Communication method and apparatus, and readable storage medium and computer program product

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, and a readable storage medium and a computer program product, which relate to the technical field of communications, and are used for improving the success rate of a relay apparatus forwarding information. In the present application, a relay apparatus receives first information in a first time unit, wherein the first information is used for indicating a resource for information forwarded by the relay apparatus; and the relay apparatus receives second information, and sends the second information in a second time unit, wherein the second time unit is determined on the basis of a first duration and the first time unit, and the first duration is associated with a signal transmission round-trip time between the relay apparatus and a network apparatus. Therefore, a time unit for forwarding information that is determined by the relay apparatus is more rational, and as such the success rate of forwarding the information by means of the relay apparatus in a satellite communication scenario can be improved; and with the deployment of the relay apparatus, the number of gateways and ground stations deployed can be reduced, and as such the communication cost can be reduced.

Description

Communication method, device, readable storage medium and computer program product

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on December 29, 2023, with application number 202311865395.7 and application name "A communication method, device, readable storage medium and computer program product", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, device, readable storage medium, and computer program product. Background Art

[0004] Currently, the fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) technology is evolving from version R18 to version R19. At the same time, NR technology has also entered the commercial deployment stage from the standardization stage. The NR standard protocol was originally designed as a wireless communication technology for terrestrial cellular network scenarios, capable of providing users with wireless communication services with ultra-low latency, ultra-reliability, ultra-high speed, and excessive connectivity. Compared to terrestrial communications, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) communications have the characteristics of large coverage areas and flexible networking, and can achieve seamless global network coverage. NTN communications involve the use of drones, high-altitude platforms, satellites and other equipment to form networks, providing data transmission, voice communication and other services to user equipment (UE).

[0005] In satellite communications systems, terminal devices within the satellite system transmit data via satellite to gateways or ground stations, which then establish connections to the core network or the internet. Deploying a large number of gateways and ground stations increases costs, making cost reduction a pressing issue. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method, device, readable storage medium, and computer program product, which are used to enable a relay device to determine the time unit of the information to be forwarded based on a first time length after receiving the information to be forwarded. This solution can improve the success rate of the relay device forwarding information in scenarios with large transmission delays. Furthermore, this solution can enable information transmission through the relay device in satellite communication scenarios. Since relay devices can be deployed in satellite communication scenarios, the number of gateway stations and ground stations deployed can be reduced, thereby reducing communication costs.

[0007] In satellite communication scenarios, relay devices may include satellite devices and / or ground stations. For example, in a typical scenario, the transmission path between a terminal device and a network device includes at least two satellite devices, with a ground station between the two satellite devices. Signaling between the two satellite devices can also be transmitted through the ground station (for example, one satellite device transmits the signaling to the ground station, which then transmits the signaling to the other satellite device). This solution can reduce the load on the direct link between the two satellite devices.

[0008] In satellite communication scenarios, the round-trip delay between the relay device and the network device is relatively large. In an information forwarding scenario, the network device sends a first message to the relay device, and the relay device determines the time unit of the information to be forwarded based on the time unit of the first message. However, due to the presence of a timing advance between the uplink and downlink frame boundaries, and the timing advance being associated with the round-trip delay between the relay device and the network device, this value is typically relatively large. If the difference between the time unit of the first message and the time unit of the information to be forwarded is small, the time unit position of the information to be forwarded determined by the relay device may be inappropriate.

[0009] To address this issue, the present application provides an embodiment in which a relay device can determine a time unit for information to be forwarded based on a first duration, where the first duration is associated with the round-trip delay between the relay device and the network device. Therefore, the time unit for information to be forwarded determined by the present application is more reasonable, thereby improving the success rate of information forwarding by the relay device in satellite communication scenarios.

[0010] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method that can be performed by a relay device. The relay device can be a satellite device or a chip (or chip system) within the satellite device, or a network device deployed on the ground or a chip (or chip system) within the network device.

[0011] In the present application, the relay device receives the first information in the first time unit. The first information may come from the network device. The first information is used to indicate the resource of the information sent by the relay device. In the embodiment of the present application, "the resource of the information sent by the relay device" may also include or be replaced by "the resource of the information forwarded by the relay device". It can also be understood that the first information is used to indicate the resource of the information forwarded by the relay device. There are many possibilities for the transmission direction of the information forwarded by the relay device. For ease of understanding, some examples in this application use the information forwarded by the relay device as uplink information. In this example, it can also be understood that the first information can be used to indicate the resource of the uplink information forwarded by the relay device. The relay device receives information for indicating the first duration, and the first duration is associated with the round-trip delay of the signal transmission between the relay device and the network device. The relay device receives the second information, and the relay device sends the second information in the second time unit. The second time unit is determined based on the first duration and the first time unit.

[0012] In the present application, the relay device will send the second information after receiving the second information, which can also be called "the relay device forwards the second information", and "forward" in the present application can also be replaced by "send". The second information can be understood as information that needs to be forwarded by the relay device. In the present application, the relay device forwarding the second information can be transparent forwarding or regeneration forwarding. In the present application, the second information received by the relay device can be from the terminal device or other relay devices, or from other devices, such as from a network device. The relay device sending the second information can be sending the second information to the network device or other relay devices, or sending the second information to other devices, such as sending the second information to the terminal device. For ease of understanding, some examples in the embodiments of the present application are introduced as an example of the second information belonging to uplink information. When the second information belongs to uplink information, the second information received by the relay device can be from the terminal device or other relay devices, and the relay device can send the second information to other relay devices or network devices.

[0013] Because the position of the time unit for forwarding information (i.e., the position of the time unit for forwarding the second information) is also determined based on the first duration, and the first duration is associated with the round-trip delay of signal transmission between the relay device and the network device, the time unit for forwarding information determined in this application is more reasonable, thereby improving the success rate of uplink transmission through the relay device in satellite communication scenarios.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the resource used to indicate information sent by the relay device (e.g., information forwarded by the relay device) includes at least one of the following: information indicating the time domain starting position of the second time unit; information indicating the length of the time domain resource occupied by the second time unit; and information indicating the frequency domain resource occupied by the information sent by the relay device. In this way, the relay device can determine the relevant information of the time unit used to send the second information based on the first information.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the first information also includes at least one of the following: a sending address indicating the information sent by the relay device (e.g., information forwarded by the relay device); a sending path indicating the information sent by the relay device (e.g., information forwarded by the relay device); a sending direction indicating the information sent by the relay device (e.g., information forwarded by the relay device), including an uplink transmission direction or a downlink transmission direction; a sending method indicating the information sent by the relay device (e.g., information forwarded by the relay device), including transparent forwarding or regenerative forwarding; and a frequency indicating the information sent by the relay device (e.g., information forwarded by the relay device). In this way, the relay device can determine the relevant content of the information to be forwarded based on the first information and then forward the received information based on this content. This solution provides support for the use of relay devices in satellite communication systems, thereby improving the success rate of relay devices forwarding information.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the first duration is greater than or equal to the round-trip signal transmission delay between the relay device and the network device. Because the first duration is greater than or equal to the round-trip signal transmission delay between the relay device and the network device, the position of the time unit for forwarding information determined by the present application is more reasonable, and the relay device has sufficient time to set the timing offset. This solution can improve the success rate of uplink transmissions through the relay device in satellite communication scenarios.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the first duration may also be less than the round-trip delay of signal transmission between the relay device and the network device. In this implementation, the relay device may also determine the time unit for forwarding information based on the first duration, or the relay device may determine the time unit for forwarding information based on other parameters and the first duration. This solution may make the determined time unit more reasonable. In another possible implementation, when the first duration is less than the round-trip delay of signal transmission between the relay device and the network device, the network device side may perform timing compensation on the uplink data, that is, delay the reception of the uplink signal, and the uplink data frame boundary received by the network device side is later than the frame boundary of the downlink data.

[0018] In one possible embodiment, the second time unit is also determined based on at least one of the following: the value of K and the time unit offset value. The value of K is associated with the delay of the relay device in processing uplink information and / or the delay in processing downlink information; or the value of K is indicated by the network device. The first information also indicates the time unit offset value. In this way, the solution can be more compatible with existing technologies, and the solution can avoid modifying the parameter range supported by the relay device in the ground scenario (that is, it can avoid modifying the value of K or the time unit offset value), and does not require the ground relay device (small delay scenario) to support the ability of the large delay scenario, thereby avoiding increasing the capacity of the ground relay device. The solution provided in the embodiment of the present application only needs to increase the capacity of the relay device in the large delay scenario.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the number of time units between the second time unit and the third time unit is determined based on the sum of the first duration, the value of K, and the time unit offset value. The third time unit is a time domain resource for uplink transmission, and the index value of the third time unit is equal to that of the first time unit. For example, if the first time unit is time slot n, then the third time unit is also time slot n. The number of time units between the second time unit and the third time unit time slot n can be determined based on the sum of the first duration, the value of K, and the time unit offset value.

[0020] In one possible embodiment, the relay device receives third information. The third information is used to determine the updated first duration, and the updated first duration is used by the relay device to determine the time unit of the information to be sent, and the updated first duration is associated with the round-trip delay between the relay device and the network device. In this application, "the time unit for the information to be sent determined by the relay device" can also be replaced with "the time unit for the information to be forwarded determined by the relay device." It can also be understood that the updated first duration is used by the relay device to determine the time unit of the information to be forwarded. For example, as the relay device moves, the delay between the relay device and the network device (such as the round-trip delay of signal transmission) changes. Therefore, in order to reduce the delay, the first duration can be updated as the delay changes, or updated periodically. For example, the network device can determine to update the first duration when it determines that the change in the delay between the relay device and the network device is greater than a threshold.

[0021] In a possible implementation manner, the third information includes: information indicating the updated first duration; or information indicating the difference between the first duration and the updated first duration.

[0022] In one possible implementation, before receiving the third information, the relay device may send fourth information to the network device. The fourth information indicates the location information of the relay device and / or the timing advance corresponding to the relay device. The third information is determined based on the fourth information. The location or timing advance of the relay device can reflect the delay between the relay device and the network device. Therefore, determining the updated first duration based on at least one of the two can obtain a more accurate first duration, thereby further reducing the delay.

[0023] The first duration in this application can be a newly defined value or can reuse an existing parameter. For example, in one possible implementation, the first duration is determined based on a scheduling offset value. Because the relay device can reuse the scheduling offset value as the first duration, the network device does not need to send additional signaling to configure the first duration, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0024] In one possible embodiment, the scheduling offset value is also used to perform at least one of the following: used to adjust the sending timing of information of the terminal device; used to adjust the sending timing of feedback information of the terminal device; used to adjust the sending timing of the reference signal of the terminal device; used to adjust the random access timing of the terminal device.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the first information indicates at least one fourth time unit. For example, the fourth time units indicated by the first information are all time units that can be used to send (or forward) information. In an embodiment of the present application, the relay device can select one or more suitable fourth time units from these configured fourth time units to send (or forward) information based on the first duration (the selected one or more fourth time units are second time units). For example, the second time unit belongs to the fourth time unit that meets the first condition. Among them, the first condition includes: the number of time units between the time domain starting position of the fourth time unit and the third time unit is greater than or equal to: the first duration, or the sum of the first duration, the value of K and the time unit offset value. The third time unit is a time domain resource for uplink transmission, and the index value of the third time unit is equal to that of the first time unit.

[0026] As can be seen, in this solution, the network device can pre-configure some periodic or non-periodic resources (such as the fourth time unit), and the relay device can select a more appropriate resource from the configured resources to send information. Because the selected resource meets the first condition, even in scenarios where the delay between the relay device and the network device (such as the round-trip delay of signal transmission) is large, the time domain resource for forwarding information will not be earlier than the time when the forwarded information is received. Consequently, in high-latency communication scenarios, the relay device can improve the success rate of forwarding information.

[0027] In one possible implementation, a relay device receives information for configuring at least one resource set, the at least one resource set including a first resource set, the first resource set including the at least one fourth time unit, and the first information is used to activate the first resource set. For example, the information for configuring at least one resource set is carried in radio resource control (RRC) signaling, and the first information is carried in medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling. In this solution, the network device can pre-configure one or more resource sets and subsequently activate / deactivate the resource sets through signaling. Since the signaling for activating / deactivating resource sets occupies a small number of bits, this solution can save the overhead of subsequent signaling.

[0028] In another possible implementation, the first information is carried in RRC signaling, which can improve the flexibility of subsequent resource configuration and save signaling overhead.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the relay device can access the network device as an MT and perform some operations with the network device. For example, the relay device can use the value of the first duration as the scheduling offset value corresponding to the relay device. For example, the first duration (or the scheduling offset value corresponding to the relay device) is also used for at least one of the following: for adjusting the sending timing of the information of the relay device; for adjusting the sending timing of the feedback information of the relay device; for adjusting the sending timing of the reference signal of the relay device; or for adjusting the random access timing of the relay device. In this way, when the relay device performs some operations with the network device as a mobile terminal (MT), using the first duration as the scheduling offset value corresponding to the relay device can make the transmission of information more matched with the round-trip delay of information between the relay device and the network device, thereby improving communication performance.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the information indicating the first duration includes: indication information of the first duration; or a scheduling offset value and an adjustment value, wherein the first duration is associated with the scheduling offset value and the adjustment value. This can improve the flexibility of the solution.

[0031] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a network device. The network device can be a network device or a chip (or chip system) inside the network device.

[0032] In this application, a network device sends first information to a relay device in a first time unit. The first information indicates the resource of the information sent by the relay device. The network device sends information indicating a first duration. The first duration is associated with the round-trip delay of signal transmission between the relay device and the network device. The network device receives second information. The transmission process of the second information includes the relay device forwarding the second information. The second time unit is determined based on the first duration and the first time unit.

[0033] In the present application, one or more relay devices may be included between the network device and the terminal device, and multiple relay devices may all forward the second information at the second time unit. Correspondingly, the network device may also receive the second information at the second time unit. In another possible implementation, the time units in which the two relay devices forward the second information may be different. If the relay device is adjacent to the network device, the network device may receive the second information at the second time unit. If other relay devices are included between the relay device and the network device, the time unit in which the network device receives the second information may not be the second time unit, but the time unit in which the relay device adjacent to the network device forwards the second information. For ease of understanding, some examples in the embodiments of the present application are introduced using the example of the network device receiving the second information at the second time unit. The way in which other relay devices determine the time unit for forwarding the second information is similar to the way in which the relay device in the present application determines the second time unit, and will not be repeated here.

[0034] Because the position of the time unit for forwarding information is also determined based on the first duration, which is associated with the round-trip signal transmission delay between the relay device and the network device, the time unit for forwarding information determined in this application is more reasonable, thereby improving the success rate of uplink transmission via the relay device in satellite communication scenarios.

[0035] In one possible embodiment, the network device sends third information, and the third information is used to determine an updated first duration. The updated first duration is used by the relay device to determine the time unit of the information to be sent (such as the information that the relay device determines to forward), and the updated first duration is associated with the round-trip delay between the relay device and the network device.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the network device receives fourth information indicating location information of the relay device and / or a timing advance TA corresponding to the relay device, and determines the third information based on the fourth information.

[0037] For the relevant contents of the resources, first information, first duration, second time unit, third information and scheduling offset value used to indicate the information sent by the relay device (such as information forwarded by the relay device), please refer to the relevant description of the first aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0038] In one possible implementation, a network device sends information for configuring at least one resource set, the at least one resource set includes a first resource set, the first resource set includes the at least one fourth time unit, and the first information is used to activate the first resource set. For related content, refer to the description of the first aspect and possible implementations of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0039] For relevant contents of the first information, the fourth time unit, the information for configuring at least one resource set, the first duration, and the information for indicating the first duration, please refer to the relevant description of the first aspect and possible implementation methods of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0040] For the relevant contents of the second aspect and possible implementation methods of the second aspect, please refer to the relevant description of the first aspect and possible implementation methods of the first aspect, and no further details will be given.

[0041] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be the aforementioned relay device or network device. The communication device may include a communication unit and a processing unit to perform any of the above-mentioned first to second aspects, or to perform any possible implementation of the first to second aspects. The communication unit is used to perform functions related to sending and receiving. The communication unit may be referred to as a transceiver unit. Optionally, the communication unit includes a receiving unit and a sending unit. In one design, the communication device is a communication chip, the processing unit may be one or more processors or processor cores, and the communication unit may be an input / output circuit, an input / output interface, or an antenna port of the communication chip.

[0042] In another design, the communication unit may be a transmitter and a receiver, or the communication unit may be a transmitter and a receiver.

[0043] Optionally, the communication device further includes modules that can be used to execute any one of the first to second aspects above, or execute any possible implementation of the first to second aspects.

[0044] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be the aforementioned relay device or network device. The communication device may include a processor and a memory to perform any of the above-mentioned first to second aspects, or to perform any possible implementation of the first to second aspects. Optionally, it also includes a transceiver, the memory is used to store a computer program or instruction, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program or instruction from the memory. When the processor executes the computer program or instruction in the memory, the communication device performs any of the above-mentioned first to second aspects, or to perform any possible implementation of the first to second aspects.

[0045] Optionally, there are one or more processors and one or more memories.

[0046] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be provided separately from the processor.

[0047] Optionally, the transceiver may include a transmitter (transmitter) and a receiver (receiver).

[0048] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided. This communication device may be the aforementioned relay device or network device. The communication device may include a processor to perform any of the aforementioned aspects 1 and 2, or any possible implementation of the aforementioned aspects 1 and 2. The processor is coupled to a memory. Optionally, the communication device also includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device also includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0049] In one implementation, when the communication device is a relay device or a network device, the communication interface may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Alternatively, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Alternatively, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0050] In another implementation, when the communication device is a chip or a chip system, the communication interface may be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or related circuits on the chip or chip system. The processor may also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0051] In a sixth aspect, a system is provided, which includes the above-mentioned relay device.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the system may further include a network device.

[0053] In the seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes: a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions), which, when run, enables the computer to execute any one of the above-mentioned first to second aspects, or any possible implementation of the first to second aspects.

[0054] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions). When the computer program is run on a computer, the computer executes any one of the above-mentioned first to second aspects, or executes any possible implementation of the first to second aspects.

[0055] In a ninth aspect, a processing device is provided, comprising: an interface circuit and a processing circuit. The interface circuit may include an input circuit and an output circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive signals via the input circuit and transmit signals via the output circuit, thereby implementing any of the first and second aspects above, or any possible implementation of the first and second aspects.

[0056] In a specific implementation, the processing device may be a chip, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, or various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, received and input by a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, output to and transmitted by a transmitter. The input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit, which functions as an input circuit and an output circuit at different times. This application does not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0057] In one implementation, when the communication device is a relay device or a network device, the interface circuit may be a radio frequency processing chip in the relay device or the network device, and the processing circuit may be a baseband processing chip in the relay device or the network device.

[0058] In another implementation, the communication device may be a component of a relay device or a network device, such as an integrated circuit product such as a system-on-chip (SoC) or a communication chip. The interface circuit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip or chip system. The processing circuit may be a logic circuit on the chip. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] FIG1A is a schematic diagram of a possible architecture of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG1B is a schematic diagram of a possible architecture of another communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG1C is a schematic diagram of a possible architecture of another communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG2A is a schematic diagram of a possible architecture of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG2B is a schematic diagram of a possible architecture of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG2C is a schematic diagram of a possible architecture of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG2D is a schematic diagram of a possible architecture of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG2E is a schematic diagram of a possible architecture of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG3 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between time units corresponding to uplink and downlink on a relay device side according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG5 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between time units corresponding to uplink and downlink on a relay device side according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG6 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between time units corresponding to uplink and downlink on a relay device side according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG7 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between time units corresponding to uplink and downlink on a relay device side according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG8 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between time units corresponding to uplink and downlink on another relay device side provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a possible structure of another communication scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a possible structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a possible structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0076] The following is an introduction to the nouns and terms involved in the embodiments of this application.

[0077] (1) Time unit.

[0078] The time units involved in the embodiments of the present application, such as the first time unit and the second time unit involved later. The time units in the embodiments of the present application belong to time domain resources. Time domain resources may include at least one of a radio frame, a subframe, a time slot, a mini slot, or an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol. A time unit may include a radio frame, a subframe, a time slot, a mini slot, or an OFDM symbol. A time unit may also include resources composed of multiple radio frames, multiple subframes, multiple time slots, multiple mini slots, or multiple OFDM symbols. Among them, a radio frame may include multiple subframes, a subframe may include one or more time slots, and a time slot may include at least one symbol. Alternatively, a radio frame may include multiple time slots, and a time slot may include at least one symbol. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, an OFDM symbol may also be referred to as a symbol.

[0079] (2) Frequency domain resources.

[0080] Frequency domain resources may include at least one of a resource element (RE), a resource block (RB), a channel, a sub-channel, a carrier, or a bandwidth part (BWP). A frequency domain unit may include an RE, an RB, a channel, a sub-channel, a carrier, or a bandwidth part (BWP), etc. A frequency domain unit may also include resources composed of multiple REs or multiple RBs or multiple sub-channels or multiple carriers or multiple BWPs. In an embodiment of the present application, a channel may be equivalently replaced by a resource block set (RB set), and the frequency domain bandwidth of an RB set may be 20 megahertz (MHz).

[0081] The technical solution of the present application can be applied to non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems such as satellite communication systems, high altitude platform station (HAPS) communications, and drones, for example, integrated communication and navigation (IcaN) systems, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and ultra-dense low-orbit satellite communication systems. Satellite communication systems can be integrated with traditional mobile communication systems. For example, mobile communication systems can be fourth-generation (4G) communication systems (for example, long-term evolution (LTE) systems), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication systems, fifth-generation (5G) communication systems (for example, new radio (NR) systems), and future mobile communication systems.

[0082] Figures 1A and 1B illustrate exemplary network architectures of several communication systems applicable to embodiments of the present application. These communication systems may include satellites, network equipment, and terminal devices. They may also include gateways and core network equipment. Figures 1A and 1B illustrate exemplary converged network architectures for NTNs and terrestrial networks. These are described below with reference to the accompanying figures.

[0083] (1) Satellite.

[0084] The satellite can be a highly elliptical orbiting (HEO) satellite, a GEO satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, or a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the operating mode of the satellite. For example, the operating mode of the satellite can be a transparent mode or a regenerative mode. FIG1A illustrates the operating mode of the satellite as the transparent mode, and FIG1B illustrates the operating mode of the satellite as the regenerative mode.

[0085] When the satellite operates in transparent transmission mode, it performs the transparent forwarding function of a relay. The gateway has the functions of a network device (such as a base station) or some of them. In this case, the gateway can be considered a network device (such as a base station). Alternatively, the network device (such as a base station) can be deployed separately from the gateway. In this case, the feeder link latency includes both the satellite-to-gateway and gateway-to-gNB delays. The transparent transmission mode discussed below is based on the case where the gateway and gNB are located together or close together. For cases where the gateway and gNB are farther apart, the feeder link latency is simply the sum of the satellite-to-gateway and gateway-to-gNB delays.

[0086] When the satellite operates in regenerative mode, it has data processing capabilities, the functions of a network device (such as a base station) or partial functions of a network device (such as a base station). At this time, the satellite can be regarded as a network device (such as a base station).

[0087] Satellites can wirelessly communicate with terminals by broadcasting communication and navigation signals. Optionally, each satellite can provide terminal devices with communication, navigation, and positioning services using multiple beams. For example, each satellite can use multiple beams to cover its service area, and the relationships between the beams can be one or more of time division, frequency division, and space division.

[0088] (2) Gateway.

[0089] A gateway (also known as a ground station, earth station, gateway, or gateway station) can be used to connect satellites to terrestrial network equipment (such as terrestrial base stations). One or more satellites can be connected to one or more terrestrial network equipment (such as terrestrial base stations) through one or more gateways, without limitation.

[0090] The link between the satellite and the terminal is called the service link, and the link between the satellite and the gateway is called the feeder link. Network equipment can be deployed separately from the gateway, so the feeder link latency can include both the satellite-to-gateway and gateway-to-network equipment latency.

[0091] (3) Network equipment.

[0092] The network devices in the embodiments of the present application may include network devices deployed on satellites (such as satellite base stations), network devices deployed on gateways, and network devices deployed on the ground (such as ground base stations).

[0093] The network devices involved in the embodiments of the present application may be radio access network (RAN) nodes. The RAN may be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a NR system, or a future radio access system defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The RAN may also include two or more of the above-mentioned different radio access systems. The RAN may also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0094] A RAN node, also known as a radio access network device, RAN entity, or access node, facilitates wireless access to a communication system by a terminal. In one application scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system. A RAN node can be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, a relay node, or a donor node.

[0095] In another application scenario, multiple RAN nodes can collaborate to help terminals achieve wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing portions of the base station's functions. For example, a RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). The CU implements the base station's radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, as well as the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions. The DU implements the base station's radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer functions, as well as some or all of the physical layer functions. For detailed descriptions of each of the above protocol layers, please refer to the relevant 3GPP technical specifications. The RU can be used to implement the transmission and reception of radio frequency signals. The CU and DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or they can be integrated into the same RAN node, such as in a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in radio frequency equipment, such as a remote radio unit (RRU) or an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: CU-control plane and CU-user plane.

[0096] In different systems, RAN nodes may have different names. For example, in an O-RAN system, a CU may be called an open CU (O-CU), a DU may be called an open DU (O-DU), and a RU may be called an open RU (O-RU). The RAN node in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. For example, the RAN node may be a server loaded with the corresponding software module. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the RAN node. For ease of description, the following description takes a base station as an example of a RAN node.

[0097] (4) Core network equipment (CN).

[0098] Core network equipment is a device that is installed on the ground and can communicate with NTN equipment in the NTN system. CN equipment is the network element included in the CN part of the mobile communication system. CN equipment can connect terminal equipment to different data networks and perform services such as authentication, billing, mobility management, session management, policy control, and user plane forwarding. CN equipment can be used for current mobile communication systems (such as the 5th generation (5G) th The CN devices in the 5G generation (5G) mobile communication system may also be CN devices in future mobile communication systems. In mobile communication systems of different standards, the names of CN devices with the same function may vary. However, the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific names of CN devices with each function.

[0099] For example, in the 4th generation (4 th In the 4G (4th generation) mobile communication system (i.e., long term evolution, LTE), the network element responsible for access control, security control, and signaling coordination is the mobility management entity (MME); the network element serving as the local mobility management anchor point is the serving gateway (S-GW); the network element serving as the anchor point for switching to the external data network and responsible for allocating Internet protocol (IP) addresses is the packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW); the network element storing user-related data and subscription data is the home subscriber server (HSS); and the network element responsible for policy and charging functions is called the policy and charging rule function (PCRF) network element.

[0100] For example, in a 5G mobile communication system, the core network can be divided into a control plane (CP) and a user plane (UP) according to specific logical functional divisions. The network elements in the CN responsible for control plane functions can be collectively referred to as control plane network elements, and the network elements responsible for user plane functions can be collectively referred to as user plane network elements. Specifically, in the user plane, the network element that serves as the interface to the data network and is responsible for user plane data forwarding and other functions is the user plane function (UPF) network element. In the control plane, the network element responsible for access control and mobility management functions is called the access and mobility management function (AMF) network element; the network element responsible for session management and control policy execution is called the session management function (SMF) network element; the network element responsible for managing subscription data, user access authorization, and other functions is called the unified data management (UDM) network element; the network element responsible for billing and policy control functions is called the policy control function (PCF) network element; and the application function (AF) network element is responsible for transmitting the application side's requirements to the network side.

[0101] (5)Terminal.

[0102] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to a base station or receive signals from a base station. A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. A terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal.

[0103] The embodiments of the present application may also be applicable to other communication system architectures, such as an air-to-ground (ATG) communication system, which includes at least one network device and at least one high-altitude terminal. High-altitude terminals include, for example, high-altitude aircraft and onboard terminals. The satellites in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B may also be replaced with other relay devices, such as other NTN devices such as high altitude platform stations (HAPS). The communication system shown in FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B is provided as an example and does not limit the communication systems to which the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application are applicable.

[0104] It is understood that the embodiments of the present application may also be applicable to air-to-ground (ATG) communication systems. As an example, see FIG1C , which is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of another communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application. The communication system includes at least one network device and at least one high-altitude terminal device. The high-altitude terminal device includes, for example, a high-altitude aircraft and an onboard terminal device.

[0105] Based on the contents shown in Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C and the above-mentioned other contents, Figure 2A exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 2A, the communication system includes a terminal device and a network device, and at least one relay device is further included between the terminal device and the network device, such as relay device #1, relay device #2, and relay device #3 shown in Figure 2A. The terminal device in Figure 2A can be the terminal device involved in Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C or the chip (or chip system) inside the terminal device. The network device in Figure 2A can be the network device (such as access network device) involved in Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C or the chip (or chip system) inside the network device (such as access network device). The relay device in Figure 2A can be the satellite device involved in Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C or the chip system inside the satellite device, and can also be the ground-deployed network device (such as a ground base station) involved in Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C or the chip (or chip system) inside the network device (such as a ground base station).

[0106] Figure 2B exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 2B, the communication system includes a UE and a 5G Core Network (5GC). The UE can be the terminal device shown in Figure 1A, Figure 1B, Figure 1C or Figure 2A, and the 5GC / base station / parent node / gNB can be the network device shown in Figure 1A, Figure 1B, Figure 1C or Figure 2A. As shown in Figure 2B, the communication system also includes one or more relay devices, which are represented as transparent forwarding nodes (network controlled transparent node, NCTN) in Figure 2B. The transparent forwarding node has an amplify-and-forward (AF) relay function, wherein the amplify-and-forward relay means that after the relay node receives the signal, it does not decode or encode the signal and directly forwards the received signal to the destination node. As shown in Figure 2B, the communication system also includes a base station (such as gNobeB) and a parent node (such as gNobeB-NCTN-donor). The relay device shown in Figure 2B can be any relay device in Figure 2A, or it can be the satellite equipment involved in Figures 1A, 1B and 1C or the chip system inside the satellite equipment, or it can be the ground-deployed network equipment (such as a ground base station) involved in Figures 1A, 1B and 1C or the chip (or chip system) inside the network equipment (such as a ground base station).

[0107] As shown in Figure 2B, the communication system includes a relay device, which is a device in the NG-RAN. The relay device can support NR access and backhaul functions, and can include NCTN-mobile terminal (MT) and NCTN-DU. Among them, NCTN-MT can be connected to the CU or NCTN-DU of its parent node as a normal terminal device as a control link. NCTN-MT sends or receives beam direction information for control backhaul / control link (control link) / access link (access link), switch forwarding transmission information, routing related information, etc. NCTN-DU can provide access for NCTN-MT / network controlled regenerative node (NCRN)-MT and establish a lower-level control link. The relay device may also include a forwarding function, which can provide amplification and forwarding of UL / DL radio frequency signals (such as transparent forwarding) between the parent node (gNB-donor) / regeneration node and the terminal device.

[0108] The parent node can support gNodeB (also called gNodeB-donor) with additional functions of the relay device and can be connected to the core network, such as optical fiber. The parent node may include NCTN-parent node-CU (also called NCTN-donor-CU) and NCTN-parent node-DU (also called NCTN-donor-DU). Among them, NCTN-parent node-CU can provide connection for NCTN-parent node-DU and NCTN-DU of the relay device. NCTN-parent node-CU can be connected to other base stations as a base station (for example, through the Xn-C interface), the base station accesses 5GC, or NCTN-parent node-CU directly accesses 5GC (for example, through the NG interface). The base station accesses 5GC (for example, through the NG interface). NCTN-parent node-DU can provide access for terminal devices or NCTN-MT.

[0109] Among them, the F1 interface is used for the connection between NCTN-DU and NCTN-parent node-CU, and is completely inherited from the F1 interface between DU and CU. The Uu port (such as the NR Uu port) is used for the connection between NCTN-parent node-DU and NCTN-MT. It can also be used for the connection between the relay network and the UE. As shown in Figure 2B, NCTN accesses the parent node as a terminal device and establishes a Uu port connection. As shown in Figure 2B, the UE can be connected to the forwarding (forwarding) of NCTN, the forwarding (forwarding) of each NCTN, and accessed to the NCTN-parent node-DU.

[0110] Figures 2C, 2D and 2E exemplarily illustrate several communication system architecture diagrams applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0111] Compared with Figure 2B, the difference in Figure 2C is that the three relay devices in Figure 2B are all NCTN, while one of the relay devices in Figure 2C is NCRN. As shown in Figure 2B, NCRN can include NCRN-MT and NCRN-DU. NCRN-MT can be connected to the DU / NCTN-DU / NCRN-DU of its parent node as an ordinary terminal device, as a control link and wireless backhaul link (providing digital forwarding or regeneration forwarding function, supporting RLC layer forwarding or MAC layer forwarding). NCRN has the function of decode-and-forward (DF) relay. Decode-and-forward relay means that after the relay node receives the signal, it decodes the signal, then re-encodes the decoding result, and finally forwards it to the destination node. NCRN-DU can provide access for the lower-level NCTN-MT / NCRN-MT / terminal device. For other contents of Figure 2C, please refer to the description of Figure 2B above and will not be repeated here.

[0112] Compared with Figure 2B, the difference in Figure 2D is that the relay device in Figure 2D includes forwarding and NCTN-MT, but does not include NCTN-DU. NCTN-MT can be connected to the DU / NCTN-DU / NCRN-DU of its parent node as an ordinary terminal device. As a control link, it can also send / receive control backhaul / control link (control link) / access link (access link) beam direction information, switch forwarding transmission information, routing related information, etc. Forwarding can provide amplification and forwarding (transparent forwarding) of UL / DL radio frequency signals between gNB-donor / NCRN and terminal devices. For other contents of Figure 2D, please refer to the description of Figure 2B above and will not be repeated here.

[0113] Compared with Figure 2C, the difference in Figure 2E is that the NCTN in Figure 2E includes forwarding and NCTN-MT, but does not include NCTN-DU. For other contents of Figure 2E, please refer to the description of Figures 2B, 2C and 2D above and will not be repeated here.

[0114] FIG3 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the relationship between time units corresponding to uplink and downlink on the relay device side provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0115] Referring to Figure 3, due to the significant round-trip delay between the relay device and the network device, an offset value t1 is applied to the downlink and uplink frame boundaries or timing relationship at the relay device to ensure alignment (timing alignment) of the downlink and uplink frame boundaries at the network device, or to maintain a fixed offset between the downlink and uplink frame boundaries at the network device. This offset value t1 is related to the round-trip delay between the network device and the relay device, as well as the internal processing delay within the relay device. For example, at a satellite orbit altitude of 1200 km, the round-trip delay for signals transmitted through a relay device (e.g., a satellite device) ranges from 16 milliseconds to 32.7 milliseconds at different communication angles, significantly exceeding the time indicated by the current (K + time unit offset value (slot_offset)). Because the round-trip delay between the network device and the relay device is significant in satellite communication scenarios, t1 is significant. Consequently, in terms of timing, the time slot (n+1) used to forward the uplink information actually precedes the time slot n used to receive the first information. This means that the time slot used to forward the uplink information precedes the time slot used to receive the first information. Alternatively, it can be understood that the time for forwarding information is earlier than the time for receiving the first information (eg, DCI) in terms of timing, which results in the relay device being unable to successfully forward information in a high-latency communication scenario.

[0116] Based on this problem, an embodiment of the present application provides a possible implementation method, in which the relay device can determine the time unit for forwarding information based on the first time length, and then make the determined time unit for forwarding information more reasonable and meet the timing relationship requirements. For example, in terms of timing relationship, the time unit for forwarding information is located after the time unit where the first information (such as DCI) is located, that is, the time for forwarding information is located after the reception time of the first information, so that the relay device can successfully forward the information. The solution provided by the embodiment of the present application can solve the problem of relay devices forwarding information in scenarios with large delays. It is precisely because this problem is solved that relay devices can be introduced in scenarios with large delays, and then the deployment of equipment such as ground stations in scenarios with large delays can be reduced, thereby reducing costs.

[0117] The embodiments provided in this application are further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0118] Based on the contents shown in Figure 1A, Figure 1B, Figure 1C, Figure 2A, Figure 2B, Figure 2C, Figure 2D, Figure 2E or Figure 3 and the above-mentioned other contents, Figure 4 exemplarily shows a possible schematic flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. For ease of understanding, Figure 4 is introduced with the interaction of terminal device, network device and relay device as an example. The relay device in the embodiment of the present application can be any relay device in Figure 2A, such as the chip (or chip system) in the satellite device or satellite device in Figure 1A, Figure 1B, Figure 1C, Figure 2A, Figure 2B, Figure 2C, Figure 2D, and Figure 2E, or the chip (or chip system) in the network device or network device deployed on the ground in Figure 1A, Figure 1B, Figure 1C, Figure 2A, Figure 2B, Figure 2C, Figure 2D, and Figure 2E. The terminal device can be the chip system inside the terminal or terminal in Figure 1A, Figure 1B, Figure 1C or Figure 2A. The network device may be the network device in Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, and 2E, or a chip system within the network device. In the embodiments of the present application, the network device and the satellite device may be integrated into the same device. For example, both the network device and the satellite device may be satellite base stations. In this case, the satellite device may be understood to operate in a regeneration mode. In another possible implementation, the network device and the satellite device may be two separate devices. In this case, the satellite device may be understood to operate in a transparent transmission mode.

[0119] The following is an introduction with reference to FIG4 .

[0120] Step 401: The network device sends first information.

[0121] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the first information in the first time unit.

[0122] The first time unit in the embodiment of the present application may be, for example, a symbol or a time slot, etc. For the description of the time unit, please refer to the above content. The embodiment of the present application is introduced by taking the first time unit as a time slot as an example.

[0123] The first information is used to indicate the resources of the information sent by the relay device. In the embodiment of the application, "the resources of the information sent by the relay device" may also include or be replaced by "the resources of the information forwarded by the relay device". It can also be understood that the first information is used to indicate the resources of the information forwarded by the relay device. There are many possibilities for the transmission direction of the information forwarded by the relay device. For ease of understanding, some examples in this application take the information forwarded by the relay device as uplink information (that is, the transmission direction of the information forwarded by the relay device is from the terminal device to the network device). In this example, it can also be understood that the first information can be used to indicate the resources of the uplink information forwarded by the relay device. In the embodiment of the present application, the information forwarded by the relay device may be uplink information, or other information. For example, the information forwarded by the relay device may also be information in other sending directions, such as information sent from one terminal device to another terminal device, or information sent from one network device to another network device, or information sent from one relay device to another relay device.

[0124] In an embodiment of the present application, the first information may include multiple types of information. For example, the first information may include resources (information A1) for indicating information sent by the relay device (such as information forwarded by the relay device), a sending address (information A2) corresponding to the information sent by the relay device (such as information forwarded by the relay device), a sending path (information A3), a sending direction (information A4), a sending method (information A5) and a frequency (information A6).

[0125] Information A1 is used to indicate the resource of the information sent by the relay device.

[0126] The resource for indicating information sent by the relay device may include or be replaced by a resource for indicating information forwarded by the relay device.

[0127] The resources used to indicate information sent by the relay device (such as information forwarded by the relay device) may include, for example: information used to indicate the time domain starting position of the second time unit; and / or information used to indicate the length of the time domain resources occupied by the second time unit.

[0128] The resources used to indicate information sent by the relay device (such as information forwarded by the relay device) may also include frequency domain resources, such as a starting RB index and / or RB quantity, etc. The relay device may subsequently send the second information on the frequency domain resources.

[0129] Information A2 is used to indicate the sending address corresponding to the information sent by the relay device.

[0130] The sending address corresponding to the information sent by the relay device may include or be replaced by: the sending address corresponding to the information forwarded by the relay device.

[0131] The information A2 may include, for example, a sending address corresponding to information sent by the relay device (such as information forwarded by the relay device), such as the address of the next hop or the address of the network device.

[0132] Information A3 is used to indicate the transmission path corresponding to the information sent by the relay device.

[0133] The transmission path corresponding to the information sent by the relay device may include or be replaced by: the transmission path corresponding to the information forwarded by the relay device.

[0134] The information A2 may include, for example, information on the transmission path corresponding to the information sent by the relay device (eg, information forwarded by the relay device), such as an identifier of the path, or addresses of each node on the path.

[0135] Information A4 is used to indicate the sending direction of the information sent by the relay device.

[0136] The sending direction corresponding to the information sent by the relay device may include or be replaced by: the sending direction corresponding to the information forwarded by the relay device.

[0137] The transmission direction of the information sent by the relay device (eg, information forwarded by the relay device) includes an uplink transmission direction or a downlink transmission direction. The first information may indicate the transmission direction of the information to be sent by the relay device.

[0138] Information A5 is used to indicate the sending method of the information sent by the relay device.

[0139] The sending method for instructing the relay device to send information may include or be replaced by: a sending method for instructing the relay device to forward information.

[0140] The relay device may transmit information (eg, forward information) in a transparent forwarding mode or a regenerative forwarding mode, which can also be understood as the relay device operating in a transparent forwarding mode or a regenerative forwarding mode.

[0141] Information A6 is used to indicate the frequency corresponding to the information sent by the relay device.

[0142] The frequency point corresponding to the information sent by the relay device may include or be replaced by: the frequency point corresponding to the information forwarded by the relay device.

[0143] The frequencies corresponding to the information sent by the relay device (eg, information forwarded by the relay device) may include, for example, 20 gigahertz (GHz) or 30 GHz, etc. The relay device may send information at these frequencies, such as forwarding information at these frequencies.

[0144] Step 402: The network device sends information indicating a first duration.

[0145] The relay device receives information indicating the first duration.

[0146] The information indicating the first duration received by the relay device may be sent directly by the network device to the relay device, or may be sent by the network device to the relay device via other devices (such as other relay devices).

[0147] In the embodiment of the present application, the information indicating the first duration and the first information in the aforementioned step 401 can be carried in the same signaling, or carried in two separate signalings. There is no absolute order between step 401 and step 402, and step 402 can be performed first and then step 401.

[0148] The first duration is associated with the delay between the relay device and the network device (e.g., the round-trip signal transmission delay). In one possible implementation, the network device can calculate the first duration based on the delay between the relay device and the network device (e.g., the round-trip signal transmission delay). The first duration is greater than or equal to the delay between the relay device and the network device (e.g., the round-trip signal transmission delay). In this way, in terms of timing, the second time unit for forwarding information determined by the subsequent relay device based on the first duration will be later than the first time unit, thereby enabling the relay device to successfully forward the information.

[0149] In another possible implementation, the first duration may also be less than the round-trip delay of signal transmission between the relay device and the network device. In this implementation, the relay device may also determine the time unit for forwarding information based on the first duration, or the relay device may determine the time unit for forwarding information based on other parameters and the first duration. This solution may make the determined time unit more reasonable. In another possible implementation, when the first duration is less than the round-trip delay of signal transmission between the relay device and the network device, the network device side may perform timing compensation for the uplink data, that is, delay the reception of the uplink signal, and the uplink data frame boundary received by the network device side is later than the downlink data frame boundary.

[0150] The information indicating the first duration received by the relay device may include information about the first duration, and may also include information about the time units corresponding to the first duration. The number of time units corresponding to the first duration may be, for example, the quotient of the first duration and the duration of one time unit. The relay device may calculate the second time unit based on the first duration, or may calculate the second time unit based on the number of time units corresponding to the first duration.

[0151] In the embodiment of the present application, the first time length is ΔT time slots as an example for introduction. The meaning of the parameter in other positions is the same as this, and the meaning of ΔT will not be repeated. In one possible implementation, or △ in, represents rounding up, RTD (network device, relay device) represents the delay between the relay device and the network device (such as the round-trip delay of signal transmission), slot_duration represents the length of a time unit, and TA represents the timing advance (TA) of the relay device.

[0152] Step 403: The terminal device sends the second information.

[0153] The relay device receives the second information.

[0154] In the present application, the second information received by the relay device may be from the terminal device or other relay devices, or from other devices, such as a network device. The relay device may send the second information to the network device or other relay devices, or to other devices, such as the terminal device.

[0155] In the embodiment of the present application, the second information can be understood as information that needs to be forwarded by the relay device, or as information to be forwarded. The second information may belong to uplink information, that is, the sending direction of the second information is from the terminal device to the network device. For ease of understanding, some examples in the embodiment of the present application are introduced as examples of the second information belonging to uplink information. When the second information belongs to uplink information, in step 403, the second information received by the relay device may be from the terminal device or other relay devices; in the subsequent step 404, the relay device may send the second information to other relay devices or network devices. In the embodiment of the present application, the second information may be uplink information, or it may be other information. For example, the sending direction of the second information may be the second information or information of other sending directions, such as information sent from one terminal device to another terminal device, or information sent from one network device to another network device, or information sent from one relay device to another relay device.

[0156] Step 404: The relay device sends second information in a second time unit.

[0157] Correspondingly, the network device receives the second information.

[0158] In step 404 , the relay device may send second information to the network device or other relay devices in the second time unit, and the network device may receive the second information from the relay device or other relay devices.

[0159] In the present application, one or more relay devices may be included between the network device and the terminal device, and multiple relay devices may all forward the second information at the second time unit. Correspondingly, the network device may also receive the second information at the second time unit. In another possible implementation, the time units in which the two relay devices forward the second information may be different. If the relay device is adjacent to the network device, the network device may receive the second information at the second time unit. If other relay devices are included between the relay device and the network device, the time unit in which the network device receives the second information may not be the second time unit, but the time unit in which the relay device adjacent to the network device forwards the second information. For ease of understanding, some examples in the embodiments of the present application are introduced using the example of the network device receiving the second information at the second time unit. The way in which other relay devices determine the time unit for forwarding the second information is similar to the way in which the relay device in the present application determines the second time unit, and will not be repeated here.

[0160] The second time unit in the embodiment of the present application can be, for example, a symbol or a time slot, etc. For the description of the time unit, please refer to the above content. The embodiment of the present application is introduced using the second time unit as a time slot as an example. In these examples, the time slot can also be replaced by other time units, such as the time slot can be replaced by a symbol, etc.

[0161] In an embodiment of the present application, the relay device may transparently forward or regenerate the second information. Alternatively, it may be understood that the relay device may operate in a transparent forwarding mode to send the second information. Alternatively, the relay device may operate in a regenerative forwarding mode to send the second information. For example, the relay device may have an AF relay function, such as after receiving the second information, the relay device does not decode or encode the second information, but directly forwards the received second information to the destination node. Alternatively, the relay device may have a DF relay function, and after receiving the second information, the relay device decodes the second information, then re-encodes the decoding result, and forwards the re-encoded second information to the destination node.

[0162] The second time unit is determined based on the first duration and the first time unit. For example, the number of time units between the second time unit and the third time unit is determined based on the first duration, such as the number of time units corresponding to the first duration. The number of time units corresponding to the first duration can be, for example, the quotient of the first duration and the duration of one time unit.

[0163] The third time unit is a time domain resource for uplink transmission, and the index value of the third time unit is equal to that of the first time unit.

[0164] For example, the first time unit is time slot n. Then the third time unit is also time slot n. The third time unit has the same index as the first time unit. The second time unit can be determined according to (n+first duration), for example, the second time unit can be the time slot corresponding to (n+first duration), and the time slot corresponding to (n+first duration) can also be called time slot (n+first duration). In the embodiment of the present application, the first duration is △T as an example for introduction. The unit of △T can be time slot or other units, such as the unit of time (such as milliseconds). The second time unit can be: time slot (n+△T), or the second time unit can be time slot (n+△T+S0). In the embodiment of the present application, S0 can be a predefined value or a value configured by the network device. The unit of S0 can be time slot or other units, such as the unit of time (such as milliseconds). The meaning of the parameter in other positions is the same as this and will not be repeated.

[0165] In an embodiment of the present application, the units of the parameters used to calculate the second time unit (such as n, △T, and S0) may be consistent or inconsistent. When the units of these parameters are inconsistent, the units of these parameters can be converted to consistent units for calculation. For example, the units of the parameters used to calculate the second time unit (such as n, △T, and S0) can all be the time slot length corresponding to the same subcarrier spacing. In this case, the time slot (n+△T) can be understood as the time slot with the index number (n+△T), and the time slot (n+△T+S0) can be understood as the time slot with the index number (n+△T+S0). The units of the parameters used to calculate the second time unit (such as n, △T and S0) can also be units of time (such as milliseconds), or time slot lengths corresponding to different subcarrier intervals (different subcarrier intervals have different time slot lengths). In this case, time slot (n+△T) can be understood as the time slot where the time corresponding to (time slot n + △T) (or time domain resource) is located. Similarly, time slot (n+△T+S0) can be understood as the time slot where the time corresponding to (time slot n + △T+S0) (or time domain resource) is located. There are also time slot calculation formulas in other locations in the embodiments of the present application. The units for calculating the various parameters of the time slot and the meaning of the time slot are described here and will not be repeated here.

[0166] Since the relay device determines the second time unit for forwarding information based on the first time length, the second time unit determined by the relay device will be later than the first time unit in terms of timing relationship, satisfying the timing relationship of uplink signal forwarding, thereby enabling the relay device to improve the success rate of forwarding information.

[0167] In another possible implementation, the second time unit is further determined based on the value of K and / or the time unit offset value. The value of K is associated with the delay of the relay device in processing uplink information and / or the delay of processing downlink information. Or K is a specified value. The delay of the relay device in processing uplink and / or downlink information may include, for example, the time required to adjust the beam pointing, as well as the data processing time. The delay of the relay device in processing uplink information and the delay in processing downlink information may be equal or unequal. The first information also indicates the time unit offset value. The time unit offset value in the embodiment of the present application may be expressed as slot_offset.

[0168] The number of time units between the second and third time units is determined by the sum of the first duration, the value of K, and the time unit offset. For example, if the first time unit is downlink time slot n, then the third time unit is uplink time slot n. For example, if the first duration is ΔT time slots, then the second time unit can be time slots (n + ΔT + K + slot_offset). Alternatively, the second time unit can be time slots (n + ΔT + K + slot_offset + S0).

[0169] In an embodiment of the present application, the units of the parameters used to calculate the time slot (such as n, △T, K, slot_offset, and S0) may be consistent or inconsistent. When the units of these parameters are inconsistent, the units of these parameters can be converted to consistent units for calculation. In one possible implementation, the units of the parameters used to calculate the time slot (such as n, △T, K, slot_offset, and S0) can all be time slot lengths corresponding to the same subcarrier spacing. In this case, the time slot A described in the embodiment of the present application can be understood as the time slot with index number A, for example, the time slot (n+△T+K+slot_offset) can be understood as the time slot with index number (n+△T+K+slot_offset), and the time slot (n+△T+K+slot_offset+S0) can be understood as the time slot with index number (n+△T+K+slot_offset+S0). In another possible implementation, the units of the parameters used to calculate the time slot (such as n, △T, K, slot_offset, and S0) can also be time units (such as milliseconds). In this case, the time slot A described in the embodiment of the present application can be understood as the time slot where the time (or time domain resource) corresponding to A is located. For example, the time slot (n+△T+K+slot_offset) can be understood as the time slot where the time (or time domain resource) corresponding to (the time corresponding to time slot n + △T+K+slot_offset) is located. Similarly, the time slot (n+△T+K+slot_offset+S0) can be understood as the time slot where the time (or time domain resource) corresponding to (the time corresponding to time slot n + △T+K+slot_offset+S0) is located. In another possible implementation, the units of the parameters used to calculate the time slot (such as n, △T, K, slot_offset, and S0) can also be the time slot length corresponding to different subcarrier spacings. In this case, each parameter can be multiplied by a conversion coefficient to convert it to the time slot length of the same subcarrier spacing. The time slot (n+△T+K+slot_offset) described in the embodiment of the present application can be understood as the time slot index number when (n+△T+K+slot_offset) is converted to a unified time slot length, and the time slot (n+△T+K+slot_offset+S0) can be understood as the time slot index number when (n+△T+K+slot_offset+S0) is converted to a unified time slot length. There are also time slot calculation formulas in other positions in the embodiment of the present application. The units used to calculate the various parameters of the time slot and the meaning of the time slot are described here and will not be repeated here. The time slot A in this section is an example. A can be an expression of any formula, for example, A can be (n+△T+K+slot_offset), and for example, A can be (n+△T+K+slot_offset+S0). In the subsequent content, A in time slot A can also be other formulas.

[0170] In another possible implementation, the second time unit may be a time slot (n+ΔT+K+2 u *slot_offset). The description of the units of the various parameters in this formula can be found in the description of the units of the various parameters used to calculate the time slot, which will not be repeated here. u The time length represented by slot_offset is converted because the time slot length of downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) is different (different subcarrier spacing). For example, the time unit used by slot_offset can be a time slot length (i.e., 1ms) based on the subcarrier spacing = 15 kilo Hertz (Khz). Therefore, u here can correspond to the subcarrier spacing of uplink information, i.e., the subcarrier spacing of uplink information = 2 u *15Khz. The information in the embodiment of the present application may also be replaced by a signal, the uplink information may also be replaced by an uplink signal, and the downlink information may also be replaced by a downlink signal.

[0171] In another possible implementation, the use of ΔT in the embodiment of the present application can be extended to consider different time units. For example, the second time unit can be a time slot. Or the second time unit can be a time slot (n*s1+△T*s2+K+slot_offset), or the second time unit can be a time slot (n+△T*s2+K+slot_offset). The relevant description of the units of each parameter in this formula can refer to the relevant description of the units of each parameter used to calculate the time slot, and will not be repeated here. Wherein s1 and s2 can be scaling factors, for example, related to the subcarrier spacing, for example, Among them, μ PUSCH Related to the PUSCH subcarrier spacing, that is μ PDCCH Related to the PDSCH subcarrier spacing, that is μ △T It is related to the subcarrier spacing corresponding to the defined △T, that is, In another possible implementation, K and slot_offset can also determine different scaling factors (or conversion factors) according to the subcarrier spacing or using different time units. For example, in the embodiment of the present application, s3 is used to represent the scaling factor (or conversion factor) of K determined according to the subcarrier spacing or using different time units, and s4 is used to represent the scaling factor (or conversion factor) of slot_offset determined according to the subcarrier spacing or using different time units. The second time unit can be a time slot. Or the second time unit may be a time slot (n*s1+ΔT*s2+K*s3+slot_offset*s4). "" may indicate rounding down, and "*" may indicate multiplication. "u" may be the subcarrier spacing for transmitting uplink information. "n" may be the index of the first time unit. The values ​​of "ΔT", "K", and the definition of "slot_offset" are described above and are not repeated here. The units of the parameters in these formulas can be found in the description of the units of the parameters used to calculate the time slot. These descriptions are not repeated here.

[0172] The solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can increase the timing interval between the time domain resources of the information to be forwarded and the downlink signaling (such as the first information) used to indicate the resources of the information to be forwarded, thereby solving the problem of insufficient timing offset of the time domain resources of the information.

[0173] Compared to directly expanding the existing parameter K or slot_offset value, the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can introduce a new parameter, the first duration. In this way, the solution can avoid modifying the parameter range supported by the ground scenario relay device (that is, it can avoid modifying the value of K or slot_offset). It also does not require the ground relay device (small delay scenario) to support the ability of the large delay scenario, thereby avoiding increasing the capacity of the ground relay device. The solution provided in the embodiment of the present application only needs to increase the capacity of the relay device in the large delay scenario.

[0174] On the other hand, the K value can ensure that the relay device has sufficient time to complete internal signal processing, beam adjustment, etc. The slot_offset value provides more flexibility for forwarding instruction information, for example, the relay device can forward information within a certain time range. On the other hand, the K value can ensure the validity and availability of the slot_offset value. The "first duration" proposed in the embodiment of the present application can "resist" the impact of large round-trip delays between the relay device and the network device.

[0175] Figure 5 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the relationship between the time units corresponding to the uplink and downlink on the relay device side provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5, the relay device receives the first information in time slot n (for ease of understanding, the figure takes the first information carried by DCI as an example. In actual application, the first information can also be carried by other information, that is, DCI can also be replaced by other signaling). Time slot n is the time unit for receiving the first information (such as DCI). The first information (such as DCI) is used to indicate the resources for uplink forwarding. The relay device needs to determine the resources for uplink forwarding based on time slot n. The second time unit can be a time slot (n+△T+K+slot_offset). In the embodiment of the present application, the value of K is associated with the delay of the relay device processing uplink information and / or the delay of processing downlink information, or K is a specified value. The meaning of this parameter in other positions is the same, and the relevant content of the value of K is not repeated. In the embodiment of the present application, slot_offset is a time unit offset value, which can be a value specified by the first information (such as DCI). The meaning of this parameter in other positions is the same, and the relevant content of slot_offset is not repeated.

[0176] As shown in Figure 5, because the relay device determines the resources for forwarding information based on the first duration, even if the delay between the relay device and the network device (such as the round-trip delay of signal transmission) is large, the time domain resources for forwarding the information will not be earlier than the time when the forwarded information is received. Consequently, in high-latency communication scenarios, the relay device's success rate in forwarding information can be improved.

[0177] In an embodiment of the present application, the first duration can be updated. For example, as the relay device moves, the delay between the relay device and the network device (such as the round-trip delay of signal transmission) changes, and then the first duration can change accordingly. Therefore, in order to reduce the delay, the first duration can be updated as the delay changes, or updated periodically. For example, the network device can determine to update the first duration when it is determined that the change in the delay between the relay device and the network device is greater than a threshold. In the embodiment of the present application, for ease of understanding, the two first durations can be referred to as the first duration before the update and the first duration after the update, respectively. The first duration before the update is updated to obtain the first duration after the update.

[0178] In one possible implementation, the relay device may send fourth information to the network device. The network device may receive the fourth information. The fourth information indicates the location information of the relay device and / or the TA corresponding to the relay device. The relay device may be a satellite device or a chip (or chip system) inside the satellite device, so as the relay device moves, the delay between the relay device and the network device will change. In another possible implementation, the relay device has the function of accessing the base station or the previous node to establish a control link and transmit control signaling. When the relay device sends information to the base station or the previous node, the TA is used to adjust the timing of forwarding information (such as uplink information). The TA corresponding to the relay device is related to the round-trip delay (double-selection transmission delay) between the relay device and the network device, and also changes with the delay between the relay device and the network device. Therefore, the TA reported by the relay device can also reflect the delay between the relay device and the network device, and then the network device can also update the first duration based on the TA, or update the number of time units corresponding to the first duration. For example, the updated first duration may be the TA, or the number of time units corresponding to the updated first duration may be the quotient of the TA and the duration of one time unit.

[0179] The network device may determine the third information based on the fourth information. The network device may send the third information to the relay device, and the relay device may receive the third information in response. The third information is used to determine the updated first duration. The updated first duration is used by the relay device to determine the time unit of the subsequent information to be forwarded. The updated first duration is associated with the delay between the relay device and the network device (e.g., the updated round-trip delay).

[0180] In one possible implementation, the third information includes: information indicating the updated first duration. The information indicating the updated first duration may include information about the updated first duration, or include the number of time units corresponding to the updated first duration. The relay device directly determines the updated first duration or the number of time units corresponding to the updated first duration based on the third information. In this example, the network device may calculate the updated first duration. In one possible implementation, Among them, the updated value of △T represents the first duration after the update, Indicates rounding up, RTD (network device, relay device) indicates the delay between the relay device and the network device (such as the updated round-trip delay of signal transmission), TA indicates the TA of the relay device (such as the updated TA of the relay device), and slot_duration indicates the length of a time unit.

[0181] In another possible implementation, the third information includes information indicating the difference between the first duration before the update and the first duration after the update. This difference may be the difference between the first duration before the update and the first duration after the update, or the difference between the number of time units corresponding to the first duration before the update and the number of time units corresponding to the first duration after the update. In this example, the network device may calculate the difference between the first duration before the update and the first duration after the update. The relay device may determine the updated first duration or the number of time units corresponding to the updated first duration based on this difference. For example, the updated first duration = the first duration before the update - ΔS. Another example: the updated first duration = the first duration before the update + ΔS. ΔS may be the difference between the first duration before the update and the first duration after the update. Another example: the number of time units corresponding to the updated first duration = the number of time units corresponding to the first duration before the update - the number of time units corresponding to ΔS. Another example: the number of time units corresponding to the updated first duration = the number of time units corresponding to the first duration before the update + the number of time units corresponding to ΔS. The relationship between the various parameters in these examples can be expressed as the following formula: ΔS = ΔT Initial Value - ΔT Update Value, or ΔS = ΔT Update Value - ΔT Initial Value, where ΔT Initial Value can be understood as the first duration before the update, and ΔT Update Value can be understood as the first duration after the update. The relay device can also calculate the first duration after the update based on this relationship, for example, ΔT Update Value = ΔT Initial Value - ΔS, or ΔT Update Value = ΔS + ΔT Initial Value.

[0182] In the embodiments of the present application, the signaling or information (such as the first information, the information indicating the first duration, or the third information) sent by the network device can be sent in a variety of ways. For example, any of these signaling or information can be carried in at least one of the broadcast information such as system information block (SIB) 1, SIB19, other system information (OSI), master system information block (MIB), physical broadcast channel (PBC) messages, etc. The signaling or information (such as the first information, the information indicating the first duration, and the third information) sent by the network device is broadcast, multicast, or unicast to the relay device by the network device. Broadcasting or multicasting the above signaling to the relay device can avoid scheduling different resources for different relay devices in order to send the above signaling, saving the signaling overhead of scheduling resources and reducing the complexity of system scheduling.

[0183] In another possible implementation, if the signaling or information (e.g., the first information, the information indicating the first duration, or the third information) sent by the network device during the radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment phase and subsequent communication processes can be carried in at least one of RRC signaling (e.g., an RRC setup message, RRC reconfiguration signaling, RRC resume signaling, etc.), DCI, group DCI, a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), or a timing advance command (TAC). The signaling or information (e.g., the first information, the information indicating the first duration, or the third information) sent by the network device can be indicated in the form of a message or table, or can be unicast or multicasted to the relay device along with data transmission or in a separately allocated PDSCH bearer. The advantage of sending the above signaling to relay devices individually or in groups is that the parameter values ​​of each relay device / group can be flexibly controlled. Different parameter values ​​can be configured for relay devices based on their locations or regions to optimize system parameters and the communication performance of the relay devices / system. For example, different first duration values ​​can be configured for relay devices based on their locations to optimize the forwarding delay of each relay device / group, thereby improving system communication efficiency.

[0184] The first duration in the embodiment of the present application may be a newly defined value. In another possible implementation, the first duration may reuse a scheduling offset value. For example, the first duration is determined based on the scheduling offset value. The scheduling offset value in the embodiment of the present application is represented by K offset For example, the first duration is K offset , or the number of time units corresponding to the first duration is K offset The number of corresponding time units. For example, the first duration = K offset + adjustment value, or first duration = K offset -Adjustment value. The adjustment value can be predefined by the protocol, or a value indicated by the network device to the relay device. Alternatively, the first duration can be K offset and other calculation formulas of adjustment values, such as product, etc. Since the relay device can reuse K offset As the first duration, the network device does not need to send additional signaling to configure the first duration, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0185] K offset It can be broadcasted by the network device, such as broadcasted to the terminal device, K offsetIt can be associated with the delay between the network device and the terminal device (such as round-trip delay), so the relay device is based on the K offset The determined second time unit may also be more reasonable.

[0186] In the embodiment of this application, K offset It can also be updated, for example, as the delay between the terminal device and the network device changes, K offset The relay device can use the updated K offset Calculate the time unit used to forward the information. offset The determination scheme of can refer to the determination scheme of the first duration after the above update, which is similar and will not be repeated here.

[0187] The first duration, K offset The units of parameters such as the value of K and the time unit offset value can be set flexibly, for example, they can be set to the number of time units, or to time units such as milliseconds. The definition of the value of K can be found in the above description and will not be repeated here. offset The time unit can be milliseconds or the time slot length of 15KHz subcarrier spacing. In the calculation formula, the units of various parameters can be converted. For example, when K offset When the time unit is inconsistent with other parameters in the formula, the unit can be converted by multiplying by a coefficient, which will not be repeated here.

[0188] In the embodiment of this application, K offset It can also be used in other scenarios, such as K offset It is also used to perform at least one of the following: used to adjust the sending timing of information of the terminal device; used to adjust the sending timing of feedback information of the terminal device; used to adjust the sending timing of the reference signal of the terminal device; used to adjust the random access timing of the terminal device.

[0189] Next, we use K offset The following scenarios are illustrated with examples: 1) The terminal device feeds back the scheduling delay problem of the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgement instruction (hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)-acknowledgement (ACK)) corresponding to the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) data; 2) The network side schedules the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) data through DCI instructions.

[0190] After receiving the PDSCH data sent by the network device, the terminal device needs to send a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgement (HARQACK) or non-acknowledgement (NACK) to feedback whether the decoding is successful. If the terminal device receives PDSCH data in the downlink time slot n0, then the UE needs to send a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgement (HARQACK) or non-acknowledgement (NACK) to feedback whether the decoding is successful. offset ) in the uplink time slot where the ACK / NACK information is fed back. As shown in Figure 5, the maximum value of the timing advance adjustment that the UE can make can be (K1+K offset -1) time slot length. The maximum value of K1 is 15. When the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is 15KHz, the length of a time slot is 1ms. The maximum timing advance adjustment that the UE can make is (14ms+K offset ).

[0191] In satellite communication scenarios, the round-trip delay between the terminal device and the network device will be greater than 14ms, that is, the terminal device needs to make a timing advance adjustment for uplink data that is greater than 14ms. Therefore, (14ms+K offset ) time slot length can provide the terminal device with sufficient time length to make timing advance adjustment, so as to meet the timing advance demand of the terminal device for round-trip delay compensation in a large delay transmission scenario (such as an NTN scenario). Figure 6 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the relationship between the time units corresponding to the uplink and downlink on the relay device side. As shown in Figure 6, the timing advance adjustment amount of the uplink data sent by the terminal device is not greater than (K1+K offset -1) time slot length, the terminal device can send ACK information to the network device on time. offset Parameters can be obtained by K offset The time slot in which the terminal device sends HARQ-ACK information is adjusted by the value, and the scheduling delay for the terminal device to feedback ACK / NACK is increased, so as to give the UE enough time to make timing advance adjustment.

[0192] The above introduction is about HARQ-ACK / NACK feedback introduction K offset Scenario. Similarly, when the uplink PUSCH data is scheduled by DCI instructions, the problem of scheduling delay being less than the TA adjustment length will also be encountered. Figure 7 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the relationship between the time units corresponding to the uplink and downlink on the relay device side provided by an embodiment of the present application. For ease of understanding, the figure takes DCI as an example for introduction, and in actual applications, DCI can also be replaced by other signaling. As shown in (a) of Figure 7, the terminal device receives the uplink grant (UL grant) scheduled by DCI in the downlink time slot n0, and in the corresponding uplink time slot n1 (time slot n1 is time slot ) sends PUSCH uplink data. In this embodiment of the application, μ PUSCH and μ PDCCH It is related to the subcarrier spacing of PUSCH and physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), such as The meaning of the parameters in other locations of the present application embodiment is the same as this, and will not be described again. Indicates rounding down. The meaning of this symbol in other positions of the embodiment of the present application is the same as this and will not be repeated. In the embodiment of the present application, K2=0,…,32, the value of K2 is indicated by the DCI instruction. The meaning of this symbol in other positions of the embodiment of the present application is the same as this and will not be repeated. The "*" in the formula of the embodiment of the present application means multiplication. The meaning of this symbol in other positions is the same as this and will not be repeated. For the relevant description of the units of each parameter in the formula, please refer to the relevant description of the units of each parameter used to calculate the time slot mentioned above, and will not be repeated.

[0193] When the time length of the timing advance adjustment for sending uplink data is greater than the length of (K2-1) time slots, the terminal device will not be able to send data in the uplink time slot n1, and will not be able to allow the network device to receive the corresponding uplink PUSCH data in the uplink time slot n1 as agreed. The value range of K2 is 0 to 32. When the uplink subcarrier width is different, the length of K2 time slots will also be different. As shown in Table 1, when SCS = 15KHz, the maximum value of the K2 time slot length is 32 milliseconds (millisecond, ms). Based on the above analysis, it can be seen that under the conditions of different subcarrier widths, the maximum value of the timing advance adjustment that can be made by the terminal device when sending DCI-scheduled PUSCH data is 32ms. For the GEO scenario, the maximum round-trip delay is 541.46ms, and the K2 value cannot meet the timing advance requirements. Similarly, for the LEO-1200 scenario, when the subcarrier width is 30 kHz, the maximum length of K2 time slots is 16 ms. However, the maximum round-trip delay in the LEO-1200 scenario is greater than 20 ms. Therefore, the K2 value cannot meet the timing advance adjustment value requirements in this scenario.

[0194] Table 1 Different subcarrier widths correspond to different K2 time slot lengths

[0195] As with the feedback HARQ-ACK / NACK scenario, the embodiment of the present application can introduce a timing offset K offsetThere should be enough time between the terminal receiving the downlink DCI signaling and the uplink PUSCH data, so that the terminal has enough scheduling delay to adjust the TA for sending uplink data. As shown in (b) of Figure 7, increasing K offset After that, the terminal device will be in the uplink time slot K s (Time Slot K s Time slot ) sends PUSCH. The relevant description of the units of each parameter in this formula can be found in the relevant description of the units of each parameter used to calculate the time slot. The "·" in the formula of the embodiment of the present application means multiplication. The meaning of the symbol in other positions is the same and will not be repeated. Among them, and It is a coefficient adjusted due to the difference in time units. Indicates the subcarrier corresponding to Koffset, that is The other parameters and symbols of the formula are described in the above related content and will not be repeated here. This solution increases the delay of DCI scheduling uplink data, which can ensure that the UE has enough time interval to adjust the TA.

[0196] In addition to the above-mentioned K offset In addition to the application scenarios, some other K offset The application scenarios of the two are introduced below.

[0197] 1) DCI-scheduled PUSCH transmission timing.

[0198] If the UE receives uplink grant / scheduling information in downlink timeslot n0, the UE's PUSCH data must be:

[0199] Uplink timeslot The meaning of each parameter and symbol in the formula can be found in the above description of the relevant content, which will not be repeated here. The relevant description of the units of each parameter in the formula can be found in the relevant description of the units of each parameter used to calculate the time slot, which will not be repeated here.

[0200] In addition to DCI, there is another way to schedule PUSCH: configured grant. In this scheduling method, K is also required. offset .

[0201] For example, an uplink resource grant of configured grant type 2 is configured. When the terminal device receives the uplink grant message of configured grant type 2 configured by the network side, the terminal device uses K when sending uplink data (PUSCH) on the corresponding resource. offset , such as K after the UE receives the uplink authorization message configured with authorization type 2offset The first PUSCH transmission opportunity after the indicated time length sends uplink data.

[0202] 2) RAR carried by downlink PDSCH schedules uplink PUSCH data.

[0203] The UE receives the RAR message carried by the PDSCH. The downlink PDSCH RAR message ends at time slot n0. The UE receives the RAR message carried by the PDSCH at time slot (n0+k2+△+2 u K offset ) sends the corresponding scheduled PUSCH, where 2 u This is because the time slot lengths of DL and UL are different (subcarrier spacing is different) offset The standard defines K offset The time unit used is the time slot length of subcarrier spacing = 15Khz (i.e. 1ms), so u here can be the subcarrier spacing for sending uplink signals. For example, K offset The time unit used is indicated by the time slot length of 15Khz subcarrier spacing (ie 1ms). u is related to the subcarrier spacing of the uplink signal, i.e. uplink subcarrier spacing = 2 u *15Khz. In this embodiment, Δ is a numerical value agreed upon by the protocol. The meaning of the symbols in other positions is the same and will not be repeated here. The other parameters and symbols in this formula are described in the relevant content above and will not be repeated here. The relevant description of the units of each parameter in this formula can be found in the relevant description of the units of each parameter used to calculate the time slot above and will not be repeated here.

[0204] In the two-step random access process, the terminal device sends message A (message, MsgA) to the network device side. If the network device side does not successfully decode the entire MsgA message (for example, only successfully decodes the preamble), the network device side sends a fallback RAR message (fallbackRAR) to the terminal device. After receiving the PDSCH data carrying the RAR message, the terminal device must send a random access message 3 (message 3, Msg3) scheduled by the fallback RAR message (fallbackRAR) on the uplink PUSCH. The timing of sending message 3 can also refer to the above-mentioned RAR scheduling message 3 introduced K offset .

[0205] 3) The transmission timing of the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying HARQ-ACK.

[0206] The terminal device receives PDSCH data or Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS) PDSCH data in the downlink time slot n0. The terminal device needs to offset ) feedback HARQ-ACK, where K1 is a value obtained by indexing a table (such as a table transmitted by dl-DataToUL-ACK signaling) in the PDSCH-to-HARQ-timing-indicator instruction in the DCI. The relevant description of the units of the various parameters in these formulas can be found in the relevant description of the units of the various parameters used to calculate the time slot, and will not be repeated here.

[0207] In the two-step access process, after the terminal device receives MsgB sent by the network side, it needs to feedback the PUCCH carrying the corresponding HARQ-ACK / negative-acknowledgement (NACK) to the network side. The timing of sending the HARQ-ACK / NACK also needs to use K offset .

[0208] 4) PUSCH transmission timing carrying CSI.

[0209] When the terminal device receives the DCI of the channel state information (CSI) request in the downlink time slot n0, the terminal device needs to offset ) sends CSI. In this formula, K can be selected by the DCI instruction. For other parameters and symbols of this formula, refer to the aforementioned related content description and are not repeated here. For the relevant description of the units of each parameter in this formula, refer to the relevant description of the units of each parameter used to calculate the time slot and are not repeated here.

[0210] 5) CSI reference resource timing.

[0211] When the terminal device sends a CSI report in uplink time slot n', the CSI reference resource must be in downlink time slot (nn csi_ref -K offset ) is sent to the terminal device. The time slot n can be calculated according to the following formula:

[0212] In the embodiment of this application, n csi_ref It is a value related to the CSI report type agreed by the protocol, μ DL and μ UL Related to the uplink and downlink data subcarrier spacing, please refer to the above μ PUSCH and μ PDCCHFor other parameters and symbols of the formula, please refer to the description of the relevant content above and will not be repeated here. For the description of the units of the various parameters in the formula, please refer to the description of the units of the various parameters used to calculate the time slot above and will not be repeated here.

[0213] 6) Aperiodic sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission timing.

[0214] The terminal device receives a DCI instruction to trigger an aperiodic sounding reference signal (SRS) in the downlink time slot n0. Each time the SRS resource group is triggered, the terminal device The SRS signal is sent in the corresponding uplink time slot, wherein the K3 value is configured by the high-layer parameter offset value (offset value offset, which has a different meaning from the aforementioned slot_offset) of each triggering of the SRS resource group (the value of K3 can be the same as or different from the aforementioned value of K. In order to distinguish it from the aforementioned K value, K3 is used in the formula here to write the formula. In actual applications, K3 is also replaced by other parameters, such as K). SRS andμ PDCCH The subcarrier spacing of the SRS is related to the subcarrier spacing of the PDCCH, which can be referred to the above μ PUSCH and μ PDCCH For other parameters and symbols of the formula, please refer to the description of the relevant content above and will not be repeated here. For the description of the units of the various parameters in the formula, please refer to the description of the units of the various parameters used to calculate the time slot above and will not be repeated here.

[0215] 7) The PDCCH command triggers the random access process.

[0216] The network side indicates / configures the random access opportunity to the terminal device through the PDCCH command (randomly selecting a random access opportunity with medium probability in consecutive physical random access (PRACH) occasions through medium access control (MAC) entity signaling), and the terminal device determines the next available random access opportunity according to the instruction. The terminal device receives the K after the last symbol of the PDCCH command. offset After the length of time indicated (if the uplink time slot length is the unit, then it is K offset After a time slot length), the terminal device determines the next available random access opportunity according to the PDCCH command (MAC entity signaling) and sends a random access signal (such as a random access preamble) at this random access opportunity.

[0217] In addition, the time interval between the first symbol of the random signal sent by the terminal device at the determined random access opportunity and the last symbol of the received PDCCH command must be greater than or equal to (N T,2 +Δ BWPSwitching +Δ Delay +T switch ) milliseconds, where N T,2 Indicates the time length of N2 symbols, which corresponds to the terminal device's ability to prepare for PUSCH, assuming that the subcarrier spacing is the minimum subcarrier spacing configuration among the subcarrier spacing configurations sent by PDCCH commands and random access. If the activated uplink part bandwidth (Bandwidth Part, BWP) does not change, then Δ BWPSwitching = 0. In other cases, the Δ value configured on the network side or agreed upon in the protocol is used. BWPSwitching If the frequency range used is frequency response (FR) 1, then Δ Delay =0.5ms; if the frequency range used is FR2, then Δ Delay =0.25ms (It is generally believed that FR1 represents a frequency range not greater than 6 GHz, and FR2 represents a frequency range greater than 6 GHz and less than 52.6 GHz.) T switch It is the conversion interval, which is configured by the network side or agreed upon through the protocol.

[0218] In this application, K offset The time unit is taken as an example with the length of the (uplink / downlink) time slot. It can be understood that K offset Other units can also be used, such as milliseconds as the time unit. If milliseconds are used as the time unit, then K offset The usage descriptions in each scenario should also be modified accordingly. For example, take the PUSCH transmission timing scenario with RAR grant scheduling as an example:

[0219] The terminal device receives the PDSCH data carrying the RAR message in the downlink time slot n0, and the terminal device needs to receive the PDSCH data carrying the RAR message in the uplink PUSCH time slot ) sends message 3 of random access scheduled by RAR. The units of the parameters in these formulas can be found in the units of the parameters used to calculate the time slots, which will not be repeated here. Δ is a value agreed upon by the protocol. The reason for modifying the description is that if K offset The time unit is ms, and the uplink time slot length is related to the uplink subcarrier spacing, that is, μ UL Related, K offset ms length is equal to time slot length. Similarly, if K offset If ms is used as the unit, K of other application scenarios can be offset Description replaced with or For K offset To use other units, just change K offset Alternatively, convert other parameters representing time slot length into the same units as K. offset The same time unit can be used. The principle is similar to the above description and will not be repeated here. The other parameters and symbols of the formula can be found in the above description of the relevant content and will not be repeated here.

[0220] In another possible implementation of the embodiment of the present application, the first information indicates at least one fourth time unit. The fourth time units indicated by the first information are all time units that can be used to send (or forward) information. In the embodiment of the present application, the relay device can select one or more suitable fourth time units from these configured fourth time units according to the first duration to send (or forward) information (the selected one or more fourth time units are the second time units). The second time unit is selected from the at least one fourth time unit. The at least one fourth time unit can be a periodic resource or a non-periodic resource, and the second time unit can be one or more.

[0221] For example, the second time unit belongs to a fourth time unit that satisfies a first condition. The first condition includes: the number of time units between the time domain starting position of the fourth time unit and the third time unit is greater than or equal to: the first duration, or the sum of the first duration, the value of K, and the time unit offset value. The third time unit is a time domain resource for uplink transmission, and the index value of the third time unit is equal to that of the first time unit.

[0222] The following is an example with reference to Figure 8. Figure 8 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the relationship between the time units corresponding to the uplink and downlink on another relay device side provided in an embodiment of the present application. For example, the first time unit is time slot n, the first information is received on time slot n, and the third time unit is time slot n. The first duration is represented by △T, and the time unit offset value is represented by slot_offset. The first information indicates that multiple fourth time units are time slot (n+1), time slot (n+3) and time slot (n+5). The first information can also indicate more fourth time units, and these three are used as examples in Figure 8. Time slot (n+1), time slot (n+3) and time slot (n+5) are time domain resources configured by the network device for the relay device that can be used to forward information. However, since the relay device received the first information on time slot n, the relay device needs to forward information (such as the second information) on the fourth time unit that meets the first condition. For example, as shown in Figure 8, the relay device needs to begin forwarding information in the fourth time unit (e.g., time slot (n+5)) in the time slots starting with time slot (n+ΔT+K+slot_offset). Time slot (n+5) is the earliest time slot that meets the first condition. The time unit used for forwarding information is the second time unit, which belongs to the fourth time unit. Time slots (n+1) and (n+3) do not belong to the second time unit and cannot be used to forward the second information.

[0223] In this example, time slot (n+△T+K+slot_offset) is time slot (n+4), which is not the fourth time unit. Therefore, the first second time unit is time slot (n+5) following time slot (n+△T+K+slot_offset). If time slot (n+△T+K+slot_offset)(time slot (n+4)) is the fourth time unit, time slot (n+△T+K+slot_offset)(time slot (n+4)) can be considered the first second time unit, and time slot (n+5) can be considered the second second time unit.

[0224] FIG8 illustrates the first condition as follows: the number of time units between the time domain start position of the fourth time unit and the third time unit is greater than or equal to the sum of the first duration, the value of K, and the time unit offset. The first condition may also be other conditions, for example, in FIG8 , the second time unit is the fourth time unit after time slot (n+ΔT), the second time unit is the fourth time unit after time slot (n+ΔT+K), the second time unit is the fourth time unit after time slot (n+ΔT+slot_offset), the second time unit is the fourth time unit after time slot (n+ΔT+S0), the second time unit is the fourth time unit after time slot (n+ΔT+S0+K+slot_offset), the second time unit is the fourth time unit after time slot (n+ΔT+S0+K+slot_offset), the second time unit is the fourth time unit after time slot (n+ΔT+S0+K), the second time unit is the fourth time unit after time slot (n+ΔT+S0+K), etc. For related schemes, please refer to the related description of Figure 8 and will not be repeated here. For example, K is related to the capabilities of the relay device. For example, the value of K is associated with the signal processing and / or beam pointing adjustment capabilities of the relay device. For example, the time length represented by K is ≥ the internal processing delay of the relay device (for example, DL+UL internal processing delay and / or beam pointing adjustment time, etc.). For another example, slot_offset is the time slot offset. For example, in this scenario, it can be agreed that slot_offset=0 or slot_offset=1, etc. For an introduction to parameters related to K, △T, S0 and slot_offset, please refer to the contents in Figures 4, 5, 6 or 7 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0225] Compared to directly expanding the existing parameter K or slot_offset value, the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can introduce a new parameter, the first duration. In this way, the solution can avoid modifying the parameter range supported by the ground scenario relay device (that is, it can avoid modifying the value of K or slot_offset). It also does not require the ground relay device (small delay scenario) to support the ability of the large delay scenario, thereby avoiding increasing the capacity of the ground relay device. The solution provided in the embodiment of the present application only needs to increase the capacity of the relay device in the large delay scenario.

[0226] On the other hand, the K value can ensure that the relay device has sufficient time to complete internal signal processing, beam adjustment, etc. The slot_offset value provides more flexibility for forwarding instruction information, for example, the relay device can forward information within a certain time range. On the other hand, the K value can ensure the validity and availability of the slot_offset value. The "first duration" proposed in the embodiment of the present application can "resist" the impact of large round-trip delays between the relay device and the network device.

[0227] As shown in Figure 8, because the relay device determines the resources for forwarding information based on the first duration, even if the delay between the relay device and the network device (such as the round-trip delay of signal transmission) is large, the time domain resources for forwarding the information will not be earlier than the time when the forwarded information is received. Consequently, in high-latency communication scenarios, the relay device's success rate in forwarding information can be improved.

[0228] In the embodiment of the present application, the fourth time unit can be semi-statically configured, and one or more fourth time units can be subsequently activated by the first information; or the fourth time unit can be directly effective after configuration without activation. The following is an exemplary introduction through implementation mode 1 and implementation mode 2 respectively.

[0229] In the first implementation mode, the first information may be signaling for activating at least one fourth time unit.

[0230] For example, the network device sends information for configuring at least one resource set (resource set) before sending the first information. Correspondingly, the relay device receives information for configuring an indication of a resource set. The at least one resource set includes a first resource set. The first resource set includes the multiple fourth time units. The information for configuring at least one resource set is carried in radio resource control RRC signaling. The network device can subsequently activate / deactivate a resource set through signaling (e.g., media access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling). In the embodiment of the present application, the example of using the first information to activate the first resource set is used for introduction. For example, the first information is carried in media access control control element MAC CE signaling. In this solution, the network device can pre-configure one or more resource sets, and subsequently activate / deactivate the resource set through signaling. Since the signaling for activating / deactivating the resource set occupies a small number of bits, this solution can save the overhead of subsequent signaling.

[0231] For example, a network device configures up to 32 semi-static resource sets using information (e.g., RRC signaling) for configuring a resource set. For example, a resource set may include at most 128 time resources, beam index combinations, SCS indications, priority flags, or resource cycles. In another possible implementation, a resource set may further include at least one of the following: a forwarding address, a forwarding path, a forwarding direction (e.g., DL / UL), forwarding resource information (e.g., frequency domain resource information, starting RB index, number of RBs), a transparent forwarding or regeneration (digital) forwarding indication, a forwarding / receiving port number, or a forwarding / receiving beam index.

[0232] In the second implementation mode, the first information may be signaling for configuring at least one fourth time unit.

[0233] For example, the first information is carried in RRC signaling. The network device configures at least one fourth time unit to the relay device through the first information. These fourth time units do not need to be activated by MAC CE signaling and can take effect directly. This can improve the flexibility of subsequent resource configuration and save signaling overhead.

[0234] In an embodiment of the present application, the relay device may have the function of a network device or the function of a terminal. For example, the relay device may access other network devices as an MT. The relay device in the embodiment of the present application may also be replaced by a relay device-MT. The relay device and the terminal device may be in the same cell or in different cells. Figure 9 exemplifies a possible scenario diagram to which the embodiment of the present application is applicable. As shown in Figure 9, for example, relay device #2 and terminal device #1 are respectively in different cells. For another example, relay device #4 and terminal device #1 are in the same cell, and relay device #4 may also access the network provided by relay device #3 as a terminal device. For example, relay device #4 as an MT (for example, it may be called relay device #4-MT) may receive the signal of cell #1 (for example, signal #1) and access cell #1. Therefore, relay device #4-MT can receive the broadcast message of cell #1. Relay device #4 forwards the signal of cell #1 to the ground (for example, the area where terminal device #1 is located). In Figure 9, terminal device #1 can receive the broadcast message of cell #1 forwarded by relay device #4, and terminal device #1 can also receive the broadcast message of cell #1. The broadcast message is an example, and the broadcast message can also be replaced by a multicast message or a unicast message.

[0235] Some operations need to be performed between relay #4 and the satellite (relay #3) or base station, and relay #4 (or relay #4-MT) needs to use the scheduling offset value corresponding to the relay to perform some operations. In the embodiment of the present application, the relay-MT can use the first duration as the scheduling offset value corresponding to the relay, and the first duration can also have other uses, such as the relay sends the second information according to the first duration. For example, the scheduling offset value (such as the first duration) corresponding to the relay (or relay-MT) can be used to perform at least one of the following: for adjusting the sending timing of the information of the relay (or relay-MT); for adjusting the sending timing of the feedback information of the relay (or relay-MT); for adjusting the sending timing of the reference signal of the relay (or relay-MT); for adjusting the random access timing of the relay (or relay-MT).

[0236] Similarly, if some operations need to be performed between terminal device #1 and the satellite (relay device #3) or base station, terminal device #1 needs to use the scheduling offset value corresponding to the terminal device to perform some operations. The scheduling offset value corresponding to the terminal device can be used to perform at least one of the following: adjusting the transmission timing of information from the terminal device; adjusting the transmission timing of feedback information from the terminal device; adjusting the transmission timing of the reference signal from the terminal device; and adjusting the random access timing of the terminal device.

[0237] However, the scheduling offset value of a device is associated with the round-trip delay between the device and the satellite (relay device #3). Since the round-trip delay between relay device #4 and the satellite (relay device #3) is different from (for example, greater than) the round-trip delay between terminal device #1 and the satellite (relay device #3), the scheduling offset value corresponding to the terminal device and the scheduling offset value corresponding to the relay device are different, and different parameter values ​​can be used as scheduling offset values. If the terminal device and the relay device use the same scheduling offset value, in order to meet the scheduling delay requirements of the terminal device and the relay device, a larger scheduling offset value needs to be used, which will greatly increase the scheduling delay. By using different parameter values ​​as scheduling offset values, the scheduling delay of devices with smaller round-trip delays can be reduced.

[0238] Through these analyses, it can be seen that both terminal device #1 and relay device #4 can receive the broadcast message of cell #1. If there are multiple parameters in the broadcast message (for example, the scheduling offset value corresponding to the terminal device and the scheduling offset value corresponding to the relay device), the two types of terminals (relay device #4-MT and terminal device #1) are currently unable to identify which parameter to use.

[0239] Based on the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide several possible implementation methods for enabling the relay device (or relay device-MT) and the terminal device to identify the parameters they need to use (such as scheduling offset values), thereby improving the communication success rate. In these implementation methods, the relay device (or relay device-MT) can use the first duration (for example, identified as △T) as the scheduling offset value of the relay device, and the value of the first duration is equal to the scheduling offset value corresponding to the relay device. In this way, when the relay device performs some operations between the MT and the network device, using the first duration as the scheduling offset value corresponding to the relay device can make the transmission of information more matched with the round-trip delay of information between the relay device and the network device, thereby improving communication performance. In the embodiments of the present application, the first duration is not only used as the scheduling offset value of the relay device, but the first duration can also be used for other functions. For example, the aforementioned relay device can determine the resources for forwarding the second information based on the first duration. For other contents of the scenario of Figure 9, please refer to the relevant description of Figure 2A and will not be repeated here. The following introduces these two scenarios through Example 1 and Example 2.

[0240] Example 1: The relay device (or relay device-MT) and the terminal device are in the same cell.

[0241] The network device can broadcast (or multicast, or unicast) one or more parameters. Since the relay device and the terminal device are in the same cell, the relay device and the terminal device will receive the same set of parameters (such as the same broadcast message). In this case, the relay device and the terminal device can respectively select the parameters to be used according to their own types. For example, the relay device can determine the need to select the scheduling offset value corresponding to the relay device for use based on its own type. For example, the relay device determines that it needs to select the scheduling offset value corresponding to the relay device as its own scheduling offset value for use when it determines that at least one of the following items is met: the relay device determines that it has the capabilities of some network devices, the relay device determines that it has the capabilities of a relay, or the relay device determines that it is a network device plus a mobile terminal. For another example, the terminal device can determine the need to select the scheduling offset value corresponding to the terminal device as its own scheduling offset value for use based on its own type. For example, when the terminal device determines that at least one of the following items is satisfied, it determines that the scheduling offset value corresponding to the terminal device needs to be selected as its own scheduling offset value for use: the terminal device determines that it is an ordinary terminal, or for example, the terminal device determines that it does not have the capability of a network device, or for example, the terminal device determines that it does not have the capability of acting as a relay, or for example, the terminal device determines that it is a mobile terminal, or for example, the terminal device determines that it is a handheld terminal or a directional terminal.

[0242] As an example, in conjunction with FIG9 , relay device #3 (or network device) sends information indicating a first duration. The information indicating the first duration may include, for example: information indicating the first duration; or, a scheduling offset value and an adjustment value. The first duration is represented by ΔT. The scheduling offset value may be represented by K offset , K offset It can be replaced by the scheduling offset value corresponding to the terminal device. The indication information of the first duration can be ΔT. Alternatively, the first duration is associated with the scheduling offset value and the adjustment value, for example, the first duration = (K offset + adjustment value), or first duration = (K offset -adjustment value). The adjustment value may be predefined by the protocol, or a value indicated by the network device to the relay device. Alternatively, the first duration may be K offset Other calculation formulas for the adjustment value, such as multiplication, etc., can also be found in the aforementioned related descriptions and will not be repeated here.

[0243] Based on the above example, relay device #3 (or network device) can send K offset The value and adjustment value of , or replace it with K offset The value of Koffset , adjustment value or ΔT, for example, a broadcast, multicast or unicast message, such as a SIB message, an RRC message or a MAC CE signaling. offset Any one or more of the value, adjustment value or △T can be carried in the same signaling or in multiple signalings.

[0244] The relay device (or relay device - MT) determines whether it needs to use △T according to its own type (it can directly receive △T or use K offset The value of △T is calculated by the adjustment value, which can be referred to in the above formula) as the scheduling offset value corresponding to the relay device. The relevant usage scheme can also refer to the relevant description of the scheduling offset value corresponding to the terminal device used by the terminal device, which will not be repeated here. The terminal device determines whether it needs to use K according to its own type. offset As can be seen, this solution provides a solution for the relay device (or relay device-MT) and the terminal device in the same cell to select appropriate parameters as their own scheduling offset values, thereby improving communication performance.

[0245] Example 2: The relay device (or relay device-MT) and the terminal device are not in the same cell.

[0246] In this example, the network device of the cell where the relay device is located can broadcast (or multicast, or unicast) the parameters corresponding to the relay device to the cell where the relay device is located. The relay device can select the parameters to be used according to its own type. For example, the relay device can select the scheduling offset value corresponding to the relay device for use according to its own type. Please refer to the relevant content of the aforementioned example one and the description will not be repeated. The network device of the cell where the terminal device is located can broadcast (or multicast, or unicast) the parameters corresponding to the relay device to the cell where the terminal device is located. The terminal device can use the parameters sent by the network device, or the terminal device can select the parameters to be used according to its own type. Please refer to the relevant content of the aforementioned example one and the description will not be repeated.

[0247] For example, the network device of the cell where the relay device is located can send a message to the cell where the relay device is located, and the message includes K offset The value and adjustment value of , or the message includes ΔT. The message is, for example, a SIB message, an RRC message or a MAC CE signaling. The relay device (or relay device-MT) determines the use of ΔT according to its own type (it can directly receive ΔT, or use K offset The ΔT is calculated from the adjustment value (see the above formula) and used as the scheduling offset value corresponding to the relay device. The relevant usage scheme can also refer to the above description of the terminal device using the scheduling offset value corresponding to the terminal device, which will not be repeated here.

[0248] For another example, the network device of the cell where the terminal device is located may send a message to the cell where the terminal device is located, and the message includes K offset The message is, for example, a SIB message, an RRC message or a MAC CE signaling. The terminal device sends K offset It is used as the scheduling offset value corresponding to the terminal device. Or the terminal device determines its own selection of K according to its own type. offset Used as a scheduling offset value corresponding to the terminal device.

[0249] It can be seen that in these solutions, the relay device (or relay device-MT) and the terminal device can select appropriate parameters as their own scheduling offset values, thereby improving communication performance.

[0250] It is understandable that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal device, the relay device, and the network device may include hardware structures and / or software modules that perform the corresponding functions. It should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and method steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or in a manner driven by computer software depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0251] Based on the contents shown in Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11 and the above-mentioned other contents, Figures 10 and 11 are schematic structural diagrams of possible communication devices provided by embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device, relay device or network device in the method embodiment of Figure 4 above, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above-mentioned method embodiment. In an embodiment of the present application, the communication device can be a terminal device, network device (such as a RAN node deployed on the ground), or satellite device as shown in Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D or 2E; it can also be a chip (or chip system) applied to the terminal device, network device or satellite device shown in Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D or 2E. In an embodiment of the present application, when the communication device is used to perform the function of the relay device in Figure 4 above, the communication device can be a network device (such as a RAN node deployed on the ground) or a satellite device as shown in Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D or 2E; it can also be a chip (or chip system) applied to the network device or satellite device shown in Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D or 2E.

[0252] As shown in Figure 10, the communication device 1300 includes a processing unit 1310 and a transceiver unit 1320. The transceiver unit 1320 may also be referred to as a communication unit. The transceiver unit 1320 may include a transmitting unit and a receiving unit.

[0253] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the relay device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive first information in a first time unit, receive information indicating a first duration, receive second information, and send second information in a second time unit.

[0254] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the relay device in the method embodiment shown in FIG4 , in a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive the third information.

[0255] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the relay device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , in a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send the fourth information to the network device.

[0256] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send first information to the relay device in the first time unit, send information indicating the first duration, and receive second information.

[0257] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , in a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send the third information.

[0258] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive the fourth information. The processing unit 1310 is used to determine the third information based on the fourth information.

[0259] For a more detailed description of the processing unit 1310 and the transceiver unit 1320 , reference may be made to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4 .

[0260] As shown in Figure 11, the communication device 1400 includes a processor 1410 and an interface circuit 1420. The processor 1410 and the interface circuit 1420 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1420 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. The input / output interface is used to input and / or output information, where output can be understood as sending and input can be understood as receiving. Optionally, the communication device 1400 may also include a memory 1430 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1410, or storing input data required by the processor 1410 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 1410 executes instructions.

[0261] When the communication device 1400 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 4 , the processor 1410 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 1310 , and the interface circuit 1420 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 1320 .

[0262] When the above-mentioned communication device is a chip applied to a relay device, the chip of the relay device implements the functions of the relay device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The chip of the relay device receives information from the base station, which can be understood as the information being first received by other modules in the relay device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the chip of the relay device by these modules. The chip of the relay device sends information to the base station, which can be understood as the information being first sent to other modules in the relay device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the base station by these modules.

[0263] When the above-mentioned communication device is a chip applied to a base station, the base station chip implements the functions of the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The base station chip receives information from the relay device, which can be understood as the information being first received by other modules in the base station (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the base station chip by these modules. The base station chip sends information to the relay device, which can be understood as the information being sent to other modules in the base station (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the relay device by these modules.

[0264] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, the method shown in FIG4 is implemented.

[0265] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which stores a computer program. The computer program includes program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed by a computer, the method shown in FIG4 can be implemented.

[0266] In this application, when entity A sends information to entity B, it can be done directly from A to B or indirectly through another entity. Similarly, when entity B receives information from entity A, it can be done directly from entity B or indirectly through another entity. Entities A and B herein can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules within a RAN node or terminal. The sending and receiving of information can be information exchange between a RAN node and a terminal, for example, between a base station and a terminal; the sending and receiving of information can also be information exchange between two RAN nodes, for example, between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can also be information exchange between different modules within a device, for example, between a terminal chip and other modules in the terminal, or between a base station chip and other modules within the base station.

[0267] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0268] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, mobile hard disks, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and the storage medium can also be present in a base station or a terminal as discrete components.

[0269] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. A computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions of the embodiments of the present application are performed. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media, such as floppy disks, hard disks, or magnetic tapes; optical media, such as digital video disks; or semiconductor media, such as solid-state drives. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0270] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0271] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of this application, the character " / " indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in a "division" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0272] It is understood that the various numbers involved in the embodiments of this application (such as the numerical numbers "first" and "second", and the letter numbers "A1", "A2", etc.) are only for the convenience of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applicable to a relay device, and the method includes: Receiving first information in a first time unit, where the first information is used to indicate a resource of information sent by the relay device; Receiving information indicating a first duration, where the first duration is associated with a round-trip time delay of signal transmission between the relay device and the network device; Receiving second information; Sending the second information in a second time unit, where the second time unit is determined according to the first duration and the first time unit.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The resource for indicating the information sent by the relay device includes at least one of the following: Information for indicating a time-domain start position of the second time unit; Information for indicating a length of time-domain resources occupied by the second time unit; Frequency-domain resources occupied by the information sent by the relay device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first information further includes at least one of the following: Information for indicating a sending address corresponding to the information sent by the relay device; Information for indicating a sending path corresponding to the information sent by the relay device; Information for indicating a sending direction corresponding to the information sent by the relay device, where the sending direction includes an uplink transmission direction or a downlink transmission direction; Information for indicating a sending mode of the relay device for sending information, where the sending mode includes transparent forwarding or regenerative forwarding; Information for indicating a frequency point corresponding to the information sent by the relay device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The first duration is less than, greater than, or equal to the round-trip time delay of signal transmission between the relay device and the network device.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The second time unit is further determined according to at least one of the following: A value of K, where the value of K is associated with a time delay for the relay device to process uplink information and / or a time delay for the relay device to process downlink information; A time unit offset value, and the first information further indicates the time unit offset value.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The number of time units between the second time unit and a third time unit is determined according to the sum of the first duration, the value of K, and the time unit offset value; Wherein, the third time unit is a time-domain resource for uplink transmission, and an index value of the third time unit is equal to that of the first time unit.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving third information, where the third information is used to determine an updated first duration, and the updated first duration is used for the relay device to determine a time unit of the information to be sent, and the updated first duration is associated with the round-trip time delay between the relay device and the network device.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The third information includes: information for indicating the updated first duration; or, information for indicating a difference between the first duration and the updated first duration.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, Before receiving the third information, it further includes: Sending fourth information to the network device, where the fourth information indicates location information of the relay device and / or a timing advance TA corresponding to the relay device, and the third information is determined according to the fourth information.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The first duration is determined according to a scheduling offset value.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The first information indicates at least one fourth time unit; The second time unit belongs to the fourth time unit that satisfies a first condition; Wherein, the first condition includes: the number of time units between the time domain start position of the fourth time unit and the third time unit is greater than or equal to: the first duration, or, the sum of the first duration, the value of K, and the time unit offset value; The third time unit is a time domain resource for uplink transmission, and the index value of the third time unit is equal to that of the first time unit.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein Before receiving the first information in the first time unit, it further includes: Receiving information for configuring at least one resource set, the at least one resource set includes a first resource set, the first resource set includes the at least one fourth time unit, and the first information is used to activate the first resource set.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein The information for configuring at least one resource set is carried on radio resource control (RRC) signaling, and the first information is carried on medium access control control element (MAC CE) signaling.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein The first information is carried on RRC signaling.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that The first duration is further used for at least one of the following: Adjusting the transmission timing of the information of the relay device; adjusting the transmission timing of the feedback information of the relay device; adjusting the transmission timing of the reference signal of the relay device; or adjusting the random access opportunity of the relay device.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that, The information for indicating the first duration includes: The indication information of the first duration; or, A scheduling offset value and an adjustment value, and the first duration is associated with the scheduling offset value and the adjustment value.

17. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applicable to a network device, and the method includes: Sending first information to a relay device in a first time unit, the first information being used to indicate the resources of the information sent by the relay device; Sending information for indicating a first duration, the first duration being associated with the round-trip time delay of signal transmission between the relay device and the network device, and the first duration being used for the relay device to determine the time unit of the information to be sent; Receiving second information, the second information being sent by the relay device in a second time unit, and the second information being received by the relay device from a terminal device or another relay device.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The resources for indicating the information sent by the relay device include at least one of the following: Information for indicating the time domain start position of the second time unit; Information for indicating the length of the time domain resources occupied by the second time unit; Information for indicating the frequency domain resources occupied by the information sent by the relay device.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, The first information further includes at least one of the following: Information for indicating the transmission address corresponding to the information sent by the relay device; Information for indicating the transmission path corresponding to the information sent by the relay device; Information for indicating the transmission direction corresponding to the information sent by the relay device, the transmission direction including an uplink transmission direction or a downlink transmission direction; Information for indicating the transmission mode of the information sent by the relay device, the transmission mode including transparent forwarding or regenerative forwarding; Information for indicating the frequency point corresponding to the information sent by the relay device.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, characterized in that The first duration is less than, greater than, or equal to the round-trip time delay of signal transmission between the relay device and the network device.

21. The method according to any one of claims 17-20, characterized in that, The second time unit is further determined according to at least one of the following: The value of K, where the value of K is associated with the delay in processing uplink information and / or the delay in processing downlink information by the relay device; A time unit offset value, where the first information further indicates the time unit offset value.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein The number of time units between the second time unit and the third time unit is determined based on the sum of the first duration, the value of K, and the time unit offset value; Wherein, the third time unit is a time domain resource for uplink transmission, and the index value of the third time unit is equal to that of the first time unit.

23. The method according to any one of claims 17-22, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending third information, where the third information is used to determine an updated first duration, and the updated first duration is used by the relay device to determine the time unit of the information to be sent, and the updated first duration is associated with the round-trip delay between the relay device and the network device.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein The third information includes: information for indicating the updated first duration; or, information for indicating the difference between the first duration and the updated first duration.

25. The method according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that, Before sending the third information, it further includes: Receiving fourth information, where the fourth information indicates the location information of the relay device and / or the timing advance TA corresponding to the relay device; Determining the third information based on the fourth information.

26. The method according to any one of claims 17-25, characterized in that, The first duration is determined based on a scheduling offset value.

27. The method according to any one of claims 17-26, characterized in that, The first information indicates at least one fourth time unit; The second time unit belongs to the fourth time units that meet the first condition; Wherein, the first condition includes: the number of time units between the time domain start position of the fourth time unit and the third time unit is greater than or equal to: the first duration, or, the sum of the first duration, the value of K, and the time unit offset value; The third time unit is a time domain resource for uplink transmission, and the index value of the third time unit is equal to that of the first time unit.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein Before sending the first information to the relay device in the first time unit, it further includes: Sending information for configuring at least one resource set, where the at least one resource set includes a first resource set, the first resource set includes the at least one fourth time unit, and the first information is used to activate the first resource set.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein The information for configuring at least one resource set is carried on radio resource control (RRC) signaling, and the first information is carried on medium access control control element (MAC CE) signaling.

30. The method according to claim 27, wherein The first information is carried on RRC signaling.

31. The method according to any one of claims 17 - 30, characterized in that, The first duration is further used for at least one of the following: Adjusting the transmission timing of the information of the relay device; adjusting the transmission timing of the feedback information of the relay device; adjusting the transmission timing of the reference signal of the relay device; or adjusting the random access opportunity of the relay device.

32. The method according to any one of claims 17 - 31, characterized in that, The information for indicating the first duration includes: The indication information of the first duration; or, A scheduling offset value and an adjustment value, where the first duration is associated with the scheduling offset value and the adjustment value.

33. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 17 to 32.

34. A communication device, characterized in that, Comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being configured to receive signals from other communication devices and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices, the processor being configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 32 by means of logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

35. A communication device, characterized in that, Comprising a processor, the processor being configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 32 by means of logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

36. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer program or instructions are stored in the storage medium, and when the computer program or instructions are executed by a communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 32 is implemented.

37. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product stores a computer program, the computer program comprising program instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 32.

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