Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, relating to the technical field of communications. In the method, a first terminal device can perform SL-PRS transmission across resource pools. A reference SL-PRS transmission count corresponding to each resource pool among N resource pools is used to constrain an actual SL-PRS transmission count corresponding to the resource pool. Since the reference SL-PRS transmission count corresponding to each resource pool is correlated to a maximum SL-PRS transmission count corresponding to the resource pool, it is equivalent to using the maximum SL-PRS transmission count corresponding to each resource pool among the N resource pools to constrain the actual SL-PRS transmission count corresponding to the resource pool, thereby controlling channel congestion across resource pools and accurately performing channel congestion control.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on September 28, 2023, with application number 202311287626.0 and application name “A Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0004] The protocol defines a channel busy ratio (CBR), which is used to indicate how busy the channel is. Based on the CBR, the terminal device can determine the maximum number of transmissions of a sidelink (SL) positioning reference signal (PRS) (abbreviated as SL-PRS / SL PRS) through a certain dedicated resource pool, thereby controlling the number of transmissions of the SL PRS based on the maximum number of transmissions to achieve channel congestion control. Among them, the dedicated resource pool for SL-PRS is a sidelink resource pool used to transmit SL-PRS and cannot be used for the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH). In fact, SL PRS can also be transmitted through a shared resource pool or sent through other dedicated resource pools. The shared resource pool is a sidelink resource pool used for transmitting SL-PRS and PSSCH.

[0005] Currently, channel congestion control typically involves controlling the maximum number of SL-PRS transmissions a terminal device can perform through a dedicated resource pool based on the CBR. This approach can prevent a terminal device from exceeding the maximum number of SL-PRS transmissions in a dedicated resource pool, but it cannot prevent the terminal device from transmitting SL-PRS through other resource pools. This approach to channel congestion control is not accurate.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus for improving the accuracy of controlling the number of SL PRS transmissions, so as to more accurately control channel congestion.

[0008] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method can be executed by a terminal device (such as a first terminal device), or can be executed by a software module or a hardware module (such as a chip) in the terminal device. For ease of description, the following description is based on the execution of the first terminal device as an example. The method includes: determining N resource pools, where the N resource pools are used to transmit SL-PRS; determining the maximum number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool in the N resource pools; determining the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool; wherein the sum of multiple ratios is less than or equal to a first value, and the multiple ratios include the ratio of the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool to the reference number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool, and the reference number of transmissions of each resource pool is determined based on the maximum number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool in the N resource pools.

[0009] It should be understood that the N resource pools may also be referred to as multiple resource pools or at least two resource pools. The N resource pools may be multiple dedicated resource pools, multiple shared resource pools, or at least one dedicated resource pool and at least one shared resource pool.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present application, cross-resource pool transmission of SL-PRS is supported, and channel congestion control in the case of cross-resource pool transmission of SL-PRS is provided. Specifically, the reference number of SL-PRS transmissions corresponding to each resource pool in N resource pools can be combined to control (or constrain) the actual number of SL-PRS transmissions corresponding to each resource pool in the N resource pools, thereby avoiding the situation where the number of SL-PRS transmissions across resource pools is not counted and causes channel congestion, which is conducive to more accurately controlling the actual number of SL-PRS transmissions corresponding to the resource pool, and thus more accurately performing channel congestion control.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the first value is 1. Of course, the first value may also be a positive number other than 1.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the reference transmission number corresponding to each resource pool includes one of the following: the maximum transmission number of SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool; the maximum value of the maximum transmission number of SL-PRS corresponding to N resource pools; the minimum value of the maximum transmission number corresponding to N resource pools; or the average value of the maximum transmission number of SL-PRS corresponding to N resource pools.

[0013] In the above implementation, the possibilities of the reference transmission times corresponding to the resource pool are enriched.

[0014] In a possible implementation, before determining the N resource pools, the method further includes: receiving first information indicating that SL-PRS transmission is allowed on the N resource pools. For example, the first terminal device may receive the first information from the network device.

[0015] In the above implementation, the network side (such as a network device) can, to a certain extent, control channel congestion by allowing or not allowing the first terminal device to transmit SL-PRS on N resource pools.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: sending second information, the second information indicating support for transmission of SL-PRS in N resource pools, and / or supporting determination of an actual number of transmissions of SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool of the N resource pools.

[0017] In the above implementation, the first terminal device may report whether it has the relevant capability to transmit SL-PRS in N resource pools, to ensure that the first terminal device can subsequently successfully transmit SL-PRS in N resource pools.

[0018] In a possible implementation manner, the maximum number of transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool among the multiple resource pools is determined according to the CBR of the first resource pool and the priority of transmitting the SL-PRS.

[0019] It should be understood that, regardless of whether the SL-PRS is retransmitted or newly transmitted, the priority of the SL-PRS may remain unchanged.

[0020] In the above implementation, when determining the maximum number of SL-PRS transmissions corresponding to a resource pool (such as the first resource pool), the priority of CBR and SL-PRS is taken into consideration, which can avoid aggravating channel congestion and meet the business needs of transmitting SL-PRS.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: determining the remaining number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to at least one of the N resource pools based on the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool and the first relationship; if the remaining number of transmissions of the SL-PRS of the first resource pool in at least one resource pool is greater than 0, transmitting the SL-PRS on the first resource pool.

[0022] In the above embodiment, while constraining the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to at least one of the N resource pools, the remaining number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to at least one of the N resource pools can also be determined, so that in the case of control channel congestion, the number of transmissions of the SL-PRS can be guaranteed as much as possible.

[0023] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method can be executed by a terminal device (such as a first terminal device), or can be executed by a software module or a hardware module (such as a chip) in the terminal device. For ease of description, the following is introduced by taking the execution of the first terminal device as an example. The method includes: determining N resource pools, the N resource pools being used to transmit a sidelink positioning reference signal SL-PRS, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2; based on the reference number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools as a constraint condition, determining the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools, wherein the reference number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool is related to the maximum number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool, and the first resource pool is any one of the N resource pools.

[0024] In an embodiment of the present application, cross-resource pool transmission of SL-PRS is supported, and channel congestion control in the case of cross-resource pool transmission of SL-PRS is provided. Specifically, the reference number of SL-PRS transmissions corresponding to each resource pool in N resource pools can be combined to control (or constrain) the actual number of SL-PRS transmissions corresponding to each resource pool in the N resource pools, thereby avoiding the situation where the number of SL-PRS transmissions across resource pools is not counted and causes channel congestion, which is conducive to more accurately controlling the actual number of SL-PRS transmissions corresponding to the resource pool, and thus more accurately performing channel congestion control.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the constraint condition is:

[0026] Wherein, r represents the first resource pool, represents the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool, represents the reference transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool, and k represents a first value.

[0027] In a possible implementation manner, the value of k is 1.

[0028] In one possible implementation manner, the reference transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool includes one of the following: the maximum transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool; the maximum value of the maximum transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools; the minimum value of the maximum transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools; or the average value of the maximum transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools.

[0029] In a possible implementation, before determining the N resource pools, the method further includes: receiving first information, where the first information indicates that transmission of the SL-PRS on the N resource pools is allowed.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending second information, wherein the second information indicates support for transmitting SL-PRS in the N resource pools, and / or supports determining the actual number of transmissions of SL-PRS corresponding to each of the N resource pools.

[0031] In a possible implementation manner, the maximum number of transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool is determined according to a channel busy rate CBR of the first resource pool and a priority for transmitting the SL-PRS.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the N resource pools include one of the following: at least two shared resource pools; at least two dedicated resource pools; or at least one shared resource pool and at least one dedicated resource pool.

[0033] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: determining the remaining number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool based on the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool and the constraint conditions; if the remaining number of transmissions of the SL-PRS of the first resource pool is greater than 0, transmitting the SL-PRS on the first resource pool.

[0034] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method can be executed by a terminal device (such as a first terminal device), or can be executed by a software module or a hardware module (such as a chip) in the terminal device. For ease of description, the following description is based on the first terminal device as an example. The method includes: determining N resource pools, where the N resource pools are used to transmit SL-PRS; determining the maximum number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool in the N resource pools; determining the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool; wherein the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool is less than or equal to the maximum number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool.

[0035] It should be understood that the N resource pools may also be referred to as multiple resource pools, and the N resource pools may be multiple dedicated resource pools, multiple shared resource pools, or at least one dedicated resource pool and at least one shared resource pool.

[0036] In an embodiment of the present application, cross-resource pool SL-PRS transmission is supported, and channel congestion control for cross-resource pool SL-PRS transmission is provided. Specifically, the actual number of SL-PRS transmissions corresponding to each resource pool can be controlled based on the maximum number of SL-PRS transmissions corresponding to that resource pool. This allows for constraining the number of SL-PRS transmissions corresponding to multiple resource pools, and the method for constraining the actual number of SL-PRS transmissions corresponding to the resource pools is relatively direct and simple.

[0037] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: receiving first information, where the first information indicates that transmission of SL-PRS on the N resource pools is allowed.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending second information, wherein the second information indicates support for transmitting SL-PRS in the N resource pools, and / or supports determining the actual number of transmissions of SL-PRS corresponding to each of the N resource pools.

[0039] In a possible implementation manner, the maximum number of transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool is determined according to a channel busy rate CBR of each resource pool and a priority for transmitting the SL-PRS.

[0040] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method may be executed by a network device, or may be executed by a software module or hardware module (such as a chip) in the network device. For ease of description, the following description is based on the example of execution by a network device. The method includes: receiving second information indicating support for transmission of SL-PRS in the N resource pools and / or supporting determination of the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool of the N resource pools. Sending first information indicating that transmission of the SL-PRS on the N resource pools is permitted.

[0041] It should be understood that the N resource pools may be multiple dedicated resource pools, multiple shared resource pools, or at least one dedicated resource pool and at least one shared resource pool.

[0042] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be the first terminal device in the first aspect above, or a software or hardware module configured in the first terminal device, or a device having the same function as the first terminal device. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the first aspect or any possible implementation method above. For example, the communication device includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit), and a transceiver module (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit).

[0043] For example, a processing module is used to determine N resource pools, where the N resource pools are used to transmit a first side link positioning reference signal SL-PRS, determine a maximum number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each of the N resource pools, and determine an actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool, wherein the sum of multiple ratios is less than or equal to a first value, and the multiple ratios include a ratio of the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool to a reference number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool, and the reference number of transmissions of each resource pool is determined based on the maximum number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each of the N resource pools.

[0044] Optionally, the communication device may also implement any possible implementation of the first aspect above, which will not be listed one by one here.

[0045] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be the first terminal device in the second aspect above, or a software or hardware module configured in the first terminal device, or a device having the same function as the first terminal device. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the second aspect above or any possible implementation method. For example, the communication device includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit), and a transceiver module (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit).

[0046] For example, the processing module is used to determine N resource pools, where the N resource pools are used to transmit the sidelink positioning reference signal SL-PRS, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2; based on the reference transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools as a constraint condition, the actual transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools are determined, wherein the reference transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool is related to the maximum transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool, and the first resource pool is any one of the N resource pools.

[0047] Optionally, the communication device may also implement any possible implementation of the second aspect described above, which will not be listed one by one here.

[0048] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be the first terminal device in the third aspect above, or a software or hardware module configured in the first terminal device, or a device having the same function as the first terminal device. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for performing the third aspect or any possible implementation method above. For example, the communication device includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit), and a transceiver module (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit).

[0049] For example, the processing module is used to determine N resource pools, where the N resource pools are used to transmit a first side link positioning reference signal SL-PRS, determine a maximum number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each of the N resource pools, and determine an actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool, wherein the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool is less than or equal to the maximum number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool.

[0050] Optionally, the communication device may also implement any possible implementation of the third aspect above, which will not be listed one by one here.

[0051] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be the network device in the fourth aspect above, or a software or hardware module configured in the network device, or a device having the same function as the network device. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the fourth aspect or any possible implementation method. For example, the communication device includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit), and a transceiver module (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit).

[0052] For example, the transceiver module is used to receive the second information and send the first information under the control of the processing module.

[0053] Optionally, the communication device may also implement any possible implementation of the fourth aspect above, which are not listed one by one here.

[0054] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is configured to receive a signal from a communication device other than the communication device and transmit the signal to the processor or to send the signal from the processor to the communication device other than the communication device, and the processor is configured to implement the communication method described in any one of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect and any possible implementation manner through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

[0055] In a specific implementation, the communication device may be a chip, and the processor may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, or various logic circuits. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific implementation of the processor. The interface circuit may be a radio frequency processing chip in a wireless communication device, and the processor may be a baseband processing chip in a wireless communication device. The interface circuit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip or chip system.

[0056] In one implementation, the communication device may be a wireless communication device, that is, a computer device that supports wireless communication functions. Specifically, the wireless communication device may be a terminal such as a smartphone, or a wireless access network device such as a base station.

[0057] In another implementation, the communication device may be a component of a wireless communication device, such as an integrated circuit product such as a system-on-chip (SoC) or a communication chip. The interface circuit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip or chip system. The processor may also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0058] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device includes: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store one or more computer programs, and the one or more computer programs include computer-executable instructions. When the communication device is running, the processor executes the one or more computer programs stored in the memory, so that the communication device performs the communication method described in any one of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect and any possible implementation manner.

[0059] Optionally, the communication device further includes other components, such as an antenna, an input / output module, an interface, etc. These components may be hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0060] In an eleventh aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a chip system. The chip system includes a processor and an interface. The processor is configured to call and execute instructions from the interface. When the processor executes the instructions, the communication method described in any one of the first, second, third, or fourth aspects and any possible implementation methods is implemented.

[0061] In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program or instruction that, when executed, implements the communication method described in any one of the first, second, third, or fourth aspects and any possible implementation methods.

[0062] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, implements the communication method described in any one of the above-mentioned first aspect, second aspect, third aspect or fourth aspect and any possible implementation manner.

[0063] Regarding the beneficial effects of any technical solution in the third to thirteenth aspects above, reference can be made to the beneficial effects discussion of the corresponding technical solution in the first to third aspects, and the repeated parts will not be listed here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0064] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication system applicable to the embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication system applicable to the embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0075] The following is an explanation of some of the terms involved in this application to facilitate understanding.

[0076] 1. A sidelink (SL) refers to a link between terminal devices based on the proximity-based services communication 5 (PC5) interface for communication, analogous to an uplink or downlink. The sidelink in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as a sidelink, side link, direct link, side link, or auxiliary link.

[0077] For example, the links of device-to-device (D2D) communication, long term evolution (LTE) vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, new radio (NR) V2X communication, and sidelink on unlicensed spectrum (SL-U) communication are all sidelinks.

[0078] 2. Resource pool can be understood as a collection of resources, such as time-frequency resources. The frequency domain resources contained in the resource pool can be continuous. The time domain resources contained in the resource pool can be continuous or discontinuous. Different resource pools can be distinguished by SL resource pool identifiers (such as SL-ResourcePoolID) or resource pool indexes. The terminal device receives on the resource pool used for reception (also called the receiving resource pool) and sends on the resource pool used for sending (also called the sending resource pool). If the resource pools have the same resource pool index, it can be considered that the time-frequency resources of the resource pools are completely overlapping.

[0079] In the sidelink on unlicensed spectrum (SL-U), since the frequency band is shared by various forms of terminal devices, such as SL terminal devices and wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) terminal devices and Bluetooth terminal devices transmitting on the same frequency band. Therefore, there is not necessarily a concept of SL dedicated resource pool. The SL resource pool can also be understood as: a set of resources that can be used for SL transmission. In this embodiment, the resource pool can also be referred to as a channel, an operating channel, a nominal channel bandwidth, or a bandwidth. That is, the resource pool, channel, and bandwidth are all used to represent a set of resources that can be used for SL transmission.

[0080] There are two resource selection modes for NR SL:

[0081] Resource selection mode 1 (mode 1): The network device selects SL resources from a transmit resource pool for the transmitting terminal device. The network device can select one or more (e.g., three) SL resources from a transmit resource pool at a time. The resource pool can be configured by the network device, by a higher layer, or by pre-configuration.

[0082] Resource selection mode 2 (mode 2): The transmitting terminal device selects SL resources from the transmitting resource pool. The transmitting terminal device can select one or more (for example, three) SL resources at a time. The resource pool can be configured by the network device, upper layer, or pre-configured.

[0083] A terminal device in a radio resource control (RRC) connected state can be configured by a network device to use mode 1 or mode 2, while a terminal device in an RRC idle state or inactive state can only use mode 2.

[0084] The SL resource pool used to send SL PRS can be divided into two types: dedicated resource pool and shared resource pool. The resources in the dedicated resource pool can be specifically used to transmit SL PRS. For example, in order to provide the possibility of greater bandwidth, they are specially designed to ensure SL PRS transmission and cannot be used to transmit PSSCH. The resources in the shared resource pool can be used to transmit PSSCH or SL PRS. In one possible example, the terminal device can divide some symbols from the symbols occupied by PSSCH to send to SL PRS.

[0085] 3. Time domain resources, including symbol, slot, mini-slot, partial slot, sub-frame, radio frame (or frame), or sensing slot.

[0086] A time slot may include at least one symbol, for example, 14 symbols or 12 symbols. Time slots may have different time slot types, each containing a different number of symbols. For example, a mini slot may contain less than 7 symbols, 2 symbols, 3 symbols, or 4 symbols, while a normal slot may contain 7 symbols or 14 symbols.

[0087] Depending on the subcarrier spacing, the length of each symbol can be different, and therefore the time slot length can be different. For example, a time slot length corresponding to a 15kHz subcarrier spacing is 0.5ms, a time slot length corresponding to a 60kHz subcarrier spacing is 0.125ms, and so on.

[0088] 4. Frequency domain resources, including subchannels, frequency bands, carriers, bandwidth parts (BWPs), resource blocks (RBs), or resource pools.

[0089] A subchannel is the smallest unit of frequency domain resources occupied by the physical sidelink shared channel. A subchannel can include one or more resource blocks (RBs). The frequency domain bandwidth of a wireless communication system can include multiple RBs. For example, in various possible bandwidths of an LTE system, the number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) included can be 6, 15, 25, 50, and so on.

[0090] In the frequency domain, an RB may include several subcarriers. For example, in LTE and NR systems, an RB includes 12 subcarriers, where each subcarrier spacing may be 15 kHz. Of course, other subcarrier spacings may also be used, such as 3.75 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz or 120 kHz subcarrier spacing, which is not limited here.

[0091] Subcarrier or resource element (RE). Subcarrier or RE refers to a minimum frequency resource unit on a specific symbol in a multi-carrier system. In the embodiment of the present application, RE may refer to a resource unit of time-frequency resources, for example, it can be regarded as the minimum time-frequency resource unit. For example, 1 RE occupies 1 symbol in the time domain and 1 subcarrier in the frequency domain, that is, 1 subcarrier in 1 symbol in the time domain is 1 RE. In the present application, subcarriers and resource elements can be used interchangeably, and their contents are the same.

[0092] 5. Sidelink control signaling (SCI), also known as sidelink control information. SCI includes two levels of SCI: the first-stage SCI and the second-stage SCI.

[0093] The first-level SCI is carried on the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), which is used to schedule the second-level SCI and PSSCH. Because the SL is a distributed system, the receiving terminal device must correctly decode the first-level SCI before decoding the PSSCH. In the embodiments of the present application, the information carried by the PSSCH is described as data channel information. The data channel information includes data information and second-level SCI.

[0094] In order to reduce the complexity of blind decoding of PSCCH by terminal devices, the time-frequency resource position of PSCCH is relatively fixed, and the format of the first-level SCI carried on PSCCH is also relatively unique. That is, the terminal device does not need to blindly detect the time-frequency resource position where PSCCH is located, nor does it need to blindly detect SCI of different formats. The terminal device can detect whether there is a first-level SCI at the fixed time-frequency resource position of PSCCH. PSCCH exists in all or part of the subchannels in each time slot. For example, the time domain starting position of a PSCCH is the second symbol used for SL transmission in each time slot, and the number of continuously occupied symbols is 2 or 3. The frequency domain starting position of a PSCCH is the RB with the smallest index on each subchannel, and the number of continuously occupied RBs is at least 10 and does not exceed the size of the subchannel.

[0095] For SL communication and shared resource pool, the first-level SCI may include a frequency domain resource allocation (frequency resource assignment) field and a time domain resource allocation (time resource assignment) field. Among them, the frequency domain resource allocation field indicates the frequency domain resources of PSSCH, and the time domain resource allocation field indicates the time domain resources of PSSCH. Optionally, the first-level SCI also includes a resource reservation period (resource reservation period) field. Among them, the resource reservation period field indicates the period of PSSCH reserved resources. The value of the resource reservation period field is configured by the network device, or pre-configured (pre-configuration), or predefined. For example, the network device indicates the time domain resources, frequency domain resources and period of PSSCH to the terminal device through radio resource control (RRC) signaling. Among them, the content indicated by the above RRC signaling can be determined based on sl-ResourceReservePeriod.

[0096] For the dedicated resource pool, the first-level SCI includes a time resource assignment field and an SL PRS resource indication field. The time resource assignment field indicates the reserved time slot of the SL PRS, and the SL PRS resource indication field indicates the specific SL PRS resource index reserved in the reserved time slot of the SL PRS. Optionally, the first-level SCI also includes a resource reservation period field. The resource reservation period field indicates the period of the SL PRS reserved resources. The value of the resource reservation period field is configured by the network device, or pre-configured, or predefined. For example, the network device indicates the time domain resources, frequency domain resources and period of the PSSCH to the terminal device through radio resource control (RRC) signaling. The content of the above RRC signaling indication can be determined based on sl-ResourceReservePeriod.

[0097] The second-stage SCI is carried in the PSSCH. The second-stage SCI does not occupy the resources of the PSCCH, demodulation reference signal (DMRS) and phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS). The second-stage SCI is mainly used for the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback of the NR SL, such as indicating the HARQ process number (process number), source ID (source ID), destination ID (destination ID) and other related information. The format of the second-stage SCI is indicated by the second-stage SCI format (2nd-stage SCI format) field in the first-stage SCI.

[0098] 6. CBR refers to the proportion of sub-channels whose SL received signal strength indicator (RSSI) exceeds the threshold within a measurement window. (SL Channel Busy Ratio (SL CBR) measured in slot n is defined as the portion of sub-channels in the resource pool whose SL RSSI measured by the UE exceeds a (pre-)configured threshold sensed over a CBR measurement window).

[0099] 7. The SL PRS CBR of the dedicated resource pool may be the ratio of PSCCH and SL PRS resources whose SL RSSI exceeds a threshold in a measurement window.

[0100] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, means "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "plural" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B means: A or B. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c means: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0101] The solution provided by the embodiments of this application can be applied to SL communication scenarios. The architecture of the communication system applicable to the embodiments of this application is described below in conjunction with the architecture diagrams of the communication system shown in Figures 1 to 3. Figures 1 to 3 can also be regarded as schematic diagrams of several scenarios applicable to the embodiments of this application.

[0102] Figure 1 shows an architecture within the coverage of a network device, where a PC5 connection is established between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and at the same time, the first terminal device and the second terminal device are connected to a network device (such as a base station) respectively. It should be understood that the first terminal device and the second terminal device can be connected to the same base station or to different base stations. Figure 1 takes the first terminal device and the second terminal device as an example of being connected to the same base station. In an embodiment of the present application, a connection can be established between the first terminal device and the network device through a Uu interface, and a connection can be established between the second terminal device and the network device through a Uu interface. The various terminal devices involved in the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can be, for example, terminal devices within the coverage of the network device shown in Figure 1. It should be understood that Figure 1 is illustrated with the number of terminal devices being 2, and in fact, the number of terminal devices is not limited.

[0103] Terminal devices can also be referred to as terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminals, etc. Terminal devices can be fixed devices, mobile devices, handheld devices, wearable devices, vehicle-mounted devices, or wireless devices built into the above devices (for example, communication modules or chip systems, etc.). Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as self-driving, remote medical, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, drones, robots, and other scenarios, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, self-driving, remote medical, smart grid, autonomous driving, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a robotic arm, a smart home device, a mobile station (MS), a subscriber unit, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a wireless modem, a handheld device (handset), a laptop computer or a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal device. Optionally, the terminal device may also include a module that supports user plane secure positioning. In this case, the terminal device can be regarded as a terminal that can support secure user plane location (SUPL).

[0104] Network equipment may include access network equipment and / or core network equipment. Access network (AN) equipment may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, a base station in a sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, etc.; it may also be a module or unit that performs part of the functions of a base station, for example, a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The access network equipment may be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the access network equipment. In the embodiments of the present application, a base station is used as an example of an access network device for description.

[0105] In one possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, a RAN node can be a transmission and reception point (TRP), a transmission measurement function (TMF), a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be set separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0106] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN or open RAN or ORAN) system, CU may also be called O-CU (open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application takes CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0107] Access network equipment and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of access network equipment and terminal devices.

[0108] Core network equipment refers to the equipment included in the access network. Positioning-related network elements within the core network primarily include the access and mobility management function (AMF) and location management function (LMF). They may also include the evolutionary server mobile location center (E-SMLC), unified data management (UDM), and application function (AF) elements.

[0109] In the embodiment of the present application, the device for realizing the function of the terminal device may be a terminal device, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device to realize the function, such as a chip system, which may be installed in the terminal device. Similarly, in the embodiment of the present application, the device for realizing the function of the network device may be a network device, or a device capable of supporting the network device to realize the function, such as a chip system, which may be installed in the network device. In the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is described by taking the case where the device for realizing the function of the terminal device is a terminal device and the case where the device for realizing the function of the network device is a network device as an example.

[0110] Figure 2 shows an architecture within partial coverage of a network device, where a PC5 connection is established between a first terminal device and a second terminal device, while some terminal devices do not establish a connection with the network device (e.g., a base station), and the remaining terminal devices establish a connection with the network device (e.g., a base station). The terminal devices involved in the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can be terminal devices within the coverage of the network device shown in Figure 2, or can be terminal devices outside the coverage of the network device shown in Figure 2.

[0111] FIG3 shows an architecture outside the coverage of a network device, where a PC5 connection is established between a first terminal device and a second terminal device, and none of the terminal devices establishes a connection with the network device.

[0112] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a possible network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application. FIG4 can also be regarded as a schematic diagram of a scenario applicable to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG4 , a possible network architecture applicable to the present application may include three parts: a terminal device (specifically UE1 and UE2 as shown in FIG4 ), an access network device (for example, a next generation (NG) radio access network ((Radio) Access Network, (R)AN) device) and a core network.

[0113] In an embodiment of the present application, both UE1 and UE2 may include a user equipment (UE)-location management component (LMC). The UE-LMC may be a component or application with partial LMF functionality deployed on a terminal device, used to support positioning services of a PC5 interface. The LMCs in UE1 and UE2 in FIG4 are shown as dotted lines to indicate that the terminal device side may include or may not include the LMC. FIG4 illustrates an example in which both UE1 and UE2 include the LMC.

[0114] In the embodiment of the present application, UE1 and UE2 shown in FIG4 may be terminal devices in the respective communication systems shown in FIG1 to FIG3 , for example, they may be the two terminal devices located within the coverage range of the network device shown in FIG1 . For another example, some of the UE1 and UE2 shown in FIG4 may be terminal devices located within the coverage range of the network device shown in FIG2 , and the other part of the UE may be terminal devices located outside the coverage range of the network device shown in FIG2 . For another example, UE1 and UE2 shown in FIG4 may be the two terminal devices located outside the coverage range of the network device shown in FIG3 .

[0115] Figure 4 illustrates the access network, including the AMF and LMF. Access network equipment and the AMF network element communicate via the NG-C interface. The AMF network element acts as a router for communication between the gNB and the LMF. The LMF network element estimates the location of terminal devices, and the AMF and LMF communicate via the NLs interface.

[0116] As discussed in the background technology, the CBR of SL-PRS can control the maximum number of SL-PRS transmissions in a dedicated resource pool, but it cannot prevent the terminal device from continuing to send SL-PRS across resource pools. Therefore, this method cannot accurately control channel congestion.

[0117] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to SL scenarios, such as any of the scenarios in Figures 1 to 4 above. In this method, a terminal device (such as a first terminal device) can support the transmission (or sending) of SL-PRS on at least two resource pools, and can constrain the actual number of transmissions on the at least two resource pools based on the maximum number of transmissions of each resource pool in the at least two resource pools. Since the maximum number of transmissions of at least two resource pools is combined to control the actual number of transmissions on at least two resource pools, the accuracy of controlling the actual number of transmissions on multiple resource pools can be improved, which is conducive to improving the accuracy of channel congestion control, thereby improving the effect of channel congestion control.

[0118] The following describes the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings corresponding to the various embodiments of the present application, all steps indicated by dashed lines are optional steps. Furthermore, the first terminal device involved in the various embodiments of the present application is, for example, the first terminal device involved in Figures 1 to 3, or the UE1 involved in Figure 4; the second terminal device is, for example, the second terminal device involved in Figures 1 to 3, or the UE2 involved in Figure 4; and the network device is, for example, the network device involved in Figures 1 or 2, or the RAN, AMF, or LMF involved in Figure 4. If the technical solutions provided by the various embodiments of the present application are applied to other communication systems, the names and / or functions of the devices may vary, and this is not limited. In addition, the various embodiments of the present application are described using the example of the SL-PRS being the first SL-PRS and the example of the N resource pools being at least two resource pools. In other words, the "first SL-PRS" in the various embodiments of the present application can be replaced with "SL-PRS," and the "at least two resource pools" can be replaced with "N resource pools," where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0119] Please refer to Figure 5, which is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 illustrates steps S501 to S506, which are described below.

[0120] S501: A first terminal device sends second information to a network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the second information from the first terminal device.

[0121] Exemplarily, the second information indicates support for transmission of SL-PRS in at least two resource pools, and / or supports determination of the actual number of transmissions of SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool of at least two resource pools. The second information may be carried in the capability information of the first terminal device, or the second information may be regarded as one of the capability information of the first terminal device. The transmission of SL-PRS by at least two resource pools involved in the embodiments of the present application may refer to support for transmission of SL-PRS in at least two resource pools during a positioning process.

[0122] The at least two resource pools mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as multiple resource pools. The at least two resource pools may be resource pools of the same type, for example, both are dedicated resource pools, or both are shared resource pools. Alternatively, the at least two resource pools may include resource pools of multiple types, for example, including at least one dedicated resource pool and at least one shared resource pool.

[0123] S502: The network device sends first information to the first terminal device. Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the first information from the network device.

[0124] The first information indicates that SL-PRS is allowed to be transmitted on at least two resource pools. Optionally, the first information may further indicate information of at least two resource pools.

[0125] The information about the at least two resource pools may include, for example, conditions that each of the at least two resource pools must meet, such as a candidate set of time-frequency resources to which each of the at least two resource pools belongs. Alternatively, the information about the at least two resource pools may indicate the at least two resource pools, for example, the information about the at least two resource pools may include identifiers of the at least two resource pools. In this case, the network device may directly configure the at least two resource pools for the first terminal device.

[0126] It should be understood that the first terminal device may be able to transmit SL-PRS, etc. on at least two resource pools by default. In this case, there is no need to execute steps S501 and S502, that is, S501 and S502 are optional steps, which are indicated by dotted lines in Figure 5.

[0127] S503. The first terminal device determines at least two resource pools.

[0128] Determining at least two resource pools can be understood as the first terminal device determining resources of at least two resource pools and being able to transmit (or send) SL-PRS on the at least two resource pools. The first terminal device can determine at least two resource pools in various ways, which are described below with reference to examples shown in A1 to A3.

[0129] A1. The first terminal device obtains information of at least two resource pools from a network device.

[0130] For example, if the first information also indicates at least two resource pools, the first terminal device can directly determine the at least two resource pools based on the first information. If the network device is an access network device, then the first terminal device can equivalently determine the at least two resource pools through the access network device. If the network device is a core network device, then the first terminal device can equivalently determine the at least two resource pools through the core network device.

[0131] A2. The first terminal device is pre-configured or pre-defined with at least two resource pools. For example, the first terminal device is pre-configured or pre-defined with at least two resource pools through a protocol.

[0132] A3. The first terminal device reserves the at least two resource pools on its own.

[0133] Optionally, if the first information further indicates a condition that each of the at least two resource pools needs to meet, the at least two resource pools reserved by the first terminal device should meet the condition.

[0134] S504. The first terminal device determines the maximum number of transmission times of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool in at least two resource pools.

[0135] The maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to the resource pool can be understood as the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS by the first terminal device in the resource pool. For example, the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS by the first terminal device in the resource pool can be understood as the upper limit of the transmission of the first SL-PRS by the first terminal device in the resource pool.

[0136] The possible ways for the first terminal device to determine the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool in at least two resource pools are the same. The following example introduces the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to one resource pool (such as the first resource pool) in combination with the methods shown in B1 to B3.

[0137] B1. The first terminal device is determined based on the CBR of the first resource pool and the priority of transmitting the first SL-PRS.

[0138] Exemplarily, the first terminal device may pre-store or have a network-configured first correspondence, which indicates the maximum number of transmissions corresponding to the resource pool under different SL-PRS priorities and different CBR ranges of the resource pool. In this way, the first terminal device can determine which CBR range the CBR of the first resource pool falls into, as well as the priority for transmitting the first SL-PRS, and determine the maximum number of transmissions corresponding to the first resource pool based on the first correspondence. The first terminal device obtains the CBR of the first resource pool through measurement, and the priority of the first SL-PRS can be provided through positioning services or higher-layer signaling.

[0139] Please refer to Table 1 below, which is an example of a first correspondence relationship provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0140] Table 1

[0141] As shown in Table 1, if the first terminal device determines that the CBR of the first resource pool i is 0.6 and the priority of the first SL-PRS is 1, then the first terminal device can determine that the maximum number of transmissions corresponding to the first resource pool i is 6.

[0142] The above B1 may be applicable to the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool when determining whether the first resource pool is a dedicated resource pool or a shared resource pool.

[0143] B2. The first terminal device may determine the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS based on the maximum number of retransmissions of the data associated with the first SL-PRS. The maximum number of retransmissions of the data associated with the first SL-PRS may be determined based on the combined priority of the data and the PRS and the CBR for the data. The combined priority of the SL-PRS and the data associated with the SL-PRS may be provided by the positioning service, or by high-layer signaling, or may be determined jointly based on the priority of the SL-PRS and the priority of the data associated with the SL-PRS. For example, the combined priority of the SL-PRS and the data associated with the SL-PRS may be the smaller value (i.e., a higher priority) between the priority of the SL-PRS and the priority of the data associated with the SL-PRS.

[0144] The data associated with the first SL-PRS may be, for example, data on a physical channel (such as a physical sidelink share channel (PSSCH)) scheduled together with the first SL-PRS. For example, the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS is the maximum number of retransmissions of the data plus one.

[0145] For example, the first terminal device may have a pre-stored or network-configured second correspondence, which indicates the maximum number of retransmissions corresponding to the data, given the combined priority of the SL-PRS and the data, and different CBR ranges of the resource pool. In this way, the first terminal device can determine the current CBR range within which the CBR of the first resource pool falls, as well as the combined priority of transmitting the first SL-PRS and the data associated with the first SL-PRS, and determine the maximum number of retransmissions corresponding to the data based on the second correspondence. The first terminal device may obtain the CBR of the first resource pool through measurement.

[0146] The above B2 may be applicable to the maximum number of transmission times of the first SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool when the first resource pool is determined to be a shared resource pool.

[0147] B3. The first terminal device determines the maximum number of transmissions corresponding to the first resource pool based on the configuration of the network device.

[0148] It should be understood that any two resource pools in the at least two resource pools can use the same method (such as the method shown in B1, B2 or B3) to determine the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool, or one of the at least two resource pools uses the above-mentioned B1 method to determine the maximum number of transmissions corresponding to the resource pool, and the other resource pool uses the above-mentioned B2 method to determine the maximum number of transmissions corresponding to the resource pool. This embodiment of the present application does not limit this. By analogy, the first terminal device can determine the maximum number of transmissions corresponding to each resource pool in the at least two resource pools, and obtain at least two maximum transmission times in total.

[0149] For example, at least two resource pools include resource pool 1 and resource pool 2, resource pool 1 is a dedicated resource pool, and resource pool 2 is a shared resource pool. The first terminal device can adopt the above-mentioned B1 method to determine that the maximum transmission number of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 1 is 4, and the first terminal device can adopt the above-mentioned B2 method to determine that the maximum transmission number of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 2 is 3.

[0150] S505: The first terminal device sends a first SL-PRS to the second terminal device via at least two resource pools. Correspondingly, the second terminal device receives the first SL-PRS from the first terminal device via at least two resource pools.

[0151] The first terminal device may send the first SL-PRS to the second terminal device sequentially on at least two resource pools, or may send the first SL-PRS to the second terminal device in parallel on at least two resource pools. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0152] It should be understood that the first terminal device may send the first SL-PRS to the second terminal device in a unicast manner, a multicast manner, or a broadcast manner, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0153] For example, the at least two resource pools include a first resource pool and a second resource pool. The terminal device may first send a first SL-PRS to the second terminal device on the first resource pool, and then send the first SL-PRS to the second terminal device on the second resource pool.

[0154] It should be understood that S505 only illustrates the process of the first terminal device sending the first SL-PRS, but does not limit the number of times the first terminal device sends the first SL-PRS on each resource pool of at least two resource pools.

[0155] The first time a first terminal device sends a first SL-PRS to a second terminal device is considered an initial transmission (or new transmission) of the first SL-PRS. The subsequent sending of the first SL-PRS by the first terminal device to the second terminal device can be considered a retransmission of the first SL-PRS. Optionally, the retransmission method of the first SL-PRS can be the same as the initial transmission method of the first SL-PRS.

[0156] It is understandable that the resources corresponding to the initial transmission of the first SL-PRS and the resources corresponding to the retransmission of the first SL-PRS may be different or may be different. The resources here include, for example, time-frequency resources, such as the index of the OFDM symbol and / or the RE index within the symbol.

[0157] The source ID in the SCI of the initial transmission of the first SL-PRS is the same as the source ID field in the SCI corresponding to the retransmission of the first SL-PRS. This ensures that the transmitting terminal device corresponding to the initial transmission of the first SL-PRS and the retransmission of the first SL-PRS is the same.

[0158] The destination identifier (destination ID) in the SCI of the initial transmission of the first SL-PRS is the same as the destination ID field in the SCI corresponding to the retransmission of the first SL-PRS. In this way, it is ensured that the receiving terminal device corresponding to the initial transmission of the first SL-PRS and the retransmission of the first SL-PRS is the same. The destination ID here can be a unicast destination ID or a multicast destination ID (in this case, the destination ID can correspond to the multicast receiving terminal device group information, for example, the destination ID is represented by the multicast receiving terminal device group information, or the destination ID indicates the multicast receiving terminal device group information), or it can be a broadcast destination ID (in this case, the destination ID corresponds to the broadcast service type, for example, the destination ID is represented by the broadcast service type, or the destination ID indicates the broadcast service type). The embodiments of the present application do not impose any restrictions on this.

[0159] The priority field in the SCI for the initial transmission of the first SL-PRS and the priority field in the SCI corresponding to the retransmission of the first SL-PRS are the same. This ensures that the priorities of the first SL-PRS corresponding to the initial transmission of the first SL-PRS (which may be described as the initially transmitted first SL-PRS) and the first SL-PRS corresponding to the retransmission of the first SL-PRS (which may be described as the retransmitted SL-PRS) remain unchanged.

[0160] For example, at least two resource pools include resource pool 1 and resource pool 2, and the first terminal device can send a first SL-PRS on the first resource pool (which can be regarded as the initial transmission of the first SL-PRS). Then, based on feedback or a transmission request from the second terminal, or the first terminal determines on its own that retransmission is required, the first terminal device can send a first SL-PRS on the second resource pool (which can be regarded as a retransmission of the first SL-PRS). The resources corresponding to the initial transmission of the first SL-PRS are different from the resources corresponding to the retransmission of the first SL-PRS, the source identifier of the retransmitted first SL-PRS and the source identifier of the initially transmitted first SL-PRS are both the first terminal device, the destination identifier of the retransmitted first SL-PRS and the destination identifier of the initially transmitted first SL-PRS are both the second terminal device, and the priority of the retransmitted first SL-PRS and the priority of the initially transmitted first SL-PRS are both 1.

[0161] It should be understood that the execution order of S504 and S505 can be arbitrary, for example, S505 can be executed first, and then S504, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0162] S506. The first terminal device determines the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool in at least two resource pools, and the sum of the multiple ratios is less than or equal to the first value.

[0163] The actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to the resource pool can be understood as the number of times the first terminal device has transmitted the first SL-PRS in the resource pool. For example, the number of times the first terminal device has sent the first SL-PRS on the resource pool.

[0164] The first terminal device determines that the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool in at least two resource pools may be the same. The following is an example of determining the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to one resource pool (such as the first resource pool) in at least two resource pools.

[0165] For example, the first terminal device may configure a first identifier for the first SL-PRS, and the first terminal device determines the number of times the first SL-PRS is sent on the first resource pool based on the first identifier. For example, the first terminal device determines to send the SL-PRS with the first identifier once in the first resource pool, then the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool is accumulated by 1. The first identifier can be understood as an identifier for counting the number of SL PRS transmissions. In a specific implementation, the first identifier can also have other names, such as a side positioning reference signal process identifier (SL PRS Process ID), which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0166] Alternatively, the first terminal device may set a counter for each of the at least two resource pools, where each counter is used to determine the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to the resource pool. The first terminal device may determine the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS on the resource pool by counting the counters.

[0167] By analogy, the first terminal device can determine the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool in at least two resource pools, and can obtain at least two actual transmission times in total.

[0168] Optionally, S506 is performed once each time the first terminal device sends the first SL-PRS during the process of transmitting the first SL-PRS.

[0169] A ratio of the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each of the at least two resource pools is obtained, and a total of multiple ratios are obtained, and these multiple ratios satisfy a first relationship. In other words, the first relationship states that the sum of the multiple ratios is less than or equal to the first value. In this way, the number of times the first terminal device transmits the first SL-PRS can be limited. The first value can be preconfigured or predefined in the first terminal device, and the first value is, for example, 1 or another positive number.

[0170] For example, an example of the first relationship can be referred to the following formula (1).

[0171] in, is the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to the resource pool r in the at least two resource pools, N represents the total number of the at least two resource pools, The reference transmission times of the first SL-PRS corresponding to the resource pool r, k represents the first value.

[0172] Formula (1) can be expressed as the sum of the ratios of the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PIS corresponding to the i-th resource pool among the N resource pools to the reference number of transmissions of the SL-PIS corresponding to the i-th resource pool among the N resource pools is less than or equal to the first value, where i ranges from 1 to k.

[0173] The reference transmission number of the first SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool is determined based on the maximum transmission number corresponding to each of the at least two resource pools. The following describes a specific method for determining the reference transmission number of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool, in conjunction with the methods shown in C1 to C4.

[0174] C1. The reference transmission times corresponding to each resource pool is the maximum transmission times of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool.

[0175] Under C1, the above formula (1) can be specifically expressed as the following formula (2).

[0176] Optional, Indicates the maximum number of transmission times of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool r in at least two resource pools.

[0177] For example, the at least two resource pools include resource pool 1 and resource pool 2, the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 1 is 3, and the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 2 is 4. Therefore, the reference number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 1 is 3, and the reference number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 2 is 4.

[0178] C2. The reference transmission number corresponding to each resource pool is the maximum value of the maximum transmission numbers of the first SL-PRS corresponding to at least two resource pools. In this case, the reference transmission number corresponding to each resource pool is the same, that is, the maximum value of the maximum transmission numbers of the first SL-PRS corresponding to at least two resource pools.

[0179] Under C2, the above formula (1) can be specifically expressed as the following formula (3).

[0180] in, Indicates the maximum value of the maximum transmission times of the corresponding first SL-PRS in at least two resource pools.

[0181] For example, the at least two resource pools include resource pool 1, resource pool 2, and resource pool 3. The maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 1 is 3, the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 2 is 4, and the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 3 is 5. Therefore, the reference number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 1, the reference number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 2, and the reference number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 3 are all 5.

[0182] C3. The reference transmission number corresponding to each resource pool is the minimum value of the maximum transmission number of the first SL-PRS corresponding to at least two resource pools. In this case, the reference transmission number corresponding to each resource pool is the same, that is, the minimum value of the maximum transmission number of the first SL-PRS corresponding to at least two resource pools.

[0183] Under C3, the above formula (1) can be specifically expressed as the following formula (4).

[0184] in, Indicates the minimum value of the maximum transmission times of the corresponding first SL-PRS in at least two resource pools.

[0185] For example, the at least two resource pools include resource pool 1, resource pool 2, and resource pool 3. The maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 1 is 3, the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 2 is 4, and the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 3 is 5. Therefore, the reference number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 1, the reference number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 2, and the reference number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 3 are all 3.

[0186] C4. The reference transmission times corresponding to each resource pool is the average of the maximum transmission times of the first SL-PRS corresponding to at least two resource pools.

[0187] Exemplarily, the average value of the maximum transmission times of the first SL-PRS corresponding to at least two resource pools may be the arithmetic average of the maximum transmission times of the first SL-PRS corresponding to at least two resource pools, or the weighted average of the maximum transmission times of the first SL-PRS corresponding to at least two resource pools. In this case, the weighting coefficient of the maximum transmission times of the first SL-PRS corresponding to at least two resource pools may be preconfigured or predefined in the first terminal device.

[0188] For example, the at least two resource pools include resource pool 1, resource pool 2, and resource pool 3. The maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 1 is 2, the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 2 is 4, and the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 3 is 6. Therefore, the reference number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 1, the reference number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 2, and the reference number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 3 are all 4.

[0189] It should be noted that the above C1 to C4 are examples for determining the reference transmission times of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool. In fact, there are many ways to determine the reference transmission times of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0190] It should be understood that the execution order of S504 and S506 can be arbitrary, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0191] S507. The first terminal device determines the remaining number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to at least one resource pool of at least two resource pools.

[0192] Exemplarily, the first terminal device may further determine the remaining number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to at least one resource pool in the at least two resource pools based on the sum of the multiple ratios and the first relationship. The at least one resource pool may be part or all of the at least two resource pools.

[0193] S508: If the remaining number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS of the first resource pool is greater than 0, the first terminal device may send the first SL-PRS on the first resource pool. The first resource pool belongs to one of the at least one resource pools.

[0194] For example, at least two resource pools include resource pool 1 and resource pool 2, the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 1 is 4, and the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 2 is 8. The first terminal device determines that the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 1 is 3 times, and the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 2 is 1 time, and the first relationship is the above formula (2) as an example, then the first terminal device can take the sum of multiple ratios as: (3 / 4+1 / 8), so the first terminal device can determine that the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 2 is 2 times, so the first terminal device can also send the first SL-PRS on resource pool 2.

[0195] It should be understood that it is possible that the remaining number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to any one of at least two resource pools is 0. In this case, the first terminal device may not need to execute steps S507-S508, that is, steps S507-S508 are optional steps, which are indicated by dotted lines in Figure 5.

[0196] It should be understood that during a positioning process, the terminal device can execute the processes S506-S508 multiple times until the first SL-PRS is successfully transmitted, or until the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS in at least two resource pools can no longer be increased (or the remaining number of transmissions corresponding to the first SL-PRS in at least two resource pools is 0).

[0197] In an embodiment of the present application, the first terminal device combines the reference transmission times of the first SL-PRS corresponding to at least two resource pools, constrains the actual transmission times of the first SL-PRS corresponding to at least two resource pools, and realizes the cross-resource pool constraint of the transmission times of the first SL-PRS sent by the first terminal device, thereby more accurately controlling the number of times the first SL-PRS is sent on at least two resource pools, and more accurately performing channel congestion control.

[0198] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to SL scenarios, such as any of the scenarios in Figures 1 to 4 above. In this method, a terminal device (such as a first terminal device) can support the transmission (or sending) of SL-PRS on at least two resource pools, and can constrain the actual number of transmissions on the at least two resource pools based on the reference number of transmissions of each resource pool in the at least two resource pools. Since the maximum number of transmissions of at least two resource pools is combined to control the actual number of transmissions on at least two resource pools, the accuracy of controlling the actual number of transmissions on multiple resource pools can be improved, which is conducive to improving the accuracy of channel congestion control, thereby improving the effect of channel congestion control.

[0199] Please refer to Figure 6, which is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 illustrates two steps S601 to S602, which are described below.

[0200] S601: A first terminal device determines N resource pools for transmitting a sidelink positioning reference signal SL-PRS, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0201] The contents of the N resource pools can refer to the contents of the two resource pools involved in S501 above, and the method of determining the N resource pools can also refer to the contents of determining at least two resource pools discussed in S503 above. The repeated parts are not listed again.

[0202] In one possible implementation, the first terminal device may send the second information to the network device and may also receive the first information from the network device. The contents of the second information and the first information may refer to the second information in S501 and the first information in S502 above, respectively, and any repetitions are omitted.

[0203] S602. The first terminal device determines the reference transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools as a constraint condition, and determines the actual transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools.

[0204] S602 can be alternatively described as: the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools is constrained (or controlled) by the reference number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools, or the reference number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools and the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools both meet the constraints.

[0205] The reference transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to any resource pool (such as the first resource pool) among the N resource pools is related to the maximum transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool. The content of determining the reference transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool can refer to the content of determining the reference transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool involved in S506 above, and the repeated parts are not repeated here. Accordingly, the reference transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool includes: the maximum transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool, the maximum value of the maximum transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools, the minimum value of the maximum transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools, or the average value of the maximum transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools.

[0206] Optionally, the constraint condition may be the content of the first relational expression discussed above in FIG5 . In this case, the constraint condition may be expressed as the sum of the ratios of the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PIS corresponding to the i-th resource pool among the N resource pools to the reference number of transmissions of the SL-PIS corresponding to the i-th resource pool among the N resource pools is less than or equal to a first value, where i ranges from 1 to k.

[0207] In one possible implementation, the maximum number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool is determined based on the CBR of the first resource pool and the priority of transmitting the SL-PRS. Regarding determining the maximum number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool based on the CBR of the first resource pool and the priority of transmitting the SL-PRS, reference may be made to the determination of the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool discussed in S504 above.

[0208] Optionally, the first terminal device may determine the remaining transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool based on the actual transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool and the constraints. If the remaining transmission times of the SL-PRS of the first resource pool is greater than 0, then the SL-PRS is transmitted on the first resource pool.

[0209] In an embodiment of the present application, the first terminal device may use the reference number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to at least two resource pools as a constraint condition to constrain or determine the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to at least two resource pools, thereby constraining the number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS sent by the first terminal device across resource pools, thereby more accurately controlling the number of times the first SL-PRS is sent on at least two resource pools, and more accurately performing channel congestion control.

[0210] In order to accurately perform channel congestion control, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication method, which can be applied to SL scenarios, such as any of the scenarios in Figures 1 to 4 above. In this method, a terminal device (such as a first terminal device) can support the transmission (or sending) of SL-PRS on at least two resource pools, and can constrain the actual number of transmissions on the resource pool based on the maximum number of transmissions of each resource pool (such as the first resource pool) in the at least two resource pools. Since the actual number of transmissions of each resource pool in the at least two resource pools can be constrained separately, it is possible to avoid the situation where the first terminal device transmits the first SL-PRS across resource pools but does not count the number of transmissions, which is conducive to more accurately constraining the number of times the first SL-PRS is sent, and thus more accurately performing channel congestion control.

[0211] Please refer to Figure 7, which is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 7 illustrates steps S701 to S706, which are described separately below. It should be understood that Figure 7 is based on an example in which the SL-PRS is the first SL-PRS and the N resource pools are at least two resource pools. In other words, the "first SL-PRS" in Figure 7 can be replaced with "SL-PRS," and the "at least two resource pools" can be replaced with "N resource pools," where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0212] S701: A first terminal device sends a second message to a network device. Accordingly, the network device receives the second message from the first terminal device. The content of the second message can refer to the content of the second message in S501 above, and the repetitions are not listed here.

[0213] S702: The network device sends a first message to the first terminal device. Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the first message from the network device. The content of the first message can refer to the content of the first message in S502 above, and the repeated parts are not listed here.

[0214] S703: The first terminal device determines at least two resource pools. The contents of the at least two resource pools may refer to the contents of the at least two resource pools involved in S503 above, and the method of determining the at least two resource pools may also refer to the contents of determining the at least two resource pools involved in S503 above. The repetitions are not listed here.

[0215] S704. The first terminal device determines the maximum number of transmission times of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool in at least two resource pools.

[0216] The content of the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each of the at least two resource pools can refer to the content of the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each of the at least two resource pools discussed in S504 above, and the method of determining the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool can also refer to the content of determining the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool discussed in S504 above. The repeated parts will not be listed here.

[0217] S705: The first terminal device sends a first SL-PRS on at least two resource pools. For details on sending the first SL-PRS on at least two resource pools, refer to the details on sending the first SL-PRS on at least two resource pools discussed in S505 above. Any repetitions are omitted here.

[0218] S706. The first terminal device determines the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool, and the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool is less than or equal to the maximum number of transmissions.

[0219] The content of determining the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool can refer to the content of determining the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool discussed in S506 above, and the repeated parts are not listed here.

[0220] In an embodiment of the present application, the first terminal device controls the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool based on the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to the resource pool of at least two resource pools, thereby avoiding the first terminal device from sending the first SL-PRS too many times on any resource pool.

[0221] For example, the at least two resource pools include resource pool 1, resource pool 2, and resource pool 3, and the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to these three resource pools are 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Therefore, the first terminal device determines that the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 1 should be less than or equal to 3, the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 2 should be less than or equal to 4, and the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 3 should be less than or equal to 5.

[0222] In a possible implementation, if the first terminal device determines that the remaining number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS of one resource pool (such as the first resource pool) of at least two resource pools is greater than 0, then the first terminal device may also send the first SL-PRS on the first resource pool.

[0223] For example, the at least two resource pools include resource pool 1 and resource pool 2. The maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to these two resource pools is 3 and 4, respectively. The maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to these two resource pools is 2 and 4, respectively. Therefore, the first terminal device determines that the remaining number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to resource pool 1 is 1, and thus the first SL-PRS can be sent on resource pool 1.

[0224] In an embodiment of the present application, the first terminal device constrains the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to each of at least two resource pools based on the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to the resource pool. This implements a mechanism for constraining the number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS by the first terminal device across multiple resource pools. This allows for more accurate control of the number of times the first SL-PRS is transmitted across at least two resource pools, enabling more accurate channel congestion control. Furthermore, in an embodiment of the present application, the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to a resource pool is constrained based on the maximum number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to the resource pool. This reduces the amount of computation required for the first terminal device to control the actual number of transmissions of the first SL-PRS corresponding to the resource pool, thereby simplifying the processing required of the first terminal device.

[0225] It is understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the base station and the terminal include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that, in conjunction with the units and method steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or in a computer software-driven hardware manner depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0226] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above-mentioned method embodiment. In an embodiment of the present application, the communication device can be any terminal device as shown in Figures 1 to 3, or UE1 or UE2 as shown in Figure 4, or a network device as shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2, or an access network device or AMF or LMF involved in Figure 4, etc., or a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal device or a network device.

[0227] As shown in Figure 8, the communication device 800 includes a transceiver module 810 and a processing module 820. The communication device 800 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device (such as the first terminal device) or network device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 5, 6 or 7 above.

[0228] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the functions of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG5 , the processing module 820 may be configured to execute steps S503 , S504 , and S506 described above. Optionally, the processing module 820 may also be configured to execute step S508 , and the transceiver module 810 may be configured to send the second information, receive the first information, and send the first SL-PRS.

[0229] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , the transceiver module 810 may receive the second information and send the first information under the control of the processing module 820 .

[0230] When the communication apparatus 800 is used to implement the function of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG6 , the processing module 820 may be used to execute the aforementioned steps S601 and S602 .

[0231] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG6 , the transceiver module 810 can receive the second information and send the first information under the control of the processing module 820 .

[0232] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the functions of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG7 , the processing module 820 may be used to execute steps S703 , S704 , and S706 described above. The transceiver module 810 may be used to send the second information, receive the first information, and send the first SL-PRS.

[0233] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 7 , the transceiver module 810 may receive the second information and send the first information under the control of the processing module 820 .

[0234] A more detailed description of the transceiver module 810 and the processing module 820 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in Figure 5, Figure 6 or Figure 7, and will not be repeated here.

[0235] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. As shown in Figure 9, the communication device 900 includes a processor 910 and an interface circuit 920. The processor 910 and the interface circuit 920 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 920 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 900 may also include a memory 930 for storing instructions executed by the processor 910, or storing input data required by the processor 910 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 910 executes instructions.

[0236] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 5 , FIG. 6 or FIG. 7 , the processor 910 is used to implement the functions of the processing module 820 , and the interface circuit 920 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver module 810 .

[0237] When the communication device is a chip used in a terminal device, the chip implements the functions of the terminal device (e.g., the first terminal device) in the above method embodiment. The chip receives information from other modules in the terminal device (e.g., a radio frequency module or antenna), where the information is sent by the network device to the terminal device; or the chip sends information to other modules in the terminal device (e.g., a radio frequency module or antenna), where the information is sent by the terminal device to the network device.

[0238] When the above-mentioned communication device is a module applied to a network device, the module implements the functions of the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The module receives information from other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal to the network device; or the module sends information to other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the network device to the terminal device. The module here can be a baseband chip of the network device, or it can be a DU or other module. The DU here can be a DU under the open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture.

[0239] An embodiment of the present application provides another example of a communication device, which includes at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one processor and the at least one memory being coupled, the at least one memory being used to store instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the communication device executes the method in the above embodiment. Taking the communication device including a processor and a memory as an example, please refer to the structural diagram of the communication device shown in Figure 10, the communication device 1000 includes a processor 1010 and a memory 1020. The processor 1010 and the memory 1020 are coupled, and the memory 1020 stores instructions. When the instructions stored in the memory 1020 are executed by the processor 1010, the communication device 1000 executes the method executed by the network device in the above embodiment.

[0240] It is understood that the processor involved in the various embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. In addition, the memory involved in the various embodiments of the present application may include volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM). The memory may also include non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD).

[0241] The method steps in each embodiment of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and storage medium can also exist in a base station or a terminal as discrete components.

[0242] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0243] An embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, comprising: a processor and an interface, wherein the processor is configured to call and execute instructions from the interface, and when the processor executes the instructions, implements any of the aforementioned communication methods, such as any of the communication methods described in FIG. 5 , FIG. 6 , or FIG. 7 .

[0244] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer programs or instructions, which, when executed, implements any of the communication methods described above, such as any of the communication methods described in Figures 5, 6, or 7 above.

[0245] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, implements any of the aforementioned communication methods, such as any of the communication methods described in FIG. 5 , FIG. 6 , or FIG. 7 .

[0246] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0247] It should be understood that the various numbers used in the various embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Determine N resource pools, where the N resource pools are used to transmit a sidelink positioning reference signal SL-PRS, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2; Based on the reference transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools as constraints, the actual transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools are determined, wherein the reference transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool is related to the maximum transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool, and the first resource pool is any one of the N resource pools.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The constraints are: Wherein, r represents the first resource pool, represents the actual transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool, represents the reference transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool, and k represents a first value.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The value of k is 1.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The reference transmission number of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool includes one of the following: a maximum number of transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool; a maximum value of the maximum number of transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools; the minimum value of the maximum number of transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools; or, The average value of the maximum transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the N resource pools.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: Before determining the N resource pools, the method further includes: First information is received, where the first information indicates that transmission of SL-PRS on the N resource pools is allowed.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second information is sent, where the second information indicates support for transmitting the SL-PRS in the N resource pools and / or supports determining an actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each of the N resource pools.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The maximum number of transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool is determined according to the channel busy rate CBR of the first resource pool and the priority of transmitting the SL-PRS.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The N resource pools include one of the following: At least two shared resource pools; At least two dedicated resource pools; or, At least one shared resource pool and at least one dedicated resource pool.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Determine a remaining number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool according to the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to the first resource pool and the constraint condition; If the remaining number of transmission times of the SL-PRS in the first resource pool is greater than 0, the SL-PRS is transmitted on the first resource pool.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Determine N resource pools, where the N resource pools are used to transmit a sidelink positioning reference signal SL-PRS, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2; Determine a maximum number of transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool in the N resource pools; Determine the actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool; Among them, the actual transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool is less than or equal to the maximum transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: First information is received, where the first information indicates that transmission of SL-PRS on the N resource pools is allowed.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second information is sent, where the second information indicates support for transmitting the SL-PRS in the N resource pools and / or supports determining an actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each of the N resource pools.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The maximum number of transmission times of the SL-PRS corresponding to each resource pool is determined according to the channel busy rate CBR of each resource pool and the priority of transmitting the SL-PRS.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that: The N resource pools include one of the following: N shared resource pools; N dedicated resource pools; or, At least one shared resource pool and at least one dedicated resource pool.

15. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving second information, wherein the second information indicates support for transmitting the SL-PRS in the N resource pools, and / or supports determining an actual number of transmissions of the SL-PRS corresponding to each of the N resource pools, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2; First information is sent, where the first information indicates that transmission of SL-PRS on the N resource pools is allowed.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The N resource pools include one of the following: N shared resource pools; N dedicated resource pools; or, At least one shared resource pool and at least one dedicated resource pool.

17. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9; or, A module for executing the method according to any one of claims 10 to 14; or, Module for performing the method of claim 15 or 16.

18. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, or the method according to claim 15 or 16 through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, or the method according to claim 15 or 16 is implemented.

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