Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus. A network device determines first information, the first information being used for indicating that second information is present, and the second information being used for bearing a transmission block; the network device sends the first information in a first time unit, sends the second information in a second time unit, and sends third information in a third time unit, the third information being used for bearing a transmission block, the third time unit being earlier than the first time unit, and the first time unit being earlier than the second time unit. After the network device sends a transmission block to a terminal device by means of the third information, then by means of the first information, the network device informs the terminal device that a next transmission block is also present. On one hand, if the two transmission blocks are the same, the terminal device has two opportunities to demodulate / decode the same transmission block, so that the probability of successful demodulation and successful decoding of the transmission block can be improved. On the other hand, if the two transmission blocks are different, a plurality of transmission blocks are sent in one downlink transmission, so that the transmission efficiency can be improved.

Description

A communication method and device thereof

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on November 15, 2023, with application number 202311525834.X and application name “A communication method and device thereof”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0004] Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) devices typically use envelope detection to receive downlink data. Ambient IoT devices detect the rising and falling edges of downlink signals, determine the high and low levels, and use these levels to detect and obtain the transmitted data.

[0005] In downlink transmission based on envelope detection, the transmission efficiency is low and the probability of a terminal device failing to receive a downlink transmission block is high.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus thereof for improving downlink transmission efficiency and the success rate of downlink data reception.

[0008] In the first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a first communication device, or by other devices including the functions of the first communication device, or by a chip system (which can also be replaced by a chip) or other functional modules, which can realize the functions of the first communication device, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the first communication device. Take the method being executed by the first communication device, and the first communication device being a network device as an example for introduction: the network device determines first information, the first information is used to indicate the existence of second information, and the second information is used to carry a transmission block; the network device sends the first information in a first time unit, sends the second information in a second time unit, and sends the third information in a third time unit, wherein the third information is used to carry a transmission block; the third time unit is located before the first time unit, and the first time unit is located before the second time unit, that is, the third information is sent first, then the first information, and then the second information.

[0009] In this embodiment, after the network device sends a transmission block to the terminal device through the third information, it notifies the terminal device through the first information that there is a next transmission block. On the one hand, if the two transmission blocks are the same, the terminal device has two opportunities to demodulate / decode the same transmission block, which can increase the probability of successful demodulation and decoding of the transmission block. In the prior art, if a transmission block is not demodulated / decoded successfully, it is necessary to send the transmission block again in the next downlink transmission. In this embodiment, the transmission block is sent again in one downlink transmission, which can save a downlink synchronization process and improve transmission efficiency. On the other hand, if the two transmission blocks are different, sending multiple transmission blocks in one downlink transmission can improve transmission efficiency.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to distinguish between two pieces of information that are used to carry a transport block, for example, the first information is used to distinguish between the third information and the second information.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the first information is obtained based on a first sequence, where the first sequence includes: at least two consecutive 0s and / or at least two consecutive 1s.

[0012] In this implementation, requirements are set for the bits included in the first sequence so that the terminal device can distinguish the first information from the information used to carry the transmission block and other information (such as information for downlink synchronization, or end information), thereby avoiding false detection by the terminal device.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the first information or the first sequence is related to at least one of the following: the encoding method used by the second information, the bits included in the second information, the encoding method used by the third information, the bits included in the third information, or the downlink transmission bandwidth; wherein, the bits included in the second information are determined based on the transmission block carried by the second information, and the bits included in the third information are determined based on the transmission block carried by the third information.

[0014] In this implementation, the above factors are considered when selecting the first sequence so that the terminal device can distinguish the first information from the information used to carry the transmission block and other information (such as information for downlink synchronization, or end information), thereby avoiding false detection by the terminal device.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the second information is encoded using pulse interval coding, the first bit in a transmission block carrying the second information is 0, and the first sequence is 0011.

[0016] This implementation prevents four consecutive 1s, thus preventing false detection by terminal devices. For example, if pulse-interval coding encodes 0 as 10 and 1 as 1110, the first sequence is 0011, and the first bit in the transmission block carrying the second information is 1. If pulse-interval coding encodes 1 as 1110, then 1110 is appended to the first sequence 0011, resulting in 00111110. This sequence contains at least four consecutive 1s, which could be mistakenly detected by the terminal device as the end of the postamble.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the encoding method used for the second information and the third information is Manchester encoding, the first bit in the transmission block carried by the second information is 1, and the first sequence is 00; and / or, the encoding method used for the second information and the third information is Manchester encoding; the last bit in the transmission block carried by the third information is 0, and the first sequence is 00.

[0018] This implementation prevents four consecutive zeros, thus preventing false detection by the terminal device. For example, if the first sequence is 00, the last bit of the previous transmission block is 1, and the first bit of the next transmission block is 0, Manchester encoding encodes 0 as 01 and 1 as 10. The first sequence 00 is then concatenated with 01, resulting in 100001. This results in four consecutive zeros, which the terminal device will mistakenly detect as a start delimiter signal.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the encoding method used for the second information and the third information is Manchester encoding, the first bit in the transmission block carried by the second information is 0, and the first sequence is 11; and / or, the encoding method used for the second information and the third information is Manchester encoding, the last bit in the transmission block carried by the second information is 1, and the first sequence is 11.

[0020] This implementation prevents four consecutive 1s, thus preventing false detection by the terminal device. For example, if the first sequence is 11, the last bit of the previous transmission block is 0, and the first bit of the next transmission block is 1, Manchester encoding encodes 0 as 01 and 1 as 10. The first sequence 11 is then appended to 01, followed by 10, resulting in 011110. This results in four consecutive 1s, which the terminal device would mistakenly detect as a postamble signal.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the first information is obtained based on a first sequence; wherein the first sequence is predefined; or the first sequence is obtained by encoding a second sequence based on a first encoding method. The first information may be obtained by encoding or not.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the first information is also used to indicate whether the bits included in the second information are the same as or different from those included in the third information, wherein the bits included in the second information are determined based on the transmission block carried by the second information, and the bits included in the third information are determined based on the transmission block carried by the third information.

[0023] In this implementation, whether the bits included in the second information and the third information are the same or different can be specified by the protocol or notified to the terminal device through the first information or other indication information. After the terminal device learns whether the bits included in the second information and the third information are the same or different, it can decide whether to receive the second information. For example, if the bits are the same, the terminal device may not need to receive the second information if it successfully demodulates and decodes the third information. If the terminal device fails to demodulate / decode the third information, it will receive the second information. If the bits are different, the terminal device will receive the second information regardless of whether it successfully demodulates / decodes the third information.

[0024] In a possible implementation, a modulation mode of the first information is the same as a modulation mode of the second information.

[0025] In this implementation, the modulation methods of the two are the same, and the network device can modulate an entire information block pair composed of the two, which is simple to implement and also simple for the terminal device to demodulate.

[0026] In a possible implementation manner, after sending the second information in a second time unit, the terminal device also sends the first information and the second information alternately.

[0027] In this implementation, the network device can send 3 or even more transmission blocks to the terminal device, further improving the transmission efficiency and the success rate of receiving downlink data.

[0028] In one possible implementation, before the network device sends the third information in the third time unit, it also sends the fourth information in the fourth time unit and the fifth information in the fifth time unit, the fourth information is used for downlink synchronization, and the fifth information is used to indicate N, where N is the number of transmission blocks or the number of repetitions in a downlink transmission, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; the downlink transmission starts from the fourth information and ends with the Nth information used to carry the transmission block, and the fourth time unit is before the fifth time unit.

[0029] In one possible implementation, before the network device sends the third information in the third time unit, it also sends the fourth information in the fourth time unit and sends the fifth information in the fifth time unit, the fourth information is used for downlink synchronization; the fifth information is used to indicate the number of transmission blocks or the number of repetitions in a downlink transmission; the fourth time unit is before the fifth time unit; after the network device sends the second information in the second time unit, it also sends the sixth information in the sixth time unit, the sixth information is used to indicate the end of the downlink transmission; wherein the downlink transmission starts from the fourth information. The sixth information is used to indicate the end of the downlink transmission, which can also be understood as the sixth information is used to determine the end of the downlink transmission. For example, the terminal device can determine the end of a downlink transmission based on the sixth information.

[0030] In a possible implementation, a modulation mode of the fifth information is the same as a modulation mode of the second information; and / or a coding mode of the fifth information is the same as a coding mode of the second information.

[0031] In this implementation, the modulation methods of the two are the same, and the network device can modulate an entire information block pair composed of the two, which is simple to implement and also simple for the terminal device to demodulate.

[0032] In a possible implementation manner, the first information, the second information, the third information, the fourth information, and the fifth information belong to the same downlink transmission.

[0033] In the second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a second communication device, or by other equipment including the functions of the second communication device, or by a chip system (which can also be replaced by a chip) or other functional module, which can realize the functions of the second communication device, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the second communication device. Take the method being executed by the second communication device, and the second communication device being a terminal device as an example for introduction: the terminal device receives first information in a first time unit, the first information is used to indicate the existence of second information, and the second information is used to carry a transmission block; the terminal device receives second information in a second time unit according to the first information, and the first time unit is located before the second time unit.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the terminal device obtains a first sequence from the first information; if the first sequence meets requirements, the terminal device receives the second information in the second time unit; wherein the requirement is that the first sequence includes at least two consecutive 0s and / or at least two consecutive 1s. If the first sequence does not meet the requirements, the terminal device may not receive the second information.

[0035] In a possible implementation, before receiving the first information in the first time unit, the terminal device also receives third information in a third time unit, where the third information is used to carry the transmission block.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the bits included in the second information and the bits included in the third information are the same or different, wherein the bits included in the second information are determined based on the transmission block carried by the second information, and the bits included in the third information are determined based on the transmission block carried by the third information.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the bits included in the second information are the same as the bits included in the third information. When the first sequence meets the requirements, the terminal device can receive the second information in the second time unit according to the third information.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates whether the second information and the third information contain the same or different bits. The terminal device may determine whether the second information and the third information contain the same or different bits based on the first information. In another example, the terminal device may also determine whether the second information and the third information contain the same or different bits based on protocol provisions.

[0039] In a possible implementation manner, after receiving the second information in the second time unit, the terminal device further alternately receives the first information and the second information.

[0040] In one possible implementation, before receiving the third information in the third time unit, the terminal device also receives the fourth information in the fourth time unit and the fifth information in the fifth time unit, the fourth information is used for downlink synchronization, and the fifth information is used to indicate N, where N is the number of transmission blocks or the number of repetitions in a downlink transmission, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; the downlink transmission starts from the fourth information and ends with the Nth information used to carry the transmission block, and the fourth time unit is before the fifth time unit.

[0041] In one possible implementation, before receiving the third information in the third time unit, the terminal device also receives the fourth information in the fourth time unit and receives the fifth information in the fifth time unit, and the fourth information is used for downlink synchronization; the fifth information is used to indicate the number of transmission blocks or the number of repetitions in a downlink transmission; the fourth time unit is before the fifth time unit; after receiving the second information in the second time unit, the terminal device also receives the sixth information in the sixth time unit, and the sixth information is used to indicate the end of the downlink transmission; wherein, the downlink transmission starts from the fourth information.

[0042] In a possible implementation manner, the first information, the second information, the third information, the fourth information, and the fifth information belong to the same downlink transmission.

[0043] The beneficial effects of the second aspect and its various possible implementations can refer to the beneficial effects of the first aspect and its various possible implementations, and will not be repeated here.

[0044] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be the first communication device described in the first aspect. The communication device has the functions of the first communication device. The communication device may be, for example, the first communication device, or a larger device including the first communication device, or a functional module within the first communication device, such as a baseband device or a chip system. In one optional implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another optional implementation, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module). The transceiver unit is capable of performing both transmitting and receiving functions. When the transceiver unit performs the transmitting function, it may be referred to as a transmitting unit (sometimes also referred to as a transmitting module); when the transceiver unit performs the receiving function, it may be referred to as a receiving unit (sometimes also referred to as a receiving module). The transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be the same functional module, referred to as a transceiver unit, which is capable of both transmitting and receiving functions; alternatively, the transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be different functional modules, with the transceiver unit being a collective term for these functional modules.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the communication device also includes a storage unit (sometimes also referred to as a storage module), and the processing unit is used to couple with the storage unit and execute the program or instructions in the storage unit, enabling the communication device to perform the functions of the first communication device described in the first aspect above.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the processing unit is used to determine first information, where the first information is used to indicate the existence of second information, and the second information is used to carry a transmission block; the transceiver unit is used to send the first information in a first time unit, send the second information in a second time unit, and send the third information in a third time unit, wherein the third information is used to carry a transmission block; the third time unit is located before the first time unit, and the first time unit is located before the second time unit.

[0047] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to alternately send the first information and the second information.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further used to send fourth information in a fourth time unit and to send fifth information in a fifth time unit; wherein the fourth information is used for downlink synchronization; the fifth information is used to indicate N, where N is the number of transmission blocks or the number of repetitions in a downlink transmission, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; the downlink transmission starts from the fourth information and ends at the Nth second information, and the fourth time unit is before the fifth time unit.

[0049] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be the second communication device described in the second aspect. The communication device has the functions of the second communication device. The communication device may be, for example, the second communication device, or a larger device including the second communication device, or a functional module in the second communication device, such as a baseband device or a chip system. In one optional implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another optional implementation, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module). The transceiver unit is capable of performing both transmitting and receiving functions. When the transceiver unit performs the transmitting function, it may be referred to as a transmitting unit (sometimes also referred to as a transmitting module); when the transceiver unit performs the receiving function, it may be referred to as a receiving unit (sometimes also referred to as a receiving module). The transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be the same functional module, which is referred to as a transceiver unit and is capable of performing both transmitting and receiving functions; alternatively, the transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be different functional modules, with the transceiver unit being a collective term for these functional modules.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the communication device also includes a storage unit (sometimes also referred to as a storage module), and the processing unit is used to couple with the storage unit and execute the program or instructions in the storage unit, enabling the communication device to perform the functions of the second communication device described in the second aspect above.

[0051] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit is used to receive first information in a first time unit, where the first information is used to indicate the existence of second information, and the second information is used to carry a transmission block; and receive second information in a second time unit based on the first information, where the first time unit is located before the second time unit.

[0052] In one possible implementation, the processing unit is used to obtain a first sequence from the first information; the receiving unit is specifically used to receive the second information in the second time unit when the first sequence meets the requirements; wherein the requirement is that the first sequence includes: at least two consecutive 0s, and / or, at least two consecutive 1s.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive third information in a third time unit, where the third information is used to carry a transmission block, and the third time unit is located before the first time unit.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is specifically configured to receive the second information in the second time unit according to the third information when the first sequence meets the requirements.

[0055] In one possible implementation, the bits included in the second information are the same as the bits included in the third information; wherein, the bits included in the second information are determined based on the transmission block carried by the second information, and the bits included in the third information are determined based on the transmission block carried by the third information; the transceiver unit is specifically used to receive the second information in the second time unit when the demodulation or decoding of the third information fails.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to alternately receive the first information and the second information.

[0057] In one possible implementation, fourth information is received in a fourth time unit, and fifth information is received in a fifth time unit; wherein, the fourth information is used for downlink synchronization, and the fifth information is used to indicate N, wherein N is the number of transmission blocks or the number of repetitions in a downlink transmission, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein, the downlink transmission starts from the fourth information and ends with the Nth information used to carry the transmission block; the fourth time unit is before the fifth time unit, and the fifth time unit is before the third time unit.

[0058] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be a first communication device, or a chip or chip system used in the first communication device. The communication device includes an interface circuit and a processor, and optionally, a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is coupled to the memory and the interface circuit. When the processor reads the computer program or instruction, the communication device executes the method performed by the first communication device in the first aspect. Exemplarily, the interface circuit is used to receive a signal from other communication devices other than the first communication device and transmit it to the processor or send a signal from the processor to other communication devices other than the first communication device. The processor is used to implement the method performed by the first communication device in the first aspect through a logic circuit or execution code instruction.

[0059] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be a second communication device, or a chip or chip system used in a second communication device. The communication device includes an interface circuit and a processor, and optionally, a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is coupled to the memory and the interface circuit. When the processor reads the computer program or instruction, the communication device executes the method performed by the second communication device in the above aspects. Exemplarily, the interface circuit is used to receive a signal from other communication devices other than the second communication device and transmit it to the processor or send a signal from the processor to other communication devices other than the second communication device. The processor is used to implement the method performed by the second communication device in the above second aspect through a logic circuit or execution code instruction.

[0060] In the seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and, optionally, a memory; the processor and the memory are coupled; the memory is used to store computer programs or instructions; the processor is used to execute part or all of the computer programs or instructions in the memory, and when the part or all of the computer programs or instructions are executed, it is used to implement the functions of the first communication device in the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation method of the first aspect.

[0061] In one possible implementation, the apparatus may further include a transceiver configured to transmit a signal processed by the processor or receive a signal input to the processor. The transceiver may perform the transmitting or receiving action performed by the first communication apparatus in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0062] In a possible implementation, the processing unit in the third aspect may be implemented by the processor, the storage unit in the third aspect may be implemented by the memory, and the transceiver unit in the third aspect may be implemented by the transceiver.

[0063] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and, optionally, a memory; the processor and the memory are coupled; the memory is used to store computer programs or instructions; the processor is used to execute part or all of the computer programs or instructions in the memory, and when the part or all of the computer programs or instructions are executed, it is used to implement the functions of the second communication device in the above-mentioned second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0064] In one possible implementation, the apparatus may further include a transceiver configured to transmit a signal processed by the processor or receive a signal input to the processor. The transceiver may perform the transmitting action or receiving action performed by the second communication apparatus in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0065] In a possible implementation, the processing unit in the fourth aspect may be implemented by the processor, the storage unit in the fourth aspect may be implemented by the memory, and the transceiver unit in the fourth aspect may be implemented by the transceiver.

[0066] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a second communication device and a first communication device, wherein the first communication device is configured to execute the method described in the above aspects and executed by the first communication device, and the second communication device is configured to execute the method described in the above aspects and executed by the first communication device. For example, the first communication device may be implemented by the communication device described in the third aspect, and the second communication device may be implemented by the communication device described in the fourth aspect.

[0067] The following is an example in which the first communication device is a network device and the second communication device is a terminal device:

[0068] In one possible implementation, a network device determines first information, where the first information is used to indicate the existence of second information, and the second information is used to carry a transport block; sends the first information in a first time unit, sends the second information in a second time unit, and sends third information in a third time unit, where the third information is used to carry the transport block; the third time unit is located before the first time unit, and the first time unit is located before the second time unit;

[0069] The terminal device receives third information in a third time unit and receives first information in a first time unit, wherein the first information is used to indicate the existence of second information, and the second information is used to carry a transmission block; and receives second information in a second time unit according to the first information.

[0070] In a tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium is used to store computer programs or instructions, which, when executed, enable the methods described in the above aspects to be implemented.

[0071] According to an eleventh aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the methods described in the above aspects to be implemented. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0072] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by the present application;

[0073] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an information structure provided by this application;

[0074] FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0075] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of an information structure provided by this application;

[0076] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of an information structure provided by this application;

[0077] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of an information structure provided by this application;

[0078] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of an information structure provided by this application;

[0079] FIG8 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided by the present application;

[0080] FIG9 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] The technical solution of the present application can be applied to various wireless communication systems, including but not limited to the fourth generation mobile communication technology (the 4th generation, 4G) system (also known as the long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system), the fifth generation mobile communication technology (the 5th generation, 5G) system (also known as the new radio (NR) system), or can also be applied to the next generation mobile communication system or other similar communication systems (such as the sixth generation mobile communication technology (the 6th generation, 6G) system), etc., without specific limitation. In addition, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to device-to-device (D2D) scenarios, such as NR-D2D scenarios, etc., or can be applied to vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication scenarios, such as NR-V2X scenarios, etc. For example, it can be used in the fields of intelligent driving, assisted driving, or intelligent connected vehicles. For another example, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to factory manufacturing scenarios, etc. In addition, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied in scenarios including but not limited to: terrestrial cellular communications, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), satellite communications, high altitude platform stations (HAPS) communications, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) communications, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) communications, and other scenarios.

[0082] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system used in an embodiment of the present application. The communication system 1000 shown in Figure 1 includes a wireless access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 also includes the Internet 300. The wireless access network 100 may include at least one network device (such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1) and may also include at least one terminal device (such as 120a-120j in Figure 1). The terminal device is wirelessly connected to the network device, and the network device is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network 200. The core network device and the network device may be independent, distinct physical devices, or the core network device's functions and the network device's logical functions may be integrated into the same physical device, or a single physical device may integrate some of the core network device's functions and some of the network device's functions. Terminal devices and network devices may be interconnected via wired or wireless connections. Figure 1 is merely a schematic diagram; the communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1.

[0083] The radio access network 100 may be a cellular system related to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 4G, 5G, or an evolved system after 5G (e.g., a 6G mobile communication system). The radio access network 100 may also be an open radio access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a WiFi system. The radio access network 100 may also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0084] A network device is a node in a radio access network (RAN), and can also be referred to as an access network device or a RAN node (or device). A network device is used to help terminal devices achieve wireless access. The multiple network devices in communication system 1000 can be nodes of the same type or different types.

[0085] In one possible scenario, a network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmitting and receiving point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, a satellite, an access point (AP) in a WiFi system, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, or a network device in a mobile switching center (NSN) communication system. This means it can be deployed on a high-altitude platform or satellite. The network device can be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 1), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 1), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. The network device can also function as a base station in device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2I) communication, drone communication, or machine communication. Optionally, the network device can be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an onboard device. For example, the access network device in V2X technology can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0086] In another possible scenario, multiple network devices collaborate to assist the terminal device in achieving wireless access, and different network devices respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the network device can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be set separately, or they 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, which is not limited here.

[0087] 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 application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0088] A terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to or receive signals from a network device. Terminal devices include but are not limited to terminal devices, terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminals, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device D2D, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal device can specifically be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal device.

[0089] The terminal device can also be an ambient IoT (A-IoT) terminal device, an ambient connected terminal device, an connected terminal device, a passive IoT terminal device, a zero-power IoT terminal device, an ambient scattering IoT terminal device, a capability-reduced terminal device, a new interface legacy (NR Legacy) terminal device, etc. For example, the NR Legacy terminal device is an NR Rel-15 terminal device, a Rel-17 RedCap terminal device, etc. The difference between the Ambient IoT terminal device and the NR Legacy terminal device includes one or more of the following: 1) Different channel bandwidth capabilities. For example, the NR Legacy terminal device can support the simultaneous use of a maximum of 100MHz of frequency resources on one carrier; the Ambient IoT terminal device can support the simultaneous use of a smaller number of frequency resources such as 1 resource block (RB), 2RB or 3RB on one carrier. 2) Different downlink and / or uplink modulation methods. For example, NR Legacy terminal devices support phase shift keying (PSK) modulation and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation for downlink transmission, and Ambient IoT terminal devices support binary on-off keying (OOK) modulation or frequency shift keying (FSK) modulation for downlink transmission. Among them, OOK modulation can be replaced by binary amplitude shift keying (2ASK). For example, NR Legacy terminal devices support pi / 2PSK modulation, QAM modulation and differential phase shift keying (DPSK) modulation for uplink transmission, and Ambient IoT terminal devices support binary on-off keying (OOK) modulation and binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation for uplink transmission. 3) The peak transmission rate is different. For example, NR Legacy devices can support peak rates in the Mbps range, while Ambient IoT devices only support peak rates in the tens, hundreds, tens, or even hundreds of bps. 4) The carrier sources for uplink transmission differ. After the terminal device generates the baseband signal, it must be transferred to the carrier.For example, NR Legacy terminal devices can generate their own uplink transmission carriers, while Ambient IoT terminal devices cannot generate their own carriers and can only reflect the carriers sent to them by others. In other words, they can only use carriers from other network elements or devices.

[0090] Network devices and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; they can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and artificial satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of network devices and terminal devices.

[0091] The roles of network devices and terminal devices can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile network device. To terminal devices 120j that access the wireless access network 100 via 120i, terminal device 120i is a network device; however, to network device 110a, 120i is a terminal device, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via an interface protocol between network devices. In this case, 120i is also a network device relative to 110a. Therefore, both network devices and terminal devices can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with network device functionality, and 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal device functionality.

[0092] Network devices and terminal devices, network devices and network devices, and terminal devices and terminal devices can communicate through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; can communicate through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz simultaneously. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communications.

[0093] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the network device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes the network device functions. The control subsystem that includes the network device functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal device, or by a device that includes the terminal device functions.

[0094] In this application, a network device sends a downlink signal or downlink information to a terminal device, and the downlink signal or downlink information is carried on a downlink channel. The terminal device sends an uplink signal or uplink information to the network device, and the uplink signal or uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. In order to communicate with the network device, the terminal device needs to establish a wireless connection with the cell controlled by the network device. The cell with which the terminal device has established a wireless connection is called the serving cell of the terminal device.

[0095] Ambient IoT devices typically use envelope detection to receive downlink data. They detect the rising and falling edges of the downlink signal, determine the high and low levels, and use these levels to obtain the transmitted data.

[0096] In downlink transmission based on envelope detection, a possible data structure is shown in Figure 2, including a starting delimiter signal, a calibration signal, a downlink transmission block, and a postamble signal. The ambient IoT terminal device detects the delimiter and calibration signals, completes downlink synchronization, and determines the starting position of the downlink transmission block. From this starting position, the downlink transmission block is received. In downlink transmission based on envelope detection, transmission efficiency is low, and the probability of the terminal device failing to receive the downlink transmission block is high.

[0097] Based on this, this application proposes a communication method that transmits multiple transport blocks for a single downlink transmission. After any transport block, the network device indicates to the terminal device whether there is a next transport block. This increases the terminal device's chances of receiving transport blocks, improves transmission efficiency, and can increase the success rate of receiving downlink data.

[0098] The methods provided in various embodiments of the present application may be applied to the network architecture shown in FIG1 or other network architectures. Taking FIG1 as an example, for example, the terminal device involved in various embodiments of the present application may be 120i, or 120a, or 120b, or 120c, etc., and the network device involved in various embodiments of the present application may be 110a; for another example, the terminal device involved in various embodiments of the present application may be 120h or 120g, and the network device involved in various embodiments of the present application may be 120f; for another example, the terminal device involved in various embodiments of the present application may be 120e, and the network device involved in various embodiments of the present application may be 120a or 120d.

[0099] Below, some terms or concepts in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0100] 1) Method 1, Method 2, Method 3, Rule 1, Rule 2, etc. in the embodiments of the present application are numbered only for the convenience of description, without any restriction on the order or priority.

[0101] 2) "Information" in the first information, second information, third information, fourth information, and fifth information can be replaced with "signal." Information here refers to bits, modulation symbols, waveforms, and the like. The first information indicates the presence of the second information. The second information carries transport blocks. The third information carries transport blocks. The fourth information is used for downlink synchronization. The fifth information indicates the number of transport blocks or the number of repetitions in a downlink transmission.

[0102] The transport block may be replaced by a downlink transport block, or a downlink bit, or downlink data, or a downlink payload, etc.

[0103] The bits included in the second information are determined based on the transport block carried by the second information, and the bits included in the third information are determined based on the transport block carried by the third information. The bits included in the second information or the bits included in the third information, where "bits" can be original information bits (also called transport blocks), encoded bits, bits after a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) is added, or bits after modulation.

[0104] Exemplarily, the relationship between these bits is as follows: CRC is added to the transport block, the bits after CRC addition are encoded, and the encoded bits are modulated to obtain modulated bits. Encoding is optional, and the bits after CRC addition can be directly modulated. Adding CRC is also optional, and the transport block can be directly encoded or modulated.

[0105] For the terminal device, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth information are represented by high and low level signals. The terminal device knows the length of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth information, as well as the length of the high level signal corresponding to bit 1 and the length of the low level signal corresponding to bit 0. The terminal device detects the level signals of the corresponding lengths to determine the information.

[0106] 3) Time unit:

[0107] The first time unit transmits first information, the second time unit transmits second information, the third time unit transmits third information, the fourth time unit transmits fourth information, and the fifth time unit transmits fifth information.

[0108] The order of these time units is: fourth time unit, fifth time unit, third time unit, first time unit, second time unit. The order of the time units is to describe the order of the information sent in each time unit. The order of these information is: fourth information, fifth information, third information, first information, second information. In addition to time units, other methods can also be used to describe the order of each information. The unit or granularity of the time unit can be a symbol, time slot, frame, or radio unit, etc., which is not limited in this application.

[0109] The lengths of these time units may be the same, unequal, or completely different.

[0110] Any two time units being adjacent can be understood as there being no other time units between the two time units, or the two time units being adjacent and not empty, or no other information being transmitted between the information transmitted on the two time units, or the two time units being connected end to end.

[0111] 4) When a terminal device receives a certain information, for example, the terminal device receives the first information, or the second information, or the third information, etc., without special instructions, it can be understood that the information is received, and the information is successfully demodulated and decoded, that is, the correct content can be obtained from the information. If a certain information is not demodulated / decoded successfully, it can be understood that the correct content cannot be obtained from the information. It should be understood that when a certain information (such as the first information) does not adopt any encoding method, the above-mentioned "successful demodulation and successful decoding of the information" and "successful demodulation of the information" can be replaced with each other because no decoding is required.

[0112] 5) Line Coding: In optical fiber digital transmission systems, rather than directly converting information codes or cable pulse code modulation (PCM) codes from electrical to optical, they are first converted into a code pattern suitable for optical fiber transmission lines. This conversion is called line coding. Line coding, also known as channel coding, eliminates or reduces DC and low-frequency components in digital electrical signals to facilitate transmission, reception, and monitoring over optical fibers.

[0113] In order to better describe the embodiments of the present application, the following describes the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise specified, the steps indicated by dotted lines in the accompanying drawings corresponding to the various embodiments of the present application are all optional steps.

[0114] FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0115] Step 301: The network device determines first information, where the first information is used to indicate the existence of second information, and the second information is used to carry a transport block.

[0116] Step 302: The network device sends the third information, then sends the first information, and then sends the second information.

[0117] Step 303: The terminal device receives the second information according to the first information.

[0118] One possible implementation method is to reflect the sequence of various information through time units. For example, the network device sends the third information in the third time unit, sends the first information in the first time unit, and sends the second information in the second time unit. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the third information in the third time unit, receives the first information in the first time unit, and receives the second information in the second time unit. The third time unit is located before the first time unit, and the first time unit is located before the second time unit. In other words: the first information is located between the N-1th transmission block and the Nth transmission block, and the first information is used to indicate the existence of the Nth transmission block, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0119] Optionally, the first time unit is adjacent to the second time unit, and the first time unit is adjacent to the third time unit. In other words, there is no other information or transport block between the first information and the N-1th transport block and the Nth transport block.

[0120] As shown in (a) of FIG4 , a structural relationship among the first information, the second information, and the third information is introduced, wherein the third information is in the front, the first information is in the middle, and the second information is in the back.

[0121] The bits included in the second information and the bits included in the third information are the same or different. The bits included in the second information are determined based on the transport block carried by the second information, and the bits included in the third information are determined based on the transport block carried by the third information. In other words, the transport block carried by the first information and the transport block carried by the third information are the same or different.

[0122] In one example, the protocol stipulates that the second information and the third information include the same bits.

[0123] In one example, the protocol stipulates that the second information and the third information include different bits.

[0124] The terminal device can learn whether the bits included in the second information and the third information are the same or different based on the provisions of the protocol.

[0125] In another example, the protocol specifies that the bits included in the second information and the third information can be the same or different, or the protocol does not make any provisions. In this case, the network device can send an indication message to the terminal device to indicate to the terminal device whether the bits included in the second information and the third information are the same or different. The terminal device can learn whether the bits included in the second information and the third information are the same or different based on the indication message. The indication message can be the first information, that is, the first information is also used to indicate whether the bits included in the second information and the third information are the same or different. The indication message can also be other information in addition to the first information, such as a broadcast message or system information sent before the first information.

[0126] It should be noted that, considering the channel between the terminal device and the network device, when the terminal device receives the third information, it may successfully demodulate / decode the third information, or it may fail to demodulate / decode the third information. The terminal device can determine whether to receive the second information based on the third information. For example, if the second information and the third information include the same bits, if the terminal device successfully demodulates and decodes the third information, it does not need to receive the second information, but of course it can still receive the second information. If the second information and the third information include the same bits, if the terminal device fails to demodulate / decode the third information, it receives the second information. If the second information and the third information include different bits, regardless of whether the terminal device successfully demodulates / decodes the third information, it receives the second information.

[0127] Optionally, the level signal of the first information is longer than the level signal of the information used to carry the transmission block (such as the second information and the third information), and the probability of successful demodulation / decoding of the first information is higher than the probability of successful demodulation / decoding of the information used to carry the transmission block.

[0128] After the network device sends a transmission block to the terminal device through the third information, it notifies the terminal device through the first information that there is a next transmission block. On the one hand, if the two transmission blocks are the same, the terminal device has two opportunities to demodulate / decode the same transmission block, which can increase the probability of successful demodulation and decoding of the transmission block. In the prior art, if a transmission block is not demodulated / decoded successfully, the transmission block is sent again in the next downlink transmission. In this embodiment of the present application, the transmission block is sent again in one downlink transmission, which can save a downlink synchronization process and improve transmission efficiency. On the other hand, if the two transmission blocks are different, multiple transmission blocks are sent in one downlink transmission, which can improve transmission efficiency.

[0129] The modulation mode used to carry the information of the transmission block (eg, the second information, the third information) is the same, for example, the modulation mode is ASK modulation or OOK modulation.

[0130] The information used to carry the transport block (e.g., the second information and the third information) all uses line codes and the same line code encoding scheme, for example, Manchester encoding or pulse interval encoding (PIE). Manchester encoding encodes bit 0 as 01 and bit 1 as 10. PIE encoding encodes bit 0 as 10 and bit 1 as 1110.

[0131] The modulation scheme of the first information is the same as the modulation scheme used to carry the information of the transport block. For example, both modulation schemes may be OOK modulation, which can also be replaced by ASK modulation. Another example is that both modulation schemes may be FSK modulation. Since both modulation schemes are the same, the network device can modulate the entire information block pair composed of the two, which simplifies implementation and also simplifies demodulation for the terminal device.

[0132] The first information may be encoded or unencoded. If the first information is encoded, the encoding method used for the first information is different from the encoding method used for the information used to carry the transport block (e.g., the second information and the third information). This allows the terminal device to distinguish the first information from the information used to carry the transport block.

[0133] In one possible implementation, the network device can send three or more transmission blocks to the terminal device to further improve transmission efficiency and increase the success rate of receiving downlink data. For example, as shown in (b) of Figure 4, after sending the second information in the second time unit, the network device alternately sends the first information and the second information. Correspondingly, the terminal device alternately receives the first information and the second information. The number of first information is the number of transmission blocks minus one.

[0134] In one possible implementation, the network device sends the fourth information in the fourth time unit before sending the third information in the third time unit; accordingly, the terminal device receives the fourth information in the fourth time unit; wherein the fourth information is used for downlink synchronization. The fourth information includes but is not limited to: information / signal for implementing the delimiter function, information / signal for implementing the calibration function, and information / signal for carrying the preamble sequence. The fourth time unit is before the third time unit, and the fourth time unit is adjacent to the third time unit. Exemplarily, when the fourth signal includes a delimiter signal and a calibration signal, the terminal device can obtain downlink synchronization by detecting high and low levels and counting the high and low levels. Exemplarily, when the fourth signal is a signal carrying a preamble sequence, the terminal device can obtain downlink synchronization through correlation calculation. In an embodiment of the present application, multiple transmission blocks are transmitted between the network device and the terminal device, and only one downlink synchronization is performed, instead of multiple downlink synchronizations. Regardless of whether the multiple transmission blocks are the same or different, the transmission efficiency can be improved.

[0135] In one possible implementation, the network device sends the fifth information in the fifth time unit after the fourth time unit and before the third time unit; accordingly, the terminal device receives the fifth information in the fifth time unit; wherein, the fifth information is used to indicate N, and N is the number of transmission blocks or the number of repetitions in a downlink transmission. When the fifth information is used to indicate the number of repetitions of a transmission block in a downlink transmission, these transmission blocks are the same. When the fifth information is used to indicate the number of transmission blocks in a downlink transmission, these transmission blocks can be the same or different. The terminal device can receive the corresponding number of transmission blocks, or when the fifth information indicates the number of repetitions, after a certain transmission block is successfully demodulated and decoded, it will no longer receive subsequent transmission blocks.

[0136] A downlink transmission begins with the fourth information element (or the fourth time unit) and ends with the Nth (i.e., last) information element carrying a transport block (or the time unit used to send the last information element carrying a transport block) or the postamble information / signal. The number of first information elements is the number of transport block repetitions minus 1. The fourth time unit precedes the fifth time unit, which precedes the third time unit. The fifth time unit is adjacent to the fourth and third time units, respectively. Figure 5 illustrates an information structure.

[0137] The number of repetitions indicated by the fifth information is determined by the bits included in the fifth information. One bit can represent a maximum of two states, and two bits can represent a maximum of four states. Taking the fifth information occupying two bits as an example, in one example, when two bits are 00, it indicates a repetition number of 1; when two bits are 01, it indicates a repetition number of 2; when two bits are 10, it indicates a repetition number of 3; and when two bits are 11, it indicates a repetition number of 4. In another example, when two bits are 00, it indicates a repetition number of 1; when two bits are 01, it indicates a repetition number of 2; when two bits are 10, it indicates a repetition number of 4; and when two bits are 11, it indicates a repetition number of 8.

[0138] The correspondence between the bit value and the number of repetitions can be stored in the network device and the terminal device in a table or other manner. Tables 1 and 2 below describe the correspondence between the bit value and the number of repetitions.

[0139] Table 1:

[0140] Table 2:

[0141] The modulation method of the fifth information is the same as the modulation method of the information used to carry the transmission block (such as the second information and the third information). For example, the modulation method of both is OOK modulation, and OOK modulation can also be replaced by ASK modulation. For another example, the modulation method of both is FSK modulation. The modulation methods of the two are the same, and the network device can modulate an entire information block pair composed of the two, which is simple to implement and demodulate for the terminal device.

[0142] The fifth information and the information used to carry the transport block are both encoded using line codes. Furthermore, the line code encoding methods used by the two may be the same or different. For example, both may be encoded using Manchester encoding. For example, both may be encoded using PIE encoding. For another example, the information used to carry the transport block may be encoded using Manchester encoding, while the fifth information may be encoded using PIE encoding. For another example, the information used to carry the transport block may be encoded using PIE encoding, while the fifth information may be encoded using Manchester encoding.

[0143] In one possible implementation, after the last second information, postamble information / signal or sixth information is further included, where the postamble information / signal or sixth information is used to indicate the end of a downlink transmission. Exemplarily, the postamble signal or sixth information may be a continuous high-level signal of no less than a calibration signal. Exemplarily, the postamble signal or sixth information may be a continuous high-level signal of no less than a calibration signal and a low-level signal following the high-level signal.

[0144] The first information, the second information, the third information, the fourth information, the fifth information and the end information belong to the same downlink transmission.

[0145] The following describes the sequence for generating the first information:

[0146] The network device obtains the first information based on the first sequence. For example, the network device modulates the first sequence to obtain the first information.

[0147] For the network device, the first sequence is predefined; or the first sequence is obtained by encoding the second sequence based on the first encoding method. The second sequence is predefined. For example, the second sequence is shorter than the first sequence, and the network device repeats the second sequence multiple times to obtain the first sequence.

[0148] The terminal device obtains a sequence from the received information. If the obtained sequence meets the requirements of the first sequence, the terminal device considers the obtained sequence to be the first sequence, indicating that the first information has been successfully demodulated and decoded. If the sequence obtained from the received information does not meet the requirements of the first sequence, the terminal device considers that the first sequence or the first information has not been received.

[0149] The requirement is that the first sequence includes: at least two consecutive 0s, and / or, at least two consecutive 1s.

[0150] The following is a detailed introduction to the requirements of the first sequence:

[0151] The first sequence satisfies at least one of the following rules:

[0152] Rule 1: The first sequence violates the encoding method of the information used to carry the transport block (such as the third information and the second information), so that the terminal device can distinguish the first information from the information used to carry the transport block.

[0153] The previous article introduced that the first information is used to indicate the existence of the second information, and the second information is used to carry the transmission block. Because the information before and after the first information is both used to carry the transmission block, the first information is distinguished from the information used to carry the transmission block. At this time, the function of the first information can be to distinguish the two pieces of information before and after that are used to carry the transmission block.

[0154] The encoding scheme for transport blocks is also known as the line code scheme. Common line code schemes include Manchester and PIE. Manchester encoding encodes bit 0 as 01 and bit 1 as 10. PIE encoding encodes bit 0 as 10 and bit 1 as 1110. Therefore, the first sequence cannot contain bit combinations encoded using Manchester or PIE. Specifically, the first sequence cannot be a direct concatenation and / or repetition of the following bit combinations: 01, 10, 1110.

[0155] Rule 2: The first sequence is different from the sequence used by other information except the information carrying the transport block, so that the terminal device can distinguish the first information from the other information.

[0156] Other information includes, but is not limited to, fourth information for downlink synchronization and information indicating the end of a downlink transmission. For example, the fourth information includes delimiter information / signal and calibration information / signal. Information indicating the end of a downlink transmission is postamble information / signal.

[0157] The sequence used by the delimiter signal is a sequence of all 0s. For example, the sequence used by the delimiter signal is F 0s, where F is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, for example, F is 2, 4, 6, or 8, that is, the sequence used by the delimiter signal is 00, 0000, 000000, or 00000000.

[0158] The sequence used by the calibration signal is one or more 10s, or the sequence used by the calibration signal is one or more 01s. For example, the sequence used by the calibration signal is 10, or 1010, or 101010, or 01, or 010101.

[0159] The sequence used by the postamble signal is a sequence of all 1s. For example, the postamble signal uses a sequence of H 1s, where H is a positive integer greater than or equal to 4, such as 4, 5, or 6. That is, the sequence used by the delimiter signal is 1111, 11111, or 111111.

[0160] The first sequence cannot be directly concatenated and / or repeated by the following bit combinations: all-0 combination (e.g., F 0s), 01 combination (e.g., 01, 0101), 10 combination (e.g., 10, 1010), and all-1 combination (e.g., H 1s).

[0161] When the above rules 1 and 2 are met, the first sequence has the following possible implementation methods:

[0162] Mode 1: The first sequence includes at least two consecutive 0s and at least two consecutive 1s. The first sequence can be 0011, 1100, 000111, 111000, 00001111, 11110000, 00110011, or 11001100, etc.

[0163] The first sequence is related to the encoding method used for carrying the information of the transport block and the bits included in the information of the transport block (which may be the transport block or the encoded bits), and is described below with an example:

[0164] For example, the encoding method used to carry the information of the transmission block is PIE encoding (encoding 0 as 10 and encoding 1 as 1110). The first sequence is 0011, and the first bit in the transmission block is 1. The PIE encoding method encodes 1 as 1110. As shown in (a) in Figure 6, after the first sequence 0011, the encoded bit 1110 of the first bit in the transmission block is spliced ​​to obtain 00111110, where at least 4 consecutive 1s appear, which will be mistakenly detected by the terminal device as a postamble signal.

[0165] In a possible example, the encoding method used to carry the information of the transmission block is PIE encoding, the first sequence is 0011, the first bit in the transmission block is 0, and after the first sequence is connected to 0011, the encoded bit 10 of the first bit in the transmission block is spliced ​​to obtain 001110. There are no four consecutive 1s, and the above rule 2 will not be violated.

[0166] Mode 2: The first sequence includes at least two consecutive 0s. For example, the first sequence is 00, 000, 000, or 0000.

[0167] The first sequence is related to the downlink transmission bandwidth (which can also be understood as the number of bits included in the sequence used by the delimiter signal). The number of 0s contained in the delimiter signal sequence is related to the downlink transmission bandwidth. According to rule 2, the first sequence needs to avoid the delimiter signal, so the number of 0s contained in the first sequence is related to the bandwidth. One association method is that when the bandwidth exceeds a threshold, the number of consecutive 0s contained in the first sequence can be M. The value of M can be 2 or 3. The threshold can be 1 RB, 12 REs or 180kHz. For example, when the bandwidth exceeds 180kHz, the number of consecutive 0s in the delimiter sequence is greater than or equal to 4. The number of consecutive 0s in the first sequence is less than 4, which will not affect the detection of the delimiter signal. As described in Table 3, an example of the correspondence between bandwidth and delimiter sequence is introduced.

[0168] Table 3:

[0169] The first sequence is related to the encoding method used for carrying the information of the transport block and the bits included in the information of the transport block (which may be the transport block or the encoded bits), and is described below with an example:

[0170] For example, the encoding method used to carry the information of the downlink transmission block is Manchester coding (0 is encoded as 01 and 1 is encoded as 10), the first sequence is 00, the last bit in the previous transmission block is 1, and the first bit in the next transmission block is 0. Manchester coding encodes 0 as 01 and 1 as 10, as shown in (b) in Figure 6. After the encoded bit 10 of the last bit in the previous transmission block, the first sequence 00 is spliced, and then the encoded bit 01 of the first bit in the next transmission block is spliced ​​to obtain 100001. There are 4 consecutive 0s, which will be mistakenly detected by the terminal device as a delimiter signal.

[0171] In a possible example, the encoding method used to carry the information of the downlink transmission block is Manchester encoding, the first sequence is 00, the first bit in the next transmission block is 1, and four consecutive 0s will not appear, which will not violate the above rule 2.

[0172] In a possible example, the encoding method used to carry the downlink transmission block information is Manchester encoding, the first sequence is 00, the last bit in the previous transmission block is 0, and four consecutive 0s will not appear, which will not violate the above rule 2.

[0173] Mode 3: The first sequence includes at least two consecutive 1s. For example, the first sequence is 11, 111, or 1111.

[0174] The first sequence is related to the encoding method used to carry the information of the transport block and the bits included in the information of the transport block (which may be the transport block or the encoded bits), and is described below with an example:

[0175] For example, the encoding method used to carry the information of the downlink transmission block is Manchester coding (0 is encoded as 01 and 1 is encoded as 10), the first sequence is 11, the last bit in the previous transmission block is 0, and the first bit in the next transmission block is 1. Manchester coding encodes 0 as 01 and 1 as 10, as shown in (c) in Figure 6. After the encoded bit 01 of the last bit in the previous transmission block, the first sequence 11 is spliced, and then the encoded bit 10 of the first bit in the next transmission block is spliced ​​to obtain 011110. There are 4 consecutive 1s, which will be mistakenly detected by the terminal device as a postamble signal.

[0176] In a possible example, the encoding method used to carry the downlink transmission block information is Manchester encoding. The first sequence is 11, and the first bit in the next transmission block is 0. Four consecutive 1s will not appear, and the above rule 2 will not be violated.

[0177] In a possible example, the encoding method used to carry the downlink transmission block information is Manchester encoding. The first sequence is 11, and the last bit in the previous transmission block is 1. Four consecutive 1s will not appear, and the above rule 2 will not be violated.

[0178] In another possible implementation, the network device sends fifth information to the terminal device, where the fifth information indicates the number or repetition count of transmission blocks. The network device may not send the first information to the terminal device. For example, the network device determines the fifth information, sends the fifth information, and then sends a corresponding number of second information as the fifth information, where the second information is used to carry the transmission blocks. The multiple second information can be the same or different. The protocol can specify whether the multiple second information are the same or different, or the terminal device can be instructed to the same or different second information through an indication message. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the fifth information and receives the second information based on the fifth information. For example, if the multiple second information are the same, after a certain second information is successfully demodulated and decoded, the next second information may not be received. For example, if the multiple second information are different, the terminal device receives all the second information. For other technical details, please refer to the description above. They will not be repeated here. As shown in Figure 7, a possible information structure is introduced, which includes the fourth information, the fifth information, and one or more second information, and optionally also includes an end information.

[0179] It is understandable that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal devices and network devices include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or in a manner driven by computer software depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0180] Figures 8 and 9 are schematic diagrams of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device and the network device in the above method embodiments, thereby also achieving the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments.

[0181] As shown in FIG8 , the communication device 800 includes a processing unit 810 and a transceiver unit 820 .

[0182] For example, the communication device 800 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3. The transceiver unit 820 can perform the receiving and sending actions performed by the network device in the method embodiment. The processing unit 810 can perform other actions performed by the network device in the method embodiment, except for the sending and receiving actions.

[0183] Exemplarily, when the communication device 800 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3: the transceiver unit 820 is used to send the first information, send the second information, and send the third information; the processing unit 810 is used to generate the first information, generate the second information, and generate the third information.

[0184] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG3 , the transceiver unit 820 can execute the receiving and sending actions performed by the terminal device in the method embodiment. The processing unit 810 can execute the actions performed by the terminal device in the method embodiment, except for the sending and receiving actions.

[0185] Exemplarily, when the communication device 800 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3: the transceiver unit 820 is used to receive the first information, receive the second information, and receive the third information; the processing unit 810 is used to parse the first information, parse the second information, and parse the third information.

[0186] A more detailed description of the processing unit 810 and the transceiver unit 820 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant description of the method embodiment shown in Figure 3, and is not repeated here. The processing unit 810 can be implemented by a processor, and the transceiver unit 820 can be implemented by a transceiver.

[0187] As shown in Figure 9, communication device 900 includes a processor 910 and an interface circuit 920. Processor 910 and interface circuit 920 are coupled to each other. It is understood that interface circuit 920 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, communication device 900 may also include a memory 930 for storing instructions executed by processor 910, input data required by processor 910 to execute instructions, or data generated after processor 910 executes instructions.

[0188] For example, the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the network device and the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3. For example, the processor 910 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 810, and the interface circuit 920 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 820.

[0189] When the communication device is a chip used in a terminal device, the chip of the terminal device implements the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The chip of the terminal device receives information from other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the network device to the terminal device; or the chip of the terminal device sends information to other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the network device.

[0190] When the above-mentioned communication device is a module applied to a network device, the network device module implements the functions of the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The network device module receives information from other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the network device; or the network device module sends information to other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the network device to the terminal device. The network device module here can be a baseband chip of the network device, or it can be a DU or other module. The DU here can be a DU under the open radio access network O-RAN architecture.

[0191] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0192] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, which, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to perform the above-mentioned communication method. In other words, the computer program includes instructions for implementing the above-mentioned communication.

[0193] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, including: computer program code, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the communication method provided above.

[0194] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, which includes: a network device and a terminal device that execute the above-mentioned communication method.

[0195] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) (also known as a read-only optical disc) or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also be present in a base station or a terminal as discrete components.

[0196] The above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, they 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 programs or instructions. When the computer programs or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are performed in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a first control plane network element, a user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0197] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0198] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, means "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "plural" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A or B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B means: A or B. "At least one of the following items" or "one or more of them" and other similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c, or one or more of a, b, or c, means: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c. Each of a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0199] The ordinal numbers "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the size, content, order, timing, priority, or importance of multiple objects. Moreover, such names do not indicate differences in the content, sender / receiver, transmission order, size, application scenario, priority, or importance of the two pieces of information. In addition, the numbering of the steps in the various embodiments introduced in this application is only for distinguishing different steps and is not used to define the order of the steps.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to network equipment, including: Determine first information, where the first information is used to indicate the existence of second information, and the second information is used to carry a transport block; Sending the first information in a first time unit, sending the second information in a second time unit, and sending third information in a third time unit, wherein the third information is used to carry a transport block; The third time unit is located before the first time unit, and the first time unit is located before the second time unit.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information is obtained based on a first sequence, and the first sequence includes: at least two consecutive 0s and / or, at least two consecutive 1s.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first information or the first sequence is related to at least one of the following: the encoding method used by the second information, the bits included in the second information, the encoding method used by the third information, the bits included in the third information, or the downlink transmission bandwidth; The bits included in the second information are determined based on the transport block carried by the second information, and the bits included in the third information are determined based on the transport block carried by the third information.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that The encoding method used for the second information is pulse interval encoding, the first bit in the transmission block carrying the second information is 0, and the first sequence is 0011.

5. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The encoding method used for the second information and the third information is Manchester encoding, the first bit in the transmission block carried by the second information is 1, and the first sequence is 00; and / or, The encoding method used for the second information and the third information is Manchester encoding; the last bit in the transmission block carrying the third information is 0, and the first sequence is 00.

6. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The encoding method used for the second information and the third information is Manchester encoding, the first bit in the transmission block carrying the second information is 0, and the first sequence is 11; and / or, The encoding method used for the second information and the third information is Manchester encoding method, the last bit in the transmission block carried by the second information is 1, and the first sequence is 11.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The first information is obtained based on a first sequence; wherein the first sequence is predefined; or, the first sequence is obtained by encoding a second sequence based on a first encoding method.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The first information is also used to indicate whether the bits included in the second information are the same as or different from those included in the third information, wherein the bits included in the second information are determined based on the transmission block carried by the second information, and the bits included in the third information are determined based on the transmission block carried by the third information.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The modulation method of the first information is the same as the modulation method of the second information.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: After sending the second information in the second time unit, the method further includes: The first information and the second information are sent alternately.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: Before sending the third information in the third time unit, the method further includes: Sending fourth information in a fourth time unit, where the fourth information is used for downlink synchronization; The fifth information is sent in the fifth time unit, and the fifth information is used to indicate N, where N is the number of transmission blocks or the number of repetitions in a downlink transmission, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; the downlink transmission starts from the fourth information and ends with the Nth information used to carry the transmission block; the fourth time unit is before the fifth time unit.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The modulation method of the fifth information is the same as the modulation method of the second information; and / or, The encoding method of the fifth information is the same as the encoding method of the second information.

13. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to terminal equipment, including: receiving first information in a first time unit, where the first information is used to indicate the existence of second information, where the second information is used to carry a transport block; The second information is received in a second time unit according to the first information, and the first time unit is located before the second time unit.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The receiving second information in a second time unit according to the first information includes: A first sequence is obtained from the first information, and when the first sequence meets the requirement, the second information is received in the second time unit; wherein the requirement is that the first sequence includes: at least two consecutive 0s, and / or, at least two consecutive 1s.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that Before receiving the first information in the first time unit, the method further includes: Third information is received in a third time unit, where the third information is used to carry a transport block.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that When the first sequence meets the requirement, receiving the second information at the second time unit includes: When the first sequence meets the requirement, the second information is received in the second time unit according to the third information.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The bits included in the second information are the same as the bits included in the third information; wherein the bits included in the second information are determined based on the transport block carried by the second information, and the bits included in the third information are determined based on the transport block carried by the third information; The step of receiving the second information in the second time unit according to the third information includes: In the case where demodulation or decoding of the third information fails, the second information is received in the second time unit.

18. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 16, characterized in that: The bits included in the second information are different from the bits included in the third information, wherein the bits included in the second information are determined based on the transmission block carried by the second information, and the bits included in the third information are determined based on the transmission block carried by the third information.

19. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, characterized in that: The first information is used to indicate whether the bits included in the second information are the same as or different from those included in the third information; wherein the bits included in the second information are determined based on the transmission block carried by the second information, and the bits included in the third information are determined based on the transmission block carried by the third information.

20. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 19, characterized in that: Before receiving the third information in the third time unit, the method further includes: receiving fourth information in a fourth time unit, where the fourth information is used for downlink synchronization; The fifth information is received in the fifth time unit, and the fifth information is used to indicate N, where N is the number of transmission blocks or the number of repetitions in a downlink transmission, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; the downlink transmission starts from the fourth information and ends with the Nth information used to carry the transmission block; the fourth time unit is before the fifth time unit.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising means for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: including a processor and a memory; The memory is used to store computer programs or instructions; The processor is used to execute part or all of the computer programs or instructions in the memory, and when the part or all of the computer programs or instructions are executed, it is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or an instruction. When the computer program or the instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is implemented.

24. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises: computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is implemented.

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