Communication method and communication device

Abstract

An embodiment of this application provides a communication method and a communication device. The method includes: a first terminal device obtains first information, the first information includes a first equation or a value set of an offset, the first equation or the value set of an offset is used to determine a physical resource block PRB index, the first terminal device receives second information, the second information includes a physical uplink control channel PUCCH resource index, the first terminal device determines a PRB index of a PUCCH resource according to the first information and the PUCCH resource index, the PUCCH resource is used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. This method can avoid system resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] [Cross - Reference to Related Applications] This application claims the priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 202111022179.7, entitled "PUCCH RESOURCE INDICATION METHOD", filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on September 1, 2021, and incorporates its entire content by reference.

[0002] This application claims the priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 202111131008.8, entitled "COMMUNICATION METHOD AND COMMUNICATION APPARATUS", filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on September 26, 2021, and incorporates its entire content by reference.

[0003] [Technical Field] Embodiments of this application relate to the field of communications, and more specifically, to communication methods and communication apparatuses.

Background Art

[0004] Terminal devices with different capabilities have different requirements for a mobile communication system. For example, compared with normal terminal devices such as smartphones, reduced - capability (RedCap) terminal devices such as wearable devices or industrial sensors have lower requirements for communication capabilities. Therefore, the design specifications of reduced - capability terminal devices may be reduced. For example, the bandwidth supported by reduced - capability terminal devices, the number of antennas supported by reduced - capability terminal devices, etc. may be reduced to reduce costs and device complexity.

[0005] When terminal devices with different capabilities coexist in a communication network, according to the current protocol specification, before the Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection is established, the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources for the simple terminal device are usually allocated in the initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP) of the normal terminal device, and frequency hopping is performed. The frequency hopping of the PUCCH of the simple terminal device can only be performed within the bandwidth supported by the simple terminal device. Since the bandwidth supported by the simple terminal device is relatively narrow, system resource fragmentation is caused, and the resource utilization rate is affected.

[0006] Therefore, when terminal devices with different capabilities coexist in a communication network, how to avoid system resource fragmentation becomes an urgent problem to be solved.

Summary of the Invention

[0007] Embodiments of this application provide a communication method and a communication device for avoiding system resource fragmentation and improving resource utilization rate.

[0008] According to a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by a first terminal device, or may be executed by a chip or a circuit disposed in the first terminal device. This is not limited in this application. Hereinafter, for the purpose of explanation, an example in which the method is executed by the first terminal device is used.

[0009] The method includes the following. The first terminal device acquires first information, where the first information includes a first formula or a set of offset values, and the first formula or the set of offset values is used to determine a physical resource block (PRB) index. The first terminal device receives second information, where the second information includes a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource index. The first terminal device determines the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the first information and the PUCCH resource index, and the PUCCH resource is used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information.

[0010] According to the solution in this embodiment of this application, the first terminal device may acquire a first formula or a set of offset values, and determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the first formula or the set of offset values and the received PUCCH resource index. The PUCCH resource may be used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. This method can avoid system resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization.

[0011] Furthermore, in this embodiment of this application, to improve the transmission rate of the terminal device, a larger continuous bandwidth can usually be configured for the terminal device.

[0012] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the method further includes the following. The first terminal device receives third information from a network device, where the third information includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a first formula or a set of offset values.

[0013] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the third information further includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0014] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first indication information indicates a first formula, and the first formula is

Number

Number

Number

[0015] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first indication information indicates a set of offset values, and the set of offset values is the first set of values of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource or the second set of values of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. The value of the PRB offset in the second set of values is NBWPsize - Y. The PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates a set of the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index. The set of offset values includes the first PRB offset. The PRB index of the PUCCH resource, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index have the following corresponding relationship, that is,

Number

[0016] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first terminal device obtaining the first information includes the following.

[0017] The first terminal device determines the first information based on the value relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth part BWP and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. The first initial uplink BWP includes PUCCH resources. The second initial uplink BWP is used by the second terminal device to perform uplink transmission, and the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the second terminal device is larger than the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the first terminal device.

[0018] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the method includes the following. The first terminal device receives third information from the network device, and the third information includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0019] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first information includes a first formula, and for the first terminal device to determine the first information based on the value relationship between the central frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP) and the central frequency of the second initial uplink BWP includes the following. When the central frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the central frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first terminal device determines that the first formula is

Number

Number

Number

Number

[0020] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first information includes a set of offset values, and for the first terminal device to determine the first information based on the value relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP) and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP includes the following. When the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first terminal device determines that the set of offset values is the second set of PRB offsets of the PUCCH resource, and the value of the PRB offset in the second set is NBWPsize - Y, or when the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is less than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first terminal device determines that the set of offset values is the first set of PRB offsets of the PUCCH resource, the PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates a set of the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index, the set of offset values includes the first PRB offset, and the PRB index of the PUCCH resource, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index satisfy the following correspondence relationship, that is,

Number

Number

Number

[0021] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the third information further indicates the frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP and the frequency position of the second initial uplink BWP, and the method further includes the following. The first terminal device determines the central frequency of the first initial uplink BWP based on the frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, and determines the central frequency of the second initial uplink BWP based on the frequency position of the second initial uplink BWP.

[0022] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the third information is the system information block 1 SIB1, the downlink control information DCI for scheduling SIB1, or the master information block MIB.

[0023] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the third information further indicates that frequency hopping is not performed on the PUCCH resource.

[0024] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the method further includes the following. The first terminal device transmits uplink control information on a resource associated with the PRB index.

[0025] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first terminal device is a first type of terminal device, and the second terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0026] Optionally, the first terminal device is a simple terminal device, and the second terminal device is a normal terminal device.

[0027] According to the second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by a network device, or may be executed by a chip or a circuit disposed in the network device. This is not limited in this application. Hereinafter, for the sake of description, an example in which the method is executed by a network device is used.

[0028] The method includes the following. The network device transmits third information to the first terminal device, where the third information includes first indication information, the first indication information indicates a first formula or a set of offset values, the first formula or the set of offset values is used to determine a physical resource block (PRB) index, the network device transmits second information to the first terminal device, the second information includes a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource index, and the first information and the PUCCH resource index are used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource is used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information.

[0029] According to the solution in this embodiment of this application, the first terminal device may obtain a first formula or a set of offset values, and the first terminal device may determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the first formula or the set of offset values and the received PUCCH resource index. The PUCCH resource may be used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. This method can avoid system resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization.

[0030] Furthermore, in this embodiment of this application, in order to improve the transmission rate of the terminal device, a larger continuous bandwidth can be configured for the normal terminal device.

[0031] Referring to the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the third information further includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0032] Referring to the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the first information indicates a first formula, and the method further includes the following. When the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the upper end of the first initial uplink bandwidth part BWP, the network device determines that the first formula is

Number

Number

Number

Number

[0033] Optionally, in this application, when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a relatively high frequency position of the first initial uplink bandwidth part BWP, the network device determines that the first formula is

Number

Number

[0034] Referring to the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the first indication information indicates a set of offset values, and the method further includes the following. When the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the upper end of the first initial uplink bandwidth part BWP, the network device determines that the set of offset values is the second set of PRB offsets of the PUCCH resource, and the value of the PRB offset in the second set is NBWPsize - Y, or when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the lower end of the first initial uplink BWP, the network device determines that the set of offset values is the first set of PRB offsets of the PUCCH resource, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates a set of the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index, and the PRB index of the PUCCH resource, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index satisfy the following correspondence relationship, that is,

Number

[0035] Optionally, in this application, when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a relatively high frequency position of the first initial uplink bandwidth part BWP, the network device may further determine that the value set of the offset is the second value set of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, or when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a relatively low frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, the network device determines that the value set of the offset is the first value set of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. In other words, the method in this application may also be used when the network device determines that the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a relatively high or low frequency position within the first initial uplink BWP.

[0036] Referring to the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the third information is System Information Block 1 SIB1, downlink control information DCI for scheduling SIB1, or Master Information Block MIB.

[0037] Referring to the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the third information further indicates that frequency hopping is not performed on the PUCCH resource.

[0038] Referring to the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the first terminal device is a first type of terminal device, and the second terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0039] Optionally, the first terminal device is a simple terminal device, and the second terminal device is a normal terminal device.

[0040] In this application, it should be understood that the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the upper end of the first initial uplink BWP, that is, the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device overlaps with the end frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP. The PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the lower end of the first initial uplink BWP, that is, the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device overlaps with the start frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP.

[0041] The fact that the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a relatively high frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP may be understood as that the center frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is higher than the center frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, or it may be further understood that the end frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is lower than the end frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, and the start frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is higher than the center frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP. The fact that the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a relatively low frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP may be understood as that the center frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is lower than the center frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, or it may be understood that the start frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is higher than the start frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, and the end frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is lower than the End frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP.

[0042] According to a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by a network device, or may be executed by a chip or circuit disposed in the network device. This is not limited in this application. Hereinafter, for the sake of explanation, an example in which the method is executed by a network device is used.

[0043] The method includes the following. The network device transmits third information to a first terminal device, where the third information indicates the frequency positions of a first initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP) and a second initial uplink BWP. The frequency positions of the first initial uplink BWP and the second initial uplink BWP are used to determine first information, where the first information includes a first formula or a set of offset values, and the first formula or the set of offset values is used to determine a physical resource block (PRB) index. The network device transmits second information to the first terminal device, where the second information includes a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource index. The first information and the PUCCH resource index are used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource, and the PUCCH resource is used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information.

[0044] The first initial uplink BWP includes a PUCCH resource. The second initial uplink BWP is used by a second terminal device to perform uplink transmission, and the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the second terminal device is larger than the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the first terminal device.

[0045] According to the solution in this embodiment of this application, the first terminal device may obtain a set of values of a first formula or offset, and the first terminal device may determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the set of values of the first formula or offset and the received PUCCH resource index. The PUCCH resource may be used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. This method can avoid system resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization.

[0046] Furthermore, in this embodiment of this application, in order to improve the transmission rate of the terminal device, a larger continuous bandwidth can usually be configured for the terminal device.

[0047] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the third information further includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0048] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the first information includes a first formula, and the first formula is

Number

Number

Number

[0049] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the first information includes a set of offset values, the set of offset values is the first value set of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource or the second value set of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, the value of the PRB offset in the second value set is NBWPsize - Y, the PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates a set of the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index, the set of offset values includes the first PRB offset, and the PRB index of the PUCCH resource, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index satisfy the following correspondence relationship, that is,

Number

Number

Number

[0050] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the third information is System Information Block 1 SIB1, downlink control information DCI for scheduling SIB1, or Master Information Block MIB.

[0051] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the third information further indicates that frequency hopping is not performed on the PUCCH resource.

[0052] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the first terminal device is a first type of terminal device, and the second terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0053] Optionally, the first terminal device is a simple terminal device, and the second terminal device is a normal terminal device.

[0054] According to a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device may be a first terminal device, or may be a chip or a circuit disposed within the first terminal device. This is not limited in this application.

[0055] The device includes a transceiver unit configured to obtain first information, where the first information includes a set of values of a first formula or an offset, the set of values of the first formula or the offset is used to determine a physical resource block PRB index, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive second information, where the second information includes a physical uplink control channel PUCCH resource index, and a processing unit configured to determine a PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the first information and the PUCCH resource index, where the PUCCH resource is used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information.

[0056] According to the solution in this embodiment of this application, the first terminal device may obtain a set of values of a first formula or offset, and the first terminal device may determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the set of values of the first formula or offset and the received PUCCH resource index. The PUCCH resource may be used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. This method can avoid system resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization.

[0057] Furthermore, in this embodiment of this application, in order to improve the transmission rate of the terminal device, a larger continuous bandwidth can usually be configured for the terminal device.

[0058] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive third information from the network device, the third information includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a set of values of a first formula or offset.

[0059] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the third information further includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0060] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the first indication information indicates a first formula, and the first formula is

Number

Number

Number

[0061] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first indication information indicates a set of offset values, and the set of offset values is the first value set of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource or the second value set of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. The value of the PRB offset in the second value set is NBWPsize - Y. The PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates a set of the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index. The set of offset values includes the first PRB offset. The PRB index of the PUCCH resource, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index satisfy the following correspondence relationship, that is,

Number

Number

Number

[0062] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the processing unit is specifically configured to determine the first information based on the value relationship between the central frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP) and the central frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. The first initial uplink BWP includes PUCCH resources. The second initial uplink BWP is used for the second terminal device to perform uplink transmission, and the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the second terminal device is larger than the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the first terminal device.

[0063] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive the third information from the network device. The third information includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0064] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the first information includes a first formula. When the central frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the central frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the processing unit determines that the first formula is

Number

Number

Number

Number

[0065] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the first information includes a set of offset values. When the central frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the central frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the processing unit determines that the set of offset values is a second set of PRB offsets of the PUCCH resources, and the value of the PRB offset in the second set is NBWPsize - Y, or when the central frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is less than the central frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the processing unit is specifically configured to determine that the set of offset values is a first set of PRB offsets of the PUCCH resources. The PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates a set of the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index. The set of offset values includes the first PRB offset. The PRB index of the PUCCH resources, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index satisfy the following correspondence relationships, that is,

Number

Number

Number

[0066] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the third information further indicates the frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP and the frequency position of the second initial uplink BWP, and the processing unit is further configured to determine the central frequency of the first initial uplink BWP based on the frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, and determine the central frequency of the second initial uplink BWP based on the frequency position of the second initial uplink BWP.

[0067] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the third information is the system information block 1 SIB1, the downlink control information DCI for scheduling SIB1, or the master information block MIB.

[0068] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the third information further indicates that frequency hopping is not performed on the PUCCH resources.

[0069] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to transmit uplink control information on the resources associated with the PRB index.

[0070] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the device is a first type of terminal device, and the second terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0071] Optionally, the first terminal device is a simple terminal device, and the second terminal device is a normal terminal device.

[0072] According to a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device may be a network device, or may be a chip or circuit disposed within a network device. This is not limited in this application.

[0073] The device is a transceiver unit configured to transmit third information to a first terminal device, the third information includes first indication information, the first indication information indicates a first formula or a set of offset values, the first formula or the set of offset values is used to determine a physical resource block PRB index, and includes a transceiver unit. The transceiver unit is further configured to transmit second information to the first terminal device, the second information includes a physical uplink control channel PUCCH resource index, and the first information and the PUCCH resource index are used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource, and the PUCCH resource is used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information.

[0074] According to the solution in this embodiment of this application, the first terminal device may obtain a first formula or a set of offset values, and the first terminal device may determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the first formula or the set of offset values and the received PUCCH resource index. The PUCCH resource may be used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. This method can avoid system resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization.

[0075] Furthermore, in this embodiment of this application, in order to improve the transmission rate of the terminal device, a larger continuous bandwidth can usually be configured for the terminal device.

[0076] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fifth aspect, the third information further includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0077] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fifth aspect, the first information indicates a first formula, and when the PUCCH resource set of the device is located at the upper end of the first initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP), the device further includes a processing unit configured to determine that the first formula is

Number

Number

Number

Number

[0078] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fifth aspect, the first indication information indicates a set of offset values, and the apparatus is a processing unit configured to determine that the set of offset values is a second set of PRB offsets of the PUCCH resource when the PUCCH resource set of the apparatus is located at the upper end of the first initial uplink bandwidth part BWP. The value of the PRB offset in the second set is NBWPsize - Y, and the apparatus further includes the processing unit. As an alternative, the processing unit is configured to determine that the set of offset values is a first set of PRB offsets of the PUCCH resource when the PUCCH resource set of the apparatus is located at the lower end of the first initial uplink BWP. The PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates a set of the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index. The PRB index, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index of the PUCCH resource satisfy the following correspondence relationship, that is,

Number

Number

Number

[0079] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the third information is the system information block 1 SIB1, the downlink control information DCI for scheduling SIB1, or the master information block MIB.

[0080] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the third information further indicates that frequency hopping is not performed on the PUCCH resource.

[0081] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the first terminal device is a first type of terminal device, and the second terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0082] Optionally, the first terminal device is a simple terminal device, and the second terminal device is a normal terminal device.

[0083] According to the sixth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device may be a network device by or, alternatively, a chip or a circuit arranged within the network device by This is not limited in this application. Hereinafter, for the sake of description, an example where the device is a network device is is used.

[0084] The apparatus is a transceiver unit configured to transmit third information to a first terminal device, where the third information indicates the frequency positions of a first initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP) and a second initial uplink BWP, the frequency positions of the first initial uplink BWP and the second initial uplink BWP are used to determine first information, the first information includes a first formula or a set of offset values, and the first formula or the set of offset values is used to determine a physical resource block (PRB) index. The transceiver unit is further configured to transmit second information to the first terminal device, where the second information includes a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource index, and the first information and the PUCCH resource index are used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource is used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. The first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource, and the second initial uplink BWP is used by a second terminal device to perform uplink transmission. The maximum channel bandwidth supported by the second terminal device is larger than the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the first terminal device.

[0085] According to the solution in this embodiment of this application, the first terminal device may obtain a first formula or a set of offset values, and the first terminal device may determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the first formula or the set of offset values and the received PUCCH resource index. The PUCCH resource may be used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. This method can avoid system resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization.

[0086] Furthermore, in this embodiment of this application, in order to improve the transmission rate of the terminal device, a larger continuous bandwidth can be configured for the normal terminal device.

[0087] Referring to the sixth aspect, in some implementation manners of the sixth aspect, the third information further includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0088] Referring to the sixth aspect, in some implementation manners of the sixth aspect, the first information includes a first formula, and the first formula is

Number

Number

Number

[0089] Referring to the sixth aspect, in some implementation manners of the sixth aspect, the first information includes a set of offset values, and the set of offset values is the first set of values of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource or the second set of values of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. The value of the PRB offset in the second set of values is NBWPsize - Y. The PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates a set of the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index. The set of offset values includes the first PRB offset. The PRB index of the PUCCH resource, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index satisfy the following correspondence, that is,

Number

Number

Number

[0090] Referring to the sixth aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the third information is the system information block 1 SIB1, the downlink control information DCI for scheduling SIB1, or the master information block MIB.

[0091] Referring to the sixth aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the third information further indicates that frequency hopping is not performed on the PUCCH resource.

[0092] Referring to the sixth aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the first terminal device is a first type of terminal device, and the second terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0093] Optionally, the first terminal device is a simple terminal device, and the second terminal device is a normal terminal device.

[0094] According to the seventh aspect, a communication device including at least one processor is provided. The at least one processor is coupled to at least one memory, and the at least one processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the at least one memory, whereby the communication device executes a method according to any one of the first to third aspects or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first to third aspects.

[0095] According to the eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer can execute a method according to any one of the first to third aspects or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first to third aspects.

[0096] According to the ninth aspect, a chip system including a processor is provided. The processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions in a memory to implement a method according to any one of the first to third aspects or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first to third aspects.

[0097] According to the tenth aspect, a computer program product including a computer program or instructions is provided. When the computer program or instructions are executed, a method according to any one of the first to third aspects or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first to third aspects is executed.

[0098] According to the eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a first terminal device and a network device corresponding to the above aspect.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0099]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0100] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the technical solutions of this application will be described.

[0101] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application may be applied to various communication systems such as Global System Of Mobile Communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, 5th Generation (5G) mobile communication system or new radio (NR). The 5G mobile communication system may be a non-standalone (NSA) communication system or a standalone (SA) communication system.

[0102] The technical solution provided in this application may also be applied to machine type communication (MTC), long term evolution - machine (LTE - M), device - to - device (D2D) network, machine to machine (M2M) network, internet of things (IoT) network or other networks. The IoT network may include, for example, the internet of vehicles. The communication method in the internet of vehicles system is generally referred to as vehicle to X (V2X, where X may represent any one). For example, V2X may include vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle to pedestrian (V2P) communication or vehicle to network (V2N) communication.

[0103] The technical solution provided in this application may also be applied to future communication systems, such as the 6th Generation (6G) mobile communication system. This is not limited in this application.

[0104] In an embodiment of this application, the terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile console, remote station, remote terminal, mobile terminal, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device.

[0105] The terminal device may be a device that provides a voice / data connection to the user, for example, a handheld device or an in-vehicle device having a wireless connection function. Currently, some examples of terminals include mobile phones, pads, computers having a wireless transceiver function (e.g., notebook computers or palmtop computers), mobile internet devices (MIDs), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical, wireless terminals in smart grid, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart city, wireless terminals in smart home (e.g., household electrical appliances such as TVs, smart STBs or game consoles), cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices or computing devices having a wireless communication function, other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in a 5G network, terminal devices in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc.

[0106] A wearable device, also called a wearable smart device, is a general term for wearable devices such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothes, and shoes that are developed by applying wearable technologies to the intelligent design of daily wear. A wearable device is a portable device that is directly worn on the user's body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. A wearable device is not only a hardware device but also realizes powerful functions through software support, data exchange, and cloud interaction. In a broad sense, wearable intelligent devices include full-function large devices such as smartwatches or smart glasses that can realize complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, and various smart bands or smart jewelry for monitoring the body's signs that are dedicated only to one type of application function and need to operate with other devices such as smartphones.

[0107] Furthermore, the terminal device may alternatively be a terminal device in an Internet of Things (IoT) system. The IoT is an important part of the future development of information technology. The main technical feature of the IoT is to connect things to a network by using communication technologies to realize an intelligent network for human-machine and thing-thing interconnections. The IoT technology can achieve massive connections, concentrated coverage, and power saving for terminals, for example, by using narrow band (NB) technology.

[0108] In an embodiment of this application, the terminal device may alternatively be a vehicle or an entire vehicle, may realize communication by using the vehicle's Internet, or may be a component located within the vehicle (for example, arranged or installed within the vehicle), that is, an on-vehicle terminal device, an on-vehicle module, or an on-board unit (OBU).

[0109] Furthermore, the terminal device may alternatively include sensors such as intelligent printers, train detectors, and gas stations. The main functions include collecting data (which is a function of some terminal devices), receiving control information of network devices and downlink data, transmitting electromagnetic waves, and transmitting uplink data to network devices.

[0110] It should be noted that the terminal device in this application may be classified into a first type of terminal device and a second type of terminal device. The first type of terminal device is, for example, a low-complexity UE or a reduced capability UE (RedCap UE), and the second type of terminal device may be a normal UE (normal UE or legacy UE), for example, an eMBB UE.

[0111] The first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device have different characteristic parameters. The characteristic parameters include one or more of the following, namely, bandwidth, the number of supported or configured resources, the number of transmit antenna ports and / or the number of receive antenna ports, the number of radio frequency channels, the number of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, the supported peak rate, the applicable scenario, latency requirements, processing capabilities, protocol releases, multiplexing modes, services, etc.

[0112] The following will explain the above characteristic parameters in detail by using examples.

[0113] 1. Bandwidth: The bandwidth is, alternatively, the channel bandwidth or the maximum channel bandwidth supported or configured by the terminal device. The bandwidths of the first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device are different. For example, the bandwidth of the first type of terminal device may be 20 MHz, 10 MHz, or 5 MHz, and the bandwidth of the second type of terminal device may be 100 MHz. With the development of communication technologies, it can be understood that the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the first type of terminal device may no longer be 20 MHz, 10 MHz, or 5 MHz, but may evolve to a wider or narrower bandwidth, such as 3 MHz, 25 MHz, or 50 MHz.

[0114] 2. Number of supported or configured resources: The number of resources may be the number of resource blocks (RB), time-frequency resource elements (RE), subcarriers, RB groups, resource element group bundle (REG bundle) units, control channel elements, subframes, radio frames, slots, minislots, and / or symbols. The number of resources supported or configured by the first type of terminal device is different from the number of resources supported or configured by the second type of terminal device. For example, the number of resources supported by the first type of terminal device is 48 RBs, and the number of resources supported by the second type of terminal device is 96 RBs.

[0115] 3. Number of Transmission Antenna Ports and / or Number of Reception Antenna Ports: The number of transmission antenna ports and / or the number of reception antenna ports of the first type of terminal device is different from the number of transmission antenna ports and / or the number of reception antenna ports of the second type of terminal device. For example, the number of transmission antenna ports of the first type of terminal device may be 1, the number of reception antenna ports of the first type of terminal device may be 2, the number of transmission antenna ports of the second type of terminal device may be 2, and the number of reception antenna ports of the second type of terminal device may be 4.

[0116] 4. Number of Radio Frequency Channels: The number of radio frequency channels of the first type of terminal device is different from the number of frequency channels of the second type of terminal device. For example, the number of radio frequency channels of the first type of terminal device may be 1, and the number of radio frequency channels of the second type of terminal device may be 2.

[0117] 5. Number of HARQ Processes: The number of HARQ processes supported by the first type of terminal device is different from the number of HARQ processes supported by the second type of terminal device. For example, the number of HARQ processes of the first type of terminal device may be 8, and the number of HARQ processes of the second type of terminal device may be 16.

[0118] 6. Supported Peak Rate: The maximum peak rate of the first type of terminal device is different from the maximum peak rate of the second type of terminal device. For example, the maximum peak rate supported by the first type of terminal device may be 100 Mbps, and the peak rate supported by the second type of terminal device may be 200 Mbps.

[0119] 7. Applicable Scenarios: The first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device provide services in different applicable scenarios. For example, the first type of terminal device is applicable to industrial wireless sensing, video surveillance, wearable devices, etc., and the second type of terminal device is applicable to mobile communication, video Internet access, etc.

[0120] 8. Latency Requirements: The first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device have different transmission latency requirements. For example, the latency requirement of the first type of terminal device may be 500 milliseconds, and the latency requirement of the second type of terminal device may be 100 milliseconds.

[0121] 9. Processing Capability: Under different subcarrier space (SCS) conditions, the first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device have different processing speeds for channels or data processing time sequences. For example, the first type of terminal device does not support complex operations, which may include artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) rendering. The second type of terminal device supports complex operations. It is understood that the processing capability of the first type of terminal device is lower than that of the second type of terminal device.

[0122] 10. Protocol Release: The first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device are terminal devices with different protocol releases. For example, the protocol releases supported by the first type of terminal device are Release 17 and protocol releases after Release 17, and the protocol releases supported by the second type of terminal device are protocol releases before Release 17, such as Release 15 or Release 16.

[0123] 11. Reply Mode: The reply mode includes half-duplex and full-duplex. The first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device use different reply modes. For example, the first type of terminal device operates in half-duplex mode, and the second type of terminal device operates in full-duplex mode.

[0124] 12. Services: Services include, but are not limited to, Internet of Things applications such as video surveillance and mobile broadband (MBB). The first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device support different services. For example, the service supported by the first type of terminal device is video surveillance, and the service supported by the second type of terminal device is mobile broadband MBB. This is not limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0125] It should be understood that other types of terminal devices or future new types of terminal devices that are also supported by the technical solution of this application fall within the protection scope of this application.

[0126] In this application, the first terminal device or terminal device #1 may be an example of the first type of terminal device, and the second terminal device or terminal device #2 may be an example of the second type of terminal device.

[0127] In an embodiment of this application, the network device may be any device having a wireless transceiver function. The device may include, but is not limited to, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a NodeB (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB or home NodeB, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP), a transmission reception point (TRP), etc. It may also be a gNB or a transmission point (TRP or TP) in a 5G system, e.g., an NR system, or one antenna panel or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node included in a gNB or a transmission point, e.g., a baseband unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DU), or a base station in a next-generation 6G communication system, etc.

[0128] In some deployments, the gNB may include a central unit (CU) and a DU. The gNB may further include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU performs some functions of the gNB, and the DU performs some functions of the gNB. For example, the CU plays a role in processing non-real-time protocols and services, and realizes the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) layer and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU plays a role in processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, and realizes the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer, and the physical (PHY) layer. The AAU realizes some physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing, and functions related to active antennas. The information of the RRC layer finally becomes the information of the PHY layer, or is converted from the information in the PHY layer. Therefore, in this architecture, upper layer signaling such as RRC layer signaling may also be considered to be transmitted by the DU, or transmitted by the DU and the CU. It can be understood that the network device may be a device including one or more of the CU node, the DU node, and the AAU node. Furthermore, the CU may be classified as a network device in the radio access network (RAN), or the CU may be classified as a network device in the core network (CN). This is not limited in this application.

[0129] The network device provides services for cells, and the terminal device communicates with the cells by using the transmission resources (for example, frequency domain resources or spectrum resources) allocated by the network device. The cell may belong to a macro base station (for example, a macro eNB or a macro gNB), or may belong to a base station corresponding to a small cell. The small cells here may include metro cells, micro cells, pico cells, femto cells, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmission power, and are applicable to providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0130] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 to which the communication method according to the embodiment of this application is applicable. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 100 may include at least one network device, for example, the network device 110 shown in FIG. 1. The communication system 100 may further include at least one terminal device, for example, the terminal device 120 shown in FIG. 1. The network device 110 and the terminal device 120 may communicate with each other through a wireless link. A plurality of antennas may be configured for each communication device, for example, the network device 110 or the terminal device 120. For each communication device in the communication system, the configured plurality of antennas may include at least one transmitting antenna configured to transmit signals and at least one receiving antenna configured to receive signals. Therefore, the communication devices in the communication system, for example, the network device 110 and the terminal device 120, may communicate with each other by using multi-antenna technology.

[0131] It should be understood that FIG. 1 is a merely simplified schematic diagram used as an example for easy understanding. The communication system may further include other network devices or other terminal devices not shown in FIG. 1.

[0132] Figure 1 should be further understood to simply illustrate an application scenario in an embodiment of this application. The method provided in the embodiment of this application is not limited to communication between a network device and a terminal device, and may be further applied to communication between terminal devices, etc. The scenario to which the method is applied is not limited in this application. In the following embodiments, for ease of understanding and explanation, the interaction between a network device and a terminal device is used as an example for explaining in detail the method provided in the embodiment of this application.

[0133] In the physical layer transmission protocol of a wireless communication system, the time-frequency resources for wireless communication are divided into different channels for transmitting different types of information. For example, the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) is used to transmit downlink data, and the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is used to transmit downlink control information (DCI), and the physical uplink SharedThe channel (physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH) is used to transmit uplink data, and the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) is used to transmit uplink control information (UCI). UCI includes channel state information (CSI), acknowledgement (ACK) or negative acknowledgement (NACK) for downlink data, uplink scheduling request (SR), etc. When the terminal device transmits UCI, the network device pre-configures or indicates the PUCCH resources specifically used by the terminal device, so that the terminal device knows the slot, physical resource block (PRB), or cyclic shift (CS) on which the UCI is transmitted. The PRB is a bandwidth unit for the NR system. FIG. 2 is used as an example to illustrate the configuration and use of PUCCH resources.

[0134] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback method according to this application.

[0135] S201: The network device configures a PUCCH resource set for the terminal device, and the PUCCH resource set includes a plurality of PUCCH resources.

[0136] S210: The network device transmits DCI to the terminal device. The terminal device receives the DCI. In the DCI, the network device indicates transmission parameters such as the time-frequency resources for transmitting the PDSCH and the modulation and coding scheme to be used. The DCI also indicates the PUCCH resources that need to be used when the terminal device performs ACK / NACK feedback for the PDSCH. That is, the PUCCH resources are selected from a pre-configured PUCCH resource set.

[0137] S220: The network device transmits the PDSCH to the terminal device. The terminal device receives the downlink data, that is, the PDSCH, based on the indication information regarding the PDSCH in the DCI.

[0138] S230: The terminal device feeds back the HARQ for the PDSCH to the network device. Specifically, when the terminal device correctly receives the PDSCH, the terminal device feeds back an ACK to the network device, or when the terminal device fails to receive the PDSCH, the terminal device feeds back a NACK to the network device. The PUCCH resources used for the ACK or NACK include the slot, PRB, cyclic shift, etc. where the PUCCH resources are located, and are obtained from a pre-configured PUCCH resource set based on the indication information in the DCI.

[0139] Before communicating with a network device, the terminal device needs to perform cell search to find a cell whose signal quality meets the conditions, and then start a random access process for the selected network device to establish an RRC connection. Step S201 is a process in which the network device configures a PUCCH resource set for the terminal device in the RRC connection establishment process. After the RRC connection is established, the network device may instruct the terminal device to use one or more resources within the configured PUCCH resource set within the configured PUCCH resource set. For example, refer to steps S210 to S230.

[0140] In FIG. 2, after the RRC connection is established, the process by which the terminal device transmits UCI by using the PUCCH resource is briefly described. However, before the RRC connection is established, the terminal device and the network device also need to communicate with each other. Before RRC establishment, when terminal devices with different capabilities coexist in a communication network, for example, when a reduced capability (RedCap) terminal device and a normal terminal device coexist, the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the RedCap terminal device is smaller than the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the normal terminal device. Therefore, according to the current protocol specification, the PUCCH resource for the RedCap terminal device is located in the initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP) of the normal terminal device, and frequency hopping is performed. The frequency hopping of the PUCCH of the RedCap terminal device can only be performed within the bandwidth supported by the RedCap terminal device. As a result, system resource fragmentation is caused and the resource utilization rate is affected.

[0141] Therefore, when terminal devices with different capabilities coexist in a communication network, how to avoid system resource fragmentation becomes an urgent problem to be solved.

[0142] Before RRC establishment, for example, in the random access process, the terminal and the network need to exchange information multiple times. Therefore, UCI transmission also needs to be performed in this process. Hereinafter, the technical problem in this application will be further described by using an example of a PUCCH resource used by a terminal device to transmit a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) for a contention resolution message (i.e., Msg4 below) in the random access process to a network device.

[0143] Random access is a process necessary to establish a radio link between a terminal device and a network. Only after random access is completed can data interoperability (normal DL / UL transmission) be properly performed between the network device and the terminal device, and an RRC connection can be established. The terminal device may implement two basic functions through random access. 1. Establish uplink synchronization to achieve uplink synchronization with the network device. 2. Establish a unique terminal identifier, i.e., a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), to request the network device to allocate uplink resources.

[0144] The random access process includes two modes, namely, contention-based random access and non-contention-based random access. For the contention-based random access process, the UE randomly selects a random access preamble to initiate a random access process to the network device side. Therefore, if multiple UEs start a random access process at the same time using the same preamble, a collision may occur, which may cause an access failure. For the non-contention random access process, the UE uses a specific access preamble provided by the network device during access to avoid collision with other UEs, thereby ensuring the access success rate.

[0145] Referring to FIG. 3, the random access process 300 of the terminal device is first described by way of example using a four-step random access process based on the contention mode.

[0146] After the power is turned on, the terminal device needs to first search for surrounding cells. In the cell search process, the terminal device obtains the system information (SI) of the cell. The system information is carried in the master information block (MIB) or the system information block (SIB). The system information includes the basic parameters of the cell. The terminal device needs to obtain the system information before starting the random access. If the terminal device assumes that the network device will provide services thereafter after synchronizing with the network device and obtaining the system information of the cell, the terminal device starts the random access process.

[0147] S301: The terminal device starts a random access request for the network device on a preconfigured random access channel opportunity (RACH occasion, RO) resource. The random access request may include a first random access preamble or may be Message 1 of the random access process, i.e., Msg1.

[0148] It should be noted that before S301, the random access process further includes the following. The terminal device receives a broadcast message from the network device and randomly selects a random access preamble from several random access preambles in the broadcast message as the first random access preamble.

[0149] It should be understood that multiple terminal devices may send random access requests on the same RO resource, and these terminal devices may be distinguished based on different preambles. However, since the number of preambles in the broadcast message is limited, multiple UEs may select the same preamble. This problem may be solved in step S304.

[0150] S302: The network device sends a random access response (which may also be called Message 2, i.e., Msg2) to the terminal device.

[0151] It should be noted that the random access response includes uplink grant (UL grant) information, and the uplink grant information indicates the resources for the terminal device to send Msg3.

[0152] S303: The terminal device sends Message 3 (which may also be called Msg3) to the network device based on the resources indicated by the uplink scheduling information.

[0153] In Message 2, the network device instructs the terminal device to send Message 3. The terminal device sends Message 3 based on the scheduling instruction of Message 2. Message 3 includes specific information about the terminal device, such as information like the device identifier (ID) of the terminal device. The terminal device sends the RRC connection request (RRC connection request) included in Message 3.

[0154] S304: The network device sends a contention resolution message (a new Message 4, which may also be called Msg4) to the terminal device.

[0155] Based on Message 3, the network device may determine the identity information of the terminal device and send Message 4 to the terminal device.

[0156] Since the preambles selected by different terminal devices may conflict with each other, there is a possibility that multiple terminal devices select the same preamble. In this step, the network device indicates the terminal device that has successfully accessed the network.

[0157] In the random access process, both Msg2 and Msg4 are transmitted on the PDSCH. After S304, the terminal device performs HARQ feedback on the received Msg4 on the PUCCH resource.

[0158] Referring to FIG. 4 and Table 1, the PUCCH resources used by the terminal device to feedback Msg4 will be further described below. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the spectrum resource position of the terminal device according to this application.

[0159] As described above, the system information acquired by the terminal device during cell search includes the basic parameters of the cell. The basic parameters indicate information regarding the initial BWP, and the initial BWP is a part of the system bandwidth of the network device. During the initial access stage or in a low power consumption mode after access, the network device may schedule the terminal device only on the initial BWP. This can reduce the power overhead of the terminal device and the complexity of signal processing. Specifically, the initial downlink (DL) BWP and the initial uplink (UL) BWP are configured separately by using the system information.

[0160] The frequency position and bandwidth of the initial uplink BWP may be flexibly configured by the network device based on the execution conditions, and the width of the initial uplink BWP may be configured to be smaller than the size of the system bandwidth. As shown in (A) of FIG. 4, the size of the system bandwidth of the cell is W1, the bandwidth size of the initial uplink BWP configured by the network device for the terminal device is W2, and W2 < W1. Alternatively, the width of the initial uplink BWP may be configured to be the same as the size of the system bandwidth, especially when the system bandwidth is relatively narrow. For example, as shown in (B) of FIG. 4, the size of the system bandwidth of the cell is W2, and the bandwidth size of the initial uplink BWP configured by the network device for the terminal device is also W2.

[0161] Before RRC establishment, as shown in (A) and (B) in FIG. 4, the PUCCH resource set is configured on both sides of the bandwidth of the initial uplink BWP. According to the protocol, the PUCCH resource set includes a total of 16 PUCCH resources. Each PUCCH resource is divided into two segments with respect to time, and frequency hopping needs to be performed for the previous segment and the next segment. In other words, the PUCCH resources used for frequency hopping are continuous in the time domain and discontinuous in the frequency domain. The shaded part shown in (B) in FIG. 4 indicates that the previous segment of the PUCCH resource is in the relatively low frequency part, the next segment of the PUCCH resource is in the relatively high frequency part, and frequency hopping is realized. The previous segment and the next segment may be referred to as the first segment and the second segment of the PUCCH resource, respectively. The purpose of frequency hopping is to increase the PUCCH frequency diversity gain and obtain more stable performance.

[0162] The network device transmits the configuration information of the initial uplink BWP in the system information, including the start frequency position and bandwidth of the initial uplink BWP. After obtaining the system information, the terminal device may determine the frequency occupied by the initial uplink BWP. The configuration information of the initial uplink BWP further includes the above-mentioned PUCCH resource set configuration information. Specifically, the PUCCH resource set configuration information includes 4 bits. Furthermore, the protocol specifies a PUCCH configuration information table as shown in Table 1. This table includes 16 rows. In each row, one set of PUCCH resource set configuration information, including PUCCH format, first symbol, number of symbols, PRB offset, and set of initial cyclic shift indexes, is defined. The 4 bits of the PUCCH resource set configuration information may indicate the row in the table. For example, "0010" of the PUCCH resource set configuration information corresponds to the row of "Index = 2" in the table. The terminal device may know that in the initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 0, the first symbol is set to 12, the number of symbols is set to 2, the PRB offset is set to 3, and the set of initial cyclic shift indexes is set to {0, 4, 8}. Based on this information, the terminal device may determine the position of the PUCCH resource set and the positions of each of the 16 PUCCH resources in this set. NBWPsize is the number of physical resource blocks RRB included in the initial uplink BWP.

Table 1

[0163] It should be noted that the PUCCH resources for the terminal device may be indicated by the network device. For example, the network device may first indicate the index of the PUCCH resource set by using the PUCCH resource set configuration information in the system information block (SIB) (for example, SIB1), and may indicate, for example, the PUCCH resource set with an index of 0 in Table 1. Then, the specific PUCCH resources within the PUCCH resource set are further indicated by using the PUCCH resource indication information. The PUCCH resource indication information includes 4 bits, and the values are from 0 to 15, each indicating one PUCCH resource index. The PUCCH resource index may be represented as rPUCCH. For example, the PUCCH resource with rPUCCH being 0 is indicated in the PUCCH resource set with an index of 0 (including 16 resources), the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0000", and the PUCCH resource indication information is "0000".

[0164] In FIG. 3, when the network device requests the terminal device to feedback UCI, the network device indicates, in DCI, the PUCCH resources used to feedback UCI. For example, when transmitting Msg4 to the terminal device, the network device first transmits DCI. The DCI not only indicates the time-frequency resource position and transmission parameters of the PDSCH occupied by Msg4, but also includes PUCCH resource indication information indicating the specific PUCCH resources used for the HARQ transmission of Msg4. After receiving the PUCCH resource indication information, the terminal device determines rPUCCH. For example, if the received PUCCH resource indication information is "0011", rPUCCH = 3. Further, the terminal device may determine the PUCCH resources used to feedback Msg4, specifically including the time-domain position and frequency position of the PUCCH, the cyclic shift used, etc., based on the row in Table 1 indicated by the PUCCH resource set configuration information.

[0165] The numbers of the PRBs corresponding to the first segment and the second segment of the PUCCH resources used by the terminal device to feedback Msg4 may be calculated as follows.

[0166] When 0 ≦ rPUCCH < 8, the number of the PRB corresponding to the first segment (which may be denoted as X1) is as follows.

Equation

[0167] The number of the PRB corresponding to the second segment (which may be denoted as X2) is as follows.

Equation

[0168] When 8 ≦ rPUCCH < 16, the number of the PRB corresponding to the first segment (which may be denoted as X1) is as follows.

Number

[0169] The number of the PRB corresponding to the second segment (which may be denoted as X2) is as follows.

Number

[0170] In the formula, X1 may alternatively be understood as the number of the PRB used by the first segment of the PUCCH resource, X2 may alternatively be understood as the number of the PRB used by the second segment of the PUCCH resource, X1 and X2 are the numbers of the PUCCH resources within the initial BWP, RBBWPoffset is shown as the PRB offset specified in Table 1, NCS is the number of elements within the set of the initial cyclic shift index in Table 1,

Number

Number

Number

Number

[0171] For example, in system information, assume that the width of the initial uplink BWP obtained by the terminal device is 100 PRBs, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates "Index=3". In this case, NBWPsize = 100. Based on Table 1, the terminal device may obtain that the PRB offset RBBWPoffset = 0, the set of initial cyclic shift indexes is {0,6}, and NCS = 2.

[0172] (1) When the network device transmits Msg4 to the terminal device in the random access process, rPUCCH = 3 is indicated in the scheduling DCI. In this case, the terminal device may determine the following.

[0173] The number of the PRB corresponding to the first segment is

Number

Number

[0174] In this way, the PRBs corresponding to the first segment and the second segment of the PUCCH resource are respectively located on both sides of the bandwidth of the initial uplink BWP, thereby realizing frequency hopping.

[0175] (2) When the network device transmits Msg4 to the terminal device in the random access process, rPUCCH = 10 is indicated in the scheduling DCI. In this case, the terminal device may determine the following.

[0176] The number of the PRB corresponding to the first segment is

Number

[0177] In this way, the PRBs corresponding to the first segment of the PUCCH resource and the PRBs corresponding to the second segment are respectively located on both sides of the bandwidth of the initial uplink BWP, thereby realizing frequency hopping.

[0178] When 0 ≤ rPUCCH < 8, the first segment of the PUCCH resource is located at a relatively low frequency position, and the second segment is located at a relatively high frequency position. When 8 ≤ rPUCCH < 16, the first segment of the PUCCH resource is located at a relatively high frequency position, and the second segment is located at a relatively low frequency position.

[0179] The frequency hopping of the PUCCH resource of the terminal device (hereinafter may also be referred to as terminal device #2) causes frequency resource separation from the perspective of the network device, resulting in a resource fragmentation problem.

[0180] FIG. 5 shows the resource positions of two terminals with different capabilities. The terminal device #1 may be a simple terminal device, and the terminal device #2 may be a normal terminal device. The maximum channel bandwidth supported by the normal terminal device is larger than the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the simple terminal device. When the first segment and the second segment of the PUCCH resources used by the simple terminal device for the HARQ feedback of Msg4 are within the BWP range of the normal terminal device, the frequency domain resources available for the normal terminal device are divided into three segments of resources, namely, frequency domain resource #1, frequency domain resource #2, and frequency domain resource #3. Therefore, there is a resource fragmentation problem. When the network device allocates resources to the normal terminal device, only three scattered frequency domain resources can be used. Thus, the scheduling of the network device is greatly restricted, and the flexibility of resource allocation is reduced. Furthermore, for the normal terminal device, a relatively large continuous bandwidth cannot be configured. This affects the peak transmission rate of the normal terminal device.

[0181] It should be noted that terminal devices with different capabilities have different requirements for the mobile communication system. The above normal terminal device and simple terminal device are two types of terminals with different requirements for communication capabilities. Compared with the normal terminal device, the simple terminal device has lower requirements for communication capabilities. Therefore, the design specifications of the simple terminal device may be reduced. For example, the bandwidth supported by the simple terminal device, the number of antennas supported by the simple terminal device, etc. may be reduced, thereby reducing the cost and device complexity. For example, a normal 5G mobile phone needs to support a bandwidth of 100 MHz and four receiving antennas, while the simple terminal device only needs to support a bandwidth of 20 MHz and one receiving antenna.

[0182] For example, the simple terminal device may be a wearable device ( wearable device) may also be an industrial wireless sensor and a video surveillance device. In this application, in addition to the simple terminal device, other NR terminal devices may also be referred to as normal terminal devices or legacy terminal devices, for example, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) terminal devices or Ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) terminal devices. The simple terminal device can meet the requirements of many communication scenarios, and the complexity and cost are greatly reduced. Therefore, there are wide-ranging requirements in some industrial fields.

[0183] In this application, regardless of the specific type of terminal device, when two terminal devices coexist in a communication network under the condition that the channel bandwidth supported by the two terminal devices is different, it should be noted that the terminal device supporting the relatively small maximum channel bandwidth may cause fragmentation of the frequency domain resources of the terminal device supporting the relatively large maximum channel bandwidth.

[0184] Taking this into account, this application provides a communication method for re-determining the PUCCH resources used by terminal device #1 and avoiding resource fragmentation of terminal device #2.

[0185] Referring to FIG. 6, the communication method 400 in this application will be described in detail below. It should be noted that the first terminal device in the following method 400 is a terminal device that supports a relatively small maximum channel bandwidth.

[0186] S410: The first terminal device acquires first information, where the first information includes a first formula or a set of offset values, and the first formula or the set of offset values is used to determine a physical resource block (PRB) index.

[0187] The set of first formula or offset values acquired by the first terminal device is used to determine the PRB index. The first formula may also be understood as a calculation reference, calculation method, calculation rule, calculation algorithm, determination reference, determination method, determination rule, or functional relationship. In other words, the first formula provides a mathematical basis for determining the PRB index, and the first formula may indicate the relationship between the PUCCH resource index and the PRB index. The set of offset values may also be understood as a range of offset values, or a column in which the offset is located within the PUCCH resource set configuration information table, or a correspondence relationship between the PUCCH resource set indication information and the offset. The offset may also be referred to as an offset value indicating a PRB offset, an offset parameter, the number of offset PRBs, etc. Specifically, the offset is the number of PRBs by which the first PUCCH resource in the PUCCH resource set is offset only with respect to the lower boundary of the BWP (i.e., the PRB with index 0 within the BWP). In this application, the offset has the same meaning as that shown in the fifth column of Table 1. The PRB index may also be referred to as the PRB number.

[0188] By way of example and not limitation, the first terminal device may acquire the first information from a network device, or may acquire the first information according to protocol definitions. The fact that the first information includes a first formula or a set of offset values means that the first information is the first formula or the first information is the set of offset values.

[0189] S420: The network device transmits second information to the first terminal device, the first terminal device receives the second information, and the second information includes a PUCCH resource index.

[0190] When the network device needs to request the terminal device to transmit UCI, the network device may transmit the second information, that is, the index of the resource used to transmit UCI, to the terminal device. For example, the network device may carry the second information in DCI. The PUCCH resource index may also be referred to as PUCCH resource indication information, and indicates the index of the PUCCH resource within the PUCCH resource set. PUCCH

[0191] In the existing protocol, the PUCCH resource set includes 16 PUCCH resources. Therefore, the PUCCH resource index includes 4 bits, and the value is any integer from 0 to 15, indicating any one of the 16 PUCCH resources.

[0192] Optionally, more or fewer bits may also be used for the PUCCH resource index.

[0193] S430: The first terminal device determines the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the first information and the PUCCH resource index.

[0194] When the first information is the first formula, the first formula includes a parameter of the PUCCH resource index. Therefore, the first terminal device may determine the calculation criterion of the PRB based on the first formula, and then determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the PUCCH resource index.

[0195] ​It should be understood that the first formula may further include other parameters in addition to the PUCCH resource index. Before obtaining the first formula, the first terminal device may first obtain these parameters. Therefore, when obtaining the first formula, the first terminal device may obtain the correspondence between the PUCCH resource index and the PRB index, and further, the PRB index can be determined based on the PUCCH resource index.

[0196] When the first information is a set of offset values, the first terminal device may first determine the first PRB offset based on the obtained PUCCH resource set configuration information, the set of offset values includes the first PRB offset, and then, the first terminal device determines the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on a preset second formula, the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource index. The PUCCH resource set configuration information may indicate the PUCCH resource set, and the first PRB is information within the PUCCH resource set.

[0197] It should also be understood that the second formula is also used to determine the PRB index. The second formula may be indicated by the network device or may be defined in the protocol. The second formula may be the same as or different from the first formula. The second formula includes at least two parameters, namely, the PUCCH resource index and the offset.

[0198] According to the solution of this application, the first terminal device may obtain a first formula or a set of offset values, and the first terminal device may determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the first formula or the set of offset values and the received PUCCH resource index. The PUCCH resource may be used by the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. The determined PUCCH resource is located on one side of the initial uplink BWP of the first terminal device, and the PUCCH resource set where the PUCCH resource is located is adjacent to the PUCCH resource sets of other terminal devices. This can avoid spectrum resource fragmentation of other terminal devices and improve resource utilization rate.

[0199] In the implementation manner, method 400 further includes the following. S401: The network device transmits PUCCH resource set configuration information to the first terminal device, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

[0200] The PUCCH resource set configuration information may be an index. The network device transmits the configuration information to the first terminal device, and the first terminal device determines information regarding the PUCCH resource set from the PUCCH configuration information table based on the configuration information. In each row of the PUCCH configuration information table, one PUCCH resource set configuration information is defined, including but not limited to information such as PUCCH format, first symbol, number of symbols, PRB offset, and set of initial cyclic shift indexes. The PUCCH configuration information table may be in a format defined in the current protocol. For example, as shown in Table 1, the PUCCH configuration information table 1 includes 16 rows and 6 columns, and each row represents a PUCCH resource set. In this case, the PUCCH resource set indication information may include 4 bits, and the values are from 0 to 15, each indicating a PUCCH resource set. Optionally, the PUCCH configuration information table may alternatively be a newly specified table and include more information. For example, as shown in Table 2, the PUCCH configuration information table 2 includes 16 rows and 7 columns. Based on Table 1, a column for the PRB offset, i.e., PRB offset 2, is added to Table 2. When the PRB offset parameter needs to be used, the column of the PRB offset parameter may be used as a set of offset values. NBWPsize is the number of physical resource blocks RRB included in the first initial uplink BWP, and the first initial uplink BWP is used by the first terminal device to perform uplink transmission.

Table 2

[0201] In a possible implementation manner, method 400 further includes the following. The first terminal device receives first indication information from a network device, and the first indication information indicates a first formula or a set of offset values. For the first terminal device to obtain the first information includes determining the first information based on the first indication information.

[0202] In an implementation manner, the first indication information indicates a first formula.

[0203] The protocol may define formula #1 and formula #2 used by the first terminal device to determine the PRB index, and specify that the network device instructs the first terminal device to determine the PRB index by using formula #1 or formula #2.

[0204] Specifically, the network device may determine the frequency position relationship between the PUCCH resource set and the first initial uplink BWP. The PUCCH resource set is a PUCCH resource set configured by the network device for the first terminal device, and the first initial uplink BWP is an initial uplink BWP configured by the network device for the first terminal device. When the PUCCH resource set is located at the upper end of the first initial uplink BWP, or when the PUCCH resource set is located at a relatively high frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, the network device may indicate that the first formula is formula (5).

Number

[0205] When the PUCCH resource set is located at the lower end of the first initial uplink BWP, or when the PUCCH resource set is located at a relatively low frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, the network device may indicate that the first formula is formula (6).

Number

[0206] In equations (5) and (6), X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource, NBWPsize is the number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP, RBBWPoffset is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, rPUCCH is the PUCCH resource index, NCS is the number of elements within the set of initial cyclic shift indices,

Number

Number

[0207] It should be noted that the determined PUCCH resource associated with the PRB index is used by the first terminal device to transmit UCI. In other words, the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource associated with the PRB index. Information regarding the PUCCH resource set indicated by the PUCCH resource set configuration information includes the set of the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index.

[0208] The first indication information may be 1 bit, and the values 0 and 1 indicate equations (5) and (6) respectively. The first terminal device may determine the first equation based on the first indication information.

[0209] Hereinafter, examples are used for explanation. It should be understood that an example where the PUCCH configuration table is Table 1 is used here for explanation.

[0210] (1) When the network device determines that the PUCCH set of the first terminal device is arranged at the upper end of the initial uplink BWP, the first equation indicated by the first indication information is

Number

[0211] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device instructs the first terminal device that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011" corresponding to the row where index 3 is located in Table 1. Based on the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device may know that in the initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the first symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to 0, and the set of initial cyclic shift indexes is set to {0, 6}. Assume that the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs.

[0212] When the network device transmits Msg4 to the terminal device in the random access process, rPUCCH = 3 is indicated in the scheduling DCI. In this case, the first terminal device may determine the number of the PRB corresponding to the PUCCH resource used to feedback Msg4, that is, the number of the PUCCH resource within the first initial uplink BWP is [Number] is.

[0213] (2) When the network device determines that the PUCCH set of the first terminal device is arranged at the lower end of the initial uplink BWP, the first formula indicated by the first indication information is [Number] is.

[0214] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device instructs the first terminal device that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011" corresponding to the row where index 3 is located in Table 1. Based on the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device may know that in the initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the first symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to 0, and the set of initial cyclic shift indexes is set to {0, 6}. Assume that the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs.

[0215] When the network device transmits Msg4 to the terminal device in the random access process, rPUCCH = 3 is indicated in the scheduling DCI. In this case, the first terminal device may determine the number of the PRB corresponding to the PUCCH resource used to feedback Msg4, that is, the number of the PUCCH resource within the first initial uplink BWP is [Number] as follows.

[0216] Therefore, in this application, the first terminal device may determine to use Equation (5) or Equation (6) to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the instruction of the network device. In other words, the PUCCH resource can be located at the upper or lower end of the first initial BWP, and frequency hopping is not performed, thereby avoiding spectrum resource fragmentation of other terminal devices and improving resource utilization.

[0217] Furthermore, in this embodiment of this application, in order to improve the transmission rate of the terminal device, a larger continuous bandwidth can be configured for the normal terminal device.

[0218] Furthermore, the complexity of the processing of the terminal device can be reduced by using the instructions of the network device.

[0219] In the implementation method, the first instruction information indicates a set of offset values.

[0220] The protocol may define a PUCCH configuration information table different from Table 1. PUCC H The configuration information table includes two columns of PRB offsets, which may be shown as PRB offset 1 and PRB offset 2 respectively, or may be called the first value set of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, or the second value set of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. The network device is specified to instruct the first terminal device to determine the PRB index using the first value set or the second value set.

[0221] Specifically, the network device may determine the frequency position relationship between the PUCCH resource set and the first initial uplink BWP. The PUCCH resource set is a PUCCH resource set configured by the network device for the first terminal device, and the first initial uplink BWP is an initial uplink BWP configured by the network device for the first terminal device. When the PUCCH resource set is located at the upper end of the first initial uplink BWP, or when the PUCCH resource set is located at a relatively high frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, the network device may indicate that the set of offset values is the second value set of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, and the value of the PRB offset in the second value set is NBWPsize - Y. NBWPsize is the number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP, and Y is a positive integer.

[0222] When the PUCCH resource set is located at the lower end of the first initial uplink BWP, or when the PUCCH resource set is located at a relatively low frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, the network device may indicate that the set of offset values is the first set of values of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource.

[0223] For example, when the defined PUCCH configuration information table is Table 2, the second set of values may be the sixth column in Table 2, that is, PRB offset 2, and the first set of values is the fifth column in Table 2, that is, PRB offset 1. In other words, the network device indicates that the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource is PRB offset 2, or the network device indicates that the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource is PRB offset 1. That is, when the existing configuration information table is extended, the set of offset values includes 16 elements.

[0224] The information about the PUCCH resource set indicated by the PUCCH resource set configuration information includes a first PRB offset, and the first PRB offset belongs to the set of offset values. In other words, the first PRB offset belongs to the first set of values or the second set of values.

[0225] It should be understood that the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the first indication information together determine the first PRB offset. In the PUCCH configuration information table, the first indication information indicates the column of information used to determine the first PRB offset, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates the row of information used to determine the first PRB offset.

[0226] Furthermore, when the first indication information indicates the set of offset values, the first terminal device may determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource according to a preset second formula. The second formula is

Number

[0227] In Equation (7), X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource, RBBWPoffset is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, the first PRB offset is determined based on the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the first indication information, rPUCCH is the PUCCH resource index, NCS is the number of elements in the set of initial cyclic shift indices,

Number

Number

[0228] It should be noted that the determined PUCCH resource associated with the PRB index is used by the first terminal device to transmit UCI. In other words, the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource associated with the PRB index. Information regarding the PUCCH resource set indicated by the PUCCH resource set configuration information includes the first PRB offset and the set of initial cyclic shift indices.

[0229] The first indication information may be 1 bit, and the values 0 and 1 indicate the first value set and the second value set, respectively. The first terminal device may determine the offset value set based on the first indication information.

[0230] Hereinafter, examples are used for explanation. It should be understood that an example where the PUCCH configuration table is Table 2 is used here for explanation.

[0231] (1) When the network device determines that the PUCCH set of the first terminal device is arranged at the upper end of the initial uplink BWP, the set of offset values indicated by the first indication information is the PRB offset 2.

[0232] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device instructs the first terminal device that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011" corresponding to the row where the index 3 is located in Table 2. Based on the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device may know that in the initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the first symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to NBWPsize - 8, and the set of initial cyclic shift indexes is set to {0, 6}. Assume that the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs.

[0233] When the network device transmits Msg4 to the terminal device in the random access process, rPUCCH = 3 is indicated in the scheduling DCI. In this case, the terminal device may determine the number of the PRB corresponding to the PUCCH resource used to feedback Msg4, that is, the number of the PUCCH resource within the first initial uplink BWP is

Number

[0234] (2) When the network device determines that the PUCCH set of the first terminal device is arranged at the lower end of the initial uplink BWP, the set of offset values indicated by the first indication information is the PRB offset 1.

[0235] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device instructs the first terminal device that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011" corresponding to the row where index 3 is located in Table 2. Based on the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device may know that in the initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the first symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to 0, and the set of initial cyclic shift indexes is set to {0, 6}. Assume that the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs.

[0236] When the network device transmits Msg4 to the terminal device in the random access process, rPUCCH = 3 is indicated in the scheduling DCI. In this case, the terminal device may determine the number of the PRB corresponding to the PUCCH resource used to feedback Msg4, that is, the number of the PUCCH resource within the first initial uplink BWP is

Number

[0237] Therefore, in this application, the first terminal device may determine to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource using the first value set or the second value set based on the instruction of the network device. In other words, the PUCCH resource can be located at the upper end or the lower end of the first initial BWP, and frequency hopping is not performed, thereby avoiding spectrum resource fragmentation of other terminal devices and improving resource utilization.

[0238] Furthermore, in this embodiment of this application, a larger continuous bandwidth can be configured for the normal terminal device to improve the transmission rate of the terminal device.

[0239] Furthermore, the complexity of the processing of the terminal device can be reduced by using the instructions of the network device.

[0240] Before transmitting the first instruction information, it should be understood that the network device first configures an initial uplink BWP for the first terminal device and configures a PUCCH resource set in the initial uplink BWP. The initial uplink BWP configured for the first terminal device may be referred to as the first initial uplink BWP. The PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device may be located at the upper end of the first initial uplink BWP. In this case, as shown in (A) of FIG. 7, the first initial uplink BWP is closer to the upper end of the second initial uplink BWP. Alternatively, the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device may be located at the lower end of the first initial uplink BWP. In this case, as shown in (B) of FIG. 7, the first initial uplink BWP is closer to the lower end of the second initial uplink BWP. The second initial uplink BWP is used for the second terminal device to perform uplink transmission, and the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the second terminal device is larger than the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the first terminal device. When terminal devices with different capabilities coexist in the communication network, the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is arranged at the upper end or the lower end of the first initial uplink BWP. This can avoid spectrum resource fragmentation of other terminal devices and improve resource utilization.

[0241] In this application, it should be further understood that the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the upper end of the first initial uplink BWP, that is, the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device overlaps with the end frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP. The PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the lower end of the first initial uplink BWP, that is, the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device overlaps with the start frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP.

[0242] In some other embodiments, the method in this application may also be used when the network device determines that the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a relatively high or low frequency position within the first initial uplink BWP. Specifically, when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a relatively high frequency position of the first initial uplink bandwidth part BWP, the network device may further determine that the first formula is

Number

Number

[0243] The fact that the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a relatively high frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP may be understood as the center frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being higher than the center frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, or alternatively, the end frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being lower than the end frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, and the start frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being higher than the center frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP. The fact that the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at a relatively low frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP may be understood as the center frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being lower than the center frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, or alternatively, the start frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being higher than the start frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, and the end frequency position of the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device being lower than the center frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP.

[0244] In a possible implementation, the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the first indication information may be transmitted as the same information. For example, both the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the first indication information are carried by a third piece of information, and the third piece of information is SIB1, downlink control information DCI for scheduling SIB1, or master information block MIB.

[0245] Optionally, the third piece of information may also be other SIB information or other system information, such as SIB2 or SIB3.

[0246] Optionally, the third piece of information may further include configuration information of the first initial uplink BWP indicating information such as the bandwidth size, frequency position, and time domain position of the first initial uplink BWP.

[0247] Optionally, the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the first indication information may be transmitted using different information. For example, the PUCCH resource set configuration information is carried in SIB1, and the first indication information is carried in MIB.

[0248] It should be noted that the transmission sequence of the first indication information and the PUCCH resource set configuration information is not limited in this application.

[0249] In an implementation manner, the method further includes the following. The network device transmits second indication information to the first terminal device, and the second indication information indicates that frequency hopping is not performed on the PUCCH resource. In other words, the network device may instruct the first terminal device to disable the frequency hopping of the PUCCH resource. In this way, in order to avoid resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization, the PUCCH resource of the first terminal device may be close to the upper or lower end of the initial uplink BWP.

[0250] Optionally, the second indication information may be indicated by using 1 bit, and the values 0 and 1 indicate that the frequency hopping is not disabled and the frequency hopping is disabled, respectively. The first terminal device may determine whether there is frequency hopping on the PUCCH resource based on the second indication information.

[0251] Optionally, the first indication information may also be carried in the third information.

[0252] In a possible implementation manner, the first terminal device acquiring the first information includes the following. The first terminal device determines the first information based on the value relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP) and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. The first initial uplink BWP is used by the first terminal device to perform uplink transmission, the second initial uplink BWP is used by the second terminal device to perform uplink transmission, and the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the second terminal device is larger than the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the first terminal device.

[0253] In an implementation manner, the first information includes a first formula, and the first terminal device acquiring the first information includes the following. The first terminal device determines the first formula.

[0254] The protocol defines formula #1 and formula #2 used by the first terminal device to determine the PRB index, and it may be specified that the first terminal device uses formula #1 or formula #2 to determine the PRB index based on the value relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP.

[0255] Specifically, when the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first terminal device determines that the first formula is formula (8).

Number

[0256] When it is determined that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is less than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first terminal device determines that the first formula is formula (9).

Number

[0257] In equations (8) and (9), X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource, NBWPsize is the number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP, RBBWPoffset is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, rPUCCH is the PUCCH resource index, NCS is the number of elements within the set of initial cyclic shift indices,

Number

Number

[0258] It should be noted that the determined PUCCH resource associated with the PRB index is used by the first terminal device to transmit UCI. In other words, the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource associated with the PRB index. Information regarding the PUCCH resource set indicated by the PUCCH resource set configuration information includes the first PRB offset and the set of initial cyclic shift indices.

[0259] Hereinafter, examples are used for illustration. It should be understood that an example where the PUCCH configuration table is Table 1 is used here for illustration.

[0260] (1) In the system information, the network device instructs the first terminal device that PUCCH frequency hopping is disabled and separately instructs the following. The start position of the first initial uplink BWP is the PRB numbered 100, where the PRB number here is the PRB number within the system bandwidth, and the bandwidth is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs. The start position of the second initial uplink BWP is the PRB numbered 0, where the PRB number here is the PRB number within the system bandwidth, and the bandwidth is 200 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the second initial uplink BWP includes 200 PRBs. The first terminal device determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is the PRB numbered 150 and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP is the PRB numbered 100. Therefore, the first terminal device determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, and the first formula is

Number

[0261] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device instructs the first terminal device that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011" corresponding to the row where index 3 is located in Table 1. Based on the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device may know that in the initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the first symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to 0, and the set of initial cyclic shift indices is set to {0,6}. Assume that the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs.

[0262] When the network device sends Msg4 to the terminal device in the random access process, rPUCCH = 3 is indicated by the scheduling DCI. In this case, the first terminal device may determine the number of the PRB corresponding to the PUCCH resource used to feedback Msg4, that is, the number of the PUCCH resource within the first initial uplink BWP is

Number

[0263] (2) In the system information, the network device instructs the first terminal device that the PUCCH frequency hopping is disabled, and separately instructs the following. The start position of the first initial uplink BWP is the PRB with the number 0, where the number of the PRB is the number of the PRB within the system bandwidth, and the bandwidth is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs. The start position of the second initial uplink BWP is the PRB with the number 0, where the number of the PRB is the number of the PRB within the system bandwidth, and the bandwidth is 200 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the second initial uplink BWP includes 200 PRBs. The first terminal device determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is the PRB with the number 50, and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP is the PRB with the number 100. Therefore, the first terminal device determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is smaller than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, and the first formula is

Number

[0264] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device indicates that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011" corresponding to the row where index 3 is located in Table 1. Based on the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device may know that in the initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the first symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to 0, and the set of initial cyclic shift indexes is set to {0, 6}. Assume that the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs.

[0265] When the network device transmits Msg4 to the terminal device in the random access process, rPUCCH = 3 is indicated in the scheduling DCI. In this case, the first terminal device may determine the number of the PRB corresponding to the PUCCH resource used to feedback Msg4, that is, the number of the PUCCH resource within the first initial uplink BWP is

Number

[0266] Therefore, in this application, the first terminal device may determine to use Equation (8) or Equation (9) to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the value relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. In other words, the PUCCH resource can be located at the upper end or the lower end of the first initial BWP, and frequency hopping is not performed, thereby avoiding spectrum resource fragmentation of other terminal devices and improving resource utilization.

[0267] Furthermore, in this embodiment of this application, in order to improve the transmission rate of the terminal device, a larger continuous bandwidth can be configured for the normal terminal device.

[0268] Furthermore, in this method, no further indication is required, and signaling overhead can be reduced.

[0269] In the implementation method, the first information includes a set of offset values, and the first terminal device determining the first information includes the following. The first terminal device determines a set of offset values.

[0270] The protocol may define a PUCCH configuration information table different from Table 1. PUCC H The configuration information table includes two columns of PRB offsets, which may be shown as PRB offset 1 and PRB offset 2 respectively, or may be referred to as the first value set of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource or the second value set of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource. The network device is specified to instruct the first terminal device to determine the PRB index using the first value set or the second value set.

[0271] Specifically, when the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first terminal device determines that the set of offset values is the second value set of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, and the value of the PRB offset in the second value set is NBWPsize - Y. NBWPsize - is the number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP, and Y is a positive integer.

[0272] When it is determined that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is smaller than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, the first terminal device determines that the set of offset values is the first value set of the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource.

[0273] For example, when the defined PUCCH configuration information table is Table 2, the second value set may be the sixth column in Table 2, that is, PRB offset 2, and the first value set is the fifth column in Table 2, that is, PRB offset 1. In other words, the first terminal device may determine that the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource is PRB offset 2, or the first terminal device may determine that the PRB offset of the PUCCH resource is PRB offset 1. That is, when the existing configuration information table is extended, the value set of the offset contains 16 elements.

[0274] The information about the PUCCH resource set indicated by the PUCCH resource set configuration information includes a first PRB offset, and the first PRB offset belongs to the value set of the offset. In other words, the first PRB offset belongs to the first value set or the second value set.

[0275] It should be understood that the first PRB offset is determined by using the value relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth part BWP and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP in the PUCCH resource set configuration information. In the PUCCH configuration information table, the first terminal device determines which column of information is used to determine the first PRB offset based on the value relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth part BWP and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates which row of information is used to determine the first PRB offset.

[0276] Furthermore, when the first information includes a value set of the offset, the first terminal device may determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource according to a preset second formula. The second formula is

Equation

[0277] In Equation (10), X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource, RBBWPoffset is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, the first PRB offset is determined based on the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the value relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth part BWP and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP, rPUCCH is the PUCCH resource index, NCS is the number of elements in the set of initial cyclic shift indices,

Number

Number

[0278] It should be noted that the determined PUCCH resource associated with the PRB index is used by the first terminal device to transmit UCI. In other words, the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource associated with the PRB index. Information regarding the PUCCH resource set indicated by the PUCCH resource set configuration information includes the first PRB offset and the set of initial cyclic shift indices.

[0279] Hereinafter, examples are used for illustration. It should be understood that an example where the PUCCH configuration table is Table 2 is used here for illustration.

[0280] (1) In the system information, the network device instructs the first terminal device that PUCCH frequency hopping is disabled and separately instructs the following. The start position of the first initial uplink BWP is the PRB numbered 100, where the PRB number is the PRB number within the system bandwidth, and the bandwidth is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs. The start position of the second initial uplink BWP is the PRB numbered 0, where the PRB number is the PRB number within the system bandwidth, and the bandwidth is 200 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the second initial uplink BWP includes 200 PRBs. The first terminal device determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is the PRB numbered 150 and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP is the PRB numbered 100. Therefore, the first terminal device determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP and determines that the value set of the offset is PRB offset 2.

[0281] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device instructs the first terminal device that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011" corresponding to the row where index 3 is located in Table 2. Based on the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device may know that in the initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the first symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to NBWPsize - 8, and the set of the initial cyclic shift indexes is set to {0, 6}. Assume that the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs.

[0282] When the network device sends Msg4 to the terminal device in the random access process, rPUCCH = 3 is indicated in the scheduling DCI. In this case, the first terminal device may determine the number of the PRB corresponding to the PUCCH resource used to feedback Msg4, that is, the number of the PUCCH resource within the first initial uplink BWP is

Number

[0283] (2) In the system information, the network device instructs the first terminal device that the PUCCH frequency hopping is disabled and separately instructs the following. The start position of the first initial uplink BWP is the PRB numbered 0, where the number of the PRB is the number of the PRB within the system bandwidth, and the bandwidth is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs. The start position of the second initial uplink BWP is the PRB numbered 0, where the number of the PRB is the number of the PRB within the system bandwidth, and the bandwidth is 200 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the second initial uplink BWP includes 200 PRBs. The first terminal device determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is the PRB numbered 50, and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP is the PRB numbered 100. Therefore, the first terminal device determines that the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is smaller than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP and determines that the value set of the offset is the PRB offset 1.

[0284] Furthermore, in the system information, the network device instructs the first terminal device that the PUCCH resource set configuration information is "0011" corresponding to the row where index 3 is located in Table 2. Based on the PUCCH resource set configuration information, the first terminal device may know that in the initial uplink BWP, the PUCCH format is set to 1, the first symbol is set to 10, the number of symbols is set to 4, the PRB offset (an example of the first PRB offset) is set to 0, and the set of initial cyclic shift indexes is set to {0, 6}. Assume that the width of the first initial uplink BWP is 100 PRBs, that is, the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP includes 100 PRBs.

[0285] When the network device transmits Msg4 to the terminal device in the random access process, rPUCCH = 3 is indicated in the scheduling DCI. In this case, the terminal device may determine the PRB number corresponding to the PUCCH resource used to feedback Msg4, that is, the number of the PUCCH resource within the first initial uplink BWP is

Number

[0286] Therefore, in this application, the first terminal device may determine to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource using the first value set or the second value set based on the value relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. In other words, the PUCCH resource can be located at the upper or lower end of the first initial BWP, and frequency hopping is not performed, thereby avoiding spectrum resource fragmentation of other terminal devices and improving resource utilization.

[0287] Furthermore, in this embodiment of this application, in order to improve the transmission rate of the terminal device, a larger continuous bandwidth can usually be configured for the terminal device.

[0288] Furthermore, the complexity of the processing of the terminal device can be reduced by using the instructions of the network device.

[0289] Before the first terminal device determines the PRB index, it should be understood that the network device first separately configures the initial uplink BWP for the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and configures the PUCCH resource set in the initial uplink BWP. The initial uplink BWP configured for the first terminal device may be referred to as the first initial uplink BWP, and the initial uplink BWP configured for the second terminal device may be referred to as the second initial uplink BWP. The first initial uplink BWP and the second initial uplink BWP are configured by using system information. After obtaining the system information, the first terminal device may determine the frequency positions of the first initial uplink BWP and the second initial uplink BWP. Further, the first terminal device determines the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP based on the frequency position of the first initial uplink BWP, and determines the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP based on the frequency position of the second initial uplink BWP. The PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device may be located at the upper end of the first initial uplink BWP. In this case, as shown in (A) in FIG. 8, the first initial uplink BWP is closer to the upper end of the second initial uplink BWP, and the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is greater than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. The PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device may be located at the lower end of the first initial uplink BWP. In this case, as shown in (B) in FIG. 8, the first initial uplink BWP is closer to the lower end of the second initial uplink BWP, and the center frequency of the first initial uplink BWP is smaller than the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP. When terminal devices with different capabilities coexist in a communication network, the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is arranged at the upper end or the lower end of the first initial uplink BWP. This can avoid spectrum resource fragmentation of other terminal devices and improve resource utilization.

[0290] In a possible implementation manner, the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the configuration information of the initial uplink BWP may be transmitted by the same information. For example, both the PUCCH resource set configuration information and the configuration information of the initial uplink BWP are carried by a third piece of information, and the third piece of information is SIB1, downlink control information DCI for scheduling SIB1, or master information block MIB. The configuration information of the initial uplink BWP includes the configuration information of the first initial uplink BWP and the configuration information of the second initial uplink BWP. The configuration information of the first initial uplink BWP indicates information such as the bandwidth size, frequency position, and time domain position of the first initial uplink BWP. The configuration information of the second initial uplink BWP indicates information such as the bandwidth size, frequency position, and time domain position of the second initial uplink BWP.

[0291] Optionally, the third piece of information may be other SIB information or other system information, such as SIB2 or SIB3.

[0292] In an implementation manner, the method further includes the following. The network device transmits second indication information to the first terminal device, and the second indication information indicates that frequency hopping is not performed on the PUCCH resource. In other words, the network device may instruct the first terminal device to disable the frequency hopping of the PUCCH resource. In this way, in order to avoid resource fragmentation and improve resource utilization, the PUCCH resource of the first terminal device may be close to the upper or lower end of the initial uplink BWP. Further, when the network device indicates that the PUCCH resource frequency hopping is disabled, the first terminal device may, by default, determine the first piece of information based on the value relationship between the center frequency of the first initial uplink bandwidth part BWP and the center frequency of the second initial uplink BWP in this case. In other words, the network device indicating that the PUCCH resource frequency hopping is disabled may be used as an implicit indication for the first terminal device to confirm and respond to the first piece of information.

[0293] Optionally, the second indication information may be indicated by using 1 bit, and the values 0 and 1 indicate that frequency hopping is not disabled and that frequency hopping is disabled, respectively. The first terminal device may determine whether there is frequency hopping on the PUCCH resource based on the second indication information.

[0294] Optionally, the second indication information may also be carried by the third information.

[0295] In a possible implementation, after S430, method 400 further includes the following. S402: The first terminal device transmits uplink control information UCI on a resource associated with the PRB index.

[0296] In a possible implementation, the first terminal device is a first type of terminal device, and the second terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0297] Optionally, the first terminal device is a simple terminal device, and the second terminal device is a normal terminal device.

[0298] In this application, the first initial uplink BWP is configured on one side of the carrier, and PUCCH frequency hopping is disabled, so that it should be noted that the PUCCH resources of the first terminal device and the second terminal device are both located on both sides of the carrier. This avoids the resource fragmentation problem. For example, in (A) of FIG. 7, the network device configures the first initial uplink BWP on one side of the second initial uplink BWP and configures the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device at a position closer to the higher frequency. In this way, all PUCCH resource sets in the system are located on both sides of the carrier, and the area between the two PUCCH resource sets is continuous. This avoids the resource fragmentation problem.

[0299] The first initial uplink BWP is configured for the first terminal device. After the PUCCH resource frequency hopping of the first terminal device is disabled, it should be further noted that the current PUCCH resource set indication method and the current PUCCH resource indication method are not used. According to the method in this application, a PUCCH resource without frequency hopping can be indicated, and the scenario with frequency hopping is compatible, so the applicable range is wider.

[0300] Furthermore, after resource fragmentation is avoided in the solution of this application, the restrictions on resource scheduling of the network device can also be reduced.

[0301] The above describes in detail the technical solutions provided in the communication method in the embodiments of this application with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. Below, with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11, the communication devices provided in the embodiments of this application will be described.

[0302] FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 9, the device 600 may be a first terminal device, or may be a component (such as a unit, module, chip, or chip system) configured within the first terminal device. The device 600 may include a transceiver unit 610 and a processing unit 620.

[0303] The transceiver unit 610 is configured to perform reception and transmission related operations on the side of the first terminal device in the above embodiment of the method. For example, the transceiver unit 610 is configured to receive second information, and the second information includes a physical uplink control channel PUCCH resource index.

[0304] The processing unit 620 is configured to execute processing-related operations on the side of the terminal device in the above-described method embodiments. For example, the processing unit 620 is configured to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource based on the first information and the PUCCH resource index, and the PUCCH resource is used for the first terminal device to transmit uplink control information.

[0305] It should be understood that the processing unit 620 and the transceiver unit 610 may further separately execute any other steps, operations and / or functions implemented by the first terminal device in the method 400. The specific processes for each unit to execute the corresponding steps described above are described in detail in the embodiments of the above method. For the sake of brevity, the details are not described again here.

[0306] It should be understood that the apparatus 600 here is embodied in the form of functional units. The term "unit" here may also be an ASIC, an electronic circuit, a processor (for example, a shared processor, a dedicated processor or a processor group) configured to execute one or more software or firmware programs, a memory, a complex logic circuit, and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an optional example, the person skilled in the art can understand that the apparatus 600 may specifically be the terminal device in the embodiments of the above method 400, and the apparatus 600 may also be configured to execute the procedures and / or steps corresponding to the terminal device in the embodiments of the above method 400. For the sake of avoiding repetition, the details are not described again here.

[0307] It should be further understood that in the implementation manner, the transceiver unit 610 may include a receiving unit 611 and a transmitting unit 612. The receiving unit 611 executes the receiving function in the transceiver unit 610 and is configured to receive, for example, second information from a network device. The transmitting unit 612 executes the transmitting function in the transceiver unit 610 and is configured to transmit, for example, UCI to a network device.

[0308] FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 10, the device 700 may be a network device or a component (for example, a unit, a module, a chip, or a chip system) configured within a network device. The device 700 includes a transceiver unit 710.

[0309] The transceiver unit 710 is configured to perform receiving and transmitting related operations on the side of the network device in the embodiment of the above method. For example, the transceiver unit 710 is configured to transmit third information to a terminal device, where the third information includes first indication information, the first indication information indicates a first formula or a set of offset values, and the first formula or the set of offset values is used to determine a physical resource block PRB index.

[0310] Optionally, the device may further include a processing unit 720. The processing unit 720 is configured to perform processing related operations on the side of the network device in the embodiment of the above method. For example, the processing unit 720 is configured to determine that the first formula is formula (5) or formula (6).

[0311] It should be understood that the processing unit 720 and the transceiver unit 710 may further separately execute any other steps, operations and / or functions implemented by the network device in the method 400. The specific processes for each unit to execute the corresponding steps described above are described in detail in the embodiments of the above method. For the sake of brevity, the details are not described again here.

[0312] It should be understood that the apparatus 700 here is embodied in the form of functional units. The term "unit" here may also be an ASIC, an electronic circuit, a processor configured to execute one or more software or firmware programs (for example, a shared processor, a dedicated processor or a processor group), a memory, a complex logic circuit, and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an optional example, the apparatus 700 may specifically be the network device in the embodiment of the above method 400, and those skilled in the art can understand that the apparatus 700 may also be configured to execute the procedures and / or steps corresponding to the network device in the embodiment of the above method 400. To avoid repetition, the details are not described again here.

[0313] It should be further understood that in the implementation manner, the transceiver unit 710 may further include a receiving unit 711 and a transmitting unit 712. The receiving unit 711 executes the receiving function in the transceiver unit 710 and is configured to receive, for example, UCI. The transmitting unit 712 executes the transmitting function in the transceiver unit 710 and is configured to transmit, for example, the third information and the second information to the terminal device.

[0314] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the structure of a communication device 800 according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 11, the device 800 includes a processor 810, a memory 820, and a transceiver 830. The processor 810 is coupled to the memory 820 and is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 820 to control the transceiver 830 to transmit signals and / or receive signals.

[0315] It should be understood that the processor 810 and the memory 820 may be integrated into one processing device. The processor 810 is configured to execute program code stored in the memory 820 to implement the above functions. In a specific implementation manner, the memory 820 may be integrated with the processor 810 or may be independent of the processor 810. It should be understood that the processor 810 may alternatively correspond to each processing unit in the above communication device, and the transceiver 830 may correspond to each receiving unit and each transmitting unit in the above communication device.

[0316] It should be further understood that the transceiver 830 may include a receiver (or called a receiving machine) and a transmitter (or called a transmitting machine). The transceiver may further include an antenna. There may be one or more antennas. The transceiver may further be a communication interface or an interface circuit.

[0317] Specifically, the communication device 800 may correspond to the first terminal device in the method 400 according to an embodiment of this application or the network device in the method 400. It should be understood that the specific process by which the unit executes the above corresponding steps is described in detail in the embodiment of the above method. For the sake of brevity, the details are not described again here.

[0318] When the communication device 800 is a chip, the chip includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface. The processing unit may be a processor, a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit integrated on the chip.

[0319] In a possible design, the device 800 may be replaced with a chip device, for example, a communication chip that can be used in the device and is configured to implement the related functions of the processor 810 in the device. The chip device may be a field programmable gate array, an application specific integrated chip, a system on chip, a central processing unit, a network processor, a digital signal processing circuit, a microcontroller, a programmable controller, or other integrated chips for implementing related functions. Optionally, the chip may include one or more memories configured to store program code. When the code is executed, the processor can implement the corresponding functions.

[0320] Optionally, the memory and the processor in the above embodiments may be physically independent units from each other, or the memory may also be integrated with the processor.

[0321] This application further provides a computer-readable medium storing a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a computer, any one of the functions of the above method embodiments is realized.

[0322] This application further provides a computer program product. When the computer program product is executed by a computer, any one of the functions of the above method embodiments is realized.

[0323] This application further provides a system. The system includes the above one or more terminal devices and one or more network devices.

[0324] All or part of the above embodiments may be implemented by using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement the above embodiments, all or part of the above embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the procedures or functions according to the above embodiments of this application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or may be transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, a computer, a server, or a data center to another website, a computer, a server, or a data center in a wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, or microwave) manner. The computer-readable storage medium may be a usable medium accessible by a computer, or a data storage device integrating one or more usable media, such as a server or a data center. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a digital video disc (DVD)), a semiconductor medium (such as a solid-state drive (SSD)), etc.

[0325] In the embodiments of this application, words such as "example" or "for example" are used to represent giving an example, illustration, or explanation. Any embodiment or design solution described as an "example" in this application should not be explained as being more preferable or having more advantages than other embodiments or design solutions. Strictly speaking, the term "example" is used to present a concept in a specific manner.

[0326] As used throughout this specification, the term "embodiment" should be understood to mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic associated with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this application. Thus, the embodiments in the entire specification do not necessarily represent the same embodiment. Furthermore, these particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner.

[0327] It should be understood that the sequence numbers of the above processes do not imply the execution order in various embodiments of this application. 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 on the implementation processes of the embodiments of this application. The names of all nodes and messages in this application are merely set for the convenience of the description in this application and may be different in an actual network. It should be understood that the names of all nodes and messages are not limited in this application. Conversely, any name having the same or similar function as that of a node or message used in this application is considered a method or equivalent substitution in this application and falls within the protection scope of this application.

[0328] In this application, "when" and "case" mean that the UE or the base station performs corresponding processing in the target situation, but do not constitute any limitation regarding time, do not require the UE or the base station to perform a decision-making operation in the implementation manner, and do not mean any other limitation. It should be further understood.

[0329] In the embodiments of this application, it should be noted that "preset", "pre-configure", etc. may be realized by pre-storing the corresponding code or table in a device (for example, a terminal device), or in other ways that can indicate relevant information. The specific implementation methods of "preset", "pre-configure", etc. are not limited in this application. For example, they are preset rules or preset constants in the embodiments of this application.

[0330] Furthermore, the terms "system" and "network" may be used interchangeably in this specification. The term "and / or" in this specification only describes the association relationship for describing related objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may represent the following three cases, that is, only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists.

[0331] The term "at least one of..." in this specification represents all or any combination of the listed items. For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" may represent the following six cases, that is, only A exists, only B exists, only C exists, both A and B exist, both B and C exist, and all of A, B, and C exist. In this specification, "at least one" indicates one or more. "Plurality" means two or more.

[0332] In the embodiments of this application, it should be understood that "B corresponding to A" indicates that B is associated with A and B may be determined based on A. However, it should be further understood that determining B based on A does not mean that B is determined only based on A. The terms "include", "have" and their variants all mean "include but are not limited to" unless otherwise emphasized in other ways.

[0333] In the embodiments of this application, it should be further understood that the terms "first", "second", and various numerical values are used merely for the purpose of distinction for ease of explanation and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. For example, different instruction information is distinguished.

[0334] Those skilled in the art can recognize that, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this specification, the units and algorithm steps may be implemented by electronic hardware, or by a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the function is executed in a hardware manner or a software manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but the implementation method should not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.

[0335] For the convenience of description and for the purpose of concise description, regarding the detailed operation processes of the above systems, devices, and units, it can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to refer to the corresponding processes in the embodiments of the above methods. The details will not be described again here.

[0336] In some embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other ways. For example, the described embodiments of the devices are merely examples. For example, the division into units is merely a logical function division, and other divisions may be used in actual implementation methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into other systems, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the disclosed mutual coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection may be realized by using some interfaces. The indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units may be realized in an electronic, mechanical, or other form.

[0337] The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate. The parts presented as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.

[0338] Furthermore, the functional units in the embodiments of this application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist physically alone, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0339] When the function is realized in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the function may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art or a part of the technical solution, may also be realized in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of this application. The above storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, removable hard disks, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0340] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit the protection scope of this application. Any modifications or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application shall fall within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, comprising: obtaining a first formula, where the first formula is used to determine a physical resource block (PRB) index; receiving second information, where the second information includes a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource index; determining a PRB index of a PUCCH resource based on the first formula and the PUCCH resource index, where the PUCCH resource is used by a first terminal device to transmit uplink control information; and the method further includes: when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the upper end of a first initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP), determining that the first formula is 【Number 6】 or when the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the lower end of the first initial uplink BWP, determining that the first formula is 【Number 7】 where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource, N BWP size is the number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP, RB BWP offset is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, r PUCCH is the PUCCH resource index, and N CS is the number of elements in a set of initial cyclic shift indexes; and denotes truncating the result of, where the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates the first PRB offset and the set of initial cyclic shift indexes. 【Number 8】

2. 【Number 9】 The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving third information, where the third information includes first indication information indicating the first formula.

3. The method according to claim 2, where the third information further includes PUCCH resource set configuration information used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

4. ​ ​ The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the third information is a system information block 1 (SIB1), downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling SIB1, or a master information block (MIB).

5. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the third information further indicates that frequency hopping is not performed on the PUCCH resource.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising transmitting the uplink control information on a resource associated with the PRB index.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first terminal device is a simple terminal device.

8. A communication method, comprising: transmitting third information, the third information including first indication information, the first indication information indicating a first formula, the first formula being used to determine a physical resource block (PRB) index; and transmitting second information, the second information including a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource index, the first formula and the PUCCH resource index being used to determine a PRB index of the PUCCH resource, the PUCCH resource being used by a first terminal device to transmit uplink control information. The method further includes: When the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the upper end of the first initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP), determining that the first formula is or 【Number 15】 When the PUCCH resource set of the first terminal device is located at the lower end of the first initial uplink BWP, determining that the first formula is where X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource, N BWP size is the number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP, RB BWP offset is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, r PUCCH is the PUCCH resource index, and N CS is the number of elements in the set of initial cyclic shift indexes. 【Number 16】 is The method further includes: X is the PRB index of the PUCCH resource, N BWP size is the number of PRBs included in the bandwidth of the first initial uplink BWP, RB BWP offset is the first PRB offset of the PUCCH resource, r PUCCH is the PUCCH resource index, N CS is the number of elements in the set of initial cyclic shift indexes, 【Number 17】 is 【Number 18】 A method of truncating the result, wherein the first initial uplink BWP includes the PUCCH resource, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information indicates a set of the first PRB offset and the initial cyclic shift index.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the third information further includes PUCCH resource set configuration information, and the PUCCH resource set configuration information is used to determine the PRB index of the PUCCH resource.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the third information is a system information block 1 (SIB1), downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling SIB1, or a master information block (MIB).

11. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the third information further indicates that frequency hopping is not performed on the PUCCH resource.

12. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the first terminal device is a simple terminal device.

13. A communication device configured to execute the steps of the method according to claim 1.

14. A communication device configured to execute the steps of the method according to claim 8.

15. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is configured to execute the method according to claim 1.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is configured to execute the method according to claim 8.

17. A computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed on a computer, the computer is capable of executing the method according to claim 1.

18. A computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed on a computer, the computer is capable of executing the method according to claim 8.

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