Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications. Provided are a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: receiving a first signal from a network device, wherein the first signal is used for time synchronization, and is also used for indicating at least one time unit within a first time period; and sending first data to the network device in a first time unit, wherein the first time unit is one of the at least one time unit. A terminal device determines a first time unit according to a first signal, and sends first data in the first time unit. Since a transmission moment is no longer any moment, the present embodiment can reduce the probability of transmission collision. In addition, the terminal device can also perform channel monitoring on the basis of a time unit, and if the current time unit is occupied, it is not necessary for the terminal device to continue to perform the channel monitoring in the current time unit, such that the present embodiment can also reduce the monitoring power consumption of the terminal device.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on July 28, 2023, with application number 202310944356.X and application name “Communication Method and Communication Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) is a low-power wide-area network that provides secure, two-way communication for end devices at a low cost and power consumption. LoRaWAN offers three operating modes: Class A, Class B, and Class C. Class B offers a balanced power consumption and performance. End devices in Class B mode require regular beacon signals, which are used for time synchronization between the end device and the gateway.

[0004] The uplink transmission mechanism of LoRaWAN is relatively simple. Terminal devices can initiate access at any time except the receiving window. Different terminal devices may initiate access at the same time, resulting in frequent transmission collisions.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and a communication device that can reduce the probability of transmission collisions in LoRaWAN.

[0007] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, wherein the method may be performed by a terminal device or a device (such as a chip) applied to the terminal device. The method is described below using the terminal device as an example. The method includes: receiving a first signal from a network device, the first signal being used for time synchronization and indicating at least one time unit within a first time period; and sending first data to the network device within the first time unit, the first time unit being one of the at least one time units.

[0008] In traditional LoRaWAN, the terminal device can initiate access at any time except the receiving window. After a transmission collision occurs, the time when the terminal device re-initiates access is not restricted, which leads to frequent transmission collisions. In this embodiment, the terminal device determines at least one time unit based on the first signal, and some or all of the time units in the at least one time unit are used to initiate access or send data. The terminal device initiates access or sends data in some or all of the time units in the at least one time unit, such as the first time unit. Since the transmission moment is no longer an arbitrary moment, this embodiment can reduce the probability of transmission collisions. In addition, the terminal device can also perform channel listening based on the time unit. If the current time unit is occupied, the terminal device does not need to continue listening to the channel in the current time unit. Therefore, this embodiment can also reduce the listening power consumption of the terminal device.

[0009] Optionally, before sending the first data to the network device within the first time unit, the method includes: determining that the first time unit is not occupied.

[0010] Before sending the first data, the terminal device can determine whether the first time unit is occupied by one or more methods. If the first time unit is not occupied, the terminal device can send the first data within the first time unit; if the first time unit is occupied, the terminal device does not send the first data within the first time unit. Therefore, this embodiment can reduce the probability of transmission collisions.

[0011] Optionally, determining that the first time unit is not occupied includes: determining that the first time unit is not occupied through channel sensing.

[0012] The terminal device can initiate access at any time within the first time unit. Therefore, the terminal device can monitor the channel before sending the first data. If the channel is detected to be occupied, the terminal device will not send the first data within the first time unit. If the channel is detected to be unoccupied, the terminal device can send the first data within the first time unit. Therefore, this embodiment can reduce the probability of transmission collisions.

[0013] Optionally, the first signal includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is not occupied. Determining that the first time unit is not occupied includes: determining that the first time unit is not occupied according to the fourth indication information.

[0014] In some cases, the first time unit may be used for retransmission, and the network device can indicate whether the first time unit is occupied through indication information. For example, the network device indicates that the first time unit is not occupied through fourth indication information. If the terminal device does not receive the fourth indication information, the terminal device does not send the first data within the first time unit; if the terminal device receives the fourth indication information, it can send the first data within the first time unit, or it can determine whether to send the first data within the first time unit after performing channel sensing. In this way, when the network device schedules uplink transmission within the first time unit, the network device can indicate that the first time unit is occupied through indication information, thereby avoiding collisions and reducing the terminal's listening power consumption.

[0015] Optionally, the first signal includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is an uplink time unit.

[0016] Compared with the solution of determining the uplink time unit through a synchronization sequence, this embodiment does not place excessively high requirements on the receiving capability of the terminal device, and can reduce the cost of the terminal device.

[0017] Optionally, the first signal includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the length of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

[0018] Compared with the solution of presetting the length of each time unit, this embodiment can flexibly set the length of each time unit in the first time period.

[0019] Optionally, the first signal includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the number of at least one time unit.

[0020] Compared with the solution of presetting the number of each time unit, this embodiment can flexibly set the number of time units in the first time period.

[0021] Optionally, the at least one time unit of the first time period includes multiple time units, and the first time unit is any one of the multiple time units.

[0022] If the first signal indicates multiple time units within the first time period, the terminal device can initiate access within any time unit within the multiple time units without the need for network device instructions, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0023] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving a synchronization signal from a network device within the first time period.

[0024] In some cases, for example, when the terminal device has sufficient power, the terminal device can receive a synchronization signal from the network device within the first time period, so that the time synchronization between the terminal device and the network device is more accurate, reducing the probability of transmission failure.

[0025] Optionally, the method also includes: receiving a second signal from the network device, the second signal is used for time synchronization, and the second signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a second time period, the at least one time unit within the second time period includes a second time unit for downlink transmission, and the second time unit is associated with the first time unit; receiving second data within the second time unit.

[0026] The above association relationship is, for example, that the position of the second time unit in the second time period is the same as the position of the first time unit in the first time period. Based on this association relationship, the terminal device can turn on the receiving circuit during a portion of the second time period (i.e., the second time unit) without turning on the receiving circuit during the entire second time period, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal device.

[0027] Optionally, the second data is feedback information of the first data, and the method also includes: when no feedback information is received within the second time unit, or when the feedback information indicates that the data transmission fails, retransmitting the first data within a third time unit of a third time period, the third time period is located after the second time period, and the third time unit is used for uplink transmission.

[0028] After the first data transmission fails, if the terminal device retransmits the first data at any time within the third time period, there is a high probability that a transmission collision will occur. In this embodiment, the terminal device retransmits the first data at a specific time in the third time period (i.e., the third time unit) to reduce the probability of a transmission collision.

[0029] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving fifth indication information from the network device within the second time unit, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate the third time unit.

[0030] The network device specifies a dedicated time unit (i.e., the third time unit) through the fifth indication information for the terminal device to retransmit the first data, which can avoid transmission collision when the terminal device retransmits the first data, thereby avoiding power consumption waste caused by multiple retransmissions.

[0031] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which may be performed by a network device or a chip used in a network device. The method is described below using the network device as an example. The method includes: sending a first signal to a terminal device, the first signal being used for time synchronization and indicating at least one time unit within a first time period; and receiving first data from the terminal device within a first time unit of the at least one time unit.

[0032] In traditional LoRaWAN, the terminal device can initiate access at any time except the receiving window. After a transmission collision occurs, the time when the terminal device re-initiates access is not restricted, which leads to frequent transmission collisions. In this embodiment, the terminal device determines at least one time unit based on the first signal, and some or all of the time units in the at least one time unit are used to initiate access or send data. The terminal device initiates access or sends data in some or all of the time units in the at least one time unit, such as the first time unit. Since the transmission moment is no longer an arbitrary moment, this embodiment can reduce the probability of transmission collisions. In addition, the terminal device can also perform channel listening based on the time unit. If the current time unit is occupied, the terminal device does not need to continue listening to the channel in the current time unit. Therefore, this embodiment can also reduce the listening power consumption of the terminal device.

[0033] Optionally, the first signal includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is an uplink time unit.

[0034] Compared with the solution of determining the uplink time unit through a synchronization sequence, this embodiment does not impose excessively high requirements on the receiving capability of the terminal device, and can reduce the cost of the terminal device.

[0035] Optionally, the first signal includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the length of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

[0036] Compared with the solution of presetting the length of each time unit, this embodiment can flexibly set the length of each time unit in the first time period.

[0037] Optionally, the first signal includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the number of at least one time unit.

[0038] Compared with the solution of presetting the number of each time unit, this embodiment can flexibly set the number of time units in the first time period.

[0039] Optionally, the first signal includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is not occupied.

[0040] In some cases, the first time unit may be used for retransmission, and the network device can indicate whether the first time unit is occupied through indication information. For example, the network device indicates that the first time unit is not occupied through fourth indication information. If the terminal device does not receive the fourth indication information, the terminal device does not send the first data within the first time unit; if the terminal device receives the fourth indication information, it can send the first data within the first time unit, or it can determine whether to send the first data within the first time unit after performing channel sensing. In this way, when the network device schedules uplink transmission within the first time unit, the network device can indicate that the first time unit is occupied through indication information, thereby avoiding collisions and reducing the terminal's listening power consumption.

[0041] Optionally, the at least one time unit of the first time period includes multiple time units, and the first time unit is any one of the multiple time units.

[0042] If the first signal indicates multiple time units within the first time period, the terminal device can initiate access within any time unit within the multiple time units without the need for network device instructions, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0043] Optionally, the method further includes: sending a synchronization signal to the terminal device within the first time period.

[0044] In some cases, for example, when the terminal device has sufficient power, the network device can send a synchronization signal to the terminal device within the first time period, so that the time synchronization between the terminal device and the network device is more accurate, reducing the probability of transmission failure.

[0045] Optionally, the method also includes: sending a second signal to the terminal device, the second signal is used for time synchronization, and the second signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a second time period, the at least one time unit within the second time period includes a second time unit for downlink communication, and the second time unit is associated with the first time unit; sending second data within the second time unit.

[0046] The above association relationship is, for example, that the position of the second time unit in the second time period is the same as the position of the first time unit in the first time period. Based on this association relationship, the terminal device can turn on the receiving circuit during a portion of the second time period (i.e., the second time unit) without turning on the receiving circuit during the entire second time period, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal device.

[0047] Optionally, the second data is feedback information of the first data. When the first data fails to be received, the method further includes: receiving the first data within a third time unit of a third time period, the third time period is located after the second time period, and the third time unit is used for uplink transmission.

[0048] After the first data transmission fails, if the terminal device retransmits the first data at any time within the third time period, there is a high probability that a transmission collision will occur. In this embodiment, the terminal device retransmits the first data at a specific time in the third time period (i.e., the third time unit), and the network device receives the first data at a specific time in the third time period (i.e., the third time unit), which can reduce the probability of a transmission collision.

[0049] Optionally, the method further includes: sending fifth indication information to the terminal device within the second time unit, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate the third time unit.

[0050] The network device specifies a dedicated time unit (i.e., the third time unit) through the fifth indication information for the terminal device to retransmit the first data, which can avoid transmission collision when the terminal device retransmits the first data, thereby avoiding power consumption waste caused by multiple retransmissions.

[0051] In a third aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which may be performed by a terminal device or a chip implemented in the terminal device. The method is described below using the terminal device as an example. The method includes: receiving a first signal from a network device, the first signal being used for time synchronization and indicating at least one time unit within a first time period; and receiving third data from the network device within the first time unit, the first time unit being one of the at least one time units.

[0052] In traditional LoRaWAN, terminal devices must determine numerous parameters and a complex local mechanism (pingslot state machine) to determine the receive window. In this embodiment, the network device indicates the downlink time unit via a first signal, allowing the terminal device to determine the downlink time unit without complex local mechanisms, thus reducing computational overhead and power consumption.

[0053] Optionally, the first signal includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is a downlink time unit.

[0054] Compared with the solution of determining the downlink time unit through a synchronization sequence, this embodiment does not impose excessively high requirements on the receiving capability of the terminal device, and can reduce the cost of the terminal device.

[0055] Optionally, the first signal includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the length of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

[0056] Compared with the solution of presetting the length of each time unit, this embodiment can flexibly set the length of each time unit in the first time period.

[0057] Optionally, the first signal includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the number of at least one time unit.

[0058] Compared with the solution of presetting the number of each time unit, this embodiment can flexibly set the length of each time unit in the first time period.

[0059] Fourthly, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which may be performed by a network device or a chip used in a network device. The method is described below using the network device as an example. The method includes: sending a first signal to a terminal device, the first signal being used for time synchronization and indicating at least one time unit within a first time period; and sending third data to the terminal device within the first time unit, the first time unit being one of the at least one time units.

[0060] In traditional LoRaWAN, terminal devices must determine numerous parameters and a complex local mechanism (pingslot state machine) to determine the receive window. In this embodiment, the network device indicates the downlink time unit via a first signal, allowing the terminal device to determine the downlink time unit without complex local mechanisms, thus reducing computational overhead and power consumption.

[0061] Optionally, the first signal includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is a downlink time unit.

[0062] Compared with the solution of determining the downlink time unit through a synchronization sequence, this embodiment does not place excessively high requirements on the receiving capability of the terminal device, and can reduce the cost of the terminal device.

[0063] Optionally, the first signal includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the length of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

[0064] Compared with the solution of presetting the length of each time unit, this embodiment can flexibly set the length of each time unit in the first time period.

[0065] Optionally, the first signal includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the number of the at least one time unit.

[0066] Compared with the solution of presetting the number of each time unit, this embodiment can flexibly set the length of each time unit in the first time period.

[0067] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the execution subject of the method can be a terminal device or a chip applied to a terminal device, and the following description is made using the execution subject being a terminal device as an example. The method includes: receiving a first signal, the first signal is used for time synchronization, and the first signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a first time period, the first signal includes first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is used for uplink transmission or downlink transmission, and the first time unit is one of at least one time unit; when the first time unit is used for uplink transmission, sending first data to the network device within the first time unit; or, when the first time unit is used for downlink transmission, receiving third data from the network device within the first time unit.

[0068] In traditional LoRaWAN, a terminal device can initiate access at any time outside the receive window. After a transmission collision occurs, the terminal device is not restricted in when to re-initiate access, resulting in frequent transmission collisions. In this embodiment, the terminal device determines at least one time unit based on the first signal, with some or all of the at least one time unit used for initiating access or sending data. The terminal device initiates access or sends data during some or all of the at least one time unit, for example, the first time unit. Because the transmission time is no longer arbitrary, this embodiment can reduce the probability of transmission collisions. Furthermore, the terminal device can also perform channel sensing based on time units. If the current time unit is occupied, the terminal device does not need to continue sensing the channel within the current time unit. Therefore, this embodiment can also reduce the terminal device's sensing power consumption. In traditional LoRaWAN, the terminal device needs to determine a large number of parameters and determine the receive window based on a complex local mechanism (pingslot state machine). In this embodiment, the network device indicates the downlink time unit through the first signal. The terminal device can determine the downlink time unit without complex local mechanisms, thereby saving the terminal device's computational overhead and power consumption.

[0069] Optionally, before sending the first data to the network device within the first time unit, the method includes: determining that the first time unit is not occupied.

[0070] Before sending the first data, the terminal device can determine whether the first time unit is occupied by one or more methods. If the first time unit is not occupied, the terminal device can send the first data within the first time unit; if the first time unit is occupied, the terminal device does not send the first data within the first time unit. Therefore, this embodiment can reduce the probability of transmission collisions.

[0071] Optionally, determining that the first time unit is not occupied includes: determining that the first time unit is not occupied through channel sensing.

[0072] The terminal device can initiate access at any time within the first time unit. Therefore, the terminal device can monitor the channel before sending the first data. If the channel is detected to be occupied, the terminal device will not send the first data within the first time unit. If the channel is detected to be unoccupied, the terminal device can send the first data within the first time unit. Therefore, this embodiment can reduce the probability of transmission collisions.

[0073] Optionally, the first signal includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is not occupied; determining that the first time unit is not occupied includes: determining that the first time unit is not occupied according to the fourth indication information.

[0074] In some cases, the first time unit may be used for retransmission, and the network device can indicate whether the first time unit is occupied through indication information. For example, the network device indicates that the first time unit is not occupied through fourth indication information. If the terminal device does not receive the fourth indication information, the terminal device does not send the first data within the first time unit; if the terminal device receives the fourth indication information, it can send the first data within the first time unit, or it can determine whether to send the first data within the first time unit after performing channel sensing. In this way, when the network device schedules uplink transmission within the first time unit, the network device can indicate that the first time unit is occupied through indication information, thereby avoiding collisions and reducing the terminal's listening power consumption.

[0075] Optionally, the first signal includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the length of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

[0076] Compared with the solution of presetting the length of each time unit, this embodiment can flexibly set the length of each time unit in the first time period.

[0077] Optionally, the first signal includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the number of at least one time unit.

[0078] Compared with the solution of presetting the number of each time unit, this embodiment can flexibly set the number of time units in the first time period.

[0079] Optionally, when the first time unit is used for uplink transmission, at least one time unit of the first time period includes multiple time units, and the first time unit is any one of the multiple time units.

[0080] If the first signal indicates multiple time units within the first time period, the terminal device can initiate access within any time unit within the multiple time units without the need for network device instructions, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0081] Optionally, when the first time unit is used for uplink transmission, the method further includes: receiving a synchronization signal from a network device within a first time period.

[0082] In some cases, for example, when the terminal device has sufficient power, the terminal device can receive a synchronization signal from the network device within the first time period, so that the time synchronization between the terminal device and the network device is more accurate, reducing the probability of transmission failure.

[0083] Optionally, when the first time unit is used for uplink transmission, the method also includes: receiving a second signal from the network device, the second signal is used for time synchronization, and the second signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a second time period, the at least one time unit within the second time period includes a second time unit for downlink transmission, and the second time unit is associated with the first time unit; receiving second data in the second time unit.

[0084] The above association relationship is, for example, that the position of the second time unit in the second time period is the same as the position of the first time unit in the first time period. Based on this association relationship, the terminal device can turn on the receiving circuit during a portion of the second time period (i.e., the second time unit) without turning on the receiving circuit during the entire second time period, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal device.

[0085] Optionally, the second data is feedback information of the first data, and the method also includes: when no feedback information is received within the second time unit, or when the feedback information indicates that the data transmission fails, retransmitting the first data within a third time unit of a third time period, the third time period is located after the second time period, and the third time unit is used for uplink transmission.

[0086] After the first data transmission fails, if the terminal device retransmits the first data at any time within the third time period, there is a high probability that a transmission collision will occur. In this embodiment, the terminal device retransmits the first data at a specific time in the third time period (i.e., the third time unit) to reduce the probability of a transmission collision.

[0087] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving fifth indication information from the network device within the second time unit, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate the third time unit.

[0088] The network device specifies a dedicated time unit (i.e., the third time unit) through the fifth indication information for the terminal device to retransmit the first data, which can avoid transmission collision when the terminal device retransmits the first data, thereby avoiding power consumption waste caused by multiple retransmissions.

[0089] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the execution subject of the method may be a network device or a chip applied to a network device, and the following description is made using the execution subject being a network device as an example. The method comprises: sending a first signal, the first signal being used for time synchronization, and the first signal being used to indicate at least one time unit within a first time period, the first signal comprising first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the first time unit is used for uplink transmission or downlink transmission, the first time unit being one of at least one time unit; when the first time unit is used for uplink transmission, receiving first data from a terminal device within the first time unit; or, when the first time unit is used for downlink transmission, sending third data to the terminal device within the first time unit.

[0090] In traditional LoRaWAN, a terminal device can initiate access at any time outside the receive window. After a transmission collision occurs, the terminal device is not restricted in when to re-initiate access, resulting in frequent transmission collisions. In this embodiment, the terminal device determines at least one time unit based on the first signal, with some or all of the at least one time unit used for initiating access or sending data. The terminal device initiates access or sends data during some or all of the at least one time unit, for example, the first time unit. Because the transmission time is no longer arbitrary, this embodiment can reduce the probability of transmission collisions. Furthermore, the terminal device can also perform channel sensing based on time units. If the current time unit is occupied, the terminal device does not need to continue sensing the channel within the current time unit. Therefore, this embodiment can also reduce the terminal device's sensing power consumption. In traditional LoRaWAN, the terminal device needs to determine a large number of parameters and determine the receive window based on a complex local mechanism (pingslot state machine). In this embodiment, the network device indicates the downlink time unit through the first signal. The terminal device can determine the downlink time unit without complex local mechanisms, thereby saving the terminal device's computational overhead and power consumption.

[0091] Optionally, the first signal further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate the length of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

[0092] Compared with the solution of presetting the length of each time unit, this embodiment can flexibly set the length of each time unit in the first time period.

[0093] Optionally, the first signal further includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the number of at least one time unit.

[0094] Compared with the solution of presetting the number of each time unit, this embodiment can flexibly set the number of time units in the first time period.

[0095] Optionally, when the first time unit is used for uplink transmission, the first signal further includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is not occupied.

[0096] In some cases, the first time unit may be used for retransmission, and the network device can indicate whether the first time unit is occupied through indication information. For example, the network device indicates that the first time unit is not occupied through fourth indication information. If the terminal device does not receive the fourth indication information, the terminal device does not send the first data within the first time unit; if the terminal device receives the fourth indication information, it can send the first data within the first time unit, or it can determine whether to send the first data within the first time unit after performing channel sensing. In this way, when the network device schedules uplink transmission within the first time unit, the network device can indicate that the first time unit is occupied through indication information, thereby avoiding collisions and reducing the terminal's listening power consumption.

[0097] Optionally, when the first time unit is used for uplink transmission, at least one time unit of the first time period includes multiple time units, and the first time unit is any one of the multiple time units.

[0098] If the first signal indicates multiple time units within the first time period, the terminal device can initiate access within any time unit within the multiple time units without the need for network device instructions, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0099] Optionally, when the first time unit is used for uplink transmission, the method further includes: sending a synchronization signal to the terminal device within the first time period.

[0100] In some cases, for example, when the terminal device has sufficient power, the network device can send a synchronization signal to the terminal device within the first time period, so that the time synchronization between the terminal device and the network device is more accurate, reducing the probability of transmission failure.

[0101] Optionally, when the first time unit is used for uplink transmission, the method also includes: sending a second signal to the terminal device, the second signal is used for time synchronization, and the second signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a second time period, the at least one time unit within the second time period includes a second time unit for downlink communication, and the second time unit is associated with the first time unit; sending second data within the second time unit.

[0102] The above association relationship is, for example, that the position of the second time unit in the second time period is the same as the position of the first time unit in the first time period. Based on this association relationship, the terminal device can turn on the receiving circuit during a portion of the second time period (i.e., the second time unit) without turning on the receiving circuit during the entire second time period, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal device.

[0103] Optionally, the second data is feedback information of the first data. When the first data fails to be received, the method further includes: receiving the first data within a third time unit of a third time period, the third time period is located after the second time period, and the third time unit is used for uplink transmission.

[0104] After the first data transmission fails, if the terminal device retransmits the first data at any time within the third time period, there is a high probability that a transmission collision will occur. In this embodiment, the terminal device retransmits the first data at a specific time in the third time period (i.e., the third time unit), and the network device receives the first data at a specific time in the third time period (i.e., the third time unit), which can reduce the probability of a transmission collision.

[0105] Optionally, the method further includes: sending fifth indication information to the terminal device within the second time unit, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate the third time unit.

[0106] The network device specifies a dedicated time unit (i.e., the third time unit) through the fifth indication information for the terminal device to retransmit the first data, which can avoid transmission collision when the terminal device retransmits the first data, thereby avoiding power consumption waste caused by multiple retransmissions.

[0107] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which can be a terminal device or a chip within a terminal device. The communication device may include a processing unit and a transceiver unit, configured to execute: any of the methods in the first aspect and its optional embodiments, or any of the methods in the third aspect and its optional embodiments, or any of the methods in the fifth aspect and its optional embodiments. The transceiver unit is a sending unit when executing the sending step, and is a receiving unit when executing the receiving step.

[0108] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal device or a chip within the terminal device. The communication device may include a processor configured to execute: any method in the first aspect and its optional embodiments, or any method in the third aspect and its optional embodiments, or any method in the fifth aspect and its optional embodiments.

[0109] Optionally, the communication device may further include a transceiver (e.g., a transceiver circuit, an antenna, etc.);

[0110] Optionally, the communication device may also include a memory (for example, a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.); the memory is used to store instructions, and the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory so that the communication device executes any one of the methods in the above-mentioned first aspect and its optional implementation methods, or so that the communication device executes any one of the methods in the above-mentioned third aspect and its optional implementation methods, or so that the communication device executes any one of the methods in the above-mentioned fifth aspect and its optional implementation methods.

[0111] Optionally, the communication device may further include an interface circuit, which may be an input / output interface, a pin, or a circuit.

[0112] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a network device or a chip within a network device. The communication device may include a processing unit and a transceiver unit, configured to execute: any of the methods in the second aspect and its optional embodiments, or any of the methods in the fourth aspect and its optional embodiments, or any of the methods in the sixth aspect and its optional embodiments. The transceiver unit is a sending unit when executing the sending step, and is a receiving unit when executing the receiving step.

[0113] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a network device or a chip within a network device. The communication device may include a processor configured to execute: any method in the second aspect and its optional embodiments, or any method in the fourth aspect and its optional embodiments, or any method in the sixth aspect and its optional embodiments.

[0114] Optionally, the communication device may further include a transceiver (e.g., a transceiver circuit, an antenna, etc.);

[0115] Optionally, the network device may also include a memory (for example, a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.); the memory is used to store instructions, and the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory so that the communication device performs any one of the methods in the above-mentioned second aspect and its optional implementation methods, or so that the communication device performs any one of the methods in the above-mentioned fourth aspect and its optional implementation methods, or so that the communication device performs any one of the methods in the above-mentioned sixth aspect and its optional implementation methods.

[0116] Optionally, the communication device may further include an interface circuit, which may be an input / output interface, a pin, or a circuit.

[0117] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed on a computer, the computer executes any one of the methods in the first aspect and its optional embodiments, or the computer executes any one of the methods in the third aspect and its optional embodiments, or the computer executes any one of the methods in the fifth aspect and its optional embodiments.

[0118] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed on a computer, the computer executes any one of the methods in the second aspect and its optional embodiments, or the computer executes any one of the methods in the fourth aspect and its optional embodiments, or the computer executes any one of the methods in the sixth aspect and its optional embodiments.

[0119] In the thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code or computer program instructions. When the computer program code or computer program instructions are run by a sidelink beam training device, the device executes any one of the methods in the first aspect and its optional embodiments, or the device executes any one of the methods in the third aspect and its optional embodiments, or the device executes any one of the methods in the fifth aspect and its optional embodiments.

[0120] In the fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code or computer program instructions. When the computer program code or computer program instructions are run by a sidelink beam training device, the device executes any one of the methods in the second aspect and its optional embodiments, or the device executes any one of the methods in the fourth aspect and its optional embodiments, or the device executes any one of the methods in the sixth aspect and its optional embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0121] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the present application;

[0122] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the communication protocol stack of LoRaWAN;

[0123] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the MAC layer frame structure of LoRaWAN;

[0124] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of three transmission modes of LoRaWAN;

[0125] Figure 5 shows the communication process of ClassB mode;

[0126] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0127] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a time domain resource provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0128] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of another time domain resource provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0129] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0130] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a communication process for retransmitting first data provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0131] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0132] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a LoRaWAN downlink transmission provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0133] FIG13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0134] FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0135] FIG15 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0136] FIG16 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0137] FIG17 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0138] FIG18 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0139] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0140] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the present application.

[0141] The communication system includes a terminal 110, a gateway 120, a network server 130, and an application server 140. The terminal 110 and the gateway 120 communicate via LoRaWAN, the gateway 120 and the network server 130 communicate via a wireless connection (e.g., a cellular network) or a wired connection (e.g., an Ethernet backhaul network), and the network server 130 and the application server 140 communicate via a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet).

[0142] LoRaWAN is a low-power, scalable, high-quality, and highly secure long-range wireless network. LoRaWAN typically uses a star topology, where a terminal 110 can communicate with one or more gateways using long-range (LoRa) modulation or frequency-shift keying (FSK) modulation.

[0143] Terminal 110 is a device that provides data to users, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connectivity. Terminal 110 can be called user equipment (UE), and is sometimes also called terminal equipment, access station, UE station, remote station, or wireless communication device. Terminal 110 is also called a node or sensor.

[0144] The terminal 110 can be a wireless terminal in industrial control, a whole vehicle, a wireless communication module in the whole vehicle, a telematics box (T-box), a roadside unit (RSU), a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a smart speaker in the Internet of Things (IoT), a wireless terminal device in remote medical, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, or a wireless terminal device in a smart home, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0145] As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal 110 may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be referred to as wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include electronic devices that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as electronic devices that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for measuring vital signs.

[0146] Gateway 120 is a network-side device with wireless transceiver capabilities and is an example of a network device. Gateway 120 is used to forward data generated by application server 140 to terminal 110 and forward data generated by terminal 110 to network server 130. There is no one-to-one correspondence between terminals 110 and gateways 120. Terminal 110 can be served by multiple gateways in the same area, and uplink data from terminal 110 can be received by all gateways within reach, thus reducing packet loss.

[0147] A network device is a network-side device with wireless transceiver functions. A network device can be a device in a radio access network (RAN) that provides wireless communication functions for terminal devices, and is called a RAN device. The RAN can be an access network in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 4G, 5G, or the future-oriented 6G network. The RAN can also be an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a communication network of two or more of the above networks. A RAN device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation base station (next generation nodeB, gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a long-range radio (LoRa) system, or an access node in a vehicle network system. RAN equipment can also be a module or unit that performs some of the functions of a base station. For example, it can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). The CU here performs the functions of the base station's radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and can also perform the functions of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU performs the functions of the base station's radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer, and can also perform some or all of the physical layer functions. For detailed descriptions of each of the above protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The CU and DU can be set up separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as the baseband unit (BBU).The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, for example, a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). In different systems, CU, DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meanings. For example, in an ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, and RU may also be called O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application may be implemented through a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. The radio access network device may be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, a relay node, a donor node, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the radio access network device. For ease of description, network device is referred to as a short form of radio access network device, and gateway 120 is used as an example of a radio access network device.

[0148] The network server 130 is used to manage the LoRaWAN network and dynamically control network parameters to adapt the LoRaWAN network to changing conditions. The network server 130 is also used to establish a secure connection between the terminal 110 and the application server 140, control the traffic between the terminal 110 and the application server 140, and ensure the authenticity of the terminal 110 and the integrity of each message.

[0149] The wireless network between the gateway 120 and the network server 130 can be a communication system within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, a general packet radio service (GPRS) system, an LTE system, a frequency division duplexing (FDD) system, a time division duplexing (TDD) system, or a new radio (NR) system. The network between the gateway 120 and the network server 130 can also apply a future communication system or a wireless communication system outside of 3GPP.

[0150] The function of the application server 140 is to securely process, manage, and interpret application data of the terminal 110. The wired connection between the network server 130 and the application server 140 may be an optical fiber or a cable.

[0151] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific types of the terminal 110, gateway 120, network server 130, and application server 140. In addition, the embodiments of the present application do not limit the communication method between the gateway 120 and the network server 130, and the communication method between the network server 130 and the application server 140.

[0152] The communication protocol stack of LoRaWAN is shown in Figure 2. From top to bottom, the LoRaWAN protocol is divided into four layers: application layer, MAC layer, modulation layer, and frequency band layer.

[0153] The application layer is mainly responsible for generating and processing data. For example, the application layer can generate sensor data and process instructions issued by the gateway 120.

[0154] The MAC layer is mainly responsible for controlling the data link. For example, the MAC layer can encapsulate the data generated by the application layer and transmit it to the physical layer.

[0155] The MAC layer frame structure of LoRaWAN is shown in Figure 3.

[0156] A MAC frame may include a MAC header (MHDR), a MAC payload and a message integrity code (MIC). The MHDR usually occupies 1 byte and includes a frame type (FType), a protocol number (Major) and a reserved field. The MAC payload is a data frame and may include a frame header (FHDR), a frame port (FPort) and a frame payload (FRMPayload). The MIC usually occupies 4 bytes and is used for data verification of the MAC frame.

[0157] The FHDR may include a 4-byte terminal address (device address, DevAddr), a 1-byte frame control (frame control, FCtrl), a 2-byte frame counter (frame count, FCnt), and frame options (frame options, FOpts) used to transmit MAC commands.

[0158] FRMPayload is the payload of the MAC frame, which can be used to store MAC commands or user data, such as sensor data generated by the application layer.

[0159] The MAC frame is encapsulated as a whole in a physical payload, which is located in a physical layer frame. The physical layer frame also includes a preamble, a packet header, and a cyclic redundancy check (CRC).

[0160] The modulation layer is mainly responsible for data modulation and demodulation. For example, the modulation layer can adopt chirp spread spectrum (CSS) modulation and use different spreading factors to provide different data transmission rates.

[0161] The frequency band layer, also known as the regional industrial scientific medical (ISM) band layer, is responsible for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals. Different regions allocate different frequency bands to LoRaWAN. For example, Europe (EU) can use bands around 868 MHz and 433 MHz, the United States (US) can use bands around 915 MHz, and Asia (AS) can use bands around 430 MHz. The modulation layer and frequency band layer are also known as the physical layer.

[0162] Based on different scenarios, LoRaWAN has three transmission modes: Class A, Class B, and Class C. The specific transmission mode is implemented by the MAC layer. The following describes these three transmission modes with reference to Figure 4.

[0163] Class A: Terminals in Class A mode can initiate access at any time and open one or two short downlink windows (RX1 and RX2) after the uplink window (TX) to receive data from the network. When there is no data transmission, the terminal is in a dormant state. Even if the gateway has downlink data to transmit, it must wait for the terminal to open the downlink window before transmitting.

[0164] The frequency used by RX1 is related to the uplink frequency, and the transmission rate used by RX1 is related to the uplink rate. RX1 can be turned on 1s±20μs after the uplink data transmission ends (this 1s can be adjusted through parameters, and the default value is usually 1). Generally, the default RX1 downlink rate is related to the transmission rate of the last uplink channel.

[0165] RX2 uses a fixed, configurable frequency and data rate. RX2 turns on 2s±20μs after uplink data transmission ends (this 2s can be adjusted via a parameter; the default value is usually 2). The frequency and data rate used by RX2 can be set via MAC commands.

[0166] The duration of the two receiving windows must at least allow the terminal to detect the preamble of the downlink data.

[0167] Class A transmission mode provides the lowest power consumption and is typically used for low-power IoT devices such as water meters, gas meters, smoke detectors, door sensors, and other sensors.

[0168] Class B: Terminals in Class B mode have more receive windows to receive more downlink data. To enable the terminal to open additional receive windows at specified times, it must receive beacons from the gateway for time synchronization. This is typically used in scenarios requiring downlink control and low power consumption, such as sluices, airlocks, and door locks.

[0169] Class C: A terminal in Class C mode maintains a constant receive window, closing it only briefly when transmitting. The second RX2 window remains open until the next uplink transmission. Terminals in Class C mode consume more power than terminals in Class A and Class B modes, but also offer the shortest downlink latency. Class C is generally suitable for applications with long-term electrical loads, such as electric meters and streetlights.

[0170] Normally, after the terminal is started, it joins LoRaWAN in Class A mode, and then the application layer of the terminal can choose to switch to Class B mode or Class C mode.

[0171] The communication process of Class B mode will be introduced in detail below.

[0172] As shown in Figure 5, after the terminal 110 switches to Class B mode, the terminal 110 and the application server 140 agree on the parameters of the receiving window. The application server 140 sends data in the agreed receiving window (ping time slot) through the gateway 120, and the terminal 110 receives the data in the agreed receiving window. At the same time, the gateway 120 periodically broadcasts beacons to maintain time synchronization between the terminal 110 and the gateway 120.

[0173] For example, terminal 110 and application server 140 agree to set four ping slots between each beacon period. Terminal 110 then opens four ping slots between beacon 1 and beacon 2. Application server 140 sends data 1 to terminal 110 via gateway 120 during the second ping slot. Accordingly, terminal 110 receives data 1 during the second ping slot. Subsequently, terminal 110 can send data 2 to gateway 120 at any time, except during the beacon reception window and ping slots.

[0174] The mechanism for determining the receive window described above is called a pingslot state machine. If terminal 110 applies the pingslot state machine to determine the receive window, it requires numerous parameters and complex calculation steps to estimate the location of the receive window, resulting in terminal 110 consuming significant energy. This is contrary to the low-power principle of LoRaWAN. Furthermore, in traditional LoRaWAN, once the amount of data to be transmitted reaches a threshold, terminal 110 can immediately initiate access. However, gateway 120 typically has multiple terminals within its coverage area. If terminal 110 initiates access at any time, a transmission collision may occur. After a transmission collision occurs, terminal 110 may immediately retransmit, resulting in frequent transmission collisions.

[0175] The following describes the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0176] As shown in FIG6 , method 600 includes the following contents.

[0177] S610: The gateway 120 sends a first signal to the terminal 110. The first signal is used for time synchronization, and the first signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a first time period.

[0178] Accordingly, the terminal 110 receives a first signal from the gateway 120. The first signal can be called a beacon, a synchronization signal block (SSB), a system information (SI), a system information block (SIB), a master information block (MIB), a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), etc.), a reference signal (RS), a synchronization sequence, downlink control information (DCI), downlink data, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific name of the first signal. As an optional example, the period of the first signal can be 128 milliseconds. As an optional example, due to the complexity of the device or the limited power consumption, the internal crystal oscillator of the terminal 110 will produce a frequency offset, and the first signal can be used to correct the frequency offset.

[0179] The above-mentioned time unit can be called a time slot or have other names. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific name and length of the time unit.

[0180] Unless otherwise specified, in each embodiment of the present application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish different objects. For example, the "first signal" and the "second signal" described below represent different signals. Apart from this, there are no other limitations.

[0181] The first signal may indicate at least one time unit within the first time period in an implicit or explicit manner, and the at least one time unit may be one time unit or multiple time units.

[0182] As an optional example, the first signal includes a synchronization sequence (eg, a pilot sequence), and the synchronization sequence is used for time synchronization. Different synchronization sequences can be used to implicitly indicate different contents, for example:

[0183] The synchronization sequence may indicate the number, position and length of at least one time unit; or,

[0184] The synchronization sequence may indicate the number and position of at least one time unit, and the length of at least one time unit may be defined by the LoRaWAN protocol or configured by the gateway 120; or,

[0185] The synchronization sequence may indicate the number and length of at least one time unit, the position of the at least one time unit may be defined by the LoRaWAN protocol or configured by the gateway 120; or,

[0186] The synchronization sequence may indicate the position and length of at least one time unit, and the number of the at least one time unit may be defined by the LoRaWAN protocol or configured by the gateway 120; or,

[0187] The synchronization sequence may indicate the number of at least one time unit, and the position and length of the at least one time unit may be defined by the LoRaWAN protocol or configured by the gateway 120; or,

[0188] The synchronization sequence may indicate the position of at least one time unit, the number and length of the at least one time unit may be defined by the LoRaWAN protocol or configured by the gateway 120; or,

[0189] The synchronization sequence may indicate a length of at least one time unit, and the number and position of the at least one time unit may be defined by the LoRaWAN protocol or configured by the gateway 120 .

[0190] The synchronization sequence can also indicate the transmission direction (uplink or downlink) of at least one time unit, where the uplink transmission direction indicates that the terminal 110 can send an uplink signal in the first time unit, and the downlink transmission direction indicates that the terminal 110 can receive a downlink signal in the first time unit. The downlink signal received by the terminal 110 can be data or a response message to the uplink data in the previous window.

[0191] By implicitly indicating the number, position, length and transmission direction of at least one time unit through the synchronization sequence, the amount of information carried by the first signal can be reduced, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0192] As an optional example, the first signal includes indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following contents of at least one time unit: quantity, position, length, and transmission direction.

[0193] For example, the first signal includes at least one of first indication information, second indication information, third indication information and sixth indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is an uplink time unit or a downlink time unit, the second indication information is used to indicate the length of each time unit in at least one time unit, the third indication information is used to indicate the number of at least one time unit, and the sixth indication information is used to indicate the position of at least one time unit.

[0194] As an optional example, the sixth indication information may indicate the time length (eg, the number of frames or time slots) between the starting position of the first time unit and the starting position or the ending position of the first signal.

[0195] The position of at least one time unit may also be implicitly indicated by the first message. For example, the LoRaWAN protocol may define that the starting position of the first time unit is the ending position of the first signal, or the gateway 120 may configure the starting position of the first time unit to be the ending position of the first signal, or the position of at least one time unit may have a mapping relationship with other indication information specified by the protocol.

[0196] As an optional example, the first signal may further include seventh indication information, where the seventh indication information is used to schedule uplink transmission of the terminal 110 .

[0197] The seventh indication information may indicate one of the following:

[0198] The maximum number of bits sent per window, for example, an 8-bit field indicating a transport block size (TBS) of 1 to 256 bytes;

[0199] Whether the terminal can use convolutional codes;

[0200] Uplink coverage level, for example, the uplink coverage level corresponding to different subcarrier spacing (SCS) and preamble lengths;

[0201] Number of bit repetitions;

[0202] Sleep time, so that the terminal can initiate access or send or receive data after waking up;

[0203] Uplink transmission bit rate;

[0204] Uplink preamble length;

[0205] Whether to use frequency shifting.

[0206] The above-mentioned first indication information, second indication information, third indication information, sixth indication information and seventh indication information can be carried in a MAC field. For example, the MAC field can be located in a MAC header (MAC subheader), or in a MAC control element (MAC CE), or in a reserved field of an MHDR, or in FOpts in an FHDR, or in a MAC command in an FRMPayload. In addition, the above-mentioned first indication information, second indication information, third indication information, sixth indication information or seventh indication information can be multiple fields or one field. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific form of the first indication information, the second indication information, the third indication information, the sixth indication information and the seventh indication information.

[0207] As an optional example, the first indication information may consist of a 1-bit binary field. For example, the first indication information being 0 indicates that the first time unit is an uplink time unit, and the first indication information being 1 indicates that the first time unit is a downlink time unit.

[0208] As an optional example, the second indication information may indicate the time length of at least one time unit, such as 1ms, 2ms, etc. Taking the 2-bit second indication information as an example, 00 may indicate 1 millisecond, 01 may indicate 2 milliseconds, 10 may indicate 3 milliseconds, and 11 may indicate 4 milliseconds. The second indication information may also indicate the number of frames or time slots, for example, the second indication information indicates that the length of the first time unit is 1 time slot, 2 time slots, or another number of time slots, or the second indication information indicates that the first time length is 1 frame, 2 frames, or another number of frames. The specific number of time slots or frames may be specified by the protocol or indicated by the gateway 120 or the network server 130.

[0209] As an optional example, the third indication information may indicate the number of at least one time unit, for example, it may indicate that there are N consecutive time units starting from the time position indicated by the sixth indication information, where N is a positive integer.

[0210] Compared to a solution that determines uplink time units through a synchronization sequence, the number, position, and length of at least one time unit are explicitly indicated through indication information, which does not place excessively high requirements on the receiving capability of terminal 110 and can reduce the cost of terminal 110. In addition, compared to a solution that presets the number, position, and length of each time unit, this embodiment can flexibly set the number, position, and length of each time unit within the first time period.

[0211] The following description will be made by taking the first time unit in the first time period as an example for uplink transmission.

[0212] S620: The terminal 110 sends first data to the gateway 120 within a first time unit, where the first time unit belongs to the at least one time unit.

[0213] Accordingly, the gateway 120 receives the first data from the terminal 110 within the first time unit.

[0214] The first data may be data to be sent generated by the application layer. As an optional example, the at least one time unit of the first time period includes multiple time units, and the first time unit is any one of the multiple time units.

[0215] If the first signal indicates multiple time units within the first time period, the terminal 110 can initiate access in any one of the multiple time units when data is to be sent, without the need for an instruction from the gateway 120, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0216] The terminal 110 may directly send the first data to the gateway 120 within the first time unit, or may determine whether the first time unit is occupied by one or more methods, and when it is determined that the first time unit is not occupied, send the first data to the gateway 120 within the first time unit. If the first time unit is occupied, the terminal 110 does not send the first data within the first time unit, thereby reducing the probability of transmission collision.

[0217] As an optional example, the terminal 110 may determine whether the first time unit is occupied through channel sensing.

[0218] Terminal 110 can initiate access at any time within the first time unit. Therefore, terminal 110 can listen to the channel before sending the first data. If the signal of other terminals is heard, terminal 110 can determine that the first time unit is occupied, and terminal 110 does not send the first data within the first time unit; if the signal of other terminals is not heard (such as a preamble sequence, a pulse signal or uplink information), terminal 110 can determine that the first time unit is not occupied.

[0219] As an optional example, the terminal 110 may determine whether the first time unit is occupied (“occupied” may also be described as “reserved” or “configured”) through the first signal.

[0220] In some cases, the first time unit may be used for retransmission, and the gateway 120 may indicate whether the first time unit is occupied through indication information in the first signal. For example, the gateway 120 indicates that the first time unit is not occupied through fourth indication information. If the terminal 110 does not receive the fourth indication information, it indicates that the first time unit is occupied by the retransmitting terminal. In this case, the terminal 110 does not send the first data in the first time unit, and the terminal 110 may send the first data in the next uplink time unit. If the terminal 110 receives the fourth indication information, it indicates that the first time unit is not occupied by the retransmitting terminal. In this case, the terminal 110 may send the first data in the first time unit. Alternatively, the gateway 120 may indicate whether the first time unit is occupied through a 1-bit field. For example, when the field is "1", it indicates that the first time unit is occupied, and when the field is "0", it indicates that the first time unit is not occupied.

[0221] The terminal 110 may also determine whether the first time unit is occupied by combining multiple methods. For example, after receiving the fourth indication information, the terminal 110 may continue to perform channel sensing and determine whether to send the first data within the first time unit according to the result of the channel sensing.

[0222] As can be seen from the above, in method 600, the terminal 110 determines the uplink time unit (e.g., the first time unit) according to the instruction of the gateway 120. Once the uplink time unit is occupied, or once a transmission collision occurs, the terminal 110 can wait for the next uplink time unit to transmit again, or listen to the next unoccupied time unit for retransmission, or retransmit according to the available time unit indicated by the network device (such as a gateway, base station, etc.). Since the transmission time is no longer an arbitrary time, this embodiment can reduce the probability of transmission collision and improve access efficiency. In addition, if the current uplink time unit is occupied, the terminal 110 does not need to continue to listen to the channel within the current uplink time unit. Therefore, this embodiment can also reduce the listening power consumption of the terminal 110.

[0223] In the above embodiment, at least one time unit in the first time period can be used entirely for uplink transmission or entirely for downlink transmission. When the first time period includes multiple time units, some of the multiple time units can be used for uplink transmission, and the remaining time units can be used for downlink transmission. The gateway 120 can indicate that at least one time unit in the first time period is used for uplink transmission or downlink transmission in an explicit or implicit manner. For example, a 1-bit field indication information is used to indicate that at least one time unit in the first time period is used for uplink transmission or downlink transmission. For example, when the field is "1", it indicates that at least one time unit in the first time period is used for uplink transmission, and when the field is "0", it indicates that at least one time unit in the first time period is used for downlink transmission.

[0224] In addition, at least one time unit within the first time period can also be configured by static configuration or dynamic configuration. If static configuration is adopted, the protocol may stipulate that the Mth time unit after the beacon is used for uplink transmission and the Nth time unit is used for downlink transmission; or, the protocol may stipulate the order of the uplink time unit and the downlink time unit. If dynamic configuration is adopted, the beacon may indicate at least one of the configuration methods. For example, the configuration method indicated by the beacon may be that the first time unit after the beacon is used for uplink transmission and the subsequent time units are used for downlink transmission; or, the beacon indicates that uplink transmission should be performed in the Xth time unit. The above M, N and X are all positive integers.

[0225] In some cases, for example, the terminal 110 may send a synchronization signal to the gateway 120 within the first time period, so that the time synchronization between the terminal 110 and the gateway 120 is more accurate and the probability of transmission failure is reduced.

[0226] The following is a schematic diagram of two time domain resources provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0227] As shown in Figure 7, the period between two adjacent beacons consists of four time units, which can be of the same or different lengths. When all four time units are used for uplink transmission, they are the send window; when all four time units are used for downlink transmission, they are the receive window. The time domain position of the synchronization signal can be located anywhere between the time domain positions corresponding to two adjacent beacons.

[0228] As shown in Figure 8, the period between two adjacent beacons consists of four time units, which can be of the same or different lengths. The first two time units are used for uplink transmission, and the last two time units are used for downlink transmission. That is, the first two time units are the send window, and the last two time units are the receive window. The time domain position of the synchronization signal can be located anywhere between the time domain positions corresponding to two adjacent beacons.

[0229] After sending the first data in the first time period, the terminal 110 may receive the second data sent by the gateway 120 in the second time period. If the second data is feedback information of the first data, the terminal 110 also needs to determine whether to retransmit the first data based on the feedback information.

[0230] As shown in FIG9 , method 600 further includes the following contents.

[0231] S630: The gateway 120 sends a second signal to the terminal 110, where the second signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a second time period.

[0232] Accordingly, the terminal 110 receives the second signal from the gateway 120 .

[0233] The second signal is used for time synchronization.

[0234] The function of the second signal is similar to that of the first signal and will not be described again here.

[0235] S640: The gateway 120 sends second data to the terminal 110 within a second time unit, where the second time unit belongs to a second time period and is associated with the first time unit.

[0236] Accordingly, the terminal 110 receives the second data from the gateway 120 .

[0237] The above association relationship is, for example, that the position of the second time unit in the second time period is the same as the position of the first time unit in the first time period, or that the number (or identifier) ​​of the second time unit is the same as the number (or identifier) ​​of the first time unit. Based on this association relationship, the terminal 110 can turn on the receiving circuit during a portion of the second time period (i.e., the second time unit) without having to turn on the receiving circuit during the entire second time period, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal 110.

[0238] As an optional example, the second data is feedback information about the first data. If the feedback information indicates that the first data transmission was successful, terminal 110 may sleep, continue to receive data, or wait for the next uplink time unit to transmit new data. If the feedback information indicates that the first data transmission failed, terminal 110 may wait for the next uplink time unit to retransmit the first data.

[0239] The method 600 further includes:

[0240] S650: The gateway 120 sends a third signal to the terminal 110. The third signal is used for time synchronization, and the third signal is used to indicate at least one time unit in a third time period.

[0241] Accordingly, the terminal 110 receives the third signal from the gateway 120 .

[0242] The function of the third signal is similar to that of the first signal and will not be repeated here.

[0243] S660: The terminal 110 sends the first data to the gateway 120 within a third time unit. The third time unit belongs to a third time period, and the third time unit is used for uplink transmission.

[0244] When the terminal 110 does not receive the feedback information within the second time unit, or when the feedback information indicates that the data transmission fails, the terminal 110 retransmits the first data within a third time unit of the third time period.

[0245] After the first data transmission fails, if terminal 110 retransmits the first data at any time within the third time period, there is a high probability that a transmission collision will occur. In this example, terminal 110 retransmits the first data at a specific time in the third time period (i.e., the third time unit) to reduce the probability of a transmission collision.

[0246] The third time unit may be a time unit specifically used for retransmission, and the gateway 120 may indicate that the second time unit is used for retransmission.

[0247] For example, gateway 120 may send fifth indication information to terminal 110 within the second time unit, where the fifth indication information includes an identifier of the third time unit, indicating that the third time unit is for retransmission. The fifth indication information may be sent simultaneously with the second data or independently. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific form and transmission method of the fifth indication information.

[0248] The gateway 120 specifies a dedicated time unit (ie, the third time unit) for the terminal 110 to retransmit the first data through the fifth indication information, which can avoid transmission collision when the terminal 110 retransmits the first data, thereby avoiding power consumption waste caused by multiple retransmissions.

[0249] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a communication process for retransmitting first data provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0250] After receiving beacon 1, terminal 110 determines based on beacon 1 that there are four sending windows after beacon 1 (i.e., the four sending windows between beacon 1 and beacon 2). Before sending window 2, the amount of data to be sent generated by terminal 110 reaches a threshold. Terminal 110 can then determine whether sending window 2 is occupied through channel sensing or other methods. If terminal 110 determines that sending window 2 is not occupied, terminal 110 sends the first data to gateway 120 within sending window 2.

[0251] If the gateway 120 determines that a collision occurs in sending window 2 (multiple terminals access the same time slot), it may send fifth indication information in a receiving window (receiving window 2) corresponding to sending window 2, indicating that the terminals that collided in sending window 2 may retransmit in some sending windows within the next uplink period. For example, a decimal value of "1" converted to the fifth indication information may indicate that time window 1 after beacon 3 is used for retransmission, and a decimal value of "2" converted to the fifth indication information may indicate that time window 1 and time window 2 after beacon 3 are used for retransmission.

[0252] Subsequently, terminal 110 receives beacon 2 and determines, based on beacon 2, that there are four receiving windows after beacon 2 (i.e., four receiving windows between beacon 2 and beacon 3). Terminal 110 can determine the number of the receiving window for receiving feedback information based on the number of the sending window used to send the first data. That is, terminal 110 determines to receive feedback information for the first data within receiving window 2.

[0253] Optionally, if the feedback information of the first data is a negative acknowledgement (NACK), the terminal 110 determines that the first data transmission has failed, and the terminal 110 prepares to retransmit the first data. The second data may further include fifth indication information, indicating which sending windows in the next time period are used for retransmission. For example, if the fifth indication information is an identifier of sending window 2, the terminal 110 may determine, based on the fifth indication information, that the sending window before sending window 2 (i.e., sending window 1 and sending window 2 after beacon 3) is used for retransmission. The terminal 110 may retransmit the first data in sending window 1 or sending window 2 after beacon 3. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific manner in which the terminal 110 retransmits the first data.

[0254] Gateway 120 can carry the identifier of sending window 2 in beacon 3, indicating that sending window 1 and sending window 2 after beacon 3 are unavailable. In this way, other terminals will not send data in sending window 1 and sending window 2 after beacon 3, avoiding the occurrence of transmission collision.

[0255] Another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application is introduced below.

[0256] As shown in FIG. 11 , method 1100 includes the following contents.

[0257] S1110 , the gateway 120 sends a first signal to the terminal 110 , where the first signal is used for time synchronization and is used to indicate at least one time unit within a first time period.

[0258] Accordingly, the terminal 110 receives the first signal from the gateway 120. The function of the first signal in method 1100 may refer to the function of the first signal in method 600. For example, the first signal may include at least one of the first indication information, the second indication information, and the third indication information, and the specific content is not repeated here.

[0259] The following description will be made by taking the first time unit in the first time period as an example for downlink transmission.

[0260] S1120: The gateway 120 sends third data to the terminal 110 within a first time unit, where the first time unit belongs to the at least one time unit.

[0261] Accordingly, the terminal 110 receives the third data from the gateway 120 within the first time unit.

[0262] The third data may be data generated by application server 140. As an optional example, the at least one time unit of the first time period includes multiple time units, and the first time unit is any one of the multiple time units. If the first signal indicates multiple time units within the first time period, terminal 110 may enable the receiving circuit for reception in any one of the multiple time units.

[0263] In traditional LoRaWAN, terminal 110 needs to determine numerous parameters and determine the receive window based on a complex local mechanism (pingslot state machine). In this embodiment, gateway 120 indicates the downlink time unit via the first signal, allowing terminal 110 to determine the downlink time unit without complex local mechanisms, thereby reducing computational overhead and power consumption of terminal 110.

[0264] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a LoRaWAN downlink transmission provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0265] The gateway 120 indicates four time units in the first time period (the period between beacons 2 and 3) through beacon 2. The lengths of the four time units can be the same or different. When the four time units are all used for downlink transmission, the four time units are the receiving window.

[0266] After receiving beacon 2, terminal 110 determines from beacon 2 that there are four receive windows after beacon 2. Terminal 110 may then enable its receiving circuit to receive signals in the time domain of these four receive windows. If gateway 120 sends the third data in receive window 3, terminal 110 may receive the third data in receive window 3. Terminal 110 may send feedback information to gateway 120 in subsequent uplink time units.

[0267] After receiving beacon 3, terminal 110 determines from beacon 3 that there are four sending windows after beacon 3. Terminal 110 can send feedback information in any of the four sending windows. Optionally, terminal 110 can send a NACK or an ACK in a sending window associated with receiving window 3.

[0268] For example, the association relationship is that the position of the sending window in the second time period (the time period after beacon 3) is the same as the position of the receiving window in the first time period, or the number (or identifier) ​​of the sending window is the same as the number (or identifier) ​​of the receiving window. Based on this association relationship, terminal 110 can determine to send feedback information in sending window 3.

[0269] The above describes in detail the method examples provided by the embodiments of the present application. It is understandable that, in order to implement the above functions, the corresponding device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should easily appreciate that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in a hardware or computer software driven hardware manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0270] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 1300 includes a processing unit 1310 and a transceiver unit 1320. The transceiver unit 1320 performs a receiving step or a sending step under the control of the processing unit 1310. Specifically, the transceiver unit 1320 is a sending unit when performing the sending step, and is a receiving unit when performing the receiving step.

[0271] The transceiver unit 1320 is configured to: receive a first signal from a network device, where the first signal is used for time synchronization and is used to indicate at least one time unit within a first time period;

[0272] The transceiver unit 1320 is further configured to send first data to the network device within a first time unit, where the first time unit is one of the at least one time unit.

[0273] Exemplarily, before sending the first data to the network device within the first time unit, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: determine that the first time unit is not occupied.

[0274] Exemplarily, the processing unit 1310 is specifically configured to: determine, through channel sensing, that the first time unit is not occupied.

[0275] Exemplarily, the first signal includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is not occupied. The processing unit 1310 is used to: determine that the first time unit is not occupied according to the fourth indication information.

[0276] Exemplarily, the first signal includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is an uplink time unit.

[0277] Exemplarily, the first signal includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the length of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

[0278] Exemplarily, the first signal includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the number of at least one time unit.

[0279] Exemplarily, the at least one time unit of the first time period includes multiple time units, and the first time unit is any one of the multiple time units.

[0280] Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 1320 is further configured to: receive a synchronization signal from a network device within a first time period.

[0281] Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 1320 is also used to: receive a second signal from a network device, the second signal is used for time synchronization, and the second signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a second time period, the at least one time unit within the second time period includes a second time unit for downlink transmission, and the second time unit is associated with the first time unit; receive second data within the second time unit.

[0282] Exemplarily, the second data is feedback information of the first data, and the transceiver unit 1320 is also used to: when no feedback information is received within the second time unit, or when the feedback information indicates that the data transmission fails, retransmit the first data within a third time unit of a third time period, the third time period is located after the second time period, and the third time unit is used for uplink transmission.

[0283] Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 1320 is further configured to: receive fifth indication information from the network device within the second time unit, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate the third time unit.

[0284] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the specific working process of the device 1300 and the technical effects produced by the execution steps can be referred to the description in the aforementioned corresponding method embodiment. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0285] Device 1300 may be a terminal or a chip. Processing unit 1310 may be implemented by hardware or software. When implemented by hardware, processing unit 1310 may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like. When implemented by software, processing unit 1310 may be a general-purpose processor implemented by reading software code stored in a storage unit. The storage unit may be integrated into processing unit 1310 or located independently of processing unit 1310.

[0286] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 1400 includes a processing unit 1410 and a transceiver unit 1420. The transceiver unit 1420 performs a receiving step or a sending step under the control of the processing unit 1410. Specifically, the transceiver unit 1420 is a sending unit when performing the sending step, and is a receiving unit when performing the receiving step.

[0287] The transceiver unit 1420 is configured to: send a first signal to the terminal device, where the first signal is used for time synchronization, and the first signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a first time period;

[0288] The transceiver unit 1420 is further configured to receive first data from a terminal device within a first time unit of at least one time unit.

[0289] Exemplarily, the first signal includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is an uplink time unit.

[0290] Exemplarily, the first signal includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the length of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

[0291] Exemplarily, the first signal includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the number of at least one time unit.

[0292] Exemplarily, the first signal includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is not occupied.

[0293] Exemplarily, the at least one time unit of the first time period includes multiple time units, and the first time unit is any one of the multiple time units.

[0294] Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 1420 is further configured to: send a synchronization signal to the terminal device within the first time period.

[0295] Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 1420 is also used to: send a second signal to the terminal device, the second signal is used for time synchronization, and the second signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a second time period, the at least one time unit within the second time period includes a second time unit for downlink communication, and the second time unit is associated with the first time unit; and send second data within the second time unit.

[0296] Exemplarily, the second data is feedback information of the first data. When the first data reception fails, the transceiver unit 1420 is further used to: receive the first data within a third time unit of a third time period, the third time period is located after the second time period, and the third time unit is used for uplink transmission.

[0297] Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 1420 is further used to: send fifth indication information to the terminal device within the second time unit, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate the third time unit.

[0298] Device 1400 may be a gateway or a chip. Processing unit 1410 may be implemented in hardware or software. When implemented in hardware, processing unit 1410 may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like. When implemented in software, processing unit 1410 may be a general-purpose processor implemented by reading software code stored in a storage unit. The storage unit may be integrated into processing unit 1410 or located independently of processing unit 1410.

[0299] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 1500 includes a processing unit 1510 and a transceiver unit 1520. The transceiver unit 1520 performs a receiving step or a sending step under the control of the processing unit 1510. Specifically, the transceiver unit 1520 is a sending unit when performing the sending step, and is a receiving unit when performing the receiving step.

[0300] The transceiver unit 1520 is used to: receive a first signal from a network device, the first signal is used for time synchronization, and the first signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a first time period; receive third data from the network device within the first time unit, and the first time unit is one of at least one time unit.

[0301] Exemplarily, the first signal includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is a downlink time unit.

[0302] Exemplarily, the first signal includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the length of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

[0303] Exemplarily, the first signal includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the number of at least one time unit.

[0304] Device 1500 may be a terminal or a chip. Processing unit 1510 may be implemented by hardware or software. When implemented by hardware, processing unit 1510 may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like. When implemented by software, processing unit 1510 may be a general-purpose processor implemented by reading software code stored in a storage unit. The storage unit may be integrated into processing unit 1510 or located independently of processing unit 1510.

[0305] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 1600 includes a processing unit 1610 and a transceiver unit 1620. The transceiver unit 1620 performs a receiving step or a sending step under the control of the processing unit 1610. Specifically, the transceiver unit 1620 is a sending unit when performing the sending step, and is a receiving unit when performing the receiving step.

[0306] The transceiver unit 1620 is used to: send a first signal to the terminal device, the first signal is used for time synchronization, and the first signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a first time period; send third data to the terminal device within the first time unit, and the first time unit is one of at least one time unit.

[0307] Exemplarily, the first signal includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is a downlink time unit.

[0308] Exemplarily, the first signal includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the length of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

[0309] Exemplarily, the first signal includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the number of the at least one time unit.

[0310] Device 1600 may be a gateway or a chip. Processing unit 1610 may be implemented in hardware or software. When implemented in hardware, processing unit 1610 may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like. When implemented in software, processing unit 1610 may be a general-purpose processor implemented by reading software code stored in a storage unit. The storage unit may be integrated into processing unit 1610 or located independently of processing unit 1610.

[0311] Figure 17 is a structural diagram of a terminal provided in an embodiment of the present application. For ease of explanation, Figure 17 only shows the main components of the terminal. As shown in the device, the terminal 170 includes a processor, a memory, a control circuit, an antenna, and input and output devices. The processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, as well as to control the entire terminal, execute software programs, and process the data of software programs, such as for supporting the terminal to perform the actions described in the above method embodiments. The memory is mainly used to store software programs and data. The control circuit is mainly used for converting digital signals into radio frequency signals and processing radio frequency signals. The control circuit and the antenna together can also be called a transceiver, which is mainly used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as touch screens, display screens, keyboards, etc., are mainly used to receive data input by users and output data to users.

[0312] When the terminal is powered on, the processor reads the software program in memory, interprets and executes its instructions, and processes the data. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor processes the data and outputs a digital signal to the RF circuit. The RF circuit then processes the digital signal and transmits it as electromagnetic waves via the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal, the RF circuit receives the RF signal via the antenna, converts it into a digital signal, and outputs the digital signal to the processor, which converts the digital signal into data and processes it.

[0313] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, for ease of explanation, FIG17 illustrates only one memory and one processor. In an actual terminal, there may be multiple processors and multiple memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or storage device, etc., which is not limited in this application.

[0314] As an optional implementation, the processor may include a baseband processor and / or a central processing unit (CPU). The baseband processor is primarily responsible for processing communication protocols and communication data, while the CPU is primarily responsible for controlling the entire terminal, executing software programs, and processing data from software programs. The processor in Figure 17 may integrate the functions of both a baseband processor and a CPU. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the baseband processor and the CPU may also be independent processors interconnected via a bus or other technology. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a terminal may include multiple baseband processors to accommodate different network standards, multiple CPUs to enhance its processing capabilities, and that the various components of the terminal may be connected via various buses. The baseband processor may also be referred to as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The CPU may also be referred to as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The functionality for processing communication protocols and communication data may be built into the processor or stored in memory as a software program, with the processor executing the software program to implement the baseband processing functionality.

[0315] In the embodiments of the present application, the antenna and control circuit with transceiver functions can be regarded as the transceiver unit 1701 of the terminal device 170, for example, for supporting the receiving function and transmitting function described in the terminal implementation method embodiment. The processor with processing function can be regarded as the processor 1702 of the terminal 170. The terminal 170 includes a transceiver unit 1701 and a processor 1702. The transceiver unit 1701 can also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver, a transceiver device, etc. For example, the device used to implement the receiving function in the transceiver unit 1701 can be regarded as a receiving unit, and the device used to implement the transmitting function in the transceiver unit 1701 can be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the transceiver unit 1701 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The receiving unit can also be referred to as a receiver, an input port, a receiving circuit, etc., and the transmitting unit can be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc. For example, the transceiver unit 1701 may not include an antenna, but only include a circuit portion, so that the antenna is external to the transceiver unit.

[0316] Processor 1702 can be used to execute instructions stored in the memory to control transceiver unit 1701 to receive and / or transmit signals, thereby completing the functions of the terminal in the above-mentioned method embodiment. As an implementation method, the functions of transceiver unit 1701 can be implemented by a transceiver circuit or a dedicated chip for transceiver. When performing the transmission and reception of various types of signals, processor 1702 controls transceiver unit 1701 to implement the reception. Therefore, processor 1702 is the signal transmission and reception decision maker and initiates data transmission and reception operations, while transceiver unit 1701 is the executor of signal transmission and reception.

[0317] Figure 18 is a structural diagram of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The network device can be, for example, a base station, which performs the steps of the gateway in the above method embodiment. The base station 180 may include one or more radio frequency units, such as a remote radio unit (RRU) 1801 and one or more baseband units (BBU) (also referred to as distributed units (DU)) 1802. The RRU 1801 can be called a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., and may include at least one antenna 18011 and a radio frequency unit 18012. The RRU 1801 part is mainly used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals into baseband signals. The BBU 1802 part is mainly used for baseband processing, controlling the base station, etc. The RRU 1801 and the BBU 1802 can be physically set together or physically separated, that is, a distributed base station.

[0318] BBU 1802 is the control center of the base station, also known as a processing unit, and is primarily used to perform baseband processing functions such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulation, and spread spectrum. For example, BBU 1802 can be used to control the base station to execute the network device operation process described in the above method embodiment.

[0319] In one embodiment, the BBU 1802 can be composed of one or more single boards, and multiple single boards can jointly support a wireless access network with a single access indication (such as LoRaWAN), or can respectively support wireless access networks with different access standards (such as LoRaWAN and NR network). The BBU 1802 also includes a memory 18021 and a processor 18022, and the memory 18021 is used to store necessary instructions and data. The processor 18022 is used to control the base station to perform necessary actions, for example, to control the base station to execute the operation process of the network device in the above method embodiment. The memory 18021 and the processor 18022 can serve one or more single boards. That is, a memory and a processor can be set separately on each single board. Alternatively, multiple single boards can share the same memory and processor. In addition, necessary circuits can also be set on each single board.

[0320] It is understood that the processor in each embodiment of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above-mentioned method embodiment can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor or by software instructions. The above-mentioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. The various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the various embodiments of the present application can be directly implemented and executed by a hardware decoding processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium well-known in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above-mentioned method.

[0321] It is understood that the memory in each embodiment of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous DRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0322] It can be understood that the chip in each embodiment of the present application can be a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system on chip (SoC), a central processor unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD) or other integrated chips.

[0323] During implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor or by instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art such as a random access register, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in a memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in conjunction with its hardware. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0324] It should be noted that the processor in the embodiment of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor or an instruction in the form of software. The above-mentioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component. The disclosed methods, steps and logic block diagrams in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0325] The present application also provides a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0326] The present application also provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0327] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part 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, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless or microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0328] It should be understood that the “embodiment” mentioned throughout the specification means that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments in the entire specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application.

[0329] It should also be understood that in this application, "when", "if" and "if" all mean that the UE or base station will take corresponding measures under certain objective circumstances. It does not limit the time, and does not require the UE or base station to take judgment actions when implementing it, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0330] Additionally, the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. The term "and / or" is simply used to describe an association between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone.

[0331] It should be understood that in each embodiment of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A and B can be determined based on A. However, it should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean determining B based solely on A, but B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0332] The above contents are optional embodiments of the technical solution of this application and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the principles of this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving a first signal from a network device, wherein the first signal is used for time synchronization, and the first signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a first time period; First data is sent to the network device within a first time unit, where the first time unit is one of the at least one time unit.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Before sending the first data to the network device within the first time unit, the method further includes: It is determined that the first time unit is not occupied.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The determining that the first time unit is not occupied includes: It is determined through channel sensing that the first time unit is not occupied.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first signal includes fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is not occupied, and the determining that the first time unit is not occupied includes: It is determined according to the fourth indication information that the first time unit is not occupied.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The first signal includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is an uplink time unit.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first signal includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate the length of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The first signal includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the number of the at least one time unit.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving a second signal from the network device, the second signal being used for time synchronization, and the second signal being used to indicate at least one time unit in a second time period, the at least one time unit in the second time period including a second time unit for downlink transmission, and the second time unit being associated with the first time unit; Second data is received within the second time unit.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The second data is feedback information of the first data, and the method further includes: When the feedback information is not received within the second time unit, or when the feedback information indicates that the first data transmission fails, the first data is retransmitted within a third time unit of a third time period, the third time period is located after the second time period, and the third time unit is used for uplink transmission.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: Fifth indication information is received from the network device within the second time unit, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate the third time unit.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending a first signal to a terminal device, where the first signal is used for time synchronization and the first signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a first time period; First data is received from the terminal device within a first time unit of the at least one time unit.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The first signal includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is an uplink time unit.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The first signal includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate the length of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that The first signal includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the number of the at least one time unit.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that The first signal includes fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is not occupied.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending a second signal to the terminal device, the second signal is used for time synchronization, and the second signal is used to indicate the at least one time unit in a second time period, wherein the at least one time unit in the second time period includes a second time unit for downlink communication, and the second time unit is associated with the first time unit; Second data is sent within the second time unit.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The second data is feedback information of the first data, and when the first data fails to be received, the method further includes: The first data is received in a third time unit of a third time period, the third time period is located after the second time period, and the third time unit is used for uplink transmission.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send fifth indication information to the terminal device within the second time unit, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate the third time unit.

19. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving a first signal from a network device, wherein the first signal is used for time synchronization, and the first signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a first time period; Third data is received from the network device within a first time unit, the first time unit being one of the at least one time unit.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The first signal includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is a downlink time unit.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that The first signal includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate the length of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

22. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 21, characterized in that The first signal includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the number of the at least one time unit.

23. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending a first signal to a terminal device, where the first signal is used for time synchronization and the first signal is used to indicate at least one time unit within a first time period; The third data is sent to the terminal device within a first time unit, where the first time unit is one of the at least one time unit.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that The first signal includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first time unit is a downlink time unit.

25. The method according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that The first signal includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate the length of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

26. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 25, characterized in that The first signal includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the number of the at least one time unit.

27. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A module for executing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or, including a module for executing the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 18, or, including a module for executing the method as described in any one of claims 19 to 22, or, including a module for executing the method as described in any one of claims 23 to 26.

28. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, configured to execute a computer program stored in a memory, so that the apparatus performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 18, or the method according to any one of claims 19 to 22, or the method according to any one of claims 23 to 26; A communication interface is coupled to the processor and is used to input or output information.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, enables the processor to execute the method described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or enables the processor to execute the method described in any one of claims 11 to 18, or enables the processor to execute the method described in any one of claims 19 to 22, or enables the processor to execute the method described in any one of claims 23 to 26.

30. A computer program product, characterized in that When the computer program product is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 18 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 19 to 22 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 23 to 26 is executed.

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