that terminal devices with different capabilities have different requirements for mobile communication systems. The aforementioned normal terminal devices and degraded terminal devices represent two types of terminals with different communication capability requirements. Compared to normal terminal devices, degraded terminal devices have lower communication capability requirements. Therefore, the design specifications of degraded terminal devices can be reduced; for example, the bandwidth and number of antennas supported can be decreased, thereby reducing cost and device complexity. For instance, a normal 5G mobile phone needs to support 100MHz bandwidth and four receiving antennas, while a degraded terminal device only needs to support 20MHz bandwidth and one receiving antenna.

[0217] As examples, de-capacitated terminal devices can be wearables, industrial wireless sensors, and video surveillance devices. In this application, other NR terminal devices besides de-capacitated terminal devices can be referred to as normal or legacy terminal devices, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) terminal devices and ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) terminal devices. De-capacitated terminal devices can meet the needs of many communication scenarios while significantly reducing complexity and cost, thus finding widespread demand in certain industries.

[0218] It should be noted that, in this application, regardless of the specific type of terminal device, as long as the channel bandwidth supported by the two terminal devices differs, when these two terminal devices coexist in a communication network, the terminal device with the smaller maximum channel bandwidth may cause frequency domain resource fragmentation of the terminal device with the larger maximum channel bandwidth.

[0219] In view of this, this application proposes a communication method that can redetermine the PUCCH resources used by terminal device #1 and avoid resource fragmentation of terminal device #2.

[0220] Next, combine Figure 6 The communication method 400 of this application will be described in detail. It should be noted that the first terminal device in the following method 400 refers to the aforementioned terminal device with a smaller maximum supported channel bandwidth.

[0221] S410, the first terminal device obtains first information, which includes a set of values ​​for a first formula or offset, and the set of values ​​for the first formula or offset is used to determine the physical resource block (PRB) index.

[0222] The first formula or offset value set obtained by the first terminal device is used to determine the PRB index. The first formula can also be understood as the calculation basis, calculation method, calculation rule, calculation principle, determination basis, determination method, determination rule, or functional relationship. In other words, the first formula provides the mathematical basis for determining the PRB index and can be used to represent the relationship between the PUCCH resource index and the PRB index. The offset value set can also be understood as the offset value range, the column containing the offset in the PUCCH resource set configuration information table, or the correspondence between the PUCCH resource set indication information and the offset. The offset can also be called the offset value, offset parameter, or the number of PRBs offset, referring to the offset of the PRB. Specifically, the offset refers to the number of PRBs offset by the PRB containing the first PUCCH resource in the PUCCH resource set relative to the lower boundary of the BWP (i.e., the PRB with index 0 in the BWP). In this application, the offset has the same meaning as represented in column 5 of Table 1. The PRB index can also be called the PRB number.

[0223] As an example and not a limitation, the first terminal device may obtain the first information from the network device or according to the protocol definition. The first information includes a set of values ​​for a first formula or offset, meaning that the first information is either a first formula or a set of values ​​for an offset.

[0224] S420, the network device sends second information to the first terminal device, and the first terminal device receives the second information, which includes the PUCCH resource index.

[0225] When a network device needs an end device to transmit UCI, it can send a second piece of information to the end device, namely the PUCCH resource index used to transmit the UCI. For example, the network device can carry the second information in the DCI. The PUCCH resource index, also known as PUCCH resource indication information, represents the index of the PUCCH resource in the PUCCH resource set.

[0226] In the existing protocol, the PUCCH resource set includes 16 PUCCH resources. Therefore, the PUCCH resource index consists of 4 bits, with a value of any integer from 0 to 15, representing any one of the 16 PUCCH resources.

[0227] Alternatively, the PUCCH resource index can use more or fewer bits.

[0228] S430, the first terminal device determines the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the first information and the PUCCH resource index.

[0229] If the first information is the first formula, then the first formula includes the parameter of PUCCH resource index. Therefore, the first terminal device can determine the calculation basis of PRB according to the first formula, and then determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource according to the PUCCH resource index.

[0230] It should be understood that the first formula may also include other parameters besides the PUCCH resource index. Before obtaining the first formula, the first terminal device can obtain these parameters. Therefore, once the first formula is obtained, the correspondence between the PUCCH resource index and the PRB index can be obtained, and the PRB index can be determined based on the PUCCH resource index.

[0231] If the first information is a set of offset values, the first terminal device can first determine the first PRB offset based on the already obtained PUCCH resource set configuration information. The set of offset values ​​includes the first PRB offset. Then, it can determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on a preset second formula, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index. The PUCCH resource set configuration information can be used to indicate a PUCCH resource set, where the first PRB is a piece of information within that PUCCH resource set.

[0232] It should be understood that the second formula is also used to determine the PRB index. The second formula can be indicated by the network device or defined by the protocol. The second formula can be the same as or different from the first formula. The second formula includes at least two parameters, with the PUCCH resource index and the offset being one of them.

[0233] According to the scheme of this application, the first terminal device obtains a set of values ​​for a first formula or offset. Based on the set of values ​​for the first formula or offset and the received PUCCH resource index, the first terminal device can determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. This PUCCH resource can be used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. The determined PUCCH resource will be located on one side of the initial uplink BWP of the first terminal device, and the PUCCH resource set containing this PUCCH resource will be adjacent to the PUCCH resource sets of other terminal devices, which can avoid causing spectrum resource fragmentation of other terminal devices and improve resource utilization.

[0234] In one implementation, the method 400 further includes: S401, the network device sends PUCCH resource set configuration information to the first terminal device, the PUCCH resource set configuration information being used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0235] The PUCCH resource set configuration information can be an index. The network device sends this configuration information to the first terminal device, and the first terminal device determines the PUCCH resource set information from the PUCCH configuration information table based on this configuration information. Each row of the PUCCH configuration information table defines the configuration information for a PUCCH resource set, including but not limited to PUCCH format, first symbol, number of symbols, PRB offset, and set of initial cyclic shift indexes. The PUCCH configuration information table can be in the format defined by the current protocol. For example, as shown in Table 1, PUCCH configuration information table 1 includes 16 rows and 6 columns, with each row indicating a PUCCH resource set. In this case, the PUCCH resource set indication information can consist of 4 bits, with values ​​from 0 to 15, each indicating a different PUCCH resource set. Optionally, the PUCCH configuration information table can also be a newly defined table, including more information. For example, as shown in Table 2, Table 2 includes 16 rows and 7 columns. Based on Table 1, Table 2 adds a column for PRB offset, namely PRB offset 2. When the PRB offset parameter is needed, one of these columns can be used as the set of offset values. The first initial uplink BWP contains the number of physical resource blocks (RRBs), which are used by the first terminal device for uplink transmission.

[0236] Table 2

[0237]

[0238] As one possible implementation, the method 400 further includes: a first terminal device receiving first indication information from a network device, the first indication information being used to indicate a set of values ​​for a first formula or offset. Wherein, the first terminal device acquiring the first information includes: determining the first information based on the first indication information.

[0239] In one implementation, the first instruction information is used to indicate the first formula.

[0240] The protocol may define formulas #1 and #2 for the first terminal device to determine the PRB index, and stipulate that the network device instructs the first terminal device to use formula #1 or formula #2 to determine the PRB index.

[0241] Specifically, the network device can determine the frequency position relationship between the PUCCH resource set and the first initial uplink BWP. The PUCCH resource set is the PUCCH resource set configured by the network device for the first terminal device, and the first initial uplink BWP is the initial uplink BWP configured by the network device for the first terminal device. When the PUCCH resource set is located at the upper edge of the first initial uplink BWP, or when the PUCCH resource set is located at a higher frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, the network device can indicate the first formula as formula (5):

[0242]

[0243] When the PUCCH resource set is located at the lower edge of the first initial uplink BWP, or when the PUCCH resource set is located at a lower frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, the network device may indicate the first formula as formula (6):

[0244]

[0245] In formulas (5) and (6), X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. For the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, r PUCCH For PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial circular shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down.

[0246] It should be noted that the PUCCH resources associated with the determined PRB index are used for the first terminal device to transmit UCI. In other words, the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resources associated with this PRB index. The PUCCH resource set information indicated by the PUCCH resource set configuration information includes the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set.

[0247] The first indication information can be 1 bit, with a value of 0 or 1, used to indicate formula 5 and formula 6 respectively. The first terminal device can determine the first formula based on the first indication information.

[0248] The following example illustrates this. It should be understood that Table 1 of the PUCCH configuration table is used as an example for illustration.

[0249] (1) If the network device determines that the PUCCH set of the first terminal device is configured at the upper edge of the initial uplink BWP, then the first formula indicated by the first indication information is:

[0250] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device indicates to the first terminal device that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011", corresponding to the row with index 3 in Table 1. According to the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device can know that in this initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the start symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to 0, and the initial cyclic shift index set is set to {0,6}. Assuming the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs.

[0251] If, during random access, the network device sends Msg4 to the terminal device, the scheduling DCI indicates r PUCCH =3. Then the first terminal device can determine the PRB number corresponding to the PUCCH resource used by the feedback Msg4, that is, the PUCCH resource number within the first initial uplink BWP is:

[0252]

[0253] (2) If the network device determines that the PUCCH set of the first terminal device is configured at the lower edge of the initial uplink BWP, then the first formula indicated by the first indication information is:

[0254] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device indicates to the first terminal device that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011", corresponding to the row with index 3 in Table 1. According to the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device can know that in this initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the start symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to 0, and the initial cyclic shift index set is set to {0,6}. Assuming the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs.

[0255] If, during random access, the network device sends Msg4 to the terminal device, the scheduling DCI indicates r PUCCH =3. Then the first terminal device can determine the PRB number corresponding to the PUCCH resource used by the feedback Msg4, that is, the PUCCH resource number within the first initial uplink BWP is:

[0256]

[0257] Therefore, in this application, the first terminal device can determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource by using formula (5) or formula (6) according to the instructions of the network device. That is, the PUCCH resource can be located at the upper or lower edge of the first initial BWP and frequency hopping is not performed to avoid fragmentation of spectrum resources of other terminal devices and improve resource utilization.

[0258] On the other hand, the embodiments of this application enable the configuration of greater continuous bandwidth for normal terminal devices, thereby improving the transmission rate of terminal devices.

[0259] Furthermore, instructions from network devices can reduce the processing complexity of terminal devices.

[0260] In one implementation, the first indication information is used to indicate the set of values ​​for the offset.

[0261] The protocol can define a PUCCH configuration information table different from Table 1. This PUCCH configuration information table includes two columns of PRB offsets, denoted as PRB offset 1 and PRB offset 2, respectively. Alternatively, it can be referred to as the first set of values ​​for the PRB offsets of the PUCCH resource, or the second set of values ​​for the PRB offsets of the PUCCH resource. The protocol specifies that the network device instructs the first terminal device to use the first set of values ​​or the second set of values ​​to determine the PRB index.

[0262] Specifically, the network device can determine the frequency position relationship between the PUCCH resource set and the first initial uplink BWP. The PUCCH resource set is the PUCCH resource set configured by the network device for the first terminal device, and the first initial uplink BWP is the initial uplink BWP configured by the network device for the first terminal device. When the PUCCH resource set is located at the upper edge of the first initial uplink BWP, or when the PUCCH resource set is located at a higher frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, the network device can indicate that the offset value set is a second value set of PRB offsets of the PUCCH resource, wherein the PRB offset values ​​in the second value set are... in, Y represents the number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP, where Y is a positive integer.

[0263] When the PUCCH resource set is located at the lower edge of the first initial uplink BWP, or when the PUCCH resource set is located at a lower frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, the network device may indicate that the set of values ​​for the offset is the first set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource.

[0264] As an example, if the defined PUCCH configuration information table is Table 2, then the second set of values ​​can be column 6 in Table 2, i.e., PRB offset 2, and the first set of values ​​can be column 5 in Table 2, i.e., PRB offset 1. That is, the network device indicates that the PUCCH resource's PRB offset is PRB offset 2, or the network device indicates that the PUCCH resource's PRB offset is PRB offset 1. In other words, if the existing configuration information table is expanded, the set of offset values ​​includes 16 elements.

[0265] The information of the PUCCH resource set indicated by the PUCCH resource set configuration information includes a first PRB offset, which belongs to the set of offset values. In other words, the first PRB offset belongs to a first set of values ​​or a second set of values.

[0266] It should be understood that the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the first indication information jointly determine the first PRB offset. In the PUCCH configuration information table, the first indication information indicates which column of information should be used to determine the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates which row of information should be used to determine the first PRB offset.

[0267] Furthermore, if the first indication information is used to indicate the set of values ​​for the offset, the first terminal device can determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource according to a preset second formula. The second formula is:

[0268]

[0269] In formula (7), X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource is determined based on the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the first indication information. PUCCH For PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial circular shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down.

[0270] It should be noted that the PUCCH resources associated with the determined PRB index are used for the first terminal device to transmit UCI. In other words, the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resources associated with this PRB index. The PUCCH resource set information indicated by the PUCCH resource set configuration information includes the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set.

[0271] The first indication information can be 1 bit, with a value of 0 or 1 used to indicate the first value set and the second value set, respectively. The first terminal device can determine the value set of the offset based on the first indication information.

[0272] The following example illustrates this. It should be understood that this example uses PUCCH configuration table 2 as an example.

[0273] (1) If the network device determines that the PUCCH set of the first terminal device is configured at the upper edge of the initial uplink BWP, then the set of values ​​for the first indication information offset is PRB offset 2.

[0274] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device indicates to the first terminal device that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011", corresponding to the row with index 3 in Table 2. According to the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device can know that in this initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the start symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, and the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to... The initial cyclic shift index set is set to {0, 6}. Assume the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, meaning the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP comprises 100 PRBs.

[0275] If, during random access, the network device sends Msg4 to the terminal device, the scheduling DCI indicates r PUCCH =3. Then the terminal device can determine the PRB number corresponding to the PUCCH resource used by the feedback Msg4, that is, the PUCCH resource number within the first initial uplink BWP is:

[0276]

[0277] (2) If the network device determines that the PUCCH set of the first terminal device is configured at the lower edge of the initial uplink BWP, then the set of values ​​for the first indication information offset is PRB offset 1.

[0278] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device indicates to the first terminal device that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011", corresponding to the row with index 3 in Table 2. According to the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device can know that in this initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the start symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to 0, and the initial cyclic shift index set is set to {0,6}. Assuming the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs.

[0279] If, during random access, the network device sends Msg4 to the terminal device, the scheduling DCI indicates r PUCCH =3. Then the terminal device can determine the PRB number corresponding to the PUCCH resource used by the feedback Msg4, that is, the PUCCH resource number within the first initial uplink BWP is:

[0280]

[0281] Therefore, in this application, the first terminal device can determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource by using the first value set or the second value set according to the instructions of the network device. In other words, the PUCCH resource can be located at the upper or lower edge of the first initial BWP without frequency hopping, thereby avoiding fragmentation of spectrum resources of other terminal devices and improving resource utilization.

[0282] On the other hand, the embodiments of this application enable the configuration of greater continuous bandwidth for normal terminal devices, thereby improving the transmission rate of terminal devices.

[0283] Furthermore, instructions from network devices can reduce the processing complexity of terminal devices.

[0284] It should be understood that before sending the first indication information, the network device will first configure an initial uplink BWP for the first terminal device, and configure a PUCCH resource set in the initial uplink BWP. The initial uplink BWP configured for the first terminal device can be referred to as the first initial uplink BWP. The PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device can be located at the upper edge of the first initial uplink BWP, in which case the first initial uplink BWP is closer to the upper edge of the second initial uplink BWP, such as... Figure 7 As shown in (A); the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device can also be located at the lower edge of the first initial uplink BWP, in which case the first initial uplink BWP is closer to the lower edge of the second initial uplink BWP, as shown in (A). Figure 7 As shown in (B) in the diagram. The second initial uplink BWP is used for uplink transmission by the second terminal device, and the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the second terminal device is greater than that supported by the first terminal device. When terminal devices with different capabilities coexist in the communication network, configuring the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device at the upper or lower edge of the first initial uplink BWP can avoid fragmentation of spectrum resources for other terminal devices and improve resource utilization.

[0285] It should also be understood that in this application, the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the upper edge of the first initial uplink BWP, that is, the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device coincides with the termination frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, and the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the lower edge of the first initial uplink BWP, that is, the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device coincides with the start frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP.

[0286] In other embodiments, the method of this application can also be used when the network device determines that the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a higher or lower frequency position in the first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP). Specifically, when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a higher frequency position in the first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP), the network device determines that the first formula is... When the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a lower frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, the network device determines the first formula as follows: Alternatively, when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a higher frequency position of the first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP), the network device determines the set of values ​​for the offset as a second set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource; when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a lower frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, the network device determines the set of values ​​for the offset as a first set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource.

[0287] It should be understood that the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a higher frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP. This can be understood as the center frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being higher than the center frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP. Alternatively, it can be understood as the termination frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being lower than the termination frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, and the starting frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being higher than the center frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP. Similarly, the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a lower frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP. This can be understood as the center frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being lower than the center frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP. Alternatively, it can be understood as the starting frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being higher than the starting frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, and the termination frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being lower than the center frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP.

[0288] As one possible implementation, the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the first indication information can be sent in the same information. For example, both the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the first indication information are carried in the third information, which is SIB1, the downlink control information DCI of the scheduling SIB1, or the master information block MIB.

[0289] Optionally, the third information can also be other SIB information or other system information, such as SIB2, SIB3, etc.

[0290] Optionally, the third information may also include configuration information of the first initial uplink BWP, which indicates information such as the bandwidth size, frequency position, and time domain position of the first initial uplink BWP.

[0291] Optionally, the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the first indication information can also be sent in different information, for example, the PUCCH resource set configuration information is carried in SIB1 and the first indication information is carried in MIB.

[0292] It should be noted that this application does not impose any restrictions on the order of sending the first instruction information and the PUCCH resource set configuration information.

[0293] In one implementation, the method further includes: the network device sending a second indication message to the first terminal device, the second indication message indicating that the PUCCH resource has no frequency hopping. In other words, the network device can instruct the first terminal device to disable frequency hopping for the PUCCH resource, so that the PUCCH resource of the first terminal device can be close to the upper or lower edge of the initial uplink BWP, avoiding resource fragmentation and improving resource utilization.

[0294] Optionally, the second indication information can be indicated by 1 bit, with values ​​of 0 and 1 indicating that frequency hopping is not disabled and frequency hopping is disabled, respectively. The first terminal device can determine whether frequency hopping is required for the PUCCH resource based on the second indication information.

[0295] Optionally, the first instruction information may also be carried in the third information.

[0296] In one possible implementation, the first terminal device acquires the first information, including: the first terminal device determines the first information based on the relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth portion (BWP) and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, wherein the first initial uplink BWP is used by the first terminal device for uplink transmission, the second initial uplink BWP is used by the second terminal device for uplink transmission, and the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the second terminal device is greater than the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the first terminal device.

[0297] In one implementation, the first information includes a first formula, and the first terminal device determines the first information by: the first terminal device determining the first formula.

[0298] The protocol can define formulas #1 and #2 for the first terminal device to determine the PRB index, and stipulates that the first terminal device determines whether to use formula #1 or formula #2 to determine the PRB index based on the relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP.

[0299] Specifically, when the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first terminal device determines the first formula as formula (8):

[0300]

[0301] When the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is determined to be less than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first terminal device determines the first formula as formula (9):

[0302]

[0303] In formulas (8) and (9), X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. For the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, r PUCCH For PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial circular shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down.

[0304] It should be noted that the PUCCH resources associated with the determined PRB index are used for the first terminal device to transmit UCI. In other words, the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resources associated with this PRB index. The PUCCH resource set information indicated by the PUCCH resource set configuration information includes the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set.

[0305] The following example illustrates this. It should be understood that Table 1 of the PUCCH configuration table is used as an example for illustration.

[0306] (1) In the system information, the network device instructs the first terminal device to disable PUCCH frequency hopping and indicates that the starting position of the first initial uplink BWP is PRB number 100. Here, the PRB number refers to the PRB number in the system bandwidth, which is 100 PRBs. That is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs. The starting position of the second initial uplink BWP is PRB number 0. Here, the PRB number refers to the PRB number in the system bandwidth, which is 200 PRBs. That is, the bandwidth of the second initial uplink BWP includes 200 PRBs. The first terminal device determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is PRB number 150 and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP is PRB number 100. Therefore, it determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. Therefore, it determines that the first formula is...

[0307] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device indicates to the first terminal device that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011", corresponding to the row with index 3 in Table 1. According to the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device can know that in this initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the start symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to 0, and the initial cyclic shift index set is set to {0,6}. Assuming the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs.

[0308] If, during random access, the network device sends Msg4 to the terminal device, the scheduling DCI indicates r PUCCH =3. Then the first terminal device can determine the PRB number corresponding to the PUCCH resource used by the feedback Msg4, that is, the PUCCH resource number within the first initial uplink BWP is:

[0309]

[0310] (2) In the system information, the network device instructs the first terminal device to disable PUCCH frequency hopping and indicates that the starting position of the first initial uplink BWP is PRB number 0. Here, the PRB number refers to the PRB number in the system bandwidth, which is 100 PRBs. That is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs. The starting position of the second initial uplink BWP is PRB number 0. Here, the PRB number refers to the PRB number in the system bandwidth, which is 200 PRBs. That is, the bandwidth of the second initial uplink BWP includes 200 PRBs. The first terminal device determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is PRB number 50 and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP is PRB number 100. Therefore, it determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is less than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. Therefore, it determines that the first formula is...

[0311] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device indicates that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011", corresponding to the row with index 3 in Table 1. According to the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device can know that in this initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the start symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to 0, and the initial cyclic shift index set is set to {0,6}. Assuming the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs.

[0312] If, during random access, the network device sends Msg4 to the terminal device, the scheduling DCI indicates r PUCCH =3. Then the first terminal device can determine the PRB number corresponding to the PUCCH resource used by the feedback Msg4, that is, the PUCCH resource number within the first initial uplink BWP is:

[0313]

[0314] Therefore, in this application, the first terminal device can determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource using formula (8) or formula (9) based on the relationship between the center frequencies of the first initial uplink BWP and the second initial uplink BWP. In other words, the PUCCH resource can be located at the upper or lower edge of the first initial BWP without frequency hopping, thus avoiding fragmentation of spectrum resources of other terminal devices and improving resource utilization.

[0315] On the other hand, the embodiments of this application enable the configuration of greater continuous bandwidth for normal terminal devices, thereby improving the transmission rate of terminal devices.

[0316] Furthermore, this method does not require additional instructions, thus saving signaling overhead.

[0317] In one implementation, the first information includes a set of offset values, and the first terminal device determines that the first information includes the set of offset values.

[0318] The protocol can define a PUCCH configuration information table different from Table 1. This PUCCH configuration information table includes two columns of PRB offsets, denoted as PRB offset 1 and PRB offset 2, respectively. Alternatively, it can be referred to as the first set of values ​​for the PRB offsets of the PUCCH resource, or the second set of values ​​for the PRB offsets of the PUCCH resource. The protocol specifies that the network device instructs the first terminal device to use the first set of values ​​or the second set of values ​​to determine the PRB index.

[0319] Specifically, when the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first terminal device determines the set of offset values ​​as the second set of PRB offset values ​​for the PUCCH resource, wherein the PRB offset values ​​in the second set are... in, Y represents the number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP, where Y is a positive integer.

[0320] When it is determined that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is less than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first terminal device determines the set of values ​​for the offset as the first set of values ​​for the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource.

[0321] As an example, if the defined PUCCH configuration information table is Table 2, then the second set of values ​​can be column 6 in Table 2, i.e., PRB offset 2, and the first set of values ​​is column 5 in Table 2, i.e., PRB offset 1. That is, the first terminal device determines that the PUCCH resource's PRB offset is PRB offset 2, or the first terminal device can determine that the PUCCH resource's PRB offset is PRB offset 1. In other words, if the existing configuration information table is expanded, the set of offset values ​​includes 16 elements.

[0322] The information of the PUCCH resource set indicated by the PUCCH resource set configuration information includes a first PRB offset, which belongs to the set of offset values. In other words, the first PRB offset belongs to a first set of values ​​or a second set of values.

[0323] It should be understood that the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth portion BWP and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP jointly determine the first PRB offset. In the PUCCH configuration information table, the first terminal device determines which column of information should be used to determine the first PRB offset based on the relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth portion BWP and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. The PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates which row of information should be used to determine the first PRB offset.

[0324] Furthermore, if the first information includes a set of offset values, the first terminal device can determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource according to a preset second formula. The second formula is:

[0325]

[0326] In formula (10), X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The first PRB offset for the PUCCH resource is determined based on the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth portion BWP and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. PUCCH For PUCCH resource index, N CS The number of elements in the initial circular shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down.

[0327] It should be noted that the PUCCH resources associated with the determined PRB index are used for the first terminal device to transmit UCI. In other words, the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resources associated with this PRB index. The PUCCH resource set information indicated by the PUCCH resource set configuration information includes the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set.

[0328] The following example illustrates this. It should be understood that this example uses PUCCH configuration table 2 as an example.

[0329] (1) In the system information, the network device indicates to the first terminal device that PUCCH frequency hopping is disabled, and indicates that the starting position of the first initial uplink BWP is PRB number 100. Here, the PRB number refers to the PRB number in the system bandwidth, and the bandwidth is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs. The starting position of the second initial uplink BWP is PRB number 0. Here, the PRB number refers to the PRB number in the system bandwidth, and the bandwidth is 200 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the second initial uplink BWP includes 200 PRBs. The first terminal device determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is PRB number 150 and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP is PRB number 100. Therefore, it determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. Therefore, it determines that the set of values ​​for the offset is PRB offset 2.

[0330] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device indicates to the first terminal device that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011", corresponding to the row with index 3 in Table 2. According to the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device can know that in this initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the start symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, and the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to... The initial cyclic shift index set is set to {0, 6}. Assume the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, meaning the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP comprises 100 PRBs.

[0331] If, during random access, the network device sends Msg4 to the terminal device, the scheduling DCI indicates r PUCCH =3. Then the terminal device can determine the PRB number corresponding to the PUCCH resource used by the feedback Msg4, that is, the PUCCH resource number within the first initial uplink BWP is:

[0332]

[0333] (2) In the system information, the network device indicates to the first terminal device that PUCCH frequency hopping is disabled, and indicates that the starting position of the first initial uplink BWP is PRB number 0. Here, the PRB number refers to the PRB number in the system bandwidth, and the bandwidth is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs. The starting position of the second initial uplink BWP is PRB number 0. Here, the PRB number refers to the PRB number in the system bandwidth, and the bandwidth is 200 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the second initial uplink BWP includes 200 PRBs. The first terminal device determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is PRB number 50, and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP is PRB number 100. Therefore, it determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is less than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, and therefore determines that the set of offset values ​​is PRB offset 1.

[0334] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device indicates to the first terminal device that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011", corresponding to the row with index 3 in Table 2. According to the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device can know that in this initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the start symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to 0, and the initial cyclic shift index set is set to {0,6}. Assuming the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs.

[0335] If, during random access, the network device sends Msg4 to the terminal device, the scheduling DCI indicates r PUCCH =3. Then the terminal device can determine the PRB number corresponding to the PUCCH resource used by the feedback Msg4, that is, the PUCCH resource number within the first initial uplink BWP is:

[0336]

[0337] Therefore, in this application, the first terminal device can determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource using the first value set or the second value set based on the relationship between the center frequencies of the first initial uplink BWP and the second initial uplink BWP. In other words, the PUCCH resource can be located at the upper or lower edge of the first initial BWP without frequency hopping, thus avoiding fragmentation of spectrum resources of other terminal devices and improving resource utilization.

[0338] On the other hand, the embodiments of this application enable the configuration of greater continuous bandwidth for normal terminal devices, thereby improving the transmission rate of terminal devices.

[0339] Furthermore, instructions from network devices can reduce the processing complexity of terminal devices.

[0340] It should be understood that before the first terminal device determines the PRB index, the network device first configures an initial uplink BWP for both the first and second terminal devices, and configures a PUCCH resource set within the initial uplink BWP. The initial uplink BWP configured for the first terminal device can be called the first initial uplink BWP, and the initial uplink BWP configured for the second terminal device can be called the second initial uplink BWP. The first and second initial uplink BWPs are configured using system information. After obtaining the system information, the first terminal device can determine the frequency positions of the first and second initial uplink BWPs. Furthermore, the first terminal device determines the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP based on its frequency position, and determines the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP based on its frequency position. The PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device can be located at the upper edge of the first initial uplink BWP. In this case, the first initial uplink BWP is closer to the upper edge of the second initial uplink BWP, and the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. Figure 8 As shown in (A); the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device can be located at the lower edge of the first initial uplink BWP. In this case, the first initial uplink BWP is closer to the lower edge of the second initial uplink BWP, and the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is less than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, as shown in (A). Figure 8 As shown in (B) in the diagram. When terminal devices with different capabilities coexist in a communication network, configuring the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device at the upper or lower edge of the first initial uplink BWP can avoid fragmentation of spectrum resources of other terminal devices and improve resource utilization.

[0341] As one possible implementation, the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the initial uplink BWP configuration information can be sent in the same message. For example, both the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the initial uplink BWP configuration information can be carried in a third message, which is SIB1, the downlink control information (DCI) of scheduling SIB1, or the master information block (MIB). The initial uplink BWP configuration information includes configuration information for a first initial uplink BWP and a second initial uplink BWP. The configuration information for the first initial uplink BWP indicates the bandwidth size, frequency position, and time domain position of the first initial uplink BWP, while the configuration information for the second initial uplink BWP indicates the bandwidth size, frequency position, and time domain position of the second initial uplink BWP.

[0342] Optionally, the third information can also be other SIB information or other system information, such as SIB2, SIB3, etc.

[0343] In one implementation, the method further includes: the network device sending second indication information to the first terminal device, the second indication information indicating that the PUCCH resource has no frequency hopping. In other words, the network device can instruct the first terminal device to disable frequency hopping for the PUCCH resource. This allows the PUCCH resource of the first terminal device to be located closer to the upper or lower edge of the initial uplink BWP, avoiding resource fragmentation and improving resource utilization. Furthermore, if the network device instructs the PUCCH resource to disable frequency hopping, the first terminal device can implicitly determine the first information based on the relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth portion BWP and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. That is, the network device's instruction to disable frequency hopping for the PUCCH resource can serve as an implicit indication for the first terminal device to confirm the first information.

[0344] Optionally, the second indication information can be indicated by 1 bit, with values ​​of 0 and 1 indicating that frequency hopping is not disabled and frequency hopping is disabled, respectively. The first terminal device can determine whether frequency hopping is required for the PUCCH resource based on the second indication information.

[0345] Optionally, the second instruction information may also be carried in the third information.

[0346] As one possible implementation, after S430, the method 400 further includes: S402, whereby the first terminal device transmits uplink control information (UCI) on the resource associated with the PRB index.

[0347] As one possible implementation, the aforementioned first terminal device is a first type of terminal device, and the second terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0348] Optionally, the first terminal device is a terminal device with reduced capabilities, and the second terminal device is a normal terminal device.

[0349] It should be noted that in this application, the first initial uplink BWP is configured on one side of the carrier, and PUCCH frequency hopping is disabled, so that the PUCCH resources of both the first terminal device and the second terminal device are located on both sides of the carrier, thereby avoiding the resource fragmentation problem. For example, in Figure 7 In (A), the network device configures the first initial uplink BWP on one side of the second initial uplink BWP and configures the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device at a position close to the higher frequency. In this way, the PUCCH resource sets in the system are all located on both sides of the carrier, and the area between the two PUCCH resource sets is continuous, avoiding the problem of resource fragmentation.

[0350] It should also be noted that after configuring the first initial uplink BWP for the first terminal device and disabling PUCCH resource frequency hopping for the first terminal device, the indication method of the current PUCCH resource set and the indication method of PUCCH resources are no longer applicable. The method of this application can indicate PUCCH resources without frequency hopping and is compatible with scenarios with frequency hopping, thus having a wider range of applications.

[0351] On the other hand, the solution proposed in this application avoids resource fragmentation and can also reduce the limitations of network device resource scheduling.

[0352] The above combines Figures 1 to 8 The technical solution provided by the communication method in the embodiments of this application has been described in detail below. Figures 9 to 11 This application describes a communication device provided in an embodiment.

[0353] Figure 9 This is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 9 As shown, the device 600 can be a first terminal device or a component (e.g., a unit, module, chip, or chip system) configured in the first terminal device. The device 600 may include a transceiver unit 610 and a processing unit 620.

[0354] The transceiver unit 610 is used to perform transceiver-related operations on the first terminal device side in the method embodiment described above. For example, the transceiver unit 610 is used to receive second information, which includes the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource index.

[0355] The processing unit 620 is used to perform processing-related operations on the terminal device side in the above method embodiments. For example, the processing unit 620 is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the first information and the PUCCH resource index, wherein the PUCCH resource is used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information.

[0356] It should be understood that the processing unit 620 and the transceiver unit 610 may also execute any other steps, operations and / or functions implemented by the first terminal device in the method 400. The specific process of each unit executing the corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0357] It should be understood that the device 600 here is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" here can refer to an ASIC, electronic circuitry, a processor (e.g., a shared processor, a proprietary processor, or a group processor, etc.) and memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuitry, and / or other suitable components supporting the described functions. In an alternative example, those skilled in the art will understand that the device 600 can specifically be the terminal device in the above-described method 400 embodiments. The device 600 can be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the terminal device in the above-described method 400 embodiments; to avoid repetition, these will not be described further here.

[0358] It should also be understood that, in one implementation, the transceiver unit 610 may include a receiving unit 611 and a sending unit 612, wherein the receiving unit 611 is used to perform the receiving function in the transceiver unit 610, for example, receiving second information from a network device, and the sending unit 612 is used to perform the sending function in the transceiver unit 610, for example, sending a UCI to a network device.

[0359] Figure 10 This is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 10 As shown, the device 700 can be a network device or a component (e.g., a unit, module, chip, or chip system) configured in a network device. The device 700 includes a transceiver unit 710.

[0360] The transceiver unit 710 is used to perform transceiver-related operations on the network device side in the above method embodiment. For example, the transceiver unit 710 is used to send third information to the terminal device. The third information includes first indication information, which is used to indicate a set of values ​​for a first formula or offset. The first formula or the set of values ​​for the offset is used to determine the Physical Resource Block (PRB) index.

[0361] Optionally, the device may further include a processing unit 720, which is used to perform processing-related operations on the network device side in the above method embodiments. For example, the processing unit 720 is used to: determine whether the first formula is formula (5) or formula (6).

[0362] It should be understood that the processing unit 720 and the transceiver unit 710 may also perform any other steps, operations and / or functions implemented by the network device in the method 400. The specific process of each unit performing the corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0363] It should also be understood that the device 700 here is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" here can refer to an ASIC, electronic circuitry, a processor (e.g., a shared processor, a proprietary processor, or a group processor, etc.) and memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuitry, and / or other suitable components supporting the described functions. In an alternative example, those skilled in the art will understand that the device 700 can be specifically a network device in the above-described method 400 embodiments. The device 700 can be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the network device in the above-described method 400 embodiments; to avoid repetition, these will not be described further here.

[0364] It should also be understood that, in one implementation, the transceiver unit 710 may include a receiving unit 711 and a sending unit 712, wherein the receiving unit 711 is used to perform the receiving function in the transceiver unit 710, such as receiving UCI, and the sending unit 712 is used to perform the sending function in the transceiver unit 710, such as sending third information and second information to the terminal device.

[0365] Figure 11 This is a structural block diagram of a communication device 800 provided according to an embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 11 As shown, the device 800 includes a processor 810, a memory 820, and a transceiver 830. The processor 810 is coupled to the memory 820 and is used to execute instructions stored in the memory 820 to control the transceiver 830 to transmit and / or receive signals.

[0366] It should be understood that the processor 810 and memory 820 can be combined into a single processing device, with the processor 810 executing the program code stored in the memory 820 to achieve the aforementioned functions. In specific implementations, the memory 820 can be integrated into the processor 810 or independent of it. It should also be understood that the processor 810 can correspond to the various processing units in the aforementioned communication device, and the transceiver 830 can correspond to the various receiving and transmitting units in the aforementioned communication device.

[0367] It should also be understood that transceiver 830 may include a receiver (or receiver unit) and a transmitter (or transmitter unit). The transceiver may further include antennas, and the number of antennas may be one or more. The transceiver may also be a communication interface or interface circuitry.

[0368] Specifically, the communication device 800 may correspond to the first terminal device in method 400 according to the embodiments of this application, or the network device in method 400. It should be understood that the specific process of each unit performing the above-described corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0369] When the communication device 800 is a chip, the chip includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processing unit can be a processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip.

[0370] In one possible design, device 800 can be replaced by a chip device, such as a communication chip that can be used in the device to implement the relevant functions of processor 810 in the device. This chip device can be a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), system-on-a-chip (SoC), central processing unit (CPU), network processor, digital signal processing circuit, microcontroller, or programmable controller (PCC) or other integrated chip that implements the relevant functions. Optionally, the chip may include one or more memories for storing program code, which, when executed, causes the processor to perform the corresponding functions.

[0371] Optionally, the memory and processor involved in the above embodiments can be physically independent units, or the memory can be integrated with the processor.

[0372] This application also provides a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0373] This application also provides a computer program product that, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0374] This application also provides a system that includes one or more terminal devices and one or more network devices as described above.

[0375] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., high-density digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks (SSDs)).

[0376] In the embodiments of this application, the words "exemplary," "for example," etc., are used to indicate that they are examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplary" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design options. Specifically, the use of the term "exemplary" is intended to present the concept in a concrete manner.

[0377] It should be understood that the term "embodiment" used throughout this specification means that a specific feature, structure, or characteristic related to an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this application. Therefore, various embodiments throughout this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, these specific features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0378] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the sequence number of each process does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application. All node and message names in this application are merely names set for the convenience of description, and the names in the actual network may be different. It should not be understood that this application limits the names of various nodes and messages. On the contrary, any name with the same or similar function as the node or message used in this application is regarded as the method or equivalent substitution of this application and is within the protection scope of this application.

[0379] It should also be understood that in this application, “when…”, “if” and “if” all refer to the UE or base station taking corresponding actions under certain objective circumstances, and are not time-limited, nor do they require the UE or base station to perform a judgment action, nor do they imply any other limitations.

[0380] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, "pre-setting" and "pre-configuration" can be implemented by pre-saving the corresponding code, table or other means that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device (e.g., terminal device). This application does not limit the specific implementation method, such as the preset rules and preset constants in the embodiments of this application.

[0381] Furthermore, the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably in this paper. The term "and / or" in this paper is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone.

[0382] In this document, the terms "at least one of..." or "at least one of..." refer to all or any combination of the listed items. For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" can represent six possibilities: A exists alone, B exists alone, C exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, B and C exist simultaneously, and A, B, and C exist simultaneously. "At least one" in this document means one or more. "More than one" means two or more.

[0383] It should be understood that in the embodiments of this application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A and B can be determined based on A. However, it should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean determining B solely based on A; B can also be determined based on A and / or other information. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof all mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0384] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the terms "first," "second," and various numerical designations are merely for descriptive convenience and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. For example, they can be used to distinguish different information.

[0385] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0386] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0387] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0388] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0389] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0390] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0391] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising: include: The first device receives third information from a network device, the third information including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a first formula, the first formula being used to determine the Physical Resource Block (PRB) index; The first device determines the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the first formula and the PUCCH resource index. The PUCCH resource is used by the first device to transmit uplink control information. The third information is also used to indicate that the PUCCH resource has no frequency hopping. wherein the first formula is when the PUCCH resource set of the first device is located at an upper edge of a first initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP), the PUCCH resource set includes 16 PUCCH resources; When the PUCCH resource set of the first device is located at the lower edge of the first initial uplink BWP, the first formula is , the PUCCH resource set includes 16 PUCCH resources; in, This refers to the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. This is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. For the PUCCH resource index. The number of elements in the initial circular shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down, and the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first device receives second information, which includes the PUCCH resource index.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The third information also includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, which is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource and to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first indication information is the first bit. When the first bit has a first value, the first formula is: When the first bit is the second value, the first formula is: .

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The third information is also used to indicate the frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The third information is the downlink control information DCI of system information block 1 (SIB1), scheduling SIB1, or master information block (MIB).

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first device transmits uplink control information on the resource associated with the PRB index.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The first device is a de-capacitated terminal device, or a chip in the de-capacitated terminal device.

9. A communication method, characterized in that, include: The network device sends third information to the first terminal device. The third information includes first indication information, which is used to indicate a first formula, and the first formula is used to determine the physical resource block (PRB) index. The first formula and the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource index are used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource, which is used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. The third information is also used to indicate that the PUCCH resource has no frequency hopping. Wherein, when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the upper edge of the first initial uplink BWP, the first formula is: The PUCCH resource set includes 16 PUCCH resources; When the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the lower edge of the first initial uplink BWP, the first formula is: The PUCCH resource set includes 16 PUCCH resources; in, This refers to the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP. This is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. For the PUCCH resource index. The number of elements in the initial circular shift index set. Representative to The result is rounded down, and the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The third information also includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, which is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource and to indicate the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index set.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The first indication information is the first bit. When the first bit has a first value, the first formula is: When the first bit is the second value, the first formula is: .

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that, The third information is also used to indicate the frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP.

13. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that, The third piece of information is SIB1, and the DCI or MIB that schedules SIB1.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that, Also includes: The network device sends second information to the first terminal device, the second information including the PUCCH resource index.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: The network device receives uplink control information on the resource associated with the PRB index.

16. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that, The first terminal device is a terminal device with reduced capabilities.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, include: Units for performing the various steps of the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. A communication device, characterized in that, include: Memory, used to store computer instructions; A processor for executing computer instructions stored in the memory, causing the apparatus to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, It stores a computer program thereon, the computer program being used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

20. A computer program product, characterized in that, include: Program instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

21. A chip system, characterized in that, include: A processor for executing a stored computer program for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

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