Communication methods and related devices

Abstract

This application provides a communication method and related apparatus. The method includes a terminal device receiving instruction information from a network device, the instruction information indicating the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and / or the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in a single cycle, and the terminal device receiving downlink transmissions from the network device based on the instruction information. According to the technical solution provided in this application, downlink coverage of downlink transmissions can be improved.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202310559513.5, entitled “COMMUNICATION METHOD AND RELATED APPARATUS,” filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on 17 May 2023, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] [Technical field] This application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and more particularly to communication methods and related devices. [Background technology]

[0003] To support wider service coverage, network devices need to provide network services for larger communication areas. For example, in non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication systems, a larger communication area can be provided via satellite networks. However, given link budgets and system resources, downlink transmission coverage is insufficient due to the limited satellite link budget. Therefore, coverage expansion must be considered to improve system performance. Thus, how to improve downlink transmission downlink coverage is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed. [Overview of the project] [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] Embodiments of the present invention provide a communication method and related apparatus for improving downlink coverage of downlink transmission.

[0005] According to the first aspect, the present application provides a communication method. The method may be applied to a terminal device, or to a device within a terminal device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a circuit), or to a device that can be used in conjunction with a terminal device. The following explanation will be given by using an example in which the method is applied to a terminal device. The method may include the terminal device receiving instruction information from a network device, the instruction information indicating the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and / or the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in a cycle, wherein the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission is a positive integer greater than 1, and receiving a downlink transmission from the network device based on the instruction information.

[0006] In the solution provided herein, a terminal device may receive downlink transmissions from a network device based on instruction information from a network device, by determining at least one of the number of time units occupied in a single downlink transmission process and the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in a single cycle. Unlike cases where downlink transmission coverage is insufficient because downlink transmissions do not support repeated transmissions or the next downlink transmission may only occur in the next cycle, in these embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may determine the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in a single cycle based on instruction information, so that the terminal device can receive downlink transmissions at multiple reception opportunities, thereby improving downlink coverage of downlink transmissions. Alternatively, unlike cases where downlink transmission coverage is insufficient because downlink transmissions support transmissions in only one time unit, in these embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may determine the number of time units occupied in a single downlink transmission process based on instruction information, and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission is a positive integer greater than 1. The terminal device determines, based on the instruction information, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, thereby enabling the downlink transmission to be transmitted over time units, increasing the number of bits that can be transmitted in a single downlink transmission and improving the downlink coverage of the downlink transmission.Alternatively, unlike cases where the occupation of multiple time units in a single downlink transmission process is not supported, or where downlink coverage is insufficient because direct repetitive transmission is not supported by downlink transmission, in this embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can determine, based on instruction information, the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle and the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, so that the terminal device can receive downlink transmissions at multiple reception opportunities based on instruction information, a single downlink transmission may occupy multiple time units, thereby increasing the number of bits that can be transmitted in a single downlink transmission and improving the downlink coverage of the downlink transmission.

[0007] In possible implementations, downlink transmission carries downlink signaling during the initial access procedure.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the instruction information includes the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and the step of receiving a downlink transmission from a network device based on the instruction information includes receiving the starting position of a time-domain resource for the downlink transmission, determining the time-domain resource location for receiving the downlink transmission based on the starting position and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and receiving the downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the method comprises the steps of demodulating data carried in a downlink transmission at a time-domain resource location based on the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and demodulation parameters, wherein the demodulation parameters include at least one of the TB scaling factor of transport blocks (TB) in the downlink transmission, the number of resources of resource elements (RE), the coding code rate, the modulation order, and the number of layers.

[0010] The solution provided herein allows a terminal device to reduce the number of information bits transmitted over time-frequency resources for downlink transmission by using a TB scaling factor, thereby reducing the transmission code rate accordingly, which in turn allows downlink transmission to be performed at a relatively low code rate, thereby improving the demodulation performance of the terminal device.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the instruction information includes a first time-domain resource location for downlink transmission, the method further includes the step of determining a second time-domain resource location for receiving downlink transmission based on the first time-domain resource location and interval information, wherein the interval information indicates the number of time units between the first time-domain resource location and an adjacent second time-domain resource location, and the step of receiving downlink transmission from a network device based on the instruction information includes the step of receiving downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location and / or the second time-domain resource location.

[0012] In the solution provided herein, there may be two downlink transmission opportunities within the same period, i.e., a terminal device may have two reception opportunities. Compared to one downlink transmission opportunity, more downlink transmission opportunities can improve the downlink coverage of the downlink transmission.

[0013] In possible implementations, when downlink transmission carries downlink signaling during the initial access procedure, the number of time units indicated by the interval information is a positive integer greater than or equal to 0.

[0014] In possible implementations, the downlink signaling of the initial access procedure carried in the downlink transmission includes a system information block (system information block 1, SIB1), a system information block (system information block 19, SIB19), and a message (message 4, Msg4) in the random access procedure, and when the downlink transmission carries SIB1, the number of time units indicated by the interval information is a positive integer greater than 0.

[0015] In the solution provided in this application, with respect to downlink transmission for carrying SIB1, there may be at least one time unit between the first transmission opportunity and the second transmission opportunity of the downlink transmission, and the downlink transmission may occur in at least one consecutive time unit, thereby enabling terminal devices to access the network at a faster speed.

[0016] In possible implementations, there may be multiple second time-domain resource locations, and these multiple second time-domain resource locations may differ, with interval information further indicating the number of time units between two adjacent second time-domain resource locations.

[0017] In the solution provided in this application, there are multiple second time-domain resource locations, thereby allowing downlink transmissions to be sent multiple times in the same period, and terminal devices may have multiple reception opportunities, thereby improving the access success rate.

[0018] In possible implementations, the instruction information includes the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle, and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle is determined based on a field in the downlink control information (DCI).

[0019] In a possible implementation, the instruction information is a first value, which is determined based on the first bit of the field in the DCI, and the first value indicates the target number of repetitions in the repetition count set, which includes multiple repetitions of downlink transmission in one period.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the method further includes the steps of receiving a DCI and obtaining the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in one cycle based on a field in the DCI, and the step of receiving downlink transmissions from a network device based on the instruction information includes the steps of receiving the start position of a time-domain resource for downlink transmissions, determining a time-domain resource location for receiving downlink transmissions based on the start position and the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in one cycle, and receiving downlink transmissions at the time-domain resource location.

[0021] In the solution provided herein, an indication of the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle may be added to a field in the DCI. In one cycle, multiple time-domain resource locations for downlink transmission can be determined based on the number of repetitions and the starting position of the downlink transmission, thereby allowing downlink transmission to occur at multiple time-domain resource locations, and allowing terminal devices to have multiple opportunities to receive downlink transmission, thereby improving the access success rate.

[0022] In possible implementations, the instruction information further includes the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, which is determined based on a field within the DCI.

[0023] In the solution provided in the present application, an indication of the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission may be added to a field in the DCI, whereby, the downlink transmission is sent over time units, increasing the number of bits that can be sent in the downlink transmission and improving the downlink coverage of the downlink transmission.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the indication information is a second value, the second value is determined based on the second bit of a field in the DCI, the second value indicates a target number of time units within a set of numbers of time units, and the set of numbers of time units includes a plurality of numbers of time units occupied by one downlink transmission.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the method further includes the steps of receiving a DCI and obtaining, based on a field in the DCI, the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one period and the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, and the step of receiving the downlink transmission from the network device based on the indication information includes the steps of receiving the start position of the time domain resource for the downlink transmission, determining the time domain resource position for receiving the downlink transmission based on the start position, the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, and the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one period, and receiving the downlink transmission at the time domain resource position.

[0026] In the solution provided in the present application, an indication of the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one period and an indication of the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission may be added to a field in the DCI, the time domain resource position occupied by a plurality of time units is determined based on the start position of the downlink transmission, the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, and the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one period, and the terminal device has a plurality of opportunities to receive the downlink transmission, increasing the number of bits that can be sent in one downlink transmission and improving the downlink coverage of the downlink transmission.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the field in the DCI is a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the indication information includes the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission and the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in one period, and the indication information is carried in the DCI.

[0029] In the solution provided in the present application, the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission and the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in one period may be directly indicated in the DCI, whereby one downlink transmission is repeated once or multiple times in multiple time units, thereby improving the downlink coverage of the downlink transmission.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the method further includes the step of receiving configuration information from a network device, where the configuration information includes a plurality of candidate sets, and each of the plurality of candidate sets corresponds to a group of the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission and the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in one period, the indication information is a third value, the third value indicates a target candidate set among the plurality of candidate sets, and the indication information is carried in the DCI.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the method further includes the step of receiving the DCI, and based on the DCI, determining the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission and the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in one period. The step of receiving the downlink transmission from the network device based on the indication information includes receiving the start position of the time domain resource for the downlink transmission, determining the time domain resource position for receiving the downlink transmission based on the start position, the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, and the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in one period, and receiving the downlink transmission at the time domain resource position.

[0032] In the solution provided herein, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in a cycle may be directly indicated by using DCI, and the time-domain resource location may be determined based on the start location of the downlink transmission, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in a cycle. The time-domain resource location may occupy multiple time units, and the terminal device may have multiple receiving opportunities, and a single downlink transmission may be transmitted over time units to increase the number of bits that can be transmitted in a single downlink transmission and improve the downlink coverage of the downlink transmission.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the method further includes the step of sending request information to a network device, the request information being used to request downlink enhancement.

[0034] In the solution provided herein, a network device may determine, based on request information, that the link budget is insufficient and may adjust the instruction information in a timely manner to improve the downlink coverage of downlink transmission.

[0035] In possible implementations, the multiple time units occupied by a single downlink transmission are consecutive.

[0036] In the solution provided in this application, if there are multiple time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, the time units occupied by a single downlink transmission are consecutive, thereby enabling terminal devices to access the network at a faster speed.

[0037] In possible implementations, time-domain resource locations are contiguous if the number of downlink transmission iterations in a single period is one or more.

[0038] In the solution provided in this application, when the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle is one or more, multiple time-domain resource locations are contiguous, thereby enabling terminal devices to access the network at a faster speed.

[0039] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a communication method. The method may be applied to a network device, or to a device within a network device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a circuit), or to a device that can be used in conjunction with a network device. The following description will be provided by using an example in which the method is applied to a network device. The method may include the network device transmitting instruction information to a terminal device, the instruction information indicating the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and / or the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in a single cycle, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission being a positive integer greater than 1, and the network device transmitting a downlink transmission to the terminal device based on the instruction information.

[0040] In the solutions provided herein, a network device may, by using instruction information, indicate to a terminal device at least one of the number of time units occupied in one downlink transmission process and the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle, thereby enabling the terminal device to receive downlink transmissions from the network device based on the instruction information. Unlike insufficient downlink transmission coverage due to downlink transmission not supporting repetition or the next downlink transmission only occurring in the next cycle, in these embodiments of the present application, the network device may, by using instruction information, determine the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle, thereby enabling the terminal device to receive downlink transmissions on multiple reception opportunities, thereby improving downlink coverage of downlink transmissions. Alternatively, unlike insufficient downlink transmission coverage due to downlink transmission supporting transmission in only one time unit, in these embodiments of the present application, the network device may, by using instruction information, indicate the number of time units occupied in one downlink transmission process, the number of time units occupied in one downlink transmission being a positive integer greater than 1. Network devices use instructional information to indicate the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, thereby enabling downlink transmissions to be transmitted over time units, thereby increasing the number of bits that can be transmitted in a single downlink transmission and improving downlink coverage of the downlink transmission.Alternatively, unlike cases where downlink transmission coverage is insufficient due to the lack of support for occupying multiple time units in a single downlink transmission process, or where downlink transmission does not directly support repeated transmission, in this embodiment of the present application, a network device may use instruction information to indicate the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle and the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, thereby enabling a terminal device to receive downlink transmissions on multiple reception opportunities based on the instruction information, and a single downlink transmission may occupy multiple time units, thereby increasing the number of bits that can be transmitted in a single downlink transmission and improving the downlink coverage of downlink transmissions.

[0041] It should be understood that the implementer of the second aspect may be a network device, and that the specific content of the second aspect corresponds to the content of the first aspect. For the corresponding characteristics of the second aspect and the beneficial effects achieved in the second aspect, please refer to the description of the first aspect. To avoid repetition, detailed explanations are appropriately omitted in this specification.

[0042] In possible implementations, downlink transmission carries downlink signaling during the initial access procedure.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the instruction information includes the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and the step of transmitting a downlink transmission to a terminal device based on the instruction information includes determining the starting position of a time-domain resource location for the downlink transmission, transmitting the starting position to the terminal device, determining a time-domain resource location for transmitting the downlink transmission based on the starting position and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and transmitting the downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the instruction information includes a first time-domain resource location for a downlink transmission, the method further includes the step of determining a second time-domain resource location for transmitting a downlink transmission based on the first time-domain resource location and interval information, wherein the interval information indicates the number of time units between the first time-domain resource location and an adjacent second time-domain resource location, and the step of transmitting a downlink transmission to a terminal device based on the instruction information includes the step of transmitting the downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location and / or the second time-domain resource location.

[0045] In possible implementations, when downlink transmission carries downlink signaling during the initial access procedure, the number of time units indicated by the interval information is a positive integer greater than or equal to 0.

[0046] In possible implementations, the downlink signaling for the initial access procedure carried in the downlink transmission includes SIB1, SIB18, and Msg4 in the random access procedure. When the downlink transmission carries SIB1, the number of time units indicated by the interval information is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0047] In possible implementations, there may be multiple second time-domain resource locations, and these multiple second time-domain resource locations may differ, with interval information further indicating the number of time units between two adjacent second time-domain resource locations.

[0048] In possible implementations, the instruction information includes the number of downlink transmission iterations in one cycle, which is determined based on a field within the DCI.

[0049] In a possible implementation, the instruction information is a first value, which is determined based on the first bit of the field in the DCI, and the first value indicates the target number of repetitions in the repetition count set, which includes multiple repetitions of downlink transmission in one period.

[0050] In a possible implementation, the method further includes the step of sending a DCI, wherein a field in the DCI includes instruction information for the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle, and the step of sending a downlink transmission to a terminal device based on the instruction information includes the step of sending the starting position of a time-domain resource for downlink transmission, determining the time-domain resource location for sending downlink transmission based on the starting position and the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle, and sending downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location.

[0051] In possible implementations, the instruction information further includes the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, which is determined based on a field within the DCI.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the instruction information is a second value, which is determined based on the second bit of the field in the DCI, and the second value indicates the target number of time units in the time unit set, which includes multiple numbers of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the method further includes the step of sending a DCI, wherein the fields in the DCI include instructional information of the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in one cycle and the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, and the step of sending a downlink transmission to a terminal device based on the instructional information includes the steps of sending the starting position of a time-domain resource for downlink transmission, determining the starting position of the time-domain resource for downlink transmission, sending the starting position to a terminal device, determining a time-domain resource location for sending a downlink transmission based on the starting position, the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, and the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in one cycle, and sending a downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location.

[0054] In possible implementations, fields within DCI are MCS fields.

[0055] In possible implementations, this method further includes the step of redefining the MCS field within DCI.

[0056] In the solutions provided herein, the network device may redefine the MCS field in the DCI, specifically by changing the definition of the MCS field in the DCI, and by using the MCS field, indicate the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle, thereby allowing a single downlink transmission to occur in multiple time units, thereby improving the downlink coverage of the downlink transmission; or by using the MCS field, indicate the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, thereby allowing a single downlink transmission occupying multiple time units to be repeated, thereby increasing the number of bits that can be transmitted in a single downlink transmission and improving the downlink coverage of the downlink transmission.

[0057] In possible implementations, the instruction information includes the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle, and the instruction information is carried in DCI.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the method includes the step of sending configuration information to a terminal device, the configuration information comprising a set of candidates, each of which corresponds to a group of the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in a single cycle, the instruction information being a third value, the third value indicating a target candidate set among the set of candidates, and the instruction information being carried by DCI.

[0059] In a possible implementation, the method further includes the step of sending a DCI, the DCI including the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in one cycle, and the step of sending a downlink transmission to a terminal device based on instruction information, the step of sending the starting position of a time-domain resource for a downlink transmission, the step of determining the starting position of a time-domain resource for a downlink transmission, the step of sending the starting position to a terminal device, the step of determining a time-domain resource location for sending a downlink transmission based on the starting position, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in one cycle, and the step of sending a downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location.

[0060] In possible implementations, the method further includes the step of adding instructional information to the DCI.

[0061] In possible implementations, request information from the terminal device is received and used to request downlink enhancement.

[0062] In possible implementations, the multiple time units occupied by a single downlink transmission are consecutive.

[0063] In possible implementations, time-domain resource locations are contiguous if the number of downlink transmission iterations in a single period is one or more.

[0064] According to a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be a terminal device, a device within a terminal device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a circuit), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of a terminal device. The communication device has the function of implementing the behavior in the embodiment of the method in the first aspect. For example, in a possible implementation, the communication device is A transceiver unit configured to receive instruction information from a network device, wherein the instruction information indicates the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and / or the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in a single cycle, and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission is a positive integer greater than 1, the transceiver unit includes The transceiver unit is further configured to receive downlink transmissions from network devices based on instruction information.

[0065] The functionality may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware running corresponding software. The hardware or software may include one or more modules corresponding to the aforementioned functionality. For beneficial effects, please refer to the description of the first aspect. Further details are not described herein.

[0066] According to the fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be a network device, a device within a network device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a circuit), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of a network device. The communication device has the function of implementing the behavior in the method example in the second aspect. For example, in a possible implementation, the communication device is A transceiver unit configured to transmit instruction information to a terminal device, wherein the instruction information indicates the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and / or the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in a single cycle, and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission is a positive integer greater than 1, the transceiver unit includes The transceiver unit is further configured to transmit downlink transmissions to terminal devices based on instruction information.

[0067] The functionality may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware running corresponding software. The hardware or software may include one or more modules corresponding to the aforementioned functionality. For beneficial effects, please refer to the description of the second aspect. Further details are not described herein.

[0068] According to the fifth aspect, the present invention provides a communication device. The communication device may be a terminal device or a device within a terminal device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a circuit). The device may include a processor, memory, an input interface, and an output interface. The input interface receives information from other communication devices other than the communication device. The output interface outputs information to other communication devices other than the communication device. The processor invokes computer programs stored in memory to perform the communication method provided in the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect.

[0069] According to the sixth aspect, the present invention provides a communication device. The communication device may be a network device or a device within a network device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a circuit). The device may include a processor, memory, an input interface, and an output interface. The input interface receives information from other communication devices other than the communication device. The output interface outputs information to other communication devices other than the communication device. The processor invokes computer programs stored in memory to execute a communication method provided in the second aspect or any implementation of the second aspect.

[0070] According to the seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium that stores a computer program or computer instruction. When the computer program or computer instruction is executed by a processor, a method in the first aspect and any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, and a method in the second aspect and any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect are performed.

[0071] According to the eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes instructions. When the instructions are executed by a processor, a method according to the first aspect and any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, and a method according to any one of the second aspect and any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect are performed.

[0072] According to the ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device includes a processor configured to implement either the first aspect and one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, and either the second aspect and one of the possible implementations of the second aspect. In possible implementations, the communication device may further include memory configured to store program instructions and / or data. The communication device may also be a chip system. The chip system may include a chip, or a chip and other separate components.

[0073] According to the tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication system. The communication system includes at least one terminal device and at least one network device. When implemented in the communication system, at least one terminal device and at least one network device are configured to perform any communication method according to the first aspect and the second aspect.

[0074] To more clearly describe the embodiments of this application, the attached drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly described below. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0075] [Figure 1] This figure shows the architecture of the communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0076] [Figure 2] This figure shows an architecture in which the NTN network implements transparent payload transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0077] [Figure 3] This figure shows another architecture in which the NTN network implements regenerative payload transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0078] [Figure 4] This figure shows the interaction of the communication method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0079] [Figure 5] This figure shows the interaction of the communication method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0080] [Figure 6A] This figure shows a scenario in which a single downlink transmission according to the embodiment of the present invention occupies multiple consecutive time units. [Figure 6B] This figure shows a scenario in which a single downlink transmission according to the embodiment of the present invention occupies multiple consecutive time units.

[0081] [Figure 7] This figure shows a scenario in which a single downlink transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention occupies multiple discontinuous time units.

[0082] [Figure 8] This figure shows the interaction of other communication methods according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0083] [Figure 9A] This figure shows a scenario for downlink transmission according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9B] This figure shows a scenario for downlink transmission according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9C] This figure shows a scenario for downlink transmission according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0084] [Figure 10]This figure shows the interaction in yet another communication method according to the embodiments of the present invention.

[0085] [Figure 11] This figure shows the interaction in yet another communication method according to the embodiments of the present invention.

[0086] [Figure 12] This figure shows the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0087] [Figure 13] This figure shows the structure of another communication device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0088] [Figure 14] This figure shows the structure of a terminal device according to the present embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0089] The following describes the technical solutions in embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings. The terms “system” and “network” may be used interchangeably in embodiments of the present application. Unless otherwise specified, “ / ” indicates an “or” relationship between related objects. For example, A / B may represent A or B. In the present application, “and / or” describes only the related relationships of the related objects and indicates that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may represent the following three cases: only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists, where A and B may be singular or plural. Also in the description of the present application, “plural” means two or more unless otherwise specified. At least one of the following items or similar expressions thereto indicates any combination of these items, including any single item or any combination of multiple items. For example, at least one item (piece) among a, b, or c may refer to a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b, and c, where a, b, and c may be singular or plural. In addition, in order to clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the terms “first” and “second” are used in the embodiments of this application to distinguish the same or similar items that provide essentially the same network element or purpose. Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms “first” and “second” do not limit the number or order of execution, and that the terms “first” and “second” do not indicate a clear distinction.

[0090] References to “embodiments,” “some embodiments,” etc., as described in the embodiments of this Application mean that one or more embodiments of this Application include certain features, structures, or characteristics described by reference to the embodiments. Accordingly, phrases such as “in one embodiment,” “in some embodiments,” “in some other embodiments,” and “in other embodiments,” appearing elsewhere in this Spec, do not necessarily mean that they refer to the same embodiment. Instead, these phrases mean “one or more embodiments, but not all of them,” unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms “includes,” “having,” and variations thereof all mean “includes, but not limited to,” unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0091] The purpose, technical solutions, and beneficial effects of this application are described in further detail in the following specific implementations. It should be understood that the following descriptions are merely specific implementations of this application and are not intended to limit the scope of its protection. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, or improvements made based on the technical solutions of this application shall fall within the scope of its protection.

[0092] The following describes the technical terms that may appear in embodiments of the present application. The terms used in implementations of the present application are used solely to describe specific embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. In embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise stated or there is a logical inconsistency, the terms and / or descriptions in different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to one another, and technical features in different embodiments can be combined into new embodiments based on their internal logical relationships.

[0093] (1) DCI

[0094] DCI is carried over the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). There are several DCI formats. Table 1 below shows some DCI formats and their purposes. [Table 1]

[0095] (2) TB scaling factor

[0096] The TB scaling factor is represented by the TB scaling field within the DCI bit field, and the correspondence between the TB scaling factor and the TB scaling field can be shown in Table 2 below. [Table 2]

[0097] Table 2 shows that different TB scaling fields can correspond to different TB scaling factors. For example, if the TB scaling factor value is 1 or less, the TB scaling factor can be used to scale the number of bits per TB to reduce the code rate and improve cell coverage capability. If the TB scaling field is "11", the TB scaling factor is reserved.

[0098] (3) MCS

[0099] The MCS defines the number of effective bits that can be carried by the RE. There are MCS schemes with numbers from 0 to 31 in total, and target code rates and spectral efficiencies corresponding to numbers 29 to 31 are reserved. A higher MCS index indicates a greater number of effective bits that can be carried. The RE is the smallest unit of resource allocation, and the resource created by a regular OFDM symbol period in the time domain and subcarriers in the frequency domain is called a resource unit.

[0100] MCS defines the modulation scheme and code rate. Currently, the supported optional modulation schemes include QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, and 256QAM. Each RE can transmit 2 bits of information in QPSK, 4 bits in 16QAM, 6 bits in 64QAM, and 8 bits in 256QAM. The code rate is the ratio of useful bits to the total number of bits transmitted and is used to measure the redundancy added to the physical layer. Redundant bits are used for forward error correction (FEC). From another perspective, the code rate can be thought of as the ratio of the number of information bits at the top of the physical layer to the number of bits at the bottom of the physical layer mapped to the PDSCH. A lower code rate indicates more added redundancy. Table 3 below is one of the MCS tables defined in the protocol. [Table 3]

[0101] In Table 3, the first column is the MCS index number, and the target code rate and spectral efficiency corresponding to MCS index numbers 29 to 31 are reserved. The second column is the modulation order Q, indicating the modulation scheme used. m For example, Q m If = 2, then this is 2 2 =4, which indicates that QPSK is used. In other examples, Q m If = 4, then this is 2 4 =16, i.e., 16QAM is used. The third column shows the target code rate, which is the code rate expected to be reached after the modulation scheme and corresponding redundancy of the current row are selected. The fourth column is the spectral efficiency to show the frequency efficiency when the current MCS is selected.

[0102] It can be understood that the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application may be applied to various communication systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, and LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems. The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application may be further applied to other communication systems, such as public land mobile network (PLMN) systems, LTE advanced (LTE-A) systems, 5th generation (5G) systems, new radio (NR), machine-to-machine (M2M) systems, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), or other future advanced communication systems, such as 6th generation mobile communication systems. This is not limited to the embodiments of this application. The technical solutions provided in embodiments of the present application may be further applied to other communication systems, provided that entities in the communication system can transmit control information and transmit (and / or receive) transport blocks, and other entities in the communication system can receive control information and receive (and / or transmit) transport blocks. The communication systems provided in the present application may use, but are not limited to, an open random access network (open RAN, ORAN) architecture.

[0103] Referring to Figure 1, Figure 1 is a diagram showing the architecture of a communication system according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system may include at least one network device (101a, 101b, and 101c in Figure 1) and may further include at least one terminal device (102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f, and 102g in Figure 1). Different network devices may be interconnected by wire or wireless means. The communication system shown in Figure 1 may further include other network devices, for example, a wireless relay device and a wireless backhaul device.

[0104] On the NTN network, satellites can perform either transparent payload transmission or regenerative payload transmission.

[0105] Referring to Figure 2, Figure 2 shows an architecture in which an NTN network implements transparent payload transmission according to one embodiment of the present invention. Terminal devices communicate with ground base stations via a universal terrestrial radio access network-user (Uu) interface. Satellites can perform transparent payload transmission between terminal devices and ground base stations. Satellites and NTN gateways can be considered as remote radio units (RRUs) of ground base stations for performing transparent transmission of signals. That is, satellites only support functions such as radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification, while the signal waveform remains unchanged. Satellite transmission is transparent to terminal devices. Ground base stations and core networks (CNs) communicate with each other via next-generation (NG) interfaces and can exchange non-access stratum (NAS) signaling of the CNs and service data of terminal devices via the NG interface. Ground base stations and RRUs can be considered as radio access network (RAN) nodes.

[0106] Referring to Figure 3, Figure 3 shows another architecture in which an NTN network implements regenerative payload transmission according to one embodiment of the present application. A satellite may have some or all of the functions of a network device and may be referred to as a satellite base station. The satellite may provide radio access services and schedule radio resources for terminal devices that access the network by using the satellite base station. The satellite base station communicates with terminal devices via a Uu interface. The satellite base station and CN may also communicate with each other via an NG interface, and the satellite base station and CN may exchange NAS signaling and service data for terminal devices via the NG interface. The satellite radio interface (SRI) interface is a feeder link between the NTN gateway and the satellite. In Figure 3, the SRI interface may be used as part of the NG interface to implement communication and interaction between the satellite and the CN. Ground base stations and NTN gateways may be considered as RAN nodes.

[0107] A terminal device is an entity configured to receive or transmit signals on the user side. Terminal devices may be located on land, and the location may include indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted, on water (e.g., on a ship), or in the air (e.g., on an aircraft, balloon, or satellite). Terminal devices may include mobile phones, tablet computers (pads), computers with wireless transceiver functionality, virtual reality (VR) terminal devices, augmented reality (AR) terminal devices, wireless terminal devices in industrial control, wireless terminal devices in autonomous driving, wireless terminal devices in telemedicine, wireless terminal devices in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminal devices in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, and user equipment (UE).

[0108] By example, and not by limitation, in embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may be a wearable device. A wearable device may also be called a wearable intelligent device, and is a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed for everyday wear by using wearable technology, such as eyeglasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that can be worn directly on the body or incorporated into the user's clothing or accessories. A wearable device is not only a hardware device but also implements powerful functionality through software support, data exchange, and cloud interaction. In a broad sense, a wearable intelligent device includes large, fully functional devices that can implement full or partial functionality without relying on a smartphone, such as a smartwatch or smart glasses, and devices that are dedicated to only one type of application function and need to work in conjunction with other devices such as a smartphone, such as various smart bands or smart jewelry for monitoring physical signs.

[0109] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may be a terminal device within an Internet of Things (IoT) system. IoT is an important part of the future development of information technology, and the main technical feature of IoT is the implementation of intelligent networks for human-machine interconnection or thing-to-thing interconnection by connecting things to a network using communication technology. In the embodiments of the present application, IoT technology can implement a large number of simultaneous connections, deep coverage, and terminal power saving by using, for example, narrow-band (NB) technology.

[0110] A network device may be an entity configured to transmit or receive signals, or a device configured to communicate with a terminal device. A network device may be an evolved NodeB (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE system, or a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. Alternatively, a network device may be a relay station, access point, in-vehicle device, wearable device, network device in a 5G network, or network device in a future evolved PLMN network. This is not limited to the embodiments of the present application. A network device may be a device in a radio network, for example, a RAN node that enables a terminal to access the radio network. Currently, a RAN node may be, for example, a base station, a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), an eNB, a home base station, a baseband unit (BBU), or an access point (AP) in a Wi-Fi system. In a network structure, network devices may include central unit (CU) nodes, distributed unit (DU) nodes, or RAN devices that include both CU and DU nodes.

[0111] In different systems, CU (including CU-CP and CU-UP) or DU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) system, CU may also be called O-CU (open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, and CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP.

[0112] In embodiments of the present application, a terminal device or network device includes a hardware layer, an operating system layer that runs on the hardware layer, and an application layer that runs on the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also referred to as main memory). The operating system may be any one or more types of computer operating systems that perform service processing through processes, such as a Linux operating system, a Unix operating system, an Android operating system, an iOS operating system, or a Windows operating system. The application layer includes applications such as a browser, an address book, document processing software, and instant messaging software. In addition, the specific structure of the implementer of the method provided in embodiments of the present application is not particularly limited in embodiments of the present application, insofar as a program that records the code of the method provided in embodiments of the present application can be executed to perform communication according to the method provided in embodiments of the present application. For example, the implementer of the method provided in embodiments of the present application may be a terminal device or network device, or a functional module that can call and execute a program on a terminal device or network device.

[0113] In addition, aspects or features of the present application may be implemented as methods, apparatus, or products using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. As used in this application, the term “product” covers computer programs that can be accessed from any computer-readable component, carrier, or medium. For example, computer-readable mediums may include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage components (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, or magnetic tapes), optical discs (e.g., compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), smart cards, and flash memory components (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory, EPROMs), cards, sticks, or key drives). Furthermore, the various storage media described herein may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media configured to store information. The term “machine-readable medium” may include, but are not limited to, wireless channels, as well as various other media that can store, contain, and / or carry instructions and / or data.

[0114] It should be noted that the number and types of network devices and terminal devices included in the network architectures shown in Figures 1 to 3 are merely examples. Embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. For example, there may be more or fewer terminal devices communicating with network devices. For example, there may be more or fewer core network devices communicating with network devices. For the sake of brevity, these are not shown individually in the accompanying drawings. In addition, although the network architectures shown in Figures 1 to 3 show network devices, terminal devices, and core network devices, application scenarios may include, but are not limited to, network devices, terminal devices, and core network devices, and may further include, for example, devices configured to carry virtualized network functions, wireless relay devices, wireless backhaul devices, and so on. These will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Further details are not described herein.

[0115] This application provides a communication method. The communication method will be described separately below using the following embodiments. It should be understood that these communication methods may be used in combination with each other.

[0116] Downlink transmission may change as technical solutions evolve, and it should be understood that the technical solutions provided in this application are not limited to the processes described below. Furthermore, the scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are merely examples, and the solutions in the embodiments of this application are not limited to the described scenarios but are also applicable to scenarios with similar problems.

[0117] In embodiments of the present application (for example, the following embodiments corresponding to Figures 4 to 11), the method is described using examples in which a terminal device and a network device function as the entities that execute the interaction examples, but the entities that execute the interaction examples are not limited in the present application. For example, a terminal device may be a device within a terminal device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a circuit), or a logic module or software that can implement all or some of the functions of a terminal device, and a network device may be a device within a network device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a circuit), or a logic module or software that can implement all or some of the functions of a network device. Embodiments of the present application are described uniformly in this specification, and details are not described again below.

[0118] Referring to the network architecture described above, the following describes a communication method provided in one embodiment of the present application. Referring to Figure 4, Figure 4 is a diagram showing the interaction of a communication method according to one embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4, the communication method may include S401 and S402.

[0119] S401. The network device transmits instruction information to the terminal device, which indicates the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and / or the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in a single cycle, where the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission is a positive integer greater than 1. Accordingly, the terminal device receives instruction information from the network device.

[0120] In this embodiment, downlink transmission carries downlink signaling transmitted by the network device to the terminal device during the initial access procedure. The signaling carried in downlink transmission may include SIB1, SIB19, message 2 (Msg2), RRC setup complete information, Msg4 in the random access procedure, and any other additional necessary signaling in the initial access procedure.

[0121] A terminal device may establish a connection between itself and a network device by using an initial access procedure, thereby enabling data to be transmitted between the terminal device and the network device.The initial access procedure includes the steps of: detecting a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) from a network device and receiving a synchronization signal band (SSB) from the network device, wherein the SSB includes the PSS, SSS, and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH); obtaining a master information block (MIB) from the PBCH; and, if it is determined based on the MIB that the SSB is a non-cell-defined synchronization signal block (non-CD-SSB), then, based on the MIB's instructions, accessing a common search space (CSS) and a control resource set (control resource The process includes the steps of determining set, CORESET#0; searching for a CD-SSB based on the Non-CD-SSB indication if the SSB is determined to be a non-cell-defined-SSB (Non-CD-SSB) based on the MIB, determining the CSS and CORESET#0 based on the MIB indication of the found CD-SSB; determining a candidate resource to be used for a PDCCH based on CORESET#0 and CSS, wherein the PDCCH carries a DCI; detecting the DCI within the candidate resource for the PDCCH; receiving a PDSCH after the DCI has been detected, based on scheduling information indicated by the DCI, wherein the PDSCH carries cell system information, i.e., the cell system information is obtained based on the DCI indication; and initiating a random access procedure to a network device based on the system information to establish a connection between a terminal device and a network device.

[0122] In this embodiment, the time unit may be a time-domain resource unit and is used to transmit system messages or user data in the downlink transmission process. For example, the time unit may be a time-domain resource unit of a PDSCH, or the time unit may be a slot, minislot, subframe, frame, transmission time interval (TTI), etc.

[0123] The number of downlink transmission repetitions in a cycle can be understood as the number of repeatable downlink transmission opportunities in a cycle. For example, if the number of downlink transmission repetitions in a cycle is 0, this may indicate that the total number of downlink transmissions is 1, i.e., there are no repeatable transmission opportunities for downlink transmission. If the number of downlink transmission repetitions in a cycle is 1, this may indicate that the total number of downlink transmissions is 2, i.e., there is 1 repeatable transmission opportunity for downlink transmission. If the number of downlink transmission repetitions in a cycle is 2, this may indicate that the total number of downlink transmissions is 3, i.e., there are 2 repeatable transmission opportunities for downlink transmission.

[0124] When the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle is one or more, it can be understood that a terminal device can receive downlink transmissions at multiple reception timings based on instruction information, and the number of times the terminal device actually receives downlink transmissions is less than or equal to the total number of transmissions. For example, if a terminal device successfully receives and demodulates the data carried in a downlink transmission during the first reception opportunity, the terminal device will not receive downlink transmissions during the remaining reception opportunities.

[0125] The instruction information indicates the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and / or the number of downlink transmission repetitions in a single cycle, and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission being a positive integer greater than 1 may be any of the following implementations.

[0126] In the first possible implementation, the instruction information may include the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission.

[0127] In a second possible implementation, the instruction information may include the location of a first time-domain resource for downlink transmission.

[0128] In a third possible implementation, the instruction information may include the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle, which is determined based on a field in the DCI. Alternatively, the instruction information is a first value, which is determined based on a first bit of a field in the DCI, which indicates a target number of repetitions in a set of repetitions, which includes multiple numbers of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle.

[0129] In a fourth possible implementation, the instruction information may include the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle and the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, both of which are determined based on fields in the DCI.

[0130] In a fifth possible implementation, the instruction information may include the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in a single cycle, and the instruction information is carried by DCI. Alternatively, the instruction information is a third value, which indicates a target candidate set among multiple candidate sets, which is carried by DCI, and the candidate sets are carried by network device configuration information, which includes multiple candidate sets, each of which corresponds to a group of the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in a single cycle.

[0131] It can be understood that instruction information can be predefined. For example, instruction information can be predefined in a protocol. Network devices and terminal devices can perform downlink transmission based on instruction information predefined in a protocol. Alternatively, instruction information can be preconfigured by a network device. For example, a network device may transmit instruction information to a terminal device using a PDCCH, and the terminal device demodulates the PDCCH to obtain the instruction information and perform downlink transmission.

[0132] Network devices can transmit instructional information to terminal devices by using signaling transmitted at the same time or at different times. For example, a network device can use signaling transmitted at the same time to indicate to a terminal device the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in a single cycle. A network device can use signaling transmitted at different times to indicate to a terminal device the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in a single cycle separately.

[0133] S402. The network device transmits a downlink transmission to the terminal device based on the instruction information. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the downlink transmission from the network device based on the instruction information.

[0134] After receiving instruction information from a network device, the terminal device may receive downlink transmission based on that instruction information.

[0135] Downlink transmissions are transmitted only once per cycle, and / or each downlink transmission occupies only one time unit, resulting in insufficient downlink transmission coverage. In this embodiment, a network device may send instruction information to a terminal device, which includes the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and / or the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in a cycle, thereby allowing the terminal device to receive downlink transmissions at multiple reception timings and / or determine, based on the instruction information, a greater number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, thereby improving downlink coverage of downlink transmissions.

[0136] For some specific implementations and beneficial effects of the embodiment of the method shown in Figure 4, please refer to the following description of Figures 5 to 11. In other words, the embodiments shown in Figures 5 to 11 are specific implementations of the embodiment shown in Figure 4. To avoid redundancy, the embodiment in Figure 4 will not be described in detail. The embodiment of the method in Figure 5 may correspond to a first possible implementation of the instruction information in step S401. The embodiment of the method in Figure 8 may correspond to a second possible implementation of the instruction information in step S401. The embodiment of the method in Figure 10 may correspond to a third possible implementation of the instruction information in step S401. The embodiment of the method in Figure 11 may correspond to a fourth possible implementation of the instruction information in step S401, or to a fifth possible implementation of the instruction information in step S401.

[0137] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application will be described below. It should be understood that the definitions of terms in different embodiments of the present application may be referenced to one another. To avoid redundant explanations, the same terms may not be explained again in different embodiments. Referring to Figure 5, Figure 5 is a diagram showing the interaction of the communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5, the communication method includes steps S501 to S505.

[0138] S501. The network device transmits instruction information to the terminal device, which indicates the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and this number is a positive integer greater than 1. Accordingly, the terminal device receives instruction information from the network device.

[0139] For a detailed explanation of step S501, it may be understood that you should refer to step S401. Further details will not be explained again.

[0140] The implementation of the instruction information may correspond to the first possible implementation of the instruction information in step S401. Specifically, the instruction information includes the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0141] The number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission is a positive integer greater than 1. It can be understood that the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission may be multiple, for example, 2, 3, or 4. The number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission is not limited in this embodiment.

[0142] Indication information corresponding to the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission may be carried in DCI format 1_0. In other words, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission may be added to DCI format 1_0. For example, reserved bits in DCI format 1_0 may be used to represent the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission.

[0143] In possible implementations, a candidate set of occupied time units may be predefined. This set contains multiple time units. Two reserved bits in DCI format 1_0 are then used to indicate one of the time units in the candidate set. In other words, the indication information may specifically be a value, which is determined by using the two reserved bits in DCI format 1_0, and which indicates one of the time units in the candidate set. For example, the candidate set of occupied time units is {2, 4, 8, 16}, and the correspondence between the indications of the two reserved bits in DCI format 1_0 and the candidate set is shown in Table 4. [Table 4]

[0144] When the two reserved bits in DCI format 1_0 are 00, this indicates that the first number of time units in the candidate set of occupied time units is 2, i.e., the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission is 2. When the two reserved bits in DCI format 1_0 are 01, this indicates that the second number of time units in the candidate set of occupied time units is 4, i.e., the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission is 4. When the two reserved bits in DCI format 1_0 are 10, this indicates that the third number of time units in the candidate set of occupied time units is 8, i.e., the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission is 8. When the two reserved bits in DCI format 1_0 are 11, this indicates that the fourth number of time units in the candidate set of occupied time units is 16, i.e., the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission is 16.

[0145] S502. The network device determines the starting position of the time-domain resource for downlink transmission and transmits the starting position to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the starting position of the time-domain resource for downlink transmission transmitted by the network device.

[0146] Network devices can use PDCCH to transmit instruction information and the downlink transmission start position to terminal devices. Terminal devices demodulate the PDCCH to obtain the instruction information and the downlink transmission start position.

[0147] S503. The terminal device determines the time domain resource location based on the starting position and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission.

[0148] After receiving the start position of the time-domain resource for a downlink transmission transmitted by a network device, the terminal device may determine the time-domain resource position based on the start position and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission.

[0149] S504. The network device determines the time domain resource location based on the starting position and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission.

[0150] After transmitting the starting position of the time-domain resource for downlink transmission to the terminal device, the network device may determine the time-domain resource position based on the starting position and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission.

[0151] S505. The network device transmits a downlink transmission to the terminal device at the time-domain resource location. Accordingly, the terminal device receives a downlink transmission from the network device at the time-domain resource location. After determining the time-domain resource location, the network device may transmit a downlink transmission to the terminal device at the time-domain resource location.

[0152] After determining the time-domain resource location, the terminal device can receive downlink transmissions from the network device at the time-domain resource location.

[0153] Optionally, after the network device determines the starting position of the time-domain resources for downlink transmission, the network device determines the time-domain resource location based on the starting position and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission. After determining the time-domain resource location, the network device transmits the starting position and the time-domain resource location to the terminal device. In other words, the terminal device does not need to determine the time-domain resource location based on the starting position and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission.

[0154] For illustrative purposes, examples in which two time units and four time units are occupied by a single downlink transmission will be used separately below. Referring to Figures 6A and 6B, Figures 6A and 6B illustrate a scenario in which a downlink transmission occupies multiple time units according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 6A, when the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission is equal to 2, for the terminal device of SSB#0, if the data carried in the downlink transmission is system information (system information #0 shown in Figure 6A when the number of time units is 2) and the start position of the downlink transmission is time unit n8 (in frame SFN#0, the first time unit is shown as time unit n0, and frames SFN#1 and SFN#0 are consecutive), then the network device transmits the downlink transmission in time units n8 and n9. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the downlink transmission in time units n8 and n9.

[0155] As shown in Figure 6B, when the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission is equal to 4, for the terminal device of SSB#0, if the data carried in the downlink transmission is system information (system information #0 shown in Figure 6B when the number of time units is 4), and the start position of the downlink transmission is time unit n8, then the network device transmits the downlink transmission from time unit n8 to time unit n11. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the downlink transmission from time unit n8 to time unit n11.

[0156] The system information may be SIB1 or SIB19, and SIB1 and SIB19 are merely examples; in fact, it may be any other system message that carries ephemeris information.

[0157] As shown in Figures 6A and 6B, the multiple time units occupied by a single downlink transmission may be consecutive. In this way, when a terminal device demodulates data carried in a downlink transmission that occupies multiple consecutive time units, the data demodulation performance is better.

[0158] It can be understood that the multiple time units occupied by a single downlink transmission may be discontinuous. As shown in Figure 7, Figure 7 illustrates a scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention in which a single downlink transmission occupies multiple discontinuous time units. For example, a downlink transmission carrying system information #0 occupies two time units, which may be time units n8 and n11, where the system information is one of the listed system information, and a downlink transmission carrying other data (different from the data in time units n8 and n11) may be transmitted within time units n9 and n10. When the multiple time units occupied by a single downlink transmission are discontinuous, it can be seen that the network device can flexibly schedule downlink transmissions carrying different data.

[0159] Optionally, the communication method further allows the terminal device to demodulate the data carried in the downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location based on demodulation parameters and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission. Demodulation parameters are TB scaling factors of TB for one TB in the downlink transmission. scaling The RE includes at least one of the following: the number of resources NRE, the coding code rate R, the demodulation order Qm, and the number of layers v. TB scaling factor TB scaling The following can be determined based on Table 2: Resource count NRE represents the number of occupied RE resources, Modulated order Qm represents the modulated order, Coding code rate R represents the target code rate determined based on the MCS level, and Number of layers may be the number of downlink layers.

[0160] After receiving the data transmitted in the downlink transmission, the terminal device uses one or more of the aforementioned modulation parameters and the number of time units (TB slots represented as) to adjust the number of information bits, perform rate matching after encoding, and equivalently further reduce the code rate, thereby improving the modulation performance of the terminal device. The number N info of information bits can be calculated by using the following formula.

Equation

[0161] It can be understood that the sequence numbers of the aforementioned processes do not mean the execution sequence in this embodiment. For example, step S503 may be performed before S504, after S504, or simultaneously with S504. The execution order of the processes should be determined according to the functions and internal logics of the processes and should not be construed as any limitation to the implementation process of this embodiment.

[0162] In this embodiment, unlike downlink transmission in a single time unit, when TB is heavily loaded, a single time unit cannot carry the entire downlink transmission; that is, a single time unit can only carry a partial downlink transmission, and the code rate cannot be further reduced to improve downlink coverage. In this embodiment, the network device may use instruction information to indicate the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission being a positive integer greater than 1. Based on the instruction information, the terminal device can determine more time units to be occupied by a single downlink transmission, thereby increasing the number of bits that can be transmitted in the downlink transmission and improving downlink coverage for downlink transmissions with a relatively large number of information bits to be carried. In addition, when a downlink transmission occupies multiple discontinuous time units, the network device can flexibly schedule downlink transmissions carrying different data. In addition, the TB scaling factor is combined with the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, thereby further reducing the code rate of downlink transmissions with a relatively large number of information bits carried, and improving the demodulation performance of terminal devices when demodulating data carried in downlink transmissions.

[0163] Referring to Figure 8, Figure 8 is a diagram showing the interaction of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 8, the communication method includes steps S801 to S804.

[0164] S801. The network device transmits instruction information to the terminal device, which includes a first time-domain resource location for downlink transmission, and accordingly the terminal device receives the first time-domain resource location transmitted by the network device.

[0165] For a detailed explanation of step S801, it may be understood that you should refer to step S401. Further details will not be explained again.

[0166] The implementation of the instruction information may correspond to a second possible implementation of the instruction information in step S401, namely, the instruction information includes a first time-domain resource location for downlink transmission.

[0167] Note that instruction information including the first time-domain resource location for downlink transmission indicates that the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle is 0, i.e., that the downlink transmission is transmitted only once. In other words, a network device can define in the protocol as having 1 transmission and 0 repetitions.

[0168] Instructional information including the location of a first time-domain resource may indicate that the instructional information is the location of a first time-domain resource.

[0169] S802. The network device determines a second time-domain resource location for transmitting downlink transmissions based on interval information and the first time-domain resource location. The interval information indicates the number of time units between the first time-domain resource location and the adjacent second time-domain resource location.

[0170] After a network device determines a first time-domain resource location and a second time-domain resource location, the network device can transmit the same downlink transmission at both locations. In other words, the data carried in the downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location is the same as the data carried in the downlink transmission at the second time-domain resource location.

[0171] Optionally, interval information X may be defined in the protocol (TS 38.213). After the value of interval information X is defined in the protocol (TS 38.213), the value of interval information X is fixed, and both network devices and terminal devices determine the location of the second time-domain resource based on the fixed interval information.

[0172] Alternatively, the interval information X may be configured by a network device, which may transmit the interval information X and the first time-domain resource location to a terminal device using a PDCCH. The terminal device may demodulate the PDCCH to obtain the interval information X and the first time-domain resource location.

[0173] For example, assuming that the starting position of the first time-domain resource location is n, the second time-domain resource location may be expressed as n+X+1, where X is a specific value corresponding to the interval information. A network device or protocol (TS 38.213) may indicate the interval information X by defining information Y, where it can be understood that information Y = X+1. In this case, the network device may determine the second time-domain resource location n+Y based on information Y and the first time-domain resource location n, or a terminal device may determine the second time-domain resource location n+Y based on information Y and the first time-domain resource location n.

[0174] S803. The terminal device determines a second time-domain resource location for receiving downlink transmissions based on interval information and the first time-domain resource location.

[0175] After receiving a first time-domain resource location from a network device, the terminal device may determine a second time-domain resource location for receiving downlink transmissions based on the interval information X and the first time-domain resource location.

[0176] After the terminal device determines the first time-domain resource location and the second time-domain resource location, the terminal device can receive the same downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location and the second time-domain resource location.

[0177] S804. The network device transmits a downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location and / or the second time-domain resource location. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location and / or the second time-domain resource location.

[0178] After determining the first time-domain resource location and the second time-domain resource location, the network device may transmit a downlink transmission to a terminal device at the first time-domain resource location, and the terminal device may receive a downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location; the network device may transmit a downlink transmission to a terminal device at the second time-domain resource location, and the terminal device may receive a downlink transmission at the second time-domain resource location; or the network device may transmit a downlink transmission to a terminal device at both the first and second time-domain resource locations, and the terminal device may receive a downlink transmission at both the first and second time-domain resource locations.

[0179] For example, a network device transmits a downlink transmission to a terminal device at a first time-domain resource location. After receiving the downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location and demodulating the data carried by the downlink transmission, the terminal device may send feedback information to the network device indicating whether the downlink transmission was successfully demodulated. If the terminal device successfully demodulates the data carried by the downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location, the terminal device may send feedback information to the network device indicating that the downlink transmission was successfully demodulated. Based on the received feedback information, the network device decides not to transmit a downlink transmission at a second time-domain resource location. In this case, the network device only needs to transmit a downlink transmission once at the first time-domain resource location. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the downlink transmission only at the first time-domain resource location. If the terminal device fails to demodulate the data carried by the downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location, the terminal device may send feedback information to the network device indicating that the downlink transmission failed to be demodulated. The network device then transmits a downlink transmission to the terminal device at a second time-domain resource location. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the downlink transmission at the second time-domain resource location and demodulates the data carried by the downlink transmission. In this case, the network device transmits the same downlink transmission at both the first and second time-domain resource locations. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the same downlink transmission at both the first and second time-domain resource locations, meaning the downlink transmission is transmitted twice, and the terminal device combines and demodulates the same downlink transmission to improve demodulation performance.

[0180] If a network device detects that the channel at a first time-domain resource location is relatively poor, the network device does not have to transmit downlink transmissions at the first time-domain resource location, but may instead directly transmit downlink transmissions to the terminal device at a second time-domain resource location. In this case, the network device transmits downlink transmissions only at the second time-domain resource location. Accordingly, the terminal device can only receive downlink transmissions at the second time-domain resource location. In this case, the terminal device may receive downlink transmissions at the first time-domain resource location, but since the network device does not transmit downlink transmissions at the first time-domain resource location, it can be understood that the terminal device cannot receive downlink transmissions at the first time-domain resource location.

[0181] In another example, a network device transmits a downlink transmission to a terminal device at a first time-domain resource location. After receiving and demodulating the downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location, the terminal device does not send feedback information to the network device indicating whether the downlink transmission was successfully demodulated. After transmitting the downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location, the network device transmits a downlink transmission to the terminal device at a second time-domain resource location. In this case, if the terminal device successfully demodulates the data carried by the downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location, the terminal device may not receive the downlink transmission transmitted by the network device at the second time-domain resource location. If the terminal device fails to demodulate the data carried by the downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location, the terminal device receives the downlink transmission transmitted by the network device at the second time-domain resource location. In this embodiment, the network device does not need to wait for the terminal device to send feedback information indicating whether the downlink transmission was successfully demodulated, thereby reducing transmission delay and potentially improving the transmission performance of the downlink transmission.

[0182] It should be understood that the sequence numbers of the processes described above do not represent the execution sequence in this embodiment. Optionally, S803 may be performed before S802, after S802, or concurrently with S802. The execution order of the processes should be determined according to the function and internal logic of the processes and should not be interpreted as any limitation on the implementation processes of this embodiment.

[0183] When a downlink transmission carries the downlink signaling required in the initial access procedure, the number of time units indicated by the interval information is a positive integer greater than or equal to 0. The downlink signaling of the initial access procedure carried by the downlink transmission includes, but is not limited to, SIB1, SIB19, and Msg4 in the random access procedure. The system information may also be other system information that carries ephemeris information.

[0184] Referring to Figures 9A, 9B, and 9C, Figures 9A, 9B, and 9C illustrate a scenario of downlink transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention. Furthermore, when the downlink transmission carries SIB1, the number of time units indicated by the interval information is a positive integer greater than 0. As shown in Figure 9A, suppose the predetermined interval information X=7. For a terminal device having SSB#0, the data carried in the downlink transmission received by the terminal device is SIB1 (indicated as SIB1#0), and the first time-domain resource position corresponding to SIB1#0 for the downlink transmission is time unit n8. In this case, the number of time units between the first time-domain resource position and the second time-domain resource position is 7. Therefore, the second time-domain resource position determined by the terminal device based on the interval information X=7 and the first time-domain resource position (time unit n8) is time unit n16. As shown in Figure 9A, the terminal device fails to demodulate the downlink transmission carrying SIB1#0 at the first time-domain resource location (time unit n8), and the terminal device receives the downlink transmission at the second time-domain resource location (time unit n16).

[0185] Optionally, it is assumed that the predefined information Y=8, as shown in Figure 9A. For a terminal device with SSB#0, the data carried in the downlink transmission received by the terminal device is SIB1 (indicated as SIB1#0), and the first time-domain resource location corresponding to SIB1#0 for the downlink transmission is time unit n8. In this case, the second time-domain resource location determined by the terminal device based on the information Y=8 and the first time-domain resource location (time unit n8) is time unit n16 (=n8+Y=8+8=n16). As shown in Figure 9A, the terminal device fails to demodulate the downlink transmission carrying SIB1#0 at the first time-domain resource location (time unit n8), and the terminal device receives the downlink transmission at the second time-domain resource location (time unit n16).

[0186] As shown in Figure 9A, when SIB1 is carried in a downlink transmission and the interval information X is a positive integer greater than 0, multiple time units between the first time-domain resource location and the second time-domain resource location may be used by other terminal devices (e.g., terminal devices corresponding to SSB#1 through SSB#7) to receive the corresponding downlink transmission, thereby giving the terminal devices the opportunity to access the network at a faster speed. When the first and second transmission times of SIB1#0 are in two adjacent time units, i.e., when the interval information X=0, the terminal device of SSB#7 can carry SIB1 for the first time and transmit the downlink transmission corresponding to SSB#7 in the next time unit only after the terminal device has transmitted SIB1 corresponding to SSB#0 through SSB#6 twice. As shown in Figure 9B, the terminal device corresponding to SSB#7 can receive the first downlink transmission of SIB1#7 only after 2*7=14 time units (i.e., after 13 time units). As a result, the duration for which SIB1#7 must wait for SSB#7 increases, and terminal devices corresponding to SSB#7 have more time to access the network. When the interval information X between the first time-domain resource location and the second time-domain resource location of SIB1 is greater than 0, downlink transmissions in the same beam direction can be transmitted in consecutive time units, thereby giving terminal devices with a good link budget (where data carried in only one downlink transmission needs to be demodulated) the opportunity to access the network sooner.

[0187] For example, when a downlink transmission carries SIB19 in the initial access procedure or Msg4 in the random access procedure, the number of time units indicated by interval information X is a positive integer greater than or equal to 0. As shown in Figure 9C, for example, when a downlink transmission carries Msg4, the downlink transmission may be transmitted over two adjacent time units in one cycle, i.e., the number of time units between the first time-domain resource location and the second time-domain resource location is equal to 0, thereby improving the transmission performance of the downlink transmission, improving the demodulation performance of the terminal device, and enabling the terminal device to access the network faster.

[0188] Furthermore, there are multiple second time-domain resource locations, and these multiple second time-domain resource locations are different, and interval information is further used to indicate the number of time units between two adjacent second time-domain resource locations.

[0189] After the value of interval information X is determined, it can be understood that the number of time units between a first time-domain resource location and an adjacent second time-domain resource location is equal to the number of time units between any two adjacent second time-domain resource locations.

[0190] For example, a network device may define the number of second time-domain resource locations. Assuming the starting position of the first time-domain resource location is n, the second time-domain resource locations may be determined based on n+mX+1, where both the starting position n and m of the first time-domain resource location are defined by the network device, m may represent the number of second time-domain resource locations, and X is interval information, which may be defined by the protocol. For example, if m=1, the number of second time-domain resource locations is equal to 1, and the downlink transmission has 2 transmission opportunities, with the time-domain resource locations having 2 transmission opportunities being the first time-domain resource location n and the second time-domain resource location n+X+1, respectively. If m=2, the number of second time-domain resource locations is equal to 2, and the downlink transmission has 3 transmission opportunities, with the time-domain resource locations having 3 transmission opportunities being the first time-domain resource location n, one second time-domain resource location n+X+1, and another second time-domain resource location n+2X+1, respectively.

[0191] In the solution provided herein, if data carried in a downlink transmission is not successfully demodulated at a first time-domain resource location, there may be two downlink transmission opportunities within the same period, i.e., the terminal device may have two receiver opportunities. More downlink transmission opportunities compared to one can improve the downlink coverage of the downlink transmission. In addition, multiple second time-domain resource locations may be included, thereby giving the downlink transmission multiple transmission opportunities within the same period, and the terminal device may have multiple receivers, thereby improving the access success rate. The terminal device can combine the demodulation results of multiple received downlink transmissions to improve the demodulation performance of data carried in the downlink transmission, thereby improving the success rate of the terminal device's access to the network. In addition, the interval information X between the two time-domain resource locations may be greater than 0, and there may be at least one time unit between two adjacent transmission opportunities of the downlink transmission, and the downlink transmission can be performed in at least one consecutive time unit, thereby allowing the terminal device to access the network more quickly.

[0192] The difference between the solution provided in this embodiment and the solution in the previously described embodiment is that interval information is added, and at least one second time-domain resource location is indicated based on the interval information and the first time-domain resource location. Optionally, each of the first and second time-domain resource locations may occupy one or more time units. When a terminal device demodulates a downlink transmission that occupies multiple time units, if each of the first and second time-domain resource locations occupies multiple time units, the downlink transmission may be demodulated based on the multiple occupied time units and demodulation parameters in the embodiment shown in Figure 5.

[0193] Referring to Figure 10, Figure 10 shows an interaction in yet another communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 10, the communication method may include steps S1001 to S1006. Step S1001 is an optional step.

[0194] S1001: The terminal device sends request information to the network device, which is used to request downlink enhancement. Accordingly, the network device receives the request information sent by the terminal device.

[0195] After receiving request information, the network device may identify the received request information and decide to perform downlink enhancement on the downlink transmission. The communication method may further include the network device redefining fields within the DCI to constitute the instruction information.

[0196] Optionally, fields within the DCI may be MCS fields, other fields within the DCI, or fields added to other fields within the DCI to constitute the instruction information.

[0197] When it is determined that the link budget is insufficient, the terminal device may send request information to the network device, thereby allowing the network device to determine multiple time-domain resource locations to which downlink transmissions need to be sent, indicate that the multiple time-domain resource locations are consecutive, and enable the terminal device to access the network at a faster speed.

[0198] For example, request information may be carried in the uplink transmission. For example, when the downlink transmission carries Msg4, the terminal device may include the downlink enhancement request information for Msg4 in message 3 (Msg3) carried in the uplink transmission. The network device identifies the request information for downlink enhancement in Msg3 and uses DCI to configure the number of downlink transmission repetitions within one cycle.

[0199] Optionally, a terminal device may include request information for subsequent downlink signaling enhancement in message 5 (Msg5) carried in the uplink transmission. The network device identifies the request information for downlink enhancement in Msg5 and uses DCI to configure the number of downlink transmission repetitions within one cycle.

[0200] Optionally, a terminal device may request an uplink enhancement in Msg3 or Msg5, indicating that a downlink enhancement is also required. The network device identifies the request information for the uplink enhancement in Msg3 or Msg5, determines that the terminal device also needs a downlink enhancement, and configures the number of downlink transmission repetitions in the cycle by using DCI.

[0201] The number of downlink transmission repetitions within one cycle using DCI can be configured by redefining fields within DCI or by adding configurations for repeated downlink transmissions to DCI.

[0202] Optionally, Msg3 may be an RRCSetupRequest signaling in a random access procedure. Optionally, Msg4 may be an RRCSetup signaling in a random access procedure. Optionally, Msg5 may be an RRCSetupComplete signaling in a random access procedure.

[0203] For example, a network device may further configure an instruction indicating whether to perform downlink enhancement and determine whether to perform downlink enhancement during the initial access procedure. For instance, a network device may indicate whether to perform downlink enhancement according to signaling. A signaling instruction of "0" indicates that downlink enhancement will not be performed. A signaling instruction of "1" indicates that downlink enhancement will be performed.

[0204] For example, when a terminal device sends request information to a network device, if the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle is one or more, the network device can determine that the starting position and the time-domain resource position are contiguous, thereby improving the demodulation performance of the terminal device, and allowing the terminal device to access the network at a faster speed.

[0205] S1002. The network device transmits instruction information to the terminal device, which includes the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle. Accordingly, the terminal device receives instruction information from the network device.

[0206] For a detailed explanation of step S1002, it may be understood that you should refer to step S401. Further details will not be explained again.

[0207] The implementation of the instruction information may correspond to a third possible implementation of the instruction information in step S401. Specifically, the instruction information includes the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle, and the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle is determined based on a field in DCI. Alternatively, the instruction information is a first value, which is determined based on a first bit of a field in DCI, which indicates a target number of repetitions in a set of repetition counts, and the set of repetition counts includes multiple numbers of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle.

[0208] When a terminal device does not send request information to a network device, if the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle is one or more, the network device may also determine that the starting position and time-domain resource position are consecutive, thereby improving the demodulation performance of the terminal device, and thus enabling the terminal device to access the network at a faster speed.

[0209] For example, the field within the DCI is the MCS field. Because the downlink budget is limited, the demodulation performance of the terminal device needs to be improved through methods such as repetition or code rate reduction. Therefore, the MCS field within the DCI indicates low-order MCS, or the number of required bits is reduced accordingly based on the limited MCS order available within the link budget, with higher-order bits always being 0. Thus, the MCS field can be redefined to indicate the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one period.

[0210] The number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle is determined based on a field in the DCI, which can be directly indicated in the MCS field within the DCI. For example, two bits in the MCS field within the DCI are used to indicate the number of repetitions. When the two bits in the MCS field within the DCI are 00, the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle is 0, which may indicate that the total number of downlink transmissions is 1. In other words, there are no repeated transmission opportunities for downlink transmission. When the two bits in the MCS field within the DCI are 01, the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle is 1, which may indicate that the total number of downlink transmissions is 2. In other words, there is one repeated transmission opportunity for downlink transmission. When the two bits in the MCS field within the DCI are 10, the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle is 2, which may indicate that the total number of downlink transmissions is 3. In other words, there are two repeated transmission opportunities for downlink transmission. When two bits in the MCS field within DCI are 11, the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one period is 3, which may indicate that the total number of downlink transmissions is 4. In other words, there are 3 repeated transmission opportunities for downlink transmission.

[0211] In possible implementations, the instruction information is a first value, which is determined based on a first bit of a field in the DCI, and the set of repetitions may be determined based on a set of transmissions defined by the network device, the set of transmissions is not limited. The first bit may be two bits or one bit, this is not limited in this application. For example, the network device may define the set of transmissions as {1, 2, 4, 8}, which indicates that the set of repetitions is {0, 1, 3, 7}, where "1", "2", "4", and "8" in the set of transmissions represent the number of transmissions of downlink transmission in one period, respectively. The first bit may also be two bits. When the first bit is 00, the first value is 0, which indicates the first transmission in the set of transmissions, and is "1" in the set of transmissions. That is, "1" in the set of transmissions is the target transmission. When the first bit is 01, the first value is 1, indicating the second transmission number in the transmission number set, which is "2" in the transmission number set. That is, "2" in the transmission number set is the target transmission number. When the first bit is 10, the first value is 2, indicating the third transmission number in the transmission number set, which is "3" in the transmission number set. That is, "3" in the transmission number set is the target transmission number. When the first bit is 11, the first value is 3, indicating the fourth transmission number in the transmission number set, which is "7" in the transmission number set. That is, "7" in the transmission number set is the target transmission number.

[0212] The values ​​"0", "1", "3", and "7" in the repetition count set represent the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle, respectively. The first bit may be two bits. When the first bit is 00, the first value is 0, indicating that the first repetition count in the repetition count set is "0" within the repetition count set. That is, "0" in the repetition count set is the target repetition count. When the first bit is 01, the first value is 1, indicating that the second repetition count in the repetition count set is "1" within the repetition count set. That is, "1" in the repetition count set is the target repetition count. When the first bit is 10, the first value is 2, indicating the third repetition count in the repetition count set, which is "3" within the repetition count set. That is, "3" in the repetition count set is the target repetition count. When the first bit is 11, the first value is 3, indicating the fourth repetition count in the repetition count set, which is "7" within the repetition count set. In other words, the "7" in the set of iteration counts represents the target number of iterations.

[0213] It can be understood that a network device may transmit a DCI to a terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device may receive the DCI from the network device and interpret the MCS field within the DCI to obtain the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one period. Alternatively, the terminal device may interpret the MCS field within the DCI to obtain a first value and select a target number of repetitions from a set of repetition counts based on this first value.

[0214] S1003. The network device transmits the start position of the time-domain resource for downlink transmission to the terminal device. The terminal device receives the start position of the time-domain resource for downlink transmission accordingly.

[0215] For a detailed explanation of step S1003, it may be understood that you should refer to step S502. Further details will not be explained again.

[0216] S1004. The network device determines the time-domain resource location for transmitting downlink transmissions based on the starting position and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle.

[0217] After transmitting the starting position and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle to the terminal device, the network device may determine the time-domain resource position based on the starting position and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle.

[0218] S1005. The terminal device determines the time-domain resource position for receiving the downlink transmission based on the starting position and the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle.

[0219] After receiving the starting position and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle transmitted by the network device, the terminal device may determine the time-domain resource position based on the starting position and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle.

[0220] Optionally, after the network device determines the starting position of the time-domain resource for downlink transmission, the network device determines the time-domain resource position based on the starting position and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle. After determining the time-domain resource position, the network device transmits the starting position and the time-domain resource position to the terminal device. In other words, the terminal device does not need to determine the time-domain resource position based on the starting position and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle.

[0221] For example, if the starting position is time unit n3 and the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one period is equal to 2, then the time-domain resource positions could be the starting position (time unit n3), the time-domain resource position where time unit n4 is located, and the time-domain resource position where time unit n5 is located.

[0222] S1006. The network device transmits a downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location.

[0223] For example, if the starting position is time unit n3 and the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle is equal to 2, the time-domain resource positions determined by the network device may be time units n4 and n5, and the network device may transmit downlink transmissions at the starting position (time unit n3), the time-domain resource position where time unit n4 is located, and the time-domain resource position where time unit n5 is located. Accordingly, the time-domain resource positions determined by the terminal device are time units n4 and n5, and the terminal device may receive downlink transmissions at the starting position (time unit n3), the time-domain resource position where time unit n4 is located, and the time-domain resource position where time unit n5 is located.

[0224] When the number of downlink transmission repetitions in a single cycle is one or more, it can be understood that the terminal device receives the first downlink transmission at the starting position. If the terminal device successfully demodulates the data carried in the downlink transmission at the starting position, the terminal device does not need to receive the downlink transmission at the determined time-domain resource position. If the data carried in the downlink transmission was received at the starting position but demodulation was unsuccessful, the downlink transmission is received at the next time-domain resource position.

[0225] It can be understood that when a terminal device receives multiple downlink transmissions, it may perform demodulation at the corresponding time-domain resource location, combine the multiple demodulation results to improve demodulation performance and thus improve the transmission performance of the downlink transmission.

[0226] It should be understood that the sequence numbers of the processes described above do not represent the execution sequence in this embodiment. For example, step S1004 may be performed before S1005, after S1005, or simultaneously with S1005. The execution order of the processes should be determined according to the function and internal logic of the processes and should not be interpreted as any limitation on the implementation processes of this embodiment.

[0227] In this embodiment, an instruction for the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle is added to the DCI. In one cycle, multiple time-domain resource locations for downlink transmission can be determined based on the number of downlink transmission repetitions and the starting position, thereby allowing downlink transmission to occur at multiple time-domain resource locations, and the terminal device can have multiple opportunities to receive downlink transmission, thereby improving the access success rate.

[0228] In this embodiment, an indication of the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle is added to the DCI field. In one cycle, multiple time-domain resource locations for downlink transmission can be determined based on the number of repetitions and the starting position of the downlink transmission, thereby allowing downlink transmission to occur at multiple time-domain resource locations, and the terminal device can have multiple opportunities to receive downlink transmission, thereby improving the access success rate.

[0229] The difference between the solution provided in this embodiment and the solution in the previously described embodiment is that in this embodiment, an instruction for the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle is added to the MCS field.

[0230] Referring to Figure 11, Figure 11 shows an interaction in yet another communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The communication method may further include steps S1101 to S1106. Step S1101 is optional.

[0231] S1101: The terminal device sends request information to the network device, which is used to request downlink enhancement. Accordingly, the network device receives the request information sent by the terminal device.

[0232] After receiving the request information, the network device may identify the received request information and decide to perform downlink enhancement on the downlink transmission.

[0233] The communication method may further include the network device redefining fields within the DCI to constitute instruction information.

[0234] Optionally, fields within the DCI may be MCS fields, other fields within the DCI, or fields added to other fields within the DCI to constitute the instruction information.

[0235] When it is determined that the link budget is insufficient, the terminal device may send request information to the network device, thereby allowing the network device to determine multiple time-domain resource locations to which downlink transmissions need to be sent, indicate that the multiple time-domain resource locations are consecutive, and enable the terminal device to access the network at a faster speed.

[0236] Similarly, request information can be carried in uplink transmissions. For example, if a downlink transmission includes Msg4, terminal equipment may include the downlink augmentation request information for Msg4 in Msg3, which is included in the uplink transmission. The network device identifies the request information for downlink augmentation in Msg3 and redefines the fields in the DCI to constitute instruction information (or constitutes instruction information in the DCI), which indicates the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions within one cycle and the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission.

[0237] Similarly, request information may be carried in uplink transmissions. For example, a terminal device may include request information for a subsequent downlink enhancement in Msg5 included in an uplink transmission. The network device identifies the request information for the downlink enhancement in Msg5 and redefines the fields in DCI to constitute instruction information (or constitutes instruction information in DCI), which indicates the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle after Msg5 and the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission.

[0238] Similarly, network devices may further configure instructions to indicate whether to perform downlink enhancement and may decide whether to perform downlink enhancement during the initial access procedure. For example, a network device may indicate whether to perform downlink enhancement according to signaling. When the signaling instruction is "0", this indicates that downlink enhancement will be performed. When the signaling instruction is "1", this indicates that downlink enhancement will be performed.

[0239] For example, when a terminal device sends request information to a network device, the time-domain resource locations are contiguous if the multiple time units occupied by a single downlink transmission are consecutive and / or if the number of downlink transmission repetitions in a single cycle is one or more. In this way, the demodulation performance of the terminal device is improved, thereby enabling the terminal device to access the network at a faster speed.

[0240] S1102. The network device transmits instruction information to the terminal device, which includes the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in one cycle. Accordingly, the terminal device receives instruction information from the network device.

[0241] The implementation of the instruction information may correspond to a fourth possible implementation of the instruction information in step S401. Specifically, the instruction information includes the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one cycle and the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, both of which are determined based on fields in DCI.

[0242] When a terminal device does not send request information to a network device, the network device may determine that multiple time units occupied by a single downlink transmission are consecutive, and / or, if the number of downlink transmission repetitions in a cycle is one or more, the network device may also determine that the starting position and time-domain resource position are consecutive, thereby improving the demodulation performance of the terminal device, which may enable the terminal device to access the network at a faster speed.

[0243] For a specific explanation of the indication of the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one period within the field in DCI, it may be understood to refer to the explanation in step S1001. Further details are again not provided herein.

[0244] The number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission is determined based on a field in the DCI. The number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission may also be directly represented by two or more bits in the field within the DCI. For example, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission is represented by using two bits in the field within the DCI. These bits may be set to "00", "01", "10", or "11", with the corresponding number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission being "0", "1", "2", and "3", respectively.

[0245] Optionally, fields within DCI may be MCS fields.

[0246] In possible implementations, the instruction information is a second value, which is determined based on a second bit of the MCS field in the DCI, and the second value indicates the target number of time units in the time unit set, which includes multiple numbers of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission. The time unit set may be defined by the network device and is not limited to this. The second bit may be 1 bit or 2 bits, and is not limited to this application. For example, the time unit set is {2, 8}, where each of "2" and "8" in the time unit set indicates the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and the second bit may be 1 bit. When the second bit is 0, the second value is 0, which indicates the first number of time units in the time unit set, which is "2" in the time unit set. In other words, "2" in the time unit set is the target number of time units. When the second bit is 1, the second value is 1, which represents the second time unit in the time unit set, and is "8" in the time unit set. In other words, "8" in the time unit set is the target time unit.

[0247] It can be understood that a network device may transmit a DCI to a terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device may receive the DCI from the network device and interpret the MCS field within the DCI to obtain the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle. Alternatively, the terminal device may interpret the MCS field within the DCI to obtain a first value and a second value, select a target number of repetitions from a set of repetition counts based on the first value, and select a target number of time units from a set of multiple time unit counts based on the second value.

[0248] In possible implementations, the instruction information may further correspond to a fifth possible implementation of the instruction information in step S401. Specifically, the instruction information includes the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle, and the instruction information is carried by DCI. Alternatively, the instruction information is a third value, the instruction information indicates a target candidate set among multiple candidate sets, the instruction information is carried by DCI, the candidate sets are carried by network device configuration information, the configuration information includes multiple candidate sets, each of the multiple candidate sets corresponds to a group of the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle.

[0249] Instruction information corresponding to the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle and the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission may be carried in reserved bits within DCI format 1_0. Based on the instruction information in DCI format 1_0, the terminal device determines the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle.

[0250] In possible implementations, multiple candidate sets may be predefined, where a third value is determined by using reserved bits in DCI format 1_0, and a group of the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in a cycle is selected from the multiple candidate sets based on the third value, i.e., the target candidate set is selected. Configuration information containing multiple candidate sets may be configured by the network device, by using RRC signaling, or by including the candidate sets in the PDSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocation parameter in SIB1. The network device may transmit the configuration information to a terminal device, and accordingly, it can be understood that the terminal device receives the configuration information from the network device to determine the instruction information.

[0251] In the embodiment, multiple candidate sets may form a constituent selection set. The constituent selection set may be {{2, 2},{2, 4},{4, 8},{8, 2}}, where "{2, 2}", "{2, 4}", "{4, 8}", and "{8, 2}" are candidate sets. The first value in the candidate set is the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and the second value in the candidate set is the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle. For example, the candidate set "{2, 4}" indicates that the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission is 2 and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle is 4. The third value may be indicated by two reserved bits in the DCI. When the two reserved bits are 00, the third value is 0, indicating that the first candidate set in the constituent selection set is "{2, 2}". That is, "{2, 2}" in the constituent selection set is the target candidate set. When the two reserved bits are 0 and 1, the third value is 1, indicating that the second candidate set in the constituent selection set is "{2, 4}". That is, "{2, 4}" in the constituent selection set is the target candidate set. When the two reserved bits are 10, the third value is 2, indicating that the third candidate set in the constituent selection set is "{4, 8}". That is, "{4, 8}" in the constituent selection set is the target candidate set. When the two reserved bits are 11, the third value is 3, indicating that the fourth candidate set in the constituent selection set is "{8, 2}". That is, "{8, 2}" in the constituent selection set is the target candidate set.

[0252] It can be understood that a network device may transmit a DCI to a terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device may receive the DCI from the network device, interpret it, and obtain the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle. Alternatively, the terminal device may interpret the DCI to obtain a third value and select a target candidate set from a set of candidates based on this third value.

[0253] S1103. The network device transmits the start position of the time-domain resource for downlink transmission to the terminal device. The terminal device receives the start position of the time-domain resource for downlink transmission accordingly.

[0254] For a detailed explanation of step S1103, it may be helpful to refer to step S502.

[0255] S1104: The network device determines the time-domain resource location for transmitting a downlink transmission based on the starting position, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in one cycle.

[0256] After transmitting the starting position, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle to the terminal device, the network device may determine the time-domain resource position for downlink transmission based on the starting position, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle.

[0257] S1105. The terminal device determines the time-domain resource location for receiving the downlink transmission based on the starting position, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one cycle.

[0258] After receiving the starting position, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle, transmitted by the network device, the terminal device may determine the time-domain resource position for downlink transmission based on the starting position, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle.

[0259] Optionally, after the network device determines the starting position of the time-domain resource for downlink transmission, it determines the time-domain resource location based on the starting position, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle. After determining the time-domain resource location, the network device transmits the starting position and the time-domain resource location to the terminal device. In other words, the terminal device does not need to determine the time-domain resource location based on the starting position, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle.

[0260] For example, if the starting position is time unit n3, the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission is 2, the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle is equal to 2, and the total number of downlink transmissions is 3, then the first time-domain resource position determined by the terminal device may be time units n3 and n4, the second time-domain resource position determined by the terminal device may be time units n5 and n6, and the third time-domain resource position determined by the terminal device may be time units n7 and n8.

[0261] S1106. The network device transmits a downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location.

[0262] For example, a network device may transmit one or more downlink transmissions at three determined time-domain resource locations, and a terminal device may receive one or more downlink transmissions at three determined time-domain resource locations accordingly.

[0263] It can be understood that when a terminal device receives multiple downlink transmissions, it can demodulate at the corresponding time-domain resource location, combine the multiple demodulation results to improve the demodulation performance of the terminal device, and thereby improve the transmission performance of the downlink transmission.

[0264] If a single downlink transmission occupies multiple time units, it can be understood that the number of information bits for each time unit occupied by a single downlink transmission may be adjusted in a first possible implementation to improve the demodulation performance of the terminal device.

[0265] It should be understood that the sequence numbers of the processes described above do not represent the execution sequence in this embodiment. For example, step S1104 may be performed before S1105, after S1105, or simultaneously with S1105. The execution order of the processes should be determined according to the function and internal logic of the processes and should not be interpreted as any limitation on the implementation processes of this embodiment.

[0266] In the solution provided herein, an indication of the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and an indication of the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle are added to the MCS area, or an indication of the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and an indication of the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle are added directly to the DCI, and the time domain resource location occupied by multiple time units is determined based on the start position of the downlink transmission, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, and the number of downlink transmission repetitions in one cycle, and the terminal device has multiple opportunities to receive downlink transmissions, which increases the number of bits that can be transmitted in a single downlink transmission and improves the downlink coverage of the downlink transmission.

[0267] The difference between the solution provided in this embodiment and the solution in the previously described embodiment is that in this embodiment, the indication of the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the indication of the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in one cycle are added to the MCS domain or DCI. When a terminal device demodulates a downlink transmission that occupies multiple time units, the downlink transmission can be demodulated based on the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the demodulation parameters in the embodiment shown in Figure 5.

[0268] The above describes embodiments of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application. The following describes embodiments of the apparatus in the embodiments of the present application.

[0269] Referring to Figure 12, which shows the structure of a communication device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the communication device may be a terminal device or a device within a terminal device (for example, a chip, a chip system, or a circuit). As shown in Figure 12, the communication device 1200 includes at least a transceiver unit 1201 and a processing unit 1202.

[0270] The transceiver unit 1201 is configured to receive instruction information from a network device, which is used to indicate the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and / or the number of repetitions of downlink transmissions in a single cycle, where the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission is a positive integer greater than 1. The transceiver unit 1201 is further configured to receive downlink transmissions from network devices based on instruction information.

[0271] The transceiver unit 1201 is further configured to perform, for example, the reception or transmission steps of the terminal device in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5, 8, 10, and 11, so as to perform information from outside the communication device 1200. The processing unit 1202 is configured to perform processing steps such as the determination step, interpretation step, and demodulation step of the terminal device in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5, 8, 10, and 12.

[0272] The communication device shown in FIG. 12 can be a network device or a device within a network device (for example, a chip, a chip system, or a circuit). As shown in FIG. 12, the communication device 1200 includes at least a transceiver unit 1201 and a processing unit 1202.

[0273] The transceiver unit 1201 is configured to transmit instruction information to the terminal device, and the instruction information is used to indicate the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission and / or the number of repetitions of downlink transmission in one period. The number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0274] The transceiver unit 1201 is further configured to transmit a downlink transmission to the terminal device based on the instruction information.

[0275] The transceiver unit 1201 is further configured to perform, for example, the reception or transmission steps of the network device in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5, 8, 10, and 11, so as to perform information from outside the communication device 1200. The processing unit 1202 is configured to perform processing steps such as the determination step, identification step, and redefinition step of the network device in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5, 8, 10, and 11.

[0276] Referring to Figure 13, based on the network architecture described above, Figure 13 shows the structure of another communication device according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 13, the device 1300 may include one or more processors 1301. The processors 1301 may also be called processing units and may implement specific control functions. The processors 1301 may be general-purpose processors, dedicated processors, etc. For example, the processor may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be configured to process communication protocols and communication data. The central processing unit may be configured to control communication devices (e.g., base stations, baseband chips, terminals, terminal chips, DUs, or CUs), execute software programs, and process data for software programs.

[0277] In an optional design, the processor 1301 may also store instructions 1303 and / or data, which may be executed by the processor to cause the device 1300 to perform the method described in the embodiment of the above method.

[0278] In other optional designs, the processor 1301 may include a transceiver unit configured to implement receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the transceiver unit may be a transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or communication interface. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit configured to implement receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated together. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be configured to read and write code / data. Alternatively, the transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be configured to transmit or forward signals.

[0279] In further other possible designs, the device 1300 may include a circuit that can implement the transmit, receive, or communicate functions in the embodiments of the method described above.

[0280] Optionally, the device 1300 may include one or more memories 1302 in which instructions 1304 and / or data can be stored. Instructions 1304 and / or data can be executed on a processor to cause the device 1300 to perform the method described in the embodiments of the above-described method. Optionally, the memory may further store data. Optionally, the processor may store instructions and / or data. The processor and memory may be located separately or integrated together. For example, the correspondences described in the embodiments of the above-described method may be stored in memory or in the processor.

[0281] Optionally, the device 1300 may further include a transceiver 1305 and / or an antenna 1306. The processor 1301, which may be referred to as a processing unit, controls the device 1300. The transceiver 1305, which may be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver circuit, transceiver device, transceiver module, etc., is configured to implement transmitting and receiving functions.

[0282] Optionally, the apparatus 1300 in this embodiment of the present application may be configured to perform the method described in Figures 4 to 11 in the embodiment of the present application.

[0283] In the implementation, the communication device 1300 may be a terminal device or a device within a terminal device (e.g., a chip, chip system, or circuit), or the communication device 1300 may be a network device or a device within a network device (e.g., a chip, chip system, or circuit). When a computer program instruction stored in memory 1302 is executed, the processor 1301 is configured to perform the operations performed by the processing unit 1202 in the above-described embodiment, the transceiver 1305 is configured to perform the operations performed by the transceiver unit 1201 in the above-described embodiment, and the transceiver 1305 is further configured to transmit information to other communication devices other than the communication device. The terminal device or a device within a terminal device may be further configured to perform various operations performed by the terminal device in the embodiments of the methods shown in Figures 4 to 11. Further details will not be described again. The network device or a device within a network device may be further configured to perform various operations performed by the network device in the embodiments of the methods shown in Figures 4 to 11. Further details will not be described again.

[0284] The apparatus described in the above-described embodiments may be a first communication device or a second communication device. However, the scope of the apparatus described herein is not limited thereto, and the structure of the apparatus may not be limited to Figure 13. The apparatus may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the apparatus may be: (1) Independent integrated circuit IC, chip, chip system, or subsystem, (2) A set of one or more ICs, wherein the set of ICs may optionally also include a storage component configured to store data and / or instructions. (3) ASICs, for example, modems (MSMs), (4) Modules that can be incorporated into other devices, (5) Receivers, terminals, intelligent terminals, mobile phones, wireless devices, handheld devices, mobile units, in-vehicle devices, network devices, cloud devices, artificial intelligence devices, mechanical devices, household devices, medical devices, industrial devices, etc. (6) Other, that is possible.

[0285] Referring to Figure 14, which is a schematic diagram of another terminal device according to one embodiment of the present application. For ease of explanation, Figure 14 shows only the main components of the terminal device. As shown in Figure 14, the terminal device 1400 includes a processor, memory, control circuitry, antenna, and input / output devices. The processor is mainly configured to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire terminal, execute software programs, and process data for software programs. The memory is mainly configured to store software programs and data. The radio frequency circuitry is mainly configured to perform conversions between baseband signals and radio frequency signals and to process radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly configured to receive and transmit radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices such as a touchscreen, display, or keyboard are mainly configured to receive data entered by the user and output data to the user.

[0286] After the terminal is powered on, the processor can read the software program in the memory unit, interpret and execute the software program's instructions, and process the software program's data. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit processes the baseband signal to acquire the radio frequency signal and transmits the radio frequency signal externally in the form of electromagnetic waves using an antenna. When data is transmitted to the terminal, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal via the antenna, further converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0287] For the sake of clarity, Figure 14 shows only one memory and one processor. In a real terminal, multiple processors and memories may be present. Memory may also be referred to as a storage medium, storage device, etc. This is not limited to the embodiments of the present application.

[0288] In an optional implementation, the processor may include a baseband processor and a central processing unit. The baseband processor is primarily configured to process communication protocols and communication data, while the central processing unit is primarily configured to control the entire terminal, execute software programs, and process data for the software programs. The processor in Figure 14 integrates the functions of a baseband processor and a central processing unit. Those skilled in the art will understand that the baseband processor and the central processing unit may be separate processors and interconnected by using technologies such as buses. Those skilled in the art will understand that a terminal may include multiple baseband processors to conform to different network standards, and a terminal may include multiple central processing units to enhance the processing capabilities of the terminal. All components of the terminal may be connected via various buses. The baseband processor may be represented as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processing unit may also be represented as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The functions for processing communication protocols and communication data may be incorporated into the processor or stored in a storage unit in the form of a software program, and the processor executes the software program to implement the baseband processing functions.

[0289] In one example, an antenna and control circuit having receiving and transmitting functions may be considered as a transceiver unit 1401 of the terminal device 1400, and a processor having processing functions may be considered as a processing unit 1402 of the terminal device 1400. As shown in Figure 14, the terminal device 1400 includes a transceiver unit 1401 and a processing unit 1402. The transceiver unit may be referred to as a transceiver, transceiver machine, transceiver device, etc. Optionally, a component configured to implement the receiving function within the transceiver unit 1401 may be considered a receiving unit, and a component configured to implement the transmitting function within the transceiver unit 1401 may be considered a transmitting unit. That is, the transceiver unit 1401 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. For example, the receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, receiver, or receiving circuit, and the transmitting unit may also be referred to as a transmitter, transmitter, or transmitting circuit. Optionally, the receiving unit and the transmitting unit may be a single integrated unit or multiple independent units. The receiving unit and the transmitting unit may be located in one geographical location, or they may be distributed across multiple geographical locations.

[0290] In one implementation, the processing unit 1402 is configured to perform the operations performed by the processing unit 1202 in the aforementioned embodiment, and the transceiver unit 1401 is configured to perform the operations performed by the transceiver unit 1201 in the aforementioned embodiment. The terminal device 1400 may be further configured to perform various operations performed by the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 11. Further details will not be described again.

[0291] One embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program. Once the program is executed by a processor, procedures related to a terminal device in a communication method provided in the embodiments of the above-described method can be performed.

[0292] One embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the program is executed by a processor, procedures related to the network device in the transmission mode determination method provided in the embodiment of the foregoing method can be implemented.

[0293] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product. When the computer program product is executed on a computer or a processor, the computer or the processor can perform one or more steps in any one of the foregoing transmission mode determination methods. When the foregoing module in the device is implemented in the form of a software function unit and sold or used as an independent product, the module can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.

[0294] One embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system including at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions to perform some or all of the steps recorded in any one of the method embodiments corresponding to FIGS. 4 to 11. The chip system may include a chip, or may include a chip and other individual components. Optionally, the chip system may include a communication interface, and the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected by using a line.

[0295] One embodiment of the present application further discloses a communication system, which includes a terminal device and a network device. For specific descriptions, please refer to the transmission mode determination method shown in FIGS. 4 to 11.

[0296] It should be understood that the memory referred to in the embodiments of this application may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may be hard disk drive (HDD), solid-state drive (SSD), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory may be random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache. Many forms of RAM may be used, but not limited to, static random access memory (static RAM, SRAM), dynamic random access memory (dynamic RAM, DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (double data rate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchlink dynamic random access memory (synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM), and direct rambus random access memory (direct rambus RAM, DR RAM). Memory is any other medium that can carry or store expected program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to such medium. Memory in embodiments of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device that can implement a storage function and is configured to store program instructions and / or data.

[0297] It should be further understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc.

[0298] Note that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate, transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) is integrated into the processor.

[0299] It should be noted that the memories described herein are intended to include, but are not limited to, these memories and any other suitable types of memories. It will be apparent that a person skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations of this application without departing from its scope. This application intends to encompass these modifications and variations of this application, provided that they fall within the scope of protection defined by the following claims and their equivalent art.

Claims

1. A method of communication, A step of receiving instruction information from a network device, wherein the instruction information indicates the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission and / or the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one cycle, and the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission is a positive integer greater than 1, A method comprising the step of receiving the downlink transmission from the network device based on the instruction information.

2. The instruction information includes the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, The step of receiving the downlink transmission from the network device based on the instruction information is: The steps include receiving the starting position of the time-domain resource for the downlink transmission, A step of determining a time domain resource location for receiving the downlink transmission based on the starting position and the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, The method according to claim 1, comprising the step of receiving the downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location.

3. The instruction information includes a first time-domain resource location for the downlink transmission, and the method is A step of determining a second time-domain resource location for receiving the downlink transmission based on the first time-domain resource location and interval information, further comprising the step of the interval information indicating the number of time units between the first time-domain resource location and the adjacent second time-domain resource location, The step of receiving the downlink transmission from the network device based on the instruction information is: The method according to claim 1, comprising the step of receiving the downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location and / or the second time-domain resource location.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein when the downlink transmission carries downlink signaling in the initial access procedure, the number of time units indicated by the interval information is a positive integer of zero or more.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the downlink signaling of the initial access procedure carried in the downlink transmission includes a system information block SIB1, a system information block SIB19, and a message Msg4 in the random access procedure, and when the downlink transmission carries the SIB1, the number of time units indicated by the interval information is a positive integer greater than 0.

6. The instruction information includes the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one cycle, the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one cycle is determined based on a field in the downlink control information DCI, or The instruction information is a first value, which is determined based on a first bit of a field in the downlink control information DCI, and the first value indicates a target number of repetitions in a set of repetitions, the set of repetitions includes a plurality of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one period. The method according to claim 1.

7. The aforementioned method, The step further includes receiving the DCI and obtaining the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one period based on the field in the DCI, The step of receiving the downlink transmission from the network device based on the instruction information is: The steps include receiving the starting position of the time-domain resource for the downlink transmission, A step of determining a time-domain resource position for receiving the downlink transmission based on the start position and the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one cycle, The method according to claim 6, comprising the step of receiving the downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location.

8. The instruction information further includes the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission being determined based on the field in the DCI, or The instruction information is a second value, which is determined based on a second bit of the field in the DCI, and the second value indicates the number of target time units in a set of time units, the set of time units includes a plurality of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission. The method according to claim 6 or 7.

9. The aforementioned method, The steps further include receiving the DCI and obtaining, based on the fields within the DCI, the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one cycle and the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, The step of receiving the downlink transmission from the network device based on the instruction information is: The steps include receiving the starting position of the time-domain resource for the downlink transmission, A step of determining a time-domain resource location for receiving the downlink transmission based on the starting position, the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, and the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one cycle, The method according to claim 8, comprising the step of receiving the downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the field in the DCI is a modulation and coding scheme MCS field.

11. The instruction information includes the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission and the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one cycle, and the instruction information is carried by downlink control information DCI, or the method is A step of receiving configuration information from the network device, the configuration information comprising a plurality of candidate sets, each of which corresponds to a group of the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in a single period, further comprising the step of receiving configuration information from the network device, the configuration information comprising a plurality of candidate sets, each of which corresponds to a group of the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in a single period, The method according to claim 1, wherein the instruction information is a third value, the third value indicates a target candidate set among the plurality of candidate sets, and the instruction information is conveyed by downlink control information DCI.

12. The aforementioned method, The method further includes receiving the DCI and determining, based on the DCI, the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in a single cycle, The step of receiving the downlink transmission from the network device based on the instruction information is: The steps include receiving the starting position of the time-domain resource for the downlink transmission, A step of determining a time-domain resource location for receiving the downlink transmission based on the starting position, the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, and the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one cycle, The method according to claim 11, comprising the step of receiving the downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location.

13. The aforementioned method, The method according to any one of claims 6 to 12, further comprising the step of transmitting request information to the network device, wherein the request information is used to request downlink enhancement.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein the plurality of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission are consecutive.

15. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 14, wherein the time-domain resource positions are continuous when the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one period is one or more.

16. A method of communication, A step of transmitting instruction information to a terminal device, wherein the instruction information indicates the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and / or the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in a single cycle, and the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission is a positive integer greater than 1, A method comprising the step of transmitting the downlink transmission to the terminal device based on the instruction information.

17. The instruction information includes the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission. The step of transmitting the downlink transmission to the terminal device based on the instruction information is: The steps include determining the starting position of the time-domain resource location for the downlink transmission, The steps include transmitting the aforementioned starting position to the terminal device, A step of determining the time domain resource location for transmitting the downlink transmission based on the starting position and the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, The method according to claim 16, comprising the step of transmitting the downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location.

18. The instruction information includes a first time-domain resource location for the downlink transmission, and the method is A step of determining a second time-domain resource location for transmitting the downlink transmission based on the first time-domain resource location and interval information, further comprising the step of the interval information indicating the number of time units between the first time-domain resource location and the adjacent second time-domain resource location, The step of transmitting the downlink transmission to the terminal device based on the instruction information is: The method according to claim 16, comprising the step of transmitting the downlink transmission at the first time-domain resource location and / or the second time-domain resource location.

19. The aforementioned method, A step of transmitting a DCI, the field in the DCI including information indicating the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one cycle, The step of transmitting the downlink transmission to the terminal device based on the instruction information is: The step of transmitting the starting position of the time-domain resource for the downlink transmission, A step of determining a time-domain resource position for transmitting the downlink transmission based on the start position and the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one cycle, The step of transmitting the downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location includes, The method according to claim 16.

20. The aforementioned method, A step of transmitting the DCI, the field in the DCI including information indicating the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one cycle and the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, The step of transmitting the downlink transmission to the terminal device based on the instruction information is: The steps include determining the starting position of the time-domain resource for the downlink transmission, The steps include transmitting the aforementioned starting position to the terminal device, The steps include determining the time-domain resource location for transmitting the downlink transmission based on the starting position, the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, and the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one cycle, The step of transmitting the downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location includes, The method according to claim 19.

21. The field in the DCI is a modulation and encoding scheme MCS field, and the method is The further step includes redefining the MCS field within the DCI, The method according to claim 19 or 20.

22. The aforementioned method, A step of transmitting a DCI, the DCI comprising the number of time units occupied by a single downlink transmission and the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in a single cycle, The step of transmitting the downlink transmission to the terminal device based on the instruction information is: The steps include determining the starting position of the time-domain resource for the downlink transmission, The steps include transmitting the aforementioned starting position to the terminal device, The steps include determining the time-domain resource location for transmitting the downlink transmission based on the starting position, the number of time units occupied by one downlink transmission, and the number of repetitions of the downlink transmission in one cycle, The step of transmitting the downlink transmission at the time-domain resource location includes, The method according to claim 16.

23. The aforementioned method, The step further includes adding the instruction information to the DCI, The method according to claim 22.

24. The aforementioned method, The step of receiving request information from the terminal device, wherein the request information is used to request downlink enhancement, further comprising the step of The communication method according to any one of claims 20 to 23.

25. A communication device including a unit configured to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 15.

26. A communication device including a unit configured to perform the method described in any one of claims 16 to 24.

27. A communication device comprising a processor, memory, an input interface, and an output interface, wherein the input interface is configured to receive information from a communication device other than the communication device, and the output interface is configured to output information to a communication device other than the communication device, and when a computer program stored in memory is called by the processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15 or the method according to any one of claims 16 to 24 is carried out.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or computer instruction, wherein when the computer program or computer instruction is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15 or the method according to any one of claims 16 to 24 is implemented.

29. A computer program product comprising instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 16 to 24 is implemented.

30. A chip system comprising at least one processor and memory, wherein the memory and the at least one processor are interconnected by means of a line, the at least one memory stores instructions, and when an instruction is executed by the processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15 or the method according to any one of claims 16 to 24 is implemented.

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