Communication method, apparatus, system, computer program product and readable storage medium

Abstract

The application provides a communication method, device, system, computer program product and readable storage medium, which are suitable for a HARQ scene. In the method, a transmission block sent by a first communication device to a second communication device includes a plurality of sub-transmission blocks corresponding to a code block group, and metadata carried by each sub-transmission block indicates a case of a sub-protocol data unit carried by the sub-transmission block. In this way, the second communication device receives the transmission block, can accurately and quickly decode each sub-transmission block according to the metadata carried by each sub-transmission block, and delivers the sub-transmission blocks according to the decoding results. The method makes the sub-transmission blocks that are successfully decoded by the first communication device through the check and delivery in advance, and does not need to wait for all the sub-transmission blocks to be successfully transmitted before unified delivery, so that the transmission delay can be effectively reduced. The first communication device can retransmit part of the sub-transmission blocks that fail to be decoded, the number of retransmissions is reduced without retransmitting all the sub-transmission blocks, the amount of retransmission data can be effectively reduced, and communication resources are saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, apparatus, system, computer program product, and readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] In a communication scenario, the sending end transmits data to the receiving end through a transmit block (TB). The TB is divided into multiple code blocks (CBs) at the physical layer. After the receiving end's physical layer receives the TB, it will only transmit the complete TB to the media access control (MAC) layer if all the CBs carried by the TB have been successfully decoded and verified.

[0003] Since the delivery unit at the receiving end is TB, the physical layer needs to deliver data to the MAC layer in TB units. If any checksums fail within the CB included in the TB, the physical layer cannot transmit the complete TB to the MAC layer, resulting in low data transmission efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method, apparatus, system, computer program product, and readable storage medium that enables individual delivery at the sub-TB level, improving data transmission efficiency and success rate, and reducing the number of retransmissions.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a first communication device, which is a data transmitter, and transmits data to a second communication device. For example, the first communication device is an access network device (e.g., a base station), and the second communication device can be a terminal device (e.g., a UE).

[0006] This method can be executed by, for example, a first communication device, or by a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the first communication device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal device. This application does not limit this. The following description uses the first communication device as the executing entity.

[0007] The method includes: a first communication device sending a first transmission block to a second communication device; the first communication device receiving first information generated by the second communication device based on the first transmission block; and then sending a first sub-transmission block to the second communication device based on the first information.

[0008] The first transmission block sent from the first communication device to the second communication device includes multiple sub-transmission blocks, each of which can carry a portion of data, and the multiple sub-transmission blocks together form a complete first transmission block.

[0009] The first transport block also includes metadata for multiple sub-transport blocks. The metadata for each sub-transport block indicates whether it carries complete and / or segmented Media Access Control (MAC) sub-protocol data units (PDUs). Whether a sub-transport block carries complete and / or segmented PDUs can include whether the sub-transport block carries complete PDUs or whether it carries segmented PDUs. Among the multiple sub-transport blocks comprising the first transport block, some sub-transport blocks may carry only complete PDUs, and some may carry only segmented PDUs. Furthermore, some sub-transport blocks may carry both complete and segmented PDUs; in this case, the segmented PDUs may be located at the beginning or end of the sub-transport block.

[0010] When the first communication device sends a first transmission block consisting of multiple sub-transmission blocks to the second communication device, it also carries metadata for each sub-transmission block. This allows the second communication device to quickly and accurately determine the sub-PDUs carried within a sub-transmission block based on its metadata, thus accurately decoding the sub-PDUs. This avoids the technical problem of low success rate in decoding sub-transmission blocks due to mismatches between the starting positions of the sub-PDUs and the sub-transmission blocks, thereby improving the data transmission success rate.

[0011] The first communication device will also receive the first information sent by the second communication device. Based on the feedback information of each of the multiple sub-transmission blocks carried in the first information, it can accurately determine which sub-transmission blocks were successfully received by the second communication device and which sub-transmission blocks were not successfully received.

[0012] For a sub-transmission block with a negative feedback message, the first communication device can retransmit it independently. The target sub-PDU carried by the sub-transmission block with a negative feedback message is the sub-PDU that needs to be retransmitted. The first communication device sends a first sub-transmission block to the second communication device, the first sub-transmission block carrying the target sub-PDU that needs to be retransmitted.

[0013] Therefore, the first communication device can accurately determine which sub-transmission blocks need to be retransmitted by receiving feedback information for multiple sub-transmission blocks. It can only retransmit the sub-transmission blocks that need to be retransmitted, without having to retransmit all the sub-transmission blocks included in the first transmission block. This can further improve data transmission efficiency and reduce the amount of unnecessary retransmissions.

[0014] One possible implementation provides a specific scheme for providing metadata for sub-transport blocks.

[0015] Optionally, the metadata of a subtransfer block includes a first field and / or a second field, wherein the first field indicates whether the subtransfer block carries a complete subPDU and the second field indicates whether the subtransfer block carries a segmented subPDU.

[0016] The first field indicates whether the subtransfer block carries a complete subPDU in the following cases: the first field indicates that the subtransfer block carries a complete subPDU, and the first field indicates that the subtransfer block does not carry a complete subPDU.

[0017] In one possible example, the value of the first field can be either a first value or a second value, and the first value and the second value are different values.

[0018] When the first field is the first value, the first field indicates that the subtransmission block carries the complete sub-PDU; When the first field is the second value, the first field indicates that the subtransport block does not carry the complete subPDU.

[0019] Optionally, the first field can be a 1-bit numerical value. For example, the first value is 1 and the second value is 0; or conversely, the first value is 0 and the second value is 1. Alternatively, the first value can be a specific value or a non-empty value, and the second value can be empty; or vice versa.

[0020] The second field indicating whether the subtransfer block carries segmented subPDUs may include situations where the first field indicates that the subtransfer block carries segmented subPDUs, or where the first field indicates that the subtransfer block does not carry segmented subPDUs.

[0021] In some schemes, the situation where a subtransfer block carries segmented subPDUs can be further refined into: the subtransfer block does not carry segmented subPDUs (or carries only complete subPDUs), the header of the subtransfer block carries segmented subPDUs, the tail of the subtransfer block carries segmented subPDUs, etc.

[0022] Based on the above refined scenarios, the second field of the metadata for a sub-transport block can be one of the following: The second field is the third value, indicating that the subtransfer block does not carry segmented subPDUs, or that the subtransfer block carries only complete subPDUs; The second field is the fourth value, indicating that the tail of the subtransfer block carries a segmented subPDU; The second field is the fifth value, indicating that the header of the subtransfer block carries the segmented subPDU; The second field is the sixth value, indicating that the subtransfer block carries segmented subPDUs at both the tail and the head.

[0023] The third to sixth values ​​are four different numerical values. For example, the second field is a 2-bit value. For example, the third value is 00, the fourth value is 01, the fifth value is 10, the sixth value is 11, etc., without limitation.

[0024] In one approach, the metadata of a sub-transport block may include only the first field or only the second field. For example, if a sub-transport block includes only the second field, the details of the sub-PDUs carried by the sub-transport block can be accurately determined based on this second field.

[0025] In another approach, the metadata of a subtransfer block includes a first field and a second field. These two fields work together to indicate the details of the subtransfer blocks carrying sub-PDUs. For example, it can be determined whether the subtransfer block does not carry segmented sub-PDUs based on whether the second field is a third value. If the second field is a third value, there is no need to consider the case where the subtransfer block carries segmented sub-PDUs. If the second field is not a third value, the value of the first field is used to determine whether the subtransfer block consists entirely of segmented sub-PDUs or includes both segmented and complete sub-PDUs. Then, based on whether the second field is a fourth, fifth, or sixth value, it can be further determined whether the segmented sub-PDUs carried in the subtransfer block are located at the beginning and / or end of the subtransfer block.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the metadata of the subtransfer block also includes a third field, which indicates the location or length data of the segmented subPDU carried by the subtransfer block.

[0027] The third field indicates the location data of the sub-PDU segments carried in the sub-transmission block. This can refer to the starting and / or ending positions of the sub-PDU segments carried in the header of the sub-transmission block within the sub-transmission block, and / or the starting and / or ending positions of the sub-PDU segments carried in the tail within the sub-transmission block.

[0028] The third field indicates the length of the sub-PDU segment carried by the sub-transfer block. This data can refer to the size of the sub-PDU segment carried in the header of the sub-transfer block, and / or the size of the sub-PDU segment carried in the tail.

[0029] In one possible implementation, an example of using a third field to indicate the location data of a segmented subPDU carried by a subtransport block is given. This third field includes a first location field and / or a second location field.

[0030] The first position field is used to indicate the end position of the segmented subPDU carried in the header of the subtransfer block, and the second position field is used to indicate the start position of the segmented subPDU carried in the tail of the subtransfer block.

[0031] Therefore, when the first and second fields of the metadata of the subtransfer block accurately indicate the complete and segmented sub-PDUs carried by the subtransfer block, the third field can further indicate the location of the segmented sub-PDUs, making it easier to decode the segmented sub-PDUs carried by the subtransfer block more accurately and further improving the success rate of data transmission.

[0032] One possible implementation approach provides a more specific implementation scheme from the perspective of the protocol layer of the communication device.

[0033] The first communication device includes a first RLC layer, a first Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and a first Physical PHY layer. The second communication device includes a second RLC layer, a second MAC layer, and a second PHY layer. The first PHY layer of the first communication device and the second PHY layer of the second communication device are connected, for example, via an air interface. In the process of transmitting data from the first communication device to the second communication device, the data transmission process within the first communication device is as follows: the first RLC layer sends the data to the first MAC layer, and the first MAC layer sends the data to the first PHY layer. The data reception process within the second communication device is as follows: the first PHY layer receives the data transmitted by the second PHY layer, the second PHY layer delivers the data upwards to the second MAC layer, and the second MAC layer then delivers the data upwards to the second RLC layer.

[0034] Before the first communication device sends the first transport block to the second communication device, multiple protocol layers of the first communication device cooperate to fill the first transport block with the data to be transmitted. The specific process is as follows: The first RLC layer sends the data to be transmitted to the first MAC layer, which generates a MAC PDU, which includes multiple sub-PDUs.

[0035] The first MAC layer constructs multiple sub-transmission blocks, sequentially filling the multiple sub-PDUs included in the MAC PDU into the multiple sub-transmission blocks, and generating corresponding metadata according to the sub-PDUs carried in each sub-transmission block.

[0036] The first MAC layer connects multiple sub-transfer blocks into a first transfer block, transmits the first transfer block to the first PHY layer, and the first PHY layer transmits the first transfer block to the second PHY layer.

[0037] Therefore, the first MAC layer constructs multiple sub-transmission blocks, fills multiple sub-PDUs into multiple sub-transmission blocks, and then concatenates multiple sub-transmission blocks into a complete first transmission block for transmission to the second communication device.

[0038] Correspondingly, after receiving the first transport block, the second PHY layer of the second communication device splits the first transport block according to the same transmission parameters to obtain multiple sub-transport blocks. Since the first communication device constructs sub-transport blocks based on the same transmission parameters, and the second communication device splits them to obtain sub-transport blocks based on the same transmission parameters, the sizes of the multiple sub-transport blocks obtained by both are consistent. The same transmission parameters used by the second communication device can be pre-sent to the second communication device by the first communication device, or they can be pre-agreed upon by the protocol, without limitation.

[0039] In the second communication device, after the second PHY layer splits the first transmission block into multiple sub-transmission blocks, it can first perform cyclic redundancy check on the multiple sub-transmission blocks, including CB CRC check performed on each CB in the sub-transmission block, as well as CRC check on the sub-transmission block as a whole. If all CBs of a sub-transmission block pass the CB CRC check and the sub-transmission block passes the overall CRC check, it can be considered that the sub-transmission block has passed the CRC check.

[0040] The second PHY layer delivers subtransfer blocks that pass CRC verification to the second MAC layer for decoding, obtaining the sub-PDU carried by the subtransfer block. For subtransfer blocks that fail CRC verification, the second PHY layer may not deliver them to the upper layer.

[0041] This enables the second PHY layer within the second communication device to deliver sub-transmission blocks to the second MAC layer. Sub-transmission blocks that have passed CRC verification are delivered directly upwards without waiting for other sub-transmission blocks that have not passed CRC verification, further improving the efficiency of upward delivery.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the first information is carried in a media access control control element message sent by the second MAC layer.

[0043] In this scheme, the first information received by the first communication device is sent by the second MAC layer of the second communication device and carried in a MAC CE message.

[0044] In the previous implementation, the second MAC layer receives sub-transmission blocks delivered upwards by the second PHY layer that have passed CRC verification, rather than all sub-transmission blocks split by the second PHY layer. For sub-transmission blocks that pass CRC verification, the second MAC layer decodes them. If decoding is successful, the second MAC layer sets the feedback information for that sub-transmission block to acknowledgment. Conversely, for sub-transmission blocks that fail CRC verification, or sub-transmission blocks that pass CRC verification but fail decoding, the second MAC layer sets the feedback information for that sub-transmission block to negation.

[0045] After generating feedback information for all sub-transport blocks, the second MAC layer can send the first information to the first MAC layer via a MAC CE message. Since the first information is carried in a MAC CE message with a higher protection level, rather than upper-layer control information sent by the second PHY layer, this effectively reduces the probability of misinterpreting the feedback information of multiple sub-transport blocks, further improving data transmission efficiency and success rate.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the scheme for determining the size of multiple sub-transport blocks is further restricted.

[0047] The first communication device constructs multiple sub-transmission blocks, and the second communication device splits the first transmission block to obtain multiple sub-transmission blocks. In both cases, the size of the multiple sub-transmission blocks is determined first. The size of the multiple sub-transmission blocks is determined based on the total size of the first transmission block and the code block group splitting parameters.

[0048] The sum of the sizes of the multiple sub-transmission blocks is the total size of the first transmission block. The code block group splitting parameters include the number of packets and the maximum code block group size. For example, the first communication device splits the total size of the first transmission block according to the code block group splitting parameters involved in the code block group splitting scheme in the relevant protocol to obtain the sizes of multiple code block groups, and the sizes of the multiple code block groups are the sizes of the multiple sub-transmission blocks.

[0049] In one possible implementation, the scheme for the first communication device to retransmit data to the second communication device is further specified.

[0050] The first communication device sends a second transmission block to the second communication device. The second transmission block includes a first sub-transmission block and a second sub-transmission block, wherein the first sub-transmission block carries a sub-PDU to be retransmitted. There are several possible configurations for the second sub-transmission block carried by the second transmission block.

[0051] In one scenario, the second sub-transfer block is empty. In this case, the first communication device retransmits a transfer block, solely for retransmitting the target sub-PDU within the sub-transfer block where the feedback information is negative. The HARQ process used by the first communication device to transmit the second transfer block can be the same HARQ process used by the first communication device to transmit the first transfer block.

[0052] In another scenario, the second sub-transmission block carries new data to be transmitted, such as a sub-PDU corresponding to the first HARQ process, which is different from the HARQ process corresponding to the first transmission block. In this case, the first communication base station can transmit the target sub-PDU to be retransmitted along with other sub-PDUs to be retransmitted through a new HARQ process. This improves resource utilization while enabling sub-PDU retransmission.

[0053] In one possible implementation, a scheme is added in which the first communication device indicates the current data transmission status to the second communication device.

[0054] In one scenario, when the first communication device sends the first transmission block to the second communication device, it may also send second information to the second communication device; wherein the second information is used to indicate that the first transmission block is the initial transmission.

[0055] In another scenario, when the first communication device sends the first transmission block to the second communication device, it may also send third information to the second communication device; wherein the third information is used to indicate that the first sub-transmission block is a retransmission.

[0056] In the aforementioned scheme, when the first communication device sends the first transmission block to the second communication device, it sends a second message indicating that the first transmission block is a new transmission. And when the first communication device sends the second transmission block to the second communication device, it sends a third message indicating that the second transmission block is a retransmission.

[0057] In one possible implementation, the second and / or third information further includes at least one of the following: The identifier of the current process; Sub-transport block scheduling indication information; used to indicate the scheduling status of each sub-transport block in a plurality of sub-transport blocks; Sub-transfer block buffer processing indication information is used to indicate whether the buffer corresponding to each sub-transfer block in multiple sub-transfer blocks should be cleared or retained; Time-frequency resource parameters of the first transmission block; Modulation and coding schemes.

[0058] In the above information, the identifier of the current process is used to distinguish and indicate the current process, so that the second communication device can perform operations such as clearing the buffer and storing data related to the current process based on the identifier of the current process.

[0059] While the first communication device indicates to the second communication device whether the data is a new transmission or a retransmission, it clearly indicates the current process, the scheduling status of each sub-transmission block in the sub-transmission block, whether the buffers corresponding to each sub-transmission block in multiple sub-transmission blocks are cleared or retained, the time and frequency resource parameters of the first transmission block, the modulation and coding scheme, etc., so as to assist the second communication device in receiving and decoding the first transmission block more accurately and quickly.

[0060] One possible implementation defines a scheme for the first communication device to send transmission parameters to the second communication device.

[0061] Specifically, before the first communication device sends the first transmission block to the second communication device, it first sends transmission parameters to the second communication device; wherein, the transmission parameters include at least one of the following: number of code block groups, code block group size, maximum number of retransmissions, and enable parameters.

[0062] The number of code block groups and the size of the code block groups can assist the first communication device in determining the size of the sub-transmission blocks, and assist the second communication device in determining the size of the multiple sub-transmission blocks to be split. The maximum number of retransmissions is used to limit the number of times the first communication device retransmits data to the second communication device, avoiding unlimited retransmissions and unnecessary resource waste. The enable parameter can be used to enable the HARQ function based on sub-transmission blocks.

[0063] Secondly, a communication method is provided, applied to a second communication device. The second communication device is a data receiving end, receiving data sent by the first communication device.

[0064] This method can be executed by a second communication device, or by a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the second communication device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal device. This application does not limit this. The following description uses the second communication device as the executing entity.

[0065] The method includes: a second communication device receiving a first transmission block sent by a first communication device; the first transmission block includes multiple sub-transmission blocks and metadata corresponding to each sub-transmission block, wherein the metadata corresponding to each sub-transmission block is used to indicate whether the corresponding sub-transmission block carries a complete and / or segmented Media Intervention Control (MAC) Sub-Session Control Unit (PDU); The second communication device sends first information to the first communication device; the first information is used to indicate the feedback information of each of the multiple sub-transmission blocks, and the feedback information is either confirmation or negation; The second communication device receives a first sub-transmission block sent by the first communication device; wherein the first sub-transmission block carries a target sub-PDU, and the target sub-PDU is a sub-PDU carried by a sub-transmission block whose feedback information is negative among multiple sub-transmission blocks.

[0066] In one possible implementation, before the second communication device sends the first information to the first communication device, the second communication device may also perform the following operations: The feedback information of the subtransmission block that passes the cyclic redundancy check is set to acknowledge, and the feedback information of the subtransmission block that fails the cyclic redundancy check is set to deny.

[0067] In one possible implementation, the scheme for the second communication device to decode the sub-transmission block and deliver it upwards is further specified. The method also includes: For subtransmission blocks that pass cyclic redundancy check (CRUD), the second communication device decodes the subtransmission block based on its metadata to obtain the sub-PDU carried by the subtransmission block down to the protocol layer. The second PHY layer performs CRUD on the subtransmission block and delivers the subtransmission blocks that pass CRUD to the second MAC layer. Subtransmission blocks that fail CRUD do not need to be delivered to the second MAC layer. At the second MAC layer, the received subtransmission blocks are decoded to obtain either the complete sub-PDU or segmented sub-PDUs carried within the subtransmission block.

[0068] In one scenario, for the complete sub-PDU obtained from decoding, the second MAC layer delivers it upwards, i.e., delivers it to the second RLC layer.

[0069] In another scenario, for the segments of the decoded sub-PDU, the second MAC layer assembles the sub-PDU segments with other associated segments into a complete sub-PDU before delivering it upwards. The associated segments are either sub-PDU segments carried at the tail of the previous sub-transport block or sub-PDU segments carried at the header of the next sub-transport block.

[0070] In one possible implementation, the second communication device may also perform the following operations: Set the feedback information of the target subtransmission block containing the segment of the sub-PDU that failed to be decoded or assembled to negative.

[0071] In one possible implementation, the first information is carried in the media access control control element message.

[0072] In one possible implementation, the metadata of the sub-transfer block includes a first field and / or a second field; The first field is used to indicate whether the subtransmission block carries the complete sub-PDU; The second field is used to indicate whether the subtransfer block carries a segmented subPDU.

[0073] The second aspect is the implementation on the network device side, which corresponds to the first aspect. The explanations, supplements, and descriptions of the beneficial effects of the first aspect also apply to the second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0074] Thirdly, a communication device is provided, which includes a processing module and a transceiver module.

[0075] The processing module is used to generate a first transport block, and the transceiver module is used to send the first transport block to the second communication device; the first transport block includes a plurality of sub-transport blocks and metadata of each of the plurality of sub-transport blocks, and the metadata of each of the sub-transport blocks is used to indicate whether the sub-transport block carries a complete and / or segmented Media Access Control (MAC) Sub-Protocol Data Unit (PDU); The transceiver module is used to receive first information sent by the second communication device; the first information is used to indicate feedback information of each of the plurality of sub-transmission blocks, the feedback information being either confirmation or denial; The transceiver module is also used to send a first sub-transmission block to the second communication device; wherein the first sub-transmission block carries a target sub-PDU, and the target sub-PDU is a sub-PDU carried by the sub-transmission block whose feedback information is negative among the plurality of sub-transmission blocks.

[0076] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, which includes a transceiver module.

[0077] The transceiver module is used to receive a first transmission block sent by a first communication device; the first transmission block includes multiple sub-transmission blocks and metadata corresponding to each sub-transmission block, and the metadata corresponding to each sub-transmission block is used to indicate whether the corresponding sub-transmission block carries a complete and / or segmented Media Intervention Control (MAC) Sub-Session Control Unit (PDU); The processing module is used to generate first information based on the first transmission block, and the transceiver module is also used to send the first information to the first communication device; the first information is used to indicate the feedback information of each of the plurality of sub-transmission blocks, and the feedback information is an acknowledgment or a denial; The processing module is used to receive a first sub-transmission block sent by the first communication device; wherein the first sub-transmission block carries a target sub-PDU, and the target sub-PDU is a sub-PDU carried by the sub-transmission block whose feedback information is negative among the plurality of sub-transmission blocks.

[0078] The third and fourth aspects are the implementation on the device side, which correspond to the first and second aspects. The explanations, supplements, and descriptions of the beneficial effects of the first and second aspects also apply to the third and fourth aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0079] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, including a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions or data in the memory to implement the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect described above.

[0080] Optionally, the communication device also includes a memory.

[0081] Optionally, the communication device also includes a communication interface, to which the processor is coupled.

[0082] In one implementation, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0083] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a terminal device. When the communication device is a chip configured in a terminal device, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0084] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, including a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions or data in the memory to implement the method in any possible implementation of the second aspect described above. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0085] In one implementation, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0086] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a satellite. When the communication device is a chip configured in a satellite, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0087] In a seventh aspect, a processor is provided, comprising: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive signals through the input circuit and transmit signals through the output circuit, causing the processor to execute a method in any possible implementation of any aspect.

[0088] In specific implementation, the processor can be one or more chips, the input circuit can be input pins, the output circuit can be output pins, and the processing circuit can be transistors, gate circuits, flip-flops, and various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example, but not limited to, a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit can be, for example, but not limited to, output to and transmitted by a transmitter. Furthermore, the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, which is used as both the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. This application does not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0089] Eighthly, a communication device is provided, including a processor and a memory. The processor is used to read instructions stored in the memory, receive signals via a receiver, and transmit signals via a transmitter to execute the method in any possible implementation of any of the preceding aspects.

[0090] Optionally, the processor may be one or more, and the memory may be one or more.

[0091] Ninthly, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when the computer program is run, causes a computer to perform a method in any possible implementation of any of the above aspects.

[0092] In a tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods in any possible implementation of any of the preceding aspects.

[0093] Eleventhly, embodiments of this application provide a chip system including one or more processors for calling and executing instructions stored in memory, causing the methods in any of the above aspects or possible implementations to be executed. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0094] The chip system may include input circuits or interfaces for transmitting information or data, and output circuits or interfaces for receiving information or data.

[0095] In a twelfth aspect, a communication system is provided, including the aforementioned terminal device and network device. Optionally, the communication system may further include other devices that communicate with the terminal device and / or network device. Attached Figure Description

[0096] Figure 1 This application provides a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack structure involved in an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the case where a sub-TB carries a sub-PDU as described in the embodiments of this application; Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating the first stage of the communication scheme provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating the second stage of the communication scheme provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating the third stage of the communication method provided in this application embodiment; Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating the UE executing a subTB assembly subroutine in the communication method provided in this application embodiment; Figure 9 Another flowchart relating to the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 10 A hardware framework diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 11This is a hardware framework diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0097] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0098] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) systems, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, sidelink communication systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication systems, non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication systems, 5th generation (5G) mobile communication systems, or new radio access technology (NR). Among these, 5G mobile communication systems can include non-standalone (NSA) and / or standalone (SA) networking. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems. This application does not limit the scope of these applications.

[0099] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication system may include network devices, such as... Figure 1 The network device 110 shown. The communication system may also include terminal devices, such as... Figure 1 The terminal device 120 is shown. The network device 110 and the terminal device 120 can communicate via a wireless link.

[0100] Figure 1 A network device 110 and a terminal device 120 are illustrated as an example. Optionally, the communication system may also include multiple network devices and / or multiple terminal devices.

[0101] The network equipment in this application may include network-side equipment such as access network equipment and core network equipment. Access network equipment is sometimes also called an access node. Access network equipment has wireless transceiver capabilities for communicating with terminal equipment. Access network equipment includes, but is not limited to, base stations, evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs), transmission reception points (TRPs) in the aforementioned communication systems, next-generation NodeBs (gNBs) in 5G mobile communication systems, access network equipment or modules of access network equipment in open RAN (ORAN) systems, satellites in NTN communication systems, base stations in future mobile communication systems, or access nodes in WiFi systems. Access network equipment can also be modules or units capable of implementing some of the functions of a base station. Access network equipment can be a macro base station, micro base station, indoor station, relay node, donor node, or a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. Optionally, access network equipment can also be a server, wearable device, or vehicle-mounted equipment, etc. For example, the access network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). Multiple access network devices in a communication system can be base stations of the same type or different types. Base stations can communicate with terminal devices directly or via relay stations. Terminal devices can communicate with multiple base stations using different access technologies. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the access network equipment. In this application, access network equipment can also be simply referred to as network equipment, or, in other words, network equipment can be used to refer to access network equipment.

[0102] In this application, the means for implementing the functions of a network device can be a network device itself, or a means capable of supporting the network device in implementing those functions, such as a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system. This means can be installed in or connected to the network device. In the technical solutions provided in this application, the example of a network device being used to implement the functions of a network device is used to describe the technical solutions provided in this application.

[0103] The terminal device in this application can be a wireless terminal device capable of receiving network device scheduling and instruction information. The wireless terminal device can be a device providing voice and / or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device with wireless connectivity, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. For example, the terminal device can communicate with one or more core networks or the Internet via a radio access network (RAN). The terminal device can also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, or satellite communication, etc. The terminal device can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, aircraft (such as drone, helicopter, airplane), hot air balloon, ship, robot, robotic arm, or smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the form of the terminal device.

[0104] In this application, the apparatus for implementing the functions of a terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or any apparatus capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing those functions, such as a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system. This apparatus can be installed in or connected to the terminal device. In the technical solutions provided in this application, the example of a terminal device being used to implement the functions of a terminal device is used to describe the technical solutions provided in this application.

[0105] Access network equipment and / or terminal equipment can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. This application does not limit the application scenarios of the access network equipment and terminal equipment. They can be deployed in the same or different scenarios; for example, both can be deployed on land simultaneously; or the access network equipment can be deployed on land while the terminal equipment is deployed on water, etc., and so on.

[0106] In practical applications, when the network equipment is an access network device, such as a base station, multiple base stations can cooperate to assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access. Different base stations each perform a portion of the functions of a complete base station. For example, a base station can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). CUs and DUs can be set up separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radioheads (RRHs).

[0107] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules. CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, and RU can implement different protocol layer functions.

[0108] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the terminology used in this application will be briefly explained first. Optionally, the explanation of some terms may also refer to the explanations in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard protocol.

[0109] 1. Communication protocol stack.

[0110] A communication protocol stack is a collection of protocol layers that support the operation of a communication system in a communication network. Communication between a base station and a user device (UE) is achieved through the interaction between the protocol layers within the base station's protocol stack and the UE's protocol stack. Each communication network has its corresponding protocol stack; for example, the protocol stack used by a 5G communication network is called the 5G communication protocol stack, or simply the 5G protocol stack. The 5G protocol stack includes a user plane protocol stack and a control plane protocol stack. The user plane protocol stack is used to process user data, and the control plane protocol stack is used to process control data.

[0111] See Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack structure involved in an embodiment of this application. The protocol stack is mainly divided into a control plane protocol stack and a user plane protocol stack, such as... Figure 2 As shown in (1), this is a schematic diagram of the user plane protocol stack; Figure 2 As shown in (2) in the figure, it is a schematic diagram of the control plane protocol stack.

[0112] like Figure 2 In the user plane protocol stack shown in (1), the protocol layers from bottom to top are, in order: physical (PHY) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, and service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer. Figure 2 In the control plane protocol stack shown in (2), the protocol layers from bottom to top are: PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, radio resource control (RRC) layer, and non-access stratum (NAS) layer.

[0113] It should be noted that within the UE, both the user plane protocol stack and the control plane protocol stack include the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, and PDCP layer, and these protocol layers can be shared between the user plane protocol stack and the control plane protocol stack. The differences between the user plane protocol stack and the control plane protocol stack are as follows: in the user plane protocol stack, the SDAP layer is above the PDCP layer, while in the control plane protocol stack, the RRC layer and NAS layer are above the PDCP layer.

[0114] like Figure 2In the user plane protocol stack shown in (1), the UE's PHY layer is connected to the base station's PHY layer, the UE's MAC layer is connected to the base station's MAC layer, the UE's RLC layer is connected to the base station's RLC layer, the UE's PDCP layer is connected to the base station's PDCP layer, and the UE's SDAP layer can be connected to the base station's SDAP layer. The base station and core network equipment are connected through the next-generation user (NG-U) interface. The core network equipment includes user plane function (UPF) network elements, and the base station connects to the UPF through NG-U.

[0115] like Figure 2 In the control plane protocol stack shown in (2), the UE's RRC layer is connected to the base station's RRC layer. The base station is connected to the core network equipment through the next generation control (NG-U) interface. The core network equipment includes access and mobility management function (AMF) network elements, which include the NAS layer. The UE's NAS layer is connected to the NAS layer in the core network equipment via the base station through the next generation control (NG-C) interface. The other protocol layers of the UE are connected to the corresponding protocol layers in the base station, which will not be described in detail.

[0116] based on Figure 2 The user plane protocol stack structure shown in (1) includes a downlink data transmission process between the base station and the UE that may include: Within the base station's protocol stack, the upper layer, namely the SDAP layer, receives the data packets to be transmitted and transmits them down to the PDCP layer. The PDCP layer processes the data packets and then transmits them to the RLC layer. The RLC layer processes the data packets and then transmits them to the MAC layer for further processing. The MAC layer processes the data packets and then transmits them to the PHY layer. Finally, the PHY layer sends the data packets to the UE's PHY layer via the air interface.

[0117] Correspondingly, within the UE's protocol stack, the UE's PHY layer receives data packets, processes the data packets and then transmits them upwards to the MAC layer, the MAC layer processes them and then uploads them to the RLC layer, the RLC layer processes them and then transmits them to the PDCP layer, the PDCP layer removes the SDAP header from the data packets, processes them, and then uploads them to the SDAP layer.

[0118] It should be noted that the above-described protocol layer distribution and data transmission process are primarily based on the 5G protocol stack example. In other communication systems, the protocol layer distribution, names, and data transmission processes may not be entirely the same, and are not limited thereto.

[0119] 2. Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) mechanism.

[0120] HARQ is a two-layer error correction mechanism that combines forward error correction and automatic retransmission request. It ensures that data can be reliably and efficiently received in unreliable wireless channels by correcting errors that exist in the previous data transmission process and automatically requesting retransmission for errors.

[0121] In 5G NR and other communication systems, the HARQ stop-and-wait process is used for data transmission. The HARQ stop-and-wait process refers to the process where, after the sender completes sending a transport block (TB), it pauses and waits for feedback information for that TB. The feedback information is either an acknowledgement (ACK) or a negative acknowledgement (NACK). Upon receiving the feedback information for that TB, if the feedback is an acknowledgement, the sender then sends the next TB to the receiver. In some cases, the feedback information can be described as transmission feedback, HARQ feedback, etc.; ACK can also be described as acknowledgment feedback, response, positive acknowledgment, etc.; and NACK can also be described as non-acknowledgment feedback, negative feedback, negative acknowledgment, unacknowledged, denial, retransmission request, etc., without limitation.

[0122] To support high-speed data transmission, the communication system allows multiple HARQ stop-and-wait processes to work in parallel. Taking the current HARQ processes at the sending end as processes A, B, C, and D as an example, the parallel operation of multiple HARQ stop-and-wait processes means that while process A is waiting for its acknowledgment, processes B, C, and D can continue transmitting data, thus filling the pipeline and avoiding wasted waiting time.

[0123] HARQ mechanisms can be divided into uplink HARQ and downlink HARQ. Downlink HARQ refers to the HARQ used by the base station when sending data to the UE, while uplink HARQ refers to the HARQ used by the UE when sending data to the base station. Taking downlink HARQ as an example, the main process includes: S1, the base station schedules the HARQ process and sends a TB carrying service data.

[0124] In addition to carrying service data, this TB can also carry a process ID and a new data indicator (NDI). The process ID indicates the current HARQ process. The NDI indicates whether the TB is a new transmission TB or a retransmission TB. A new transmission TB carries new service data, while a retransmission TB carries service data that was previously transmitted but failed.

[0125] S2, the UE receives TB and attempts to decode it, then sends HARQ feedback to the base station.

[0126] If the UE successfully decodes the TB, the UE will send an ACK to the base station to indicate that the TB was successfully transmitted; conversely, if the UE fails to decode the TB, the UE will send a NACK to the base station to indicate that the TB was not successfully transmitted.

[0127] S3, the base station receives HARQ feedback and executes the corresponding operation.

[0128] In one scenario, the base station receives an ACK response from the HARQ process. The base station determines that the TB has been successfully transmitted, and the corresponding operations performed by the base station may include: clearing the buffer of the HARQ process; the base station may also use the HARQ process to send the next TB to transmit other service data. In this case, the NDI carried by the base station in the next TB indicates the new TB transmission.

[0129] In another scenario, the base station receives a NACK response from the HARQ. The base station determines that the TB was not successfully transmitted and needs to retransmit it. The base station can retransmit the TB using the same HARQ process, carrying the same service data. On the UE side, the UE receives the retransmitted TB and merges the data carried by the TB with the buffered data in the HARQ process's buffer to improve the success rate of decoding the service data carried by the TB. In this case, the base station indicates the retransmission of the TB in the NDI carried by the TB.

[0130] The HARQ mechanism described above uses TB as the basic unit. Therefore, this TB-based HARQ mechanism can also be described as a TB-based HARQ mechanism. In a TB-based HARQ mechanism, HARQ feedback and retransmission are performed in TB units; if decoding of any data within a TB fails, the entire TB must be retransmitted.

[0131] In combination with the above Figure 2 In the protocol stack structure shown in (1), in the downlink HARQ process based on TB, the MAC layer of the base station encapsulates the data packet to be transmitted in MAC PDU, transmits the MAC PDU in TB form to the physical layer of the base station, the physical layer of the base station transmits the TB to the physical layer of the UE through the air interface, the physical layer of the UE transmits the TB to the MAC layer of the UE, the MAC layer of the UE parses the TB to obtain the MAC PDU, and obtains the data packet to be transmitted.

[0132] 3. HARQ mechanism based on code block group (CBG).

[0133] The CBG-based HARQ mechanism is a refined data transmission and automatic retransmission mechanism. At the sending end, the physical layer divides a TB into multiple independent CBGs, using CBGs as the basic unit for HARQ feedback. CBGs with transmission errors are retransmitted, while correctly transmitted CBGs do not need to be retransmitted, thus avoiding the need to retransmit the entire TB, saving communication resources and improving communication efficiency.

[0134] The physical layer divides a TB into multiple independent CBGs as follows: the physical layer first divides a TB into multiple code blocks (CBs), and then combines some of the CBs into multiple CBGs.

[0135] The physical layer can divide a TB into multiple CBs as follows: determine the maximum CB length according to the base graph, and then split the TB sequentially according to the maximum CB length to obtain multiple CBs, where the length of each CB is less than or equal to the maximum CB length. The maximum CB length can be denoted as Kcb, and the number of CBs can be denoted as C.

[0136] Taking the downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) in an NR system as an example, the encoding method can be low-density parity check (LDPC) coding. For instance, the LDPC base graphs include Base Graph 1 and Base Graph 2. The maximum CB length Kcb of Base Graph 1 is 8448, and the maximum CB length Kcb of Base Graph 2 is 3840. The physical layer needs to determine the maximum CB length based on the reference base graph; the maximum CB length differs for different base graphs.

[0137] When the physical layer splits a Test Block (TB) into multiple Code Blocks (CBs), it actually adds a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) code to the TB and then splits it according to the maximum CB length. If the sum of the TB length and the CRC code length is greater than Kcb, the entire TB and CRC code will be split into code blocks, and the number of code blocks obtained will be denoted as C. Conversely, if the sum of the TB length and the CRC code length is less than or equal to Kcb, the entire TB and CRC code will not be split into code blocks.

[0138] CBG splitting schemes are defined in relevant communication protocols, such as TS 38.214. One possible CBG splitting scheme is shown below: The code block group M = min(N, C), meaning M takes the smaller value between N and C. N is pre-configured by the RRC parameter (e.g., Max CodeBlock Groups Per Transport Block), and N can take any value from n2, n4, n6, n8, etc.; C is the number of corresponding CBs in the TB.

[0139] The CBG splitting scheme also involves other parameters, such as M1, K1, and K2. Here, M1 represents the number of CBGs containing K CBs, K1 represents the number of CBs contained in the first M1 CBGs, and K2 represents the number of CBs contained in the last (M-M1) CBGs.

[0140] Specifically, the parameter value functions are as follows: M1=mod(C,M), K1=celling(C / M), K2=floor(C / M).

[0141] When M>0, and m=0, 1, ..., (M1-1), the index of the CB contained in the code block group CBGm is: m-K1+k, where k=0, 1, ..., (K1-1). When m = any value of M1, M1+1, ..., M-1, the index of the code block contained in the code block group CBGm is: M1*K1+(m- M1)*K2+k, where k = 0, 1, ..., K2-1.

[0142] The CBG splitting scheme can be found in relevant standards and will not be elaborated here. It should be noted that in the downlink HARQ process, the base station and UE will determine the values ​​of parameters (M, M1, K1, K2) based on the same CBG splitting scheme to ensure that the scheme for obtaining CBG for the same TB is consistent.

[0143] 4. Delivery scheme based on CBG's HARQ mechanism.

[0144] In the CBG-based HARQ mechanism, the physical layer divides a TB into multiple CBGs, and then delivers the CBGs to the MAC layer. The physical layer delivers CBGs to the MAC layer in TB units. Before delivering a CBG to the MAC layer, the physical layer performs dual CRC checks on the TB: CB CRC check and TB CRC check.

[0145] Specifically, the physical layer performs a CB CRC check on each CB split for each TB. After all CBs pass the CB CRC check, the physical layer then performs a TB CRC check on the TB. If the TB passes the TB CRC check, the physical layer delivers the TB to the MAC layer.

[0146] Based on the aforementioned description of the communication protocol stack, the MAC layer of the base station and the MAC layer of the UE interact using MAC protocol data units (PDUs). A MAC PDU generated by the base station can include multiple sub-PDUs, and these sub-PDUs together form a single MAC PDU. When the base station's physical layer divides a TB into multiple CBGs, the physical layer fills the multiple sub-PDUs included in the MAC PDU into these CBGs and then transmits them to the UE's physical layer in the format of a complete TB. In some cases, the sub-PDUs generated by the base station's MAC layer can also be described as MAC sub-PDUs or MAC sub-PDUs.

[0147] The UE's physical layer receives the TB (Transmission Block) over the air interface. Following a unified CBG (Continuous Block Group) splitting scheme, it divides the received TB into multiple CBGs (Continuous Block Groups). Then, it decodes these multiple CBGs to obtain the sub-PDUs within each CBG. After the physical layer decodes all the sub-PDUs contained in the complete TB, it delivers them to the MAC (Machine Interface) layer. The MAC layer then delivers the data carried by the multiple sub-PDUs to the next higher protocol layer (e.g., the RLC layer).

[0148] It should be noted that during the process of the base station's MAC layer filling multiple sub-PDUs into multiple CBGs, the boundary of each sub-PDU is not completely consistent with the boundary of the CBG. There may be a situation where two segments of a sub-PDU are located in two different CBGs.

[0149] Correspondingly, the UE's MAC layer needs to decode the entire CBG of the TB to obtain multiple sub-PDUs before delivering the entire TB to the upper layer. Specifically, the UE's MAC layer must decode the MAC CE or the MAC sub-header of the sub-PDU to determine the starting position of the next MAC CE or sub-PDU. If these two MAC CEs or sub-PDUs are not in the same CB, the pre-transmitted sub-PDUs cannot be delivered to the upper layer first, causing transmission delay.

[0150] It should be understood that the technical terms used in this application are for illustrative purposes only and not as limiting. For example, as technology evolves, technical terms may also change, and other technical terms that have the same technical meaning should also apply to this application.

[0151] As described above, in the CBG-based HARQ mechanism, both dual CRC checks and TB-level inter-layer delivery schemes result in a low TB delivery rate, affecting data transmission efficiency.

[0152] In the aforementioned dual CRC check process, if any CB included in the TB fails the CB CRC check, or if the TB fails the TB CRC check, the physical layer will not deliver the TB to the MAC layer. This results in a low TB delivery rate, which in turn triggers a retransmission request for that TB, wasting communication resources.

[0153] In view of this, this application provides a communication method applied to a communication system, the communication system including a first communication device and a second communication device. During the process of the first communication device sending first data to the second communication device, the physical layer of the first communication device uses sub-transmission blocks included in a transmission block as the checksum and delivery unit to improve the success rate of data delivery. The transmission block sent by the first communication device to the second communication device includes multiple sub-transmission blocks corresponding to code block groups. Each sub-transmission block carries metadata, which indicates the status of the sub-protocol data units carried by the sub-transmission block. Thus, after receiving the transmission block, the second communication device can accurately and quickly decode each sub-transmission block according to the metadata carried by each sub-transmission block, and deliver the data according to the decoding result, using sub-transmission blocks as the delivery unit.

[0154] Therefore, sub-transmission blocks that are successfully decoded first can be delivered with priority, without having to wait for all sub-transmission blocks to be successfully transmitted before being delivered together, which can effectively reduce transmission latency. The first communication device can retransmit some sub-transmission blocks that failed to be decoded, without having to retransmit all sub-transmission blocks, thus reducing the number of retransmissions and effectively reducing the amount of retransmitted data, saving communication resources.

[0155] Furthermore, the second communication device can carry feedback information in a MAC CE message, which is protected by CRC checksum. This reduces the probability of the feedback information carried in the MAC CE message being misinterpreted, decreases unnecessary data retransmissions, further improves the success rate of data transmission, and saves communication resources.

[0156] In this application, the first communication device may be an access network device, and the second communication device may be a terminal device. The downlink transmission process between the first communication device and the second communication device uses the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application, and improves the success rate of downlink data transmission through a new HARQ mechanism.

[0157] Alternatively, the first communication device can be a terminal device, and the second communication device can be an access network device. The uplink transmission process between the first communication device and the second communication device uses the same method provided in the embodiments of this application to improve the success rate of uplink data transmission through a new HARQ mechanism.

[0158] In the following embodiments of this application, the possible implementation process of the communication method provided in this application is explained mainly by taking the first communication device as an access network device, such as a base station, and the second communication device as a terminal device, such as a UE. However, it should be noted that the solution provided in this application is not limited to downlink communication scenarios.

[0159] The solution provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to the corresponding flowcharts. It is understood that the illustrative flowcharts provided in this application primarily use different devices (e.g., terminal devices, network devices) as examples of the execution subjects of this interactive illustration to illustrate the method, but this application does not limit the execution subjects of the interactive illustrations. For example, the devices (e.g., terminal devices, network devices) in the illustrative flowcharts can also be chips, chip systems, or processors that support the implementation of this method on the device, or logic modules or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the device.

[0160] As a general statement, the message or signaling interactions involved in the interaction process of this application embodiment can be standard messages or signaling or newly introduced messages or signaling. This application embodiment does not make specific limitations on this.

[0161] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of this application. It can be understood that... Figure 3 The UE in the middle can be Figure 1 Any terminal device in the context can also refer to a device within the terminal device (such as a processor, chip, or chip system). Figure 2 The base station in the middle can be Figure 1 Any access network device, or a component within an access network device (such as a processor, chip, or chip system). Figure 3 As shown, the main flow of the communication method provided in this application embodiment includes: S300, the base station sends transmission parameters to the UE.

[0162] Correspondingly, the UE receives the transmission parameters sent by the base station.

[0163] The transmission parameters include at least one of the following: number of CBGs, CBG size, maximum number of retransmissions, and enable parameters.

[0164] The communication method provided in this application is applied to HARQ scenarios, particularly downlink HARQ scenarios where a base station transmits downlink data to a UE. In a HARQ scenario, the data that the base station needs to transmit to the UE is denoted as first data, which can be service data. For the first data to be transmitted, the base station can create one or more HARQ processes to transmit the first data to the UE. For example, if the amount of first data is large, the base station can create multiple HARQ processes to split the first data into multiple parts, with each HARQ process transmitting a portion of the first data. If the amount of first data is relatively small, the base station can create one HARQ process to transmit the complete first data.

[0165] When there are multiple HARQ processes, they can be executed simultaneously in parallel or sequentially. This application primarily focuses on one HARQ process among multiple HARQ processes, providing possible implementation schemes. For ease of description, the current HARQ process can be referred to as the target process, which can be any process within the HARQ processes. Optionally, the HARQ process can be replaced with a HARQ stop-wait process.

[0166] When a base station creates multiple HARQ processes to transmit data, it needs to transmit data according to pre-configured parameters. These parameters include the size at which a TB (Through-Based Unit) is divided into CBGs (Chip-Based Groups), the number of CBGs that can be obtained from a TB, and the maximum number of retransmissions for failed CBGs. For ease of description, these parameters used by the base station for data transmission are referred to as transmission parameters. In some cases, transmission parameters can be replaced with HARQ parameters, HARQ transmission parameters, etc., without limitation.

[0167] In some embodiments, transmission parameters may include at least one of the following: number of CBGs, CBG size, maximum number of retransmissions, and enable parameters.

[0168] The maximum retransmission count refers to the maximum number of times a base station can retransmit certain failed data (such as data carried by a CBG) to the UE. For example, the maximum retransmission count can be represented by maxHARQ_Tx. The base station assigns a value to maxHARQ_Tx to indicate the actual value of the maximum retransmission count.

[0169] The number of CBGs refers to the number of times a TB can be divided into multiple CBs and multiple CBs can be combined into a CBG. For example, the number of CBGs can be represented by N. The base station can set the parameter N to indicate the maximum number of CBGs that a TB can be divided into.

[0170] CBG size refers to the maximum size of data that a CBG can carry, such as the maximum number of bytes in all CBs included in a CBG. For example, CBG size can be represented by CBG size.

[0171] The enabling parameter indicates whether the base station can use the HARQ mechanism provided in this embodiment. For example, the enabling parameter can be illustrated using codebookGroupHARQ. If the HARQ mechanism is allowed, codebookGroupHARQ can be set to enabled. If the HARQ mechanism is not allowed, codebookGroupHARQ can be set to disabled. The HARQ mechanism provided in this embodiment can be described as a CBG-based downlink HARQ mechanism, a downlink HARQ mechanism, a CBG-based HARQ mechanism, a sub-TB-based HARQ mechanism, a new HARQ mechanism, etc., without limitation.

[0172] In addition to the transmission parameters illustrated above, in other cases, transmission parameters may also include other transmission-related parameters, which will not be elaborated further.

[0173] The base station determines transmission parameters for the target process. These transmission parameters can be applicable to all HARQ processes or applicable only to the current target process; there is no limitation on this. The transmission parameters determined by the base station can be pre-agreed upon by the protocol or determined by the base station itself based on the transmission requirements of the service data; there is no limitation on this either.

[0174] The transmission parameters determined by the base station are used by the base station to send data to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE can also obtain the transmission parameters and receive data sent by the UE based on the transmission parameters. The UE obtaining the transmission parameters can include: the UE can receive the transmission parameters sent by the base station, or the UE can obtain the transmission parameters in advance based on a protocol agreement. That is, S300 is an optional action and can be replaced by describing the base station and the UE obtaining the transmission parameters in advance based on a protocol agreement.

[0175] It should be noted that the step of the base station determining the transmission parameters through S300 can be performed by the base station before creating the target process. For example, the base station can perform S300 when the UE accesses the base station, or when it determines that service data needs to be transmitted to the UE, or when it creates the target process, etc., without limitation.

[0176] The above-mentioned S300 stage is the initial configuration stage for transmission parameters. The following steps, S310 to S390, will explain the data transmission process between the base station and the UE. The data transmission process mainly includes the following three stages: The first phase involves S310 to S340, where the base station sends data to the UE. In the second phase, from S350 to S370, the UE receives data and sends feedback information to the base station. In the third stage, from S380 to S390, the base station retransmits part of the data to the UE, and the UE receives the retransmitted part of the data from the base station.

[0177] The data transmission schemes for each of these stages will be introduced below.

[0178] In the first phase, the base station sends data to the UE.

[0179] S310, the base station generates a MAC PDU based on the data to be transmitted; The MAC PDU includes multiple sub-PDUs.

[0180] In the target HARQ process, the base station's MAC layer generates multiple sub-PDUs based on the data type. Each sub-PDU carries a portion of the data, and these sub-PDUs together constitute a MAC PDU. The specific implementation scheme for the base station to generate a MAC PDU including multiple sub-PDUs can be found in the conventional data transmission process and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0181] In S320, the base station constructs multiple sub-TBs according to the transmission parameters.

[0182] In this embodiment, the transmission between the base station and the UE is based on TB as the transmission unit, while the transmission between the protocol layers within the base station and the UE can be based on sub-TB as the delivery unit. By refining the granularity of the delivery unit from TB to sub-TB, the data retransmission effort is also refined from TB to sub-TB, reducing unnecessary retransmissions and thus improving the data transmission success rate.

[0183] A sub-TB is a transmission unit smaller than a TB. A TB can include multiple sub-TBs, or multiple sub-TBs can be connected or cascaded into a single TB. A base station can construct multiple sub-TBs with reference to the size of a TB, and the sum of the sizes of the multiple sub-TBs is equal to or close to the size of a TB. The sizes of the multiple sub-TBs can be the same or different.

[0184] There are several ways a base station can construct multiple sub-TBs according to transmission parameters. In some embodiments, the base station can construct multiple sub-TBs of equal or unequal size according to the size of the TB and the number of sub-TBs to be constructed. The size of the TB can range from 24 bits to 3824 bits. For example, the size of the TB is 1024 bits. The base station can divide the size of one TB into the size of four sub-TBs, each of which can be 256 bits in size, or the sizes of the four sub-TBs can not be exactly the same, and there is no limitation.

[0185] In other embodiments, the base station may also determine the size of the multiple sub-TBs to be constructed according to a CBG splitting scheme. Specifically, the base station determines the size of multiple CBGs according to the transmission parameters and the CBG splitting scheme, with each CBG size corresponding to the size of a sub-TB. The base station constructs the sub-TBs according to the determined sizes of each sub-TB. The scheme by which the base station obtains the size of each sub-TB can be found in the aforementioned specific implementation scheme for the base station splitting a TB into multiple CBGs, and the specific implementation scheme for the base station constructing sub-TBs can be found in the existing protocols for base station TB construction schemes, which will not be elaborated upon here.

[0186] In addition, the base station can also construct multiple sub-TBs according to other schemes, as long as the sum of the sizes of the constructed multiple sub-TBs is close to or equal to the size of one TB, without any limitation.

[0187] In S330, the base station fills multiple sub-PDUs, including the MAC PDU, into multiple sub-TBs.

[0188] To carry multiple sub-PDUs included in the MAC PDU, the base station constructs multiple sub-TBs and fills the multiple sub-PDUs included in the MAC PDU into the multiple sub-TBs.

[0189] It should be noted that the size of the multiple sub-PDUs generated by the base station is determined based on the data carried. The size of the multiple sub-TBs constructed by the base station is determined based on the transmission parameters. In some cases, the size of the multiple sub-PDUs does not correspond one-to-one with the size of the multiple sub-TBs; therefore, the starting positions of the multiple sub-PDUs may also not correspond one-to-one with the starting positions of the multiple sub-TBs. Based on this, the base station may fill multiple sub-PDUs into multiple sub-TBs in the following ways: Case 11: Each sub-PDU is filled into a sub-TB; Case 12: At least two adjacent sub-PDUs are filled into a sub-TB; Case 13: A portion of a sub-PDU is filled into the previous sub-TB, and another portion is filled into the next sub-TB.

[0190] Based on the filling scenarios shown in 11-13 above, it can be seen that each sub-TB can carry one or more sub-PDUs, or each sub-TB can carry a partial segment of a sub-PDU, and two adjacent sub-TBs can also be used to combine and carry different segments of a sub-PDU. For example... Figure 4 The diagram shown illustrates the situation where a sub-TB carries a sub-PDU in the communication method provided in this application embodiment.

[0191] Based on the various scenarios described above where the base station fills multiple sub-PDUs into multiple sub-TBs, there are also multiple scenarios where multiple sub-TBs carry sub-PDUs, such as the following scenarios 21-24: Case 21: The sub-TB carries a (complete) sub-PDU.

[0192] Case 22: Sub-TB carries multiple (complete) sub-PDUs; Case 23: The header of the sub-TB carries segments of the sub-PDU.

[0193] Case 24: The tail of the sub-TB carries a segment of the sub-PDU.

[0194] like Figure 4 As shown in (1), the sub-PDUs include sub-PDU1 to sub-PDU5, and the base station constructs multiple sub-TBs based on the CBG splitting scheme, including SubTB1 to SubTB3. Among them, SubTB1 includes complete sub-PDU1 and a part of sub-PDU2. A part of sub-PDU2 is located at the tail of SubTB1, and another part is located at the head of SubTB2. In addition to including a part of sub-PDU2, SubTB2 also includes complete sub-PDU3 and sub-PDU4, as well as a part of sub-PDU5. Another part of sub-PDU5 is located at the head of SubTB3.

[0195] It should be noted that, Figure 4 The case shown in (1) is only an example of multiple sub-TBs carrying multiple sub-PDUs and is not intended to limit the specific implementation.

[0196] S340, the base station concatenates multiple sub-TBs into a first TB and sends the first TB to the UE.

[0197] Correspondingly, the UE receives the first TB sent by the base station.

[0198] The first TB includes multiple sub-TBs and metadata for each sub-TB. The metadata of a sub-TB is used to indicate whether the sub-TB carries a complete or segmented sub-PDU, such as indicating whether it carries a complete sub-PDU and / or whether it carries segments of a sub-PDU. A segment of a sub-PDU can be understood as a part of a complete sub-PDU, and a segment of a sub-PDU can also be described as a segmented sub-PDU to distinguish it from a complete sub-PDU.

[0199] In this scheme, the base station transmits data to the UE in the form of a first TB. The base station fills multiple sub-PDUs, which are included in the MAC PDU, into multiple constructed sub-TBs, and then concatenates the multiple sub-TBs into a first TB before transmitting it to the UE.

[0200] The first TB sent by the base station to the UE also includes metadata for each sub-TB. This metadata indicates whether the sub-TB carries a sub-PDU, specifically whether it carries a complete or segmented sub-PDU. For example, the metadata can indicate whether the sub-TB carries a complete sub-PDU. Alternatively, it can indicate whether the sub-TB carries a segmented sub-PDU. Furthermore, the metadata can also indicate whether the sub-TB carries both complete and segmented sub-PDUs.

[0201] In one example, the metadata of a sub-TB includes a first field and / or a second field, the first field indicating whether the sub-TB carries the complete sub-PDU, and the second field indicating whether the sub-TB (header and / or tail) carries segments of the sub-PDU.

[0202] For example, subTB(i) can refer to the subTB with sequence number i, and its metadata can be represented by the P field and the HT field. Optionally, the HT field occupies 2 bits and the P field occupies 1 bit.

[0203] The P field indicates whether subTB(i) carries a complete sub-PDU. A first value for P indicates that subTB(i) carries a complete sub-PDU, while a second value indicates that subTB(i) does not. Optionally, the first value can be 1 and the second value 0. Alternatively, the first value can be 0 and the second value 1. Or, the first value can be "thue" and the second value can be "false," etc., without limitation.

[0204] The HT field indicates whether the header and / or tail of subTB(i) carries segmented subPDUs. Specifically, the following situations apply: The HT field is a third value, indicating that subTB(i) does not carry segmented subPDUs; The HT field is the fourth value, indicating that the end of subTB(i) carries a segmented subPDU; The HT field is the fifth value, indicating that the header of subTB(i) carries the segmented subPDU; The HT field is the sixth value, indicating that both the tail and head of subTB(i) carry segmented subPDUs.

[0205] For example, the third value is 00, the fourth value is 01, the fifth value is 10, and the sixth value is 11. Alternatively, the third to sixth values ​​can also be any other four different values, without restriction.

[0206] It should be noted that the names and specific values ​​of the first to sixth values ​​can be adjusted adaptively without limitation.

[0207] Based on the above descriptions of the P and HT fields, the values ​​of the HT and P fields of a sub-TB can accurately indicate the sub-PDU carried within that sub-TB.

[0208] In addition, the metadata of a sub-TB can also include a third field, which is used to indicate the location or length information of the sub-PDU segments carried by the sub-TB.

[0209] Taking the third field as an example to indicate the position of the sub-PDU segment carried by the sub-TB. Optionally, the third field can be a first position field L1 and / or a second position field L2, where L1 is used to indicate the position of the sub-PDU segment carried by the header of the sub-TB, and L2 is used to indicate the position of the sub-PDU segment carried by the tail of the sub-TB.

[0210] In one specific example, L1 is used to indicate the end position of the segmented subPDU carried in the header of the subtransfer block, and L2 is used to indicate the start position of the segmented subPDU carried in the tail of the subtransfer block.

[0211] Therefore, when the first and second fields of the metadata of the subtransfer block accurately indicate the complete and segmented sub-PDUs carried by the subtransfer block, the third field can further indicate the location of the segmented sub-PDUs, making it easier to decode the segmented sub-PDUs carried by the subtransfer block more accurately and further improving the success rate of data transmission.

[0212] When the P and HT fields indicate that a sub-TB carries a sub-PDU segment, the sub-TB's metadata may include a third field. When the P and HT fields indicate that a sub-TB does not carry a sub-PDU segment, the sub-TB's metadata may not include a third field, or the third field may be empty.

[0213] Based on this, taking the first value as 1, the second value as 0, the third value as 00, the fourth value as 01, the fifth value as 10, and the sixth value as 11 as an example, the HT field, P field, and L1 / L2 field in the metadata of a sub-TB indicate the following: Case 31: If the high bit in the HT field is 1 (e.g., the HT field is 10 or 11) and the P field is 1, then the metadata of the subTB(i) may also include the L1 field, which indicates the position of the segment of the first subPDU carried in the header of the subTB(i).

[0214] Case 32: If the low bit of the HT field is 1 (e.g., the HT field is 01 or 11) and the P field is 1, then the metadata of the subTB(i) can also include the L2 field, which indicates the position of the subPDU carried at the end of the subTB(i). Case 33: If the high bit in the HT field is 1 (e.g., the HT field is 10 or 11) and the P field is 0, then the metadata of the subTB(i) can also include the L1 field, which indicates the position of the corresponding segmented PDU in the subTB.

[0215] The solution provided in this embodiment can carry metadata of multiple sub-TBs in various ways.

[0216] In some embodiments, the metadata for each sub-TB can be carried in the header of each sub-TB. For example... Figure 4 As shown in (1) in the figure. In specific implementation, the base station can fill the metadata of each sub-TB into the header of the sub-TB. Alternatively, the base station can concatenate the metadata of each sub-TB before the sub-TB, and then concatenate the metadata of each sub-TB and the sub-TB into a complete first TB.

[0217] In other embodiments, the metadata of multiple sub-TBs can also be uniformly carried in the header of the first TB. For example... Figure 4 As shown in (2) in the figure. For example, the metadata of multiple sub-TBs can be represented by a bitmap, which includes multiple bits corresponding to the multiple sub-TBs, and the value of the bit corresponding to each sub-TB in the bitmap corresponds to the metadata of the sub-TB.

[0218] Based on the different cases of the sub-TB carrying complete or segmented sub-PDUs as shown in cases 21 to 24 above, the metadata of the sub-TB can indicate different cases through different values.

[0219] In the scheme provided in this embodiment, the metadata can also be described as the first parameter, attribute parameter, etc., without limitation. There are other implementation schemes for the base station indicating multiple sub-TBs carrying sub-PDUs in the first TB, which will not be elaborated upon.

[0220] The second phase involves S350 to S370, where the UE receives data and sends feedback information to the base station.

[0221] S350, the UE splits the first TB received into multiple sub-TBs according to the transmission parameters.

[0222] After receiving the first TB transmitted by the base station, the UE determines the size of multiple sub-TBs according to the transmission parameters, and then splits the first TB according to the determined size of the multiple sub-TBs to obtain multiple sub-TBs. Since the transmission parameters used by the UE to split the TB are the same as those used by the base station to construct the multiple sub-TBs, the size of the multiple sub-TBs obtained by the UE from splitting the first TB is consistent with the size of the multiple sub-TBs constructed by the base station. For the specific implementation scheme of the UE determining the size of multiple sub-TBs according to the transmission parameters, please refer to the aforementioned specific implementation scheme of the base station constructing multiple sub-TBs according to the transmission parameters, which will not be repeated here.

[0223] S360: The UE decodes multiple sub-TBs based on the metadata of each sub-TB in multiple sub-TBs to obtain multiple sub-PDUs.

[0224] The filling of sub-PDUs differs within different sub-TBs, and the filling of sub-PDUs within each sub-TB can be obtained from the sub-TB's metadata. Based on this, when the UE decodes multiple sub-TBs sequentially, it can obtain the complete sub-PDUs or segmented sub-PDUs carried in that sub-TB based on the sub-PDU carrying information indicated by the metadata carried by each sub-TB. Different processing operations are then performed depending on the type of the obtained sub-PDUs.

[0225] In one scenario, the UE can deliver the complete sub-PDU obtained from decoding to the next higher level.

[0226] In another scenario, for the sub-PDU obtained from the decoding, the UE can obtain other segments associated with the sub-PDU by decoding the previous or next sub-TB of the current sub-TB. After obtaining all the associated segments, the UE can assemble them into a complete sub-PDU and deliver the complete sub-PDU upwards.

[0227] In both scenarios described above, the UE delivering the complete sub-PDU upwards refers to the UE's MAC layer delivering the sub-PDU to the RCL layer. This involves delivery between protocol layers within the UE. For ease of description, the following will describe the specific execution schemes of each protocol layer on both the base station and UE sides from the perspective of each protocol layer within the protocol stack. Figure 2 The protocol stack structure shown in (3) includes a first RLC layer, a first PHY layer, and a first MAC layer for the base station, and a second PHY layer, a second MAC layer, and a second RLC layer for the UE. It should be understood that only some of the protocol layers involved in the interaction are listed here. For the types and functions of other protocol layers not listed, please refer to the relevant standards, which will not be elaborated here.

[0228] On the base station side, the first RLC layer sends the RLC PDU to the first MAC layer, and the first MAC layer generates a MAC PDU based on the RLC PDU. The MAC PDU includes multiple sub-PDUs.

[0229] Furthermore, the base station's first MAC layer constructs multiple sub-TBs, sequentially filling each sub-PDU (sub-PDU) included in the MAC PDU into these sub-TBs. Then, the first MAC layer concatenates these sub-TBs filled with sub-PDUs into a single TB and transmits the TB to the first PHY layer. The base station's first PHY layer then transmits the TB to the UE's second PHY layer via the air interface.

[0230] Correspondingly, on the UE side, after the second PHY layer receives the TB, it determines the size of multiple sub-TBs according to the CBG splitting scheme, and then splits the TB into multiple sub-TBs according to the size of the multiple sub-TBs. In this way, the size of the multiple sub-TBs obtained by the second PHY layer will be consistent with the size of the multiple sub-TBs constructed by the first MAC layer.

[0231] After the second PHY layer splits the data into multiple sub-TBs, it can deliver them to the second MAC layer. The second MAC layer then decodes each sub-TB to obtain the sub-PDUs filled within it. Specifically, the second PHY layer can first perform CRC checks on the resulting sub-TBs. Sub-TBs that pass the CRC check are delivered to the second MAC layer, while those that fail are not. These sub-TBs that fail the CRC check are considered to have failed the check or experienced transmission failure, and the UE can subsequently request a retransmission of these sub-TBs from the base station. For a detailed description of the CRC check implementation, please refer to the aforementioned technical background section; further details are omitted here.

[0232] The complete sub-PDU obtained by decoding at the second MAC layer can be directly delivered to the next protocol layer, namely the second RLC layer.

[0233] For the segments of the decoded sub-PDU, the second MAC layer can, after obtaining other associated segments of the sub-PDU of the segment, combine the sub-PDUs of all associated segments into a complete sub-PDU before delivering it to the second RLC layer.

[0234] The second MAC layer obtains other segments associated with the segments of the sub-PDU, which can be obtained by decoding the previous or next sub-TB of the current sub-TB. The main cases of the second MAC layer decoding a sub-TB can be illustrated by the following example.

[0235] In one example, the header of the current sub-TB carries segments of the sub-PDU. The second MAC layer decodes the current sub-TB to obtain the sub-PDU filling the header, and combines this sub-PDU with segments of the sub-PDU carried at the tail of the previous TB to obtain a complete sub-PDU.

[0236] In another example, consider the case where the current sub-TB carries a segment of a sub-PDU at the end. The second MAC layer decodes the current sub-TB to obtain the sub-PDU padded at the end, and combines this sub-PDU with the segment of the sub-PDU carried at the beginning of the next TB to obtain a complete sub-PDU. In this case, after the second MAC layer decodes the current sub-TB and obtains the segment of the sub-PDU padded at the end, it can first cache this segment. After decoding the next sub-TB and obtaining the segment of the sub-PDU padded at the beginning, it can then perform the operation of combining the two segments of the sub-PDU into a single sub-PDU.

[0237] In another example, consider the case where the current sub-TB carries only a segment of a sub-PDU and no other complete sub-PDUs. This can also be described as the current sub-TB carrying segments of the same sub-PDU at both its header and footer. In this case, the second MAC layer can parse the next sub-TB and then combine the segments based on the information from the next sub-TB to obtain the complete sub-PDU.

[0238] For example, if the metadata of the next sub-TB indicates that the header of the next sub-TB does not carry a complete sub-PDU, then the sub-PDU segments carried by the current sub-TB are combined with the sub-PDU segments carried by the tail of the previous sub-TB to obtain a complete sub-PDU.

[0239] For example, if the metadata of the next sub-TB indicates that the header of the next sub-TB carries a segment of the sub-PDU, then the segment of the sub-PDU carried at the end of the previous sub-TB, the segment of the sub-PDU carried in the current sub-TB, and the segment of the sub-PDU carried in the header of the next sub-TB can be combined to obtain the complete sub-PDU.

[0240] Based on the above decoding scheme, among the multiple sub-PDUs transmitted by the base station, some sub-PDUs can be successfully received by the second MAC layer, while others may not. The second MAC layer performs different operations based on the reception results of different sub-PDUs.

[0241] In one scenario, delivery occurs upwards. The complete sub-PDU obtained directly from the decoding of the sub-TB by the second MAC layer, or the complete sub-PDU obtained by combining them, can be delivered by the second AMC to the next higher protocol layer, such as the second RLC layer.

[0242] In another scenario, a retransmission request is made. For a second MAC layer that failed to be received, the base station can be requested to retransmit that portion of the second MAC layer.

[0243] It should be noted that in the scheme provided in this embodiment, the transmission unit for UE to request retransmission is a sub-TB. For a sub-PDU that failed to decode, the UE requests the base station to retransmit the sub-TB filled by that sub-PDU, rather than requesting to retransmit the entire TB. This reduces the amount of data to be retransmitted and minimizes unnecessary resource waste.

[0244] S370, the UE sends the first information to the base station.

[0245] Correspondingly, the base station receives the first information sent by the UE.

[0246] The first information is used to indicate the feedback information of multiple sub-TBs, and the feedback information is either NACK or ACK.

[0247] The UE generates feedback information corresponding to multiple sub-TBs based on the decoding results of sub-PDUs within multiple sub-TBs, and instructs the base station on the feedback information of multiple sub-TBs through the first information.

[0248] There are several ways in which the first information indicates the feedback information of multiple sub-TBs. For example, the first information may only indicate the feedback information of the sub-TBs that were successfully decoded, or the first information may indicate the feedback information of the sub-TBs that failed to be decoded, or the first information may indicate the feedback information of all sub-TBs.

[0249] In one example, the first message is used to indicate feedback information for multiple sub-TBs. For a successfully decoded sub-TB, the feedback message is ACK. For a sub-TB that failed to decode, the feedback message is NACK.

[0250] For example, the first information is a multi-bit map, where each bit corresponds to a sub-TB, and the value of the bit is used to indicate the feedback information of the corresponding sub-TB. For instance, the first information is a bit map of Bits 0-9, used to indicate the feedback information of sub-TB0-sub-TB9. If the value of Bit 0 is the first value, it indicates that the feedback information of sub-TB0 is ACK. If the value of Bit 1 is the second value or is not the first value, it indicates that the feedback information of sub-TB1 is NACK. Optionally, the first value is 1 and the second value is 0; or conversely, the first value is 1 and the second value is 0.

[0251] In some alternative embodiments, the first information can be carried in the MAC CE. The UE's second MAC layer carries the first information in the MAC CE and provides feedback information of multiple sub-TBs to the base station at the MAC layer. Since the transmission of the MAC CE is protected by CRC, it is not easy to make mistakes during transmission, which can effectively reduce the possibility of the feedback information being transmitted or interpreted incorrectly, further reduce the amount of retransmitted data, improve transmission efficiency, and avoid resource waste.

[0252] In this application, the feedback information can be described as HARQ feedback, sub-TB feedback, decoding feedback, etc., without limitation.

[0253] In the third stage, from S380 to S390, the base station retransmits part of the data to the UE, and the UE receives the retransmitted part of the data from the base station.

[0254] S380, the base station sends the second TB to the UE based on the first information.

[0255] Correspondingly, the UE receives the second TB sent by the base station.

[0256] The second TB includes the first sub-TB, which carries the target sub-PDU carried by the sub-TBs whose feedback information is NACK.

[0257] After receiving the first information sent by the UE, the base station can determine which sub-PDUs filled in the sub-TB have been successfully decoded and which have not been correctly decoded. For ease of description, the sub-TB with a feedback information of NACK is denoted as the target sub-TB, and the sub-PDUs carried by the target sub-TB are called target sub-PDUs. The number of target sub-PDUs can be one or more, or it can be a partial segment of a sub-PDU. The base station needs to retransmit the target sub-TB or the target sub-PDUs carried by the target sub-TB to the UE so that the UE can receive and successfully decode the target sub-PDU again, and deliver all the sub-PDUs included in the MAC PDU upwards to achieve complete and accurate data transmission.

[0258] The solution provided in this application embodiment involves the base station retransmitting the sub-PDU carried by the target sub-TB to the UE by sending a second TB. Within the second TB, the sub-TB carrying the sub-PDU of the target sub-TB is denoted as the first sub-TB.

[0259] The base station can retransmit the sub-PDU carried by the target sub-TB to the UE through the second TB in the following way: the second TB includes multiple sub-TBs, and the multiple sub-TBs include a first sub-TB and multiple second sub-TBs. The first sub-TB carries the sub-PDU carried by the target sub-TB. In this way, the base station still uses TB as the basic transmission unit for transmission to the UE, and the second TB carries the sub-PDU originally carried by the target sub-TB, realizing the scheme of the base station retransmitting this part of the sub-PDU to the UE.

[0260] In one example, multiple second TBs are empty. In this example, the base station retransmits a second TB that was not successfully decoded and is carrying a target sub-TB. This second TB is used only to retransmit the sub-PDU carried by the target sub-TB. This simplifies the operation of the UE receiving and decoding multiple sub-TBs carried by the second TB and improves the success rate of the UE re-decoding the sub-PDU.

[0261] In this example, the second TB can also carry an indication message to indicate which of the multiple sub-TBs carried by the second TB is the first sub-TB. For example, this indication message can be a CBGTI, and its specific information form can be an N-bit bitmap, where N is the number of sub-TBs. The N bits in the N-bit bitmap correspond to the N sub-TBs, and the value of the bit indicates whether the sub-TB is currently being called to retransmit the sub-PDU. For example, the bit corresponding to the first sub-TB is 1, and the bits corresponding to the other sub-TBs are 0.

[0262] In this way, when the UE receives the second TB, it can quickly determine the first sub-TB that needs to be decoded based on the indication information, without having to traverse all the sub-TBs included in the second TB, thus further improving decoding efficiency.

[0263] In another example, multiple second sub-TBs are used, each carrying data to be transmitted in the next HARQ process. In this example, the base station transmits the undecoded sub-PDUs carried by the target sub-TB along with the data to be transmitted in the next HARQ process. This reduces the number of TBs transmitted, minimizing resource waste and improving communication efficiency while retransmitting sub-PDUs.

[0264] S390, the UE splits the second TB to obtain multiple sub-TBs, and decodes them to obtain the target sub-PDU carried by the first sub-TB.

[0265] After receiving the second TB sent by the base station, the UE determines the size of multiple sub-TBs according to the CBG splitting scheme, and splits the second TB according to the size of the multiple sub-TBs to obtain multiple sub-TBs. The specific implementation scheme of the UE splitting the second TB can be referred to the aforementioned first TB splitting scheme, and will not be repeated here.

[0266] The UE decodes the first sub-TB among multiple sub-TBs to obtain the target sub-PDU carried by the first sub-TB. The UE delivers the successfully decoded target sub-PDU upwards. The specific scheme for upward delivery is described in the relevant description of S360 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0267] In some cases, the target sub-PDU carried in the first sub-TB received by the UE may still fail to decode. In this situation, the UE can send feedback information to the base station again, indicating that the target sub-PDU retransmission has failed, and request the base station to retransmit the TB carrying the target sub-PDU again, until the number of retransmission requests exceeds the maximum number of retransmissions in the transmission parameters. Alternatively, the UE can also consider that the base station has failed to transmit the first TB and request the base station to retransmit the entire first TB. Or, the UE can simply discard the target sub-PDU that failed to decode.

[0268] In summary, the communication method provided in this application involves the base station constructing multiple sub-TBs corresponding to multiple CBG sizes during data transmission to the UE. These multiple sub-TBs are transmitted to the UE as a single TB, with metadata for each sub-TB carried within the TB. Upon receiving the TB, the UE splits it according to the same CBG splitting scheme, resulting in multiple sub-TBs of consistent size. Based on the metadata of each sub-TB, the UE can quickly and accurately decode the sub-PDUs carried by each sub-TB. The UE then delivers the complete sub-PDU carried by the successfully decoded sub-TB individually, without waiting for other sub-TBs to be successfully decoded before transmitting them as TB units. This improves the success rate of sub-TB delivery and reduces the number of TB retransmissions. Furthermore, the UE sends feedback information for multiple sub-TBs to the base station via first information. This allows the base station to retransmit only the sub-TBs with negative feedback information, eliminating the need to retransmit all sub-TBs included in the entire TB, reducing unnecessary data retransmission operations and further improving data transmission efficiency.

[0269] The communication method provided in this embodiment above, taking HARQ as an example, provides the main flow of a transmission scheme with sub-TB as the delivery unit. The following will combine... Figures 5 to 8 The specific steps of a HARQ process are described from the perspectives of both the base station side and the UE side.

[0270] like Figure 5 The diagram illustrates a process flow of the first stage of the communication scheme provided in this application embodiment. The process of the base station transmitting new data to the UE mainly includes the following steps: S501: The base station scheduler selects the HARQ process and determines the modulation and coding scheme.

[0271] The base station scheduler can schedule processes, transmit resources, and determine transmission schemes. Optionally, the scheduler can be a first MAC layer scheduler, used to implement the interfacing transmission between the MAC layer and the upper and lower protocol layers. When transmitting new data, the scheduler selects or determines a HARQ process as the current data transmission process and determines the identifier of the current HARQ process. The HARQ process identifier can be, for example, a HARQ process number, which can uniquely identify the current process. This avoids confusion among multiple parallel HARQ processes and improves the accuracy of data transmission.

[0272] In addition, the scheduler can determine the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for the current HARQ process, such as binary phase shift keying (BPSK) or quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), without limitation. The scheduler can also perform other scheduling preparation work, which will not be elaborated upon.

[0273] S502: The base station's first MAC layer packages the data to be transmitted sent by the first RLC layer into a MAC PDU.

[0274] The first MAC layer receives the data to be transmitted from the first RLC layer, generates multiple sub-PDUs according to different service requirements, and packages the multiple sub-PDUs into a MAC PDU.

[0275] S503: The first MAC layer determines the number of CBs, C.

[0276] S504: The first MAC layer calculates the grouping parameters M, M1, K1, and K2.

[0277] S505: The first MAC layer groups the C CBs according to M, M1, K1 and K2 to obtain n CBGs.

[0278] The second AMC layer, based on the CBG scheme in TS 38.214, determines the size of n CBGs that a TB can be split into, and the size of these n CBGs is used to create n sub-TBs. For specific splitting schemes, please refer to the relevant standards and the aforementioned technical background descriptions, which will not be elaborated upon here.

[0279] S506: The first MAC layer consists of CBG(1) to CBG(n), and subTB(1) to subTB(n) are constructed sequentially.

[0280] S507: The first MAC layer populates multiple subTBs with the multiple subPDUs included in the MAC PDU, and constructs metadata for each subTB(i).

[0281] The first MAC layer constructs subTBs according to the size of the CBG and fills the subTBs with subPDUs. For specific implementation schemes, please refer to the relevant schemes for base station TB construction and CBG filling in the relevant standards. The first MAC layer constructs metadata for each subTB and determines the values ​​of the HT and P fields in the metadata of subTB(i). For details, please refer to the aforementioned S340, which will not be repeated here.

[0282] S508: The first MAC layer puts the metadata of subTB(i) into subTB(i).

[0283] S509: The first MAC layer concatenates n subTBs in sequence to form the first TB, and sends the first TB to the first PHY layer.

[0284] The first MAC layer combines the metadata of each of the n subTBs to form a complete TB, namely the first TB, and then sends the complete first TB to the first PHY layer. The first MAC layer can directly fill the header of each subTB with its metadata, ensuring that the metadata of the subTB is received preferentially before the subTB is parsed.

[0285] Furthermore, considering that metadata also occupies a small portion of the subTB's space, meaning that the filling of subTBs with subPDUs depends not only on the size of the subTB and the size of the subPDUs, but also on the size of the metadata, the first MAC layer can also combine the subTB's metadata and the carrying of subPDUs to adjust the subTB's subPDU carrying capacity and metadata values.

[0286] For example, the capacity of subTB is 50 bits, the metadata of subTB occupies 3 bits, and subPDU1 occupies 47 bits.

[0287] Without considering the number of bits occupied by metadata, subTB1 will be filled with the complete subPDU1 and the segmented subPDU2. However, in reality, subTB1 also needs to be filled with the metadata of subsubTB1. Considering the number of bits occupied by metadata, subTB1 will be filled with: the metadata of subTBsubTB (3 bits) + the complete subPDU1 (47 bits).

[0288] As the above examples show, by adjusting the sub-PDU carried by the subTB and the value of the metadata while taking into account the space occupied by the reference metadata, the situation of the subTB carrying the sub-PDU can be more accurately indicated.

[0289] S510: The first PHY layer starts a retransmission counter for each subTB(i).

[0290] The first PHY layer starts a retransmission counter TxCont(i) for each subTB(i), where TxCont(i) = TxCont(i) + 1. The retransmission counter is used to record the number of times each subTB(i) is retransmitted. Each time subTB(i) is retransmitted, TxCont(i) is incremented by 1 until the value of TxCont(i) reaches the maximum number of retransmissions.

[0291] S511: The first PHY layer sends the first TB, which includes multiple subTBs, to the UE on the physical downlink shared channel.

[0292] After receiving the first TB, which includes multiple sub-TBs, the first PHY layer transmits the first TB to the UE on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). In addition, when transmitting the first TB to the UE, the base station also carries related parameters of the first TB, such as CRC checksum, LDPC encoding, number of code block packets, and CBG concatenation parameters. The first PHY layer can provide the relevant parameters of the first TB to the UE by mapping the relevant parameters of the first TB to time-frequency resources and transmitting the first TB on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0293] S512: The first PHY layer sends DCI to the UE through the physical downlink control channel.

[0294] The DCI carries scheduling information used to schedule the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). Specifically, the scheduling information instructs the base station to inform the UE of the first TB sent during the current HAQR process. The scheduling information includes at least one of the following: 1. Time-frequency resource parameters, used to indicate the time-frequency resources of the first transmission block; 2. Modulation and coding scheme; 3. New data indicator (NDI): This indicates whether data is being newly transmitted or retransmitted. The NDI value is 0 for initial transmission and 1 for retransmission. 4. The HARQ process ID K corresponding to the current HARQ process; 5. Redundancy version (RV) number, used to indicate which version is being transmitted, or to indicate which retransmission is being performed on the current sub-TB; 6. Sub-TB scheduling indication information, used to indicate the scheduled sub-TB; the sub-TB scheduling indication information can also be described as code block group transmission indicator (CBGTI). CBGTI includes multiple bits, each bit corresponding to a sub-TB. A value of 1 for a sub-TB indicates that the sub-TB has been called, and a value of 0 for a sub-TB indicates that the sub-TB has not been called.

[0295] 7. Sub-TB Buffer Processing Indicator: This indicator is used to indicate the processing scheme corresponding to the sub-TB buffer. The sub-TB buffer processing indicator can be replaced by the code block group flash indicator (CBGFI). CBGFI includes multiple bits, each bit corresponding to a sub-TB. A value of 1 for the bit corresponding to the sub-TB indicates that the buffer of the sub-TB needs to be cleared, and a value of 0 for the bit corresponding to the sub-TB indicates that the buffer of the sub-TB needs to be retained.

[0296] In addition to the data mentioned above, the DCI sent by the base station to the UE may also include other necessary indications, such as the base station's identification information, transmission time, and other conventional parameters, without limitation.

[0297] This completes the initial transmission phase of the base station calling the HARQ process to transmit new data to the UE. It should be noted that, based on the parallel principle of multiple HARQ processes, the base station can continue executing another HARQ process while waiting for the UE to receive and respond after completing the current HARQ process of transmitting data to the UE, thereby improving data transmission efficiency.

[0298] It should be noted that the order of S511 and S512 mentioned above is not limited. The base station can transmit the first TB and DCI simultaneously, or the base station can transmit DCI first and then transmit the first TB.

[0299] like Figure 6 The diagram shown illustrates a flowchart of the second stage of the communication scheme provided in this application embodiment. The process of the UE receiving data sent by the base station and responding includes: S601: The UE receives the DCI sent by the base station.

[0300] After receiving the DCI sent by the base station, the UE decodes the DCI and reads the scheduling information carried by the DCI, such as NDI, CBGTI, CBGFI and process number K, to obtain the relevant information of the first TB of the current HARQ transmission.

[0301] S602: The UE determines whether it is a new transmission based on the NDI.

[0302] Specifically, if the value of NDI is 0, it is determined to be a new transmission; if the value of NDI is 1, it is determined to be a retransmission.

[0303] If it is a new transmission, the UE executes steps S603-S612 to perform the relevant steps for receiving the new transmission data. If it is not a new transmission (or if it is a retransmission), the UE executes steps S613-S621 to perform the relevant steps for receiving the retransmission data.

[0304] The UE's new data transmission reception procedure S603-S612 is as follows: S603: UE clears the buffer corresponding to HARQ process K.

[0305] The UE will reserve a corresponding buffer for the current HARQ process K to cache the first TB of data transmitted by process K. When the UE receives the DCI corresponding to process K, if it confirms that process K is transmitting new data, the UE will clear the soft buffers of all CBGs corresponding to process K and prepare to receive new data.

[0306] It should be noted that the buffer corresponding to process K in the UE case is mainly for situations where process K has already transmitted other data. To prevent other data transmitted by process K from still being stored in the buffer and affecting the storage of newly transmitted data, the step of adding a buffer in the UE case is introduced. In some cases, the UE may immediately clear the process buffer after each process transmission ends. In this case, the buffer corresponding to process K has already been cleared, and the UE does not necessarily need to perform the step of clearing the buffer before receiving new transmitted data.

[0307] S604: The UE clears all subTBs corresponding to the HARQ process K stored in the assembly buffer.

[0308] As described in the foregoing embodiments, in a HARQ process, the UE receives and decodes multiple sub-TBs included in the first TB to obtain the complete sub-PDU or segments of the sub-PDU. For the segments of the sub-PDU, the UE needs to assemble the segments of the sub-PDU carried by the current sub-TB with other associated segments into a complete sub-PDU before delivering it upwards. In this process, the UE will first cache the segments of the decoded MAC sub-PUD in the assembly buffer, waiting for associated segments in the assembly buffer. Furthermore, for the sub-TB containing a sub-PDU that failed to be decoded or assembled, the UE will first store the sub-TB in the buffer for subsequent decoding and assembly. Therefore, the assembly buffer may contain MACs to be assembled corresponding to other processes.

[0309] When the UE receives new data from the base station, it first clears all subTBs corresponding to the HARQ process K stored in the assembly buffer to avoid the previously stored data affecting the reception of the new data.

[0310] S605: The UE receives the scheduled subTB(i) data indicated by CBGTI and stores it in the soft buffer.

[0311] S606: The UE decodes subTB(i) and performs CRC check on each CB in subTB(i).

[0312] S607: UE determines whether all CBs in subTB(i) have passed CRC check. If all CBs in subTB(i) pass the CRC check, then execute S608: set the feedback information of subTB(i) to ACK.

[0313] S609: For the segment of the subPDU obtained by decoding subTB(i), the UE uploads subTB(i) to the assembly buffer of the second MAC layer and starts the subTB assembly subroutine.

[0314] S610: For the complete sub-PDU obtained by decoding subTB(i), the UE delivers the complete sub-PDU upwards.

[0315] If subTB(i) contains a CB that fails the CRC check, then execute S611: set the feedback information of subTB(i) to NACK.

[0316] S612: The UE sends the first information to the base station; The first information is carried in the MAC CE message. The first information includes a Bitmap and a HARQ process ID. The Bitmap includes feedback information from multiple subTBs included in the first TB.

[0317] The UE determines the scheduled subTB(i) based on the values ​​of multiple bits in CBGTI, receives the scheduled subTB(i), and stores it. When the current HARQ process K is a new transmission, all subTBs of the first TB will usually be scheduled. When the current HARQ process K is a retransmission, only a small portion of the subTBs may be scheduled.

[0318] For any scheduled subTB(i), the UE first performs a CRC check on the CBs included in subTB(i). If all CBs pass the CRC check, then subTB(i) is confirmed to have passed the CRC check. If at least one CB fails the CRC check, then subTB(i) is confirmed to have failed the check. For subTB(i) that fails the CRC check, the feedback information is set to NACK. For subTB(i) that passes the CRC check, the feedback information is set to ACK.

[0319] In practice, the UE can construct feedback information in various forms. In one example, the UE can construct map information, such as a BitString. The first information can include multiple bits, each bit corresponding to a subTB(i), and the value of the bit indicates the feedback information of the corresponding subTB(i). For example, a bit value of 1 indicates that the feedback information of subTB(i) is ACK; a bit value of 0 indicates that the feedback information of subTB(i) is NACK.

[0320] For the multiple subTB(i) scheduled in the subTB(1)-subTB(n) included in the first TB, the UE can repeatedly execute S607-S611 until the last scheduled subTB(i) is processed, and the UE generates feedback information for all subTBs.

[0321] S613-S621, the UE's retransmission reception procedure for retransmitted data is as follows: S613: The UE merges the data carried by the target subTB(i) with the data stored in the buffer corresponding to the target subTB(i) according to the scheduled target subTB(i) indicated by CBGTI, and obtains the merged data corresponding to the target subTB(i).

[0322] As can be seen from the foregoing embodiments, for a target subTB(i) that fails CRC verification, the UE stores the target subTB(i) data in a buffer. After the UE receives the target subTB(i) retransmitted by the base station, in order to improve the decoding success rate, the UE first merges the received retransmitted data with the previously received data that failed verification, and then performs subsequent decoding and CRC verification operations on the merged data.

[0323] S614: The UE decodes the merged data corresponding to the target subTB(i) and performs CRC verification on each CB in the target subTB(i).

[0324] S615: The UE determines whether all CBs in the target subTB(i) have passed the CRC check. If all CBs in target subTB(i) pass the CRC check, then execute S616: set the feedback information of target subTB(i) to ACK.

[0325] S617: For the segmentation of the subPDU obtained by decoding the target subTB(i), the UE uploads the target subTB(i) to the assembly buffer of the second MAC layer and starts the subTB assembly subroutine.

[0326] S618: For the complete sub-PDU obtained from the decoded target subTB(i), the UE delivers the complete sub-PDU upwards.

[0327] If the target subTB(i) contains a CB that fails the CRC check, then execute S619: set the feedback information of the target subTB(i) to NACK.

[0328] For multiple target subTBs (i) scheduled in subTBs (1)-subTB (n) included in the first TB, the UE can repeatedly execute S614-S618 until the last scheduled target subTB (i) is processed, and the UE generates feedback information for all subTBs.

[0329] S620: The UE sends the first information to the base station; The first information is carried in the MAC CE message. The first information includes a Bitmap and a HARQ process ID. The Bitmap includes feedback information from multiple subTBs included in the first TB.

[0330] S621: The UE clears the buffer of the target subTB(i) corresponding to the bit value of 1 according to the bitmap indication of CBGFI.

[0331] For the specific implementation scheme of the UE performing CRC verification, decoding, and creating feedback information for all subTBs of a single target subTB(i) in the retransmission reception process, please refer to the aforementioned new transmission reception process and the aforementioned Figure 3 The specific implementation scheme of the embodiments shown will not be described in detail.

[0332] In the scheme provided in this embodiment, when the UE receives data transmitted by the base station through the HARQ process, it can first distinguish whether the data is newly transmitted by using the NDI carried by the DCI. If the NDI indicates that the data is newly transmitted, the new transmission procedure is executed; if the NDI indicates that the data is retransmitted, the retransmission procedure is executed. Unlike the new transmission procedure, in the retransmission procedure, the UE can perform CRC verification, decoding, and delivery to the next higher protocol layer based on the subTB(i) scheduled this time as indicated by the CBGTI, without needing to perform all operations for all subTBs. For subTB(i) that pass the CRC verification, the UE decodes and delivers the resulting complete subPDU directly to the next higher protocol layer without waiting for other subPDUs, thus improving delivery efficiency. For subPDUs that fail the CRC verification or fail to decode successfully, the UE can request the base station to retransmit a single target subTB(i), which reduces the amount of data requested for retransmission, further reducing resource waste and improving data transmission efficiency.

[0333] like Figure 7 The diagram shown illustrates a flowchart of the third stage of the communication method provided in this application embodiment. The process of the base station retransmitting the subTB corresponding to the NACK to the UE mainly includes: S701: The base station receives the first information sent by the second MAC layer of the UE and obtains the value of each bit in the Bitmap included in the first information.

[0334] The base station receives the first information, reads the Bitmap within it, and parses the multiple bits of the Bitmap sequentially, for example, from low to high. A bit value of 1 indicates that the feedback information of the corresponding subTB is ACK, and the subTB does not need to be retransmitted; a bit value of 0 indicates that the feedback information of the corresponding subTB is NACK, indicating that there is a CRC check failure or decoding subPDU failure, and the subTB needs to be retransmitted.

[0335] S702: The base station determines whether the i-th bit in the Bitmap is 1.

[0336] If it is 1, then execute S703: The base station clears the buffer of subTB(i), sets the i-th bit of CBGTI to 0, and sets the i-th bit of CBGFI to 1.

[0337] If it is not 1, then execute S704: The base station determines the retransmission of subTB(i) and starts the retransmission counter.

[0338] S705: Does the base station determine whether the retransmission count TxCont(i) is less than the maximum retransmission count maxHARQ_Tx? If TxCont(i) is not less than maxHARQ_Tx, then jump to execute S703.

[0339] If TxCont(i) is less than maxHARQ_Tx, then execute S706: The base station constructs a second TB, which includes a first subTB and multiple second subTBs. The first subTB carries the subPDUs included in the subTB.

[0340] The base station iterates through the value of each bit in the Bitmap and executes S702 to S706 sequentially for subTB(1) to subTB(n) until the subTB is completely processed.

[0341] S707: The base station constructs the DCI corresponding to the second TB; The DCI corresponding to the second TB includes CBGTI, CBGFI, NDI, time-frequency resource parameters, and MCS. The value of the i-th bit of CBGTI is 1, the value of the i-th bit of CBGFI is 0, and the value of NDI is 1.

[0342] S708: The base station transmits the second TB on the PDSCH and transmits the DCI corresponding to the second TB on the PDCCH.

[0343] If TxCont(i) is less than the maximum number of retransmissions maxHARQ_Tx, then execute S709: The base station clears the buffer of CBG(i), sets the value of the i-th bit of the constructed CBGTI to 0, and prepares to send a new one.

[0344] Based on this, the base station completes the subTB retransmission process for NACK. The base station retransmits part of the subTB that failed CRC check or decoding to the UE, which reduces the amount of data requested for retransmission and improves data transmission efficiency.

[0345] It should be noted that the solution provided in this embodiment can be used in combination with the aforementioned embodiments. For example, the base station executes the new transmission procedure corresponding to S501 to S502. The UE receives the DCI sent by the base station, and executes the new transmission reception procedure when the NDI indicates new transmission data. During the execution of the new transmission reception procedure, the UE executes S611 to set the feedback information of some subTB(i) that failed CRC check or decoding to NACK. After the base station executes S701 to S708 to retransmit the subTB(i) to the UE, the UE executes the retransmission reception procedure corresponding to S613 to S621 when the NDI indicates retransmission data.

[0346] Both the new transmission reception process and the retransmission reception process described above involve the UE decoding the subTB to obtain subPDU segments, and then assembling these segments into a complete subPDU. For example... Figure 8 The diagram shown illustrates a flowchart of a UE executing a subTB assembly subroutine in the communication method provided in this application embodiment. Figure 8 As shown, the main steps include the following: S801: The UE receives the subTB(i) that has passed CRC verification and reads the metadata in subTB(i).

[0347] S802: UE determines whether the value of the HT field in the metadata of subTB(i) is 00? If the value of the HT field is 00, then execute S803: The UE retrieves all complete sub-PDUs in subTB(i), removes the header of the sub-PDUs, and delivers them upwards.

[0348] A value of 00 in the HT field indicates that subTB(i) carries complete sub-PDUs. Therefore, with the HT field value of 00, the UE does not need to refer to the P field value and can directly determine that subTB(i) carries complete sub-PDUs. The UE decodes subTB(i), obtains the complete sub-PDUs, and delivers them upwards.

[0349] The specific upward delivery scheme is as follows: the UE's second MAC layer will first strip the header of the sub-PDU and then deliver the remaining data to the protocol layer above the UE's second MAC layer, namely the second RLC layer.

[0350] If the value of the HT field is not 00, then execute S804: UE determines whether the value of the P field in the metadata of subTB(i) is 1. If the value of the P field is 1, then execute S805: The UE retrieves all complete sub-PDUs in subTB(i), removes the header of the sub-PDUs, and delivers them upwards.

[0351] S806: The UE starts from the segment of the subPDU carried at the end of subTB(i-1) and assembles the subPDU across subTB in sequence; where the HT of subTB(i-1) is 01, or the HT is 11 and P=1.

[0352] If the value of field P is not 1, then jump directly to execute S806.

[0353] A value of 1 in the P field indicates that subTB(i) carries the complete subPDU. When the HT field is not 00 and the P field is 1, subTB(i) carries both the complete subPDU and its segments. In this case, the UE removes the header from the complete subPDU and delivers it upwards, then assembles the subPDU segments with other associated segments into a complete subPDU, removes the header again, and delivers it upwards. For a detailed implementation of the UE assembling the associated subPDU segments into a complete subPDU, please refer to the aforementioned embodiments, which will not be elaborated further.

[0354] S807: Does the UE determine whether a complete sub-PDU has been assembled? If a complete sub-PDU is assembled, then S808 is executed: The UE strips the header of the assembled complete sub-PDU and delivers it upwards.

[0355] If a complete sub-PDU is not assembled, then execute S809: The UE discards the assembled sub-PDU.

[0356] The UE assembles the segments of the associated sub-PDU. The assembled complete sub-PDU is delivered directly to the upper level, while the unassembled sub-PDU can be discarded. In the case of assembly failure, the UE can set the feedback information of the subTB(i) containing the sub-PDU to NACK to instruct the base station to retransmit the subTB(i). After receiving the retransmitted subTB(i) from the base station, the UE decodes the subTB(i) again and reassembles the associated segments of the sub-PDU. If the assembled complete sub-PDU is obtained, it is delivered directly to the upper level. If the assembly still fails, it can request a retransmission again or discard the sub-PDU completely.

[0357] The UE assembly scheme for obtaining a complete sub-PDU by associating segments of sub-PDUs provided in this embodiment can be used in combination with the aforementioned embodiments. For example, the UE can execute the subTB assembly scheme in the new transmission reception process or in the retransmission reception process, without limitation.

[0358] In some embodiments, based on Figure 8 The provided subTB assembly solution, and the aforementioned Figure 4 As shown in (1), a specific example of subTB assembly can also be provided.

[0359] like Figure 4 In the structure shown in (1), after the UE receives subTB1, subTB2 and subTB3, subTB2 passes the CRC check, while subTB1 and subTB3 fail the CRC check. The UE then requests the base station to retransmit subTB1 and subTB3.

[0360] The UE places subTB2 into the assembly buffer. The UE reads the metadata of subTB2, which includes: HT=11, P=1, the length field L1 and the tail field L2 of the header subPDU segment in subTB2. Based on P=1, the UE determines that there is a complete subPDU in subTB2. The UE locates subPDU3 through L1, thereby obtaining the complete subPDU3 and subPDU4, and delivers them to the second RLC layer after stripping the headers.

[0361] After subTB1 is successfully retransmitted once, the UE reads subTB1 and puts it into the assembly buffer. The UE reads the metadata of subTB1, which includes: HT=01, P=1, and the length of the tail subPDU segment in subTB1 is L2. Based on P=1, the UE determines that there is a complete subPDU1 in subTB2, obtains the complete subPDU1, removes the header, and delivers it to the second RLC layer.

[0362] The UE uses the L2 field in the metadata and the L field in the sub-PDU2 to know that some segments are in subTB2. The base station assembles the part of sub-PDU2 in subTB1 with the part in subTB2 to obtain the complete sub-PDU2, removes the header and delivers it to the RLC layer, and deletes subTB1 at the same time.

[0363] After CBG3 successfully retransmits twice, the UE reads subTB1 from CBG3 and puts it into the assembly buffer. The UE reads the metadata of subTB1, which includes: HT=11, P=0, and the length of the subPDU segment in the header of subTB2 is L1.

[0364] The UE uses the metadata L1 in subTB2 and the L fields of subPDU3 and subPDU4 to locate the position of subPDU5 in subTB2. The UE uses the L2 length and the L field of subPDU5 to know that subPDU5 has segments in subTB3. The base station assembles the partial segments of subPDU5 in subTB2 and the partial segments in subTB3 indicated by the metadata L1 to obtain the complete subPDU5. The UE removes the header of subPDU5 and delivers it to the second RLC layer, while deleting subTB2.

[0365] It should be noted that this example only illustrates the decoding and assembly scheme of subTB in a specific case. Extended schemes based on the same logic are all applicable to this application.

[0366] The above embodiments primarily explain the steps executed by each device in the communication method from the perspective of execution on each device side. The following provides a more complete interaction scheme from a system perspective. See also... Figure 9 This is another flowchart related to the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application. Figure 9 As shown, the main processes include the following: S901: The first MAC layer receives the service data to be transmitted sent by the first RLC layer.

[0367] S902: The first MAC layer packages the data to be transmitted into a MAC PDU; the MAC PDU includes multiple sub-PDUs.

[0368] For the specific implementation of the first MAC layer receiving service data from the upper layer and generating MAC PDUs, please refer to the relevant standards, which will not be elaborated here.

[0369] S903: The first MAC layer determines the number of CBs C according to TBS and the expected bit rate.

[0370] S904: The first MAC layer determines the number of CBGs n and the size of each CBG according to the CBG splitting scheme.

[0371] S905: The first MAC layer constructs subTB(1) to subTB(n) in sequence according to the size of CBG(1) to CBG(n), and constructs metadata for each subTB(i).

[0372] S906: The first MAC layer sends the first TB, which is composed of subTB(1) to subTB(n), to the first PHY layer.

[0373] The first MAC layer determines the size of multiple subTBs according to the CBG splitting scheme and constructs multiple subTBs according to the determined subTB sizes. Then, the first MAC layer concatenates the constructed subTBs into a complete TB, and this complete TB carries metadata of the multiple subTBs to indicate the subPDUs carried by each subTB. For the specific implementation scheme of the first MAC layer in constructing subTBs and their metadata, please refer to the aforementioned... Figure 3 The specific implementation scheme of S320 in the illustrated embodiment, and Figure 5 The solutions provided in the illustrated embodiments will not be described in detail.

[0374] S907: The first PHY layer sends DCI to the second PHY layer on the PDCCH; Among them, DCI includes NDI, CBGTI, CBGFI, time and frequency resource block information, MCS, etc.

[0375] In the new transmission process, the NDI included in DCI indicates the new transmission, and the NDI is set to 0. All bits in CBGTI and CBGFI are set to 1.

[0376] The first PHY layer generates a DCI based on the resource mapping and scheduling of the first TB, and sends the generated DCI to the second PHY layer of the UE on the PDCCH.

[0377] S908: The first PHY layer sends the first TB to the second PHY layer on the PDSCH.

[0378] The first PHY layer will also send the generated first TB to the UE's second PHY layer.

[0379] It should be noted that the order in which the actions of S908 and S909 are executed is not limited.

[0380] S909: The second PHY layer receives the DCI and the first TB, and performs CRC verification on the sub-TBs included in the first TB.

[0381] S910: The second PHY layer sends the subTB, which has passed CRC verification, to the second MAC layer.

[0382] S911: The second MAC layer decodes the received sub-TB to obtain the sub-PDU.

[0383] S912: The second MAC layer constructs the first information; The first piece of information is a Bitmap carried on the MAC CE. The Bitmap includes feedback information from multiple sub-TBs. The feedback information of a sub-TB that passes the CRC check is ACK, and the feedback information of a sub-TB that fails the CRC check is NACK.

[0384] S913: The second MAC layer sends the first information to the first MAC layer via the second PHY layer.

[0385] On the UE side, the second PHY layer splits the first TB into multiple sub-TBs according to the same transmission parameters. The first PHY layer performs CRC checks on the multiple sub-TBs, delivering the sub-TBs that pass the CRC check to the second MAC layer, while those that fail are not delivered. The second MAC layer decodes the sub-TBs that pass the CRC check, obtaining a sub-PDU or sub-PDU segments. Complete sub-PDUs are delivered directly, while sub-PDU segments are assembled with other related segments into complete sub-PDUs before delivery. The second MAC layer determines feedback information for all sub-TBs: ACK for sub-TBs that pass the CRC check and are successfully decoded, and NACK for sub-TBs that fail the CRC check or are undecoded. The second MAC layer sends the feedback information to the base station via MAC CE. This effectively reduces the probability of misinterpretation of feedback information sent between PHY layers, improves the accuracy of feedback information interpretation, and reduces unnecessary retransmissions. Specific implementations of the above scheme can be found in the aforementioned embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0386] S914: The first MAC layer parses the first information and determines whether there is a target sub-TB with feedback information of NACK.

[0387] S915a: When all feedback messages from all sub-TBs are ACK, the first MAC layer clears all buffers of the HARQ process.

[0388] S915b: When the feedback information of the target sub-TB is NACK, the first MAC layer constructs the DCI corresponding to the second TB and the second TB; DCI includes Video Resource Indicator, NDI, MCS, CBGTI, and CBGFI.

[0389] S916, the first MAC layer sends the second TB and the DCI corresponding to the second TB to the first PHY layer.

[0390] S917: The first PHY layer sends the second TB and the DCI corresponding to the second TB to the second PHY layer.

[0391] After receiving the Bitmap sent by the UE, the first MAC layer on the base station side analyzes the Bitmap. If all the bits in the Bitmap are 1, the HARQ process ends, the base station clears all CBG buffers, and prepares to send new data.

[0392] If a bit with a value of 0 exists in the Bitmap, then construct CBGTI, with a bit value of 1 indicating that the CBG needs to be retransmitted. Construct CBGFI, with a bit value of 1 indicating that the CBG buffer corresponding to the UE needs to be cleared; otherwise, it needs to be saved.

[0393] The base station's first PHY layer sends DCI to the second PHY layer on the PDCCH, which includes: NDI (indicator of no flip), CBGTI (indicator of retransmitted CBG), CBGFI, resource block indicator, and MCS. The base station's first PHY layer also sends retransmitted data (including retransmitted CBG) on the PDSCH.

[0394] S918: The second PHY layer parses the DCI corresponding to the second TB and the second TB, and performs CRC verification on the target sub-TB included in the second TB.

[0395] S919: The second PHY layer transmits the target sub-TB, which has been verified by CRC, to the second MAC layer.

[0396] S920: The second MAC layer decodes the target sub-TB to obtain the complete sub-PDU.

[0397] S921: The second MAC layer delivers the complete sub-PDU to the second RLC layer.

[0398] S922: The second MAC layer constructs feedback information corresponding to multiple sub-TBs of the second TB.

[0399] S923: The second MAC layer sends feedback information corresponding to multiple sub-TBs of the second TB to the first MAC layer through the second PHY layer and the first PHY layer.

[0400] After receiving the DCI, the UE obtains the scheduling parameters of the retransmitted sub-TB, performs CRC verification on the target sub-TB, decodes the target sub-TB that passes the CRC verification, and directly delivers the decoded complete sub-PDU to the second RLC layer. When the base station transmits a second TB to the UE, the UE also sends feedback information to the base station regarding all sub-TBs included in the corresponding second TB, so that the base station can obtain the transmission status of the sub-TBs and choose to continue retransmission or clear the buffer based on the transmission status. For specific implementation schemes of the communication method provided in this embodiment, please refer to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0401] It should be understood that Figures 1 to 9 The flowcharts or scene diagrams shown are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the embodiments of this application to the examples illustrated. In fact, those skilled in the art can interpret the embodiments based on... Figures 1 to 9 The examples in the document can be transformed into equivalent ways to obtain more implementations.

[0402] The above text combined Figures 1 to 9 This document describes in detail the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application. The following will combine... Figures 10 to 11 The device embodiments of this application are described in detail below. It should be understood that the communication device of this application embodiment can execute the various communication methods of the foregoing embodiments of this application, that is, the specific working processes of the various products below can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0403] In the embodiments described above, the terminal device may execute some or all of the steps in each embodiment; the network device may execute some or all of the steps in each embodiment. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of this application may also perform other operations or variations thereof. Furthermore, the steps may be executed in different orders as presented in the embodiments, and it is not necessary to execute all the operations in the embodiments of this application. Moreover, the sequence number of each step 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.

[0404] Figure 10 This is a hardware block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 10 As shown, the communication device 1000 may include a communication module 1020. The communication module 1020 can implement corresponding communication functions, which can be internal communication functions of the communication device 1000 or communication functions between the communication device 1000 and other devices. Optionally, the communication module 1020 may also be referred to as a communication interface or transceiver module. Optionally, the communication device 1000 further includes a processing module 1010. The processing module 1010 can implement corresponding processing functions.

[0405] Optionally, the communication device 1000 further includes a storage module, which can be used to store instructions and / or data; the processing module 1010 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage module so that the communication device 1000 can implement the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0406] In one possible design, the communication device 1000 may correspond to the first communication device in the above method embodiments, or to a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the first communication device. The communication device 1000 may be used to perform the steps or processes performed by the first communication device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0407] For example, the processing module 1010 is used to generate a first transport block, and the communication module 1020 is used to send the first transport block to a second communication device; the first transport block includes a plurality of sub-transport blocks and metadata of each of the plurality of sub-transport blocks, wherein the metadata of each of the sub-transport blocks is used to indicate whether the sub-transport block carries a complete and / or segmented MAC sub-PDU; The communication module 1020 is used to receive first information sent by the second communication device; the first information is used to indicate feedback information of each of the plurality of sub-transmission blocks, the feedback information being either confirmation or denial; The communication module 1020 is also used to send a first sub-transmission block to the second communication device; wherein the first sub-transmission block carries a target sub-PDU, and the target sub-PDU is a sub-PDU carried by the sub-transmission block whose feedback information is negative among the plurality of sub-transmission blocks.

[0408] The above are merely examples; for detailed steps or procedures, please refer to the descriptions in the foregoing embodiments.

[0409] In one possible design, the communication device 1000 may correspond to the network device in the above method embodiments, or to a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the network device. The communication device 1000 may be used to perform the steps or processes performed by the network device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0410] For example, the communication module 1020 is used to receive a first transmission block sent by a first communication device; the first transmission block includes a plurality of sub-transmission blocks and metadata corresponding to each sub-transmission block, the metadata corresponding to each sub-transmission block being used to indicate whether the corresponding sub-transmission block carries a complete and / or segmented Media Intervention Control (MAC) sub-session control unit (PDU); The processing module 1010 is used to generate first information based on the first transmission block, and the transceiver module is also used to send the first information to the first communication device; the first information is used to indicate the feedback information of each of the plurality of sub-transmission blocks, and the feedback information is confirmation or negation; The communication module 1020 is used to receive a first sub-transmission block sent by the first communication device; wherein the first sub-transmission block carries a target sub-PDU, and the target sub-PDU is a sub-PDU carried by the sub-transmission block whose feedback information is negative among the plurality of sub-transmission blocks.

[0411] The above are merely examples; for detailed steps or procedures, please refer to the descriptions in the foregoing embodiments.

[0412] Figure 11 This is a hardware block diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 1100 may be a chip, chip system, or processor, etc., used by a terminal device or network device to implement the above-described methods. The communication device 1100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above-described method embodiments; for details, please refer to the descriptions in the above-described method embodiments.

[0413] like Figure 11 As shown, the communication device 1100 may include one or more processors 1110, which may also be referred to as processing units or processing modules, and can implement certain control functions. The processor 1110 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, such as a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device 1100 (e.g., a base station, baseband chip, user, user chip), execute software programs, and process data from the software programs.

[0414] In an alternative design, the processor 1110 may also store instructions and / or data that can be executed by the processor 1110 to cause the communication device 1100 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments.

[0415] In another alternative design, the communication device 1100 may include a communication interface 1120 for implementing receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the communication interface 1120 may be a transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver. The transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver for implementing receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated. The aforementioned transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver may be used for reading and writing code / data, or it may be used for transmitting or relaying signals.

[0416] Optionally, the communication device 1100 may include one or more memories 1130, which may store instructions that can be executed on the processor 1110, causing the communication device 1100 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the memories 1130 may also store data. Optionally, the processor 1110 may also store instructions and / or data. The processor 1110 and the memories 1130 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0417] It should be understood that, in one possible design, the steps in the method embodiments provided in this application can be implemented by integrated logic circuits in the processor's hardware or by instructions in software form. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software modules can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory, and the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are not provided here.

[0418] In one implementation, the communication device 1100 may correspond to the terminal device in the above method embodiments, and may be used to execute the various steps and / or processes executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The processor 1110 may be used to execute instructions stored in the memory 1130, and when the processor 1110 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 1110 is used to execute the various steps and / or processes of the above method embodiments corresponding to the terminal device.

[0419] In another implementation, the communication device 1100 may correspond to the network device in the above method embodiments and may be used to execute the various steps and / or processes executed by the network device in the above method embodiments. The processor 1110 may be used to execute instructions stored in the memory 1130, and when the processor 1110 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 1110 is used to execute the various steps and / or processes of the above method embodiments corresponding to the network device.

[0420] It should be understood that the aforementioned processing device can be one or more chips. For example, the processing device can be a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system-on-chip (SoC), a central processor unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD), or other integrated chips.

[0421] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory used in the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0422] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a chip system, which includes one or more processors for calling and executing instructions stored in memory, thereby causing the method described in the embodiments of this application to be executed. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0423] The chip system may include input circuits or interfaces for transmitting information or data, and output circuits or interfaces for receiving information or data.

[0424] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a communication system, which includes the aforementioned network device and terminal device.

[0425] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the various steps or processes executed by the network device or terminal device in any of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0426] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing program code, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the various steps or processes executed by the network device or terminal device in any of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0427] The computer-readable storage medium may be the aforementioned volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or it may include both volatile memory and non-volatile memory.

[0428] In the embodiments of this application, the terms and English abbreviations are exemplary examples given for ease of description and should not be construed as limiting the application in any way. This application does not preclude the possibility of defining other terms that can achieve the same or similar functions in existing or future agreements.

[0429] 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 these 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.

[0430] 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.

[0431] 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.

[0432] In summary, the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the technical solution of this application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a first communication device, the first communication device including a first MAC layer and a first PHY layer; the method includes: The first MAC layer constructs multiple sub-transmission blocks, sequentially fills the multiple sub-PDUs included in the MAC PDU into the multiple sub-transmission blocks, and generates corresponding metadata according to the situation of each sub-transmission block carrying sub-PDUs; The first MAC layer connects the plurality of sub-transmission blocks into a first transmission block, and transmits the first transmission block to the first PHY layer; The first PHY layer sends a first transport block to the second PHY layer of the second communication device. The first transport block includes multiple sub-transport blocks and metadata for each sub-transport block. The metadata for each sub-transport block is used to indicate whether the sub-transport block carries a complete and / or segmented Media Access Control (MAC) Sub-Protocol Data Unit (PDU). The metadata for each sub-transport block includes a first field and a second field. The first field indicates whether the sub-transport block carries a complete sub-PDU. If the first field has a first value, the first field indicates that the sub-transport block carries a complete sub-PDU. If the first field has a second value, the first field indicates that the sub-transport block does not carry a complete sub-PDU. The second field indicates whether the header and / or tail of the sub-transport block carries segmented sub-PDUs. The first MAC layer receives first information sent by the second communication device; the first information is used to indicate feedback information for each of the plurality of sub-transmission blocks, the feedback information being either acknowledgment or negation; the first information is carried in a media access control element message sent by the second MAC layer of the second communication device; The first PHY layer sends a first sub-transmission block to the second communication device; wherein the first sub-transmission block carries a target sub-PDU, and the target sub-PDU is the sub-PDU carried by the sub-transmission block whose feedback information is negative among the plurality of sub-transmission blocks.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, If the metadata of the subtransfer block includes the first field, then the second field is one of the following: The second field is a third value, indicating that the sub-transmission block does not carry segmented sub-PDUs, or indicating that the sub-transmission block carries only complete sub-PDUs; The second field is the fourth value, indicating that the tail of the subtransmission block carries a segmented subPDU; The second field is the fifth value, indicating that the header of the sub-transmission block carries segmented sub-PDUs; The second field is the sixth value, indicating that both the tail and the head of the subtransmission block carry segmented subPDUs.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The metadata of the subtransfer block also includes a third field, which is used to indicate the location data or length data of the subPDU segments carried by the subtransfer block.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The third field includes a first position field and / or a second position field; Wherein, the first position field is used to indicate the end position of the segmented subPDU carried in the header of the subtransmission block, and the second position field is used to indicate the start position of the segmented subPDU carried in the tail of the subtransmission block.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The size of the plurality of sub-transmission blocks is determined based on the total size of the first transmission block and the code block group splitting parameters; The sum of the sizes of the plurality of sub-transmission blocks is the total size of the first transmission block, and the code block group splitting parameters include the number of groups and the maximum code block group size.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, Sending the first sub-transmission block to the second communication device includes: Send a second transmission block to the second communication device; wherein the second transmission block includes the first sub-transmission block and the second sub-transmission block, the second sub-transmission block is empty, or the second sub-transmission block carries a sub-PDU corresponding to the first HARQ process, the first HARQ process being different from the HARQ corresponding to the first transmission block.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second message to the second communication device; wherein the second message is used to indicate that the first transmission block is the initial transmission; and / or, Send a third message to the second communication device; wherein the third message is used to indicate that the first sub-transmission block is a retransmission.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The second information and / or the third information further include at least one of the following: The identifier of the current process; Sub-transmission block scheduling indication information; used to indicate the scheduling status of each sub-transmission block among the plurality of sub-transmission blocks; Sub-transfer block buffer processing indication information is used to indicate whether the buffer corresponding to each sub-transfer block in the plurality of sub-transfer blocks is cleared or retained; The time-frequency resource parameters of the first transmission block; Modulation and coding schemes.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send transmission parameters to the second communication device; wherein the transmission parameters include at least one of the following: number of code block groups, code block group size, maximum number of retransmissions, and enable parameters.

10. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a second communication device, the second communication device including a second MAC layer, a second PHY layer, and a second RLC layer; the method includes: The second PHY layer receives a first transport block sent by the first communication device; the first transport block includes multiple sub-transport blocks and metadata corresponding to each sub-transport block, the metadata corresponding to each sub-transport block being used to indicate whether the corresponding sub-transport block carries a complete and / or segmented Media Intervention Control (MAC) Sub-Session Control Unit (PDU); the metadata of the sub-transport block includes a first field and a second field, the first field being used to indicate whether the sub-transport block carries a complete sub-PDU, and the second field being used to indicate whether the header and / or tail of the sub-transport block carries a segmented sub-PDU; when the first field is a first value, the first field indicates that the sub-transport block carries a complete sub-PDU; when the first field is a second value, the first field indicates that the sub-transport block does not carry a complete sub-PDU; The second PHY layer splits the first transport block into multiple sub-transport blocks, delivers the verified sub-transport blocks to the second MAC layer, and the second MAC layer delivers the successfully decoded sub-transport blocks to the second RLC layer. The second MAC layer sends first information, which carries a media access control element message, to the first communication device; the first information is used to indicate feedback information for each of the plurality of sub-transmission blocks, wherein the feedback information is an acknowledgment or a denial. The second PHY layer receives a first sub-transmission block sent by the first communication device; wherein the first sub-transmission block carries a target sub-PDU, and the target sub-PDU is a sub-PDU carried by the sub-transmission block whose feedback information is negative among the plurality of sub-transmission blocks.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, Before sending the first information to the first communication device, the method further includes: The feedback information of the subtransmission block that passes the cyclic redundancy check is set to acknowledge, and the feedback information of the subtransmission block that fails the cyclic redundancy check is set to deny.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The method further includes: For a subtransport block that passes cyclic redundancy check, the subtransport block is decoded based on its metadata to obtain the subPDU carried by the subtransport block; The complete sub-PDU obtained from decoding is then delivered upwards. For the segments of the decoded sub-PDU, the segments of the sub-PDU are assembled with other associated segments into a complete sub-PDU and then delivered upwards; wherein, the associated segments are segments of sub-PDU carried at the tail of the previous sub-transmission block of the sub-transmission block, or segments of sub-PDU carried at the head of the next sub-transmission block of the sub-transmission block.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: Set the feedback information of the target subtransmission block containing the segment of the sub-PDU that failed to be decoded or assembled to negative.

14. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes at least one processor coupled to a memory storing a program or instructions, the processor executing the program or instructions to cause the device to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 13.

15. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instructions stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program or instructions are executed, they cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, or the communication method as described in any one of claims 10 to 13.

16. A computer program product, characterized in that, include: A computer program, when run, causes a computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 13.

17. A communication system, characterized in that, Includes the communication device as described in claim 14.

18. A chip system, characterized in that, The chip system includes one or more processors, which are configured to retrieve and execute instructions stored in memory, such that the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9 is performed, or the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 13 is performed.

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