Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus. The method includes: a terminal device receives a physical downlink data channel (PDSCH) from a network device, and the terminal device processes the PDSCH for a first duration. A maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the terminal device for processing the PDSCH is X megahertz (MHz), a bandwidth of frequency domain resources occupied by the PDSCH is Y MHz, where X is smaller than Y, and the first duration is greater than a second duration. The second duration is a time for the second terminal device to process the second PDSCH in a baseband bandwidth equal to or greater than Y MHz, and the maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the second terminal device for processing the PDSCH is greater than the maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the first terminal device for processing the PDSCH; or the second duration is a time for processing a third PDSCH by the first terminal device, and a bandwidth of frequency domain resources occupied by the third PDSCH is X MHz or less. A terminal device with a small baseband bandwidth can process the PDSCH through time relaxation to improve PDSCH reception performance.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to communication methods and devices. [Background technology]

[0002] With the development of communications, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has defined the massive machine type communication (mMTC) standard. Currently, the new radio (NR) standard Rel-18 version is considering further reducing the maximum bandwidth of user equipment (UE). In the Rel-18 version, the uplink and downlink radio frequency bandwidth capabilities of UEs remain at 20 MHz, and only the baseband bandwidth capabilities of two channels, namely the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), are reduced. The baseband bandwidth capabilities of other uplink and downlink physical channels and signals remain at 20 MHz.

[0003] The current NR protocol defines that for a Rel-18 version terminal device, the BWP can be configured as 20 MHz. Since the baseband bandwidth capability of two channels, i.e., PDSCH and PUSCH, of a Rel-18 version terminal device is only 5 MHz, how to perform data transmission with the network device is an issue that needs to be resolved immediately. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for improving data channel transmission performance of a terminal device.

[0005] According to a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method. The method is used to implement a function of a terminal device. For example, the method may be applied to a terminal device or a chip in the terminal device. The specific execution entity of the method is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. Optionally, the method may be jointly implemented by multiple functional modules on the terminal device side, and the method implemented by each of the functional modules also falls within the scope of protection of the present application. For example, the method is applied to a first terminal device. In the method, the first terminal device receives a physical downlink data channel from a network device. ( PDSCH ) and the first terminal device processes the PDSCH during the first duration. 1st Maximum baseband bandwidth for processing PDSCH is X megahertz ( MHz ) where the bandwidth of the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDSCH is Y MHz, X is smaller than Y, and the first duration is greater than the second duration.

[0006] According to the above method, in a terminal device with a small maximum baseband bandwidth for processing a PDSCH, the processing of the PDSCH can be completed through time relaxation. The frequency domain bandwidth of the PDSCH is larger than the maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the terminal device for processing the PDSCH. In this way, the data channel reception performance of the terminal device is improved.

[0007] Regarding the first aspect, in a possible design, the second duration is the time required by the second terminal device to process the second PDSCH in a baseband bandwidth of Y MHz or more. In another possible design, the second duration is the time required by the first terminal device to process the third PDSCH, and the bandwidth of the frequency domain resource occupied by the third PDSCH is X MHz or less. The first duration may be understood as the time actually required by the first terminal device to process the first PDSCH. In other words, the first terminal device processes a PDSCH that exceeds its capability by extending the processing time. Furthermore, the maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the second terminal device to process the PDSCH is greater than the maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the first terminal device to process the PDSCH.

[0008] Regarding the first aspect, in a possible design, the first duration is predefined or pre-set, the first duration is determined according to a predefined rule, or the first duration is determined based on signaling from the network device.

[0009] Regarding the first aspect, in a possible design, the first duration T1 and the second duration T2 satisfy the following:

[0010] T1=A*T2, where A is greater than 1, or T1=T2+offset, where the offset is N time units and N is a positive integer.

[0011] Furthermore, A and N may be determined based on the ratio of Y to X, for example, A=Y / X, or N=Y / X.

[0012] Regarding the first aspect, a possible design is one of post-FFT data buffering, where the maximum bandwidth supported by the first terminal device for processing the PDSCH is Y MHz or greater. Optionally, X=5, and Y=20.

[0013] Regarding the first aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes: the first terminal device sending first information to the network device, the first information indicating a post-FFT data buffering bandwidth capability of the first terminal device; and, prior to this, the first terminal device further receiving first indication information from the network device, the first indication information indicating reporting the post-FFT data buffering bandwidth capability.

[0014] Regarding the first aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes: the first terminal device sending second information to the network device. The second information indicates that the first terminal device supports processing the PDSCH during the first duration. Prior to this, the first terminal device receives second indication information from the network device. The second indication information indicates reporting whether processing the PDSCH during the first duration is supported, or indicates whether processing the PDSCH during the relaxed processing duration is supported.

[0015] Regarding the first aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes: the first terminal device sending third information to the network device, the third information indicating the first duration.

[0016] Regarding the first aspect, in a possible design, the first information, the second information, and / or the third information may be transmitted via a physical random access channel (PRACH). ( PRACH ) , message A in the random access procedure ( MsgA ) , message 3 in the random access procedure( Msg3 ) , or radio resource control ( RRC ) carried in at least one of the messages.

[0017] By exchanging capability information of the terminal devices, the network device can know the data channel processing capability of the terminal devices and properly predict the time for receiving feedback information after the PDSCH is sent, thereby avoiding scheduling the first terminal device in the process of processing the PDSCH, avoiding unnecessary resource waste, and ensuring the transmission performance of the terminal devices.

[0018] Regarding the first aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes sending reception status information of the first PDSCH based on a third duration, the third duration being equal to or greater than the first duration.

[0019] According to the above method, the terminal device may process the PDSCH within its capability without consuming additional processing time, and the network device does not need to re-estimate the processing time of the terminal device, thereby reducing the implementation complexity of the network side. In addition, through the capability interaction between the terminal device and the network device, the network device may determine the time for delivering the PDSCH or receiving feedback information from the terminal device based on the processing capability of the terminal device.

[0020] According to a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method. The method is used to implement a function on a network device side. For example, the method may be applied to a network device or a chip in the network device. The specific execution entity of the method is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. Optionally, the method may be jointly implemented by multiple functional modules on the network device side, and a method implemented by each of the functional modules also falls within the scope of protection of the present application. For example, the method is applied to a network device. In the method, the network device sends a first PDSCH to a first terminal device, and the network device receives feedback information from the first terminal device in response to the first PDSCH. An interval between a transmission time of the PDSCH and a reception time of the feedback information is equal to or longer than a first duration, the first duration is greater than a second duration, and a baseband bandwidth for processing the first PDSCH by the first terminal device is X megahertz. ( MHz ) and the bandwidth of the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDSCH is Y MHz.

[0021] According to the above method, in a terminal device with a small maximum baseband bandwidth for processing a PDSCH, the processing of the PDSCH can be completed through time relaxation. The frequency domain bandwidth of the PDSCH is larger than the maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the terminal device for processing the PDSCH. In this way, the data channel reception performance of the terminal device is improved, and the network device can predict the reception time of feedback information and better allocate communication resources.

[0022] Regarding the second aspect, in a possible design, the second duration is the time required by the second terminal device to process the second PDSCH in a baseband bandwidth of Y MHz or more. In another possible design, the second duration is the time required by the first terminal device to process the third PDSCH in a baseband bandwidth of X MHz, where the bandwidth of the frequency domain resource occupied by the third PDSCH is X MHz or less. The first duration may be understood as the time actually required by the first terminal device to process the first PDSCH. In other words, the first terminal device processes a PDSCH that exceeds its capability by extending the processing time. Furthermore, the maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the second terminal device to process the PDSCH is greater than the maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the first terminal device to process the PDSCH.

[0023] Regarding the second aspect, in a possible design, the first duration is predefined or pre-set, the first duration is determined according to a predefined rule, or the first duration is determined based on signaling from the network device.

[0024] Regarding the second aspect, in a possible design, the first duration T1 and the second duration T2 satisfy the following:

[0025] T1=A*T2, where A is greater than 1, or T1=T2+offset, where the offset is N time units and N is a positive integer.

[0026] Furthermore, A and N may be determined based on the ratio of Y to X, for example, A=Y / X, or N=Y / X.

[0027] Regarding the second aspect, a possible design is one with post-FFT data buffering, where the maximum bandwidth supported by the first terminal device for processing the PDSCH is Y MHz or greater. Optionally, X=5, and Y=20.

[0028] Regarding the second aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes: the network device receiving first information from a first terminal device, the first information indicating a post-FFT data buffering bandwidth capability of the first terminal device; and, prior to this, the network device sending first indication information to the first terminal device, the first indication information indicating reporting the post-FFT data buffering bandwidth capability.

[0029] Regarding the second aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes: the network device receives second information from the first terminal device. The second information indicates that the first terminal device supports processing the PDSCH during the first duration, or the second information indicates that the first terminal device supports processing the PDSCH through time relaxation. Furthermore, prior to this, the network device sends second indication information to the first terminal device. The second indication information indicates reporting whether processing the PDSCH during the first duration is supported, or indicates whether processing the PDSCH during the relaxed processing duration is supported.

[0030] Regarding the second aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes: the network device receiving third information from the first terminal device, the third information indicating the first duration.

[0031] Regarding the second aspect, in a possible design, the first information, the second information, and / or the third information may be transmitted over a physical random access channel (PRACH). ( PRACH ), message A in the random access procedure ( MsgA ) , message 3 in the random access procedure ( Msg3 ) , or radio resource control ( RRC ) carried in at least one of the messages.

[0032] By exchanging capability information of the terminal devices, the network device can know the data channel processing capability of the terminal devices and properly predict the time for receiving feedback information after the PDSCH is sent, thereby avoiding scheduling the first terminal device in the process of processing the PDSCH, avoiding unnecessary resource waste, and ensuring the transmission performance of the terminal devices.

[0033] Regarding the second aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes receiving reception status information of the first PDSCH based on a third duration, the third duration being equal to or greater than the first duration.

[0034] According to the above method, the terminal device may process the PDSCH within its capability without consuming additional processing time, and the network device does not need to re-estimate the processing time of the terminal device, thereby reducing the implementation complexity of the network side. In addition, through the capability interaction between the terminal device and the network device, the network device may determine the time for delivering the PDSCH or receiving feedback information from the terminal device based on the processing capability of the terminal device.

[0035] According to a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method. The method is used to implement a function of a terminal device. For example, the method may be applied to a terminal device or a chip in the terminal device. The specific execution entity of the method is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. Optionally, the method may be jointly implemented by multiple functional modules on the terminal device side, and the method implemented by each of the functional modules also falls within the scope of protection of the present application. For example, the method is applied to a first terminal device. In the method, the first terminal device receives a physical downlink data channel from a network device. ( PDSCH ) A baseband bandwidth of X megahertz for processing the PDSCH by the first terminal device. ( MHz ) is smaller than the bandwidth Y MHz of the first frequency domain resource occupied for transmitting the PDSCH, and the first terminal device processes only the first portion of the PDSCH, and the bandwidth of the frequency domain resource occupied by the first portion does not exceed X MHz.

[0036] The above method is applicable to a terminal device having a post-FFT buffer bandwidth capacity of Y MHz but a small baseband bandwidth capacity for processing the PDSCH, and is also applicable to a terminal device having a post-FFT buffer bandwidth of X MHz. In the latter terminal device, since the post-FFT buffer bandwidth capacity is insufficient, the complete PDSCH information cannot be buffered, and a portion of the PDSCH information to be processed needs to be selected to maximize reception performance.

[0037] Regarding the third aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes: the first terminal device determines the first portion according to a predefined rule, or the first terminal device determines the first portion based on first signaling from the network device, the first signaling being a system information block (SIB), an RRC message, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or downlink indication information (DCI).

[0038] For the third aspect, in a possible design, the first portion is the lowest X MHz in the first frequency domain resource, or the first portion is the highest X MHz in the first frequency domain resource.

[0039] Regarding the third aspect, in a possible design, the method may further comprise: ( PDSCH ) The first terminal device may further include receiving a physical downlink data channel from the network device during the first slot. ( PDSCH ) and the first terminal device receives a physical downlink control channel PDCCH from the network device during the second slot. The DCI carried on the PDCCH is used to schedule a PDSCH, and the first slot and the second slot are different slots. Because the PDCCH and the PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH are sent in different slots, the first terminal device may have time to demodulate and decode the PDCCH, and obtain time-frequency resource allocation information for the PDSCH indicated by the DCI carried on the PDCCH, thereby improving the success rate of the terminal device receiving the PDSCH and improving communication efficiency.

[0040] The third aspect may be further implemented with reference to various possible designs in the first aspect.

[0041] According to a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method. The method is used to implement interaction between a network device side and a terminal device. For example, the method includes a network device or a chip in the network device, and a terminal device or a chip in the terminal device. The specific execution entity of the method is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. Optionally, the method may be jointly implemented by multiple functional modules in an apparatus, and the method implemented by each of the functional modules also falls within the scope of protection of the present application. For example, the method is applied to a network device and a first terminal device. In the method, the network device transmits a physical downlink data channel to the first terminal device. ( PDSCH ) and the first terminal device receives the PDSCH from the network device. A baseband bandwidth of X megahertz for processing the PDSCH by the first terminal device. ( MHz ) is smaller than the bandwidth Y MHz of the first frequency domain resource occupied for transmitting the PDSCH, and the first terminal device processes only the first portion of the PDSCH, and the bandwidth of the frequency domain resource occupied by the first portion does not exceed X MHz.

[0042] According to the above method, in a terminal device with a small maximum baseband bandwidth for processing a PDSCH, the processing of the PDSCH can be completed through time relaxation. The frequency domain bandwidth of the PDSCH is larger than the maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the terminal device for processing the PDSCH. In this way, the data channel reception performance of the terminal device is improved, and the network device can predict the reception time of feedback information and better allocate communication resources.

[0043] Regarding the fourth aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes: the first terminal device determines the first portion according to a predefined rule, or the first terminal device determines the first portion based on first signaling from the network device, the first signaling being a system information block (SIB), an RRC message, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or downlink indication information (DCI).

[0044] For the fourth aspect, in a possible design, the first portion is the lowest X MHz in the first frequency domain resource, or the first portion is the highest X MHz in the first frequency domain resource.

[0045] Regarding the fourth aspect, in a possible design, the method may further comprise: ( PDSCH ) The first terminal device may further include receiving a physical downlink data channel from the network device during the first slot. ( PDSCH ) and the first terminal device receives a physical downlink control channel PDCCH from the network device during the second slot. The DCI carried on the PDCCH is used to schedule a PDSCH, and the first slot and the second slot are different slots. Because the PDCCH and the PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH are sent in different slots, the first terminal device may have time to demodulate and decode the PDCCH, and obtain time-frequency resource allocation information for the PDSCH indicated by the DCI carried on the PDCCH, thereby improving the success rate of the terminal device receiving the PDSCH and improving communication efficiency.

[0046] The fourth aspect may be further implemented with reference to various possible designs in the first and second aspects.

[0047] According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be a terminal device, a module capable of implementing a function on the terminal device side, or a chip capable of being disposed inside the terminal device. The communication device has a function for implementing the first aspect. For example, the communication device includes corresponding modules, units, or means for performing some or all of the steps in the first aspect. The functions, units, or means may be implemented by using software or hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software.

[0048] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The communication unit may be configured to receive and transmit signals to implement communication between the communication device and another device. For example, the communication unit may be configured to receive configuration information from a network device. The processing unit may be configured to perform some internal operations of the communication device. Functions performed by the processing unit and the communication unit may correspond to a first aspect and a possible design of the first aspect.

[0049] For example, the communication device is a terminal device or a chip in the terminal device, and includes a communication unit and a processing unit. The communication unit receives a physical downlink data channel from the network device. ( PDSCH ) The processing unit is configured to process the PDSCH during the first duration. 1st Maximum baseband bandwidth for processing PDSCH is X megahertz ( MHz ) where the bandwidth of the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDSCH is Y MHz, X is smaller than Y, and the first duration is greater than the second duration.

[0050] In a possible design, the communication device may include a processor and further include a transceiver. The transceiver is configured to receive and transmit signals. The processor uses the transceiver to complete a method according to any possible design or implementation corresponding to the terminal device in the first, third, and fourth aspects. The communication device may further include one or more memories. The memory is configured to be coupled to the processor and may store computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions in the first aspect. The processor may execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, and when the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device is enabled to implement a method according to any possible design or implementation corresponding to the terminal device in the first, third, and fourth aspects.

[0051] In a possible design, the communication device may include a processor, the processor being configured to be coupled to a memory. The memory may store computer programs or instructions for implementing functions corresponding to the terminal device in the first, third, and fourth aspects. The processor may execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, and when the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device is enabled to implement methods according to any possible design or implementation corresponding to the terminal device in the first, third, and fourth aspects.

[0052] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, the processor configured to communicate with another device by using the interface circuit and to perform a method according to any possible design or implementation corresponding to the terminal device of the first, third, and fourth aspects.

[0053] According to a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be a network device, a module capable of implementing functions on the network device side, or a chip capable of being disposed inside the network device. The communication device may implement functions corresponding to the network device in the second or fourth aspect. For example, the communication device may include a corresponding module, unit, or means for performing some or all of the operations corresponding to the network device in the second or fourth aspect. The module, unit, or means may be implemented by using software or hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software.

[0054] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The communication unit may be configured to receive and transmit signals to implement communication between the communication device and another device. For example, the communication unit may be configured to receive uplink information from a terminal device. The processing unit may be configured to perform some internal operations of the communication device. Functions performed by the processing unit and the communication unit may correspond to operations of the network device in the second aspect or the fourth aspect.

[0055] For example, a communication apparatus includes a communication unit and a processing unit. The processing unit is configured to send first configuration information to a terminal device by using the communication unit. The first configuration information indicates a first time period, the first time period being a time period used by the terminal device to perform non-interval measurements based on SSB. The communication unit is configured to send a first PDSCH to the first terminal device and receive feedback information from the first terminal device in response to the first PDSCH. An interval between a transmission time of the PDSCH and a reception time of the feedback information is equal to or greater than a first duration, the first duration being greater than a second duration, and a baseband bandwidth for processing the first PDSCH by the first terminal device is X megahertz. (MHz ) and the bandwidth of the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDSCH is Y MHz.

[0056] In a possible design, the communication device may include a processor and further include a transceiver. The transceiver is configured to transmit and receive signals. The processor uses the transceiver to complete a method according to any possible design or implementation corresponding to the network device of the second or fourth aspect. The communication device may further include one or more memories. The memory is configured to be coupled to the processor, and the memory may store computer programs or instructions for implementing functions corresponding to the network device of the second or fourth aspect. The processor may execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device is enabled to implement a method according to any possible design or implementation of the second aspect.

[0057] In a possible design, the communications device may include a processor, the processor being configured to be coupled to a memory. The memory may store a computer program or instructions for implementing functions corresponding to the network device of the second or fourth aspect. The processor may execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the communications device is enabled to implement a method according to any possible design or implementation corresponding to the network device of the second or fourth aspect.

[0058] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, the processor configured to communicate with another device by using the interface circuit and to perform a method according to any possible design or implementation corresponding to the network device of the second or fourth aspect.

[0059] It may be understood that a processor may be implemented using hardware or software. When a processor is implemented using hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc. When a processor is implemented using software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor and is implemented by reading software code stored in a memory. In addition, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor may be arranged separately. In a specific implementation, the memory and the processor may be integrated into one chip or arranged on different chips. The type of memory and the manner in which the memory and the processor are arranged are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0060] According to a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, the communication system including a communication device according to the first aspect and a communication device according to the second aspect, or the communication system including a network device and a terminal device according to the third aspect.

[0061] According to an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, the computer-readable instructions, when read and executed by a computer, enabling the computer to implement a method according to any one of the possible designs in the first to fourth aspects.

[0062] According to a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which, when read and executed by a computer, enables the computer to implement a method according to any one of the possible designs in the first to fourth aspects.

[0063] According to a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, the chip including a processor, coupled to a memory, configured to read and execute a software program stored in the memory to implement a method according to any one of the possible designs in the first to fourth aspects. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0064] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram of a communication system to which the present application is applicable; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram of radio frequency bandwidth and baseband bandwidth. [Figure 3A] 1 is a diagram of a PDSCH processing method according to the present application; [Figure 3B] FIG. 10 is a diagram of another PDSCH processing method according to the present application. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to the present application; [Figure 5] 4 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method according to the present application. [Figure 6] 4 is a schematic flow chart of yet another communication method according to the present application. [Figure 7] 4 is a schematic flow chart of yet another communication method according to the present application. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram of an apparatus according to the present application; [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a diagram of another device according to the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0065] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings herein.

[0066] Embodiments of the present application may be applied to various mobile communication systems, for example, the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication network or new radio (NR) system, 4G mobile communication network or long term evolution (LTE) system, and other communication systems, such as future communication systems, which are not particularly limited herein.

[0067] 1 is a diagram of a communication system to which the present application is applicable. The system includes at least one network device, for example, the network device shown in FIG. 1. The system may further include at least one terminal device, for example, the terminal device shown in FIG. 1. The network device may communicate with the terminal device through a wireless link to exchange information. It may be understood that the network device and the terminal device may also be referred to as communication devices.

[0068] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device is a user-side device having a wireless transceiver function, and may be a fixed device, a mobile device, a handheld device (e.g., a mobile phone), a wearable device, an in-vehicle device, or a wireless device (e.g., a communication module, a modem, or a chip) disposed in the above devices. The terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), access terminal, etc. Terminal devices are configured to connect people, things, machines, etc., and can be widely used in various scenarios, such as cellular communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, V2X communication, machine-to-machine / machine-type communication (M2M / MTC) communication, Internet of Things, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, industrial sensing, self-driving, remote medical, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart surveillance, smart transportation, smart city, unmanned aerial vehicles, and robots. In an embodiment of the present application, an apparatus configured to implement a function of the terminal device may be the terminal device, or may be an apparatus, such as a chip system, that can support the terminal device to implement a function. The apparatus may be installed in the terminal device or used in conjunction with the terminal device. A terminal device in this application may be a legacy terminal device, a reduced capability (REDCAP) terminal device, an enhanced reduced capability (eREDCAP) terminal device, or a further reduced capability (fREDCAP) terminal device.A legacy terminal device may be a legacy capability terminal device, a normal capability terminal device, or a high capability terminal device, or may also be referred to as a normal terminal device. In this application, a legacy terminal device may include an NR enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) terminal device and an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) terminal device. An NR eMBB terminal device supports large bandwidth and has high processing capabilities. A REDCAP terminal device is a terminal device defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) Release 17 (Release-17, Rel-17) and 18. A reduced capability (REDCAP) terminal device (REDCAP UE) may have at least one of the following characteristics:

[0069] (1) The maximum bandwidth in frequency range (FR) 1 during and / or after initial access does not exceed 20 MHz. The maximum bandwidth in FR2 during and / or after initial access does not exceed 100 MHz.

[0070] (2) The minimum number of supported receive antenna (Rx) branches is one.

[0071] (3) The protocol version is NR Rel-17 or later.

[0072] (4) Only half-duplex frequency division duplex (FDD) is supported.

[0073] (5) If there is one Rx branch, one downlink (DL) maximum multiple-in multiple-out (MIMO) layer is supported. If there are two Rx branches, two DL MIMO layers are supported.

[0074] A reduced capability terminal device may be understood as a terminal device with reduced capabilities compared to a legacy terminal device (legacy UE), including but not limited to the features in the above five aspects.

[0075] A network device is a network-side device having wireless transceiver functionality. A network device may be a device in a radio access network (RAN) that provides wireless communication functionality to terminal devices and is referred to as a RAN device. For example, a network device may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a subsequently evolved 3GPP base station, a transmission reception point (TRP), an access node in a Wi-Fi system, a wireless relay node, or a wireless backhaul node. In communication systems using different radio access technologies (RATs), the names of devices having base station functionality may differ. For example, a base station may be referred to as an eNB or eNodeB in an LTE system and as a gNB in ​​a 5G system or an NR system. The specific name of a base station is not limited in this application. A network device may include one or more co-site or non-co-site transmission and reception points. In another example, a network device may include one or more central units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more CUs and one or more DUs. For example, the functionality of a CU may be implemented by one entity or different entities. For example, the functionality of a CU may be further divided. In other words, the control plane and the user plane are separated and implemented by different entities, which are a control plane CU entity (i.e., a CU-CP entity) and a user plane CU entity (i.e., a CU-UP entity), respectively. The CU-CP entity and the CU-UP entity may be coupled to the DU to jointly complete the functions of the access network device.In this way, some functions of a radio access network device may be implemented by multiple network function entities. These network function entities may be network elements in a hardware device, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). In another example, in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, the access network device may be a road side unit (RSU). Multiple access network devices in a communication system may be base stations of the same type or different types. A base station may communicate with a terminal device, or may communicate with a terminal device via a relay station. In embodiments of the present application, an apparatus configured to implement a function of a network device may be a network device, or an apparatus capable of supporting a network device to implement a function, such as a chip system or a composite device or component capable of implementing a function of an access network device. This apparatus may be installed in the network device. In embodiments of the present application, the chip system may include a chip, or may include a chip and another individual device. In embodiments of the present application, a network device is used as an example to describe the technical solution.

[0076] The terms "system" and "network" may be used interchangeably in embodiments of the present application. "At least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes an association relationship between associated entities and indicates that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may indicate three cases: that only A is present, that both A and B are present, and that only B is present, where A and B may be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between associated entities. "At least one of the following items (moieties)" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including a single item (moiety) or any combination of multiple items (moieties). For example, at least one of a, b, or c may refer to a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b, and c, where a, b, and c may be singular or plural.

[0077] Unless otherwise stated to the contrary, ordinal terms such as "first" and "second" described in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish between multiple objects and are not intended to limit the size, content, sequence, time sequence, priority, importance, etc. of the multiple objects. For example, a first threshold and a second threshold are merely used to distinguish between different thresholds and do not indicate the size, content, different priority, different importance, etc. of the two thresholds.

[0078] In the following, some terms in the embodiments of the present application will be explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0079] (1) Bandwidth part (BWP)

[0080] To support terminal devices with different bandwidth capabilities and reduce their power consumption, the concept of BWP is introduced into NR. A BWP is a segment of contiguous resources in the frequency domain and includes an uplink BWP and a downlink BWP, which are used for uplink and downlink transmissions, respectively. During the initial access phase, a network device configures an initial uplink BWP and an initial downlink BWP for a terminal device. After entering the RRC connected mode, the network device additionally configures one or more uplink BWPs and downlink BWPs for the terminal device that are dedicated to the terminal device.

[0081] According to the protocol, uplink channels or signal transmissions are implemented in an uplink BWP, and downlink channels or signal transmissions are implemented in a downlink BWP. If a terminal device receives multiple BWP configurations, the terminal device can operate in only one of the BWPs at the same time, and this BWP is called an active BWP. Currently, it is agreed that a terminal device can only transmit data to a network device using an active BWP. In other words, the frequency resources corresponding to each data transmission of the terminal device can be within the frequency resource range corresponding to only one BWP. It should be noted that in subsequent version developments or in other communication systems, the active BWP may also have a different name. This is not limited herein.

[0082] (2) Baseband bandwidth (BB Bandwidth)

[0083] In an NR system, the signal processing portion of a terminal device includes a radio frequency processing unit and a baseband processing unit. The baseband processing unit may include a digital-to-analog converter (ADC) / analog-to-digital converter (DAC), a fast Fourier transform (FFT) / inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), post-FFT data buffering, a receiving processing block, low-density pair (LDPC) decoding, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) buffer, a downlink control processing and decoder, an uplink processing block, a MIMO-specific processing block, a synchronization / cell search block, and other functional modules. In different terminal devices, the software and hardware implementations may differ, and the support and implementation of the above functional modules in the baseband may also differ. This is not limited in this application. The baseband bandwidth capability of a terminal device may be understood as the bandwidth capability of all or part of the above radio frequency functional blocks and baseband modules.

[0084] Currently, a terminal device may have different baseband processing capabilities for different channels. For example, in a data channel (e.g., PDSCH and PUSCH), the baseband processing bandwidth of the RedCap terminal device is 5 MHz, and in another physical channel or signal, the baseband processing capability of the RedCap terminal device is 20 MHz. Furthermore, in a data channel, the bandwidth of the post-FFT data buffering in the baseband processing module of the terminal device may be different from the bandwidth of another baseband module. For example, the bandwidth of the post-FFT data buffering is 20 MHz, and the bandwidth of another baseband module is 5 MHz.

[0085] (3) Radio frequency bandwidth (RF bandwidth)

[0086] The radio frequency processing unit may include an antenna array, a power amplifier, a filter, a transmitter, a duplexer, a converter, or another functional module, and is configured to receive and transmit information. In different terminal devices, the software and hardware implementations may be different, and the support and implementation of the above functional modules of the radio frequency may also be different. This is not limited in this application.

[0087] (4) Post-FFT data buffering

[0088] For downlink signals, the receiving processing procedure of the terminal device is as follows: the radio frequency part is used to receive the downlink signal, and after being sampled through an ADC, the received analog signal is converted into a digital signal, and the digital signal is converted from the time domain to the frequency domain after FFT processing, and the obtained frequency domain signal is stored in a buffer module for other processing. For example, code block processing including channel estimation, channel equalization, and demodulation is performed by using a receiving processing block, channel decoding is performed by using a decoding module, etc. The buffer module may be, for example, a post-FFT buffer, configured to buffer the result obtained through performing a fast Fourier transform on the data for subsequent further processing.

[0089] As shown in FIG. 2 , in a possible scenario, the RF bandwidth capability of a terminal device is 20 megahertz (MHz), and the baseband bandwidth used to process the PDSCH and / or PUSCH (shown as PXSCH in the figure) is 5 MHz. In this case, when the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDSCH sent by the network device to the terminal device is 20 MHz, the terminal device can receive the complete PDSCH by using an RF processing unit, but cannot process the entire PDSCH at once due to the lack of capability of the baseband processing unit. Therefore, in a terminal device with an RF bandwidth capability larger than the baseband bandwidth capability for processing a data channel, how to process the data channel becomes a technical problem that needs to be solved immediately. The embodiments provided in the present application are all applicable to processing an uplink data channel and / or a downlink data channel, for example, a PDSCH and / or a PUSCH. For ease of explanation, only a PDSCH is used as an illustrative example. It should be understood that the following method can also be applied to processing a PUSCH.

[0090] To solve this technical problem, the present application proposes a communication method in which a terminal device can complete PDSCH processing through time relaxation to improve PDSCH reception performance. As shown in Figure 3A, the terminal device can implement complete PDSCH processing with small baseband processing capacity by processing different parts of the PDSCH in multiple time units or completing different processing of the PDSCH in multiple time units, thereby extending the processing time.

[0091] Specifically, Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

[0092] S401: A network device sends a first PDSCH to a first terminal device, and in response, the first terminal device receives the first PDSCH from the network device.

[0093] S402: A first terminal device processes a first PDSCH for a first duration.

[0094] Optionally, S403: The first terminal device sends feedback information to the network device in response to the first PDSCH, and in response, the network device receives feedback information from the first terminal device.

[0095] At S401: The network device sends a first PDSCH to the first terminal device, and in response, the first terminal device receives the first PDSCH from the network device.

[0096] The maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the first terminal device is X megahertz ( MHz ) "Maximum baseband bandwidth" may also be replaced with "maximum baseband bandwidth", "baseband processing capability", "maximum baseband bandwidth", etc. Furthermore, in PDSCH, the maximum baseband bandwidth supported by a terminal device may also be described as the maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the terminal device for processing the PDSCH. In several embodiments provided in the present application, it may be understood that the baseband bandwidth for processing the first PDSCH by the first terminal device is X MHz, where X is smaller than the frequency domain bandwidth (Y MHz) of the first PDSCH, or that the maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the first terminal device for processing the PDSCH is X MHz (or the baseband bandwidth capability for processing the PDSCH is X MHz), where X is smaller than the frequency domain bandwidth (Y MHz) of the first PDSCH. In the following, "bandwidth" refers to a specific Where This may be the maximum bandwidth used in the processing, or may be replaced by the processing capability supported by the terminal device, for example, the post-FFT buffer bandwidth.

[0097] The bandwidth of the frequency domain resource occupied by the first PDSCH is Y MHz, where X is less than Y. Optionally, X = 5 and Y = 20. For example, the bandwidth of the PDSCH sent by the base station to the UE is 20 MHz, and the maximum baseband bandwidth used by the UE to process the PDSCH is 5 MHz.

[0098] Note that bandwidth can also be described as the amount of resource blocks (RBs) contained in the bandwidth. For example, if the subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz, the amount of RBs corresponding to 5 MHz can be 25, 26, 27, or 28. If the subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz, the amount of RBs corresponding to 5 MHz can be 11, 12, 13, or 14.

[0099] Optionally, the method further includes the following step S4011: The network device sends a second PDSCH to the second terminal device, and the second terminal device receives the second PDSCH from the network device. The baseband bandwidth capability of the second terminal device for processing the second PDSCH is Y MHz or more. For example, the baseband bandwidth capability of the second terminal device for processing the PDSCH is 100 MHz or 20 MHz. For example, the second terminal device may be a legacy terminal device (legacy UE) or an R17 reduced capability terminal device (R17 Redcap UE), and the first terminal device may be an R18 Redcap UE. The first PDSCH and the second PDSCH may be the same PDSCH or different PDSCHs.

[0100] At S402: The first terminal device processes a first PDSCH for a first duration.

[0101] The first duration is smaller than the second duration, and the second duration is a duration for which the first terminal device processes a third PDSCH with a baseband bandwidth capability of X MHz, and the bandwidth of the frequency domain resource occupied by the third PDSCH is equal to or less than X MHz; or the second duration is a duration required by the second terminal device to process the second PDSCH, and the baseband bandwidth capability of the second terminal device to process the PDSCH is equal to or greater than Y MHz. . The first duration may be understood to be the time required by the first terminal device to process a PDSCH that exceeds the baseband bandwidth capability of the first terminal device with a small baseband processing capability through time relaxation, and the second duration may be understood to be the time required by the terminal device to process a PDSCH that does not exceed the baseband bandwidth capability of the terminal device with a sufficient baseband processing capability. The first PDSCH and the third PDSCH may be the same PDSCH or different PDSCHs.

[0102] In particular, for example, the second duration is the processing time capability of the second terminal device for processing the second PDSCH, or the second duration is the duration for the first terminal device to process the third PDSCH with a baseband bandwidth capability of X MHz. The second duration is the minimum time T from the last symbol at which the terminal device receives the PDSCH to the second symbol at which the terminal device sends feedback information (e.g., HARQ-ACK information) carrying the PDSCH. proc,1 and can be expressed as follows: T proc,1 =(N1+d 1,1 +d2)(2048+144)·κ2 -μ T c +T ext

[0103] N1 is determined based on the subcarrier spacing (SCS) parameter, the PDSCH processing capability supported by the second terminal device, the location of the additional DMRS, etc.1,1 and d2 are compensation parameters, and the values ​​of these two compensation parameters are related to the PDSCH processing capability supported by the first terminal device, the time domain location of the PDSCH, etc. c is the time unit in the NR system, and the constant κ=T s / T c = 64, and T ext is an additional time compensation parameter. For example, T proc,1 See Table 1 for possible values ​​of .

[0104] [Table 1]

[0105] For an example of a relaxed processing time scheme, see FIG. 3. By extending the processing time, the processing of the first PDSCH can be completed with a small baseband processing capacity. In particular, the first duration includes at least one time period, for example, a first time period and a second time period. The terminal device processes a first portion of the first PDSCH during the first time period and a second portion of the first PDSCH during the second time period. The first and second portions do not overlap. In processing the first PDSCH, the terminal device may process different information of the first PDSCH separately during the first and second time periods, or may perform different types of processing separately during the first and second time periods. For example, the terminal device demodulates and decodes the first PDSCH during the first time period and prepares feedback information in response to the first PDSCH during the second time period. The time period may be based on a slot, symbol, or microsecond unit. For example, if the first terminal device can process up to X MHz of data in each slot, the bandwidth of the first PDSCH is Y MHz, where Y is greater than X. If the first terminal device cannot process the entire first PDSCH in one slot, the first terminal device may process the entire first PDSCH in N slots, where the value of N is related to the size of the first PDSCH and the processing capability of the first terminal device. According to the relaxed processing time method, the terminal device can process the complete information of the first PDSCH to improve reception performance.

[0106] In particular, the first duration value may be implemented in several ways:

[0107] In a first possible implementation, the first duration is predefined or preset, for example, a value range of the first duration is predefined in a protocol, or the value of the first duration is preset in the terminal device by an equipment vendor or a user.

[0108] In a second possible implementation, the first duration is determined according to a predefined rule. In particular, the protocol may predefine a method for determining the first duration. For example, the protocol predefines that the relationship between the first duration T1 and the second duration T2 satisfies the following: T1=A*T2+offset, The offset is N time units, A is greater than or equal to 1, and N is a natural number. The first terminal device may then determine T1 based on T2.

[0109] Furthermore, for example, the relationship between the first duration T1 and the second duration T2 may satisfy the following: T1=A*T2, where A is greater than 1, or T1=T2+offset, where the offset is N time units, and N is a positive integer.

[0110] Further, optionally, A or N may be related to Y / X, and A and N may be determined based on Y / X. For example, A = Y / X or N = Y / X. In another example, A = floor(Y / X), or N = floor(Y / X), where floor represents rounding down. In another example, A = ceil(Y / X), or N = ceil(Y / X), where ceil represents rounding up. Based on the PDSCH processing capability of the first terminal device, the value of the first duration may be determined based on the second duration, so that a first terminal device with small baseband capability may complete processing of the PDSCH through time relaxation.

[0111] In a third possible implementation, the first duration is determined based on signaling from the network device. In particular, the network device may indicate the first duration to the first terminal device by using a radio resource control (RRC) message or downlink control information (DCI).

[0112] Optionally, the maximum bandwidth supported by the first terminal device for processing the PDSCH with post-FFT data buffering is greater than or equal to Y MHz. For example, the bandwidth of the post-FFT data buffering is 20 MHz, and the transmission bandwidth of the PDSCH is also 20 MHz. Therefore, the terminal device can buffer the complete PDSCH information and later process the complete PDSCH through time relaxation.

[0113] At S403: The first terminal device sends feedback information to the network device in response to the first PDSCH, and in response, the network device receives feedback information from the first terminal device.

[0114] It should be noted that S403 is an optional step. The first terminal device may or may not provide feedback on the first PDSCH. For example, a terminal device in idle mode may not provide feedback when receiving a first PDSCH carrying a broadcast service, while a terminal device in RRC connected mode may provide feedback when receiving a first PDSCH carrying a unicast service.

[0115] In an implementation, the feedback information may be HARQ-ACK information of the first PDSCH.

[0116] The interval between the transmission time of the first PDSCH and the reception time of the feedback information is equal to or greater than the first duration.

[0117] In an implementation, the first terminal device sends feedback information to the network device in response to the first PDSCH based on the third duration, where the third duration is equal to or greater than the first duration. The third duration may be predefined or may be determined based on signaling from the network device. For example, the network device may indicate the third duration to the first terminal device by using a radio resource control (RRC) message, downlink control information (DCI), etc.

[0118] In the implementation, the first PDSCH carries a random access response (RAR) message, i.e., the first PDSCH is Message 2 or Message B in the random access procedure, and the feedback information is Message 3 in the random access procedure. Optionally, the first duration is determined based on the time interval between reception of Msg2 or MsgB by the first terminal device. and Sending Msg3 and of Between The first duration may be regarded as a minimum duration or a duration during which the first terminal device processes only Msg2 or MsgB. Optionally, the second duration may be regarded as a minimum duration between the reception of Msg2 or MsgB by the second terminal device and the transmission of Msg3, or a duration during which the second terminal device processes only Msg2 or MsgB. The third duration may be regarded as a time interval indicated by the base station between the reception of Msg2 or MsgB by the first terminal device and the transmission of Msg3.

[0119] Furthermore, the network device does not schedule the first terminal device during the first duration. The terminal device does not receive another first PDSCH or transmit another PUSCH during the first duration. Because the time required for the first terminal device to process the first PDSCH through time relaxation is long, if the network device schedules the first terminal device during this time period, the first terminal device may fail to complete processing of the first PDSCH or may not successfully receive new scheduling information, resulting in resource waste or communication failure. The network device reserves the processing time to avoid information or data transmission conflicts and improve resource utilization of the network system.

[0120] According to this embodiment of the present application, a first terminal device having a small baseband bandwidth for processing the first PDSCH can complete the processing of the first PDSCH during a relaxed processing time, thereby improving data reception performance while saving energy for the terminal, and the first PDSCH does not need to be sent repeatedly, thereby avoiding resource waste and improving communication efficiency.

[0121] In addition, the terminal device and the network device may further exchange corresponding processing capability information, so that the network device knows the processing capability of the terminal device in advance, facilitates a more appropriate scheduling process, and thereby improves communication efficiency. In particular, this may include the following steps:

[0122] Optionally, S501: The network device sends first indication information to the first terminal device, and in response, the first terminal device receives first indication information from the network device, where the first indication information indicates reporting a post-FFT data buffering bandwidth capability.

[0123] S502: A first terminal device sends first information to a network device, and in response, the network device receives first information from the first terminal device, where the first information indicates a post-FFT data buffering bandwidth capability of the first terminal device.

[0124] For example, the UE receives first indication information from the base station, and in response to the first indication information, the UE sends first information to the base station to indicate that the UE's post-FFT data buffering bandwidth capability is 5 MHz. In this way, the network device can know the post-FFT data buffering bandwidth capability of the terminal device for better data scheduling by using the first information. In a possible implementation, the candidate value of the post-FFT data buffering bandwidth capability is predefined as 20 MHz or 5 MHz. In this case, the terminal device can indicate the first information by using 1 bit (bit), and indicate that the post-FFT data buffering bandwidth capability of the terminal device is 20 MHz or 5 MHz by using the value (bit state) of the bit, thereby reducing signaling consumption. Optionally, the candidate value of the post-FFT data buffering bandwidth capability may further include M MHz, and 5 MHz. <M<20である。

[0125] Optionally, S503: The network device sends second indication information to the first terminal device, and in response, the first terminal device receives second indication information from the network device, where the second indication information indicates reporting whether processing the PDSCH during the first duration is supported, or indicates whether processing the PDSCH during a relaxed processing duration is supported.

[0126] S504: The first terminal device sends second information to the network device, and in response, the network device receives second information from the first terminal device, where the second information indicates that the first terminal device supports processing the PDSCH during the first duration, or the second information indicates that the first terminal device supports processing the PDSCH through time relaxation. In a possible implementation, when the first terminal device does not support processing the PDSCH through time relaxation, this can also be reported to the network device by using the second information. For example, the second information indicates that the first terminal device does not support processing the PDSCH during the first duration.

[0127] The network device may use the second indication information to indicate or trigger the first terminal device to report whether the first terminal device supports processing the PDSCH through time relaxation. S503 is an optional step. Alternatively, the first terminal device may actively report whether the first terminal device supports processing the PDSCH through time relaxation, so that the network device can determine the time for the first terminal device to process the PDSCH based on the capability of the first terminal device. This can avoid scheduling the first terminal device in processing the PDSCH, avoid unnecessary resource waste, and ensure the reception performance of the terminal device.

[0128] Optionally, S505: The first terminal device sends third information to the network device, and in response, the network device receives third information from the first terminal device, where the third information indicates the first duration.

[0129] Optionally, S506: The network device sends third indication information to the first terminal device, where the third indication information indicates a third duration, namely, a timing K1 between the PDSCH and the feedback information, where K1 is T proc,1 That is all. The network device may determine the third duration based on the third information from the first terminal device in S505. Alternatively, when S505 is not performed, the network device may determine the third duration of the first terminal device according to a predefined rule and further determine K1 based on the third duration. The timing K1 is set to be equal to or greater than the PDSCH processing capability supported by the first terminal device to ensure sufficient processing time for the first terminal device and avoid scheduling the first terminal device before the first terminal device completes processing the PDSCH, thereby avoiding unnecessary resource waste. The first duration described above is the duration used by the terminal device to process the PDSCH, and the first duration is equal to or less than the third duration. Optionally, after receiving the third indication information, the first terminal device may determine the third duration based on the third indication information.

[0130] It should be noted that the above steps S501 and S502, S503 and S504, and S505 are all optional steps and may be implemented separately or in a combined manner. The order of these three groups of steps is not limited in this application. As shown in FIG. 5, S501 and S502, S503 and S504, and S505 may be separately combined with S401 to S403 for implementation, or may be jointly combined with S401 to S403 for implementation. The order of these steps is not limited in this application. By exchanging the capability information of the terminal devices, the network devices can know the data channel processing capabilities of the terminal devices and properly predict the time for receiving feedback information after the PDSCH is sent, thereby avoiding scheduling the first terminal device in the process of processing the PDSCH, avoiding unnecessary resource waste, and ensuring the transmission performance of the terminal devices.

[0131] The above describes a method for processing a PDSCH by a first terminal device during a relaxed processing time. For a terminal device with a small baseband capability for processing a PDSCH, as shown in FIG. 3B, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication method. The terminal device may maintain the existing processing time and process the PDSCH using only the PDSCH baseband processing capability supported by the terminal device. For example, the baseband capability of a UE for processing a PDSCH is 5 MHz, and the transmission bandwidth of the PDSCH is 20 MHz. In this case, the terminal device may process only 5 MHz of the PDSCH, i.e., process only a portion of the information in the PDSCH, and not process another portion of the information, to avoid additional time consumption. The present application also provides a method for further determining a specific portion of PDSCH information to be processed by the terminal device. As shown in FIG. 6, the method specifically includes the following steps:

[0132] S601: A network device sends a PDSCH to a first terminal device, and in response, the first terminal device receives a PDSCH from the network device.

[0133] S602: A first terminal device processes only a first part of a PDSCH, and the bandwidth of the frequency domain resource occupied by the first part does not exceed X MHz.

[0134] Optionally, S603: The first terminal device sends feedback information to the network device in response to the PDSCH, and in response, the network device receives the feedback information from the first terminal device.

[0135] The communication method provided in S601 to S603 is applicable to a terminal device having a post-FFT buffer bandwidth capacity of Y MHz but a small baseband bandwidth capacity for processing a PDSCH, and is also applicable to a terminal device having a post-FFT buffer bandwidth of X MHz. In the latter terminal device, since the post-FFT buffer bandwidth capacity is insufficient, the complete PDSCH information cannot be buffered, and a specific portion of the PDSCH information to be processed needs to be selected to maximize reception performance. For ease of explanation, some parameters such as X, Y, and bandwidth capacity are reused below. For the specific meanings of the parameters, please refer to the detailed description above. Details will not be described again.

[0136] For S601, please refer to the above detailed description of S401.

[0137] In S602: The first terminal device processes only a first part of the PDSCH, and the bandwidth of the frequency domain resource occupied by the first part does not exceed X MHz.

[0138] In particular, the terminal device may determine the first portion that needs to be processed in the PDSCH by using several of the following methods.

[0139] In a first possible implementation, the first terminal device determines to buffer and process the first part of the PDSCH based on an internal algorithm.

[0140] In a second possible implementation, the terminal device determines the first portion according to a predefined rule.

[0141] In a third possible implementation, the terminal device determines the first part based on first signaling from the network device, the first signaling being a system information block SIB, an RRC message, a medium access control control element MAC CE, or downlink indication information DCI.

[0142] For a particular location of the first portion in the PDSCH, the first portion may be the lowest X MHz in the first frequency domain resource, or the first portion may be the highest X MHz in the first frequency domain resource.

[0143] When the buffer capability (e.g., post-FFT buffer bandwidth capability) of the first terminal device is X MHz, in a possible implementation, the network device schedules the PDSCH across slots. In particular, the network device sends a PDCCH to the first terminal device in a first slot, and the first terminal device accordingly receives the PDCCH from the network device in the first slot, where the DCI carried on the PDCCH is used to schedule the PDSCH, and the network device sends a PDSCH to the first terminal device in a second slot, and accordingly, the first terminal device receives the PDSCH from the network device in the second slot, where the first slot and the second slot are different slots. Because the PDCCH and the PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH are sent in different slots, time may be reserved for the first terminal device to demodulate and decode the PDCCH, and time-frequency resource allocation information of the PDSCH indicated by the DCI carried on the PDCCH is obtained. Otherwise, the first terminal device may not timely determine the frequency resource on which the PDSCH should be received, and therefore cannot receive the PDSCH successfully. Therefore, according to this method, the success rate of the terminal device receiving the PDSCH can be improved, and communication efficiency can be improved.

[0144] In step S603: The first terminal device sends feedback information to the network device in response to the PDSCH, and in response, the network device receives feedback information from the first terminal device.

[0145] It should be noted that S603 is an optional step. The first terminal device may or may not provide feedback on the PDSCH. For example, a terminal device in idle mode may not provide feedback when receiving a PDSCH carrying a broadcast service, while a terminal device in RRC connected mode may provide feedback when receiving a PDSCH carrying a unicast service.

[0146] The network device may predict the transmission time of the feedback information during the second duration without extending the waiting time. For the meaning of the second duration, please refer to the detailed description above.

[0147] According to the communication method provided in S601 to S603, the terminal device may process the PDSCH within its capability without consuming additional processing time, and the network device does not need to re-estimate the processing time of the terminal device, thereby reducing the implementation complexity on the network side. As shown in FIG. 7, the communication method provided in S601 to S603 may be implemented separately or combined with the above steps S501 and S502, and S503 and S504. The order of these steps is not limited in this application. In this way, the network device may determine the time for delivering the PDSCH or receiving feedback information from the terminal device based on the processing capability of the terminal device.

[0148] For terminal devices with low baseband capabilities for processing data channels, two processing methods are described above.

[0149] Method 1: The terminal device processes only a portion of the PDSCH within its baseband bandwidth capability, and does not process the additional portion.

[0150] Manner 2: The terminal device processes the PDSCH through time relaxation, or the terminal device processes the PDSCH during a first duration.

[0151] The terminal device may select between the two communication methods based on the capabilities of the terminal device. Furthermore, the present application further provides an implementation in which the terminal device may determine the PDSCH processing method based on the RRC mode and / or the service type corresponding to the PDSCH.

[0152] For example, when the terminal device is in an RRC idle mode or an RRC inactive mode, the terminal device determines to use Scheme 2. When the terminal device is in an RRC connected mode, the terminal device determines to use Scheme 1 or Scheme 2 based on the service type of the PDSCH. For example, when the type of service carried on the PDSCH is a unicast service, the terminal device determines to use Scheme 2, or when the type of service carried on the PDSCH is a multicast service, the terminal device determines to use Scheme 1.

[0153] When the terminal device is in the RRC idle mode or the RRC inactive mode, the data sent by the network device to the terminal device is mainly broadcast service, and the terminal device does not perform feedback. In this case, the terminal device has enough time to process the PDSCH. Therefore, the time relaxation method of the method 2 can be used to receive as much PDSCH as possible or receive the complete PDSCH, thereby improving reception performance.

[0154] When the terminal device is in the RRC connected mode, the data sent by the network device to the terminal device may be a broadcast service or a unicast service. In this case, for a broadcast service with low importance, the processing method of Scheme 1 may be used to reduce the processing time. For a unicast service with high importance, the time easing method of Scheme 2 may be used to receive as much PDSCH as possible or receive the complete PDSCH, thereby improving reception performance. In another possible implementation, when in the RRC connected mode, the terminal device , processing In the process, the terminal device may further determine whether a new PDSCH arrives. For example, when the terminal device receives and processes a first PDSCH carrying a broadcast service, if the terminal device finds that a second PDSCH carrying a unicast service arrives, the terminal device may process the first PDSCH according to Scheme 1 and reserve processing resources and time to process the second PDSCH.

[0155] In another possible implementation, the terminal device may determine the PDSCH processing method based on the priority of the service carried on the PDSCH. The service priority may be predefined or configured by the network device. For example, Scheme 2 may be used for a high-priority service, and Scheme 1 may be used for a low-priority service. For example, if the priority of paging is higher than the priority of SIBs, when the terminal device receives a PDSCH carrying paging and a PDSCH carrying SIBs, the terminal device may preferentially process the PDSCH carrying paging, or process the PDSCH carrying paging using Scheme 2 and the PDSCH carrying SIBs using Scheme 1.

[0156] The RRC mode, the service type corresponding to the PDSCH, and the service priority may be used separately or in combination to determine the PDSCH processing method, so that the processing resources of the terminal device can be used more flexibly, and the PDSCH with a higher priority can be processed preferentially, thereby improving the reception performance of the terminal device.

[0157] The different embodiments described above may be used in combination or separately. In addition, the relationship between each step of the embodiments is not restricted, that is, not all steps are required, and some steps may be selected according to the actual implementation requirements.

[0158] To implement the functions of the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application, a network device, a terminal device, or a communication device may include a hardware structure and / or a software module, and the functions are implemented in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module. Whether the functions in the above functions are implemented by using a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0159] In the embodiments of the present application, the module division is an example and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. In addition, the functional modules in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processor, may exist physically alone, or two or more modules may be integrated into one module. The integrated module may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module.

[0160] As shown in Fig. 8, the embodiment of the present application further provides an apparatus 800. The communication apparatus 800 may be the terminal device of Fig. 1 and configured to implement the method for the terminal device in the above method embodiment. Alternatively, the communication apparatus may be the network device of Fig. 1 and configured to implement the method corresponding to the network device in the above method embodiment. For specific functions, please refer to the description in the above method embodiment.

[0161] In particular, the device 800 may include a processing unit 810 and a communication unit 820. In this embodiment of the present application, the communication unit may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, and may include a transmitting unit and / or a receiving unit, respectively configured to perform the transmitting and receiving steps of the network device or the terminal device in the above method embodiments. Hereinafter, the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail with reference to Figures 8 to 9.

[0162] In some possible implementations, the behaviors and functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments may be implemented by using a communication device 800, for example, the methods performed by the terminal device in the embodiments of Figures 4 to 7 are implemented. The communication device 800 may be a terminal device, or a component (e.g., a chip or circuit) used in the terminal device, or a chip or chipset in the terminal device, or a part of a chip configured to perform the relevant method functions. The communication unit 820 may be configured to perform the receiving or transmitting operations performed by the terminal device in the embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 7, and the processing unit 810 may be configured to perform operations other than the receiving and transmitting operations performed by the terminal device in the embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 7. For example, The communication unit is configured to receive a first PDSCH from the network device; the processing unit is configured to process the first PDSCH for a first duration; The maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the first terminal device is X megahertz ( MHz ) and the bandwidth of the frequency domain resource occupied by the first PDSCH is Y MHz, where X is less than Y.

[0163] In possible implementations, the first duration is predefined or pre-set, the first duration is determined according to a predefined rule, or the first duration is determined based on signaling from the network device.

[0164] In a possible implementation, the first duration T1 and the second duration T2 satisfy T1=A*T2, where A is greater than 1, or T1=T2+offset, where the offset is N time units and N is a positive integer. Furthermore, A and N may be determined based on the ratio of Y to X, for example, A=Y / X, or N=Y / X.

[0165] In a possible implementation, the maximum bandwidth supported by the first terminal device for processing the PDSCH is Y MHz or more, with data buffering after fast Fourier transform (FFT data buffering). Optionally, X=5 and Y=20.

[0166] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first terminal device sending first information to the network device, the first information indicating a post-FFT data buffering bandwidth capability of the first terminal device; and, prior to this, the first terminal device further receiving first indication information from the network device, the first indication information indicating that the post-FFT data buffering bandwidth capability is to be reported.

[0167] In some possible implementations, the behaviors and functions of the network devices in the above method embodiments may be implemented by using a communication device 800, for example, the methods performed by the network devices in the embodiments of FIGS. 4 to 7 are implemented. For example, the communication device 800 may be a network device, or a component (e.g., a chip or circuit) used in a network device, or a chip or chipset in a network device, or a part of a chip configured to perform the relevant method functions. The communication unit 820 may be configured to perform the receiving or transmitting operations performed by the network devices in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, and the processing unit 810 may be configured to perform operations other than the receiving and transmitting operations performed by the network devices in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 to 7. For example, The communication unit is configured to send a first PDSCH to the first terminal device, and the network device receives feedback information from the first terminal device in response to the first PDSCH; The processing unit is configured to determine that an interval between a transmission time of the PDSCH and a reception time of the feedback information is equal to or greater than a first duration, the first duration being greater than a second duration, and a baseband bandwidth for processing the first PDSCH by the first terminal device is equal to or greater than X megahertz. ( MHz ) and the bandwidth of the frequency domain resource occupied by the PDSCH is Y MHz.

[0168] In a possible implementation, the second duration is the time required by the second terminal device to process the second PDSCH in a baseband bandwidth of Y MHz or more, the second duration is the time duration for processing the third PDSCH by the first terminal device in a baseband bandwidth of X MHz, and the bandwidth of the frequency domain resource occupied by the second PDSCH is X MHz or less.

[0169] In possible implementations, the first duration is predefined or pre-set, the first duration is determined according to a predefined rule, or the first duration is determined based on signaling from the network device.

[0170] In a possible implementation, the first duration T1 and the second duration T2 satisfy the following:

[0171] T1=A*T2, where A is greater than 1, or T1=T2+offset, where the offset is N time units and N is a positive integer.

[0172] It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. For the device structure used to implement the terminal device and the network device of Figures 4 to 7, please refer to the device 800. Therefore, for the contents not described in detail, please refer to the above method embodiment. For the sake of brevity, the details will not be described again in this specification.

[0173] The communication unit may also be referred to as a transceiver module, a transceiver, a transceiver machine, a transceiver device, etc. The processing unit may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, etc. Optionally, a device in the communication unit 820 configured to implement a receiving function may be considered a receiving unit, and a device in the communication unit 820 configured to implement a transmitting function may be considered a transmitting unit; in other words, the communication unit 820 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The communication unit may also be sometimes referred to as a transceiver machine, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, etc. The receiving unit may also be sometimes referred to as a receiver machine, a receiver, a receiving circuit, etc. The transmitting unit may also be sometimes referred to as a transmitter machine, a transmitter, a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0174] The above are just examples. The processing unit 810 and the communication unit 820 may further perform other functions. For more detailed descriptions, please refer to the related descriptions in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 7. Details will not be described herein.

[0175] 9 shows an apparatus 900 according to an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus shown in FIG. 9 may be a hardware circuit implementation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 8. The communication apparatus is applicable to the above flowcharts and implements the functions of the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments. For ease of explanation, FIG. 9 shows only the main components of the communication apparatus.

[0176] 9 is a diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. It should be noted that the parts represented by dashed boxes in FIG. 9 are optional and will not be described in detail below.

[0177] The communications device 900 includes one or more processors 901. The processor 901 may be configured to perform internal processing of the device and implement certain control processing functions. Optionally, the processor 901 includes instructions 903. Optionally, the processor 901 may store data. Optionally, the processor 901 may be a general-purpose processor, a special-purpose processor, etc. Optionally, different processors may be independent devices, may be located in different physical locations, or may be located on different integrated circuits. Optionally, different processors may be integrated into one or more processors, for example, into one or more integrated circuits.

[0178] Optionally, the communications device 900 further includes one or more memories 902 configured to store instructions 904. Optionally, the memory 902 may further store data. The processor and memory may be separately disposed or integrated together.

[0179] Optionally, the communications device 900 may further include a transceiver 905 and / or an antenna 906. The transceiver 905 may be configured to send information to or receive information from another device.

[0180] Optionally, communication device 900 may further include one or more of the following components: a wireless communication module, an audio module, an external memory interface, an internal memory, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a power management module, an antenna, a speaker, a microphone, an input / output module, a sensor module, a motor, a camera, a display, etc. The components may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0181] The processor 901 executes instructions stored in the communication device 900; in other words, the instructions stored in the communication device may be run on the processor 901, causing the communication device 900 to perform the methods described in the above embodiments. Optionally, the instructions are instructions 903 in the processor, or the instructions are instructions 904 in the memory.

[0182] In the embodiment of the present application, the instructions may also be computer programs, code, program code, programs, application programs, software, or executable files, such as computer programs or code stored in the communication device 900. Other parts will not be described again in this specification.

[0183] 4 to 7, the processor 901 is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in memory to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in the above-described method embodiments. In particular, the processor 901 may be configured to implement the functions of the processing unit 810. The interface circuit 902 is configured to receive signals from a communication device other than the present communication device and transmit signals to the processor, or transmit signals from the processor to a communication device other than the present communication device. In particular, the interface circuit 902 may be configured to implement the functions of the communication unit 820.

[0184] The processor in embodiments of the present application may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or may be another general-purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or another programmable or transistor logic device. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0185] The memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a removable hard disk, or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. For example, the storage medium may be coupled to the processor, such that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium may also be components of the processor. The processor and the storage medium may be disposed in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may be located in a network device or a terminal device. Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a network device or a terminal device.

[0186] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Thus, the present application may take the form of a hardware-only embodiment, a software-only embodiment, or an embodiment that combines software and hardware. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk memory, optical memory, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0187] The present application is described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that computer program instructions can be used to implement each process and / or each block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and combinations of processes and / or blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or any other programmable data processing device to generate a machine, whereby the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or any other programmable data processing device generate an apparatus for implementing the specific functions in one or more processes in the flowcharts and / or in one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0188] Computer programs or instructions may alternatively be stored in a computer-readable memory that can instruct a computer or another programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, whereby the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory generate an artifact that includes an instruction apparatus that implements a particular function in one or more procedures in the flowcharts and / or in one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

Claims

1. 1. A communication method comprising: receiving, by a first terminal device, a first physical downlink data channel (PDSCH) from a network device; processing, by the first terminal device, the first PDSCH for a first duration, wherein a maximum baseband bandwidth for processing the PDSCH by the first terminal device is X megahertz (MHz), a bandwidth of a frequency domain resource occupied by the PDSCH is Y MHz, X is less than Y, and the first duration is greater than a second duration; A communication method, including:

2. The second duration is a time for the second terminal device to process a second PDSCH in a maximum baseband bandwidth of Y MHz or more; the second duration is a duration for processing a third PDSCH by the first terminal device, and a bandwidth of a frequency domain resource occupied by the third PDSCH is less than or equal to X MHz; or The second duration is determined based on the capability of the terminal device, the subcarrier spacing, and the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) configuration of the PDSCH, and the second duration may be 0.57 ms, 0.36 ms, 0.18 ms, 0.08 ms, 0.92 ms, 0.46 ms, 0.85 ms, or 0.4 ms. The method of claim 1.

3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein a maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the second terminal device for processing a PDSCH is greater than a maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the first terminal device for processing a PDSCH.

4. the first duration is predefined or preset; the first duration is determined according to a predefined rule; or the first duration is determined based on signaling from the network device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The first duration T1 and the second duration T2 are T1 = A * T2, where A is greater than 1, or T1 = T2 + offset, where offset is N time units, and N is a positive integer. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein

6. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein A=Y / X or N=Y / X.

7. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the maximum bandwidth supported by the first terminal device for processing PDSCH is greater than or equal to Y MHz and is a post-FFT data buffering method.

8. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein X=5 and Y=20.

9. The method comprises: sending, by the first terminal device, first information to the network device, the first information indicating a post-FFT data buffering bandwidth capability of the first terminal device; The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

10. The method comprises: sending, by the first terminal device, second information to the network device, the second information indicating that the first terminal device supports processing a PDSCH during the first duration; 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

11. The method comprises: sending, by the first terminal device, third information to the network device, the third information indicating the first duration; The method of any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising:

12. The first information, the second information, and / or the third information are Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), Message A MsgA in the random access procedure, Message 3 Msg3 in the random access procedure, or Radio Resource Control (RRC) Message The method of claim 11 , wherein the transport is carried in at least one of:

13. The method comprises: sending reception status information of the first PDSCH based on a third duration, the third duration being equal to or greater than the first duration; 13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

14. 1. A communication method comprising: sending, by the network device, a first PDSCH to the first terminal device; receiving, by the network device, feedback information from the first terminal device in response to the first PDSCH, wherein an interval between a transmission time of the PDSCH and a transmission time of the feedback information is equal to or greater than a first duration, the first duration is greater than a second duration, a baseband bandwidth for processing the first PDSCH by the first terminal device is X megahertz (MHz), a bandwidth of a frequency domain resource occupied by the PDSCH is Y MHz, and X is less than Y; A communication method, including:

15. The second duration is a time for a second terminal device to process a second PDSCH in a baseband bandwidth of Y MHz or more; the second duration is a duration for processing a third PDSCH by the first terminal device, and a bandwidth of a frequency domain resource occupied by the third PDSCH is less than or equal to X MHz; or The second duration is determined based on the capability of the terminal device, the subcarrier spacing, and the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) configuration of the PDSCH, and the second duration is 0.57 milliseconds (ms), 0.36 ms, 0.18 ms, 0.08 ms, 0.92 ms, 0.46 ms, 0.85 ms, or 0.4 ms.

15. The method of claim 14.

16. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein a maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the second terminal device for processing a PDSCH is greater than a maximum baseband bandwidth supported by the first terminal device for processing a PDSCH.

17. the first duration is predefined or preset; the first duration is determined according to a predefined rule; or the first duration is determined based on signaling from the network device.

17. The method of any one of claims 14 to 16.

18. The first duration T1 and the second duration T2 are T1 = A * T2, where A is greater than 1, or T1 = T2 + offset, where offset is N time units, and N is a positive integer. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein

19. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein A=Y / X, or N=Y / X.

20. 20. The method according to claim 14, wherein the method is for post-FFT data buffering and the maximum bandwidth supported by the first terminal device for processing PDSCH is greater than or equal to Y MHz.

21. 21. The method of any one of claims 14 to 20, wherein X=5 and Y=20.

22. The method comprises: receiving, by the network device, first information from the first terminal device, the first information indicating a post-FFT data buffering bandwidth capability of the first terminal device; 22. The method of any one of claims 14 to 21, further comprising:

23. The method comprises: receiving, by the network device, second information from the first terminal device, the second information indicating that the first terminal device supports processing a PDSCH during the first duration; 23. The method of any one of claims 14 to 22, further comprising:

24. The method comprises: receiving, by the network device, third information from the first terminal device, the third information indicating the first duration; 24. The method of any one of claims 14 to 23, further comprising:

25. The first information, the second information, and / or the third information are Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), Message A MsgA in the random access procedure, Message 3 Msg3 in the random access procedure, or Radio Resource Control (RRC) Message 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the transport is carried in at least one of:

26. The method comprises: sending reception status information of the first PDSCH based on a third duration, the third duration being equal to or greater than the first duration; 26. The method of any one of claims 14 to 25, further comprising:

27. 14. A communication device, said communication device comprising a processor, said processor being configured to run computer programs or instructions to enable said communication device to perform a communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

28. 27. A communications device, the communications device comprising a processor, the processor configured to run computer programs or instructions to enable the communications device to perform a communications method according to any one of claims 14 to 26.

29. 27. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions or programs, the computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions or programs that, when run on a computer, perform the communication method of any one of claims 1 to 13 or perform the communication method of any one of claims 14 to 26.

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