Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application discloses a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: a first terminal device sends first indication information to a second terminal device, the first indication information being used for indicating first time-frequency resources, and the first time-frequency resources being used for the first terminal device to send first data; when the first data from the first terminal device is not received on at least one time-frequency resource among the first time-frequency resources, the second terminal device triggers a sidelink (SL) beam failure; and the second terminal device sends a first reference signal to the first terminal device, the first reference signal being used for beam failure recovery. According to the method, triggering an SL beam failure when data is not received on a time-frequency resource can avoid resource waste caused by sending periodic reference signals for SL beam failure determination.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application with application number 202311631689.3 filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on November 30, 2023, and priority to the Chinese patent application with the invention name “A Communication Method and Device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0003] With the development of wireless technology, device-to-device (D2D) communication technology has been proposed to alleviate network load. D2D communication technology enables user equipment (UE) within a certain range to communicate directly through side links (SLs), without the need for relaying through third-party equipment (such as base stations).

[0004] In UTRAN-to-UE (Uu) air interface transmission in the New Radio (NR) system, beam failure recovery in the FR2 band (i.e., 24250 MHz to 52600 MHz) includes processes such as beam failure detection (BFD) and candidate beam detection (CBD). The network equipment and terminal devices configure periodic reference signals as BFD reference signals for beam failure detection, which results in high resource overhead.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] An embodiment of the present application discloses a communication method and device, which can avoid the waste of resources caused by sending periodic reference signals for SL beam failure judgment by triggering SL beam failure when no data is received on time-frequency resources.

[0007] The present application is introduced below from different aspects. It should be understood that the implementation methods and beneficial effects of the following different aspects can be referenced to each other.

[0008] In the first aspect, the present application discloses a communication method, which can be executed by a second terminal device or a module (for example, a chip) in the second terminal device. The method may include: receiving first indication information from the first terminal device, the first indication information is used to indicate a first time-frequency resource, and the first time-frequency resource is used by the first terminal device to send first data; when the first data from the first terminal device is not received on at least one time-frequency resource in the first time-frequency resources, triggering a side link SL beam failure; sending a first reference signal; the first reference signal is used for beam failure recovery.

[0009] The embodiment of the present application utilizes the resource selection characteristics of SL and determines whether SL beam failure is triggered based on whether there is data transmission on the first time-frequency resource indicated by the first terminal device (i.e., the reserved resource). This method does not require the transmitting end (i.e., the first terminal device) to send a periodic reference signal for judgment, and can achieve fast beam failure recovery detection, avoid resource waste due to sending periodic reference signals, and reduce resource overhead.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, at least one time-frequency resource is at least one retransmission resource of the first data; or, at least one time-frequency resource is at least one periodic resource of the first data; or, at least one time-frequency resource includes at least one retransmission resource of the first data and at least one periodic resource of the first data.

[0011] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the resource type of at least one time-frequency resource, which can be a retransmission resource of the first data and / or a periodic resource of the first data. In different resource transmission scenarios, whether the SL beam failure is triggered can be determined by whether there is data transmission on the reserved resources, and the applicable scenarios are flexible.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, at least one time-frequency resource is N periodic resources of the first data, N is a positive integer, and when the first data from the first terminal device is not received on at least one time-frequency resource in the first time-frequency resources, the side link SL beam failure is triggered, including: when the data from the first terminal device is not received on the N periodic resources, the SL beam failure is triggered.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, N is an integer greater than 1, and two adjacent periodic resources in the time domain among the N periodic resources are separated by an equal period duration.

[0014] Among them, the periodic duration of two adjacent periodic resources in the time domain with equal intervals among the N periodic resources may refer to: N consecutive periodic resources, where N is an integer greater than 1. For example, when the second terminal device fails to receive data from the first terminal device on multiple consecutive periodic resources, the SL beam triggering failure may occur. This application does not limit the number of consecutive periodic resources.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present application, when the second terminal device does not receive data from the first terminal device on multiple periodic resources adjacent in the time domain, the SL beam failure is triggered. This can avoid the erroneous triggering of SL beam failure caused by individual data transmission failure due to other reasons, and can improve the accuracy of triggering SL beam failure.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, at least one time-frequency resource is at least one retransmission resource for first data; when the first data from the first terminal device is not received on at least one time-frequency resource in the first time-frequency resources, the side link SL beam failure is triggered, including: when the data from the first terminal device is not received on one or two retransmission resources in at least one retransmission resource, the SL beam failure is triggered.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, when no data is received from the first terminal device on at least one time-frequency resource in the first time-frequency resources, the side link SL beam failure is triggered, including: when no data is received from the first terminal device on at least one time-frequency resource, sending second indication information to the first terminal device, the second indication information is used to indicate that no data is received on at least one time-frequency resource; when no third indication information is received from the first terminal device within the first time period, triggering the SL beam failure, the third indication information is used to indicate that no beam failure occurs.

[0018] In an embodiment of the present application, when the second terminal device determines that the first time-frequency resource indicated by the first terminal device (i.e., the reserved resource) has no data transmission, it sends a beam failure confirmation message (i.e., the above-mentioned second indication message) to the first terminal device; when the third indication message is not received from the first terminal device within the first time period, the SL beam failure is triggered, and the third indication message is used to indicate that no beam failure has occurred. This method can prevent the second terminal device from erroneously triggering an SL beam failure due to the first terminal device not sending data due to other reasons.

[0019] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the second indication information is sent via a first physical layer sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) resource; the first PSFCH resource and a second PSFCH resource for a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) for feedback of the first data have the same time domain and a different frequency domain. In this embodiment of the present application, by setting the first PSFCH resource and the second PSFCH resource to have different frequency domains, the PSFCH resource used to transmit the second indication information and the PSFCH resource used for HARQ for feedback of the first data can be distinguished.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the second indication information may reuse the existing HARQ method and resources, that is, the second terminal device may feed back a response message (such as NACK) corresponding to the first data to the first terminal device when the first data is not received; at this time, the third indication information may be the retransmission data of the first data, and the second terminal device determines whether to trigger the SL beam failure based on whether the retransmission data is received within the first time period. For example, if the retransmission data is not received, the SL beam failure is triggered, and if the retransmission data is received, the SL beam failure is not triggered.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the start time and the end time of the first time period are determined based on the time of sending the second indication information and the time offset.

[0022] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the first reference signal is one of a sidelink synchronization signal block S-SSB, a sidelink channel state information reference signal SL CSI-RS, and a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0023] In the second aspect, the present application discloses a communication method, which can be executed by a first terminal device or a module (for example, a chip) in the first terminal device. The method may include: sending first indication information to a second terminal device, the first indication information is used to indicate a first time-frequency resource, and the first time-frequency resource is used to send first data; receiving second indication information from the second terminal device, the second indication information is used to indicate that data has not been received on at least one time-frequency resource in the first time-frequency resources; sending third indication information to the second terminal device within a first time period, the third indication information is used to indicate that no side link SL beam failure has occurred.

[0024] In an embodiment of the present application, when the second terminal device determines that the first time-frequency resource (i.e., the reserved resource) indicated by the first terminal device has not received data, it can send a beam failure confirmation message (i.e., the above-mentioned second indication message) to the first terminal device; after receiving the second indication message, if the first terminal device fails to send the first data due to other reasons, it can send a third indication message to the second terminal device within the first time period. This method can avoid the second terminal device erroneously triggering an SL beam failure when the first terminal device fails to send data due to other reasons. This method can improve the accuracy of triggering SL beam failure.

[0025] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a second terminal device or a chip / circuit therein. The communication device is configured to perform the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The communication device includes a unit configured to perform the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0026] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a first terminal device or a chip / circuit therein. The communication device is configured to perform the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. The communication device includes a unit configured to perform the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0027] In the third or fourth aspect, the communication device may include a transceiver unit and a processing unit. For a detailed description of the transceiver unit and the processing unit, reference may be made to the device embodiments shown below. The beneficial effects of the third to fourth aspects may be referenced to the relevant descriptions of the first and second aspects, and are not further elaborated here.

[0028] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may include a processor and an interface circuit, and the processor is connected to the interface circuit. Wherein, the interface circuit is used to interact (or transmit and receive or input and output) information or data, and the processor is used to run program instructions so that the communication device performs the method described in any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, or any aspect thereof. Wherein, the interface circuit may be a communication interface, or a transceiver. The transceiver may be a radio frequency module in a communication device, or a combination of a radio frequency module and an antenna, or an input and output interface of a chip or circuit.

[0029] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a readable storage medium having program instructions stored thereon, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, or any of the aspects above.

[0030] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a program product comprising program instructions, which, when executed, enables the method described in the first aspect, the second aspect, or any possible implementation of any of the aspects to be executed.

[0031] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a device, which can be implemented in the form of a chip or in the form of a device, and the device includes a processor. The processor is used to read and execute a program stored in a memory to execute the information interaction method provided by one or more of the above-mentioned first aspect, or the above-mentioned second aspect, or one or more of any possible implementation methods of any aspect. Optionally, the device also includes a memory, which is connected to the processor via a circuit. Further optionally, the device also includes a communication interface, and the processor is connected to the communication interface. The communication interface is used to receive information to be processed, and the processor obtains the information from the communication interface, processes the information, and outputs the processing results through the communication interface. The communication interface can be an input and output interface.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the processor and memory may be physically independent units, or the memory may be integrated with the processor.

[0033] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication system comprising a second terminal device and a first terminal device; the second terminal device is used to execute the method described in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, and the first terminal device is used to execute the method described in the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0034] The technical effects achieved in the above-mentioned aspects can be referred to each other or to the beneficial effects in the method embodiments shown below, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] 1A to 1C are schematic diagrams of related technologies provided by embodiments of the present application;

[0036] 2A to 2C are schematic diagrams of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] FIG4 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG5A is a schematic diagram of a method in which UE1 indicates retransmission resources and periodic resources to UE2 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG5B is a schematic diagram of a beam failure recovery process provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG6 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG7A is a schematic diagram of a beam transmission failure confirmation message provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG7B is a schematic diagram of another beam failure recovery process provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG9 is another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG10 is another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0048] In the description of this application, words such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish different objects and do not limit the quantity or execution order. Moreover, words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units that are not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to the process, method, product, or device.

[0049] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " means "or", for example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this article is merely a description of 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. In addition, "at least one (item)", "the following one (item) or more (items)" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items (items). For example, at least one item (item) of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a, b, and c. Among them, a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0050] In the description of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary," "for example," or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary," "for example," or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete way.

[0051] It should be understood that in the description of this application, the terms "when," "if," and "if" all refer to the device performing a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances. They do not limit the time, do not require the device to perform a judgment action during implementation, and do not imply any other limitations. Specifically, "the device performing a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances" includes: the device performing the corresponding action under certain objective circumstances can perform the corresponding action only if the objective circumstances are met; or the device performing the corresponding action can perform the corresponding action only if the objective circumstances and other circumstances are met.

[0052] The term "simultaneously" in this application may be understood as at the same time point, within a period of time, or within the same cycle, and may be understood in conjunction with the context.

[0053] Elements used in the singular herein are intended to mean "one or more" rather than "one and only one" unless specifically stated otherwise.

[0054] Additionally, the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein.

[0055] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, "A corresponds to B," "A corresponds to B," "A corresponds to B," or similar expressions indicate that B is associated with A and B can be determined based on A. Determining B based on A does not mean determining B based solely on A; B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0056] In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, a brief introduction to the relevant technologies and terms of the present application is first given.

[0057] 1. Cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X)

[0058] C-V2X is a V2X communication technology developed based on cellular systems. It utilizes and enhances current cellular network functions and elements to achieve low-latency and high-reliability communication between various nodes in the vehicle network. For example, C-V2X includes vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, and vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication. As cellular systems evolve from the fourth generation (4G) long-term evolution (LTE) to the fifth generation (5G), C-V2X evolves from LTE-V2X to NR-V2X (new radio V2X, NR-V2X).

[0059] 5G NR V2X can support lower transmission latency, more reliable communication transmission, higher throughput, and a better user experience, meeting the needs of a wider range of application scenarios. Furthermore, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology supported by V2X can be extended to D2D communication in any system.

[0060] This application is applicable to D2D communications in any system.

[0061] 2. NRSL system

[0062] Under network coverage, the terminal device can obtain SL resource pool configuration information and / or SL bandwidth part (bandwidth part, BWP) configuration information by receiving the system information block (SIB) of the network device, cell-level (cell-specific) radio resource control (RRC) signaling or terminal device user-level (UE-specific) RRC signaling. The terminal device can also use pre-configured SL resource pool configuration information or SL BWP configuration information. The SL BWP configuration information may include SL resource pool information, which is used to configure the number of resource pools included in the BWP. The SL BWP configuration information may include SL bandwidth information, which is used to indicate the bandwidth size for SL communication, for example, indicating that the SL bandwidth is 20 megahertz (MHz).

[0063] (1) Sidelink control information (SCI)

[0064] The SCI of the NR SL system is divided into first-level SCI and second-level SCI. The physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) carries the first-level SCI, which is used to schedule the second-level SCI and the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH). Since SL is a distributed system, all UEs must correctly decode the first-level SCI before decoding the second-level SCI and PSSCH.

[0065] Figure 1A illustrates a schematic diagram of the PSCCH. As shown in Figure 1A, the horizontal axis represents time (t) and the vertical axis represents frequency (f). The gray rectangular area represents the PSCCH, and the diagonal rectangular area represents the automatic gain control (AGC). It can be seen that the PSCCH can exist in each subchannel in each time slot. That is, the time domain starting position of a PSCCH is the second symbol used for SL transmission in each time slot, and the length can be 2 or 3 symbols (determined by the resource pool configuration information). The frequency domain position is the index value of the smallest physical resource block (PRB) of each subchannel, and the length is at least 10 PRBs (determined by the resource pool configuration information) but does not exceed the size of the subchannel.

[0066] The Frequency resource assignment field and the Time resource assignment field in the first-stage SCI are used to indicate the frequency domain resources and time domain resources for transmitting the PSSCH, respectively. The Resource reservation period field is used to indicate the periodic reservation of resources for transmitting the PSSCH. The value of the Resource reservation period field is configured, preconfigured, or predefined by the network device. For example, the first RRC signaling can be indicated by sl-ResourceReservePeriod1. The format of the second-stage SCI is indicated by the 2nd-stage SCI format field in the first-stage SCI.

[0067] (2) Resource selection process

[0068] In Rel-16 V2X SL, the user-selected resource mode (mode 2) does not rely on the base station for the transmission resources of the transmitter. The transmitter UE1 selects the transmission resources within the resource selection window for communication based on the results of its own perception within the window.

[0069] Assume that the transmitting end UE1 triggers resource selection in time slot n. The specific resource selection process is shown in Figure 1B:

[0070] Step 1: Determine the time slot and L subCH The candidate resource R is a unit of continuous sub-channels. x,y , resource selection window [n+T1,n+T2], where Determined from Table 1, μ SL For the configured subcarrier spacing, the choice of T1 is implementation-based. If T 2min (high-level configuration) is less than the remaining packet delay budget (PDB), then T 2min ≤T2≤PDB, T2 is chosen based on the implementation; otherwise T2 is equal to the remaining PDB.

[0071] Step 2: Determine the perception window T0 is configured by high-level parameters. Determined from Table 2.

[0072] Step 3: Determine the reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold Th (p i ,p j ), the RSRP threshold value is related to the prioTX of the data to be sent and the priority prioRX indicated by the received SCI, Th(p i ,p j ) is specifically the prioRX+(prioTX-1)*8th threshold value in the RSRP threshold value set configured for the resource pool.

[0073] Step 4: Initialize the available resource set SA to include all time-frequency resources in the resource selection window.

[0074] Step 5: Exclude the following time-frequency resources from SA: all periodic resource reserved time slots configured in the resource pool corresponding to the unperceived time slots (transmitted time slots) in the perception window.

[0075] Step 5a: If the time-frequency resources excluded by SA are less than X% of the total resources in the resource selection window, re-execute the initialization of step 4.

[0076] Step 6: Continue to exclude the following time-frequency resources from SA: the decoding of the received first-level SCI is successful, and the RSRP measurement result of the PSSCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS) of the time-frequency resources reserved by the received first-level SCI is higher than the RSRP threshold determined in step 3, and the time-frequency resources reserved by the received first-level SCI are within the resource selection window, including the retransmission resources and periodically reserved resources indicated by the first-level SCI.

[0077] Step 7: If the remaining resources in the SA are less than X% of the total resources in the resource selection window, and the value of X% is configured by the resource pool and is related to prioTX, then the RSRP threshold determined in step 3 is increased (by 3 each time) until the remaining resources in the SA are not less than X% of the total resources in the resource selection window and step 4 is continued.

[0078] S A Report to the upper layer (medium access control (MAC) layer).

[0079] Table 1

[0080] Table 2

[0081] (3) Physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH)

[0082] NR SL performs hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ-ACK feedback through PSFCH. For a PSSCH transmission, if the transmitting user carries HARQ-ACK feedback enable information in the control information, the receiving user needs to feedback the ACK / NACK information of the response based on the PSSCH decoding result, where the ACK / NACK information is transmitted through the PSFCH channel. The PSFCH channel resource is a periodic resource configured in the resource pool, and its periodic configuration parameters are It can be 0, 1, 2, or 4. Indicates that there is no PSFCH resource configuration in the resource pool, and PSFCH transmission is not enabled in the resource, that is, physical layer HARQ feedback is not supported; Indicates that within a time window There is one PSFCH feedback slot for each SL slot.

[0083] FIG1C is a schematic diagram of a PSFCH provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG1C , in the time slot where the physical resource of the PSFCH is located, the PSFCH occupies the last two orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols before the guard interval symbol (GAP), i.e., the diagonal rectangles marked 11 and 12 in FIG1C . FIG1C also exemplarily shows the time-frequency position of the PSFCH in the SL transmission when the PSFCH period is 1, 2, and 4, respectively.

[0084] The PSFCH resource determination process is as follows: the resource pool is configured with a bit map of PSFCH frequency domain resources to indicate whether a specific PRB on the frequency domain resources where the resource pool is located can be used as a PSFCH resource, that is, the length of the bit information contained in the bit map is equal to the number of PRBs in the resource pool. 1 in the bit map indicates that the corresponding PRB can be used for PSFCH transmission, and 0 in the bit map indicates that the corresponding PRB resource cannot be used for PSFCH transmission.

[0085] 3. Beam management technology

[0086] Beam management is an important technology proposed by 5G NR for FR2. It refers to the process by which the base station (BS) and UE obtain and maintain the set of beams used for transmission and reception. It is the reference workflow for beamforming in MIMO systems. The frequency range definitions for FR1 and FR2 are shown in Table 3:

[0087] Table 3: Definition of frequency range

[0088] Beam management can be divided into three states according to the working status. The operations of each state are summarized as follows:

[0089] P-1: The UE measures the BS transmit beam set and selects the BS transmit beam and the UE receive beam.

[0090] P-2: Based on P-1, the UE measures a smaller set of BS transmit beams to improve the BS transmit beams.

[0091] P-3: The UE uses different receive beams to measure the same BS transmit beam and improve its own receive beam.

[0092] Based on the above, downlink beam management can be carried out, and its basic process is as follows: the BS configures up to 64 beam directions, each beam direction corresponds to a synchronization signal block (SSB) and the time-frequency resources that the UE should use when reporting the beam. The BS sends SSBs in each direction in a scanning manner, and the UE performs beam measurement to obtain the RSRP of the SSB. After that, the UE selects an SSB set by comparing the RSRP, and reports the SSB sequence number and corresponding RSRP in the set to the base station on the given time-frequency resources. The base station uses the reported information to perform beam judgment. In order to realize the transmission beam training in the P-2 working state, the BS will be K S K transmit beams are allocated S Channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resources are generated, and then these CSI-RS resources are sent out through periodic beam scanning. Among these CSI-RS resources, the maximum number of CSI-RS ports is 2, and other uncertain resource mapping information needs to be configured by the BS and indicated to the UE through RRC signaling. At the same time, the BS only sends CSI-RS resources in a single beam direction at a certain moment. The UE performs beam measurement to obtain the CSI-RS reference signal received power RSRP and obtains the CSI-RS reference signal resource indicator (CSI-RS Resource Indicator, CRI). After measuring the RSRP, the UE selects one or several RSRP values ​​and the corresponding CRI by comparison and reports them to the BS on a given time-frequency resource. The BS uses the reported information to determine the transmit beam to be used.

[0093] Uplink beam management uses a similar process, but uses a different reference signal.

[0094] 4. FR2 beam failure recovery in NRUu

[0095] In the NRUu, FR2 beam failure recovery includes several processes: beam failure detection, candidate beam identification, beam failure recovery request (BFRQ), and beam failure recovery response (BFRR). The details are as follows:

[0096] (1) Beam failure detection. Currently, the criteria for beam failure detection are: all serving beams are considered failed if they meet the following criteria for N consecutive times. N is indicated by the beamFailureInstanceMaxCount field in the RRC signaling. The criterion for a serving beam to be considered failed is: the hypothetical physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) block error rate (BLER) corresponding to the RSRP of the reference signal used to detect beam failure in the serving beam is higher than a given threshold, which uses the default BLER threshold used for declaring out-of-sync in radio link monitoring (RLM).

[0097] (2) Candidate beam identification. The gNB sends corresponding reference signals in a series of candidate beams to help the UE identify the transmit and receive beam pairs that can restore the connection. The aforementioned reference signals can be CSI-RS or SSB, specifically indicated by the candidateBeamRSList field in the RRC signaling. When the UE finds that the RSRP of the reference signal in a candidate beam is higher than the configured threshold, the corresponding candidate beam is considered available. The threshold is explicitly or implicitly indicated by the rsrp-ThresholdSSB field in the RRC signaling.

[0098] (3) Beam Failure Recovery Request. The UE primarily sends a BFRQ on the physical random access channel (PRACH). There are also proposals to send the BFRQ in a scanning manner on the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). The BFRQ contains the UE's identification information. If the UE identifies a new gNB candidate transmit beam, the BFRQ also contains the candidate beam information. If the UE does not identify a new gNB candidate transmit beam, the BFRQ indicates that the candidate beam does not exist.

[0099] (4) Beam Failure Recovery Response. The UE monitors the gNB's response to BFRR. Within a time window, the UE monitors the gNB's response to BFRR. If a response is received, the BFR is successful. If no response is received, the UE sends a BFRQ again. If no response is received after a certain number of retransmissions, the UE notifies higher-level entities that it is in a link failure state. Subsequently, higher-level link recovery mechanisms are used.

[0100] Currently, in NRUu, beam failure recovery for the FR2 frequency band includes processes such as BFD and CBD. Among them, network equipment and terminal equipment need to configure periodic reference signals as BFD reference signals for beam failure detection, which will cause large resource overhead. In addition, there is no beam failure recovery technology in the SL system. If the beam failure recovery of the SL system adopts the beam failure recovery technology for FR2 in NRUu, and configures periodic reference signals between UEs as BFD reference signals, then, since there is no unified base station scheduling in the SL system, configuring periodic BFD reference signals between UEs in the SL system will cause greater resource overhead than the base station sending periodic BFD reference signals to multiple UEs in the NR system.

[0101] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can avoid the waste of resources caused by sending periodic reference signals for SL beam failure judgment by triggering SL beam failure when no data is received on the time-frequency resources.

[0102] Based on the above, in order to better understand the communication method and related devices proposed in this application, the network architecture applied in the embodiment of this application is described below.

[0103] Please refer to Figures 2A to 2C, which are schematic diagrams of the network architecture of the communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0104] As shown in Figures 2A to 2C, the communication system may include at least: a first terminal device 201 and a second terminal device 202. Optionally, the communication system may also include a network device 203. Figures 2A to 2C exemplarily illustrate that the first terminal device 201 and the second terminal device 202 are both vehicles, and the first terminal device 201 and the second terminal device 202 communicate via near-field communication (proximity communication, PC5).

[0105] This application is applicable to communication scenarios with and without network coverage. As shown in Figure 2A, the first terminal device 201 and the second terminal device 202 can both be located within the coverage of the network device 203; or, as shown in Figure 2B, one of the first terminal device 201 and the second terminal device 202 can be located within the coverage of the network device 203, and the other can be located outside the coverage of the network device 203. Figure 2B exemplifies that the first terminal device 201 is located within the coverage of the network device 203 and the second terminal device 202 is located outside the coverage of the network device 203; or, as shown in Figure 2C, the first terminal device 201 and the second terminal device 202 can both be located outside the coverage of the network device 203.

[0106] The communication system of the present application is a system for direct communication between user terminals such as V2X and D2D. Exemplarily, both the first terminal device 201 and the second terminal device 202 have V2X communication capabilities. Using V2X technology based on a cellular network, the first terminal device 201 and the second terminal device 202 can communicate directly through SL. For example, using V2X technology based on a cellular network, the first terminal device 201 and the second terminal device 202 can directly interact with vehicle data through SL to achieve mutual perception between devices (such as vehicles).

[0107] In the present application, the SL communication between the first terminal device 201 and the second terminal device 202 may be a mode in which the user independently selects resources. The present application does not limit the mode in which the user independently selects resources.

[0108] The first terminal device 201 and the second terminal device 202 are entities on the user side for receiving or transmitting signals.

[0109] In the embodiment of the present application, the first terminal device 201 and the second terminal device 202 may respectively refer to a vehicle-mounted communication module or communication terminal or other embedded communication module, a handheld communication terminal (such as a mobile phone, tablet computer, etc.), an RSU, etc. In some embodiments, the device forms of the first terminal device 201 and the second terminal device 202 may be the same, such as the first terminal device 201 and the second terminal device 202 are both vehicle-mounted communication terminals. In other embodiments, the device forms of the first terminal device 201 and the second terminal device 202 may also be different, such as the first terminal device 201 is a vehicle-mounted communication terminal and the second terminal device 202 is an RSU. That is to say, the embodiment of the present application can be applied to scenarios such as a vehicle-mounted communication module (communication terminal) and a vehicle-mounted communication module (communication terminal), a vehicle-mounted communication module (communication terminal) and a handheld communication terminal, a vehicle-mounted communication module (communication terminal) and an RSU, and a handheld communication terminal and an RSU. As an example, Figures 2A to 2C are shown as an example in which the first terminal device 201 and the second terminal device 202 are both vehicle-mounted communication modules (or vehicle-mounted communication terminals, which are arranged in the vehicle shown in Figures 2A to 2C).

[0110] The network device 203 may be an entity for transmitting or receiving signals, such as a radio access network (RAN) node that connects a terminal (the first terminal device 201 and / or the second terminal device 202) to a wireless network. Currently, some examples of RAN nodes include: gNB, transmission reception point (TRP), evolved Node B (eNB) (also known as a macro base station), micro base station, radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), base band unit (BBU), base band pool BBU, or wireless fidelity (Wifi) access point (AP), etc. In a network structure, the network device 203 may include a centralized unit (CU) node, a distributed unit (DU) node, or a RAN device including a CU node and a DU node. Specifically, in the O-RAN system, CU may also be referred to as O-CU, and DU may also be referred to as O-DU. In some embodiments, in V2X technology, the above-mentioned network device 203 may also be a terminal, which is a terminal in the Internet of Vehicles that can schedule resources for other terminals (such as the above-mentioned first terminal device 201), such as a head terminal, or a group head terminal. Of course, the terminal may also have the capability of V2X communication, that is, it may directly interact with other terminals (such as the above-mentioned first terminal device 201 and / or the second terminal device 202) through SL to perform data (such as vehicle data).

[0111] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned cellular network can be a cloud radio access network (CRAN), a heterogeneous network (HetNet), a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), 4G LTE, or 5G NR, or other mobile communication systems, such as the next generation mobile communication system, without limitation. In addition, the network device 203 and the terminal, such as the first terminal device 201, interact through the Uu (UTRAN-to-UE) air interface.

[0112] It should be noted that the present application can be applied to any scenario of direct communication between terminals. For example, the present application can also be applied to the communication between the remote terminal (remote UE) and the relay terminal (relay UE) in the terminal-to-network relay (UE-to-network relay) scenario, and can also be applied to the communication between the source terminal (source UE) and the relay terminal (relay UE) in the terminal-to-terminal relay (UE-to-UE relay) scenario. It can also be applied to the communication between the relay terminal (relay UE) and the target terminal (target UE), and can also be applied to cooperation scenarios, etc. The embodiment of the present application is described using the scenario of application to sidelink communication as an example, and does not limit the application scenario.

[0113] In combination with the above-mentioned network architecture, a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is described below.

[0114] Please refer to Figure 3, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The functions performed by the first terminal device in this embodiment can also be performed by a module (e.g., a chip) in the first terminal device, and the functions performed by the second terminal device in this application can also be performed by a module (e.g., a chip) in the second terminal device.

[0115] As shown in FIG3 , the communication method may include the following steps:

[0116] S301: The first terminal device sends first indication information to the second terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first time-frequency resource, and the first time-frequency resource is used by the first terminal device to send first data.

[0117] Correspondingly, the second terminal device receives the first indication information from the first terminal device.

[0118] The first time-frequency resource is at least one retransmission resource of the first data; or, the first time-frequency resource is at least one periodic resource of the first data; or, the first time-frequency resource includes at least one retransmission resource of the first data and at least one periodic resource of the first data.

[0119] For example, when the first time-frequency resource is at least one retransmission resource for the first data, the first data is the retransmission data, and the data corresponding to each retransmission resource is the same, namely, the first data. For another example, when the first time-frequency resource is at least one periodic resource for the first data, the first data is the sum of the periodic data corresponding to each periodic resource, wherein the periodic data corresponding to each periodic resource is different. For another example, when the first time-frequency resource includes at least one retransmission resource for the first data and at least one periodic resource for the first data, the first data includes the retransmission data and the periodic data corresponding to each periodic resource, and the data corresponding to each retransmission resource is the same.

[0120] Exemplarily, the first indication information may be SCI or Media Access Control Element MAC CE.

[0121] S302: When the second terminal device fails to receive the first data from the first terminal device on at least one of the first time-frequency resources, triggering the sidelink SL beam fails.

[0122] Among them, at least one time-frequency resource may be the first time-frequency resource, that is, the first time-frequency resource may be one or more time-frequency resources, and the failure to receive the first data from the first terminal device on at least one of the first time-frequency resources means that the first data from the first terminal device is not received on all time-frequency resources in the first time-frequency resources. Alternatively, at least one time-frequency resource may be part of the first time-frequency resources, that is, the first time-frequency resources include multiple time-frequency resources, and the failure to receive the first data from the first terminal device on at least one of the first time-frequency resources means that the data from the first terminal device is not received on part of the time-frequency resources in the first time-frequency resources.

[0123] Here, "not received" means that the second terminal device receives or decodes the first-level SCI and the second-level SCI, but does not receive or decode the corresponding data. Alternatively, "not received" means that the second terminal device receives or decodes the first-level SCI, but does not receive or decode the second-level SCI and the corresponding data. Alternatively, "not received" means that the second terminal device does not receive or decode the first-level SCI, the second-level SCI, and the corresponding data.

[0124] In some embodiments, when the second terminal device fails to receive the first data from the first terminal device on at least one of the first time-frequency resources, triggering the SL beam fails.

[0125] Among them, at least one time-frequency resource can be at least one retransmission resource of the first data; or, at least one time-frequency resource can be at least one periodic resource of the first data; or, at least one time-frequency resource includes at least one retransmission resource of the first data and at least one periodic resource of the first data.

[0126] Exemplarily, at least one time-frequency resource is N periodic resources of the first data, where N is a positive integer; in this case, when the second terminal device does not receive data from the first terminal device on the N periodic resources, triggering the SL beam fails. For example, the above-mentioned N can be an integer greater than 1, and the intervals between two adjacent periodic resources in the time domain are equal in period length among the N periodic resources. That is to say, when the second terminal device does not receive periodic data from the first terminal device on multiple periodic resources that are adjacent in the time domain, triggering the SL beam fails.

[0127] As another example, at least one time-frequency resource may be at least one retransmission resource of the first data; in this case, the second terminal device may trigger SL beam failure when it fails to receive data from the first terminal device on one or two of the at least one retransmission resources.

[0128] As another example, at least one time-frequency resource may include at least one periodic resource for first data and at least one retransmission resource for first data; in this case, the second terminal device may trigger SL beam failure when no data from the first terminal device is received on at least one resource in at least one periodic resource for first data or at least one retransmission resource for first data, or the second terminal device may sort multiple time-frequency resources (including at least one periodic resource and at least one retransmission resource) according to time, and trigger beam failure when no data is received on multiple consecutive time-frequency resources, wherein the consecutive number of time-frequency resources is not limited.

[0129] In other embodiments, when the second terminal device fails to receive data from the first terminal device on at least one of the first time-frequency resources, it first sends a second indication message to the first terminal device, where the second indication message is used to indicate that data has not been received on at least one time-frequency resource; when the third indication message is not received from the first terminal device within the first time period, the SL beam failure is triggered again, where the third indication message is used to indicate that no beam failure has occurred.

[0130] Optionally, the second indication information can be used to indicate beam failure confirmation; or, the second indication information is used to request beam status feedback.

[0131] Optionally, the third indication information is used to indicate that the beam is normal; or, the third indication information is used to indicate that the first data has not been sent yet; or, the third indication information is used to indicate the reason why the first data has not been sent; or, the third indication information is the first data or other data scheduled for transmission between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0132] Optionally, the second indication information is sent through the first physical layer sidelink feedback channel PSFCH resource; the first PSFCH resource and the second PSFCH resource of the hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ used to feedback the first data have the same time domain and different frequency domain.

[0133] Optionally, the start time and the end time of the first time period are determined based on the time and time offset of sending the second indication information. Alternatively, the first time period may be predefined, or configured, or configurable. It should be understood that "predefined" can be understood as standard definition, which does not require other equipment configuration (and the network equipment or other terminal equipment cannot be changed), and is information recorded / written in advance in the hardware and / or software of the terminal equipment (such as the first terminal equipment and the second terminal equipment); "configuration" is divided into network equipment configuration and terminal equipment configuration. If it is a network equipment configuration, it can be changed through SIB or RRC signaling; if it is a terminal equipment configuration, it can be changed according to PC5-RRC signaling; "pre-configuration" can be understood as information recorded / written in advance in the hardware and / or software of the terminal equipment itself, which is determined by the equipment manufacturer and can be changed through software or hardware.

[0134] Exemplarily, the first time period can be within M time slots or M time windows after the second indication information is sent, where M is a positive integer. The number of time slots and the time window position can be predefined, configured, or preconfigured. It should be understood that "predefined" can be understood as standard definition, which does not require other equipment configuration (and the network equipment or other terminal equipment cannot be changed), and is information recorded / written in advance in the hardware and / or software of the terminal equipment (such as the first terminal equipment and the second terminal equipment); "configuration" is divided into network equipment configuration and terminal equipment configuration. If it is a network equipment configuration, it can be changed through SIB or RRC signaling; if it is a terminal equipment configuration, it can be changed according to PC5-RRC signaling; "preconfiguration" can be understood as information recorded / written in advance in the hardware and / or software of the terminal equipment itself, which is determined by the equipment manufacturer and can be changed through software or hardware.

[0135] Among them, at least one time-frequency resource can be at least one retransmission resource of the first data; or, at least one time-frequency resource can be at least one periodic resource of the first data; or, at least one time-frequency resource includes at least one retransmission resource of the first data and at least one periodic resource of the first data.

[0136] Exemplarily, at least one time-frequency resource is N periodic resources of the first data, where N is a positive integer; at this time, when the second terminal device does not receive data from the first terminal device on the N periodic resources, it first sends a second indication message to the first terminal device; when the third indication message from the first terminal device is not received within the first time period, the SL beam is triggered again and fails. For example, the above-mentioned N can be an integer greater than 1, and the intervals between two adjacent periodic resources in the time domain in the N periodic resources are equal in period duration, that is, when the second terminal device does not receive periodic data from the first terminal device on multiple periodic resources that are adjacent in the time domain, it sends a second indication message to the first terminal device.

[0137] As another example, at least one time-frequency resource can be at least one retransmission resource of the first data; in this case, when the second terminal device does not receive data from the first terminal device on one or two retransmission resources of the at least one retransmission resource, it can first send a second indication message to the first terminal device; and when the third indication message from the first terminal device is not received within the first time period, the SL beam failure is triggered again.

[0138] As another example, at least one time-frequency resource may include at least one periodic resource of the first data and at least one retransmission resource of the first data; in this case, the second terminal device may first send a second indication message to the first terminal device when no data from the first terminal device is received on at least one resource in at least one periodic resource of the first data or at least one retransmission resource of the first data; and trigger the SL beam failure when no third indication message is received from the first terminal device within the first time period.

[0139] S303: The second terminal device sends a first reference signal to the first terminal device; the first reference signal is used for beam failure recovery.

[0140] Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the first reference signal from the second terminal device. It should be understood that step S303 is an optional step, which is indicated by a dotted line in FIG3 .

[0141] In some embodiments, the second terminal device can send a first reference signal on multiple different reference signal resources, and the multiple reference signal resources correspond to different beams respectively; then, the first terminal device can perform beam measurement on the received first reference signal, and determine the first reference signal resource from the multiple reference signal resources, and the first reference signal resource corresponds to the first beam; the first terminal device sends indication information of the first reference signal resource to the second terminal device, that is, feeds back the first beam to the second terminal device; the first terminal device can use the first beam to transmit data with the second terminal device, such as sending the first data.

[0142] Optionally, the first reference signal is one of a sidelink synchronization signal block S-SSB, a sidelink channel state information reference signal SL CSI-RS and a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0143] It should be understood that the above-mentioned first reference signal can also be called a CBD reference signal.

[0144] The method embodiment shown in Figure 3 above includes many possible implementation schemes. Some of the implementation schemes are illustrated below in combination with Figures 4 to 7B. It should be noted that the relevant concepts, operations or logical relationships not explained in Figures 4 to 7B can refer to the corresponding descriptions in the embodiment shown in Figure 3.

[0145] FIG4 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0146] In the embodiment of the present application, the communication method provided by the present application is described in detail using the first terminal device being UE1 and the second terminal device being UE2 as an example. The functions performed by UE1 in the embodiment of the present application may also be performed by a module (e.g., a chip) in UE1, and the functions performed by UE2 in the present application may also be performed by a module (e.g., a chip) in UE2.

[0147] As shown in FIG4 , the communication method may include some or all of the following steps:

[0148] S401: UE1 sends an SCI to UE2, where the SCI is used to indicate a first time-frequency resource, wherein the first time-frequency resource includes a retransmission resource of first data and / or a periodic resource of first data.

[0149] FIG5A is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present application, wherein UE1 indicates retransmission resources and periodic resources to UE2. As shown in FIG5A , according to the resource selection process (2) in the related art, UE1 can select the retransmission resources (R1 and R2) and periodic resources (P1 and P2) in FIG5A and indicate these resources in the SCI sent in time slot t1.

[0150] Exemplarily, the retransmission resource may be indicated by the Frequency resource assignment field and the Time resource assignment field in the SCI, and the periodic resource may be indicated by the Resource reservation period field in the SCI.

[0151] It should be understood that step S401 can also be referred to as UE1 instructing / reserving retransmission resources and / or periodic resources for the first data; the first time-frequency resources can also be referred to as reserved resources or reserved resources. For example, FIG5A exemplarily shows that the first time-frequency resources include two retransmission resources (R1 and R2, respectively) and two periodic resources (P1 and P2, respectively). R1, R2, P1, and P2 can be referred to as four reserved resources.

[0152] S402: When UE2 fails to receive data on part or all of the first time-frequency resources, triggering the SL beam fails.

[0153] It should be understood that UE2 determines UE1's retransmission resources and / or periodic resources based on the information indicated / reserved by UE1 in the SCI, and UE2 expects to receive data transmitted by UE1 on the corresponding time-frequency resources. For example, if UE2 does not receive one or more reserved resources in Figure 5A on the corresponding time-frequency resources, the SL beam failure is triggered. For example:

[0154] In one implementation, UE1 only indicates / reserves retransmission resources. If UE2 does not receive one or more of R1, R2, and subsequent retransmission resources (in the prior art, a UE can only indicate two retransmission resources in one transmission, but can continue to indicate new retransmission resources on a retransmission resource, such as R2), SL beam failure is triggered. It should be noted that if UE2 has already fed back a response ACK for the data, that is, UE1 does not need to retransmit, SL beam failure is not triggered.

[0155] In another implementation, UE1 only indicates / reserves periodic resources: if UE2 does not receive P1 and P2 and one or more of the subsequent resources, the triggering of the SL beam fails, where the number of unreceived resources is determined by a threshold.

[0156] In another implementation, if UE1 indicates / reserves retransmission resources and periodic resources, that is, the first time-frequency resources include retransmission resources and periodic resources, for example, the first time-frequency resources may include R1, P1, R2, P2 as shown in Figure 5A: then, if UE2 does not receive data of one or more indicated / reserved resources, SL beam failure is triggered, where the number of unreceived resources is determined by a threshold. For example, UE2 may trigger SL beam failure when it does not receive N consecutive reserved resources (such as R1, P1, R2, P2) in chronological order, where N is an integer greater than 1.

[0157] S403: UE2 sends a CBD reference signal to UE1.

[0158] In one implementation, after UE2 triggers a beam failure, UE2 can use the S-SSB or SL CSI-RS as a CBD reference signal (i.e., CBD RS) to send a CBD reference signal. For example, when UE2 sends an S-SSB, it carries both the SRC ID and the DST ID. UE1 determines that it is the CBD RS sent by UE2 based on the SRC ID and DST ID. For another example, UE2 can indicate in the SCI / MAC CE that the RS is used for beam failure recovery.

[0159] S404: UE1 feeds back the first beam to UE2 based on the CBD reference signal.

[0160] In one implementation, the CBD reference signal is sent through different beams, that is, each CBD reference signal corresponds to a beam, where the different beams include a first beam; UE1 can measure the multiple CBD reference signals received, and select the beam corresponding to the CBD reference signal with a measured RSRP higher than a threshold and / or the largest RSRP as the first beam; after determining the first beam, UE1 can feedback the first beam to UE2 on the corresponding preset resources.

[0161] The first beam may also be called the best beam.

[0162] S405: UE1 sends first data to UE2 using the first beam.

[0163] For ease of understanding, the specific process of Figure 4 is illustrated below with Figure 5B. Figure 5B is a schematic diagram of a beam failure recovery process provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5B, UE2 triggers an SL beam failure based on the information indicated / reserved by UE1 and triggers the transmission of a CBD reference signal. UE1 measures the reference signal to determine the first beam and provides feedback. Finally, UE1 uses the first beam for data transmission.

[0164] The embodiment of the present application utilizes the resource selection characteristics of SL and determines whether SL beam failure occurs based on whether the first time-frequency resource (i.e., the reserved resource) is transmitted. This method does not require the transmitting end to send a periodic reference signal for judgment, and can achieve fast beam failure recovery detection, which can avoid resource waste caused by sending periodic reference signals.

[0165] FIG6 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0166] In the embodiment of the present application, the communication method provided by the present application is described in detail using the first terminal device being UE1 and the second terminal device being UE2 as an example. The functions performed by UE1 in the embodiment of the present application may also be performed by a module (e.g., a chip) in UE1, and the functions performed by UE2 in the present application may also be performed by a module (e.g., a chip) in UE2.

[0167] In an embodiment of the present application, after the receiving end (UE2) fails to receive the retransmission / periodic data indicated / reserved by the sending end (i.e., UE1), a confirmation message is sent again to avoid the sending end failing to send on the reserved resources due to other reasons (for example, receiving data with a higher priority), resulting in the receiving end erroneously triggering the SL beam and failing to do so.

[0168] As shown in FIG6 , the communication method may include some or all of the following steps:

[0169] S601: UE1 sends an SCI to UE2, where the SCI is used to indicate a first time-frequency resource, wherein the first time-frequency resource includes a retransmission resource of first data and / or a periodic resource of first data.

[0170] For example, the specific implementation of step S601 may refer to the above-mentioned step S401, which will not be described in detail here.

[0171] S602: When UE2 fails to receive data on part or all of the first time-frequency resources, it sends beam failure confirmation information to UE1.

[0172] It should be understood that UE2 determines the retransmission resources and / or periodic resources of UE1 based on the information indicated / reserved by UE1 in the SCI, and UE2 expects to receive the data transmitted by UE1 on the corresponding time-frequency resources (i.e., the first time-frequency resources). For example, if UE2 does not receive one or more reserved resources in Figure 5A on the corresponding time-frequency resources, the SL beam failure judgment is triggered, that is, UE2 sends a beam failure confirmation message (i.e., the above-mentioned second indication information) to UE1 at the feedback position corresponding to the time-frequency resource that was not received.

[0173] FIG7A is a schematic diagram of a method for transmitting beam failure confirmation information provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG7A , if UE2 does not receive R2 reserved by UE1, UE2 may transmit beam failure confirmation information in the PSFCH at time slot t2.

[0174] Optionally, the resource mapping relationship of PSFCH can be the same as that in (3) PSFCH in the above-mentioned related technology. In order to distinguish it from the existing PSFCH resources used for feedback HARQ, the PSFCH resources used to indicate beam failure confirmation information can use an additional bitmap.

[0175] For example, three possible implementations of triggering SL beam failure judgment are described below:

[0176] In one implementation, UE1 only indicates / reserves retransmission resources. If UE2 does not receive one or more of R1, R2, and subsequent retransmission resources (in the prior art, a UE can only indicate two retransmission resources in one transmission, but can continue to indicate new retransmission resources on a retransmission resource, such as R2), an SL beam failure judgment is triggered. It should be noted that if UE2 has already fed back a response ACK for the data, that is, UE1 does not need to retransmit, an SL beam failure judgment is not triggered.

[0177] In another implementation, UE1 only indicates / reserves periodic resources: if UE2 does not receive P1 and P2 and one or more of the subsequent resources, an SL beam failure judgment is triggered, where the number of unreceived resources is determined by a threshold.

[0178] In another implementation, if UE1 indicates / reserves retransmission resources and periodic resources: if UE2 does not receive data of one or more indicated / reserved resources, an SL beam failure judgment is triggered, where the number of unreceived resources is determined by a threshold.

[0179] S603: UE1 feeds back beam failure confirmation information.

[0180] In one implementation, if UE1 receives beam failure confirmation information, UE1 needs to send indication information in the SCI and / or MAC CE within M time slots or time windows, indicating that beam failure did not occur because UE1 did not send R1 and R2 / P1 and P2 due to other reasons. Where M is a positive integer.

[0181] Among them, the number of time slots and the time window position can be predefined, configured, or preconfigured. It should be understood that "predefined" can be understood as standard definition, which does not require other equipment configuration (and the network equipment or other terminal equipment cannot be changed), and is the information recorded / written in advance in the hardware and / or software of the terminal equipment (such as UE1 and UE2). "Configuration" is divided into network equipment configuration and terminal equipment configuration. If it is a network equipment configuration, it can be changed through SIB or RRC signaling; if it is a terminal equipment configuration, it can be changed according to PC5-RRC signaling. "Preconfiguration" can be understood as information recorded / written in advance in the hardware and / or software of the terminal equipment itself, which is determined by the equipment manufacturer and can be changed through software or hardware.

[0182] S604: When UE2 does not receive feedback regarding the beam failure confirmation information, SL beam failure is triggered.

[0183] In one implementation, after UE2 sends the beam failure confirmation information, if it does not receive the indication information from UE1 within M time slots or time window, UE2 triggers SL beam failure.

[0184] S605: UE2 sends a CBD reference signal to UE1.

[0185] In one implementation, after UE2 triggers a beam failure, UE2 can use the S-SSB or SL CSI-RS as a CBD reference signal (i.e., CBD RS) to send a CBD reference signal. For example, when UE2 sends an S-SSB, it carries both the SRC ID and the DST ID. UE1 determines that it is the CBD RS sent by UE2 based on the SRC ID and DST ID. For another example, UE2 can indicate in the SCI / MAC CE that the RS is used for beam failure recovery.

[0186] S606: UE1 feeds back the first beam to UE2 based on the CBD reference signal.

[0187] For example, the specific implementation of step S606 may refer to the above-mentioned step S404, which will not be described in detail here.

[0188] S607: UE1 sends first data to UE2 using the first beam.

[0189] For ease of understanding, the specific process of Figure 6 above is illustrated below with Figure 7B. Figure 7B is a schematic diagram of another beam failure recovery process provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 7B, UE2 performs a beam failure judgment based on the information indicated / reserved by UE1 and sends a beam failure confirmation message. If UE2 does not receive the instruction information from UE1 within a certain period of time, an SL beam failure is triggered and the sending of a CBD reference signal is triggered. UE1 measures the CBD reference signal to determine the first beam and provides feedback. Finally, UE1 uses the first beam for data transmission.

[0190] The embodiment of the present application determines whether an SL beam failure occurs based on the first time-frequency resources (i.e., the reserved resources) and the beam failure confirmation process (i.e., the above-mentioned steps S602 to S604). This method can avoid misjudgment due to non-sending data for other reasons through the beam failure confirmation process, and can also avoid waste of resources due to sending periodic reference signals.

[0191] The above content elaborates on the method provided by the present application. In order to facilitate the implementation of the above scheme of the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application also provides corresponding devices or equipment.

[0192] The present application divides the functional modules of the first terminal device and the second terminal device according to the above-mentioned method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above-mentioned integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in this application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. The communication device of the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 8 to 10.

[0193] 8 , which is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG8 , the communication device may include a transceiver unit 10 and a processing unit 20 .

[0194] In some embodiments of the present application, the communication device may be the second terminal device shown above or a chip or circuit provided in the second terminal device. That is, the communication device may be used to execute the steps or functions performed by the second terminal device in the above method embodiments.

[0195] In one design, the transceiver unit 10 is used to: receive first indication information from a first terminal device, the first indication information is used to indicate a first time-frequency resource, and the first time-frequency resource is used by the first terminal device to send first data; the processing unit 20 is used to: trigger a side link SL beam failure when the first data from the first terminal device is not received on at least one time-frequency resource in the first time-frequency resources; the transceiver unit 10 is used to: send a first reference signal; the first reference signal is used for beam failure recovery.

[0196] In one possible implementation, at least one time-frequency resource is at least one retransmission resource of the first data; or, at least one time-frequency resource is at least one periodic resource of the first data; or, at least one time-frequency resource includes at least one retransmission resource of the first data and at least one periodic resource of the first data.

[0197] Exemplarily, at least one time-frequency resource is N periodic resources of the first data, where N is a positive integer; the processing unit 20 is used to: trigger the SL beam failure when no data is received from the first terminal device on the N periodic resources.

[0198] Exemplarily, N is an integer greater than 1, and two adjacent periodic resources in the time domain among the N periodic resources are spaced apart by equal period durations.

[0199] Exemplarily, at least one time-frequency resource is at least one retransmission resource of the first data; the processing unit 20 is used to: trigger the SL beam failure when no data from the first terminal device is received on one or two retransmission resources of the at least one retransmission resource.

[0200] In one possible embodiment, the transceiver unit 10 is used to: when no data is received from the first terminal device on at least one time-frequency resource, send second indication information to the first terminal device, and the second indication information is used to indicate that no data is received on at least one time-frequency resource; the processing unit 20 is used to: when no third indication information is received from the first terminal device within the first time period, trigger SL beam failure, and the third indication information is used to indicate that no beam failure occurs.

[0201] In one possible implementation, the second indication information is sent via a first physical layer sidelink feedback channel PSFCH resource; the first PSFCH resource has the same time domain as a second PSFCH resource of a hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ used to feedback the first data, but a different frequency domain.

[0202] Exemplarily, the start time and the end time of the first time period are determined based on the time of sending the second indication information and the time offset.

[0203] Exemplarily, the first reference signal is one of a sidelink synchronization signal block S-SSB, a sidelink channel state information reference signal SL CSI-RS and a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0204] In the embodiment of the present application, the description of the first indication information, the first time-frequency resource, etc. can be referred to the introduction in the method embodiments shown in Figures 3, 4 and 6 above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0205] It is understood that the specific description of the transceiver unit 10 and the processing unit 20 shown in the embodiment of the present application is only an example. For the specific functions or execution steps of the transceiver unit 10 and the processing unit 20, reference can be made to the method embodiments shown in Figures 3, 4, and 6 above, and will not be described in detail here. In addition, the technical effects of the embodiment of the present application refer to the technical effects of the method embodiments shown in Figures 3, 4, and 6 above, and for the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0206] Reusing Figure 8, in some other embodiments of the present application, the communication device may be the first terminal device shown above or a chip or circuit provided in the first terminal device. That is, the communication device may be used to execute the steps or functions performed by the first terminal device in the above method embodiment.

[0207] In one design, the transceiver unit 10 is configured to send first indication information to a second terminal device, the first indication information being used to indicate a first time-frequency resource used to send first data; receive second indication information from the second terminal device, the second indication information being used to indicate that data was not received on at least one of the first time-frequency resources; and send third indication information to the second terminal device within a first time period, the third indication information being used to indicate that no sidelink SL beam failure has occurred. In one possible implementation, the processing unit 20 is configured to determine the first time-frequency resource.

[0208] It is understood that the specific description of the transceiver unit 10 and the processing unit 20 shown in the embodiment of the present application is only an example. For the specific functions or execution steps of the transceiver unit 10 and the processing unit 20, reference can be made to the method embodiments shown in Figures 3, 4, and 6 above, and will not be described in detail here. In addition, the technical effects of the embodiment of the present application refer to the technical effects of the method embodiments shown in Figures 3, 4, and 6 above, and for the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0209] The first and second terminal devices of the embodiments of the present application have been described above. The following describes possible product forms of the first and second terminal devices. It should be understood that any product having the functions of the first or second terminal devices described in FIG. 8 falls within the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application. It should also be understood that the following description is merely illustrative and does not limit the product forms of the communication devices of the embodiments of the present application to these examples.

[0210] In one possible implementation, in the communication device shown in FIG8 , the processing unit 20 may be one or more processors, and the transceiver unit 10 may be a transceiver. Alternatively, the transceiver unit 10 may be a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, wherein the transmitting unit may be a transmitter and the receiving unit may be a receiver, and the transmitting unit and receiving unit are integrated into a single device, such as a transceiver. In embodiments of the present application, the processor and transceiver may be coupled, and the connection method between the processor and transceiver is not limited in embodiments of the present application. During the execution of the above-described method, the process of sending information in the above-described method can be understood as the process of the processor outputting the above-described information. When outputting the above-described information, the processor outputs the above-described information to the transceiver for transmission by the transceiver. After being output by the processor, the above-described information may require further processing before reaching the transceiver. Similarly, the process of receiving information in the above-described method can be understood as the process of the processor receiving the above-described information. When the processor receives the input information, the transceiver receives the above-described information and inputs it into the processor. Furthermore, after the transceiver receives the above-described information, the above-described information may require further processing before being input into the processor.

[0211] Referring to Figure 9, Figure 9 is another structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 9, the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application can be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment, and reference can be made to the description in the above method embodiment. The communication device can be a first terminal device, or a second terminal device, or a chip therein. Exemplarily, the communication device includes one or more processors 1001 and a transceiver 1002. The communication device may further include a memory 1003. In one implementation, the communication device also includes an input and output device (not shown in Figure 9).

[0212] Processor 1001 is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process software program data. Memory 1003 is primarily used to store software programs and data. Transceiver 1002 may include control circuitry and an antenna. The control circuitry is primarily used to convert baseband signals into radio frequency signals and process radio frequency signals. The antenna is primarily used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices, such as a touch screen, display, and keyboard, are primarily used to receive user input and output data to the user.

[0213] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 1001 can read the software program in the memory 1003, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor 1001 performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1001. The processor 1001 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0214] In another implementation, the RF circuit and antenna may be provided independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the RF circuit and antenna may be remotely arranged independent of the communication device.

[0215] The processor 1001 , the transceiver 1002 , and the memory 1003 may be connected via a communication bus.

[0216] Exemplarily, when the communication device is used to execute the steps, methods or functions performed by the first terminal device in the embodiment shown in Figure 3 above, the transceiver 1002 can be used to execute steps S301 and S303 in Figure 3, and / or other processes for the technology described herein.

[0217] Exemplarily, when the communication device is used to execute the steps, methods or functions performed by the second terminal device in the embodiment shown in Figure 3 above, the transceiver 1002 can be used to execute steps S301 and S303 in Figure 3, and the processor 1001 can be used to execute S302 in Figure 3, and / or other processes for the technology described herein.

[0218] In any of the above implementations, the processor 1001 may include a transceiver for implementing receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit for implementing the receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for reading and writing code / data, or the transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for transmitting or delivering signals.

[0219] In any of the above implementations, the processor 1001 may store instructions, which may be computer programs. The computer programs, when executed on the processor 1001, may cause the communication device to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. The computer programs may be embedded in the processor 1001, in which case the processor 1001 may be implemented by hardware.

[0220] In one implementation, the communication device may include a circuit that can implement the functions of sending, receiving, or communicating in the aforementioned method embodiment. The processor and transceiver described in this application can be implemented in an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), a mixed signal IC, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), an electronic device, etc. The processor and transceiver can also be manufactured using various IC process technologies, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), N-type metal oxide semiconductor (nMetal-oxide-semiconductor, NMOS), P-channel metal oxide semiconductor (positive channel metal oxide semiconductor, PMOS), bipolar junction transistor (bipolar junction transistor, BJT), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc.

[0221] It is understood that the communication device shown in the embodiment of the present application may also have more components than those in Figure 9, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. The method performed by the processor and transceiver shown above is only an example. For the specific steps performed by the processor and transceiver, please refer to the description of the method embodiment above.

[0222] In another possible implementation, the communication device shown in FIG9 may further include a processing unit, which may be one or more logic circuits, and the transceiver unit 10 may be an input / output interface, or may be referred to as a communication interface, or an interface circuit, or an interface, etc. Alternatively, the transceiver unit 10 may be a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, the transmitting unit may be an output interface, the receiving unit may be an input interface, and the transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be integrated into one unit, such as an input / output interface.

[0223] Referring to Figure 10, Figure 10 is another structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 10, the communication device shown in Figure 10 includes a logic circuit 901 and an interface 902. That is, the above-mentioned processing unit can be implemented with a logic circuit 901, and the transceiver unit 10 can be implemented with an interface 902. Among them, the logic circuit 901 can be a chip, a processing circuit, an integrated circuit or a system on chip (SoC) chip, etc., and the interface 902 can be a communication interface, an input and output interface, a pin, etc. Exemplarily, Figure 10 is shown as an example of a chip as the above-mentioned communication device, and the chip includes a logic circuit 901 and an interface 902.

[0224] In the embodiment of the present application, the logic circuit and the interface may also be coupled to each other. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific connection method between the logic circuit and the interface.

[0225] Exemplarily, when the communication device is used to execute the steps, methods or functions executed by the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3 above, the logic circuit 901 is used to determine the first indication information; the interface 902 is used to send the first indication information.

[0226] Exemplarily, when the communication device is used to execute the steps, methods or functions performed by the second terminal device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3 above, the logic circuit 901 is used to trigger the side link SL beam failure when the first data from the first terminal device is not received on at least one time-frequency resource in the first time-frequency resources; the interface 902 is used to receive the first indication information.

[0227] In the embodiment of the present application, the description of the first indication information and the first time-frequency resource, etc. can be referred to the description of the method embodiment shown in FIG3 above, and will not be described in detail here. It is understood that the specific description of the logic circuit 901 and the interface 902 can also refer to the description of the processing unit and the transceiver unit shown in FIG8, and will not be repeated here.

[0228] It can be understood that the communication device shown in the embodiment of the present application can implement the method provided in the embodiment of the present application in the form of hardware, or can implement the method provided in the embodiment of the present application in the form of software, etc., and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0229] For the specific implementation of each embodiment shown in FIG10 , reference may also be made to the above embodiments, which will not be described in detail here.

[0230] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, which includes a first terminal device and a second terminal device. The first terminal device and the second terminal device can be used to execute the method in any of the aforementioned method embodiments (Figures 3, 4 and 6).

[0231] In addition, the present application also provides a computer program, which is used to implement the operations and / or processing performed by the terminal device (such as the first terminal device and the second terminal device mentioned above) in the method provided by the present application.

[0232] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer code. When the computer code runs on a computer, it enables the computer to execute the operations and / or processing performed by the terminal device (such as the first terminal device and the second terminal device mentioned above) in the method provided by the present application.

[0233] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes computer code or computer program. When the computer code or computer program runs on a computer, the operations and / or processing performed by the terminal device (such as the first terminal device and the second terminal device mentioned above) in the method provided by the present application are executed.

[0234] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, or can be electrical, mechanical or other forms of connection.

[0235] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the technical effects of the solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0236] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0237] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a readable storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned readable storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk or optical disk, and other media that can store program code.

[0238] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receiving first indication information from a first terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first time-frequency resource, and the first time-frequency resource is used by the first terminal device to send first data; When the first data from the first terminal device is not received on at least one of the first time-frequency resources, triggering the sidelink SL beam fails; A first reference signal is sent; the first reference signal is used for beam failure recovery.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The at least one time-frequency resource is at least one retransmission resource of the first data; or, the at least one time-frequency resource is at least one periodic resource of the first data; or, the at least one time-frequency resource includes at least one retransmission resource of the first data and at least one periodic resource of the first data.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The at least one time-frequency resource is N periodic resources of the first data, where N is a positive integer, and when the first data from the first terminal device is not received on at least one time-frequency resource in the first time-frequency resources, triggering the sidelink SL beam failure includes: When no data is received from the first terminal device on the N periodic resources, triggering the SL beam fails.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The N is an integer greater than 1, and two adjacent periodic resources in the time domain among the N periodic resources are spaced apart by an equal period duration.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The at least one time-frequency resource is at least one retransmission resource of the first data; when the first data from the first terminal device is not received on at least one time-frequency resource in the first time-frequency resources, triggering the sidelink SL beam failure includes: When no data is received from the first terminal device on one or two of the at least one retransmission resources, triggering the SL beam fails.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: When the first data from the first terminal device is not received on at least one time-frequency resource in the first time-frequency resources, triggering the sidelink SL beam failure includes: When no data is received from the first terminal device on the at least one time-frequency resource, sending second indication information to the first terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that no data is received on the at least one time-frequency resource; When no third indication information is received from the first terminal device within a first time period, the SL beam failure is triggered, and the third indication information is used to indicate that no beam failure occurs.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The second indication information is sent through the first physical layer sidelink feedback channel PSFCH resource; the first PSFCH resource and the second PSFCH resource of the hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ used to feedback the first data have the same time domain and a different frequency domain.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The start time and the end time of the first time period are determined based on the time and the time offset of sending the second indication information.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The first reference signal is one of a sidelink synchronization signal block S-SSB, a sidelink channel state information reference signal SL CSI-RS and a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending first indication information to a second terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first time-frequency resource, and the first time-frequency resource is used to send first data; Receive second indication information from the second terminal device, the second indication information is used to indicate that the first time-frequency resource is not in the first time-frequency resource No data is received on at least one time-frequency resource; A third indication message is sent to the second terminal device within a first time period, where the third indication message is used to indicate that no sidelink SL beam failure has occurred.

11. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a module or a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. A communication device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices, and the processor is used to implement the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10 through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

13. A readable storage medium, characterized in that: The device is used to store a program, wherein the program is executed by one or more processors so that a device including the one or more processors executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

14. A communication system, characterized in that: include: A second terminal device for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, and a first terminal device for executing the method according to claim 10.

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