Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present embodiment belongs to the technical field of communications. Provided are a communication method and apparatus, which are used for reducing a retransmission delay and improving transmission spectral efficiency. In the method, a terminal device can feed back to a network device an HARQ feedback message corresponding to received PDSCH data, such as a first HARQ feedback message corresponding to first PDSCH data, and discard decoded soft information; at this time, the network device can acquire the HARQ feedback message of each piece of PDSCH data, so that the situation of spectral efficiency being reduced because HARQ feedback is disabled can be avoided; moreover, the PDSCH data received by the terminal device is individual, that is, the terminal device can individually decode each piece of PDSCH data, in other words, the terminal device does not perform soft combining and decoding, so that retransmission in a PHY / MAC layer can be realized, thereby reducing a retransmission delay, and improving transmission spectral efficiency.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on November 8, 2023, with application number 202311490798.8 and application name “Communication Method and Device,” the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] Currently, in scenarios with large round trip time (RRT), such as non-terrestrial networks (NTN), a new feature has been added to disable hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ) feedback. In an HARQ process with HARQ feedback disabled, the terminal device does not need to send HARQ feedback messages to the network device, or it sends a negative acknowledgement (NACK) message to the network device regardless of whether the decoding result is correct. When the RTT is large, HARQ feedback can only be disabled. In this case, the terminal device does not support physical layer (PHY) / media access control (MAC) layer retransmission. To ensure correct transmission, data packets with decoding errors will be retransmitted at the radio link control (RLC) layer to ensure system reliability.

[0004] However, disabling PHY / MAC layer HARQ feedback and using RLC layer retransmission will increase the retransmission delay, resulting in increased retransmission delay and reduced transmission spectrum efficiency.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] This embodiment provides a communication method and apparatus for reducing retransmission delay and improving transmission spectrum efficiency.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, this embodiment adopts the following technical solutions:

[0008] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a terminal device, or by a chip or circuit configured in the terminal device, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device's functions. The method includes: receiving first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) data, sending a first HARQ feedback message, and discarding decoded soft information. The first HARQ feedback message is determined by a decoding result of the first PDSCH data, the decoded soft information is determined by the first PDSCH data, and the decoded soft information is used to determine the decoding result.

[0009] Based on the method described in the first aspect, it can be known that the terminal device can feed back the HARQ feedback message corresponding to the received PDSCH data to the network device, such as the first HARQ feedback message corresponding to the first PDSCH data, and discard the decoded soft information. At this time, the network device can obtain the HARQ feedback message for each PDSCH data, which can avoid the situation where the spectrum efficiency is reduced due to turning off the HARQ feedback, and the PDSCH data received by the terminal device are all separate, that is, the terminal device can decode each PDSCH data separately, or in other words, the terminal device does not perform soft combining decoding, and can realize retransmission at the PHY / MAC layer, thereby reducing the retransmission delay and improving the transmission spectrum efficiency.

[0010] In one possible design, the method of the first aspect may further include: receiving indication information. Sending a first HARQ feedback message and discarding decoded soft information includes: sending the first HARQ feedback message according to the indication information and discarding the decoded soft information. That is, the terminal device can determine whether to send the first HARQ feedback message to the network device and discard the decoded soft information based on the indication information sent by the network device, thereby enabling on-demand instruction for the terminal device to feed back the HARQ feedback message and discarding the decoded soft information, achieving flexible scheduling, and avoiding communication redundancy.

[0011] In one possible design scheme, the indication information is carried in the downlink control information DCI, that is, in the existing information element to reduce the difficulty of implementation, or it can also be carried in a new information element, such as the newly defined DCI, to improve the implementation flexibility, without limitation.

[0012] Optionally, the indication information includes a decoding result feedback field. When the value of the decoding result feedback field is the first value, a first HARQ feedback message is sent and the decoded soft information is discarded. In other words, when the value of the decoding result feedback field is the first value, regardless of whether the terminal device feeds back an ACK message or a NACK message, the terminal device can continue to receive new PDSCH data or retransmitted PDSCH data in the same HARQ process. That is, the terminal device can receive and decode each data received in the same HARQ process as a new PDSCH data separately, regardless of whether the PDSCH data is newly transmitted data or retransmitted data. Alternatively, the terminal device can continue to receive PDSCH data (whether it is newly transmitted data or retransmitted data) in the same HARQ process before feeding back the HARQ feedback message of the last received PDSCH data to the network device, without limitation.

[0013] It can be understood that the decoding result feedback field can be carried in the DCI, and the indication information can indicate whether the terminal device sends the first HARQ feedback message and discards the decoded soft information through the value of the decoding result feedback field. The decoding result feedback field can be a newly added field, or it can directly reuse the existing field in the DCI. For example, optionally, the decoding result feedback field reuses at least one of the following: the new data indication NDI field, the redundant version RV field, or the HARQ process number field to save overhead, or the decoding result feedback field can also be reused in any other possible field without limitation.

[0014] In one possible design scheme, the indication information is carried in a radio control RRC message, that is, carried in an existing information element to reduce the difficulty of implementation, or it can also be carried in a new information element to improve implementation flexibility, without limitation.

[0015] Optionally, the indication information is used to instruct the sending of a first HARQ feedback message on the first HARQ process and the discarding of decoded soft information. It is understood that the first HARQ process may include one or more HARQ processes. It is understood that the network device may, through one indication information, schedule the terminal device to send the HARQ feedback message on one or more HARQ processes and discard the decoded soft information to save overhead; or, one indication information may correspond to one HARQ, and the network device may, through one indication information, schedule the terminal device to send the HARQ feedback message on the corresponding HARQ process and discard the decoded soft information, thereby simplifying and flexibly implementing the process.

[0016] In one possible design, when the decoding result of the first PDSCH data is erroneous, the method of the first aspect may further include: obtaining a channel estimation result, determining a retransmission count based on the decoding result and the channel estimation result, and transmitting the retransmission count. The retransmission count represents the number of times the network device retransmits the first PDSCH data. In this way, the network device can perform retransmissions more accurately based on the channel estimation result, thereby improving retransmission reliability.

[0017] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a network device, or by a chip or circuit configured in the network device, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions. The method includes: sending indication information, sending first PDSCH data, and receiving a first HARQ feedback message. The indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to send a HARQ feedback message and discard the decoded soft information; the HARQ feedback message is determined by the decoding result of the PDSCH data, the decoded soft information is determined by the PDSCH data, and the decoded soft information is used to determine the decoding result; the PDSCH data includes the first PDSCH data.

[0018] Based on the method described in the second aspect, the network device can send indication information to the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to feedback the HARQ feedback message corresponding to the PDSCH data to the network device and discard the decoded soft information. At this time, the network device can receive the first HARQ feedback message fed back by the terminal device for the first PDSCH data, which can avoid the situation where the spectrum efficiency is reduced due to turning off the HARQ feedback, and the PDSCH data received by the terminal device are all separate, that is, the terminal device can decode each PDSCH data separately, and can realize retransmission at the PHY / MAC layer, thereby reducing the retransmission delay and improving the transmission spectrum efficiency.

[0019] In one possible design, before receiving the first HARQ feedback message, the method described in the second aspect may further include: sending second PDSCH data on the same HARQ process as the first PDSCH data, where the first PDSCH data and the second PDSCH data may be the same data or different data, without limitation. In this way, the network device can continue to send the next PDSCH data on the same HARQ process without waiting for receipt of the first HARQ feedback message, thereby improving the utilization of time domain resources and the throughput of the system.

[0020] In a possible design scheme, the indication information is carried in the downlink control information DCI.

[0021] Optionally, the indication information includes a decoding result feedback field. When the value of the decoding result feedback field is a first value, the indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to send a HARQ feedback message and discard the decoded soft information.

[0022] Optionally, the decoding result feedback field multiplexes at least one of the following: a new data indication NDI field, a redundant version RV field, or a HARQ process number.

[0023] In one possible design scheme, the indication information is carried in a radio control RRC message.

[0024] Optionally, the indication information is used to instruct to send a HARQ feedback message on the first HARQ process and discard the decoded soft information.

[0025] Optionally, before receiving the first HARQ feedback message, the method described in the second aspect may include: sending third PDSCH data on the first HARQ process, where the first PDSCH data and the third PDSCH data may be the same data or different data, without limitation. In this way, on the first HARQ process, the network device can continue to send the next PDSCH data without waiting for receipt of the first HARQ feedback message, thereby improving the utilization of time domain resources and the throughput of the system.

[0026] In a possible design scheme, the method described in the second aspect may also include: receiving the number of retransmissions, and retransmitting the first PDSCH data according to the number of retransmissions.

[0027] Other technical effects of the communication method described in the second aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0028] Other technical effects of the communication method described in the second aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0029] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes: a module for executing the method described in the first aspect, for example, a transceiver module and a processing module.

[0030] The transceiver module is configured to receive first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) data; the processing module is configured to send a first HARQ feedback message and discard decoded soft information. The first HARQ feedback message is determined by a decoding result of the first PDSCH data, the decoded soft information is determined by the first PDSCH data, and the decoded soft information is used to determine the decoding result.

[0031] In one possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to receive indication information, and the processing module is further configured to send a first HARQ feedback message according to the indication information and discard the decoded soft information.

[0032] In a possible design scheme, the indication information is carried in the downlink control information DCI.

[0033] Optionally, the indication information includes a decoding result feedback field. When the value of the decoding result feedback field is a first value, a first HARQ feedback message is sent and the decoded soft information is discarded.

[0034] In one possible design scheme, the indication information is carried in a radio control RRC message.

[0035] Optionally, the indication information is used to instruct to send a first HARQ feedback message on the first HARQ process and discard the decoded soft information.

[0036] In one possible design, when a decoding result of the first PDSCH data is erroneous, the processing module is further configured to obtain a channel estimation result; the processing module is further configured to determine a retransmission count based on the decoding result and the channel estimation result; and the transceiver module is further configured to send the retransmission count. The retransmission count indicates the number of times the network device retransmits the first PDSCH data.

[0037] Optionally, the transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module, wherein the sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device described in the third aspect, and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device described in the third aspect.

[0038] Optionally, the communication device described in the third aspect may further include a storage module, wherein the storage module stores a program or instruction. When the processing module executes the program or instruction, the communication device may execute the communication method described in the first aspect.

[0039] It should be noted that the communication device described in the third aspect can be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the terminal device, or a device that includes a terminal device. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0040] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the third aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0041] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes modules for executing the method described in the second aspect, for example, a transceiver module and a processing module.

[0042] The transceiver module is configured to send indication information; the transceiver module is further configured to send first PDSCH data; and the transceiver module is further configured to receive a first HARQ feedback message. The indication information is configured to instruct the terminal device to send the HARQ feedback message and discard decoded soft information; the HARQ feedback message is determined by a decoding result of the PDSCH data, the decoded soft information is determined by the PDSCH data, and the decoded soft information is used to determine the decoding result; and the PDSCH data includes the first PDSCH data.

[0043] In one possible design, before receiving the first HARQ feedback message, the transceiver module is further configured to send second PDSCH data on the same HARQ process as the first PDSCH data.

[0044] In a possible design scheme, the indication information is carried in the downlink control information DCI.

[0045] Optionally, the indication information includes a decoding result feedback field. When the value of the decoding result feedback field is a first value, the indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to send a HARQ feedback message and discard the decoded soft information.

[0046] Optionally, the decoding result feedback field multiplexes at least one of the following: a new data indication NDI field, a redundant version RV field, or a HARQ process number.

[0047] In one possible design scheme, the indication information is carried in a radio control RRC message.

[0048] Optionally, the indication information is used to instruct to send a HARQ feedback message on the first HARQ process and discard the decoded soft information.

[0049] Optionally, before receiving the first HARQ feedback message, the transceiver module is further configured to send third PDSCH data on the first HARQ process.

[0050] In a possible design scheme, the transceiver module is further used to receive the number of retransmissions; and the processing module is used to retransmit the first PDSCH data according to the number of retransmissions.

[0051] Optionally, the transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module, wherein the sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device described in the fourth aspect, and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device described in the fourth aspect.

[0052] Optionally, the communication device described in the fourth aspect may further include a storage module, wherein the storage module stores a program or instruction. When the processing module executes the program or instruction, the communication device can execute the communication method described in the second aspect.

[0053] It should be noted that the communication device described in the fourth aspect can be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the terminal device, or a device that includes a terminal device. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0054] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the fourth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0055] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor configured to execute the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0056] In one possible design solution, the communication device described in the fifth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the fifth aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0057] In one possible design, the communication device described in the fifth aspect may further include a memory. The memory may be integrated with the processor or provided separately. The memory may be used to store computer programs and / or data involved in the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0058] In this embodiment, the communication device described in the fifth aspect may be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the terminal device, or a device that includes the terminal device.

[0059] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the fifth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0060] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor coupled to a memory, the processor configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory, so that the communication device performs the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0061] In one possible design solution, the communication device described in the sixth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the sixth aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0062] In this embodiment, the communication device described in the sixth aspect may be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the terminal device, or a device that includes the terminal device.

[0063] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the sixth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0064] In the seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store a computer program, and when the processor executes the computer program, the communication device executes the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0065] In one possible design solution, the communication device described in the seventh aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the seventh aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0066] In this embodiment, the communication device described in the seventh aspect may be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the terminal device, or a device that includes the terminal device.

[0067] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the seventh aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0068] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor; the processor is configured to be coupled to a memory, and after reading a computer program in the memory, execute the communication method as described in the first aspect or the second aspect according to the computer program.

[0069] In one possible design solution, the communication device described in the eighth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the eighth aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0070] In this embodiment, the communication device described in the eighth aspect may be a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the terminal device, or a device that includes the terminal device.

[0071] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the eighth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0072] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the terminal device described in the first aspect and / or the network device described in the second aspect.

[0073] In a tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, comprising: a computer program or instructions; when the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0074] In an eleventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0075] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a stop-and-wait protocol;

[0076] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of parallel transmission of multiple HARQ processes;

[0077] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the retransmission mechanism of the NR system;

[0078] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of RLC retransmission;

[0079] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system provided in this embodiment;

[0080] FIG6 is a second schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system provided in this embodiment;

[0081] FIG7 is a third schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system provided in this embodiment;

[0082] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a communication method provided in this embodiment;

[0083] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of retransmission based on disabling HARQ transmission;

[0084] FIG10 is a schematic diagram showing a comparison of transmission spectrum efficiency for different target block error rates;

[0085] FIG11 is a first structural diagram of a communication device provided in this embodiment;

[0086] FIG12 is a second structural diagram of the communication device provided in this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0087] For ease of understanding, the technical terms involved in this embodiment are first introduced below.

[0088] 1. Non-terrestrial network (NTN) communications

[0089] Currently, New Radio (NR) technology is evolving from Release 18 to Release 19. NR technology has also moved from standardization to commercial deployment. The original intention of the NR standard protocol was to design wireless communication technologies for terrestrial cellular network scenarios, providing users with wireless communication services with ultra-low latency, ultra-reliability, ultra-high speeds, and a large number of connections. However, cellular networks cannot achieve seamless global coverage. For example, in areas without terrestrial base stations, such as ocean surfaces, polar regions, and rainforests, voice and data services cannot be provided in these areas without cellular network coverage.

[0090] Compared to terrestrial communications, NTN communications boasts a wider coverage area and flexible networking, enabling seamless global network coverage. The NTN network not only complements existing terrestrial networks but can also be considered an independent communications system providing users with global high-speed network access. Currently, research institutes, communications organizations, and telecommunications companies worldwide are participating in the research and development of NTN communication technologies and standards, striving to build a unified network for space, air, and ground communications.

[0091] NTN communications utilize drones, high-altitude platforms, and satellites to form networks and provide data transmission, voice communication, and other services to user equipment (UE). High-altitude platform equipment typically operates at altitudes of 8 to 50 km above the ground. Satellite communication systems can be categorized into three types based on the satellite's orbital altitude: geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), also known as synchronous orbit; medium Earth orbit (MEO); and low Earth orbit (LEO).

[0092] Among them, GEO satellites have an orbital altitude of 35,786 km. Their main advantages are that they can remain stationary relative to the Earth and provide a large coverage area. However, GEO satellite communications also have significant disadvantages: 1) GEO satellite orbits are far from the Earth, resulting in high free-space propagation losses, which limits the communication link budget. To increase transmit / receive gain, satellites must be equipped with larger antennas; 2) Communication transmission latency is high, reaching a round-trip latency of approximately 500 ms, which cannot meet the needs of low-latency services; 3) GEO orbital resources are relatively scarce, launch costs are high, and coverage of the Earth's polar regions is impossible. MEO satellites have an orbital altitude between 2,000 and 35,786 km. Their advantage is that a relatively small number of satellites can achieve global coverage, but their orbital altitude is higher than that of LEO, and transmission latency is still higher than that of LEO satellite communications. Considering the advantages and disadvantages of MEO satellite communications, MEO satellites are primarily used for positioning and navigation.

[0093] LEO satellites operate at orbital altitudes between 300 and 2000 km. LEO satellites are lower than MEO and GEO orbits and offer advantages such as reduced data transmission latency, minimal transmission loss, and low launch costs. Consequently, LEO satellite communications have garnered increasing attention in recent years.

[0094] It can be understood that a significant difference from terrestrial communication is that the base station and the terminal UE are far away and the round-trip transmission delay is large.

[0095] 2. Soft information

[0096] In a communication system, a decoder at the receiving end can calculate the log-likelihood ratio (LLR) of a bit value during decoding / demodulation. This can be considered soft information, or "soft" output, of the decoder. In this embodiment, soft information can refer to decoder output that has not yet been finalized (e.g., a bit value has not yet been determined to be 1 or 0), but can still provide useful information (e.g., in subsequent decoding iterations). It will be understood that soft information can be probabilistic in nature, such as LLRs.

[0097] The receiving end can save the soft information of the received erroneous data packet or the decoded erroneous data packet in a buffer, such as a HARQ buffer, and merge it with the soft information of the subsequently received retransmitted data packet, thereby obtaining a data packet that is more reliable than decoding alone (i.e., the soft merging process). The receiving end can then decode the merged data.

[0098] Soft combining schemes can include chase combining schemes, incremental redundancy schemes, and other schemes, without limitation. In the chase combining scheme, the retransmitted bit information is the same as the initially transmitted bit information; in the incremental redundancy scheme, the transmitter can send information bits and a portion of redundant bits during the first transmission, and send additional redundant bits through retransmission. If the first transmission is not successfully decoded, the transmitter can reduce the channel coding rate by retransmitting more redundant bits, and the receiver combines the retransmitted data with the previously transmitted data to improve the decoding success rate. It can be understood that the coded bits of each retransmission are integrated into a redundant version (RV).

[0099] 3. Downlink control information (DCI)

[0100] Network equipment can send DCI to terminal devices to schedule the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). Section 7.3.1 of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) technical specification (TS) 38.212 defines three types of DCI formats: Format 0_x, Format 1_x, and Format 2_x, as shown in Table 1.

[0101] Among them, Format 0_x can be used to indicate physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduling, and Format0_x can include Format 0_0 and Format 0_1. The radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) used by Format 0_0 can include: cell RNTI (C-RNTI) and temporary cell RNTI (TC-RNTI), among which C-RNTI is used for PUSCH scheduling and TC-RNTI is used for scheduling message (MSG) 3 during random access. The RNTI used by Format 0_1 ​​can include: C-RNTI, which is used for PUSCH scheduling.

[0102] Format 1_x can be used to indicate PDSCH scheduling. Format 1_x can include Format 1_0 and Format 1_1. The RNTIs used by Format 1_0 may include: C-RNTI, paging RNTI (P-RNTI), system information RNTI (SI-RNTI), random access RNTI (RA-RNTI), and TC-RNTI. C-RNTI is used for PUSCH scheduling, P-RNTI is used for paging message scheduling, SI-RNTI is used for system message scheduling, RA-RNTI is used for MSG2 scheduling during random access, and TC-RNTI is used for MSG3 scheduling during random access. RNTIs that can be used by Format 1_1 may include: C-RNTI, which is used for PUSCH scheduling.

[0103] Format 2_x can be used in other scenarios, and Format 1_x can include Format 2_0, Format 2_1, Format 2_2, and Format 2_3. The RNTI used in Format 2_0 may include: slot format indication RNTI (SFI-RNTI), which is used for slot format information; the RNTI used in Format 2_1 may include: interruption RNTI (INT-RNTI), which is used for preemption resource occupancy information; the RNTI used in Format 2_2 may include: transmit power control (TPC)-PUSCH-RNTI (TPC-PUSCH-RNTI) and TPC-physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)-RNTI (TPC-PUCCH-RNTI), where TPC-PUSCH-RNTI is used for PUSCH power control commands and TPC-PUCCH-RNTI is used for PUCCH power control commands; the RNTI used in Format 2_3 may include: TPC-sounding reference signal (SRS) signal, SRS)-RNTI (TPC-SRS-RNTI), TPC-SRS-RNTI is used for SRS power control commands.

[0104] Table 1

[0105] It is understandable that DCI may also have other formats, such as Format 3_x for side link scheduling, Format 4_x for broadcast scheduling, etc., which will not be described in detail.

[0106] As shown in Table 2, the existing DCI may include: a new data indicator (NDI) field, a redundancy version (RV) field, a HARQ process number field, an identifier for DCI formats field, a modulation and coding scheme field, a PDSCH-to-feedback timing indicator field, a downlink assignment index field, a carrier indicator field, a bandwidth part (BWP) indicator field, a frequency domain resource assignment field, a time domain resource assignment field, a virtual resource block (VRB-to-PRB mapping) field, a PRB bundling size indicator field, etc., without limitation.

[0107] Table 2

[0108] Among them, the NDI field can be used to indicate whether the transmitted data is new data; the RV field can be used to indicate the redundant version number sent; the HARQ process number field can be used to indicate the process number, which can be used to identify the soft combination of retransmissions; the DCI format identifier field can be used to indicate whether the DCI format is downlink (downlink, DL) or uplink (uplink, UL), occupying 1 bit (the fixed value for the downlink is 1); the modulation and coding scheme field can be used to indicate the modulation and coding method, occupying 5 bits; the PDSCH to feedback timing indication field can be used to indicate the information of the feedback PDSCH channel timing, which can occupy 0, 1, 2, or 3 bits, without limitation; the downlink allocation index field can be used to indicate the number of feedback bits; the carrier indicator word The segment can be used to indicate the carrier when high-level parameters configure multi-carrier scheduling, and can occupy 0 or 3 bits without limitation; the BWP indication field can be used to indicate the activated BWP, and can occupy 0, 1 or 2 bits; the frequency domain resource segmentation field can be used to indicate the allocation of frequency domain resources; the time domain resource allocation field can be used to indicate the allocation of time domain resources, and can occupy 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 bits without limitation; the VRB-to-PRB mapping field can be used to indicate whether the VRB mapping method is interleaved, and can occupy 0 or 1 bit without limitation; the PR bundling size indication field can be used to indicate the PRB bundling size, and can occupy 0 or 1 bit without limitation.

[0109] 4. HARQ process

[0110] HARQ is a method for improving data transmission reliability. HARQ determines whether received data packets are erroneous by checking the cyclic redundancy check (CRC). This CRC check is performed after soft combining. If the CRC check succeeds, the receiver sends an acknowledgment (ACK); if the CRC check fails, the receiver sends a NACK message.

[0111] The stop-and-wait protocol can be used to send data in the same HARQ process. In the stop-and-wait protocol, as shown in Figure 1, in the same HARQ process, the transmitter stops sending after sending the first transport block (TB) and waits for the receiver's feedback message. The receiver uses 1 bit of information to confirm the TB with ACK or NACK. After receiving the ACK message, the transmitter sends the second TB. In other words, the stop-and-wait protocol has the following characteristics: (1) Regardless of whether the receiver decodes correctly, the receiver needs to send the HARQ feedback message to the transmitter; (2) The transmitter needs to receive the ACK message from the receiver before continuing to send the next data in the same process. In other words, the transmitter will not send the next data (new data) in the same process before receiving the ACK message from the receiver.

[0112] However, after each transmission, the transmitter must wait for confirmation, resulting in low throughput. Therefore, HARQ can be processed in parallel using multiple stop-and-wait processes, also known as HARQ processes. While waiting for confirmation from one HARQ process, the transmitter can continue sending data using another HARQ process. Similarly, while processing data received by one HARQ process, the receiver can continue receiving data using another HARQ process.

[0113] As shown in Figure 2, the transmitter can send TB#1 on HARQ process #0, and the receiver can receive TB#1 on HARQ process #0 and feedback a NACK message corresponding to TB#1. In this case, after receiving the NACK message corresponding to TB#1 on HARQ process #0, the transmitter retransmits TB#1 on HARQ process #1. The receiver can continue to receive TB#1 on HARQ process #0 and feedback an ACK message corresponding to TB#1. After receiving the ACK message corresponding to TB#1 on HARQ process #0, the transmitter can continue to send TB#6 on HARQ process #0. The receiver can receive TB#6 on HARQ process #0 and feedback an ACK message corresponding to TB#6. After receiving the ACK message corresponding to TB#6 on HARQ process #0, the transmitter can continue to send new TBs on HARQ process #0, and so on.

[0114] Similarly, the transmitting end can send TB#2 on HARQ process #1, and the receiving end can receive TB#2 on HARQ process #1 and feedback the ACK message corresponding to TB#2. At this time, after the transmitting end receives the ACK message corresponding to TB#2 on HARQ process #1, it can continue to send TB#4 on HARQ process #1, and so on. The transmitting end can send TB#3 on HARQ process #2, and the receiving end can receive TB#3 on HARQ process #2 and feedback the ACK message corresponding to TB#3. At this time, after the transmitting end receives the ACK message corresponding to TB#3 on HARQ process #2, it can continue to send TB#5 on HARQ process #1, and so on. The transmitting end can send TB#3 on HARQ process #2, and feedback the ACK message corresponding to TB#3.

[0115] It can be understood that multiple HARQ processes are processed in parallel to form a HARQ entity. Each uplink or downlink carrier may correspond to a HARQ entity. One HARQ entity may support a maximum of 32 HARQ processes.

[0116] 5. Retransmission

[0117] When the receiver fails to receive correct information, it's called a bit error, which can be corrected through error correction. This can be understood as either not receiving the information at all and / or incorrectly decoding the information. Upon discovering a bit error, the receiver requests the transmitter to retransmit the erroneous data. This is called backward error correction. In communication systems, such as new radio (NR) systems, retransmission utilizes the retransmission mechanisms of the three protocols: PHY / MAC, RLC, and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP).

[0118] Among them, PHY / MAC retransmission: The HARQ mechanism of the MAC layer is the most commonly used retransmission mechanism. It enables fast retransmission by immediately feeding back the success or failure of information transmission to the sender at the receiving end.

[0119] RLC retransmission: The automatic repeat request (ARQ) mechanism of the RLC layer serves as a supplement to the MAC layer retransmission mechanism. Compared with the HARQ mechanism, the transmission frequency of the RLC layer retransmission feedback status report is lower, and its feedback overhead is smaller, but its retransmission delay is much longer than the PHY / MAC layer retransmission. Therefore, the HARQ mechanism of the MAC layer and the ARQ mechanism of the RLC layer are combined to meet the data transmission requirements of different application scenarios.

[0120] PDCP retransmission: It is mainly used in scenarios where the UE switches cells across gNodeBs. Since the configurations and caches of lower-layer protocols (such as the RLC and MAC layer protocols) are cleared during the handover process, but the PDCP layer does not clear the configurations and caches, the retransmission function of the PDCP layer can ensure that data is not lost due to handover.

[0121] As shown in Figure 3, after the transmitter sends data, it configures relevant parameters for ARQ retransmission and HARQ retransmission. The receiver first uses the HARQ retransmission of PHY / MAC to detect the data. If the receiver detects a decoding error / error, the receiver can send a HARQ retransmission request to the transmitter to use HARQ retransmission to implement PHY / MAC layer retransmission; if the receiver detects that the decoding is correct, or the number of HARQ retransmissions exceeds the maximum number of retransmissions, the receiver can send an ARQ retransmission request to the transmitter to implement RLC retransmission through ARQ retransmission, which can meet the data transmission requirements of different application scenarios.

[0122] 6. Disable HARQ feedback

[0123] To accommodate scenarios with large round-trip delays, such as satellite communications, the maximum number of HARQ processes was increased from 16 to 32 in NR Release 17. However, 32 processes still cannot fully utilize the time domain resources corresponding to large round-trip delays, affecting system throughput. Therefore, a new feature, "disable HARQ feedback," has been added. In HARQ processes with HARQ feedback disabled, the terminal device does not need to send HARQ feedback messages to the network device, or it sends a NACK message to the network device regardless of whether the translation result is correct.

[0124] It is understood that the current NR-NTN system feeds back ACK / NACK in TB units, and the maximum number of HARQ processes supported by NR-NTN is 32. When the RTT is large, the PHY / MAC layer HARQ feedback can only be disabled. In NR-NTN, network devices can use radio resource control (RRC) messages to instruct each HARQ process whether to disable HARQ feedback to fully utilize time domain resources. It can be understood that different sub-carrier spacing (SCS) means that NR-NTN does not support PHY / MAC layer HARQ in different scenarios. For example, when SCS = 15KHz, the satellite orbit height is greater than 1200km and RTT>32ms; when SCS = 30KHz, the satellite orbit height is greater than 510km and RTT>16ms; when SCS = 30KHz, the satellite orbit height is greater than 510km and RTT>16ms; when SCS = 60KHz, the satellite orbit height is greater than 230km and RTT>8ms; when SCS = 120KHz, the satellite orbit height is greater than 110km and RTT>4ms. In the scenarios corresponding to the above different SCSs, HARQ with 32 processes cannot fully utilize the time domain resources of the round-trip delay. Therefore, it is necessary to turn off the feedback of some or all HARQ processes.

[0125] However, when PHY / MAC layer HARQ feedback is disabled, PHY / MAC layer retransmission is not supported. To ensure correct transmission, PHY / MAC layer retransmission is not supported when PHY / MAC layer HARQ feedback is disabled. To ensure correct transmission, data packets with decoding errors are retransmitted at the RLC layer to ensure system reliability. When PHY / MAC layer retransmission is not supported, the PHY target block error rate (target BLER) can be set to 0.01 to ensure that the error rate of data received by the RLC layer, such as protocol data units (PDUs), does not exceed 1%.

[0126] For example, assuming that the physical layer target block error rate (BLER) is set to 0.01 after disabling HARQ feedback, and the physical layer target BLER is set to 0.1 when HARQ feedback is not disabled, the transmission spectral efficiency with HARQ feedback disabled is lower than the transmission spectral efficiency with HARQ feedback enabled. It can be understood that the definition of transmission spectral efficiency can be: the time resource length t seconds and bandwidth w Hertz (Hz) occupied by successfully transmitting data of size p bits, that is, the transmission spectral efficiency can be p / (t*w) bits / s / Hz.

[0127] Secondly, disabling PHY / MAC layer HARQ feedback and using RLC layer retransmission increases retransmission latency. As shown in Figure 4, assume the network device is the transmitter and the terminal device is the receiver. The network device sends TB#1 to the terminal device, which responds with an ACK message after receiving TB#1. The network device then sends TB#2 to the terminal device, which responds with a NACK message after receiving TB#2. However, the network device takes a long time to retransmit TB#2 to the terminal device. For example, the network device needs to send multiple TBs, such as TB#3, TB#10, etc., before it can retransmit TB#2, resulting in a long retransmission latency.

[0128] In summary, disabling PHY / MAC layer HARQ feedback and using RLC layer retransmission will increase retransmission delay, resulting in increased retransmission delay and reduced transmission spectrum efficiency.

[0129] In summary, in response to the above technical problems, this embodiment proposes the following technical solutions to reduce retransmission delay and improve transmission spectrum efficiency.

[0130] The technical solution in this embodiment will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0131] The technical solution of this embodiment can be applied to various communication systems, such as wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems, vehicle to everything (V2X) communication systems, device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, 4G, such as long-term evolution (LTE) systems, world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication systems, 5G, such as new radio (NR) systems, and future communication systems.

[0132] The present embodiments will present various aspects, embodiments, or features around a system that may include multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be understood and appreciated that each system may include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all of the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed in conjunction with the figures. Furthermore, combinations of these solutions may also be used.

[0133] Additionally, in this embodiment, words such as "exemplary" and "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" in this embodiment should not be interpreted as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of the word "exemplary" is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner.

[0134] In this embodiment, "information", "signal", "message", "channel" and "signaling" can sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the distinction between them is not emphasized, the meanings they intend to express are matched. "of", "corresponding, relevant" and "corresponding" can sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the distinction between them is not emphasized, the meanings they intend to express are matched. In addition, the " / " mentioned in this embodiment can be used to represent an "or" relationship. It can be understood that in this embodiment, "indication" can include direct indication, indirect indication, explicit indication and implicit indication. When describing a certain indication information as being used to indicate A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0135] In this embodiment, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated, etc., or indirectly indicating the information to be indicated by indicating other information, wherein there is an association between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can also be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each piece of information agreed in advance (for example, stipulated in the protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent.

[0136] The information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately. The transmission period and / or transmission timing of these sub-information can be the same or different. The specific transmission method is not limited in this embodiment. The transmission period and / or transmission timing of these sub-information can be predefined, for example, according to a protocol, or can be configured by the transmitting device sending configuration information to the receiving device.

[0137] The network architecture and business scenarios described in this embodiment are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of this embodiment, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided by this embodiment. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution provided by this embodiment is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0138] To facilitate understanding of this embodiment, a communication system applicable to this embodiment is first described in detail using the communication system shown in Figure 5 as an example. For example, Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in this embodiment.

[0139] As shown in FIG5 , the communication system mainly includes: network equipment and terminal equipment.

[0140] There may be multiple network devices, such as a first network device, a second network device, a third network device, etc. The network device may be a device with wireless transceiver functions, or may be a chip or chip system provided in the device, located in the access network (AN) of the communication system, and used to provide access services to the terminal. For example, the network device may be called a radio access network (RAN) device, and may specifically be a next-generation mobile communication system, such as or in the next-generation mobile communication system. The network device may also have other naming methods, which are all included in the protection scope of this embodiment, and this embodiment does not impose any limitations on this. Alternatively, the network device may include a 5G, such as a gNB in ​​a new radio (NR) system, or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a 5G base station, or a network node constituting a gNB, a transmission and reception point (TRP or TP), or a transmission measurement function (TMF), such as a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), a radio unit (RU), an RSU with base station functionality, a wired access gateway, or a 5G core network element. Alternatively, the network device may include an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, various types of macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small cells), relay stations, access points, wearable devices, vehicle-mounted devices, and the like.

[0141] Among them, the CU and DU can be set separately, or can also be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU) or a remote radio head (RRH). It can be understood that the network device can be a CU node, a DU node, or a device including a CU node and a DU node. In addition, the CU can be divided into a network device in the access network RAN, or the CU can be divided into a network device in the core network CN, and there is no limitation here.

[0142] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this embodiment can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0143] In this embodiment, the form of the network device is not limited. The device used to implement the function of the network device can be the network device; it can also be a device that can support the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the network device or used in conjunction with the network device.

[0144] The terminal device may be one or more, such as a first terminal device, a second terminal device, a third terminal device, etc. The terminal device may be a terminal device with transceiver functions, or may be a chip or chip system provided in the terminal device. The terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal device, subscriber unit (subscriber unit), user station, mobile station (MS), mobile station, remote station, remote terminal device, mobile device, user terminal device, terminal device, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal device in this embodiment can be a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal device, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a smart home device (for example, a refrigerator, a television, an air conditioner, an electric meter, etc.), an intelligent robot, a robotic arm, a workshop device, a wireless terminal device in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical care, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, a smart home, etc. The terminal device of this embodiment may also be a vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted component, vehicle-mounted chip, or vehicle-mounted unit built into a vehicle as one or more components or units. The terminal device may also be other devices with terminal device functions, for example, a device that functions as a terminal device in D2D communication.

[0145] This embodiment does not limit the form factor of the terminal device. The device used to implement the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device; it can also be a device that supports the terminal device in implementing the functions, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal device or used in conjunction with the terminal device. In this embodiment, the chip system can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete components.

[0146] In this communication system, the terminal device can feed back the HARQ feedback message corresponding to the received PDSCH data to the network device, such as the first HARQ feedback message corresponding to the first PDSCH data, and discard the decoded soft information. At this time, the network device can obtain the HARQ feedback message for each PDSCH data, which can avoid the situation where the spectrum efficiency is reduced due to turning off the HARQ feedback, and the PDSCH data received by the terminal device are all separate, that is, the terminal device can decode each PDSCH data separately, or in other words, the terminal device does not perform soft combining decoding, and can realize retransmission at the PHY / MAC layer, thereby reducing the retransmission delay and improving the transmission spectrum efficiency.

[0147] Exemplarily, Figure 6 is a second architectural diagram of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 6, the communication system is a satellite communication system, which mainly includes: terminal equipment, a gateway (also called a ground station, a signal gateway) and a satellite (also called a satellite base station).

[0148] The link between a satellite and a terminal device is called a service link, the link between a satellite and a gateway is called a feeder link, and the link between satellites is called an inter-satellite link. Satellites can be divided into transparent and regenerative modes based on their operating mode. When operating in transparent mode, the satellite only forwards signals, and the gateway (GW) performs some or all of the functions of a gNB. In this case, the GW can be considered a base station. When operating in regenerative mode, the satellite processes digital signals and performs some or all of the functions of a gNB. In this case, the satellite can be considered a base station. Furthermore, the gNB (base station) is connected to the core network. Multiple satellites collaborate to provide services to terminal devices in overlapping coverage areas.

[0149] For example, FIG7 is a third schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in this embodiment. As shown in FIG7 , the communication system is an air-to-ground (ATG) communication system, which mainly includes: network equipment and terminal equipment. Among them, the network equipment may include a ground base station, and the terminal equipment may include a high-altitude aircraft, an on-board handheld terminal, etc. It will be understood that the height of 6 to 12 km between the base station and the terminal equipment shown in FIG7 and the coverage diameter of 100 to 300 km of the base station are merely examples and should not be understood as limiting this embodiment.

[0150] It should be noted that the network architecture and business scenarios described in this embodiment are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of this embodiment, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided by this embodiment. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution provided in this embodiment is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0151] It can be understood that Figures 5 to 7 are simplified schematic diagrams for ease of understanding, and the communication system may also include other network devices and / or other terminal devices, which are not shown in Figures 5 to 7.

[0152] For ease of understanding, the communication method provided in this embodiment will be specifically described below with reference to FIG. 8 to FIG. 10 .

[0153] Specifically, as shown in FIG8 , the process of the communication method is as follows:

[0154] S801: A network device sends an instruction message, and a terminal device receives the instruction message accordingly.

[0155] The indication information may be used to instruct the terminal device to send a HARQ feedback message and discard the decoded soft information.

[0156] The HARQ feedback message can be determined by the decoding result of the PDSCH data. The decoded soft information can be determined by the PDSCH data, and the decoded soft information is used to determine the decoding result. In other words, the terminal device can decode / demodulate the received PDSCH data and calculate the corresponding decoded soft information (LLR). The LLR can determine the decoding result corresponding to the PDSCH data. The decoding result can include decoding success (correct) or decoding failure (error).

[0157] When the terminal device determines that the PDSCH data decoding is successful based on the decoded soft information, the terminal device can send an ACK message to the network device. When the terminal device determines that the PDSCH data decoding fails based on the decoded soft information, the terminal device can send a NACK message to the network device. For example, the terminal device can determine whether the received PDSCH data is erroneous by checking the CRC. If the CRC check succeeds, the terminal device can determine that the decoding is successful and send an ACK message to the network device. If the CRC check fails, the terminal device can determine that the decoding fails and send a NACK message to the network device.

[0158] It can be understood that when the terminal device determines that the decoding is successful, the terminal device can determine the corresponding decoding data through the decoded soft information; when the terminal device determines that the decoding fails, the decoded soft information is soft information of decoding error. The soft information that the terminal device discards when decoding can be understood as: the terminal device discards the soft information of decoding errors, that is, the terminal device does not use soft combined decoding. At this time, the terminal device can decode each PDSCH data separately, and each PDSCH data is independent data. In other words, regardless of whether the terminal device feeds back an ACK message or a NACK message, the terminal device can continue to receive new PDSCH data or retransmitted PDSCH data in the same HARQ process, that is, the terminal device can receive and decode each data received in the same HARQ process as a new PDSCH data separately, regardless of whether the PDSCH data is new data or retransmitted data, or, before the terminal device feeds back the HARQ feedback message of the last received PDSCH data to the network device, it can continue to receive PDSCH data (whether it is new data or retransmitted data) in the same HARQ process without limitation.

[0159] At this time, in the same HARQ process, the network device can continue to send the next PDSCH data without waiting for the ACK message of the previous PDSCH data, thereby improving the utilization of time domain resources, and the terminal device will not be unable to determine whether the currently received data is the retransmission data of the previous data or other new data, which will lead to incorrect or misidentified situations on the terminal device side, thereby improving the reliability of communication.

[0160] It should be noted that the soft information that the terminal device discards the decoded soft information can also be replaced by: the soft information that the terminal device abandons the decoded soft information, the soft information that the terminal device deletes the decoded soft information, the soft information that the terminal device clears the decoded soft information, etc., without limitation.

[0161] It is understood that the terminal device sending a HARQ feedback message and discarding the decoded soft information can be understood as disabling HARQ transmission. That is, when the terminal device is on a HARQ thread where HARQ transmission is disabled, the terminal device sends a HARQ feedback message and discards the decoded soft information. Disabling HARQ transmission can also be replaced by other expressions without limitation. In this embodiment, disabling HARQ transmission and the terminal device sending a HARQ feedback message and discarding the decoded soft information can be interchangeable and will not be further described.

[0162] For example, in a retransmission scheme with HARQ transmission disabled, as shown in Figure 9, in the same HARQ process, the gNB can send TBs to the UE via the downlink (DL). The UE can decode the received TBs individually and provide HARQ feedback messages for each TB via the uplink (UL). For example, the gNB sends TB#1 to the UE. The UE can perform a CRC check on TB#1 to determine that TB#1 is decoded successfully and send an ACK message corresponding to TB#1 to the gNB. The gNB sends TB#2 to the UE. The UE can perform a CRC check on TB#2 to determine that TB#2 is decoded unsuccessfully and send a NACK message corresponding to TB#2 to the gNB. The gNB sends TB#1 to the UE. 3. The UE may perform a CRC check on TB#3 to determine that TB#3 is successfully decoded and send an ACK message corresponding to TB#3 to the gNB. The gNB sends TB#4 to the UE. The UE may perform a CRC check on TB#4 to determine that TB#4 is successfully decoded and send an ACK message corresponding to TB#4 to the gNB. The gNB sends TB#5 to the UE. The UE may perform a CRC check on TB#5 to determine that TB#5 fails to be decoded and send a NACK message corresponding to TB#5 to the gNB. The gNB sends TB#6 to the UE. The UE may perform a CRC check on TB#6 to determine that TB#6 is successfully decoded and send an ACK message corresponding to TB#6 to the gNB. The gNB sends an ACK message corresponding to TB#6 to the UE, and so on.

[0163] It is understood that before the gNB receives the ACK message for TB#1, the gNB can continue to send other TBs, such as TB#2 and TB#3, to the UE in the same HARQ process. After the gNB receives the NACK message for TB#2, the gNB can continue to send other TBs, such as TB#6 and TB#7, to the UE in the same HARQ process. The transmission and reception of other TBs are similar and are not described in detail here. After the gNB receives the NACK messages for TB#2 and TB#6, the gNB can use PHY / MAC retransmission to retransmit TB#2 and TB#6 to the UE after a certain delay until it receives the ACK messages for TB#2 and TB#6.

[0164] The following describes the instruction information.

[0165] In one possible design scheme, the indication information can be carried in the DCI, that is, carried in the existing information element to reduce the difficulty of implementation, or it can be carried in a new information element, such as the newly defined DCI, to improve the implementation flexibility, without limitation.

[0166] Optionally, the indication information may include a decoding results feedback (DRF) field.

[0167] When the value of the decoding result feedback field is the first value, the indication information can be used to instruct the terminal device to send a HARQ feedback message and discard the decoded soft information. In other words, when the value of the decoding result feedback field is the first value, regardless of whether the terminal device feeds back an ACK message or a NACK message, the terminal device can continue to receive new PDSCH data or retransmitted PDSCH data in the same HARQ process. That is, the terminal device can receive and decode each data received in the same HARQ process as a new PDSCH data separately, regardless of whether the PDSCH data is newly transmitted data or retransmitted data. Alternatively, the terminal device can continue to receive PDSCH data (whether it is newly transmitted data or retransmitted data) in the same HARQ process before feeding back the HARQ feedback message of the last received PDSCH data to the network device, without limitation.

[0168] It can be understood that when the value of the decoding result feedback field is the second value, the indication information can also be used to instruct the terminal device not to send a HARQ feedback message (or not to feedback the decoding result, which is equivalent to turning off HARQ feedback), or the terminal device and the network device need to perform HARQ retransmission according to the above-mentioned stop-and-wait protocol.

[0169] The value of the decoding result feedback field can be determined by the value of the bit. The decoding result feedback field can occupy 1 bit, or occupy multiple bits, without limitation. For ease of understanding, the following is an introduction taking the decoding result feedback field occupying 1 bit as an example. For example, when DRF=1, the terminal device can send a HARQ feedback message and discard the soft information of the decoding. At this time, on the same HARQ process, the network device does not need to wait for the terminal device to feedback the ACK message corresponding to the previous PDSCH (feedback the real decoding result), and can directly send the next PDSCH data. In other words, the terminal device can expect to continue to receive the next PDSCH data sent by the network device on the same HARQ process before feeding back the ACK message corresponding to the previous PDSCH to the terminal device. (It can be retransmitted data or new data). The data received by the terminal device on this HARQ process is received as new data without soft merging.

[0170] It is understandable that the next PDSCH data may also be replaced by another PDSCH data, or other expressions, without limitation.

[0171] When DRF=0, the terminal device may not send a HARQ feedback message (equivalent to turning off HARQ feedback), or the terminal device may feedback a HARQ feedback message, and the network device needs to wait for the terminal device to feedback the ACK message corresponding to the previous PDSCH before it can continue to send the next PDSCH data (newly transmitted data) on the same HARQ process. In other words, the terminal device does not expect to receive the next PDSCH data (newly transmitted data) sent by the network device on the same HARQ process before feeding back the ACK message corresponding to the previous PDSCH to the terminal device.

[0172] It can be understood that the DRF can directly reuse the fields in the existing DCI, for example, the NDI field, RV field, HARQ process number field, etc. in Table 2 above, without limitation; alternatively, the DRF can also be carried in a newly defined DCI format, named the first DCI format. When the first DCI format is used to schedule PDSCH data, the network device can explicitly indicate the use of the HARQ transmission mode by taking the value of the DRF field. (This DCI format is used for the scheduling of PDSCH in one cell if HARQ is disabled).

[0173] It is understood that the first DCI format differs from existing DCI formats in that the first DCI format includes a DRF field and may not include at least one of the following: an NDI field, an RV field, or a HARQ process number field. Therefore, the first DCI format may be shorter than existing DCI formats, or in other words, occupy fewer bits.

[0174] It should be noted that when the first DCI format does not include the RV field, the network device may retransmit using a preset redundancy version. For example, the preset redundancy version may be RV0, etc., without limitation. It should be understood that the naming of the decoding result feedback field is merely an example, and the decoding result feedback field may also be named feedback field, first field, or any other possible name, without limitation.

[0175] Optionally, the DCI can also be a newly defined DCI format, named the second DCI format. The second DCI format can be used to indicate PDSCH scheduling. The second DCI format is different from the existing DCI format. For example, the format of the second DCI can be Format 1_x, Format 5_x, etc., without limitation.

[0176] The second DCI format can implicitly instruct the terminal device to disable HARQ transmission. For example, when the terminal device detects the second DCI format through blind detection, the terminal device can send a HARQ feedback message to the network device according to the second DCI format and discard the decoded soft information. That is, when the second DCI format is used to schedule PDSCH data, the network device can implicitly indicate the use of the disabled HARQ transmission mode through the DCI format. (This DCI format is used for the scheduling of PDSCH in one cell, in which HARQ is disabled).

[0177] It will be appreciated that the second DCI format differs from the existing DCI format in that the second DCI format may not include at least one of the following: the NDI field, the RV field, or the HARQ process number field. Therefore, the second DCI format may be shorter than the existing DCI format, or in other words, occupy fewer bits. The second DCI format also differs from the first DCI format in that the second DCI format may not include the DRF field.

[0178] It should be noted that, when the second DCI format does not include the RV field, the network device may retransmit using a preset redundancy version. For example, the preset redundancy version may be RV0, etc., without limitation.

[0179] In one possible design scheme, the indication information may be carried in an RRC message. The network device may indicate, through an RRC message, the HARQ process for turning off HARQ transmission (such as by indicating the HARQ process number corresponding to the HARQ process). For example, the indication information may be used to indicate that a HARQ feedback message is sent on the first HARQ process, and the decoded soft information is discarded. The first HARQ process may include one or more HARQ processes, without limitation. On the first HARQ process, the terminal device may send a HARQ feedback message and discard the decoded soft information. On a HARQ process for which HARQ transmission is not turned off (such as the second HARQ process described below), the terminal device and the network device may use the method described in "4. HARQ process" in the above technical terminology section to perform data transmission, or the terminal device and the network device may use the method of turning off HARQ feedback to perform data transmission, without limitation.

[0180] For example, the network device may also directly indicate the HARQ process number for disabling HARQ transmission, and the HARQ process number for not disabling HARQ transmission (such as the second HARQ process number described below) through an RRC message, without limitation. Subsequently, the network device uses DCI to schedule PDSCH data. The specific implementation of the network device using DCI to schedule PDSCH data can reuse existing implementation methods and will not be described in detail.

[0181] It can be understood that on the HARQ process corresponding to the HARQ process number indicating that HARQ transmission is turned off, the network device does not need to wait for the terminal device to feedback the ACK message corresponding to the previous PDSCH, and can directly send the next PDSCH data on the HARQ process. In other words, the terminal device can expect to continue to receive the next PDSCH data (which can be new data or retransmitted data) sent by the network device on the HARQ process before feeding back the ACK message corresponding to the previous PDSCH to the terminal device. The data received by the terminal device on this HARQ thread are all received as new data, and no soft merging is performed; on the HARQ process where HARQ transmission is not turned off, the network device The device does not expect to receive the PDSCH data transmitted on the HARQ process before the HARQ-ACK feedback transmission, that is, the network device can continue to send the next PDSCH data (newly transmitted data) on the HARQ process only after receiving the ACK message of the previous PDSCH data, or, in other words, the terminal device does not expect to continue to receive the next PDSCH data (newly transmitted data) sent by the network device on the HARQ process before feeding back the ACK message corresponding to the previous PDSCH to the terminal device, or, on a HARQ process that does not turn off HARQ transmission, the terminal device and the network device can use the method of turning off HARQ feedback to transmit data.

[0182] It can be understood that when the indication information is carried in the RRC message, the DCI used by the network device to schedule the PDSCH data on the process corresponding to the closed HARQ transmission may not include: NDI field and / or RV field, but needs to retain the HARQ process number field, so as to reduce the DCI overhead. It should be noted that when the DCI does not include the RV field, the network device can retransmit with a preset redundancy version. For example, the preset redundancy version can be RV0, etc., without limitation. The naming of the above indication information is only an example, and the indication information can also be called first information, configuration information, etc., without limitation.

[0183] S802: The network device sends first PDSCH data. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first PDSCH data.

[0184] The PDSCH data includes first PDSCH data.

[0185] After the network device sends DCI to the terminal device and schedules the PDSCH, the network device can send the first PDSCH data to the terminal device on the PDSCH, and the terminal device can receive the first PDSCH data based on the fields carried in the DCI. For example, the terminal device can receive the first PDSCH data on the corresponding time-frequency resources based on the frequency domain resource allocation field and the time domain resource allocation field of the DCI.

[0186] It can be understood that the DCI can be an existing DCI (format), the first DCI format mentioned above, the second DCI format mentioned above, etc. The selection of the DCI is related to the carrying method of the indication information in the above step S801 and will not be elaborated.

[0187] S803: The terminal device sends a first HARQ feedback message and discards the decoded soft information. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first HARQ feedback message.

[0188] Exemplarily, the terminal device may send a first HARQ feedback message to the network device according to the indication information, and discard the decoded soft information.

[0189] The first HARQ feedback message may be determined by a decoding result of the first PDSCH data, the decoded soft information may be determined by the first PDSCH data, and the decoded soft information is used to determine a decoding result.

[0190] The terminal device can determine whether the first PDSCH data is erroneous by checking the CRC. If the CRC check is successful, the terminal device can determine that the first PDSCH data decoding is successful and send a corresponding ACK message to the network device; if the CRC check fails, the terminal device can determine that the first PDSCH data decoding fails and send a corresponding NACK message to the network device.

[0191] For a detailed description of the terminal device discarding the decoded soft information, please refer to the description in the above step S801 and will not be repeated here.

[0192] The following specifically introduces the indication information by taking the first PDSCH data as an example.

[0193] In one possible design scheme, the indication information can be carried in the DCI.

[0194] Optionally, the indication information may include a DRF field (DRF=1), and the indication information may be used to instruct the terminal device to send a first HARQ feedback message and discard the decoded soft information. That is, before the network device receives the first HARQ feedback message, on the same HARQ process as the first PDSCH data, the network device may send the second PDSCH data, and the terminal device may receive the second PDSCH data; that is, on the same HARQ process, the network device does not need to wait for the terminal device to feedback the ACK message corresponding to the first PDSCH, and may directly send the second PDSCH data. The terminal device receives data on this HARQ thread as new data, and no soft merging is performed. For example, if the network device has not received the first HARQ feedback message (which may be an ACK message or a NACK message), it may continue to send the second PDSCH data to the terminal device on the same HARQ process; for another example, if the network device receives the first HARQ feedback message as a NACK message, it may continue to send the second PDSCH data to the terminal device on the same HARQ process, without limitation.

[0195] It can be understood that the first PDSCH data and the second PDSCH data can be the same data or different data, without limitation.

[0196] In one possible design scheme, the indication information can be carried in the RRC message.

[0197] Optionally, the indication information may be used to instruct to send a first HARQ feedback message on the first HARQ process and discard the decoded soft information.

[0198] Optionally, before receiving the first HARQ feedback message, the method further includes:

[0199] The network device sends the third PDSCH data on the first HARQ process. That is, on the first HARQ process, the network device does not need to wait for the terminal device to feedback the ACK message corresponding to the first PDSCH, and can directly send the third PDSCH data. The terminal device receives data on the first HARQ thread as new data, and does not perform soft merging. For example, if the network device has not received the first HARQ feedback message (which may be an ACK message or a NACK message) on the first HARQ process, it can continue to send the third PDSCH data (newly transmitted data) to the terminal device on the first HARQ process; for another example, if the network device receives the first HARQ feedback message as a NACK message on the first HARQ process, it can continue to send the third PDSCH data (retransmitted data) to the terminal device on the first HARQ process; for another example, if the network device receives the first HARQ feedback message as an ACK message on the first HARQ process, it can continue to send the third PDSCH data (newly transmitted data) to the terminal device on the first HARQ process.

[0200] It can be understood that the first PDSCH data and the third PDSCH data can be the same data or different data, without limitation. This embodiment simulates the transmission spectrum efficiency of the retransmission scheme based on turning off HARQ transmission and the retransmission scheme based on turning off HARQ feedback in NR-NTN, as shown in Figure 10. The horizontal axis is the packet size (packet size), the unit is kilobit (Kbit), and the vertical axis is the transmission spectrum efficiency / spectrum efficiency (spectrum efficiency), the unit is bit / s / Hz. Assuming that the target block error rate of the physical layer is set to 0.1 after turning off HARQ transmission, and the target block error rate of the physical layer is set to 0.01 after turning off HARQ feedback, at this time, the transmission spectrum efficiency of turning off HARQ transmission is 22% higher than the transmission spectrum efficiency of turning off HARQ feedback. Therefore, after turning off HARQ transmission, the network equipment and the terminal equipment can realize retransmission at the PHY / MAC layer, thereby reducing the retransmission delay and improving the transmission spectrum efficiency.

[0201] Optionally, in S804, when the first HARQ feedback message includes a NACK message, the network device retransmits the first PDSCH data.

[0202] When the terminal device decodes the first PDSCH data incorrectly / fails, the terminal device sends a NACK message corresponding to the first PDSCH data to the network device. After receiving the NACK message, the network device can continue to retransmit the first PDSCH data to the terminal device until it receives an ACK message corresponding to the first PDSCH data fed back by the terminal device.

[0203] In summary, the terminal device can feed back the HARQ feedback message corresponding to the received PDSCH data to the network device, such as the first HARQ feedback message corresponding to the first PDSCH data, and discard the decoded soft information. At this time, the network device can obtain the HARQ feedback message for each PDSCH data, which can avoid the situation where the spectrum efficiency is reduced due to turning off the HARQ feedback, and the PDSCH data received by the terminal device are all separate, that is, the terminal device can decode each PDSCH data separately, or in other words, the terminal device does not perform soft combining decoding, and can realize retransmission at the PHY / MAC layer, thereby reducing the retransmission delay and improving the transmission spectrum efficiency.

[0204] In combination with the above embodiment, optionally, when the decoding result of the first PDSCH data is erroneous, the above method may further include:

[0205] The terminal device obtains the channel estimation result.

[0206] The terminal device determines the number of retransmissions based on the decoding results and channel estimation results.

[0207] The terminal device sends the number of retransmissions; correspondingly, the network device receives the number of retransmissions.

[0208] The network device retransmits the first PDSCH data according to the number of retransmissions.

[0209] The number of retransmissions is used to represent the number of times the network device retransmits the first PDSCH data.

[0210] It is understood that when HARQ transmission is disabled, the terminal device can provide HARQ feedback messages to the network device. When a decoding error occurs on the terminal device, the terminal device can first obtain the current channel estimation result. The channel estimation result can indicate whether the terminal device can correctly demodulate the PDSCH data. In other words, the terminal device can correct and recover the received data based on the channel estimation result. The terminal device can determine the number of retransmissions based on the decoding result and the current channel estimation result to instruct the network device to retransmit the PDSCH data. The network device can retransmit more accurately based on the channel estimation result to improve the reliability of the retransmission.

[0211] It can be understood that the specific implementation process of the terminal device determining the number of retransmission times based on the decoding results and the channel estimation results can reuse the existing implementation method and will not be described in detail.

[0212] For example, taking the above-mentioned first PDSCH data as an example, the terminal device performs CRC check on the first PDSCH data. When the CRC check fails, the terminal device can determine the number of times the network device retransmits the first PDSCH data based on the decoding result of the first PDSCH data and the current channel estimation result, and the network device can retransmit more accurately.

[0213] It is understandable that the terminal device can indicate the number of retransmissions by the value of a bit. For example, the terminal device can use 2 bits to indicate the number of retransmissions. When the value of the 2 bits is 00, it indicates that the first PDSCH data is decoded correctly; when the value of the 2 bits is 01, it indicates that the first PDSCH data is decoded incorrectly, and it is recommended to retransmit the first PDSCH data once; when the value of the 2 bits is 10, it indicates that the first PDSCH data is decoded incorrectly, and it is recommended to retransmit the first PDSCH data twice; when the value of the 2 bits is 11, it indicates that the first PDSCH data is decoded incorrectly, and it is recommended to retransmit the first PDSCH data three times.

[0214] It is understood that the terminal device can also indicate the number of retransmissions in other ways, without limitation. The bit can be carried in a NACK message, or in any other possible message or field, without limitation.

[0215] For example, as shown in Figure 9, this bit can be carried in a NACK message. The UE sends a NACK message corresponding to TB#2 to the gNB. The gNB can determine that the number of times TB#2 is retransmitted is 2 based on the value of the bit carried in the NACK message, which is 10. The network device can repeatedly send TB#2 to the terminal device twice. The UE sends a NACK message corresponding to TB#5 to the gNB. The gNB can determine that the number of times TB#5 is retransmitted is 1 based on the value of the bit carried in the NACK message, which is 01. The network device can repeatedly send TB#5 to the terminal device once.

[0216] It can be understood that without changing the DCI bit length, the network device can directly reuse the fields in the existing DCI (for example, the RV field, the NDI field, etc.) to indicate whether the terminal device reports the HARQ feedback message (that is, whether to feedback the true decoding result), and regardless of whether the terminal device reports the HARQ feedback message, the terminal device directly discards the decoded soft information, thereby reducing the blind detection complexity and not increasing the signaling overhead.

[0217] Based on the above-mentioned HARQ feedback disabling solution, the network device can reuse the fields in the existing DCI (e.g., RV field, NDI field, etc.) to instruct the terminal device whether to send a HARQ feedback message. For example, the network device can use an RRC message to indicate the HARQ process (e.g., HARQ process #a) that does not use HARQ soft combining. In HARQ process #a, the network device directly discards the decoding soft information regardless of whether it is correctly decoded. In addition, the network device can reuse the RV field in the DCI to instruct HARQ process #a to report the HARQ feedback message.

[0218] If the network device only needs to call the HARQ process that indicates to turn off HARQ transmission to transmit data (for example, the data processes used are all processes that turn off HARQ transmission, or all HARQ processes are configured as processes that turn off HARQ transmission), then the network device can use the newly defined short DCI to schedule PDSCH data, such as the first DCI format, the second DCI format, etc. mentioned above. At this time, the terminal device can only perform blind detection on the newly defined short DCI, and does not need to perform blind detection on DCI of different lengths, thereby reducing the complexity of blind detection.

[0219] If the HARQ process called by the network device includes: a HARQ process that turns off HARQ transmission, a process that turns off HARQ feedback, or a process that enables HARQ (such as the terminal device and the network device need to perform HARQ retransmission according to the above-mentioned stop-and-wait protocol), the network device can directly reuse the existing DCI (such as the decoding result feedback field reuses the existing field, for example, the RV field, the NDI field, etc.) to schedule PDSCH data. At this time, the terminal device can perform blind detection on DCI of the same length, without the need to perform blind detection on DCI of different lengths, thereby reducing the complexity of blind detection.

[0220] Alternatively, the network device can use the newly defined short DCI to schedule PDSCH data on the HARQ process that indicates the closure of HARQ transmission, and use the existing DCI to schedule PDSCH data on the HARQ process that does not indicate the closure of HARQ transmission. In this case, the blind detection complexity of the terminal device is greater, but the DCI overhead can be reduced.

[0221] It can be understood that in this embodiment, "process" and "thread" can be replaced with each other. For example, HARQ process and HARQ thread have the same meaning and are not limited thereto.

[0222] The communication method provided by this embodiment is described in detail above with reference to Figure 8. The communication device for executing the communication method provided by this embodiment is described in detail below with reference to Figures 11 and 12.

[0223] Figure 11 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 11, the communication device 1100 includes a transceiver module 1101 and a processing module 1102. For ease of description, Figure 11 only shows the main components of the communication device.

[0224] The transceiver module 1101 is used to perform the transceiver function of the method shown in FIG. 8 , and the processing module 1102 is used to perform other functions of the method shown in FIG. 8 except the transceiver function.

[0225] Optionally, the transceiver module 1101 may include a sending module (not shown in FIG11 ) and a receiving module (not shown in FIG11 ). The sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device 1100 , and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device 1100 .

[0226] Optionally, the communication device 1100 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG11 ) storing a program or instruction. When the processing module 1102 executes the program or instruction, the communication device 1100 may perform the functions of the terminal and / or network device in the method shown in FIG8 in the above method.

[0227] It can be understood that the communication device 1100 can be a terminal or a network device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in a terminal or a network device, or a device that includes a terminal or a network device. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0228] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 1100 can refer to the technical effects of the communication method shown above, and will not be repeated here.

[0229] Figure 12 is a second structural diagram of a communication device provided in this embodiment. Exemplarily, the communication device may be a terminal, or a chip (system) or other component or assembly that can be provided in a terminal. As shown in Figure 12, the communication device 1200 may include a processor 1201. Optionally, the communication device 1200 may further include a memory 1202 and / or a transceiver 1203. The processor 1201 is coupled to the memory 1202 and the transceiver 1203, for example, via a communication bus.

[0230] The following is a detailed introduction to the various components of the communication device 1200 in conjunction with FIG12 :

[0231] The processor 1201 is the control center of the communication device 1200 and can be a single processor or a collective term for multiple processing elements. For example, the processor 1201 can be one or more central processing units (CPUs), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the present embodiment, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs) or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0232] Optionally, the processor 1201 may execute various functions of the communication device 1200 , such as executing the communication method shown in FIG. 8 , by running or executing a software program stored in the memory 1202 and calling data stored in the memory 1202 .

[0233] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 1201 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in FIG12 .

[0234] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 1200 may also include multiple processors, such as the processor 1201 and the processor 1204 shown in FIG12 . Each of these processors may be a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). The processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0235] The memory 1202 is used to store the software program for executing the solution of this embodiment, and the execution is controlled by the processor 1201. The specific implementation method can refer to the above method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0236] Alternatively, the memory 1202 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, an optical disc storage (including a compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and capable of being accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 1202 may be integrated with the processor 1201 or may exist independently and be coupled to the processor 1201 via an interface circuit (not shown in FIG. 12 ) of the communication device 1200, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

[0237] Transceiver 1203 is used for communication with other communication devices. For example, if communication device 1200 is a terminal, transceiver 1203 can be used to communicate with a network device or another terminal device. For another example, if communication device 1200 is a network device, transceiver 1203 can be used to communicate with a terminal or another network device.

[0238] Optionally, the transceiver 1203 may include a receiver and a transmitter (not shown separately in FIG12 ), wherein the receiver is used to implement a receiving function, and the transmitter is used to implement a sending function.

[0239] Optionally, the transceiver 1203 may be integrated with the processor 1201 or exist independently and be coupled to the processor 1201 via an interface circuit (not shown in FIG. 12 ) of the communication device 1200 , which is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

[0240] It is understandable that the structure of the communication device 1200 shown in FIG12 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device, and an actual communication device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0241] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 1200 can refer to the technical effects of the methods described in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0242] It should be understood that the processor in this embodiment may be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0243] It should also be understood that the memory in this embodiment can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of random access memory (RAM) are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0244] The above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part through software, hardware (such as circuits), firmware, or any other combination. When implemented using software, the above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer program are loaded or executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in this embodiment are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired method (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that contains a collection of one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium can be a solid-state drive.

[0245] It should be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein simply describes a relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A alone, A and B together, or B alone. A and B can be singular or plural. Furthermore, the character " / " as used herein generally indicates an "or" relationship between the associated objects, but it may also indicate an "and / or" relationship. For specific understanding, please refer to the context.

[0246] In this embodiment, "at least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or plural.

[0247] It should be understood that in various embodiments, the size of the sequence numbers of the above processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of this embodiment.

[0248] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this embodiment.

[0249] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0250] In the several embodiments provided above, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0251] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0252] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0253] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this embodiment, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0254] The above description is merely a specific implementation of this embodiment, but the scope of protection of this embodiment is not limited thereto. Any modifications or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this embodiment should be included within the scope of protection of this embodiment. Therefore, the scope of protection of this embodiment should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receiving first physical downlink shared channel PDSCH data; A first HARQ feedback message is sent, and the decoded soft information is discarded; wherein the first HARQ feedback message is determined by the decoding result of the first PDSCH data, the decoded soft information is determined by the first PDSCH data, and the decoded soft information is used to determine the decoding result.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving instruction information; The sending of the first HARQ feedback message and discarding the decoded soft information includes: According to the indication information, the first HARQ feedback message is sent, and the decoded soft information is discarded.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The indication information is carried in downlink control information DCI.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The indication information includes a decoding result feedback field. When the value of the decoding result feedback field is a first value, the first HARQ feedback message is sent, and the decoded soft information is discarded.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The decoding result feedback field multiplexes at least one of the following: a new data indication NDI field, a redundant version RV field, or a HARQ process number.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The indication information is carried in a radio control RRC message.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The indication information is used to instruct to send the first HARQ feedback message on the first HARQ process and discard the decoded soft information.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that When the decoding result of the first PDSCH data is wrong, the method further includes: Obtaining channel estimation results; Determine the number of retransmissions according to the decoding result and the channel estimation result; wherein the number of retransmissions is used to represent the number of times the network device retransmits the first PDSCH data; The retransmission number is sent.

9. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending indication information; wherein the indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to send a HARQ feedback message and discard the decoded soft information; the HARQ feedback message is determined by the decoding result of the PDSCH data, the decoded soft information is determined by the PDSCH data, and the decoded soft information is used to determine the decoding result; Sending first PDSCH data; wherein the PDSCH data includes the first PDSCH data; A first HARQ feedback message is received.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that Before receiving the first HARQ feedback message, the method further includes: The second PDSCH data is sent on the same HARQ process as the first PDSCH data.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that: The indication information is carried in downlink control information DCI.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The indication information includes a decoding result feedback field. When the value of the decoding result feedback field is a first value, the indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to send the HARQ feedback message and discard the decoded soft information.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The decoding result feedback field multiplexes at least one of the following: a new data indication NDI field, a redundant version RV field, or a HARQ process number.

14. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The indication information is carried in a radio control RRC message.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The indication information is used to instruct to send the HARQ feedback message on the first HARQ process and discard the decoded soft information.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that Before receiving the first HARQ feedback message, the method further includes: Third PDSCH data is sent on the first HARQ process.

17. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 16, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive retransmission times; Retransmit the first PDSCH data according to the number of retransmissions.

18. A communication device, characterized in that: The apparatus comprises: a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-17.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises: a processor; when the processor executes computer instructions, the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

20. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system comprises: an apparatus for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, and / or an apparatus for executing the method according to any one of claims 9 to 17.

21. A communication chip, characterized in that: Instructions are stored therein, and when the chip runs on a communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 is implemented.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium comprises a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

23. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed by a communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 is executed.

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