Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, applied to fields such as vehicle-to-everything (V2X). The method comprises: determining a first time slot in a resource selection window, the first time slot being used to transmit a first reference signal, and the resource selection window comprising at least one time slot, the first time slot being an unreserved time slot, or the first time slot being a time slot reserved for transmission of a second reference signal; sending first indication information, the first indication information indicating the first time slot. In the described method, a flexible reference signal resource determination method is implemented by means of sensing and resource selection. A first time slot determined in a resource selection window is a time slot that is not reserved, or is a time slot reserved for transmission of a second reference signal. Thus, the same time slot is not reused for a data transmission resource, and a first reference signal sent in the first time slot does not interfere with data transmission in the first time slot, thereby ensuring the reliability of data transmission.

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 the People's Republic of China on September 28, 2023, with application number 202311282176.6 and invention 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] Beam management is an important technology proposed by 5G New Radio (NR) for frequency range 2 (FR2). It refers to the process by which base stations and terminal devices obtain and maintain beam sets for transmission and reception.

[0005] In NR systems, devices can also communicate with each other via sidelinks (SLs), enabling beam management between devices. During beam management, devices must select resources for transmitting reference signals. Therefore, how these resources are selected in the sidelink remains a pressing issue.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus to solve the problem of how to select resources for transmitting a reference signal in a sidelink.

[0008] In a first aspect, a first communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device, or by another device including terminal device functions, or by a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module, the chip system or functional module being capable of implementing the functions of the terminal device, the chip system or functional module being, for example, disposed in the terminal device. The method comprises: determining a first time slot within a resource selection window, the first time slot being used to transmit a first reference signal, the resource selection window including at least one time slot; the first time slot being an unreserved time slot; or the first time slot being a time slot reserved for transmitting a second reference signal; and sending first indication information, the first indication information indicating the first time slot.

[0009] Through the above method, a flexible reference signal resource determination method is implemented through sensing and resource selection. The first time slot determined within the resource selection window is an unreserved time slot, or a time slot reserved for transmitting the second reference signal, so that the same time slot will not be multiplexed with resources used for data transmission. The first reference signal sent in the first time slot will not interfere with the data transmission in the first time slot, thereby ensuring the reliability of data transmission.

[0010] In a possible implementation, if the resource selection window includes a time slot reserved for transmitting the second reference signal, the time slot reserved for transmitting the second reference signal is used as the first time slot.

[0011] By using the above method, the time slot that has been reserved for transmitting the second reference signal is preferentially selected as the first time slot, which can improve resource utilization and avoid excessive resources being used to occupy the entire time slot to send the reference signal.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: determining at least one first resource, the at least one first resource being located in the first time slot, the first resource being used to carry the first reference signal; and sending second indication information, the second indication information indicating the at least one first resource.

[0013] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending at least one first reference signal through the at least one first resource.

[0014] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending third indication information, where the third indication information indicates a second resource, and the second resource is used to transmit a measurement result of the first reference signal.

[0015] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending fourth indication information in the first time slot, where the fourth indication information indicates a second time slot for transmitting the first reference signal.

[0016] By using the above method, during the process of sending the reference signal in the first time slot, the time slot for sending the first reference signal next time is indicated, thereby realizing continuous resource reservation.

[0017] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending fifth indication information, where the fifth indication information indicates the first time slot and / or the second time slot, and the second time slot is used to transmit the first reference signal.

[0018] By using the above method, the time slot where the first reference signal is located is repeatedly indicated multiple times, thereby increasing the chance that the receiving end measuring the first reference signal can determine the first time slot, thereby improving robustness.

[0019] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information is located in sidelink control information SCI or media access control MAC control element CE.

[0020] In a possible implementation, before sending the first reference signal in the first time slot, the method further includes:

[0021] Make sure the following conditions are met:

[0022] ∑ i≥k CR data (i)+CR beam,subch ≤CR Limit (k);

[0023] Among them, CR data (i) represents the channel occupancy rate CR of the physical sidelink shared channel PSSCH transmission with priority i in the sidelink control information SCI from other terminal devices; CR Limit (k) is determined based on the priority k and the channel busy ratio (CBR) of the first window, where k is predefined, preconfigured, or network configured; CR beam,subch Represents the ratio of the number of subchannels occupied by the first reference signal that has been transmitted in the first window and the number of subchannels occupied by the first reference signal to be transmitted in the second window to the total number of subchannels in the first window, the index range of the time slots included in the first window is [ya, y-1], and the index range of the time slots included in the second window is [y, y+b], where time slot y is the time slot for sending the first reference signal, and a and b are predefined or preconfigured or network configured.

[0024] By using the above method, the amount of resources occupied by sending the first reference signal is limited, channel congestion is avoided, and the amount of resources available for data transmission is guaranteed.

[0025] In a possible implementation, before sending the first reference signal in the first time slot, the method further includes:

[0026] Make sure the following conditions are met:

[0027] Alternatively, CR beam,slot ≤CR Limit ;

[0028] Among them, CR thr Predefined or preconfigured or network configured; CR LimitDetermined according to the channel busy ratio CBR of the first window; S represents the sum of the number of time slots occupied by the first reference signal that has been transmitted in the first window and the number of time slots occupied by the first reference signal to be transmitted in the second window; S total Represents the total number of time slots in the first window, the index range of the time slots included in the first window is [ya, y-1], and the index range of the time slots included in the second window is [y, y+b], where time slot y is the time slot for sending the first reference signal, and a and b are predefined or preconfigured or network configured.

[0029] By using the above method, the amount of resources occupied by sending the first reference signal is limited, channel congestion is avoided, and the amount of resources available for data transmission is guaranteed.

[0030] In a second aspect, a first communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device, or by other devices including terminal device functions, or by a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module, the chip system or functional module can implement the functions of the terminal device, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the terminal device. The method includes: receiving first indication information from a first terminal device, the first indication information indicating a first time slot for transmitting a first reference signal, the first time slot being a time slot within a resource selection window, the resource selection window including at least one time slot; the first time slot being an unreserved time slot; or the first time slot being a time slot reserved for transmitting a second reference signal; and measuring at least one of the first reference signals within the first time slot.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving second indication information, where the second indication information indicates the at least one first resource, and the at least one first resource is located in the first time slot; and receiving at least one first reference signal in the at least one first resource.

[0032] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: transmitting a measurement result of the first reference signal through the second resource; the second resource is indicated by third indication information, or the second resource is preconfigured or preset.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving fourth indication information in the first time slot, the fourth indication information indicating a second time slot for transmitting the first reference signal; and receiving and measuring the first reference signal in the second time slot.

[0034] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information is located in sidelink control information SCI or media access control MAC control element CE.

[0035] In a third aspect, a first communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device, or by other devices including terminal device functions, or by a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module, the chip system or functional module can realize the functions of the terminal device, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the terminal device. The method includes: receiving first indication information from a first terminal device, the first indication information indicating a first time slot for transmitting a first reference signal, the first time slot being a time slot within a resource selection window, the resource selection window including at least one time slot; the first time slot being an unreserved time slot; or the first time slot being a time slot reserved for transmitting a second reference signal; and excluding all resources included in the first time slot when performing resource selection.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, a first communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device, or by other devices including terminal device functions, or by a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module, the chip system or functional module can realize the functions of the terminal device, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the terminal device. The method includes: using a time slot that meets a first condition within a resource selection window as a first time slot for transmitting a first reference signal; the resource selection window includes at least one time slot, and the first condition includes at least one of the following: the number of resources reserved in the time slot is less than or equal to the first number; the priority of the data corresponding to the resources reserved in the time slot is less than or equal to the first priority; sending first indication information, the first indication information indicating the first time slot.

[0037] In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device capable of implementing any of the methods provided in any of the first to fourth aspects. The communication device can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a processor configured to support the communication device in executing the corresponding functions of the network device, terminal device, or core network device in the above-described method. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface circuit for supporting communication between the communication device and a device such as a terminal device.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules for implementing the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit, which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method examples. For details, please refer to the description of the method provided in any one of the first to fourth aspects, which will not be repeated here.

[0041] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is configured to receive signals from a communication device other than the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or to transmit signals from the processor to a communication device other than the communication device, wherein the processor implements the functional modules of the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to fourth aspects through logic circuitry or by executing a computer program or instruction. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a memory configured to store the computer program or instruction.

[0042] In the seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a processor, the method in any possible implementation of any aspect of the first to fourth aspects is implemented.

[0043] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product storing instructions is provided, which, when read and executed by a computer, implements the method in any possible implementation of any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0044] In a ninth aspect, a circuit is provided for executing the method in any possible implementation of any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the circuit may include a chip circuit. Optionally, the circuit may also be coupled to a memory.

[0045] In a tenth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor. When the processor executes a computer program or instruction, the processor is configured to implement the method of any possible implementation of any of the first to fourth aspects. Optionally, the chip may further include a memory. The chip may be composed of a single chip or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0046] In the eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor, which implements the method in any possible implementation of any one of the first to fourth aspects through a logic circuit or by executing a computer program or instruction.

[0047] In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a unit or module for executing the method in any possible implementation of any one of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0048] In a thirteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system. The communication system includes: a first terminal device for implementing the method in the aforementioned first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect; and a third terminal device for implementing the method in the aforementioned second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a network device structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a beam scanning method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG6 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a resource selection window provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a resource collection provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of time slots included in a resource selection window provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a first time slot provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a first reference signal transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of excluded resources provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of resource selection provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG14 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG17 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0066] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to long-term evolution (LTE), fifth-generation (5G) communication systems, such as 5G new radio (NR), or to various future communication systems, such as sixth-generation (6G) communication systems. The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, vehicle networking, autonomous driving, assisted driving and other fields.

[0067] In particular, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) communication, Internet of Vehicles, autonomous driving, assisted driving and other fields. Among them, C-V2X is a V2X communication technology developed based on cellular systems. It utilizes and enhances the current cellular network functions and elements to achieve low-latency and high-reliability communication between various nodes in the vehicle network, including vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle to pedestrian (V2P) communication, vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication, and vehicle to network (V2N) communication. With the evolution of cellular systems from 4G LTE to 5G NR, C-V2X has also evolved from LTE-V2X to NR-V2X.

[0068] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application is first described in detail using the communication system shown in Figures 1 to 3 as an example. The present application is applicable to a communication system that supports sidelink communication, and supports communication scenarios with and without network coverage, where the sidelink may also be referred to as a sidelink, and is referred to as a sidelink in this application.

[0069] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the communication system may include multiple terminal devices (such as terminal device A and terminal device B), and optionally, a network device. In Figure 1, terminal device A and terminal device B are both within the signal coverage of the network device; in Figure 2, terminal device A is within the signal coverage of the network device, but terminal device B is outside the signal coverage of the network device. In Figure 3, terminal device A and terminal device B are both outside the signal coverage of the network device. Among them, terminal device A and terminal device B in Figures 1 and 2 can communicate through a side link using resources scheduled by the network device, and the resources can be authorized resources or authorized frequency bands; terminal device A and terminal device B can also select resources by themselves, that is, select resources for side link communication from the resource pool, and the resources are unauthorized resources or unauthorized frequency bands. Terminal device A and terminal device B in Figure 3 are both outside the signal coverage of the network device, so they can only communicate through the side link using resource self-selection.

[0070] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device may be a device in a wireless network, and the network device may also be referred to as a network apparatus, a radio access network device, or an access network device. For example, the network device may be a radio access network (RAN) node that connects a terminal device to a wireless network, and may also be referred to as an access network device. Network equipment includes but is not limited to: base stations, evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs), transmission reception points (TRPs), next generation NodeBs (gNBs) in fifth generation (5G) mobile communication systems, access network equipment in open radio access networks (O-RANs), next generation base stations in sixth generation (6G) mobile communication systems, base stations in future mobile communication systems, or access nodes in wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems, etc.; or it may be a module or unit that completes part of the functions of a base station, for example, a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) module, or a centralized unit user plane (CU-UP) module. The access network equipment may be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, a relay node, a donor node, etc. The specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network equipment are not limited in this application.

[0071] As shown in Figure 4, in some implementations, network equipment may include a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). RAN equipment, including CU and DU nodes, splits the protocol layers of the gNB in ​​the NR system. Some protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while some or all of the remaining protocol layer functions are distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU. Furthermore, the CU can be divided into a control plane (CU-CP) and a user plane (CU-UP). The CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, primarily including radio resource control (RRC) and the control plane's corresponding packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) (i.e., PDCP-C). PDCP-C is primarily responsible for encryption, decryption, integrity protection, and data transmission of control plane data. The CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions, primarily including the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) and the user plane's corresponding PDCP (i.e., PDCP-U). SDAP is primarily responsible for processing core network data and mapping flows to bearers. The PDCP-U is primarily responsible for data plane encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, and data transmission. The CU-CP and CU-UP are connected via the E1 interface. The CU-CP represents the gNB's connection to the core network via the NG interface and to the DU via the F1 interface control plane (i.e., F1-C). The CU-UP connects to the DU via the F1 interface user plane (i.e., F1-U). Alternatively, the PDCP-C may also reside in the CU-UP.

[0072] It is understandable that in different systems, CU (including CU-CP or CU-UP) or DU may have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) system, CU may also be called O-CU (open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, and CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP. For convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP and DU as examples. The network device may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some functions of the gNB, and the DU implements some functions of the gNB. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services and implementing the functions of the RRC layer. The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services and implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer and the physical (PHY) layer. In some deployments, the CU can be further divided into a Centralized Unit Control Plane (CU-CP) node and a Centralized Unit User Plane (CU-UP) node, where the CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions and the CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions.

[0073] The terminal device involved in the embodiments of the present application may be a wireless terminal device capable of receiving scheduling and instruction information from a network device. The terminal device may be referred to as a terminal device, and may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. The terminal device may be a device that includes wireless communication capabilities (providing voice / data connectivity to the user). For example, a handheld device with wireless connection capabilities, or an in-vehicle device, in-vehicle module, etc. Currently, some examples of terminal devices include: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in the Internet of Vehicles, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, or wireless terminals in smart homes, device-to-device (D2D) communication terminal devices, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication terminal devices, smart vehicles, telematics boxes (T-boxes), machine-to-machine / machine-type communications (M2M / MTC) terminal devices, Internet of Things (IoT) The IoT (Internet of Things) terminal devices, etc. For example, the terminal device can be an onboard device, complete vehicle equipment, an onboard module, a vehicle, an onboard unit (OBU), a roadside unit (RSU), a T-box, a chip, or a system on chip (SOC), etc. The above chip or SOC can be installed in the vehicle, OBU, RSU, or T-box. Wireless terminals in industrial control can be cameras, robots, etc. Wireless terminals in smart homes can be TVs, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners, speakers, set-top boxes, etc.The terminal device can also be a V2X device, such as a smart car (or intelligent car), a digital car, an unmanned car (or driverless car or pilotless car or automobile), a self-driving car or autonomous car, a pure electric vehicle (or Battery EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a range extended EV (REEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), a new energy vehicle (new energy vehicle), and a roadside unit (RSU). The terminal device can also be a device in device-to-device (D2D) communication, such as an electricity meter, a water meter, etc. In addition, in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can also be a terminal device in an IoT system. IoT is an important part of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object-to-object interconnection.

[0074] In this application, predefined content generally refers to information that is defined by standards and does not require additional device configuration. It is pre-recorded / written in the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself, or it can be understood as not being modifiable by the network device or other terminal devices. Pre-configured content generally refers to information that is pre-recorded / written in the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself, determined by the equipment manufacturer, and can be modified through software or hardware.

[0075] (Pre) configuration can be divided into network device (pre) configuration and terminal device (pre) configuration. If it is a network device (pre) configuration, it can be (pre) configured through a system information block (SIB) or RRC signaling; if it is a terminal device (pre) configuration, it can be (pre) configured according to PC5-RRC signaling.

[0076] Beam management is a key technology proposed by NR systems for FR2. It refers to the process by which network equipment and terminal devices acquire and maintain the set of beams used for transmission and reception. It is the reference workflow for beamforming in multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) systems. The frequency range for FR1 is 410MHz–7125MHz; the frequency range for FR2 is 24250MHz–52600MHz.

[0077] Beam management can be divided into three states according to the working state, as shown in Figure 5. The operations in each state are summarized as follows:

[0078] P-1: The terminal device measures the first transmit beam set of the network device (the beams in the first transmit beam set are wide beams) and selects the transmit beam of the network device and the receive beam of the terminal device;

[0079] P-2: Based on P-1, the terminal device measures the second transmit beam set (the beams in the second transmit beam set are beamlets) to improve the BS's transmit beams.

[0080] P-3: The terminal device uses different receiving beams to measure the transmitting beam of the same network device and improve its own receiving beam.

[0081] Based on the above three state operations, downlink beam management is performed. The basic process is as follows:

[0082] The network device is configured with up to 64 beam directions, each of which corresponds to a synchronization signal block (SSB) and the time-frequency resources that the terminal device should use when reporting the beam. The network device sends SSBs to each beam direction in a scanning manner, with each beam direction corresponding to an SSB. The terminal device then performs beam measurement to obtain the reference signal received power (RSRP) of the SSB. After that, the terminal device selects an SSB set by comparing the RSRP and reports the SSB sequence number and corresponding RSRP within the set to the base station on the given time-frequency resource. The base station uses this reported information to perform beam determination.

[0083] Furthermore, to implement transmit beam training in the P-2 operating state, the network device allocates K_S Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) resources to K_S transmit beams. These CSI-RS resources are then transmitted through periodic beam scanning, with one CSI-RS resource corresponding to each beam direction. The maximum number of CSI-RS ports in these CSI-RS resources is two. Other uncertain resource mapping information requires configuration by the network device and is communicated to the terminal device via RRC signaling. The network device transmits CSI-RS resources only in a single beam direction at a given time. The terminal device performs beam measurement to obtain the CSI-RS Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and the CSI-RS Reference Signal Resource Indicator (CRI). After measuring the RSRP, the terminal device compares and selects one or more RSRP values ​​and the corresponding CRI to report to the network device on a given time-frequency resource. The network device uses this information to determine the transmit beam to use.

[0084] Uplink beam management uses a similar process, but uses a different reference signal.

[0085] If in the side link, the above-mentioned beam management process is also used between terminal devices to determine the transmission beams used to send signals to each other, then in the SL resource pool, sending beams in different directions in one time slot will lead to automatic gain control (AGC) problems: SL performs AGC on the entire frequency band in the first symbol of the time slot to adjust the received signal strength to ensure the reception of the entire time slot data (the transmission power no longer changes in the entire time slot); in SL FR2, if the terminal device performs beam scanning in multiple beam directions in one time slot, the change in beam direction will cause the receiving power of the receiving terminal device in one time slot to change rapidly, so that the AGC of the first symbol cannot guarantee the signal reception of the entire time slot. Therefore, the resource multiplexing of beam scanning and data transmission in the resource pool will affect data transmission. To this end, the present application provides a method that can solve the above problems, which will be described in detail later.

[0086] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the network device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes the network device functions. The control subsystem that includes the network device functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal device, or by a device that includes the terminal device functions.

[0087] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field will know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0088] When the method provided in the present application is applied to the systems in Figures 1 to 3, the method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by the terminal device in Figures 1 to 3 or a module in the terminal device.

[0089] It can be understood that the present application does not specifically limit the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The method executed by the terminal device can be applied to the terminal device or a module in the terminal device, and the method executed by the network device can be applied to the network device or a module in the network device. As long as it is possible to communicate according to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application by running a program that records the code of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the interaction between the first terminal device, the second terminal device and the third terminal device is used as an example for explanation below.

[0090] FIG6 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein the method includes:

[0091] Step 601: The first terminal device determines a first time slot within a resource selection window.

[0092] The first time slot is used to transmit a first reference signal, the resource selection window includes at least one time slot, and the first time slot is a time slot within the resource selection window. In this application, the term "time slot" may be replaced by "resource" or "time domain resource," and the time slot is used as an example here, and other cases are not described in detail.

[0093] In this application, each first reference signal transmitted by the first terminal device in the first time slot corresponds to a beam direction, where a beam is the main lobe of a directional array diagram of a signal; first reference signals in different beam directions have different transmission directions and coverage ranges. In one implementation, the first terminal device may send multiple first reference signals in the first time slot, each first reference signal corresponding to a different beam direction. The first time slot may also refer to a time slot used for beam scanning.

[0094] The first terminal device may determine multiple time slots for transmitting the first reference signal within the resource selection window. For example, the first terminal device may further determine a second time slot. The number of time slots for transmitting the first reference signal within the resource selection window is not limited.

[0095] In the present application, the reference signal may refer to a demodulation reference symbol (DMRS) or a CSI-RS, or may be other types of reference signals, which is not limited in the present application.

[0096] This application does not limit how the resource selection window (RSW) is determined. For example, under network coverage, the first terminal device can obtain SL resource pool configuration information and / or SL bandwidth part (bandwidth part, BWP) configuration information by receiving the system information block (SIB) of the network device, cell-level (cell-specific) radio resource control (RRC) signaling or user equipment level (UE-specific) RRC signaling. The first terminal device may also use pre-configured SL resource pool configuration information or SL BWP configuration information. The SL BWP configuration information may include SL resource pool information for configuring the number of resource pools included in the BWP. The SL BWP configuration information may include SL bandwidth information for indicating the bandwidth size for SL communication, for example, indicating that the SL bandwidth is 20 megahertz (MHz).

[0097] After the first terminal device determines the SL resource pool, it can determine a resource selection window within the SL resource pool. Exemplarily, the first terminal device triggers mode 2 resource allocation in time slot n, performs sensing and resource selection to determine the time-frequency resource for sending the first reference signal, as shown in FIG7 . The specific steps are as follows:

[0098] Step 1: The first terminal device determines the resource selection window [n+T1, n+T2].

[0099] Among them, each candidate resource R in the resource selection window x,y In the time domain, a time slot is used as a unit, and in the frequency domain, L subCH A time slot includes multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, for example, 14 OFDM symbols; a subchannel includes multiple physical resource blocks (RBs).

[0100] in Determined from Table 1, it can represent the delay of the transmitting terminal device processing resource selection and reference signal transmission; μ SLThe configured subcarrier spacing can be the subcarrier spacing of the SL resource pool; the value of T1 is not limited, T1 is an integer greater than 0, T1 can be determined by the first terminal device or preset or preconfigured or configured by the network device, and the specific implementation can be based on. 2min (The value of this parameter is configured by the high-level configuration) is less than the remaining packet delay budget (PDB), then T 2min ≤T2≤PDB (Packet Delay Budget), the value of T2 is not limited, T2 is an integer greater than T1, T2 can be determined by the first terminal device or preset or preconfigured or configured by the network device, and the specific implementation can be based on; if T 2min Greater than or equal to the remaining PDB, otherwise T2 is equal to the remaining PDB. L subCH It may be determined by the first terminal device, preset, pre-configured, or configured by the network device.

[0101] For example, as shown in Table 1, With μ SL One-to-one correspondence:

[0102] Table 1

[0103] Step 2: The first terminal device determines a sensing window. For example, the sensing window is represented by

[0104] In this application, is the time delay of the first terminal device in processing the perception result. Specifically, It can be the number of time slots required for the first terminal device to process the perception result. T0 is a positive integer.

[0105] Optional, and / or T0 and subcarrier spacing μ SL For example, as shown in Table 2, With μ SL One-to-one correspondence:

[0106] Table 2

[0107] It should be understood that there is no strict execution timing restriction between step 1 and step 2.

[0108] Step 3: The first terminal device determines the reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold Th (p i ,p j ).

[0109] Among them, the threshold value of RSRP and the priority of the reference signal to be sent by the first terminal device prio TX It is also related to the priority level indicated by the received Sidelink Control Information (SCI). RX The RSRP threshold value can be specifically the prio in the RSRP threshold value set configured by the resource pool. RX +(prio TX -1)*8 RSRP thresholds corresponding to indexes. The RSRP thresholds may be in decibels (dB).

[0110] Step 4: The first terminal device initializes the available resource set S A After initialization, S A It can be the collection of all time-frequency resource units in the resource selection window.

[0111] Step 5: When any of the following conditions are met, A Exclude the corresponding resources:

[0112] a) All periodic resource reserved time slots in the resource pool corresponding to the time slots not perceived by the first terminal device in the perception window. For example, this time slot is a time slot when the first terminal device is in a transmitting state. Due to the limitations of a half-duplex transceiver, the first terminal device cannot receive when in a transmitting state and therefore cannot perceive this transmitting time slot.

[0113] b) If the resource selection process is used to select resources for data transmission, all frequency domain resources of the reserved time slots in the resource selection window are excluded; wherein the reserved time slots may refer to time slots including resources reserved by other terminal devices, and the reserved resources are reserved by other terminal devices as reference signals for transmitting beam scanning. The first terminal device may receive SCI sent by other terminal devices in the perception window, and the SCI may indicate the reserved resources. The first terminal device may thereby determine which time slots in the resource selection window are reserved based on the SCI sent by other terminal devices. For example, the first terminal device receives the SCI of the third terminal device, and the SCI indicates resource b in time slot a in the reserved resource selection window, and the resource b is used to transmit the reference signal for the sidelink beam scanning. Then the first terminal device may determine that time slot a is reserved, and remove all resources included in time slot a from S A Excluded;

[0114] c) If the resource selection process is used to select resources for beam scanning reference signal transmission, all frequency domain resources of the reserved time slots in the resource selection window are excluded; wherein the reserved time slots may refer to time slots including resources reserved by other terminal devices, and the reserved resources are reserved by other terminal devices for transmitting sidelink data. The first terminal device may receive SCI sent by other terminal devices in the perception window, and the SCI may indicate the reserved resources. The first terminal device may thereby determine which time slots in the resource selection window are reserved based on the SCI sent by other terminal devices. For example, the first terminal device receives the SCI of the fourth terminal device, and the SCI indicates resource d in time slot c in the reserved resource selection window, and the resource d is used to transmit sidelink data. Then the first terminal device may determine that time slot c is reserved, and since resource d is used to transmit sidelink data, all resources included in time slot c are removed from S A Excluded.

[0115] Condition b and condition c in step 5 can also be placed in step 6, that is, in step 6, A When excluding resources, use conditions b and c in step 5 to exclude resources.

[0116] Step 5a: If the A If the time-frequency resources excluded from the resource selection window are less than X% of the total time-frequency resources in the resource selection window, steps 4 and 5 are executed again. The value of X% is greater than 0. The value of X% can be configured or pre-configured by the network-side device, for example, X% = 20%, and is not limited thereto.

[0117] Step 6: When all the following conditions are met, A Exclude the corresponding resources:

[0118] a) The first-level SCI decoding of the reception is successful.

[0119] b) performing RSRP measurement on the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) or the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) of the PSSCH included in the time-frequency resources reserved by the received first-level SCI for transmitting the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) (including periodically reserved time-frequency resources for new transmission and / or retransmission of the PSSCH, and non-periodically reserved time-frequency resources for new transmission and / or retransmission of the PSSCH), and the RSRP result is higher than the RSRP threshold value determined in step 3.

[0120] c) The time-frequency resources reserved by the received first-level SCI are within the resource selection window, including the retransmission resources and periodically reserved resources indicated by the first-level SCI.

[0121] Step 7: If you are using S A After the time-frequency resources are excluded, the remaining time-frequency resources are less than X% of the total time-frequency resources in the resource selection window, then the RSRP threshold determined in step 3 is increased (by 3dB each time), and steps 4 to 7 are performed again.

[0122] After step 1 to step 7, the first terminal device can determine a time slot from the resource selection window as the first time slot, and the first time slot does not include the time slot from S A The resources excluded from the first time slot are resources not reserved, that is, the first time slot is a time slot that is not reserved, or the first time slot is a time slot reserved for transmitting the second reference signal. In this application, the term "reservation" can also be replaced by terms with similar meanings such as reservation.

[0123] The above steps 1 to 7 are just examples. This application can also use other methods to determine the resource set S A , I will not give examples one by one here.

[0124] In this application, the first time slot is an unreserved time slot, which can be understood as no resources in the first time slot reserved by any terminal device or terminal devices around the first terminal device for sidelink data transmission, or can be understood as no resources in the first time slot reserved by any terminal device or terminal devices around the first terminal device for transmitting information other than sidelink data and reference signals.

[0125] The first time slot is a time slot reserved for transmitting the second reference signal. It can be understood that the first time slot includes resources reserved by the second terminal device for transmitting the second reference signal. The second terminal device is different from the first terminal device.

[0126] For example, as shown in (a) of Figure 8 , the time slots included in the resource selection window are numbered starting from 0, and the resource selection window includes time slots 0 through 5. Based on the SCIs received from other terminal devices during the perception window, the first terminal device can determine the reserved resources within the resource selection window and exclude the time slots containing these resources. The grids filled with diagonal stripes in the figure represent excluded resources, and the other resources are candidate resources. If the first terminal device determines that only time slots 3 and 5 are not excluded resources in the resource selection window, then one of these time slots can be selected as the first time slot.

[0127] In one implementation, if the resource selection window includes unreserved time slots and also includes time slots reserved for transmitting the second reference signal, the time slots reserved for transmitting the second reference signal may be preferentially selected as the first time slot. For example, the first terminal device may select the time slots reserved for transmitting the second reference signal as the first time slot.

[0128] For example, as shown in Figure 9, the time slots included in the resource selection window are numbered starting from 1, and the resource selection window includes time slots 1 to 6. The first terminal device can determine the reserved resources in the resource selection window based on the SCI of other terminal devices received in the perception window, and thus exclude the time slots including these resources. The grids filled with diagonal stripes in the figure represent excluded resources, and the other resources are candidate resources. The first terminal device receives the SCI of UE1 in the PSCCH in time slot 0, and the SCI indicates that resources for transmitting the second reference signal are reserved in time slot 3. If the first terminal device determines that there are only time slots 3 and time slots 5 in the resource selection window that are not excluded, then time slot 3 can be used as the first time slot because time slot 3 includes resources reserved for transmitting the second reference signal.

[0129] Furthermore, the terminal device may also determine at least one first resource for carrying the first reference signal in the first time slot, where the at least one first resource is located in the first time slot. For example, in combination with the above description, the resource set S is determined through steps 1 to 7. A Afterwards, step 8 may be performed: the first terminal device may A At least one time-frequency resource (r0, r1, r2, ...) is randomly selected for sending a first reference signal.

[0130] Optionally, the first terminal device re-evaluates the resources (r0, r1, r2, ...) before sending the first reference signal, and after the re-evaluation, selects the first terminal device from S A The first terminal device performs preemption detection on the selected resource (r'0, r'1, r'2, ...). The first terminal device can perform resource reassessment and preemption detection based on the additional trigger before and after the time slot m-T3. The method of determining whether (r0, r1, r2, ...) and (r'0, r'1, r'2, ...) need to be excluded is the same as steps 1 to 7. If r in (r0, r1, r2, ...) and (r'0, r'1, r'2, ...) i and / or r i ′ does not belong to S A (ie r i and r i ′ are excluded during re-evaluation and / or preemption detection, respectively), then i and / or ri ′ is reselected. Wherein, time slot m is the next time slot to be transmitted, that is, time slot m belongs to (r0, r1, r2, ...) and (r′0, r′1, r′2, ...).

[0131] For example, as shown in (b) of FIG8 , in the resource selection window, only the resources included in time slot 3 and the resources included in time slot 5 can be used as candidate resources, that is, the resource set S A The candidate resources included are located in time slots 3 and 5. If the first terminal device selects time slot 3 as the first time slot, it selects at least one first resource from the candidate resources included in time slot 3 to transmit the first reference signal. For example, the candidate resources filled in black in the figure represent selected candidate resources, and the at least one first resource determined by the first terminal device is located in the candidate resources, or the first terminal device selects the candidate resource as the first resource.

[0132] It should be noted that in the above steps 1 to 7, each candidate resource includes one time slot in the time domain and L in the frequency domain. subCH When actually selecting the first resource for transmitting the first reference signal, in one possible implementation, at least one first resource may be selected from a candidate resource. It can be understood that the granularity of the first resource is smaller than that of the candidate resource. A candidate resource may include multiple first resources. For example, a first resource includes e OFDM symbols in the time domain and f subchannels in the frequency domain, where e is an integer greater than 0 and less than 14, and f is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to L. subCH In another possible implementation, the size of the first resource and the size of the candidate resource may be the same, that is, the first resource includes one time slot in the time domain and L in the frequency domain. subCH The above is just an example, and the size of the first resource may also exist in other situations. This application does not limit the size of the first resource.

[0133] In this application, in order to avoid using too many resources in the SL resource pool for transmitting the first reference signal, the number of resources used for transmitting the first reference signal can also be limited according to the channel occupancy ratio (CR) and / or the channel busy ratio (CBR).

[0134] In a first possible implementation, before the first terminal device determines the first time slot in the resource selection window or before sending the first reference signal in the first time slot, it may further determine that the following conditions are met:

[0135] ∑ i≥k CR data (i)+CRbeam,subch ≤CR Limit (k); (1)

[0136] Among them, CR data (i) represents the CR transmitted by the PSSCH with priority i in the SCI from other terminal devices. The SCI from other terminal devices is received by the first terminal device in the perception window. The SCI reserves resources for transmitting sidelink data. The priority i can be understood as the priority of the sidelink data reserved for transmission by the SCI;

[0137] CR Limit (k) determined according to the priority k and the CBR of the first window, where k is predefined or preconfigured or configured by the network or determined by the first terminal device; CR Limit (k) The specific method of determination is not limited in this application. For example, CR Limit (k) has a corresponding relationship with the priority k and the CBR of the first window. According to the priority k, the CBR of the first window and the above corresponding relationship, the CR can be determined. Limit The value of (k) is not limited by the above corresponding relationship and will not be elaborated here.

[0138] The first window may also be referred to as a CR window. The index range of the time slots included in the first window is [ya, y-1]. The CBR represents the busyness of the channel over a period of time. The CBR of the first window is obtained by measuring by the first terminal device the ratio of the subchannels in the subchannels within [ya, y-1] that exceed the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) threshold to the total number of measured subchannels in [ya, y-1]. The RSSI threshold is predefined or preconfigured or configured by the network or determined by the first terminal device; wherein time slot y is the time slot for sending the first reference signal, for example, time slot y is the first time slot.

[0139] In addition, the CR of the first window is defined as the ratio of the number of subchannels that have been transmitted in the CR window [ya, y-1] and the number of subchannels to be transmitted in the second window [y, y+b] to the total number of subchannels in the CR window, that is, it satisfies the following form:

[0140] Among them, CH data The number of subchannels occupied by the UE for data transmission, CR beam,subch is the number of subchannels occupied for transmitting the first parameter signal (i.e., beam scanning) (all subchannels in the SL resource pool within the transmission time slot are counted as the number of occupied subchannels); CH dat Indicates the channel occupancy for data transmission, CR beam,subchIndicates the channel occupancy of the first parameter signal.

[0141] CR beam,subch Represents the ratio of the number of subchannels occupied by the first reference signal that has been transmitted in the first window and the number of subchannels occupied by the first reference signal to be transmitted in the second window to the total number of subchannels in the first window, the index range of the time slots included in the second window is [y, y+b], the second window can also be called the future window, a and b are predefined or preconfigured or network configured or determined by the first terminal device.

[0142] In this implementation, if the above inequality (1) is satisfied, the first terminal device can send the first reference signal in the first time slot; if the above inequality (1) is not satisfied, the first terminal device cannot send the first reference signal in the first time slot.

[0143] In a second possible implementation, before the first terminal device determines the first time slot in the resource selection window or before sending the first reference signal in the first time slot, it may further determine that the following conditions are met:

[0144] Alternatively, CR beam,slot ≤CR Limit ; (3)

[0145] Among them, CR thr Predefined or preconfigured or network configured or determined by the first terminal device; CR Limit Determine according to the CBR of the first window, CR Limit This application does not limit how to determine it. For example, CR Limit There is a corresponding relationship with the CBR of the first window. According to the CBR of the first window and the above corresponding relationship, the CR Limit The above corresponding relationship is not limited to the value of , and will not be described here.

[0146] S represents the sum of the number of time slots occupied by the first reference signal that has been transmitted in the first window and the number of time slots occupied by the first reference signal to be transmitted in the second window; S total Represents the total number of time slots in the first window, the index range of the time slots included in the first window is [ya, y-1], the index range of the time slots included in the second window is [y, y+b], a and b are predefined or preconfigured or network configured or determined by the first terminal device.

[0147] In this implementation, if the above inequality (3) is satisfied, the first terminal device can send the first reference signal in the first time slot; if the above inequality (3) is not satisfied, the first terminal device cannot send the first reference signal in the first time slot.

[0148] Step 602: The first terminal device sends first indication information, where the first indication information indicates a first time slot.

[0149] The first terminal device may also send second indication information, where the second indication information indicates at least one first resource used for carrying.

[0150] The first indication information and the second indication information may be sent through the same message or through different messages, which is not limited in this application. Optionally, the first indication information may be transmitted through the PSCCH, and the second indication information may also be transmitted through the PSCCH, for example, the first indication information and the second indication information may be sent through the SCI. Alternatively, the first indication information may be transmitted through the PSSCH, and the second indication information may also be transmitted through the PSSCH, for example, the first indication information and the second indication information may be sent through a MAC control element (CE).

[0151] For example, the first indication information and the second indication information can be carried by the same SCI or MAC control element (CE). If the time slot in which the SCI and / or MAC CE is located is a first transmission, then the time slot cannot be used for beam scanning because the first transmission does not have reservation information, and other terminal devices cannot determine in advance whether the time slot is used for beam scanning.

[0152] In the present application, there may be multiple implementations of how to indicate the first time slot through the first indication information.

[0153] In one implementation, the first indication information may indirectly indicate the first time slot. For example, if the first terminal device sends the first indication information through the SCI or MAC CE, the first time slot may be indicated by adding a new field in the SCI or MAC CE. For example, a 1-bit flag is added in the SCI or MAC CE, and the time resource indication value (TRIV) in the SCI or MAC CE is used as the first indication information. For example, when flag=1, the retransmission time slot indicated by the TRIV in the SCI or MAC CE is the first slot for transmitting the first reference signal. Alternatively, the resource reservation period field in the SCI or MAC CE is used as the first indication information. For example, when flag=1, the periodic time slots indicated by the resource reservation period in the SCI or MAC CE are the first slots for transmitting the first reference signal.

[0154] In another implementation, the first indication information may directly indicate the first time slot. For example, the first indication information may indicate an offset of the first time slot relative to the current time slot, or the first indication information may indicate a system frame number (SFN) or direct frame number (DFN) corresponding to the first time slot. Alternatively, the first indication information may further indicate information such as an index of the first time slot.

[0155] In the present application, the second indication information may also indicate the time domain position (eg occupied symbol) and / or frequency domain position (eg occupied physical resource block (RB)) of each first resource in at least one first resource in the first time slot.

[0156] There may be multiple implementations of how to indicate at least one first resource through the second indication information.

[0157] Implementation method 1: If the first terminal device sends the second indication information through the SCI or MAC CE, the second indication information may be located in the frequency resource assignment field. If the second indication information is located in the frequency resource assignment field, at least one first resource indicated by the second indication information is a resource for non-periodic transmission.

[0158] Implementation method 2: Based on the reserved data transmission resources in the SCI or MAC CE, second indication information indicating at least one first resource is separately configured. In one possible embodiment, in the frequency domain, the second indication information indicates the subchannel occupied by the at least one first resource.

[0159] Implementation method three reuses the resource reservation field in the SCI or MAC CE as the second indication information, and adds a new identification field to indicate whether the resource indicated by the resource reservation field is used for data transmission or reference signal transmission. For example, if the time-frequency resources R1 and R2 are indicated in the SCI, and R1 and R2 each correspond to 1-bit identification information, if the identification information of R1 is 1, R1 is used for beam scanning; if the identification information of R2 is 0, R1 is used for data transmission.

[0160] In the present application, the first terminal device may further send third indication information, where the third indication information indicates a second resource, and the second resource is used to transmit the measurement result of the first reference signal. The third indication information may be sent through the same message as the first indication information or the second indication information, or may be sent through a different message, which is not limited in the present application. If the resource used to transmit the measurement result of the first reference signal is preset, for example, there is a preset mapping relationship between the first time slot and the second resource, then the first terminal device may not send the third indication information.

[0161] In the present application, after the first terminal device sends the first indication information, it may also repeatedly indicate the first time slot. For example, the first terminal device may also send fifth indication information, where the fifth indication information indicates the first time slot and / or the second time slot, where the second time slot is also used to transmit the first reference signal. This method can avoid the situation where a third terminal device measuring the first reference signal is unable to receive the first indication information due to a half-duplex problem or resource conflict, resulting in an inability to determine the time slot where the first reference signal is located.

[0162] For example, as shown in Figure 10, the first terminal device sends first indication information in the PSCCH in time slot t1, and the first indication information indicates that time slot t3 is used to transmit the first reference signal; the first terminal device also sends second indication information in the PSCCH in time slot t2, and the second indication information indicates that time slot t3 is used to transmit the first reference signal.

[0163] In the present application, after the first terminal device sends the second indication information, it can also repeatedly indicate at least one first resource, for example, repeatedly sending the second indication information in different resources, and the specific process is no longer limited.

[0164] In the present application, the first time slot and / or at least one first resource may also be assisted in indicating by a terminal device other than the first terminal device. For example, UE1 sends the first indication information. When UEa receives the first indication information of UE1 and determines the first time slot, UEa may indicate the first time slot reserved by UE1 for transmitting the first reference signal in the SCI or MAC CE sent by itself. UEa may also indicate the at least one first resource reserved by UE1 for transmitting the first reference signal in the SCI or MAC CE sent by itself. This application does not limit how UEa specifically indicates the first time slot and / or at least one first resource. You may refer to the previous description, or you may adopt other methods, which will not be elaborated here.

[0165] Step 603: The first terminal device sends a first reference signal in a first time slot.

[0166] Specifically, the first terminal device may send at least one first reference signal in at least one first resource in the first time slot. Each first reference signal corresponds to a beam direction.

[0167] For example, as shown in (a) in Figure 11, the first terminal device sends the first indication information and the second indication information in the PSSCH in time slot t1, the first indication information indicates that time slot t2 is used to transmit the first reference signal, and the second indication information indicates the specific position of at least one first resource in the first time slot. When the first terminal device sends the first reference signal in time slot t2, PSCCH / PSSCH / physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) may not be included in time slot t2, and is only used to transmit the first reference signal. In the figure, the first reference signal is CSI-RS as an example, and the first reference signal may also be other types of reference signals. Assume that the first terminal device sends a CSI-RS for each of the three first resources included in time slot t2, and sends a total of three CSI-RSs, namely CSI-RS1 to CSI-RS 3. Each CSI-RS corresponds to a beam, CSI-RS1 corresponds to beam 1, CSI-RS2 corresponds to beam 2, and CSI-RS 3 corresponds to beam 3, and the beam directions of different beams are different. This application does not limit how many first reference signals the first terminal device sends in a time slot and what the beam direction of each first reference signal is, and will not be elaborated here.

[0168] In the present application, the first terminal device may send fourth indication information in the first time slot, where the fourth indication information indicates a second time slot for transmitting the first reference signal. The second time slot is located after the first time slot and is the time slot for the next beam scanning reserved by the first terminal device, that is, the next time slot reserved for transmitting the first reference signal.

[0169] For example, as shown in (b) in FIG11 , when the first terminal device sends the first reference signal in time slot t2, time slot t2 does not include PSSCH / PSFCH but includes PSCCH, and the first terminal device sends fourth indication information in the PSCCH.

[0170] In the present application, the first terminal device may also send seventh indication information in the first time slot, where the seventh indication information indicates at least one fourth resource located in the second time slot, where the fourth resource is used to transmit the first reference signal. This allows resources for transmitting the first reference signal in the next reserved time slot to be reserved during the transmission of the first reference signal. For example, in Figure 11 (b), the first terminal device sends the seventh indication information in the PSCCH in time slot t2.

[0171] Step 604: The third terminal device measures at least one first reference signal in the first time slot.

[0172] The third terminal device may also transmit a measurement result of the first reference signal via a second resource, and the first terminal device accordingly receives the measurement result; the second resource is indicated by the third indication information, or the second resource is preconfigured or preset. This application does not limit how the third terminal device measures the first reference signal.

[0173] In one implementation, the measurement result includes at least one of the RSRP and the CRI of the first reference signal. The measurement result may also include other information, which will not be listed here one by one.

[0174] The first terminal device may select a first reference signal based on the measurement results and use the beam direction of the first reference signal as a transmit beam. When subsequently communicating with a third terminal device, the transmit beam may be used to send information to the third terminal device. This application does not specify how the first terminal device determines a first reference signal based on the measurement results and will not be further described herein.

[0175] The above method implements a flexible reference signal resource determination method through sensing and resource selection. The first time slot determined within the resource selection window is an unreserved time slot, or a time slot reserved for transmitting a second reference signal. Thus, the first reference signal transmitted in the first time slot does not share the same time slot with resources used for data transmission, and thus does not interfere with data transmission in the first time slot, thereby ensuring data transmission reliability. Furthermore, if each reference signal corresponds to a beam direction, since the reference signal does not share the same time slot with resources used for data transmission, changes in the beam direction of at least one first reference signal transmitted in the first time slot will not cause rapid changes in the received power of the data in the first time slot, thereby ensuring data transmission reliability.

[0176] In the present application, for a terminal device selected for data transmission within the resource selection window, such as a fourth terminal device, when the fourth terminal device receives the first indication information and thereby determines that the first time slot is used to transmit the first reference signal, the fourth terminal device excludes all resources included in the first time slot when performing resource selection, that is, the resources selected for data transmission are outside the first time slot, that is, the resources for data transmission are not selected within the first time slot; it can also be understood that: when the fourth terminal device performs resource selection, the resources selected for data transmission are not within the first time slot.

[0177] For example, as shown in (a) of Figure 12 , a fourth terminal device receives first indication information on the PSCCH in time slot 0, and may also receive second indication information on the PSCCH. Based on the first indication information, the fourth terminal device determines that time slot 3 is used to transmit the first reference signal, and may also determine at least one first resource in time slot 3 based on the second indication information. The fourth terminal device then treats all resources in time slot 3 as excluded resources and no longer selects resources from time slot 3 for data transmission. For example, as shown in (b) of Figure 12 , the fourth terminal device treats all resources in time slot 3 as excluded resources.

[0178] Further optionally, when selecting resources for transmitting data, the fourth terminal device gives priority to not occupying idle time slots, that is, it gives priority to selecting resources from time slots including resources reserved for data transmission, thereby ensuring a certain number of available time slots for transmitting reference signals (i.e., beam scanning).

[0179] For example, as shown in Figure 13, if no other terminal devices have reserved resources in time slots 3 and 5, the fourth terminal device prioritizes resources in time slots reserved by other terminal devices, preserving all available time slots for beam scanning. For example, as shown in the figure, the fourth terminal device selects a resource in time slot 2, indicated by the black grid. An idle time slot refers to a time slot in which no resource is reserved.

[0180] The present application also provides a method for transmitting a first reference signal in a time slot including resources for transmitting data, thereby increasing the chance of successfully selecting resources for transmitting the first reference signal, which is described in detail below.

[0181] FIG14 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein the method includes:

[0182] Step 1401: A first terminal device selects a time slot that meets a first condition within a resource selection window as a first time slot for transmitting a first reference signal;

[0183] The resource selection window includes at least one time slot, and the first condition includes at least one of the following: the number of reserved resources in the time slot is less than or equal to a first number; and the priority of data corresponding to the reserved resources in the time slot is less than or equal to a first priority. The priority of the data may be an L1 priority.

[0184] For example, in step 1401, the first terminal device may select resources from the SL resource pool in the manner of steps 1 to 8 above, but replace step 5 with the following step 5B, and replace step 8 with the following step 8B:

[0185] Step 5B: When all of the following conditions are met, A Exclude the corresponding resources:

[0186] a) All periodic resource reserved time slots in the resource pool corresponding to the time slots not perceived by the first terminal device in the perception window. For example, this time slot is a time slot when the first terminal device is in a transmitting state. Due to the limitations of a half-duplex transceiver, the first terminal device cannot receive when in a transmitting state and therefore cannot perceive this transmitting time slot.

[0187] Step 8B: The first terminal device A At least one time-frequency resource (r0, r1, r2, ...) is selected from the time slots that meet the first condition for sending the first reference signal.

[0188] The first terminal device may also not use the previous steps 1 to 8 to determine the resource set S A This application does not limit the determination of resource set S A method.

[0189] In the first implementation, after the first terminal device determines the first time slot, it may no longer determine whether the previous formula (1) or formula (3) is satisfied. Even if the previous formula (1) or formula (3) is not satisfied, the first reference signal may be sent in the first time slot.

[0190] In the second implementation, after the first terminal device determines the first time slot according to the process of FIG6 , if it is determined that the above formula (1) or formula (3) is not satisfied, the first time slot is re-determined using the process of FIG14 .

[0191] In the third implementation, after the first terminal device determines the first time slot according to the process of Figure 6, if it is determined that the above formula (1) or formula (3) is not satisfied, the first terminal device can reduce the period of sending the first reference signal, that is, reduce the beam scanning frequency. By increasing the beam scanning period, the proportion of beam scanning time slots in a certain time period is reduced, and the symbol density of beam scanning is improved, that is, more symbols are used for beam scanning in one time slot. Alternatively, the first terminal device sends a sixth indication information, which is used to instruct the third terminal device to perform beam scanning. The sixth indication information can be 1-bit identification information, which is carried in the SCI and / or MAC CE to instruct the third terminal device to reserve and indicate the beam scanning resource. Since the constraint of the beam scanning period is related to the number of time slots in which the first terminal device itself has sent the first reference signal, when the first terminal device cannot send, the third terminal device can perform beam scanning. When instructing / requesting the third terminal device to perform beam scanning, the first terminal device can simultaneously indicate the time / frequency resources used for beam scanning, or only send the indication / request information to allow the third terminal device to determine the time / frequency resources for beam scanning.

[0192] Step 1402: The first terminal device sends first indication information, where the first indication information indicates a first time slot.

[0193] The first terminal device may also send second indication information, third indication information, fourth indication information, etc. For details, please refer to the description in step 602.

[0194] Step 1403: The first terminal device sends a first reference signal in the first time slot.

[0195] For details of the above content, please refer to the description in step 603.

[0196] Step 1404: The third terminal device measures at least one first reference signal in the first time slot.

[0197] For details of the above content, please refer to the description in step 604.

[0198] Through the above method, a larger number of time slots in the resource selection window can be used for reference signal transmission, thereby increasing the probability of selecting the first time slot, improving the success rate of first reference signal transmission, and ensuring continuous transmission opportunities during beam scanning. Furthermore, because the resources used for data transmission in the first time slot determined within the resource selection window are relatively small, or the resources used for transmission have a lower priority, the reference signal transmitted in the first time slot will less interfere with data transmission, thereby improving resource utilization.

[0199] It is understood that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal device or network device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or in a manner driven by computer software depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0200] The following is a schematic diagram of the structure of possible communication devices provided in the embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments.

[0201] As shown in Figure 15, a communication device 1500 includes a processing unit 1510 and a communication unit 1520. The communication device 1500 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in each of the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0202] When the communication device 1500 is used to implement the functions of the first terminal device:

[0203] a processing unit, configured to determine a first time slot within a resource selection window, the first time slot being used to transmit a first reference signal, the resource selection window including at least one time slot; the first time slot being an unreserved time slot; or the first time slot being a time slot reserved for transmitting a second reference signal;

[0204] A communication unit is configured to send first indication information, where the first indication information indicates the first time slot.

[0205] In one implementation, the processing unit is specifically configured to:

[0206] If the resource selection window includes a time slot reserved for transmitting the second reference signal, the time slot reserved for transmitting the second reference signal is used as the first time slot.

[0207] In one implementation, the processing unit is further configured to:

[0208] determining at least one first resource, where the at least one first resource is located in the first time slot, and the first resource is used to carry the first reference signal;

[0209] The communication unit is further configured to send second indication information, where the second indication information indicates the at least one first resource.

[0210] In one implementation, the communication unit is further configured to:

[0211] At least one first reference signal is sent through the at least one first resource.

[0212] In one implementation, before the communication unit sends the first indication information, the processing unit is further configured to:

[0213] Make sure the following conditions are met:

[0214] ∑ i≥k CR data (i)+CR beam,subch ≤CR Limit (k);

[0215] Among them, CR data (i) represents the channel occupancy rate CR of the physical sidelink shared channel PSSCH transmission with priority i in the sidelink control information SCI from other terminal devices; CR Limit (k) is determined based on the priority k and the channel busy ratio (CBR) of the first window, where k is predefined, preconfigured, or network configured; CR beam,subchRepresents the ratio of the number of subchannels occupied by the first reference signal that has been transmitted in the first window and the number of subchannels occupied by the first reference signal to be transmitted in the second window to the total number of subchannels in the first window, the index range of the time slots included in the first window is [ya, y-1], and the index range of the time slots included in the second window is [y, y+b], where time slot y is the time slot for sending the first reference signal, and a and b are predefined or preconfigured or network configured.

[0216] In one implementation, before the communication unit sends the first indication information, the processing unit is further configured to:

[0217] Make sure the following conditions are met:

[0218] Alternatively, CR beam,slot ≤CR Limit ;

[0219] Among them, CR thr Predefined or preconfigured or network configured; CR Limit Determined according to the channel busy ratio CBR of the first window; S represents the sum of the number of time slots occupied by the first reference signal that has been transmitted in the first window and the number of time slots occupied by the first reference signal to be transmitted in the second window; S total Represents the total number of time slots in the first window, the index range of the time slots included in the first window is [ya, y-1], and the index range of the time slots included in the second window is [y, y+b], where time slot y is the time slot for sending the first reference signal, and a and b are predefined or preconfigured or network configured.

[0220] When the communication device 1500 is used to implement the functions of the third terminal device:

[0221] a communication unit, configured to receive first indication information from a first terminal device, the first indication information indicating a first time slot for transmitting a first reference signal, the first time slot being a time slot within a resource selection window, the resource selection window including at least one time slot; the first time slot being an unreserved time slot; or the first time slot being a time slot reserved for transmitting a second reference signal;

[0222] A processing unit is configured to measure at least one of the first reference signals in the first time slot.

[0223] In one implementation, the communication unit is further configured to:

[0224] receiving second indication information, where the second indication information indicates the at least one first resource, and the at least one first resource is located in the first time slot;

[0225] At least one first reference signal is received in the at least one first resource.

[0226] In one implementation, the communication unit is further configured to:

[0227] The measurement result of the first reference signal is transmitted through a second resource; the second resource is indicated by third indication information, or the second resource is preconfigured or preset.

[0228] When the communication device 1500 is used to implement the function of the second terminal device:

[0229] a communication unit, configured to receive first indication information from a first terminal device, the first indication information indicating a first time slot for transmitting a first reference signal, the first time slot being a time slot within a resource selection window, the resource selection window including at least one time slot; the first time slot being an unreserved time slot; or the first time slot being a time slot reserved for transmitting a second reference signal;

[0230] The processing unit is configured to exclude all resources included in the first time slot when performing resource selection.

[0231] When the communication device 1500 is used to implement the functions of the first terminal device:

[0232] a processing unit, configured to select, within a resource selection window, a time slot that satisfies a first condition as a first time slot for transmitting a first reference signal; the resource selection window includes at least one time slot, and the first condition includes at least one of the following: the number of reserved resources in the time slot is less than or equal to a first number; and the priority of data corresponding to the reserved resources in the time slot is less than or equal to a first priority;

[0233] A communication unit is configured to send first indication information, where the first indication information indicates the first time slot.

[0234] A more detailed description of the processing unit 1510 and the communication unit 1520 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant descriptions in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0235] It should be understood that the division of units in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into one physical entity, or physically separated. Moreover, the units in the device can all be implemented in the form of software called through processing elements; or all be implemented in the form of hardware; or some units can be implemented in the form of software called through processing elements, and some units can be implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit can be a separately established processing element, or it can be integrated into a certain chip of the device. In addition, it can also be stored in the form of a program in a memory, called by a certain processing element of the device and execute the function of the unit. In addition, all or part of these units can be integrated together, or they can be implemented independently. The processing element here can also be a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each operation of the above method or each unit above can be implemented by the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor element or by software called through the processing element.

[0236] In one example, the unit in any of the above devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more digital singnal processors (DSPs), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. For another example, when the unit in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element can be a processor, such as a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), or other processor that can call a program. For another example, these units can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0237] The above-mentioned receiving unit is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the receiving unit is the interface circuit of the chip used to receive signals from other chips or devices. The above-mentioned sending unit is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to send signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the sending unit is the interface circuit of the chip used to send signals to other chips or devices.

[0238] As another possible product form, the terminal device or network device of the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a general bus architecture. For ease of explanation, refer to Figure 16, which is a structural diagram of a communication device 1600 provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein the communication device 1600 includes a processor 1601 and a transceiver 1602. The communication device 1600 can be a first device, or a chip or chip system therein; or, the communication device 1600 can be a second device, or a chip or module therein. Figure 16 only shows the main components of the communication device 1600. In addition to the processor 1601 and the transceiver 1602, the communication device 1600 can further include a memory 1603, and an input and output device (not shown in the figure).

[0239] Optionally, processor 1601 is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, as well as control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process software program data. Memory 1603 is primarily used to store software programs and data. Transceiver 1602 may include a radio frequency circuit and an antenna. The radio frequency circuit is primarily used to convert baseband signals into radio frequency signals and process radio frequency signals. The antenna is primarily used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as a touch screen, display, and keyboard, are primarily used to receive user input and output data to the user.

[0240] Optionally, the processor 1601 , the transceiver 1602 , and the memory 1603 may be connected via a communication bus.

[0241] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 1601 can read the software program in the memory 1603, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor 1601 performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1601. The processor 1601 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0242] In another implementation, the RF circuit and antenna can be set independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the RF circuit and antenna can be arranged remotely from the communication device.

[0243] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the above-mentioned communication device 1500 may take the form of the communication device 1600 shown in FIG. 16 .

[0244] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing unit 1510 in FIG15 may be implemented by the processor 1601 in the communication device 1600 shown in FIG16 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1603. The functions / implementation process of the communication unit 1520 in FIG15 may be implemented by the transceiver 1602 in the communication device 1600 shown in FIG16.

[0245] As another possible product form, the terminal device or network device in this application may adopt the structure shown in Figure 17, or include the components shown in Figure 17. Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1700 provided in this application.

[0246] As shown in FIG17 , a communication device 1700 includes at least one processor 1701. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface 1702.

[0247] When the program instructions are executed in the at least one processor 1701, the apparatus 1700 can implement the method provided in any of the aforementioned embodiments and any possible designs thereof. Alternatively, the processor 1701 implements the method provided in any of the aforementioned embodiments and any possible designs thereof through logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

[0248] The communication interface 1702 may be used to receive program instructions and transmit them to the processor. Alternatively, the communication interface 1702 may be used for communication between the communication device 1700 and other communication devices, such as exchanging control signaling and / or service data. Exemplarily, the communication interface 1702 may be used to receive signals from devices other than the communication device 1700 and transmit them to the processor 1701, or to send signals from the processor 1701 to other communication devices other than the communication device 1700.

[0249] Optionally, the communication interface 1702 may be a code and / or data read / write interface circuit, or the communication interface 1702 may be a signal transmission interface circuit between a communication processor and a transceiver, or a pin of a chip.

[0250] Optionally, the communication device 1700 may further include at least one memory 1703, which may be used to store required program instructions and / or data. It should be noted that the memory 1703 may exist independently of the processor 1701 or may be integrated with the processor 1701. The memory 1703 may be located within the communication device 1700 or outside the communication device 1700, without limitation.

[0251] Optionally, the communication device 1700 may further include a power supply circuit 1704, which may be used to supply power to the processor 1701. The power supply circuit 1704 may be located in the same chip as the processor 1701, or in another chip other than the chip where the processor 1701 is located.

[0252] Optionally, the communication device 1700 may further include a bus, and various parts of the communication device 1700 may be interconnected via the bus.

[0253] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the communication device 1500 shown in FIG. 15 may take the form of the communication device 1700 shown in FIG. 17 .

[0254] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing unit 1510 in FIG15 can be implemented by the processor 1701 in the communication device 1700 shown in FIG17 calling the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1703. The functions / implementation process of the communication unit 1520 in FIG15 can be implemented by the communication interface 1702 in the communication device 1700 shown in FIG17.

[0255] It should be noted that the structure shown in FIG17 does not constitute a specific limitation on the terminal device or network device. For example, in other embodiments of the present application, the terminal device or network device may include more or fewer components than shown, or combine or split certain components, or arrange the components differently. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0256] When the communication device is a chip used in a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the base station to the terminal; or the terminal chip sends information to other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal to the base station.

[0257] When the above-mentioned communication device is a module applied to a base station, the base station module implements the functions of the base station in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The base station module receives information from other modules in the base station (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal to the base station; or the base station module sends information to other modules in the base station (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the base station to the terminal. The base station module here can be the baseband chip of the base station, 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.

[0258] It is understood that the processor in the 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.

[0259] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a 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. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also exist in a base station or a terminal as discrete components.

[0260] 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. A computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions of the embodiments of the present application are performed. 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 media may be magnetic media, such as floppy disks, hard disks, or magnetic tapes; optical media, such as digital video disks; or semiconductor media, such as solid-state drives. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0261] 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.

[0262] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0263] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the flow chart and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more flow charts and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0264] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0265] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Determine a first time slot within a resource selection window, where the first time slot is used to transmit a first reference signal, and the resource selection window includes at least one time slot; The first time slot is an unreserved time slot; or the first time slot is a time slot reserved for transmitting a second reference signal; First indication information is sent, where the first indication information indicates the first time slot.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that If the resource selection window includes a time slot reserved for transmitting the second reference signal, the time slot reserved for transmitting the second reference signal is used as the first time slot.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Determine at least one first resource, where the at least one first resource is located in the first time slot, and the first resource is used to carry the first reference signal; Second indication information is sent, where the second indication information indicates the at least one first resource.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: At least one first reference signal is sent through the at least one first resource.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Fourth indication information is sent in the first time slot, where the fourth indication information indicates a second time slot used for transmitting the first reference signal.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Before sending the first indication information, the method further includes: Make sure the following conditions are met: ∑ i≥k CR data (i)+CR beam,subch ≤CR Limit (k); Among them, CR data (i) represents the channel occupancy rate CR of the physical sidelink shared channel PSSCH transmission with priority i in the sidelink control information SCI from other terminal devices; CR Limit (k) is determined according to the priority k and the channel busy ratio CBR of the first window, where k is predefined or preconfigured or network configured; CR beam,subch Represents the ratio of the number of subchannels occupied by the first reference signal that has been transmitted in the first window and the number of subchannels occupied by the first reference signal to be transmitted in the second window to the total number of subchannels in the first window, the index range of the time slots included in the first window is [ya, y-1], and the index range of the time slots included in the second window is [y, y+b], where time slot y is the time slot for sending the first reference signal, and a and b are predefined or preconfigured or network configured.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Before sending the first indication information, the method further includes: Make sure the following conditions are met: Or, CR beam,slot ≤CR Limit ; Among them, CR thr Predefined or preconfigured or network configured; CR Limit Determined according to the channel busy ratio CBR of the first window; S represents the sum of the number of time slots occupied by the first reference signal that has been transmitted in the first window and the number of time slots occupied by the first reference signal to be transmitted in the second window; S total Represents the total number of time slots in the first window, the index range of the time slots included in the first window is [ya, y-1], and the index range of the time slots included in the second window is [y, y+b], where time slot y is the time slot for sending the first reference signal, and a and b are predefined or preconfigured or network configured.

8. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving first indication information from a first terminal device, the first indication information indicating a first time slot for transmitting a first reference signal, the first time slot being a time slot within a resource selection window, the resource selection window including at least one time slot; the first time slot being an unreserved time slot; or the first time slot being a time slot reserved for transmitting a second reference signal; At least one of the first reference signals is measured in the first time slot.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving second indication information, where the second indication information indicates the at least one first resource, and the at least one first resource is located in the first time slot; At least one first reference signal is received in the at least one first resource.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The measurement result of the first reference signal is transmitted through a second resource; the second resource is indicated by third indication information, or the second resource is preconfigured or preset.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving fourth indication information in the first time slot, where the fourth indication information indicates a second time slot for transmitting the first reference signal; The first reference signal is received and measured in the second time slot.

12. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving first indication information from a first terminal device, the first indication information indicating a first time slot for transmitting a first reference signal, the first time slot being a time slot within a resource selection window, the resource selection window including at least one time slot; the first time slot being an unreserved time slot; or the first time slot being a time slot reserved for transmitting a second reference signal; When performing resource selection, all resources included in the first time slot are excluded.

13. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Using a time slot satisfying a first condition within a resource selection window as a first time slot for transmitting a first reference signal; The resource selection window includes at least one time slot, and the first condition includes at least one of the following: the number of resources reserved in the time slot is less than or equal to a first number; the priority of data corresponding to the resources reserved in the time slot is less than or equal to a first priority; First indication information is sent, where the first indication information indicates the first time slot.

14. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processing unit, configured to determine a first time slot within a resource selection window, wherein the first time slot is used to transmit a first reference signal, and the resource selection window includes at least one time slot; the first time slot is an unreserved time slot; or the first time slot is a time slot reserved for transmitting a second reference signal; A communication unit is used to send first indication information, where the first indication information indicates the first time slot.

15. The device according to claim 14, characterized in that The processing unit is specifically used for: If the resource selection window includes a time slot reserved for transmitting the second reference signal, the time slot reserved for transmitting the second reference signal is used as the first time slot.

16. The device according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The processing unit is also used for: Determine at least one first resource, where the at least one first resource is located in the first time slot, and the first resource is used to carry the first reference signal; The communication unit is further used to: send second indication information, where the second indication information indicates the at least one first resource.

17. The device according to claim 16, characterized in that The communication unit is also used for: At least one first reference signal is sent through the at least one first resource.

18. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that Before the communication unit sends the first indication information, the processing unit is further configured to: Make sure the following conditions are met: ∑ i≥k CR data (i)+CR beam,subch ≤CR Limit (k); Among them, CR data (i) represents the channel occupancy rate CR of the physical sidelink shared channel PSSCH transmission with priority i in the sidelink control information SCI from other terminal devices; CR Limit (k) is determined according to the priority k and the channel busy ratio CBR of the first window, where k is predefined or preconfigured or network configured; CR beam,subch Represents the ratio of the number of subchannels occupied by the first reference signal that has been transmitted in the first window and the number of subchannels occupied by the first reference signal to be transmitted in the second window to the total number of subchannels in the first window, the index range of the time slots included in the first window is [ya, y-1], and the index range of the time slots included in the second window is [y, y+b], where time slot y is the time slot for sending the first reference signal, and a and b are predefined or preconfigured or network configured.

19. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that Before the communication unit sends the first indication information, the processing unit is further configured to: Make sure the following conditions are met: Or, CR beam,slot ≤CR Limit ; Among them, CR thr Predefined or preconfigured or network configured; CR Limit Determined according to the channel busy ratio CBR of the first window; S represents the sum of the number of time slots occupied by the first reference signal that has been transmitted in the first window and the number of time slots occupied by the first reference signal to be transmitted in the second window; S total represents the total number of time slots in the first window, and the first window includes time slots The index range of the time slots included in the second window is [ya, y-1], and the index range of the time slots included in the second window is [y, y+b], where time slot y is the time slot for sending the first reference signal, and a and b are predefined or preconfigured or network configured.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A communication unit, configured to receive first indication information from a first terminal device, wherein the first indication information indicates a first time slot for transmitting a first reference signal, wherein the first time slot is a time slot within a resource selection window, and the resource selection window includes at least one time slot; the first time slot is an unreserved time slot; or the first time slot is a time slot reserved for transmitting a second reference signal; A processing unit is configured to measure at least one of the first reference signals in the first time slot.

21. The device according to claim 20, characterized in that The communication unit is also used for: receiving second indication information, where the second indication information indicates the at least one first resource, and the at least one first resource is located in the first time slot; At least one first reference signal is received in the at least one first resource.

22. The device according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The communication unit is also used for: The measurement result of the first reference signal is transmitted through a second resource; the second resource is indicated by third indication information, or the second resource is preconfigured or preset.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A communication unit, configured to receive first indication information from a first terminal device, wherein the first indication information indicates a first time slot for transmitting a first reference signal, wherein the first time slot is a time slot within a resource selection window, and the resource selection window includes at least one time slot; the first time slot is an unreserved time slot; or the first time slot is a time slot reserved for transmitting a second reference signal; The processing unit is used to exclude all resources included in the first time slot when performing resource selection.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processing unit, configured to use a time slot satisfying a first condition within a resource selection window as a first time slot for transmitting a first reference signal; The resource selection window includes at least one time slot, and the first condition includes at least one of the following: the number of resources reserved in the time slot is less than or equal to a first number; the priority of data corresponding to the resources reserved in the time slot is less than or equal to a first priority; A communication unit is used to send first indication information, where the first indication information indicates the first time slot.

25. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises at least one processor connected to a memory, and the at least one processor is used to read and execute program instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: It includes 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 as described in any one of claims 1 to 13 through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

27. 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 a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 is executed.

28. A chip, characterized in that: The chip comprises a processor, and when the processor executes a computer program or instruction, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 is performed.

29. A computer program product, characterized in that When a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 is executed.

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