Communication method and apparatus based on configured grants

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus based on pre-configured grants are provided. The method involves an access network device transmitting configuration information to a terminal, which is used to configure a first CG transmission opportunity carrying instruction information and a first period during which the instruction information is in operation. The terminal then transmits the instruction information at the first transmission opportunity based on the configuration information, which indicates whether the CG transmission opportunity is used or not within the first period. In this way, the access network device can determine which transmission opportunities are not used based on the instruction information, thereby allocating the unused resources to other terminals and improving resource utilization. In addition, when the terminal transmits the instruction information at the first transmission opportunity, it is not necessary to additionally indicate the first period during which the instruction information is in operation, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] [Cross - reference to Related Applications] This application claims priority based on Chinese Patent Application No. 202310406137.6, titled "CONFIGURED GRANT BASED COMMUNICATION METHOD AND APPARATUS", filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on April 7, 2023, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] [Technical Field to Which the Invention Belongs] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus based on configured grants.

Background Art

[0003] With the continuous development of wireless communication systems, data transmission delay has been continuously reduced, and the transmission capacity has become increasingly large. Wireless communication systems are gradually penetrating into several services with high real - time performance and large data capacity requirements, such as video transmission, cloud gaming (CG), and extended reality (XR). XR is an environment that combines the real world and the virtual world, supports the interaction between humans and computers, and is generated by using computer technology and wearable devices. It is a general term for various forms such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR).

[0004] Let's take an XR service as an example. Data frames from an XR service can be transmitted between an access network device and a terminal using a semi-persistent scheduling method. For example, an access network device may set up multiple transmission opportunities for the transmission of a single data frame, and the amount of data that can be carried across these multiple transmission opportunities may be greater than the amount of data in the data frame. As a result, some of the multiple transmission opportunities will not be used, and transmission resources will be wasted. [Overview of the project] [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] This invention provides a communication method and apparatus that enables a terminal to notify an access network device of unused transmission opportunities, thereby allowing the access network device to allocate unused resources to other terminals and improve resource utilization.

[0006] According to a first aspect, one embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method may be applied to a terminal or a module within a terminal (e.g., a circuit or a chip), or to a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or some of the functions of a terminal. The method may include the steps of: receiving configuration information, the configuration information being used to configure a first CG transmission opportunity carrying instruction information and a first period in which the instruction information is in operation, the instruction information indicating a CG transmission opportunity to be used or not used within the first period; and transmitting the instruction information at the first CG transmission opportunity.

[0007] According to the method described above, a terminal may send instruction information to an access network device based on first configuration information to notify the access network device of unused transmission opportunities, thereby allowing the access network device to allocate unused resources to other terminals and improve resource utilization. In addition, by using the first configuration information, the access network device uniformly sets the first transmission opportunity and the first duration for which the instruction information functions. Therefore, when a terminal sends instruction information, it is not necessary to additionally indicate the first duration for which the instruction information functions, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0008] In a possible design, the configuration information is further used to configure CG transmission opportunities within the CG cycle period, where the CG transmission opportunities within the CG cycle period include a first CG transmission opportunity, and the CG cycle period includes a first period. In this way, the configuration information can be used to implicitly configure the first transmission opportunity and the first period by configuring the CG transmission opportunities within the CG cycle period, reducing signaling overhead and simplifying implementation.

[0009] In a possible design, the first CG transmission opportunity and the CG transmission opportunities used or not used within the first period correspond to the same CG or different CG.

[0010] In other words, the first CG transmission opportunity and the CG transmission opportunities used or not used within the first period may belong to the same set of CGs or to different sets of CGs, thereby making the aforementioned solution applicable to multiple scenarios in which CG transmission opportunities are set up. In addition, when the first CG transmission opportunity and the CG transmission opportunities used or not used within the first period belong to different CGs, the instruction information carried in the first CG transmission opportunity may function in the different CG transmission opportunities, thereby making the setup more flexible.

[0011] In a possible design, the first CG transmission opportunity is the first CG transmission opportunity within the first period. In this way, instruction information is transmitted during the first transmission opportunity, thereby allowing the access network device to know as soon as possible about unused transmission opportunities.

[0012] In a possible design, the instruction information indicates a second period, the first period includes the second period, and any CG transmission opportunities used or not used within the first period fall within the second period.

[0013] In this way, since CG transmission opportunities used or not used within the first period are located within the second period, the instruction information can indicate whether transmission opportunities within the second period are used, and it is not necessary to indicate whether all transmission opportunities within the first period are used, thus saving transmission resources.

[0014] In possible designs, the instruction information includes a bitmap. In this way, the bitmap may indicate that continuous CG transmission opportunities are not being used, or that discontinuous CG transmission opportunities are not being used, thereby making the instruction more flexible.

[0015] In a possible design, a single bit in the bitmap can represent multiple used or unused CG transmission opportunities. Since a single bit can represent multiple used or unused CG transmission opportunities in this way, the bit width of the bitmap is reduced, and transmission resources are saved.

[0016] In possible designs, the bit width of a bitmap is set using configuration information. In other words, an access network device can implicitly set a first period by setting the bit width of the bitmap. This helps the network and terminal sides to clearly determine the bit width of the bitmap and facilitates the decoding of the instruction information.

[0017] In a second aspect, one embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method may be applied to an access network device or a module within an access network device (e.g., a circuit or a chip), or to a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of an access network device. The method may include the steps of: transmitting configuration information, the configuration information being used to configure a first CG transmission opportunity carrying instruction information and a first period in which the instruction information is in operation, the instruction information indicating a CG transmission opportunity to be used or not used within the first period; and receiving the instruction information at the first CG transmission opportunity.

[0018] In a possible design, the configuration information is further used to configure CG transmission opportunities within the CG cycle period, where a CG transmission opportunity within the CG cycle period includes a first CG transmission opportunity, and the CG cycle period includes a first period.

[0019] In a possible design, the first CG transmission opportunity and the CG transmission opportunities used or not used within the first period correspond to the same CG or different CG.

[0020] In a possible design, the first CG transmission opportunity is the first CG transmission opportunity within the first period.

[0021] In a possible design, the instruction information indicates a second period, the first period includes the second period, and any CG transmission opportunities used or not used within the first period fall within the second period.

[0022] In possible designs, instruction information includes a bitmap.

[0023] In a possible design, a single bit within a bitmap could represent multiple CG transmission opportunities, some of which may or may not be used.

[0024] In possible designs, the bit width of the bitmap is set using configuration information.

[0025] The method described in the second aspect can be understood to correspond to the method described in the first aspect. For the beneficial effects of the related technical features in the second aspect, please refer to the description in the first aspect. Details will not be described again.

[0026] According to a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be a terminal or a module within the terminal (for example, a circuit or a chip), or may be a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal. The communication device has the function of implementing the first aspect. For example, the communication device includes corresponding modules, units, or means for performing the operations in the first aspect. The modules, units, or means may be implemented by software, by hardware, or by hardware that executes the corresponding software.

[0027] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and an interface unit. The interface unit may be configured to receive and transmit signals to implement communication between the communication device and other devices. The processing unit may be configured to perform some internal operations of the communication device. The functions performed by the processing unit and the interface unit may correspond to the operations in the first aspect.

[0028] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processor, and the processor may be configured to be coupled to a memory. The memory may store computer programs or instructions necessary to implement the functions in the first 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 can implement the method according to any one of the possible designs or implementation manners of the first aspect.

[0029] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processor and memory. The memory may store computer programs or instructions necessary to implement the functions in the first aspect. The processor may execute the computer programs or instructions stored in memory. Once the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device becomes capable of performing any one of the possible designs or implementations of the first aspect.

[0030] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit. The processor is configured to communicate with other devices via the interface circuit and to do so in a manner that is either a possible design or implementation of the first aspect.

[0031] According to a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be an access network device or a module (e.g., a circuit or chip) within an access network device, or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or some of the functions of an access network device. The communication device has the function of realizing a second aspect. For example, the communication device includes a corresponding module, unit, or means for performing the operations in the second aspect. The module, unit, or means may be implemented by software, by hardware, or by hardware running the corresponding software.

[0032] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and an interface unit. The interface unit may be configured to receive and transmit signals to facilitate communication between the communication device and other devices. The processing unit may be configured to perform some internal operations of the communication device. The functions performed by the processing unit and the interface unit may correspond to operations in the second aspect.

[0033] In a possible design, the communication device may include a processor, which may be configured to be coupled to memory. The memory may store computer programs or instructions necessary to perform the functions of the second aspect. The processor may execute the computer programs or instructions stored in memory. Once the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device can implement one of the possible designs or implementations of the second aspect.

[0034] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processor and memory. The memory may store computer programs or instructions necessary to perform the functions of the second aspect. The processor may execute the computer programs or instructions stored in memory. Once the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device can implement one of the possible designs or implementations of the second aspect.

[0035] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit. The processor communicates with other devices via the interface circuit and is configured to do so in a manner according to one of the possible designs or implementations of the second aspect.

[0036] In a third or fourth aspect, it will be understood that the processor may be implemented in hardware or software. When the processor is implemented in hardware, it may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc. When the processor is implemented in software, it may be a general-purpose processor and may be implemented by reading software code stored in 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 processor may be located separately. In a particular implementation process, the memory and processor may be integrated on one chip, or they may be located on different chips. The type of memory, and the way in which the memory and processor are located, are not limited to the embodiments of this application.

[0037] According to the fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication system. The communication system may include a communication device relating to the third aspect and a communication device relating to the fourth aspect. For example, the communication system includes a terminal and an access network device. The terminal is configured to perform the communication method according to the first aspect, and the access network device is configured to perform the communication method according to the second aspect.

[0038] According to the sixth aspect, the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium that stores computer-readable instructions. When a computer reads and executes a computer-readable instruction, the computer is able to perform a method according to any one of the possible designs of the first or second aspect.

[0039] According to the seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product. When a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the computer is able to perform a method according to either one of the possible designs of the first or second aspect.

[0040] According to the eighth aspect, the present application provides a chip which includes a processor which is coupled to memory and reads and executes a software program stored in memory and implements a method according to any one of the possible designs of the first or second aspect. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0041] [Figure 1] This figure shows a network architecture to which one embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

[0042] [Figure 2A] This figure shows the transmission of multiple data frames according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0043] [Figure 2B] This figure shows one of several examples of how a data frame according to an embodiment of the present application corresponds to a transmission opportunity. [Figure 2C] This figure shows one of several examples of how a data frame according to an embodiment of the present application corresponds to a transmission opportunity. [Figure 2D] This figure shows one of several examples of how a data frame according to an embodiment of the present application corresponds to a transmission opportunity. [Figure 2E] This figure shows one of several examples of how a data frame according to an embodiment of the present application corresponds to a transmission opportunity.

[0044] [Figure 3A] This figure shows the discrepancy between the data frame and the transmission opportunity according to the embodiment of the present application.

[0045] [Figure 3B] This figure shows one of several examples of irregular periodic transmission opportunities according to the embodiment of the present application. [Figure 3C] This figure shows one of several examples of irregular periodic transmission opportunities according to the embodiment of the present application. [Figure 3D]This figure shows one of several examples of irregular periodic transmission opportunities according to the embodiment of the present application.

[0046] [Figure 4] This is a schematic flowchart corresponding to the communication method according to the embodiment of this application.

[0047] [Figure 5A] This figure shows one of several examples of a first transmission opportunity and a first period according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 5B] This figure shows one of several examples of a first transmission opportunity and a first period according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 5C] This figure shows one of several examples of a first transmission opportunity and a first period according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0048] [Figure 6A] This figure shows one of several examples illustrating transmission opportunities used or not used according to the embodiment of the present application. [Figure 6B] This figure shows one of several examples illustrating transmission opportunities used or not used according to the embodiment of the present application. [Figure 6C] This figure shows one of several examples illustrating transmission opportunities used or not used according to the embodiment of the present application. [Figure 6D] This figure shows one of several examples illustrating transmission opportunities used or not used according to the embodiment of the present application.

[0049] [Figure 7] This is a block diagram showing possible examples of the apparatus according to the embodiments of the present invention.

[0050] [Figure 8] This figure shows the structure of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0051] [Figure 9]This figure shows the structure of an access network device according to an embodiment of the present application. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0052] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as fourth-generation (4G) mobile communication systems including universal mobile telecommunications systems (UMTS), wireless local area networks (WLAN), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) systems, and long-term evolution (LTE) systems; fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication systems such as new radio (NR) systems; and future evolutionary communication systems such as sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication systems.

[0053] All aspects, embodiments, or features are presented in this application by describing systems that may include multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be recognized and understood that each system may include other devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all of the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, combinations of these solutions may be used.

[0054] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, Figure 1 is a possible and non-limiting diagram of the system. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 10 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. Optionally, the communication system 10 may further include the Internet 300.

[0055] RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 110a and 110b in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (e.g., 120a-120j in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 120). 110a is a base station, 110b is a micro base station, 120a, 120e, 120f, and 120j are mobile phones, 120b is a vehicle, 120c is a fuel dispenser, 120d is a home access node (HAP) deployed indoors or outdoors, 120g is a notebook computer, 120h is a printer, and 120i is an unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0056] RAN 100 may further include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1). Terminal 120 is wirelessly connected to RAN node 110. RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 wirelessly or wired. The core network devices in the core network 200 and RAN node 110 in RAN 100 may be different physical devices, or they may be the same physical device integrating the core network logical functions and the wireless access network logical functions.

[0057] RAN 100 may be a cellular system associated with the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP®), such as a 4G or 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolutionary system (such as a 6G mobile communication system). Alternatively, RAN 100 may be an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN, or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system. Alternatively, RAN 100 may be a communication system that integrates two or more of the aforementioned systems.

[0058] RAN nodes 110, sometimes referred to as RAN entities or access nodes, form part of a communication system to help terminals perform wireless access. Multiple RAN nodes 110 within the communication system 10 may be of the same type or of different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN nodes 110 and terminals 120 are related. For example, network element 120i in Figure 1 may be a helicopter or unmanned aerial vehicle and may be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal 120j accessing RAN 100 via network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station. However, for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal. Both RAN nodes 110 and terminals 120 may be referred to as communication devices. For example, network elements 110a and 110b in Figure 1 may be understood as communication devices with base station functionality, and network elements 120a-120j may be understood as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0059] A RAN node may have a different representation, such as an access network device. In this application, unless otherwise specified, an access network device is used for representation.

[0060] In possible scenarios, access network devices may include base stations, evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs), access points (APs), transmission reception points (TRPs), next-generation NodeBs (gNBs), next-generation base stations in 6G mobile communication systems, base stations in future mobile communication systems, and access nodes in Wi-Fi systems. Access network devices may include macro base stations (e.g., 110a in Figure 1), micro base stations or indoor stations (e.g., 110b in Figure 1), relay nodes or donor nodes, or wireless controllers in CRAN scenarios. Optionally, access network devices may also include servers, wearable devices, vehicles, or in-vehicle devices. For example, in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, an access network device may be a roadside unit (RSU). All or some of the functions of the access network device in this application may be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). Alternatively, the access network device in this application may be a logical node, logical module, or software capable of realizing all or some of the functions of the access network device.

[0061] In other possible scenarios, multiple access network devices collaborate to assist a terminal in performing radio access, with different access network devices each performing several functions of a base station. For example, access network devices may include a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU control plane (CP), a CU user plane (UP), and a radio unit (RU). CUs and DUs may be located separately or may be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs may be included in radio frequency devices or radio frequency units, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0062] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may be called O-CU (open CU), DU may be called O-DU, CU-CP may be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may be called O-CU-UP, and RU may be called O-RU. For the sake of clarity, CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU are used as illustrative examples in this application. Any one of CU (or CU-CP or CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application may be implemented using a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0063] Terminals may be referred to as terminal devices, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminals, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, and smart cities. Terminals may be mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver functionality, wearable devices, vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The form of the terminal device is not limited to the embodiments of this application.

[0064] In the embodiments of this application, "sending information to... (terminal)" may be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal, and may include sending information directly or indirectly to the terminal. "Receiving information from (terminal)..." may be understood as the source of the information being the terminal, and may include receiving information directly or indirectly from the terminal. In order to transmit the information, necessary processing such as formatting may be performed on the information between the sender and the destination. However, the destination can understand valid information from the sender. Similar expressions in this application may be understood similarly and will not be explained in detail here.

[0065] The communication systems and service scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. Those skilled in the art will understand that, with the evolution of network architectures and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0066] The following explanations and descriptions are provided below to clarify the relevant terms used in the embodiments of this application. These explanations are intended to facilitate understanding of the embodiments and should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0067] 1. Data frame

[0068] A data frame may also be referred to as a data slice or data tile. For a service (for example, an XR service), the service may include at least one data frame or at least one set of protocol data units (PDUs), and one set of PDUs may include at least one data frame.

[0069] In embodiments of the present application, the data frame may be a video frame, an audio frame, or any other possible frame.

[0070] (1) Transmission period of data frame

[0071] Let's take the example where a data frame is a video frame. Video can be formed by playing a sequence of images (pictures, photographs, etc.) in sequence. When 24 images are played at high speed per second, the human eye perceives the images as a sequence of pictures (i.e., video). The frame rate indicates the number of images played per second. For example, a frame rate of 24 frames per second (FPS) indicates that 24 images are played per second, and a frame rate of 60 FPS indicates that 60 images are played per second, and so on.

[0072] Let's take an XR service as an example. The service model for an XR service is typically that video frames arrive periodically based on the frame rate. If the frame rate is 60 FPS, ideally the transmission period of a video frame is 1000 / 60 = 50 / 3 milliseconds (ms), which is approximately equal to 16.67 ms, meaning that one video frame arrives every 16.67 ms.

[0073] Figure 2A is a diagram illustrating the transmission of multiple video frames. As shown in Figure 2A, video frame 1, video frame 2, and video frame 3 are three consecutive video frames. For example, if the frame rate is 60 FPS, the transmission period of the video frame is 1000 / 60 = 50 / 3 ms (milliseconds), which is approximately equal to 16.67 ms. Let's take video frame 1 as an example. Video frame 1 contains multiple data packets. For example, the multiple data packets may be distributed across the first segment of the transmission period of video frame 1 (for example, the multiple data packets may be distributed across the first 8 ms of 16.67 ms). In other words, there may be transmission time gaps between different video frames.

[0074] (2) Data size of the data frame

[0075] We will continue to use the example where a data frame is a video frame. A video frame can be understood as a single image. A video frame may contain one or more data packets corresponding to a single image, and the data size of a video frame is the sum of the data sizes of the one or more data packets contained within the video frame.

[0076] Furthermore, the amount of data in different video frames of the same service can vary. There are several reasons for the difference in data size between different video frames. For example, for two consecutive video frames (e.g., video frame 1 and video frame 2 in Figure 2A), the compression ratios of video frame 1 and video frame 2 may be different, and the encoding types may also be different (e.g., the encoding type of video frame 1 is intra-encoded, and the encoding type of video frame 2 is inter-predictive encoding). Therefore, the amount of data in video frame 1 and video frame 2 will be different.

[0077] 2. Semi-persistent scheduling

[0078] Access network devices can schedule uplink and downlink transmission resources for terminals in two ways: dynamic scheduling and semi-persistent scheduling. In dynamic scheduling, the access network device may send control information to terminals via a control channel to assign data channel transmission parameters to the terminals. The control channel may be, for example, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The control information may be, for example, downlink control information (DCI). The data channel may be, for example, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). For example, control information may indicate the time-frequency location to which a data channel is mapped (e.g., a time-domain symbol or frequency-domain resource block (RB) to which the data channel is mapped), thereby enabling access network devices and terminals to transmit downlink data (e.g., data carried by a PDSCH) and / or uplink data (e.g., data carried by a PUSCH) through the data channel at that time-frequency location.

[0079] In semi-persistent scheduling, an access network device may allocate periodic uplink and downlink transmission resources to terminals. Using uplink transmission resources as an example, the semi-persistent scheduling used to allocate uplink transmission resources may be referred to as a configured grant (CG). Furthermore, the transmission resources for a single uplink transmission may be referred to as a CG transmission opportunity (which may be abbreviated as a transmission opportunity), and the CG transmission opportunity may be replaced with other possible descriptions, such as CG resource, PUSCH resource, PUSCH opportunity, or PUSCH opportunity.

[0080] The transmission opportunity setting method will be explained below.

[0081] (1) In possible implementations, an access network device may first set several parameters (such as the CG period and CG index) for at least one set of transmission opportunities for a terminal by using radio resource control (RRC) messages. For example, an RRC message may include a ConfiguredGrantConfig (or CG-Config) field corresponding to each transmission opportunity set within at least one set of transmission opportunities, and parameters such as the CG period and CG index for each transmission opportunity set may be carried in the CG-Config field corresponding to the transmission opportunity set. A set of transmission opportunities may include multiple transmission opportunities that appear periodically. The CG index is used to distinguish different sets of transmission opportunities, and the same set of transmission opportunities corresponds to the same CG index. The CG index may be set using the ConfiguredGrantConfigIndex parameter in the ConfiguredGrantConfig field. The CG index may have other possible names, and this is not limited to the embodiments of the present application.

[0082] Furthermore, for each set of transmission opportunities in at least one set of transmission opportunities, the access network device may send an activation command to the terminal. The activation command is used to activate the set of transmission opportunities, and the activation command may be, for example, a DCI in a PDCCH. For example, the activation command may include other parameters for the set of transmission opportunities. For example, the other parameters include parameter 1 and parameter 2. Parameter 1 indicates the frequency domain position of each transmission opportunity in the set of transmission opportunities, and different transmission opportunities belonging to the same set of transmission opportunities have the same frequency domain position. Parameter 2 indicates the time domain position of each transmission opportunity in the set of transmission opportunities, and different transmission opportunities belonging to the same set of transmission opportunities have the same time domain length, and the time domain length of a transmission opportunity may be the number of consecutive symbols of the transmission opportunity in the time domain.

[0083] Parameter 1 can indicate the frequency domain location of a transmission opportunity in multiple ways. For example, in method 1, parameter 1 includes a bitmap, which indicates the resource block group (RBG) included in the transmission opportunity; in method 2, parameter 1 includes a resource indication value (RIV), which indicates the start RB (RB) of the transmission opportunity. start This indicates the number of consecutive RBs (which can be expressed as LRB) in the frequency domain.

[0084] Parameter 2 can indicate the time-domain position of a transmission opportunity in multiple ways. For example, parameter 2 may include a time-domain resource assignment (TDRA) field, where the TDRA field includes K2 and a start and length indicator value (SLIV). K2 indicates the slot offset value between the activation command and the transmission opportunity (e.g., the first transmission opportunity in a set of transmission opportunities), and SLIV indicates the start symbol position of the transmission opportunity and the time-domain length of each transmission opportunity in the set of transmission opportunities.

[0085] (2) In other possible implementations, the access network device sets the CG period for each set of transmission opportunities in at least one set of transmission opportunities and indicates a specific time-frequency position using an RRC message. For example, a specific time-frequency position is indicated using parameter 1 and parameter 2. In this case, the CG period, parameter 1, and parameter 2 are all carried in an RRC message, and the setting becomes effective immediately (in other words, the setting is immediately activated) when the terminal correctly receives the RRC message.

[0086] 3. Extended semi-persistent scheduling technology

[0087] Different XR services typically have different uplink and downlink service models. For example, in VR services, the display of scenario content changes depending on the user's posture and position (action). Therefore, uplink transmission mainly contains position and posture information, the data volume is small, usually only a few tens of kbps, while downlink transmission mainly contains rendered video streams, the data volume is large, and can reach tens to hundreds of Mbps. In AR services, the display of scenario content is caused by changes in the gaze focus target and changes in the spatial relationship between position and gaze point (action). Therefore, the content of uplink transmission contains visual information (including depth) necessary for perception. Uplink transmission mainly contains a clear and stable picture or video stream, the data volume is large, or it may contain some extracted environmental characteristic information.

[0088] Let us take uplink transmission as an example. After an access network device sets up and activates a set of transmission opportunities for a terminal by using a CG, the terminal can send data frames to the access network device in the set of transmission opportunities. Generally, only one transmission opportunity may be set up in each CG period, i.e., only one transport block (TB) may be transmitted in each CG period. For example, the CG period set up by the access network device coincides with the transmission period of a data frame (there may be multiple specific ways of coincidence, for example, the CG period and the transmission period are the same, this is not limited to the embodiments of this application), so that one data frame corresponds to one transmission opportunity, i.e., one data frame is transmitted in one transmission opportunity. For example, assuming that the CG period is the same as the transmission period of a data frame, as shown in Figure 2B, the terminal transmits data frame k in transmission opportunity k, transmits data frame k+1 in transmission opportunity k+1, transmits data frame k+2 in transmission opportunity k+2, and so on.

[0089] In this application, the CG period may represent the CG period duration. For example, the CG period is 50 ms. The CG period duration may represent a fixed period having the CG period duration. For example, the CG period duration is from time a to time b, and the duration between time a and time b is the CG period.

[0090] However, for services with large uplink data volumes (e.g., AR services), if one transmission opportunity is scheduled within one CG period, data transmission may not be completed. To solve this problem, embodiments of the present invention provide several extended semi-persistent scheduling techniques to meet the requirements for transmitting large amounts of data. The extended semi-persistent scheduling techniques provided in embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to scheduling methods 1 to 3.

[0091] (1) Setting method 1A

[0092] In configuration method 1A, the access network device may configure a set of short CG cycle transmission opportunities for the terminal in order to form dense transmission opportunities, so that the transmission cycle of each data frame includes multiple transmission opportunities and the terminal has sufficient resources to transmit the data frame.

[0093] For example, as shown in Figure 2C, assuming that the CG period is equal to half the transmission period of the data frame, the transmission period of each data frame includes two transmission opportunities. For example, the terminal transmits data frame k in transmission opportunities k and k+1, transmits data frame k+1 in transmission opportunities k+2 and k+3, and transmits data frame k+2 in transmission opportunities k+4 and k+5, and so on.

[0094] (2) Setting method 2A

[0095] In configuration method 2A, the access network device may configure a set of transmission opportunities for the terminal, and each CG period of the set of transmission opportunities includes multiple transmission opportunities, so that the transmission period of each data frame includes multiple transmission opportunities.

[0096] For example, as shown in Figure 2D, the CG period is equal to the data frame transmission period, and one CG period includes two transmission opportunities. The terminal may transmit data frames in the two transmission opportunities included in each transmission period. For example, the terminal may transmit data frame k in transmission opportunities k and k+1, transmit data frame k+1 in transmission opportunities k+2 and k+3, and transmit data frame k+2 in transmission opportunities k+4 and k+5.

[0097] (3) Setting method 3A

[0098] In configuration method 3A, the access network device may configure for the terminal multiple sets of transmission opportunities having the same CG period but different time domain start positions, so that the transmission period of each data frame includes multiple transmission opportunities.

[0099] For example, as shown in Figure 2E, an access network device may set up two sets of transmission opportunities for a terminal, which have the same CG period but different time-domain start positions. The CG period of the first set of transmission opportunities and the CG period of the second set of transmission opportunities are both equal to the transmission period of a data frame. For example, the terminal transmits data frame k at transmission opportunities k and k+1, transmits data frame k+1 at transmission opportunities k+2 and k+3, transmits data frame k+2 at transmission opportunities k+4 and k+5, and so on.

[0100] This specification will primarily describe the differences between configuration methods 1, 2, and 3 and the semi-persistent scheduling described above. For information other than the differences, please refer to the semi-persistent scheduling described above.

[0101] 4. Irregular periodic transmission opportunities

[0102] The smallest unit of the CG period is a slot, but the transmission period of a data frame may not be an integer multiple of a slot (for example, if a data frame is a video frame and the frame rate is 60 FPS, the transmission period of the data frame will not be an integer multiple of a slot, but 50 / 3 ms). Therefore, when a set of transmission opportunities is configured for sending data frames for an XR service, the CG period may not coincide with the transmission period of the data frame.

[0103] For example, as shown in Figure 3A, the period of the set of transmission opportunities set by the access network device for a terminal device is 16.5 ms, and the set of transmission opportunities may include transmission opportunity k, transmission opportunity k+1, transmission opportunity k+2, transmission opportunity k+3, etc. When data frame k arrives, the arrival time of data frame k is before the start time of transmission opportunity k, so the terminal can transmit data frame k in transmission opportunity k; when data frame k+1 arrives, the arrival time of data frame k+1 is before the start time of transmission opportunity k+1, so the terminal can transmit data frame k+1 in transmission opportunity k+1; when data frame k+2 arrives, the arrival time of data frame k+2 is after the start time of transmission opportunity k+2, so the terminal cannot transmit data frame k+2 in transmission opportunity k+2. Therefore, no data is transmitted in transmission opportunity k+2.

[0104] To address the above problem, a set of transmission opportunities with irregular periods can be configured so that the transmission opportunities coincide with the arrival times of the data frames. Below, three possible configuration methods are described: Configuration Method 1B, Configuration Method 2B, and Configuration Method 3B.

[0105] (1) Setting method 1B

[0106] Access network devices can configure CG periods and offset lists for terminals. For example, if the frame rate of a data frame is 60 FPS (i.e., the transmission period of a data frame is approximately 16.67 ms), the CG period may be set to 50 ms, and the offset list may be set to [0 17 34], i.e., offset(0)=0 ms, offset(1)=17 ms, offset(2)=34 ms. Thus, a CG period of 50 ms includes three subperiods, namely 0 ms to 17 ms, 17 ms to 34 ms, and 34 ms to 50 ms.

[0107] In addition, if the access network device configures one K2 for a terminal by using an activation command, each small period contains one transmission opportunity, as shown in Figure 3B. In this case, the terminal may determine the position of the first transmission opportunity in the set of transmission opportunities (i.e., the transmission opportunity in the first small period) based on K2 and offset(0), the position of the second transmission opportunity in the set of transmission opportunities (i.e., the transmission opportunity in the second small period) based on K2 and offset(1), and the position of the third transmission opportunity in the set of transmission opportunities (i.e., the transmission opportunity in the third small period) based on K2 and offset(2).

[0108] When an access network device configures n K2s (where n is an integer greater than 1) for a terminal using an activation command, each small period contains n transmission opportunities, as shown in Figure 3C. In this example, the n K2s are K2_1, K2_2, and K2_3, respectively. The terminal may determine the position of the first transmission opportunity in the set of transmission opportunities (i.e., the first transmission opportunity in the first small period) based on K2_1 and offset(0), the position of the second transmission opportunity in the set of transmission opportunities (i.e., the second transmission opportunity in the first small period) based on K2_2 and offset(0), and the position of the third transmission opportunity in the set of transmission opportunities (i.e., the third transmission opportunity in the first small period) based on K2_3 and offset(0). In addition, the terminal may determine the position of the first transmission opportunity within the second small period based on K2_1 and offset(1), the position of the second transmission opportunity within the second small period based on K2_2 and offset(1), and so on. Further details will not be explained again.

[0109] In the case shown in Figure 3C, it can be understood that the access network device may configure only K2_1 and not K2_2 and K2_3. In this case, the transmission opportunities within each small period may, by default, be located on consecutive slots or consecutive uplink slots.

[0110] (2) Setting method 2B

[0111] An access network device may configure a CG period and a cycle list for a terminal. For example, if the frame rate of a data frame is 60 FPS (i.e., the transmission period of a data frame is approximately 16.67 ms), the CG period may be set to 50 ms, and the cycle list may be set to [17 17 16], i.e., cycle (0) = 17 ms, cycle (1) = 17 ms, cycle (2) = 16 ms. Thus, a CG period of 50 ms includes three sub-cycle periods, namely 0 ms to 17 ms, 17 ms to 34 ms, and 34 ms to 50 ms. A single sub-cycle period may contain one or more transmission opportunities. See, for example, the descriptions in Figures 3B and 3C.

[0112] (3) Setting method 3B

[0113] An access network device may configure a CG period and a TDRA table for a terminal. Each row in the TDRA table may contain one or more K2s (and SLIVs). For example, if the frame rate of a data frame is 60 FPS (i.e., the transmission period of a data frame is approximately 16.67 ms), the CG period may be set to 50 ms, and the TDRA row selected in the activation command will contain multiple K2s. For example, as shown in Figure 3D, the multiple K2s are [0 5 10 17 22 27 34 39 44], indicating that the start positions of multiple transmission opportunities are 0 ms, 5 ms, 10 ms, 17 ms, 22 ms, 27 ms, 34 ms, 39 ms, and 44 ms, respectively, within one CG period (50 ms).

[0114] From the description of the relevant technical features mentioned above, it can be seen that an access network device may set up multiple transmission opportunities to transmit a single data frame. If the amount of data that can be carried across multiple transmission opportunities is less than the amount of data in the data frame, the remaining data in the data frame must be dynamically scheduled, which results in additional transmission delay. To reduce transmission delay, the access network device estimates the maximum amount of data in the data frame in any way possible and sets up multiple transmission opportunities based on the estimated maximum amount of data in the data frame. In this case, when the amount of data in the data frame that is actually transmitted is small, some of the multiple transmission opportunities may not be used, resulting in wasted transmission resources.

[0115] Based on this, one embodiment of the present invention provides a communication method that enables a terminal to notify an access network device of unused transmission opportunities, thereby allowing the access network device to allocate unused resources to other terminals and improve resource utilization.

[0116] Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart corresponding to a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. In Figure 4, an example is used in which a terminal and an access network device are used as execution entities in the interaction diagram to illustrate the method. However, the execution entities in the interaction diagram are not limited in the present application. For example, the terminal in Figure 4 may be a module used in the terminal, such as a chip, chip system, or processor, or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or some of the functions of the terminal. The access network device in Figure 4 may be a module used in the access network device, such as a chip, chip system, or processor, or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or some of the functions of the access network device.

[0117] As shown in Figure 4, the method includes the following steps.

[0118] S401: The access network device transmits first configuration information to a terminal, which is used to set a first transmission opportunity to carry instruction information and a first period during which the instruction information is in operation, and the instruction information indicates whether the transmission opportunity is used or not within the first period.

[0119] For example, the first transmission opportunity may be located within the first period, or it may be located outside the first period. When the first transmission opportunity is located within the first period, the transmission opportunities used or not used within the first period may not include the first transmission opportunity. In other words, the first transmission opportunity may be a transmission opportunity that is used by default. In addition, the first transmission opportunity may be located before the transmission opportunities used or not used within the first period.

[0120] There are multiple implementation methods, such as implementation method 1 and implementation method 2, in which the first transmission opportunity and the first period are set using first configuration information.

[0121] (1) Implementation method 1

[0122] In implementation method 1, the access network device may transmit second configuration information to the terminal, which is used to configure multiple transmission opportunities. Multiple transmission opportunities may correspond to the same CG, that is, multiple transmission opportunities may belong to the same set of transmission opportunities and correspond to the same CG index, or multiple transmission opportunities may correspond to different CGs, that is, multiple transmission opportunities may belong to different sets of transmission opportunities and correspond to two or more CG indices. For specific configuration methods, please refer to those described above (for example, configuration methods 1A to 3A, or configuration methods 1B to 3B). This is not limited to this embodiment of the present application. In addition, the access network device may transmit further first configuration information to the terminal, which is used to configure a first transmission opportunity and a first period.

[0123] In other words, an access network device may configure multiple transmission opportunities for a terminal using the configuration method described above, and additionally, by using first configuration information, configure for the terminal which of the multiple transmission opportunities (or multiple transmission opportunities) is the first transmission opportunity, and the first period during which the instruction information is in operation. The first and second configuration information may be carried in the same message or in different messages.

[0124] (1.1) For example, the first configuration information includes the duration of a first period, the first period may appear periodically, as shown by first period 1, first period 2, and first period 3 in Figure 5A. For example, the start position of the first first period may be the start position of the first transmission opportunity among a plurality of transmission opportunities configured by the access network device for the terminal.

[0125] Optionally, the first configuration information further includes Information 1, which indicates which transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity. For example, Information 1 indicates that the first transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity, or that any other transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity. Alternatively, the first configuration information may not include Information 1. The protocol may predefine which transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity, or the access network devices and terminals may pre-agree on which transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity.

[0126] Let us take the example where the first transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity. As shown in Figure 5A, the terminal may send instruction information 1 at transmission opportunity 0, where instruction information 1 indicates a transmission opportunity to be used or not used within the first period 1; the terminal may send instruction information 2 at transmission opportunity 3, where instruction information 2 indicates a transmission opportunity to be used or not used within the first period 2, and so on. The duration of each first period (for example, the first period 1, the second period 2, and the first period 3 in Figure 5A) is equal to the duration of the first period set by the access network device.

[0127] (1.2) In other examples, the first setting information includes a cyclic period and multiple offsets a. For example, if the cyclic period is 50ms and the multiple offsets a are each [0 17 34], this indicates that the range between two adjacent offsets a is the first period. That is, one cyclic period includes three first periods, which are 0ms to 17ms, 17ms to 34ms, and 34ms to 50ms, respectively. In another example, if the cyclic period is 50ms and the multiple offsets a are each [0 22 39], this indicates that the range between two adjacent offsets a is the first period. That is, one cyclic period includes three first periods, which are 0ms to 22ms, 22ms to 39ms, and 39ms to 50ms, respectively.

[0128] Optionally, the first configuration information further includes Information 1. Information 1 indicates which transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity. For example, Information 1 indicates that the first transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity.

[0129] In this case, we use an example where the cycle period is 50 ms and multiple offsets a are each [0 17 34]. As shown in Figure 5B, the terminal may transmit instruction information 1 at transmission opportunity 0, where instruction information 1 indicates whether a transmission opportunity is used or not within the first period 1; the terminal may transmit instruction information 2 at transmission opportunity 3, where instruction information 2 indicates whether a transmission opportunity is used or not within the first period 2; and so on. The time lengths of different first periods in a single cycle period may be different. For example, in Figure 5B, the time length of the first period 1 is 17 ms, the time length of the first period 2 is 17 ms, and the time length of the first period 3 is 16 ms.

[0130] Selectively, the first configuration information includes a cycle period and a plurality of offsets b, where each offset b is [0 5 10 17 22 27 34 39 44]. Furthermore, the first configuration information further includes offset group information. The offset group information indicates which offsets b belong to a group. For example, the offset group information indicates that [0 5 10] is the first group, [17 22 27] is the second group, and [34 39 44] is the third group, and that the range between two adjacent groups is the first period. That is, one cycle period includes three first periods, which are 0ms to 17ms, 17ms to 34ms, and 34ms to 50ms, respectively.

[0131] (1.3) In other examples, the first configuration information includes a cyclic period and multiple period values. For example, if the cyclic period is 50ms and the multiple period values ​​are [17 17 16], it indicates that one cyclic period includes three sub-periods, each from 0ms to 17ms, 17ms to 34ms, and 34ms to 50ms. Each sub-period is one first period. Optionally, the first configuration information further includes information 1, which indicates which transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity. For example, information 1 indicates that the first transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity. In this case, see the explanation in Figure 5B.

[0132] In another example, if the cyclic period is 50 ms and the multiple period values ​​are [22 17 11], this indicates that one cyclic period contains three subperiods, each from 0 ms to 22 ms, 22 ms to 39 ms, and 39 ms to 50 ms. Each subperiod is a single first period.

[0133] (1.4) In other examples, multiple transmission opportunities configured using the second configuration information correspond to multiple CG indices, and the first configuration information may configure a transmission opportunity corresponding to at least one of the multiple CG indices as the first transmission opportunity. For example, the first configuration information includes at least one CG index.

[0134] Furthermore, in one example, the first configuration information may further define the period between two adjacent first transmission opportunities as the first period. The period between two adjacent first transmission opportunities may be the period between the start position of the previous transmission opportunity and the start position of the subsequent transmission opportunity, in which case the first transmission opportunity is located within the first period. Alternatively, the period between two adjacent first transmission opportunities may be the period between the end position of the previous transmission opportunity and the start position of the subsequent transmission opportunity, in which case the first transmission opportunity is located outside the first time period.

[0135] In this case, as shown in Figure 5C, the multiple CG indices corresponding to multiple transmission opportunities set using the second configuration information are CG1, CG2, and CG3. When the first configuration information sets the transmission opportunity corresponding to CG1 as the first transmission opportunity, the terminal may send instruction information 1 for transmission opportunity 0, where instruction information 1 indicates whether the transmission opportunity will be used or not within the first period 1; the terminal may also send instruction information 2 for transmission opportunity 3, where instruction information 2 indicates whether the transmission opportunity will be used or not within the first period 2; and so on.

[0136] In other examples, the first configuration information may further specify the duration. In this case, the start position of the first period may be the start position of the first transmission opportunity, or a position obtained by shifting the start position of the first transmission opportunity by a first offset (see below), and the length of the first period is the duration.

[0137] Furthermore, in implementation method 1, the first configuration information and the second configuration information may be associated with each other (or the instruction information and multiple transmission opportunities may be associated with each other). There are several specific association methods. For example, the first configuration information includes a CG index corresponding to multiple transmission opportunities configured using the second configuration information. In this case, the first and second configuration information may be carried in the same message or in different messages. In another example, if multiple transmission opportunities configured using the second configuration information belong to a set of transmission opportunities, both the first and second configuration information may be carried in a CG-Config field corresponding to the set of transmission opportunities. In another example, if an access network device configures multiple sets of transmission opportunities for a terminal using the second configuration information (i.e., the second configuration information includes configuration information for multiple sets of transmission opportunities), one additional piece of information (referred to as information 2) may be added to the configuration information for each set of transmission opportunities in the multiple sets of transmission opportunities. Information 2 indicates that the set of transmission opportunities is associated with the instruction information. In another example, if an access network device configures multiple sets of transmission opportunities for a terminal using second configuration information, one additional piece of information (referred to as Information 3) may be added to the configuration information for each set of transmission opportunities in the multiple sets of transmission opportunities. Information 3 indicates the instruction information carried about which transmission opportunity is associated with the set of transmission opportunities.

[0138] (2) Implementation method 2

[0139] In implementation method 2, the first configuration information is used to configure multiple transmission opportunities, the multiple transmission opportunities belong to the same set of transmission opportunities, the CG cycle period corresponding to the multiple transmission opportunities includes the first period, and the transmission opportunities within the CG cycle period include the first transmission opportunity. In other words, by configuring multiple transmission opportunities for a terminal, the access network device implicitly configures which of the multiple transmission opportunities (or multiple transmission opportunities) to configure as the first transmission opportunity, and the instruction information may indicate the first period in which it functions.

[0140] (2.1) For example, the first configuration information includes the CG period and the period list. For example, the CG period may be set to 50ms, and the period list may be set to [17 17 16], i.e., period (0) = 17ms, period (1) = 17ms, and period (2) = 16ms. Thus, a CG period of 50ms includes three subperiods, i.e., 0ms to 17ms, 17ms to 34ms, and 34ms to 50ms.

[0141] In this case, the terminal may determine, based on the first configuration information, that each sub-period within the CG period is one first period. Optionally, the first configuration information further includes information 1, which indicates which transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity. Alternatively, the first configuration information does not include information 1. In this case, the protocol may predefine which transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity, or the access network device and terminal may pre-agree on which transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity. See the explanation in Figure 5B for further details.

[0142] (2.2) In other examples, the first configuration information includes the CG period and the offset list. For example, the CG period is set to 50ms and the offset list is set to [0 17 34], i.e., offset(0)=0ms, offset(1)=17ms, offset(2)=34ms. Thus, the CG period of 50ms includes three subperiods, i.e., 0ms to 17ms, 17ms to 34ms, and 34ms to 50ms.

[0143] In this case, the terminal may determine, based on the first configuration information, that each sub-period within the CG period is one first period. Optionally, the first configuration information further includes information 1, which indicates which transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity. Alternatively, the first configuration information does not include information 1. In this case, the protocol may predefine which transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity, or the access network device and terminal may pre-agree on which transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity. See the explanation in Figure 5B for further details.

[0144] (2.3) In other examples, the first configuration information includes the CG period and a number of K2s. For example, if the number of K2s is [0 5 10 17 22 27 34 39 44], it indicates that the start positions of multiple transmission opportunities in one CG period (50 ms) are 0 ms, 5 ms, 10 ms, 17 ms, 22 ms, 27 ms, 34 ms, 39 ms, and 44 ms, respectively. Furthermore, the first configuration information may further include group information. For example, if the group information indicates that every three K2s form one group, it indicates that one CG period includes three subperiods, namely 0 ms to 17 ms, 17 ms to 34 ms, and 34 ms to 50 ms. It can be understood that the group information may be predefined in the protocol or pre-agreed upon by the access network devices and terminals.

[0145] In this case, the terminal may determine, based on the first configuration information, that each sub-period within the CG period is one first period. Optionally, the first configuration information further includes information 1, which indicates which transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity. Alternatively, the first configuration information does not include information 1. In this case, the protocol may predefine which transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity, or the access network device and terminal may pre-agree on which transmission opportunity within the first period is the first transmission opportunity. See the explanation in Figure 5B for further details.

[0146] It can be understood that the first configuration information may be carried by several types of possible signaling. For example, the first configuration information may be carried by physical layer signaling such as DCI, or by higher layer signaling such as MAC CE or RRC signaling, or by a combination of different signalings. For example, a candidate set (each candidate item in the candidate set is used to configure a first transmission opportunity and a first duration) may be configured using MAC CE or RRC signaling, and DCI may indicate a candidate item in the candidate set. In this way, the terminal may determine a first transmission opportunity and a first duration based on the candidate items. Alternatively, the candidate set may be configured using RRC signaling, and MAC CE may indicate a candidate item in the set, or RRC signaling may be used to configure a set of candidate sets, and MAC CE may indicate a specific candidate set, and DCI may indicate a specific candidate item in the candidate set.

[0147] S402: The terminal transmits instruction information during the first transmission opportunity, and in response, the access network device receives instruction information during the first transmission opportunity.

[0148] For example, the terminal may transmit further data during the first transmission opportunity. In other words, the first transmission opportunity may carry instruction information and data. In addition, optionally, after receiving instruction information during the first transmission opportunity, the access network device may feed back acknowledgment information to the terminal. The acknowledgment information indicates that the access network device has received the instruction information.

[0149] The terminal may transmit instruction information to the access network device in a first transmission opportunity in multiple ways. For example, the terminal may transmit uplink control information (UCI), CG-UCI, or media access control (MAC) control element (CE) to the access network device, where UCI, CG-UCI, or MAC CE includes instruction information.

[0150] As described above, the instruction information indicates whether or not a transmission opportunity will be used within the first period. Multiple specific instruction schemes may exist, for example, instruction scheme 1, instruction scheme 2, and instruction scheme 3.

[0151] (1)Display method 1

[0152] The instruction information indicates the number of unused transmission opportunities within the first period. In this case, the unused transmission opportunities within the first period are consecutive transmission opportunities located towards the end of the first period. For example, if the instruction information indicates that the number of unused transmission opportunities within the first period is X, then the unused transmission opportunities within the first period are the X transmission opportunities preceding the last transmission opportunity within the first period. As shown in Figure 6A, if X = 2, this indicates that the last two transmission opportunities within the first period are unused transmission opportunities.

[0153] (2)Display method 2

[0154] The instruction information includes a bitmap, which indicates one or more CG transmission opportunities that are used or not used within a first period. For example, one bit in the bitmap corresponds to one or more transmission opportunities, and the value of the bit indicates whether the transmission opportunity corresponding to the bit is used or not. For example, if the value of the bit is "0", this indicates that the transmission opportunity corresponding to the bit is not used, if the value of the bit is "1", this indicates that the transmission opportunity corresponding to the bit is used, and vice versa.

[0155] For example, a bitmap contains M bits, and M bits correspond to N transmission opportunities. Possible mappings are as follows: The i-th bit (i=1,2,...,M) in the bitmap corresponds to transmission opportunities ((i-1)*int(N / M)+1) through (i*int(N / M)), or the i-th bit (i=1,2,...,M) in the bitmap corresponds to transmission opportunities ((M-i+1)*int(N / M)) through ((Mi)*int(N / M)+1). `int` is a rounding symbol and can indicate truncation.

[0156] In this case, the bit width of the bitmap (i.e., the number of bits contained in the bitmap) depends on the number of transmission opportunities within the first period. An example is used where one bit in the bitmap corresponds to one transmission opportunity. If the first transmission opportunity is outside the first period, the bit width of the bitmap is equal to the number of transmission opportunities within the first period. If the first transmission opportunity is within the first period, the bit width of the bitmap is equal to the number of transmission opportunities other than the first transmission opportunity within the first period.

[0157] For example, as shown in Figure 6B, the first period includes seven transmission opportunities (i.e., transmission opportunity 0 to transmission opportunity 6), where transmission opportunity 0 is the first transmission opportunity. In this case, the bitmap may indicate whether transmission opportunities 1 to 6 are used or not.

[0158] A bitmap can contain up to 6 bits if each bit in the bitmap corresponds to one transmission opportunity. For example, the first bit of the 6 bits corresponds to the last transmission opportunity in the first period (i.e., transmission opportunity 6), the second bit corresponds to the second-to-last transmission opportunity in the first period (i.e., transmission opportunity 5), and so on. Therefore, if the bitmap value is 000000, this indicates that transmission opportunities 1 through 6 are all unused transmission opportunities. If the bitmap value is 000011, this indicates that transmission opportunities 3 through 6 are all unused transmission opportunities, and transmission opportunities 1 and 2 are used. For other values ​​in the bitmap, please refer to the processing; details are not listed one by one.

[0159] If a single bit in a bitmap corresponds to multiple transmission opportunities, for example, if one bit corresponds to two transmission opportunities, the bitmap may contain three bits. For example, the first bit of the three bits corresponds to the last two transmission opportunities in the first period (i.e., transmission opportunities 5 and 6), the second bit corresponds to the two preceding and three preceding transmission opportunities in the first period (i.e., transmission opportunities 3 and 4), and the third bit corresponds to the last and the one preceding the last transmission opportunity in the first period (i.e., transmission opportunities 1 and 2). Therefore, if the bitmap value is 000, this indicates that transmission opportunities 1 through 6 are all unused transmission opportunities. If the bitmap value is 001, this indicates that transmission opportunities 3 through 6 are all unused transmission opportunities, and transmission opportunities 1 and 2 are used transmission opportunities. For other values ​​of the bitmap, please refer to the processing, as details are not listed one by one.

[0160] In addition, when a single bit in a bitmap corresponds to multiple transmission opportunities, the number of transmission opportunities corresponding to different bits may be the same or different. The transmission opportunities corresponding to each bit in a bitmap may be predefined in the protocol or configured by the access network device for the terminal. For example, the access network device may configure multiple transmission opportunity groups for the terminal, and each bit in the bitmap may correspond to one transmission opportunity group. Each transmission opportunity group among the multiple transmission opportunity groups may contain one or more transmission opportunities, and the number of transmission opportunities in different transmission opportunity groups may be the same or different.

[0161] (3)Display method 3

[0162] The instruction information indicates a second period, the first period includes the second period, and any CG transmission opportunities used or not used within the first period fall within the second period.

[0163] For example, the instruction information may include a first offset, which is used to determine a second period. Specifically, the first offset is used to determine the start position of the second period, and the end position of the second period is the same as the end position of the first period. For example, the unit of the first offset may be a unit of time (e.g., ms), and the start position of the second period is determined by shifting the start position of the first period backward by the first offset. In another example, the unit of the first offset may be the number of transmission opportunities. Assuming the first offset is P transmission opportunities, the start position of the (P+1)th transmission opportunity in the first period is the start position of the second period.

[0164] The first offset may be flexibly determined by the terminal, and it can be understood that the first offset carried in instruction information transmitted on different first transmission opportunities may be the same or different. Alternatively, the first offset may be set by the access network device for the terminal. In this case, the instruction information may not need to include the first offset.

[0165] In possible implementations, all transmission opportunities within the second period may be transmission opportunities that are not used by default. In other words, unused transmission opportunities within the first period may be indicated by using only the first offset.

[0166] In further possible implementations, the instruction information may further include a bitmap, where a single bit in the bitmap indicates one or more used or unused transmission opportunities. In other words, the used or unused transmission opportunities within a second period can be indicated using the first offset and bitmap. In this case, the bit width of the bitmap (i.e., the number of bits in the bitmap) depends on the number of transmission opportunities within the second period. For example, if a single bit in the bitmap corresponds to a single transmission opportunity, the bit width of the bitmap is equal to the number of transmission opportunities within the first period.

[0167] For example, as shown in Figure 6C, the first period includes seven transmission opportunities (i.e., transmission opportunities 0 through 6), where transmission opportunity 0 is the first transmission opportunity. If the first offset is three transmission opportunities (for example, the first offset is "11" and represents three transmission opportunities), then the start position of the second period is the start position of transmission opportunity 3.

[0168] If each bit in a bitmap corresponds to one transmission opportunity, the bitmap can contain four bits. For example, the first bit of the four bits corresponds to the last transmission opportunity in the second period (i.e., transmission opportunity 6), the second bit corresponds to the second-to-last transmission opportunity in the second period (i.e., transmission opportunity 5), the third bit corresponds to the second-to-last transmission opportunity in the second period (i.e., transmission opportunity 4), and the fourth bit corresponds to the third-to-last transmission opportunity in the second period (i.e., transmission opportunity 3). Therefore, if the bitmap value is 0000, this indicates that transmission opportunities 3 through 6 are all unused transmission opportunities. If the bitmap value is 0011, this indicates that transmission opportunities 6 and 5 are unused transmission opportunities, and transmission opportunities 4 and 3 are used transmission opportunities. For other values ​​of the bitmap, please refer to the processing, as details are not listed one by one.

[0169] If a single bit in a bitmap corresponds to multiple transmission opportunities, for example, if a single bit corresponds to two transmission opportunities, the bitmap may contain two bits. For example, the first bit of the two bits corresponds to the last two transmission opportunities in a second period (i.e., transmission opportunities 5 and 6), and the second bit corresponds to the second-to-last and third-to-last transmission opportunities in the second period (i.e., transmission opportunities 3 and 4). Therefore, if the bitmap value is 00, this indicates that transmission opportunities 3 through 6 are all unused transmission opportunities. If the bitmap value is 01, this indicates that transmission opportunities 6 and 5 are unused transmission opportunities, and transmission opportunities 4 and 3 are used transmission opportunities. For other values ​​of the bitmap, please refer to the processing, as details are not listed one by one. In addition, when a single bit in a bitmap corresponds to multiple transmission opportunities, the number of transmission opportunities corresponding to different bits may be the same or different. The transmission opportunities corresponding to each bit may be predefined in the protocol or set by the access network device for the terminal. This is not particularly limited.

[0170] Generally, after receiving instruction information in the first transmission opportunity, the access network device requires a certain processing time to parse the contents of the instruction information. If the unused transmission opportunity indicated by the instruction information includes the transmission opportunity following the first transmission opportunity, the time interval between the transmission opportunity following the first transmission opportunity and the first transmission opportunity is short (e.g., less than the processing time of the access network device), so after parsing the instruction information, the access network device does not have time to schedule the next transmission opportunity to another terminal. Therefore, in instruction scheme 3, the instruction information may include a first offset. The validity period of the instruction information (i.e., the start time of the second period) may be delayed to allow sufficient processing time for the access network device to schedule the unused transmission opportunity to another terminal. In addition, transmission resources are saved (for example, in instruction scheme 3, if the first offset includes seven transmission opportunities, the first offset may be "111", requiring only three bits, or if the first offset is not set, assuming one bit in the bitmap corresponds to one transmission opportunity, the other six bits need to be added to the bitmap).

[0171] In instruction schemes 2 and 3, it can be understood that the bit width of the bitmap is determined based on the number of transmission opportunities in a first period (or second period). In other possible implementations, the bit width of the bitmap may be set by the access network device for the terminal. For example, instruction information includes a bitmap (optionally further including a first offset), and first setting information is used to set the bit width of the bitmap (optionally further using the first setting information to set a first transmission opportunity). In this case, the period in which there are transmission opportunities corresponding to the bitmap is the first period; that is, the first time is determined by the bit width of the bitmap.

[0172] For example, the first configuration information sets the bit width of the bitmap to 4. An example is used where one bit in the bitmap corresponds to one transmission opportunity. As shown in Figure 6D, the terminal may send instruction information 1 at transmission opportunity 0, which includes a first offset 1 and bitmap 1 (for example, bitmap 1 is "1000" indicating that transmission opportunity 2 is used and transmission opportunities 3 through 5 are not used), and the period from transmission opportunity 2 to transmission opportunity 5 may be understood as the first period 1. In addition, the terminal may send instruction information 2 at transmission opportunity 6, which includes a first offset 2 and bitmap 2 (for example, bitmap 2 is "1100" indicating that transmission opportunities 9 and 10 are used and transmission opportunities 11 and 12 are not used), and the period from transmission opportunity 9 to transmission opportunity 12 may be understood as the first period 2.

[0173] It can be understood that after an access network device has configured transmission opportunities for a terminal to carry instruction information using first configuration information, the terminal may transmit the instruction information on all of these transmission opportunities, or on some of these transmission opportunities. For example, in the case shown in Figure 6D, transmission opportunities 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 may all carry instruction information, and the terminal may transmit the instruction information only on transmission opportunities 0 and 6.

[0174] According to the method described above, a terminal may send instruction information to the access network device during a first transmission opportunity based on first configuration information in order to notify the access network device of unused transmission opportunities, thereby allowing the access network device to allocate unused resources to other terminals and improve resource utilization. In addition, the access network device uniformly sets the first transmission opportunity and first period during which the instruction information functions by using the first configuration information. Therefore, when a terminal sends instruction information, it is not necessary to additionally indicate the first period during which the instruction information functions, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0175] The above primarily describes the solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interaction between communication devices. It can be understood that, in order to implement the aforementioned functions, access network devices and terminals may include corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for implementing the functions. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize, in combination with the example units and algorithmic steps described in the embodiments disclosed herein, that the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in hardware or in combination of hardware and computer software. Whether the functions are performed by hardware or by hardware driven by computer software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but the implementation methods should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present application.

[0176] In embodiments of the present application, the division into functional units may be performed on access network devices and terminals based on the examples of the methods described above. For example, each functional unit may be obtained through division based on each corresponding function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit may be implemented in hardware form or in the form of a software functional unit.

[0177] Figure 7 is a block diagram of a possible example of a device according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 7, the device 700 may include a processing unit 702 and an interface unit 703. The processing unit 702 is configured to control and manage the operation of the device 700. The interface unit 703 is configured to support communication between the device 700 and other devices. Optionally, the interface unit 703 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit and may include a receiving unit and / or a transmitting unit configured to perform receiving and transmitting operations, respectively. The device 700 may further include a storage unit 701 configured to store program code and / or data of the device 700.

[0178] The device 700 may be a terminal in the embodiments described above, or a component (e.g., a circuit or chip) located at the terminal. The processing unit 702 may support the device 700 when performing the terminal operations in the example of the method described above. Alternatively, the processing unit 702 may primarily perform the internal operations of the terminal in the example of the method, while the interface unit 703 supports communication between the device 700 and other devices.

[0179] For example, in one embodiment, the interface unit 703 is configured to receive configuration information, which is used to configure a first CG transmission opportunity that carries instruction information and a first period during which the instruction information is in operation, and to receive the instruction information, which indicates whether or not a CG transmission opportunity will be used during the first period, and to transmit the instruction information during the first CG transmission opportunity.

[0180] The device 700 may be an access network device in the embodiments described above, or a component (e.g., a circuit or chip) located within the access network device. The processing unit 702 may support the device 700 when performing actions of the access network device in the example of the method described above. Alternatively, the processing unit 702 may primarily perform internal actions of the access network device in the example of the method, while the interface unit 703 supports communication between the device 700 and other devices.

[0181] In one embodiment, the interface unit 703 is configured to transmit configuration information, which is used to set a first CG transmission opportunity that carries instruction information and a first period during which the instruction information is functional, and to transmit the instruction information, which indicates whether or not a CG transmission opportunity will be used within the first period, and to receive the instruction information at the first CG transmission opportunity.

[0182] It should be understood that the division into units in the aforementioned device is merely a logical functional division. During actual implementation, all or part of the units may be integrated into a single physical entity or physically separated. In addition, all units within the device may be implemented in the form of software invoked by processing elements, or in the form of hardware, or some units may be implemented in the form of software invoked by processing elements, and some units may be implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit may be a separately located processing element, or it may be integrated into the device's chip for implementation. In addition, each unit may be stored in memory in the form of a program invoked by the device's processing elements to perform the function of the unit. In addition, all or part of the units may be integrated together, or implemented independently. Processing elements in this specification may also be referred to as processors, and may be integrated circuits having signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, the aforementioned methods or the operation in the aforementioned units may be implemented by using hardware integrated logic circuits within the processor element, or in the form of software invoked by processing elements.

[0183] In one example, a unit in any of the aforementioned devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to carry out the method described above, such as one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these forms of integrated circuits. In another example, if a unit in the device can be implemented in such a way that a processing element schedules a program, the processing element may be a processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), or another processor that can invoke a program. In yet another example, the unit may be integrated and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SoC).

[0184] The aforementioned unit configured to receive is an interface circuit of the device and is configured to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in a chip manner, the receiving unit is of the chip and is an interface circuit configured to receive signals from other chips or devices. The aforementioned unit configured to transmit is an interface circuit of the device and is configured to transmit signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in a chip manner, the transmitting unit is of the chip and is an interface circuit configured to transmit signals to other chips or devices.

[0185] Figure 8 shows the structure of a terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention for implementing the operation of the terminal in the above-described embodiment. As shown in Figure 8, the terminal includes an antenna 810, a radio frequency unit 820, and a signal processing unit 830. The antenna 810 is connected to the radio frequency unit 820. In the downlink direction, the radio frequency unit 820 receives information transmitted by a network device via the antenna 810 and transmits the information transmitted by the network device to the signal processing unit 830 for processing. In the uplink direction, the signal processing unit 830 processes the terminal information and transmits the processed information to the radio frequency unit 820, which then processes the terminal information and transmits the processed information to the network device using the antenna 810.

[0186] The signal processing unit 830 may include a modem subsystem configured to process data at each communication protocol layer. The signal processing unit may further include a central processing subsystem configured to perform processing at the terminal's operating system and application layers. In addition, the signal processing unit may further include other subsystems, such as a multimedia subsystem or a peripheral subsystem. The multimedia subsystem is configured to control the terminal's camera or screen display, and the peripheral subsystem is configured to perform connections to other devices. The modem subsystem may be a separately located chip.

[0187] The modem subsystem may include one or more processing elements 831, for example, a main control CPU and other integrated circuits. In addition, the modem subsystem may further include a memory element 832 and an interface circuit 833. The memory element 832 is configured to store data and programs. However, programs used to perform the methods performed by the terminal in the aforementioned methods may not be stored in the memory element 832 but may be stored in memory outside the modem subsystem and loaded and used by the modem subsystem when needed. The interface circuit 833 is configured to communicate with other subsystems.

[0188] A modem subsystem can be implemented using a chip. The chip includes at least one processing element and an interface circuit. The processing element is configured to perform any step of the method performed by the terminal. The interface circuit is configured to communicate with other devices. In one implementation, the unit in the terminal for performing the steps of the above method may be performed by the processing element scheduling a program. For example, the device used in the terminal includes a processing element and a memory element. The processing element calls a program stored in the memory element to perform the method performed by the terminal in the embodiment of the above method. The memory element may be a memory element located on the same chip as the processing element, i.e., an on-chip memory element.

[0189] In other implementations, the program used to perform the method performed by the terminal in the aforementioned method may reside in a memory element located on a different chip from the processing element, i.e., in an off-chip memory element. In this case, the processing element calls or loads the program from the off-chip memory element to the on-chip memory element and performs the method performed by the terminal in the embodiment of the aforementioned method.

[0190] In further other implementations, the units within the terminal for implementing the steps in the aforementioned method may be configured as one or more processing elements. These processing elements are located on the modem subsystem. The processing elements herein may be integrated circuits, for example, one or more ASICs, one or more DSPs, one or more FPGAs, or a combination of these types of integrated circuits. These integrated circuits may be integrated together to form a chip.

[0191] The units within the terminal for performing the steps in the aforementioned method may be integrated together and implemented in the form of an SoC, the SoC chip being configured to perform the aforementioned method. At least one processing element and a memory element may be integrated into the chip, the processing element calling a program stored in the memory element to perform the aforementioned method performed by the terminal. Alternatively, at least one integrated circuit may be integrated into the chip to perform the aforementioned method performed by the terminal. Alternatively, referring to the aforementioned implementation scheme, the functionality of some units may be implemented in such a way that the processing element calls a program, and the functionality of some units may be implemented by an integrated circuit.

[0192] It can be seen that the aforementioned device used in a terminal may include at least one processing element and an interface circuit. The at least one processing element is configured to perform any method performed by the terminal in the embodiments of the method described above. The processing element may perform some or all of the steps performed by the terminal in a first manner, i.e., by calling a program stored in a memory element, or in a second manner, i.e., by combining instructions in a processor element with hardware integrated logic circuits. Of course, some or all of the steps performed by the terminal may also be performed by a combination of the first and second methods.

[0193] The processing elements here are the same as those described above and may be implemented using a processor. The function of the processing elements may be the same as the function of the processing unit described in Figure 7. For example, the processing elements may be a general-purpose processor, such as a CPU, or one or more integrated circuits configured to carry out the methods described above, such as one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessor DSPs, one or more FPGAs, or a combination of at least two of these forms of integrated circuits. The memory elements may be implemented using memory, and the function of the memory elements may be the same as the function of the memory unit described in Figure 7. The memory elements may be one memory or a collective term for multiple memories.

[0194] The terminal shown in Figure 8 can implement the processes associated with the terminal in the embodiments of the method described above. The operation and / or functions of the modules in the terminal shown in Figure 8 are intended to implement the corresponding procedures in the embodiments of the method described above. For further details, please refer to the description of the embodiments of the method described above. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are appropriately omitted herein.

[0195] Figure 9 shows the structure of an apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. Apparatus 900 may be an access network device as described in the above-described embodiment, and is configured to implement the functions of the access network device as described in the above-described embodiment.

[0196] As shown in Figure 9, the device 900 may include a processor 901, a memory 902, and an interface circuit 903. The processor 901 may be configured to process communication protocols and communication data and to control the device 900. The memory 902 may be configured to store programs and data. Based on the program, the processor 901 may perform methods performed by the device 900 in the embodiments of the present application. The interface circuit 903 may be used for the device 900 to communicate with other devices, and the communication may be wired or wireless.

[0197] Alternatively, the memory 902 may be externally connected to the device 900. In this case, the device 900 may include an interface circuit 903 and a processor 901. Alternatively, the interface circuit 903 may be externally connected to the device 900. In this case, the device 900 may include the memory 902 and the processor 901. When both the interface circuit 903 and the memory 902 are externally connected to the device 900, the device 900 may include a processor 901.

[0198] The apparatus 900 shown in Figure 9 can implement the processes related to the access network device in the embodiments of the method described above. The operation and / or function of the modules in the apparatus 900 shown in Figure 9 are intended to implement the corresponding procedures in the embodiments of the method described above. For further details, please refer to the description of the embodiments of the method described above. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are appropriately omitted herein.

[0199] One embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication system, which may include a terminal and an access network device. The terminal is configured to perform the terminal-side steps in the embodiments of the method described above, and the access network device is configured to perform the access network device-side steps in the embodiments of the method described above.

[0200] The terms “system” and “network” may be used interchangeably in embodiments of this application. “At least one” means one or more, and “plural” means two or more. “And / or” describes the relationship between related objects and indicates that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may indicate: only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists, where A and B may be singular or plural. The letter “ / ” generally indicates an “or” relationship between related objects. “At least one of the following items (parts)” or similar expressions mean any combination of these items, including any combination of singular or plural items (parts). For example, “At least one of A, B, or C” may be understood as including A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and “At least one of A, B, and C” may be understood as including A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC. In addition, unless otherwise specified, ordinal numbers such as "First" and "Second" in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish between multiple objects and not to limit the order, chronological order, priority, or importance of multiple objects.

[0201] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of the present invention may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Accordingly, the present invention may be provided in the form of hardware-only embodiments, software-only embodiments, or embodiments combining software and hardware. In addition, the present invention may be provided in the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-compatible storage media (including, but not limited to, magnetic disk memory, optical memory, etc.) containing computer-compatible program code.

[0202] This application will be described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that computer program instructions may be used to implement each process and / or each block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, as well as combinations of processes and / or blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. Computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to generate a machine, thereby generating a device for implementing one or more processes in a flowchart and / or one or more blocks in a block diagram.

[0203] Computer program instructions may also be stored in computer-readable memory, which can instruct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, thereby generating an artifact that includes an instruction unit. The instruction unit performs a particular function in one or more processes in a flowchart and / or one or more blocks in a block diagram.

[0204] Computer program instructions may be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device, thereby generating a computer implementation process through a series of operations and steps performed on the computer or other programmable device. Thus, instructions executed on a computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing a specific function in one or more processes within a flowchart and / or one or more blocks within a block diagram.

[0205] It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. In this case, the present application is also intended to include modifications and variations if the modifications and variations made to the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalent art.

Claims

1. A communication method, wherein the method is A step of receiving configuration information, wherein the configuration information is used to configure a first CG transmission opportunity carrying instruction information, the instruction information includes a bitmap, the configuration information is further used to configure the bit width of the bitmap, one bit in the bitmap is used to indicate one or more CG transmission opportunities to be used or not used within a first period, and the period during which there are CG transmission opportunities corresponding to the bitmap is the first period. The steps include transmitting the instruction information in the first CG transmission opportunity, Methods that include...

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the setting information is further used to set CG transmission opportunities within a CG cycle period, the CG transmission opportunities within the CG cycle period include the first CG transmission opportunities, and the CG cycle period includes the first period.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first CG transmission opportunity and the CG transmission opportunities used or not used within the first period correspond to the same CG or different CGs.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first CG transmission opportunity is a first CG transmission opportunity within the first period.

5. The instruction information indicates a second period, and the first period includes the second period. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the CG transmission opportunities used or not used within the first period are located within the second period.

6. A communication method, wherein the method is A step of transmitting configuration information, wherein the configuration information is used to set up a first CG transmission opportunity that carries instruction information, the instruction information includes a bitmap, the configuration information is further used to set the bit width of the bitmap, one bit in the bitmap is used to indicate one or more used or unused CG transmission opportunities within a first period, and the period during which there are CG transmission opportunities corresponding to the bitmap is the first period. The steps include receiving the instruction information in the first CG transmission opportunity, Methods that include...

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the setting information is further used to set CG transmission opportunities within a CG cycle period, the CG transmission opportunities within the CG cycle period include the first CG transmission opportunities, and the CG cycle period includes the first period.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the first CG transmission opportunity and the CG transmission opportunities used or not used within the first period correspond to the same CG or different CGs.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the first CG transmission opportunity is a first CG transmission opportunity within the first period.

10. The instruction information indicates a second period, and the first period includes the second period. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the CG transmission opportunities used or not used within the first period are located within the second period.

11. A communication device including a processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory stores instructions, and the processor is configured to call the instructions in the memory to enable the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

12. A communication device including a processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory stores instructions, and the processor is configured to call the instructions in the memory to enable the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 6 to 10.

13. A communication device including a unit configured to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 5.

14. A communication device including a unit configured to perform the method described in any one of claims 6 to 10.

15. A communication system comprising a communication device according to claim 11 or 13 and a communication device according to claim 12 or 14.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein the storage medium stores a computer program or instruction, and when the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 or the method according to any one of claims 6 to 10 is performed.

17. A computer program product wherein, when a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the computer is able to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 or the method according to any one of claims 6 to 10.

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