Signal forwarding method and transponder

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a signal forwarding method, a repeater and network equipment. The repeater includes a mobile terminal that receives a timing advance command indicating an index value TA for controlling a first timing, a forwarding unit that (only) transmits a signal on a return link using the first timing.

Description

Signal forwarding methods, transponders

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology.

[0002] Compared with traditional 3G (third-generation mobile communication technology) and 4G (fourth-generation mobile communication technology) systems, 5G (fifth-generation mobile communication technology) systems can provide greater bandwidth and higher data rates, and can support more types of terminals and vertical services.

[0003] Therefore, in addition to traditional telecommunications spectrum, 5G systems are also being deployed on new spectrum, with frequencies significantly higher than those used by 3G and 4G systems. For example, 5G systems can be deployed in millimeter-wave bands (28GHz, 38GHz, 60GHz and above, etc.).

[0004] According to the propagation characteristics of wireless signals, the higher the frequency of the carrier wave, the more severe the signal fading during propagation. Therefore, in practical deployments, 5G systems, especially those deployed in the millimeter-wave band, require more cell coverage enhancement methods than previous 3G and 4G systems. How to better enhance cell coverage for 5G systems has become an urgent problem to be solved.

[0005] It should be noted that the above introduction to the technical background is only for the purpose of providing a clear and complete explanation of the technical solutions of this application and facilitating understanding by those skilled in the art. It should not be assumed that these technical solutions are known to those skilled in the art simply because they have been described in the background section of this application.

[0006]

[0007] To better address coverage issues in the practical deployment of cellular mobile communication systems, using radio frequency (RF) relays / repeaters to amplify and forward communication signals between terminal devices and network equipment is a common deployment method. RF relays are widely used in the practical deployment of 3G and 4G systems. Generally speaking, an RF relay is a device that amplifies and forwards signals between devices in the radio frequency domain. In other words, an RF relay is a non-regenerative type of relay node; it simply amplifies and forwards all received signals directly.

[0008] The inventors discovered that using traditional radio frequency (RF) repeaters for coverage enhancement is one feasible solution to the coverage problems encountered in the deployment of 5G systems. However, because the forwarding behavior of traditional RF repeaters is not controlled by network devices, on the one hand, their effect of amplifying and forwarding the target signal may be unsatisfactory; on the other hand, they may cause significant interference to other devices in the network, increasing the system's noise and interference levels, thereby reducing network throughput. Specifically, taking antenna direction as an example, compared to 2G, 3G, and 4G systems, 5G systems employ more advanced and complex MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) technology. In 5G systems, especially for higher carrier frequencies, directional antennas become fundamental components of network and terminal devices. Beamforming technology is the basic signal transmission method in 5G systems for transmitting and receiving signals. The (analog) beam direction and width of network and terminal devices may dynamically change due to factors such as positional changes (i.e., beam switching). However, traditional RF transceivers have antennas whose direction cannot be dynamically adjusted and whose beamwidths are relatively wide. The beam direction and beamwidth of their transceiver antennas cannot flexibly match the locations of base stations and terminal equipment, nor can they adapt to dynamic changes in the beam direction and beamwidth of the transceiver antennas. When such RF transceivers are configured in 5G systems, on the one hand, the mismatch between the beam direction and beamwidth of their transceiver antennas and the dynamic changes in the beam direction and beamwidth of the network equipment and terminal equipment may result in insignificant performance / effects in amplifying / enhancing the target signal. On the other hand, the use of a wide transmission beam may also cause significant interference to other equipment (e.g., network equipment or terminal equipment) over a large area, increasing the noise and interference level of the entire system and thus reducing network throughput.

[0009] To enhance NR coverage, 3GPP Rel-18 proposed the Network-Controlled Repeater (NCR) scheme to forward signals between network devices and terminal devices. The NCR can communicate directly with network devices via a control link to assist in its forwarding operations. Currently, several issues regarding how to control the NCR's forwarding operations remain to be resolved. For example, how to control the timing, timing, and beam direction of the NCR's forwarding operations are questions that urgently need to be addressed.

[0010] To address at least one of the above-mentioned problems, embodiments of this application provide a signal forwarding method and a repeater.

[0011] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a signal forwarding device is provided, applied to a repeater, comprising:

[0012] A mobile terminal receives a timing advance command, the timing advance command indicating an index value T for controlling a first timing.A ,

[0013] The forwarding unit (only) uses the first timing to send signals on the backhaul link.

[0014] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a signal forwarding device is provided, applied to a repeater, comprising:

[0015] Mobile terminals are used to communicate with network devices;

[0016] The forwarding unit is used to forward signals;

[0017] When the time alignment timer expires

[0018] The forwarding unit may forward, not forward, or stop forwarding, and / or

[0019] The mobile terminal determines that a wireless link failure (RLF) has been detected, and / or,

[0020] The mobile terminal initiates a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection reconstruction, and / or,

[0021] The mobile terminal initiates a random access procedure, and / or,

[0022] The lower layer of the mobile terminal sends an indication to the higher layer that the time alignment timer has expired and / or RLF and / or time alignment problem has occurred, and / or,

[0023] The mobile terminal enters the RRC idle state.

[0024] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a communication system is provided, including: a repeater, which includes the aforementioned signal forwarding device.

[0025] One of the beneficial effects of the embodiments of this application is that the NCR can forward or not forward, thereby enabling the forwarding unit to not forward under certain circumstances, and when forwarding, the corresponding time domain resources / beams are matched with the time domain resources / beams of data transmission between the network device and the terminal device, thereby saving the power consumption of the repeater, reducing interference, and improving network throughput.

[0026] Specific embodiments of this application are disclosed in detail with reference to the following description and accompanying drawings, indicating how the principles of this application can be adopted. It should be understood that the embodiments of this application are not limited in scope. Within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, embodiments of this application include many changes, modifications, and equivalents.

[0027] Features described and / or illustrated for one embodiment may be used in the same or similar manner in one or more other embodiments, combined with or replacing features in other embodiments.

[0028] It should be emphasized that the term "including / comprises" as used herein refers to the presence of a feature, whole, step, or component, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, or components.

[0029] The elements and features described in one drawing or embodiment of this application may be combined with elements and features shown in one or more other drawings or embodiments. Furthermore, in the drawings, similar reference numerals denote corresponding parts in several drawings and can be used to indicate corresponding parts used in more than one embodiment.

[0030] The accompanying drawings, which form part of the specification, are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of this application and illustrate the implementation methods of this application, together with the textual description, to explain the principles of this application. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of this application, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative effort. In the drawings:

[0031] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of this application;

[0032] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a signal forwarding method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0033] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a signal forwarding method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0034] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a signal forwarding method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0035] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a signal forwarding method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0036] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a signal forwarding method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0037] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a signal forwarding method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a signal forwarding device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of an information transmission device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0041] Figures 11 to 13 are schematic diagrams of the application time of the timing advance command according to the embodiments of this application.

[0042] Referring to the accompanying drawings, the foregoing and other features of this application will become apparent from the following description. Specific embodiments of this application are specifically disclosed in the description and drawings, illustrating partial implementations in which the principles of this application may be employed. It should be understood that this application is not limited to the described embodiments; rather, it includes all modifications, variations, and equivalents falling within the scope of the appended claims.

[0043] In the embodiments of this application, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used to distinguish different elements by name, but do not indicate the spatial arrangement or chronological order of these elements, and these elements should not be limited by these terms. The term "and / or" includes any one or more of the terms listed in association and all combinations thereof. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," etc., refer to the presence of the stated features, elements, components, or assemblies, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, or assemblies.

[0044] In the embodiments of this application, the singular forms "a," "the," etc., including the plural forms, should be broadly understood as "a kind" or "a class" rather than limited to the meaning of "an." Furthermore, the term "the" should be understood to include both the singular and plural forms, unless the context explicitly indicates otherwise. Additionally, the term "according to" should be understood as "at least partially based on…," and the term "based on" should be understood as "at least partially based on…," unless the context explicitly indicates otherwise.

[0045] In the embodiments of this application, the term "communication network" or "wireless communication network" may refer to a network that conforms to any of the following communication standards, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), etc.

[0046] Furthermore, communication between devices in a communication system can be carried out according to communication protocols at any stage, including but not limited to the following communication protocols: 1G (generation), 2G, 2.5G, 2.75G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G and future 5G, New Radio (NR), and / or other currently known or future communication protocols.

[0047] In the embodiments of this application, the term "network device" refers, for example, to a device in a communication system that connects a terminal device to a communication network and provides services to that terminal device. Network devices may include, but are not limited to, the following devices: base station (BS), access point (AP), transceiver node (TRP), broadcast transmitter, mobile management entity (MME), gateway, server, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), etc.

[0048] Base stations can include, but are not limited to: NodeBs (or NBs), evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs or eNBs), and 5G base stations (gNBs), IAB hosts, etc. They can also include Remote Radio Heads (RRHs), Remote Radio Units (RRUs), relays, or low-power nodes (e.g., femto, pico, etc.). The term "base station" can include some or all of their functions, and each base station can provide communication coverage to a specific geographic area. The term "cell" can refer to a base station and / or its coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

[0049] In the embodiments of this application, the term "user equipment" (UE) refers to a device that accesses a communication network and receives network services through a network device, and can also be called "terminal equipment" (TE). Terminal equipment can be fixed or mobile, and can also be called a mobile station (MS), terminal, user, subscriber station (SS), access terminal (AT), station, etc.

[0050] Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, the following devices: cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless modems, wireless communication devices, handheld devices, machine-type communication devices, laptops, cordless phones, smartphones, smartwatches, digital cameras, etc.

[0051] For example, in scenarios such as the Internet of Things (IoT), terminal devices can also be machines or devices for monitoring or measurement, such as including but not limited to: machine-type communication (MTC) terminals, vehicle communication terminals, device-to-device (D2D) terminals, machine-to-machine (M2M) terminals, and so on.

[0052] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an NCR according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1, NCR 102 is configured between network device 101 and terminal device 103. NCR 102 may include the following two modules / components: a mobile terminal of the repeater (NCR-MT) and a forwarding unit of the repeater (NCR-Fwd); NCR-Fwd may also be referred to as the routing unit of the NCR (NCR-RU). NCR-MT is used to communicate with network devices (exchange information), and NCR-Fwd is used to forward signals between network devices and terminal devices. NCR-MT and NCR-Fwd are functional entities, and their functions can be implemented by the same or different hardware modules.

[0053] As shown in Figure 1, the NCR in this embodiment can have three links: a control link (C-link), a backhaul link (BH link) for forwarding, and an access link (AC link, also known as the NCR-UE link). The C-link is used for communication between the NCR and the network device. The BH link is used for the repeater to receive signals to be forwarded from the network device, or to forward signals from the terminal device to the network device. The AC link is used for the repeater to forward signals from the network device to the terminal device, or to receive signals to be forwarded from the terminal device. Specifically, the NCR-MT communicates with the network device via the C-link; the NCR-Fwd forwards signals via the BH link and the AC link.

[0054] In the embodiments of this application, the repeater may also be described as a network control repeater (NCR), repeater, radio frequency repeater, relay, radio frequency repeater; or it may be described as a repeater node, repeater node, relay node; or it may be described as a smart repeater, smart repeater, smart relayer, smart repeater node, smart repeater node, smart repeater node, smart relay node, etc., and this application is not limited thereto.

[0055] In the embodiments of this application, the network device can be the device of the serving cell of the terminal device, the device of the cell where the repeater is located, the device of the serving cell of the repeater, or the parent node of the repeater. This application does not limit the name of the repeater. Any device that can achieve the above functions is included in the scope of the repeater in this application.

[0056] In the embodiments of this application, higher-layer signaling may be, for example, Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; RRC signaling may include, for example, RRC messages, such as Master Information Block (MIB), system information, dedicated RRC messages; or RRC information elements (RRC IE); or information fields (or information fields included in information fields) included in RRC messages or RRC information elements. Higher-layer signaling may also be, for example, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling; or MAC control elements (MAC CE). However, this application is not limited to these.

[0057] In the embodiments of this application, "multiple" refers to at least two, or two or more.

[0058] In this embodiment, "predefined" refers to what is specified by the protocol or determined according to the rules specified by the protocol, requiring no additional configuration. "Configuration / instruction" refers to what the network device directly or indirectly configures / instructs through higher-layer signaling and / or physical-layer signaling. Configuration / instruction can be achieved by introducing higher-layer parameters into the higher-layer signaling; higher-layer parameters refer to information fields and / or information elements (IEs) in the higher-layer signaling. Physical-layer signaling refers, for example, to control information carried by the physical control channel (DCI) or control information carried by the sequence, but is not limited to these.

[0059] Various embodiments of the present application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application.

[0060] First aspect of the embodiments

[0061] The inventors discovered that, similar to traditional UEs, NCR-MT also has different uplink transmission timings, but it is not yet determined which timing NCR-Fwd should use for forwarding. For example, if NCR-Fwd uses one or more of the uplink transmission timings of NCR-MT to send signals on BH-link, when should it forward signals using which uplink transmission timing of NCR-MT?

[0062] This application provides a signal forwarding method, which will be described from the perspective of the transponder.

[0063] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a signal forwarding method according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 2, the method includes:

[0064] 201, The mobile terminal (NCR-MT) receives a timing advance command, the timing advance command indicating an index value T for controlling the first timing. A ;

[0065] 202. The forwarding unit (NCR-Fwd) (only) uses the first timing to send signals on the backhaul link.

[0066] It is worth noting that Figure 2 above is only an illustrative description of the embodiments of this application, but this application is not limited thereto. For example, the execution order between various operations can be appropriately adjusted, and other operations can be added or some operations can be removed. Those skilled in the art can make appropriate modifications based on the above content, and are not limited to the description in Figure 2 above.

[0067] In some embodiments, the mobile terminal of the repeater (hereinafter referred to as NCR-MT) and the forwarding unit of the repeater (NCR-Fwd) are both functional entities in the repeater, and both the mobile terminal of the repeater and the forwarding unit of the repeater can be referred to as the repeater.

[0068] In some embodiments, the NCR-MT has two (uplink) timings, including a first timing and a second timing. The NCR-MT uses the first timing to transmit a first signal on the control link, the first signal including PUCCH and / or PUSCH and / or SRS. The PUSCH does not include MSGA PUSCH. The NCR-MT uses the second timing to transmit a second signal on the control link, the second signal including PRACH and / or MSGA PUSCH, or in other words, the second signal including PRACH and / or MSGA.

[0069] The following explains how to determine the first and second timing.

[0070] In some embodiments, the first timing and / or the second timing are advanced (N) relative to the downlink timing. TA +N TA offset )×T c Among them, the timing advance offset N of the serving cell TA,offset The first configuration information (egn-TimingAdvanceOffset) of the serving cell is provided. If the NCR-MT is not provided with this first configuration information, the NCR-MT considers the N to be... TA,offsetThe default value (as shown in Table 1) is that if NCR-MT is configured with two uplink carriers for a serving cell, the same N is applied to the two identical carriers. TA,offset Regarding the first timing, the N TA By the index value T A It is determined that, for the second timing, the N TA It is the default value (e.g., the default value is 0); the T c =1 / (Δf) max ·N f ), where the Δf max =480·10 3 Hz, the N f =4096.

[0071] In some embodiments, the first timing and / or the second timing is advanced relative to the downlink timing. Among them, the timing advance offset N of the serving cell TA,offset The first configuration information (egn-TimingAdvanceOffset) of the serving cell is provided. If the NCR-MT is not provided with this first configuration information, the NCR-MT considers the N to be... TA,offset The default value (as shown in Table 1) is that if NCR-MT is configured with two uplink carriers for a serving cell, the same N is applied to the two identical carriers. TA,offset ; Regarding the first timing, the N TA By the index value T A It is determined that, for the second timing, the N TA This is the default value (e.g., the default value is 0). The values ​​are provided by the second configuration information (ta-Common, ta-CommonDrift, ta-CommonDriftVariant) or are default values; The T value is provided by third configuration information (high-level parameters related to the ephemeris of the serving satellites) or is a default value; c =1 / (Δf) max ·N f ), where the Δf max =480·10 3 Hz, the N f =4096.

[0072] In some embodiments, for the first timing and / or the second timing, the and / or The default value is 0. That is, for the NCR, it should not be provided with the second and / or third configuration information, and consequently, its corresponding... and / or The default value is 0 (for example, the default value is 0), but the invention is not limited thereto.

[0073] In the example above, N TA,offset The default value depends on the duplex mode and frequency range of the cell performing uplink transmission, as shown in Table 1 below. Additionally, for FR1, when this first configuration information is not provided by NCR-MT, N... TA,offset The value is 25600. In a multi-carrier scenario, NCR-MT expects the initial configuration information to provide the same value for all carriers, N. TA,offset The value 39936 can also be used for FDD serving cells.

[0074] Table 1:

[0075] In some embodiments, the timing advance command indicates an index value T for the timing adjustment amount used to control the MAC entity application. A .

[0076] In some embodiments, the timing advance command indicates a change in the uplink timing relative to the current uplink timing.

[0077] In some embodiments, the timing advance command includes a first timing advance command and / or a second timing advance command, wherein the number of bits included in the first timing advance command (e.g., 12 bits) is greater than the number of bits included in the second timing advance command (e.g., 6 bits). The first timing advance command can be issued via RAR (e.g., (MAC) RAR included in MSG2 in a 4-step RA or (fallback RAR or success RAR included in MSGB in a 2-step RA) or a first MAC CE (e.g., Absolute Timing Advance Command MAC CE), occupying 12 bits, with a corresponding index value T. A The value range is 0 to 3846; this second timing advance command can be issued through a second MAC CE (e.g., Timing Advance Command MAC CE), occupying 6 bits, with the corresponding index value T. A The value range is 0 to 63.

[0078] For example, during NCR-MT random access, the index value T is indicated by the TAC (First Timing Advance Command 12-bit) in the RAR or the first MAC CE. A For / based on subcarrier spacing 2 μ 15kHz, N TA =T A ·16·64 / 2 μ The subcarrier spacing, for example, is the SCS used by the first uplink transmission (e.g., PUSCH / PUCCH / SRS) and / or the reference SCS of the first forwarding resource (time domain resource) after the NCR-MT receives the first timing advance command. That is, N... TA Related to this SCS.

[0079] In random access, NCR-MT obtains an initial first timing, or rather (for the first timing) N. TA The initial value is determined by the NCR-MT location or channel conditions, which may change over time. Network devices need to maintain the TA (Time Advance Command), i.e., by indicating the T (Time Advance Command) through the TAC (Second Timing Advance Command 6-bit) of the second MAC CE. A To indicate the current N TA Adjustments to values, for example, for / based on subcarrier spacing 2 μ 15kHz, N TA_new =N TA_old +(T A -31)·16·64 / 2 μ N TA_old It is used before receiving the second advance timing command, N TA_new This is updated after receiving the first timing advance command. The subcarrier spacing is, for example, one of the SCSs (e.g., the largest SCS) of the active UL BWP(s), or one of the reference SCSs (e.g., the largest SCS) of the active UL BWP(s) and / or the forwarding resources (time-domain resources). The aforementioned active UL BWPs and / or forwarding resources are, for example, the active UL BWPs and / or (the forwarding resources that NCR-Fwd transmits on the backhaul link, performs uplink forwarding, or forwards signals from the terminal device to the network device) corresponding to the time when the second timing advance command is applied. For example, if NCR-Fwd does not transmit on the backhaul link, performs uplink forwarding, or forwards signals from the terminal device to the network device at that time, then the subcarrier spacing is one of the active UL BWP(s) SCS; otherwise, it is one of the SCSs of the active UL BWP(s) and the reference SCS of the forwarding resources (time-domain resources).

[0080] As previously mentioned, NCR-MT has two (uplink) timings, including a first timing and a second timing. The inventors discovered that, assuming NCR-Fwd uses one timing (e.g., the second timing) when a UE served by NCR-Fwd sends a PRACH / MsgA, and the gNB provides the UE with a timing advance command to control the UE's uplink timing, or timing advance, then if NCR-Fwd uses another timing (e.g., the first timing) when the UE applies the TA command to send other UL transmissions, then from the gNB's perspective, the arrival timing of the UL transmission will differ from the arrival timing expected when the TA command was provided. For example, it may arrive before the arrival timing expected by the gNB.

[0081] In some implementations, to address the aforementioned issues, the forwarding unit (NCR-Fwd) (only) uses the first timing to transmit signals on the backhaul link, or in other words, the forwarding unit does not use the second timing to transmit signals on the backhaul link. Alternatively, the NCR-Fwd only uses the timing (= the first timing) determined by the NCR-MT using the TA command to transmit signals on the backhaul link. That is, the NCR-Fwd should always use the same timing when transmitting on the BH link, thereby avoiding the UL timing problems that might arise for the UE served by the NCR-Fwd due to the use of different timings.

[0082] In some implementations, to address the aforementioned issues, NCR-Fwd should not use different UL timings (first timing and second timing) to transmit at different time locations in the BH link.

[0083] In some embodiments, as described above, network devices need to maintain TA, which may involve N. TA Update, N TA_new and N TA_old Two (uplink) timings are obtained respectively. For the forwarding unit, if two adjacent (uplink) time slots overlap due to the timing advance command (e.g., the previous time slot still uses N), TA_old The corresponding timing, the next time slot uses N TA_new The corresponding timer (and the latter timer is advanced relative to the former timer), that is, due to the T in the timer advance command. A Determine N TA_newSubsequently, the two uplink time slots overlap, and the duration of the latter uplink time slot is reduced relative to the former slot. In other words, the forwarding unit forwards the signal corresponding to the previous uplink time slot during the overlapping time of the previous uplink time slot, and either does not forward the signal corresponding to the latter uplink time slot, or discards the signal during the overlapping time of the latter uplink time slot, and continues to forward the signal corresponding to the latter uplink time slot during the non-overlapping time of the former uplink time slot. The uplink time slot is based on a reference SCS of the forwarding resources (time-domain resources).

[0084] In some embodiments, the repeater (relay unit / mobile terminal) does not expect to change N within a (uplink) time slot. TA The repeater uses the same N in that uplink time slot. TA The (uplink) timeslot is based on a reference SCS of the forwarding resource (time domain resource). This reference SCS can be determined based on the first and / or second and / or third parameters described later, as will be explained in detail below. In the following examples, "time slot based on a certain SCS" can also be referred to as "time slot for that SCS," or "time slot with respect to / relative to" that SCS.

[0085] In some embodiments, the repeater does not expect to change N within a third time-domain resource. TA The third time-domain resource includes time-domain resources that are continuous (or discontinuous). The third time-domain resource includes time-domain resources that are associated with the same (or different) beam indices. Here, the beam index refers to the beam index for the access link. For example, for uplink forwarding, the repeater does not expect to change N within continuous time-domain resources. TA The repeater uses the same N in consecutive time-domain resources. TA Or, the transponder does not expect to change N within the time-domain resources associated with the same beam index. TA The repeater uses the same N in the time domain resources associated with the same beam index. TA Alternatively, the transponder does not expect to change N within consecutive time-domain resources that are associated with the same beam index. TA The repeater uses the same N in the time domain resources that are consecutive and associated with the same beam index.TA In the third time domain resource, the forwarding unit transmits a signal on the backhaul link.

[0086] In some embodiments, for the timing advance command received in the first (uplink) time slot, the timing advance command is applied from the beginning of the second (uplink) time slot. For example, (outside of random access,) after the NCR-MT receives a timing advance command in slot n (the first time slot), the timing advance command is applied in slot n+N. offset (Second time slot) Start executing the new timing advance.

[0087] In some embodiments, the second (uplink) timeslot is determined based on a reference SCS of the forwarding resource, including: the first (uplink) timeslot is determined based on a first SCS associated with the reference SCS, and / or, the offset N of the second (uplink) timeslot relative to the first (uplink) timeslot. offset It is determined based on a second SCS associated with the reference SCS, and the first SCS and the second SCS may be the same or different.

[0088] For example, the first SCS and / or the second SCS is one of the SCSs (e.g., the minimum SCS) of the SCSs of all UL BWPs configured (for the mobile terminal) in the TAG associated with the timing advance command and one of the reference SCSs (for all or part of the periodic forwarding resources and / or semi-persistent forwarding resources and / or aperiodic forwarding resources) configured (for the transponder / forwarding unit). The first (uplink) slot is the last uplink slot based on the first SCS that overlaps with the downlink slot of the PDSCH (received), which provides the timing advance command. The offset N offset Including the first offset k, for example, N offset =k+1+2 μ ·K offset , or N offset =k+1, not limited to this, where the first offset N T,1 This corresponds to the time when the PDSCH receives N1 symbols, where N... T,2 This corresponds to the time it takes to receive N² symbols in preparation for PUSCH transmission, where N... TA,max It is the maximum TA, T, that the time advance command can provide. sf It is the time of a subframe, within which a time slot and / or 2 μ It is determined based on the second SCS, where μ is the parameter set numberology. Koffset =K cell,offset -K UE,offset K cell,offset Provided by the parameter cellSpecificKoffset, K UE,offset By differentiating K offset The MAC CE (Differential Koffset MAC CE) command is provided; if not provided, it is set to 0.

[0089] In some embodiments, for NCR, the parameter cellSpecificKoffset and the MAC CE command are not (should) be provided, and consequently, their corresponding K... offset The value is 0, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0090] Taking Figure 11 as an example, assuming the first and second SCS are the same, both at 15kHz, and the SCS of the PDSCH providing the TA command is 30kHz, and assuming T... TA =0, the first time slot is an uplink time slot based on the first SCS that overlaps with the downlink time slot of PDSCH, and the offset of the second time slot for which the TA command is applied is also determined based on the second SCS.

[0091] In some embodiments, the second (uplink) timeslot is determined based on a reference SCS of the forwarding resource, including: if the start of the third (uplink) timeslot (based on the fourth SCS) is within a timeslot of the third SCS associated with the reference SCS, the second (uplink) timeslot follows the third (uplink) timeslot. The third (uplink) timeslot can be determined based on the first (uplink) timeslot. The second (uplink) time slot is the first time slot (based on the fourth SCS) that starts after the third (uplink) time slot and is aligned with the time slot based on the third SCS associated with the reference SCS, and / or the first time slot (based on the fourth SCS) that starts outside the time slot based on the third SCS associated with the reference SCS; or, the second (uplink) time slot is the first time slot (based on the third SCS) that follows the time slot that overlaps with the third (uplink) time slot and / or the first time slot (based on the third SCS) that does not overlap with the third (uplink) time slot after the third (uplink) time slot.

[0092] For example, the third SCS is one of the SCSs (e.g., the minimum SCS) of the configured reference SCSs (for all or part of the periodic forwarding resources and / or semi-persistent forwarding resources and / or aperiodic forwarding resources), and the fourth SCS is the minimum SCS among the SCSs of the configured UL BWPs (for the mobile terminal) (for all uplink carriers in the TAG associated with the timing advance command).

[0093] Taking Figure 12 as an example, the fourth SCS is 30kHz, the third SCS is 15kHz, the SCS of the PDSCH providing the TA command is 30kHz, the third time slot is based on the fourth SCS and determined according to the first time slot, and the second time slot is the first time slot based on the fourth SCS after the third time slot. Taking Figure 13 as an example, the fourth SCS is 30kHz, the third SCS is 15kHz, the SCS of the PDSCH providing the TA command is 30kHz, the third time slot is based on the fourth SCS and determined according to the first time slot, and the second time slot is the first time slot based on the third SCS after the third time slot.

[0094] In some embodiments, the downlink receive timing of NCR-Fwd (in BH-link) is aligned with the downlink receive timing of NCR-MT (in C-link).

[0095] In some embodiments, the downlink transmission timing of NCR-Fwd (in AC-link) is delayed by a certain time relative to the downlink reception timing of NCR-Fwd (in BH-link) or NCR-MT (in C-link) (e.g., internal delay).

[0096] In some embodiments, the uplink receive timing of NCR-Fwd (in AC-link) is advanced by a certain amount of time (e.g., internal delay) relative to the uplink transmit timing of NCR-Fwd (in BH-link) or NCR-MT (in C-link).

[0097] In some embodiments, the NCR-MT also receives a first DCI format indicating the time-domain resources of the access link and the corresponding beam index. For example, the first DCI format may be DCI format 2_8. The starting timeslot position of the time-domain resources is the position offset by a first predetermined number of timeslots from the reference timeslot, and the starting symbol position is the position offset by a second predetermined number of symbols within the starting timeslot position. The reference timeslot is the first timeslot after slot n+k (based on a reference subcarrier spacing, which is provided / indicated / configured, for example, by a third parameter referenceSCS-r18, which will be explained later). Slot n is the timeslot for receiving the PDCCH carrying the first DCI format. For example, it can be represented as follows:

[0098] In some embodiments, forwarding resources include beam indexes and time-domain resources, and the time-domain resources of forwarding resources can also be referred to as forwarding time-domain resources.

[0099] In some embodiments, the transponder may receive a first indication of a time-domain resource (for forwarding resources), which may be a periodic beam indication, a semi-persistent beam indication, or a dynamic (or non-periodic) beam indication.

[0100] For periodic beam indication: A list of periodic forwarding resource configurations / sets is configured (including adding or modifying) via RRC signaling (e.g., periodicFwdRsrcSetToAddModList in NCR-FwdConfig). A periodic forwarding resource configuration / set (e.g., configured / provided / indicated by an NCR-PeriodicFwdResourceSet in periodicFwdRsrcSetToAddModList) includes / provides / configures / indicates a list of forwarding resources (via periodicFwdRsrcToAddModList and / or periodicFwdRsrcToReleaseList in NCR-PeriodicFwdResourceSet). Each forwarding resource in this list (provided / indicated / configured by an NCR-PeriodicFwdResource in periodicFwdRsrcToAddModList) may include a forwarding resource identification information periodicFwdRsrcId-r18. And / or a beam index information beamIndex-r18 and / or a period and offset information periodicityAndOffset-r18, and / or a symbol offset information symbolOffset-r18 and / or a time period information durationInSymbols-r18; in addition, a periodic forwarding resource configuration may also include a priority information priorityFlag (optional), and / or a first parameter referenceSCS-r18 (required) for indicating the reference subcarrier spacing, the indicated reference subcarrier spacing being the reference subcarrier spacing of all forwarding resources or forwarding time-domain resources indicated for this periodic forwarding resource configuration, and / or a periodic forwarding resource set identifier information periodicFwdRsrcSetId-r18, which is not intended to limit the embodiments of this application. That is, the network device can send one or more periodic forwarding resource configurations to the NCR, and each periodic forwarding resource configuration may include the above information respectively. For example, one configuration includes a priority flag, and another configuration does not. For example, each configuration includes a first parameter, with the corresponding reference subcarrier spacing being the same or different.

[0101] In some embodiments, a periodic forwarding resource configuration may be referred to as a periodic beam indication, and the two can be interchanged.

[0102] For semi-persistent beam indication, the method of configuring the forwarding resource list via RRC signaling is similar to that for periodic beam indication, except that it includes MAC CE activation or deactivation of the forwarding resource list. For example, a first MAC CE (e.g., NCR Access Link Beam Indication MAC CE) activates or deactivates a semi-persistent forwarding resource list. A semi-persistent forwarding resource configuration / set (e.g., via ncr-SemiPersistentFwdResourceToAdddModList-r18 and / or ncr-SemiPersistentFwdResourceToReleaseList-r18 in NCR-SemiPersistentFwdResourceSet) includes / provides / configures / indicates a list of forwarding resources, where a forwarding resource may include a priority information priorityFlag (optional), and / or a second parameter referenceSCS-r18 (required) for indicating the reference subcarrier spacing, which is the reference subcarrier spacing for that semi-persistent forwarding resource. In other words, network devices can send one or more semi-persistent forwarding resource configurations to the NCR, and each semi-persistent forwarding resource configuration can include the information mentioned above. For example, one configuration may include a priority flag, while another configuration may not. Furthermore, each configuration may include a second parameter, with the corresponding reference subcarrier spacing being the same or different.

[0103] For aperiodic beam indication, the following can also be replaced by DCI, which may include one or more first information fields for indicating the beam and one or more second information fields for indicating time-domain resources. The DCI may have / adopt the aforementioned first DCI format, which is used only by the transponder. The first DCI format is, for example, DCI format 2_8, but is not limited thereto. The second information fields indicate time-domain resources through a time-domain resource list. The time-domain resource list includes one or more time-domain resource configurations, and the time-domain resource list includes the configuration of at least one time-domain resource. A time-domain resource is defined, for example, by one or more of the following parameters: slot offset (slotOffsetAperiodic-r18 for determining the starting slot), symbol offset (symbolOffset-r18 for determining the starting symbol in the slot), and number of symbols (durationInSymbols-r18 for determining the duration of the time-domain resource). For example, the time-domain resource list can be configured by RRC signaling NCR-AperiodicFwdConfig, for example, including:

[0104] In other words, the information ncr-AperiodicFwdTimeResourceToAddModList-r18 and ncr-AperiodicFwdTimeResourceToReleaseList-r18 (for releasing / removing time-domain resources) used to add and / or modify time-domain resources can configure this list of time-domain resources. Additionally, NCR-AperiodicFwdConfig can also include a third parameter, referenceSCS-r18, which indicates the reference subcarrier spacing for aperiodic time-domain resources; in other words, this reference subcarrier spacing applies to all aperiodic time-domain resources.

[0105] The first, second, and third parameters have been explained above. They are used to indicate the reference subcarrier spacing of different types of time-domain resources. The first, second, and third parameters can indicate multiple identical or different reference subcarrier spacings. The aforementioned second SCS can be determined based on at least the first, second, and / or third parameters.

[0106] In the embodiments of this application, "downlink control information in first DCI format" or "downlink control information using first DCI format" or "DCI in first DCI format" can also be directly referred to as "first DCI format".

[0107] The priority order of various beam indication types is as follows: semi-persistent beam indications configured with a priority flag > periodic beam indications configured with a priority flag > aperiodic beam indications > semi-persistent beam indications without a priority flag > periodic beam indications without a priority flag. For a set of symbols (i.e., one or more symbols), when multiple beam indications conflict, the NCR applies the beam index provided by the highest priority beam indication (for signal transmission and reception on the symbols in that set, i.e., for forwarding or on the access link). For example, it is represented as:

[0108] For example, if the first time-domain resource provided by the NCR semi-persistent forwarding resource set Semi-PersistentFWdResourceSet is indicated by a MAC CE command and associated with a first beam index, and the second time-domain resource is provided by the NCR periodic forwarding resource set PeriodicFwdResourceSet and associated with a second beam index, and the first and second time-domain resources overlap in the symbol set, if the NCR PeriodicFwdResourceSet includes a priorityFlag while the NCR Semi-PersistentFWdResourceSet does not, then the NCR applies the second beam index to the transmit / receive signals on the access links in that symbol set; otherwise, the NCR applies the first beam index to the transmission or reception on the access links in the symbol set. For example, this can be represented as:

[0109] In some embodiments, the NCR does not want the overlapping time resources provided by the NCR PeriodicFwdResourceSet or the NCR Semi-PersistentFwdResourceSet to be associated with different beam indices. The NCR does not expect overlapping time resources provided by a single first DCI format to be associated with different beam indices (e.g., if different second information fields in the first DCI format indicate overlapping time-domain resources, then (the NCR expects) the corresponding first information fields therein should indicate the same beam index). For example, this is expressed as:

[0110] In some embodiments, if the NCR receives an indication of the TCI status for reception on the backhaul link or an indication of the unified TCI status or SRI for determining the spatial filter transmitted on the backhaul link in a MAC CE command, the NCR retrieves the data from the time slot. The first time slot afterwards applies the MAC CE command, where k is the time slot in which the NCR-MT will transmit the PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information associated with the PDSCH that provides the MAC CE command. For example, it can be represented as:

[0111] or,

[0112] The inventors discovered that for ordinary UEs, the first timing may be "invalid" in some cases (the UE cannot use the first timing to send uplink signals). For NCR, if NCR-Fwd needs to use the first timing for forwarding, the impact of this possibility on NCR needs to be considered to ensure the forwarding performance of NCR.

[0113] This application provides a signal forwarding method, which will be described from the perspective of the transponder.

[0114] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a signal forwarding method according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 3, the method includes:

[0115] 301, Communication between mobile terminal and network equipment;

[0116] 302, the forwarding unit forwards the signal;

[0117] In some embodiments, when the time alignment timer expires,

[0118] The forwarding unit may forward, not forward, or stop forwarding, and / or

[0119] The mobile terminal determines that a radio link failure (RLF) has been detected, and / or,

[0120] The mobile terminal initiates a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection reconstruction, and / or,

[0121] The mobile terminal initiates a random access procedure, and / or,

[0122] The lower layer of the mobile terminal sends an indication to the higher layer that the time alignment timer has expired and / or RLF and / or time alignment problem has occurred, and / or,

[0123] The mobile terminal enters the RRC idle state.

[0124] In some embodiments, for an NCR / NCR-MT, the network device can configure a fourth parameter / timer (via RRC signaling) for the NCR to maintain uplink time alignment / calibration / matching (UL time alignment). For example, this fourth parameter / timer includes an alignment timer, timeAlignmentTimer (per TAG), which controls how long the MAC entity of the NCR-MT considers the uplink time of the serving cell in the TAG associated with this alignment timer to be aligned / calibrated / matched. The alignment timer is specific to the NCR-MT; if the alignment timer expires / times out, then (the MAC entity considers) the uplink time of the serving cell in the TAG associated with this alignment timer to be unaligned / misaligned / matched. This fourth parameter can be carried by SIB1 and / or dedicated RRC signaling.

[0125] Additionally, network devices can also configure a fifth parameter / timer for NCR (via RRC signaling). This fifth parameter / timer includes the inactivePosSRS-TimeAlignmentTimer, which controls how long the MAC entity of NCT-MT considers the uplink time of the positioning SRS transmission to be aligned / calibrated / matched in the inactive state of RRC.

[0126] Additionally, network devices can configure a sixth parameter for NCR (via RRC signaling). This sixth parameter includes the cg-SDT-TimeAlignmentTimer, which controls the MAC entity of NCT-MT to determine how long uplink transmissions of CG-SDT (Small Data Transmission) are considered to be aligned / calibrated / matched. When this timer expires, the CG resources are released, but the CG resource configuration is maintained.

[0127] In some embodiments, a TAG is a set of serving cells configured by RRC or includes a set of serving cells configured by RRC. For cells configured with a UL (carrier), the same timing reference cell and the same timing advance value are used. The timing advance group of the SpCell containing the MAC entity is called the Primary Timing Advance Group (PTAG), and STAG (Secondary TAG) refers to other TAGs. In NCR-MT, the serving cell only has a Pcell, in which case there is only a PTAG, and the PTAG only includes the Pcell. This TAG has TAG identifier 0. Alternatively, the serving cell of NCR-MT includes Pcells and Scell(s), where the Scell(s) includes PScells and / or other Scell(s), in which case one or more TAG(s) may exist. For example, one PTAG and one STAG, but not limited to these.

[0128] In some embodiments, if the serving cell of NCR-MT is only a Pcell, then RRC is configured with a timeAlignmentTimer for / associated with the PTAG.

[0129] For example, if the time alignment timer expires (and NCR-MT is in the RRC_CONNECTED state), NCR-Fwd will stop forwarding / not forward.

[0130] For example, if the time alignment timer expires (and NCR-MT is in the RRC_CONNECTED state), NCR-MT determines (thinks / assumes) that an RLF has been detected.

[0131] For example, if the time alignment timer expires (and the NCR-MT is in the RRC_CONNECTED state), the NCR-MT initiates an RRC connection reconstruction. This can be initiated either by the MAC entity itself or by RRC.

[0132] For example, when the time alignment timer expires (and the NCR-MT is in the RRC_CONNECTED state), the NCR-MT initiates a random access procedure on the SpCell, including non-contention-based random access (CFRA RACH) or contention-based random access (CBRA RACH).

[0133] For example, when the time alignment timer expires (and the NCR-MT is in the RRC_CONNECTED state), the NCR-MT initiates a random access procedure on the SpCell, including non-contention-based random access (CFRA RACH) or contention-based random access (CBRA RACH).

[0134] The random access procedure can be either a 4-step RA type or a 2-step RA type. The two RA types are CBRA and CFRA, respectively. In some cases, a 2-step RA type can be rolled back or switched to a 4-step RA type.

[0135] Contention-based random access (CBRA with 4-step RA type, or 4-step CBRA) requires at least four steps and can also be called 4-step random access (4-step RA or 4-step RACH). 4-step random access involves two information exchanges between the network device and the terminal device. In Msg1 (or MSG1), the terminal device sends a random access preamble (PRACH). After sending Msg1, the terminal device listens for responses (RAR responses) from the network device within a window (e.g., RAR window). In Msg2 (or MSG2), the network device sends a random access response. In Msg3 (or MSG3), the terminal device sends an uplink message on the allocated uplink resources (or sends Msg3 using the uplink grant scheduled in the random access response, UL grant), or MSG3PUSCH. In Msg4 (or MSG4), the network device returns a contention resolution message to the successfully accessed terminal device. If the terminal device does not receive Msg2 or the corresponding RAR after sending Msg1, or if contention resolution fails after Msg3 transmission or retransmission, the UE returns to transmitting Msg1.

[0136] A 4-step RA type contention-free random access (CFRA with 4-step RA type) requires at least two or three steps (depending on whether Msg0 is included). In Msg0 (MSG0), the network device allocates dedicated random access preamble and / or PRACH resources to the terminal device. In Msg1 (or MSG1), the terminal device sends the random access preamble, or PRACH. After sending Msg1, the terminal device listens for responses (RAR responses) from the network device within a window (e.g., a RAR window). In Msg2 (or MSG2), the network device sends the random access response. Upon receiving this random access response, the terminal device terminates the random access process.

[0137] For the 2-step RA type, in MsgA (or MSGA), the terminal device sends a random access preamble (PRACH) and an MSGA PUSCH, while in MSGB, the network device sends a random access response.

[0138] For example, NCR-MT initiates random access for at least one of the following:

[0139] Initial access from RRC_IDLE state;

[0140] RRC connection reconstruction process;

[0141] DL / UL data arrives when the RRC_CONNECTED or RRC_INACTIVE state (SDT in progress), while the uplink synchronization state is "non-synchronised".

[0142] UL data arrives when the RRC_CONNECTED state or RRC_INACTIVE state (SDT in progress) is not available for SR;

[0143] SR failed;

[0144] Synchronous reconfiguration triggered / requested by RRC (e.g., switching);

[0145] The process of recovering an RRC connection from the RRC_INACTIVE state;

[0146] Request Other SI;

[0147] Beam failure recovery;

[0148] Persistent UL LBT failure on SpCell

[0149] SDT in RRC_INACTIVE state;

[0150] Location in RRC_CONNECTED state (e.g., when TA is needed for location);

[0151] NCR-MT time alignment timer expired / timed out.

[0152] For example, it can be represented as:

[0153] For example, when the time alignment timer expires (and the NCR-MT is in the RRC_CONNECTED state), the lower layer of the NCR-MT (e.g., the MAC layer (MAC entity)) sends an indication of the time alignment timer expiration and / or RLF and / or time alignment problem to the higher layer (e.g., the RRC layer). If the higher layer of the NCR-MT (e.g., the RRC layer) receives the indication of time alignment timer expiration and / or RLF from the lower layer (e.g., the MAC layer (MAC entity)), the higher layer of the NCR-MT considers an RLF to have been detected, and / or initiates an RRC connection reconstruction, and / or triggers the lower layer to initiate a random access procedure, and / or initiates a random access procedure.

[0154] For example, when the time alignment timer expires (and NCR-MT is in the RRC_CONNECTED state), NCR-MT enters the RRC_IDLE state.

[0155] In some embodiments, an uplink synchronization state that is "non-synchronised" means that the time alignment timer has expired or timed out, but is not limited to this.

[0156] The above examples can be implemented individually or in combination, and the embodiments of this application are not intended to limit them.

[0157] In some embodiments, the mobile terminal sends an RRC connection re-establishment cause and / or a radio link failure cause, the cause including time alignment timer expiration or time alignment problem or other failure cause. For example, if the NCR-MT declares an RLF due to a random access problem indication from a lower layer and / or the time alignment timer expiration and / or the RLF and / or the time alignment problem indication, and / or, if the random access procedure was initiated in response to a time alignment timer expiration and / or a time alignment problem, the NCR-MT sets the RRC connection re-establishment cause re-establishmentCause or the radio link failure cause rlf-Cause to time alignment timer expiration or time alignment problem or otherFailure, and sends it to the network device, for example, in an RRCReestablishmentRequest message (in Msg3).

[0158] In some embodiments, when the time alignment timer expires, the mobile terminal is in RRC connected state or RRC inactive state, and the forwarding unit performs forwarding. To support NCR-Fwd forwarding when NCR-MT is in RRC_INACTIVE state: when the mobile terminal is transferred to RRC inactive state and the time alignment timer is considered to have expired, the forwarding unit performs forwarding according to the configured periodic forwarding resources. For example, if the timeAlignmentTimer is considered to have expired due to the NCR-MT entering the RRC_INACTIVE state, and if the NCR forwarding configuration includes periodic forwarding resources, the NCR-Fwd (while the NCR-MT is in the RRC_INACTIVE state) continues to forward (only) according to the configured periodic forwarding resources, even if there are semi-persistent and / or non-periodic resource configurations, it also (only) forwards according to the configured periodic forwarding resources. Alternatively, when the mobile terminal is transferred to the RRC inactive state, the time alignment timer is not considered to have expired and / or the time alignment timer is stopped. For example, if the NCR-MT enters the RRC_INACTIVE state, and the NCR forwarding configuration includes periodic forwarding resources, the timeAlignmentTimer is not considered to have expired and / or the time alignment timer is stopped. The configuration of periodic forwarding resources has been described above and will not be repeated here.

[0159] In some embodiments, when the mobile terminal is transferred to the RRC inactive state and the time alignment timer is not considered to have expired and / or the time alignment timer is stopped, the forwarding unit forwards according to the configured periodic forwarding resources.

[0160] In some embodiments, NCR / NCR-MT / NCR-Fwd expects the value of the time alignment timer (configured for PTAG in SIB1 and / or dedicated RRC signaling) to be configured as "infinity" (i.e., never expiring). In other words, for NCR / NCR-MT / NCR-Fwd, RRC always configures the value of the time alignment timer to "infinity".

[0161] In some embodiments, NCR / NCR-MT / NCR-Fwd ignores the value of the time alignment timer configured (in SIB1 and / or in dedicated RRC signaling), and / or, (if the value of the time alignment timer configured in SIB1 is not "infinity" and / or the dedicated RRC signaling does not configure a value of the time alignment timer) the default value of the time alignment timer is "infinity".

[0162] This application provides a signal forwarding method, which will be described from the perspective of the transponder.

[0163] Figures 4 and 5 are schematic diagrams of a signal forwarding method according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the method includes:

[0164] 401, the mobile terminal received an indication that uplink synchronization has been lost;

[0165] 402, the forwarding unit does not forward or stops forwarding; and / or

[0166] 501, The mobile terminal has received an uplink synchronization instruction;

[0167] 502, the forwarding unit resumes forwarding.

[0168] In some embodiments, receiving an indication of loss of uplink synchronization includes the lower layer of the mobile terminal receiving an indication of loss of uplink synchronization sent by the higher layer; for example, when T430 times out / expires, the higher layer (RRC layer) indicates to the lower layer (MAC layer) that uplink synchronization has been lost, but is not limited to this.

[0169] Receiving an uplink synchronization instruction includes the lower layer of the mobile terminal receiving an uplink synchronization instruction sent by a higher layer. Receiving an uplink synchronization instruction indicates that uplink synchronization has been acquired or restored.

[0170] For example, it can be represented as:

[0171] Currently, for NCR, the gNB cell forwarded by NCR Fwd is the same as the cell connected to NCR-MT. Whether NCR Fwd can forward to other cells depends on the implementation. In the cell connected to NCR-MT, NCR-MT will share the same PRACH timing and MsgA-PUSCH timing configured in SIB1 with at least the serving UE served by NCR-Fwd. To support UE random access, gNB will configure / indicate that NCR-Fwd is forwardable (ON) in PRACH / MsgA-PUSCH scenarios by configuring / indicating the corresponding beam of NCR Fwd. In addition, for Msg3-PUSCH in the 4-step CBRA, since gNB cannot distinguish whether it is NCR-MT or a normal UE performing random access, gNB can instruct NCR-Fwd to be forwardable (ON) in scheduling Msg3-PUSCH time resources. To support random access for UEs served by the NCR Fwd, the gNB can configure / instruct the NCR Fwd to forward on the configured PRACH / MsgA timing and scheduled Msg3PUSCH.

[0172] The inventors discovered that when the NCR-MT is transmitting PRACH / MsgA PUSCH, it uses a second timing. However, as described in the previous embodiments, the NCR Fwd uses the first timing for transmission on the BH link. Therefore, due to the timing inconsistency of the NCR-MT, the NCR Fwd should stop forwarding / not forward (turn off). Note that random access of the NCR-MT should have a higher priority than the forwarding of the NCR-Fwd. Furthermore, depending on its capabilities, the NCR may not support simultaneous UL transmission on the control link and the BH link. For an NCR that cannot simultaneously perform UL transmission on the control link and the BH link, the NCR Fwd should stop forwarding / not forward (turn off) when the NCR-MT is transmitting PRACH, PUSCH MsgA, or Msg3.

[0173] Therefore, this application provides a signal forwarding method, which will be described from the perspective of the transponder.

[0174] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a signal forwarding method according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 6, the method includes:

[0175] 601, The mobile terminal sends PRACH and / or MSGA PUSCH and / or Msg3PUSCH;

[0176] 602, the forwarding unit does not forward or stops forwarding.

[0177] In some embodiments, when the mobile terminal sends PRACH and / or MSGA PUSCH and / or Msg3PUSCH, the forwarding unit does not forward or stops forwarding.

[0178] The inventors also discovered that the random access procedure of NCR-MT is triggered due to the necessity of (re)configuration of NCR. The specific scenarios in which this is triggered are as described above and will not be repeated here. In some scenarios (e.g., when the uplink synchronization state is "non-synchronised"), the performance of forwarding NCR Fwd (if any) is problematic, therefore NCR Fwd should not be forwarded during the duration of the random access procedure. Therefore, embodiments of this application provide a signal forwarding method, described from the perspective of the transponder.

[0179] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a signal forwarding method according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 7, the method includes:

[0180] 701, The mobile terminal initiates a random access procedure;

[0181] 702. The forwarding unit shall not forward or shall stop forwarding before the random access procedure is successfully completed.

[0182] In other words, if the random access is initiated by NCR-MT, instructing NCR-Fwd to stop / not forward, for example, as follows:

[0183] In the above embodiments, NCR-Fwd does not forward / stops forwarding, that is, NCR-Fwd is in a closed state (the transmitter is off and cannot perform forwarding behavior).

[0184] Second aspect of the embodiments

[0185] This application provides a signal forwarding device, which can be a repeater, or applied to a repeater, such as the aforementioned NCR, or a network device or terminal device with forwarding function, or one or more components or parts configured in the NCR, network device or terminal device.

[0186] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a signal forwarding device according to an embodiment of this application. Since the principle of the signal forwarding device in solving the problem is the same as the method of the first aspect embodiment, its specific implementation can refer to the first aspect embodiment, and the contents that are the same will not be repeated.

[0187] As shown in Figure 8, the signal forwarding device 800 of this application embodiment includes a mobile terminal 801 and a forwarding unit 802. The mobile terminal 801 and the forwarding unit 802 are functional entities, and their functions can be implemented by the same or different hardware modules.

[0188] The implementation methods of the mobile terminal 801 and the forwarding unit 802 can refer to the embodiments of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0189] Furthermore, for simplicity, Figure 8 only illustrates the connection relationships or signal flow between the various components or modules, but those skilled in the art should understand that various related technologies such as bus connections can be used. The aforementioned components or modules can be implemented using hardware facilities such as processors, memory, transmitters, and receivers; this application does not limit this implementation.

[0190] The above embodiments are merely illustrative examples of embodiments of this application, but this application is not limited thereto, and appropriate modifications can be made based on the above embodiments. For example, the above embodiments can be used alone, or one or more of the above embodiments can be combined.

[0191] Third aspect of the embodiments

[0192] This application provides an information transmission method, which will be described from the perspective of a network device. The content that is the same as that in the first aspect of the embodiment will not be repeated.

[0193] This application embodiment also provides an information sending method, including: sending a timing advance command to the NCR, wherein the timing advance command indicates an index value T used to control a first timing. A The system receives the signal transmitted on the backhaul link by the NCR using the first timing. For details regarding the implementation of the above features, please refer to the embodiments of the first aspect; further details will not be provided here.

[0194] The above description only covers the steps or processes relevant to this application, but this application is not limited thereto. The methods in the embodiments of this application may also include other steps or processes, and for details of these steps or processes, please refer to related technologies.

[0195] The above embodiments are merely illustrative examples of embodiments of this application, but this application is not limited thereto, and appropriate modifications can be made based on the above embodiments. For example, the above embodiments can be used alone, or one or more of the above embodiments can be combined.

[0196] Fourth aspect of the embodiment

[0197] This application provides an information sending device.

[0198] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of an information sending device according to an embodiment of this application. Since the principle of the information sending device in solving the problem is the same as the method of the embodiment of the third aspect, its specific implementation can refer to the embodiment of the third aspect, and the contents that are the same will not be repeated.

[0199] As shown in Figure 10, the information sending device 1000 of this application embodiment includes:

[0200] Transmitter 1001 sends a timing advance command to NCR, the timing advance command indicating an index value T for controlling the first timing. A ;

[0201] Receiver 1002 receives the signal sent by NCR on the backhaul link using the first timing.

[0202] For details on the implementation methods of the above features, please refer to the embodiments of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0203] It is worth noting that the above description only covers the components or modules relevant to this application, but this application is not limited thereto. The information transmission device 1000 of this application embodiment may also include other components or modules, and for details regarding these components or modules, please refer to related technologies.

[0204] Furthermore, for simplicity, Figure 10 only illustrates the connection relationships or signal flow between the various components or modules, but those skilled in the art should understand that various related technologies such as bus connections can be used. The aforementioned components or modules can be implemented using hardware facilities such as processors, memory, transmitters, and receivers; this application does not limit this implementation.

[0205] The above embodiments are merely illustrative examples of embodiments of this application, but this application is not limited thereto, and appropriate modifications can be made based on the above embodiments. For example, the above embodiments can be used alone, or one or more of the above embodiments can be combined.

[0206] Fifth aspect of the embodiment

[0207] This application provides a communication system. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the communication system according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 includes a network device 101, a repeater 102, and a terminal device 103. For simplicity, Figure 1 is only illustrated with one network device, one repeater, and one terminal device as an example, but the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto.

[0208] In this embodiment, network device 101 and terminal device 103 can transmit existing services or services that may be implemented in the future. For example, these services may include, but are not limited to: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type communication (mMTC), high-reliability low-latency communication (URLLC), and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, etc. Repeater 102 is configured to perform the signal forwarding method described in the first aspect embodiment, and network device 101 is configured to perform the information transmission method described in the third aspect embodiment, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference and will not be repeated here.

[0209] This application also provides an electronic device, such as a repeater or a network device.

[0210] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 9, the electronic device 900 may include: a processor 910 (e.g., a central processing unit CPU) and a memory 920; the memory 920 is coupled to the processor 910. The memory 920 can store various data; in addition, it also stores an information processing program 930, and executes the program 930 under the control of the processor 910.

[0211] For example, processor 910 can be configured to execute a program to implement the method described in the embodiments of the first or third aspect.

[0212] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 9, the electronic device 900 may also include a transceiver 940 and an antenna 950, etc.; the functions of the above components are similar to those in the prior art, and will not be described in detail here. It is worth noting that the electronic device 900 does not necessarily include all the components shown in Figure 9; in addition, the electronic device 900 may also include components not shown in Figure 9, which can be referred to in the prior art.

[0213] This application also provides a computer-readable program, wherein when executed in a repeater or network device, the program causes a computer in the repeater or network device to perform the method described in the first or third aspect of the embodiments.

[0214] This application also provides a storage medium storing a computer-readable program, wherein the computer-readable program causes a computer to perform the methods described in the embodiments of the first or third aspect in a repeater or network device.

[0215] The apparatus and methods described above in this application can be implemented in hardware or in combination with software. This application relates to a computer-readable program that, when executed by a logic component, enables the logic component to implement the apparatus or components described above, or to implement the various methods or steps described above. Logic components include, for example, field-programmable logic devices (FPGAs), microprocessors, and processors used in computers. This application also relates to storage media for storing the above programs, such as hard disks, magnetic disks, optical disks, DVDs, and flash memory.

[0216] The methods / apparatus described in conjunction with the embodiments of this application can be directly embodied in hardware, software modules executed by a processor, or a combination of both. For example, one or more and / or combinations of one or more functional block diagrams shown in the figures can correspond to various software modules in a computer program flow, or to various hardware modules. These software modules can correspond to the various steps shown in the figures, respectively. These hardware modules can be implemented, for example, using a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) to embed these software modules.

[0217] The software module can reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. A storage medium can be coupled to the processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium; or the storage medium can be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. The software module can be stored in the memory of a mobile terminal or in a memory card that can be inserted into the mobile terminal. For example, if the device (such as a mobile terminal) uses a high-capacity MEGA-SIM card or a high-capacity flash memory device, the software module can be stored in the MEGA-SIM card or the high-capacity flash memory device.

[0218] One or more and / or one or more combinations of functional blocks described in the accompanying drawings can be implemented as a general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, or any suitable combination thereof for performing the functions described herein. One or more and / or one or more combinations of functional blocks described in the accompanying drawings can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in communication with a DSP, or any other such configuration.

[0219] The present application has been described above with reference to specific embodiments. However, those skilled in the art should understand that these descriptions are exemplary and not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the present application based on its spirit and principles, and these modifications and variations are also within the scope of the present application.

[0220] The embodiments of this application include the following notes:

[0221] 1. A signal repeater, applied to a repeater, comprising:

[0222] Mobile terminals are used to communicate with network devices;

[0223] The forwarding unit is used to forward signals;

[0224] When the time alignment timer expires

[0225] The forwarding unit may forward, not forward, or stop forwarding, and / or

[0226] The mobile terminal determines that a radio link failure (RLF) has been detected, and / or,

[0227] The mobile terminal initiates a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection reconstruction, and / or,

[0228] The mobile terminal initiates a random access procedure, and / or,

[0229] The lower layer of the mobile terminal sends an indication to the higher layer that the time alignment timer has expired and / or RLF and / or time alignment problem has occurred, and / or,

[0230] The mobile terminal enters the RRC idle state.

[0231] 2. The apparatus according to Appendix 1, wherein when the time alignment timer expires, the mobile terminal is in RRC connected state; or, when the time alignment timer expires, the mobile terminal is in RRC connected state or RRC inactive state, and the forwarding unit performs forwarding.

[0232] 3. The apparatus according to Appendix 1, wherein when the higher layer (RRC layer) of the mobile terminal receives the indication from the MAC layer, the higher layer (RRC layer) determines that an RLF has been detected, and / or initiates an RRC connection reconstruction, and / or triggers a lower layer (the MAC layer) to initiate a random access procedure, and / or initiates a random access procedure.

[0233] 4. The apparatus according to Appendix 1 or 3, wherein the mobile terminal sends an RRC connection reconstruction reason and / or a wireless link failure reason, the reason including time alignment timer expiration or time alignment problem or other failure reasons.

[0234] 5. The apparatus according to Appendix 1, wherein when the mobile terminal is transferred to the RRC inactive state and the time alignment timer is considered to have expired, the forwarding unit forwards according to the configured periodic forwarding resources; or, when the mobile terminal is transferred to the RRC inactive state and the time alignment timer is not considered to have expired and / or the time alignment timer is stopped, the forwarding unit forwards according to the configured periodic forwarding resources.

[0235] 6. The apparatus according to Appendix 1, wherein when the mobile terminal is transferred to the RRC inactive state, the time alignment timer is not considered to have expired and / or the time alignment timer is stopped.

[0236] 7. A signal repeater, applied to a repeater, comprising:

[0237] The mobile terminal receives an indication that it has lost uplink synchronization;

[0238] Forwarding unit, which does not forward or stops forwarding; and / or

[0239] The mobile terminal receives the uplink synchronization instruction;

[0240] The forwarding unit resumes forwarding.

[0241] 8. The apparatus according to Appendix 7, wherein receiving an indication of loss of uplink synchronization includes the lower layer of the mobile terminal receiving an indication of loss of uplink synchronization sent by a higher layer;

[0242] Receiving an uplink synchronization instruction includes the lower layer of the mobile terminal receiving an uplink synchronization instruction sent by a higher layer.

[0243] 9. A signal repeater, applied to a repeater, comprising:

[0244] The mobile terminal sends PRACH and / or MSGA PUSCH and / or Msg3PUSCH;

[0245] Forwarding unit, which does not forward or stops forwarding, and / or,

[0246] The mobile terminal initiates a random access procedure;

[0247] The forwarding unit does not forward or stops forwarding until the random access procedure is successfully completed.

[0248] 10. A signal transmitting device, applied to a network device, comprising:

[0249] The first transmitting unit sends a timing advance command to the NCR, the timing advance command indicating an index value T used to control the first timing. A ,

[0250] The first receiving unit receives the signal transmitted by the NCR on the backhaul link using the first timing.

Claims

A signal repeater, applied to a repeater, comprising: A mobile terminal receives a timing advance command, the timing advance command indicating an index value T for controlling a first timing. A The forwarding unit uses the first timing to send a signal on the backhaul link. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The mobile terminal uses the first timing to send a first signal on the control link, the first signal including PUCCH and / or PUSCH and / or SRS. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The mobile terminal uses a second timing to send a second signal on the control link, the second signal including PRACH and / or MSGA PUSCH. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, The forwarding unit does not use the second timing to send signals on the backhaul link. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The timing advance command includes a first timing advance command and / or a second timing advance command, wherein the number of bits included in the first timing advance command is greater than the number of bits included in the second timing advance command. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, For the forwarding unit, if two adjacent time slots overlap due to the timing advance command, the duration of the next time slot is reduced relative to the previous time slot. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The repeater does not expect to change N within a time slot. TA . The apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein, The time slot is based on the reference SCS of the forwarding resources. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The repeater does not expect to change N within the third time domain resources. TA . The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein, The third time-domain resource includes continuous time-domain resources. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein, The third time-domain resource includes time-domain resources that are associated with the same beam index. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein, In the third time domain resource, the forwarding unit transmits a signal on the backhaul link. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, For the timing advance command received in the first time slot, the timing advance command is applied from the beginning of the second time slot, which is determined based on the reference SCS of the forwarding resources. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein, The second time slot is determined based on a reference SCS for forwarding resources, including: the first time slot is determined based on a first SCS associated with the reference SCS, and / or, the offset N of the second time slot relative to the first time slot. offset It is determined based on a second SCS associated with the reference SCS, and the first SCS and the second SCS may be the same or different. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein, The first time slot is the last uplink time slot based on the first SCS that overlaps with the time slot of the PDSCH, which provides the timing advance command. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein, The offset N offset Including the first offset k, in, and / or 2 μ It is determined based on the second SCS. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein, The first SCS and / or the second SCS is the minimum SCS among the configured UL BWPs' SCSs and the configured reference SCS. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein, The second time slot is determined based on a reference SCS for forwarding resources, including: if the start of the third time slot is within a time slot of a third SCS associated with the reference SCS, the second time slot is after the third time slot. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein, The second time slot is the first time slot that starts after the third time slot and is aligned with the time slot based on the third SCS and / or the first time slot that starts outside the time slot based on the third SCS, or the second time slot is the first time slot after the time slot that overlaps with the third time slot and / or the first time slot after the third time slot. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein, The third SCS is the smallest SCS among the configured reference SCSs.

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