Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus. The communication method comprises: acquiring first information, wherein the first information is used for indicating the number of repetitions K and the length of a first signal, K is a positive integer greater than 1, and the first signal is used for bearing service data; acquiring second information, wherein the second information is used for indicating a scrambling sequence; performing repetition and scrambling on the first signal on the basis of the first information and the second information so as to obtain a second signal; and sending the second signal. According to the embodiments of the present application, the signal subjected to multiple repetitions is scrambled, so that different sending ends can multiplex the same time-frequency resource for communication, thereby improving the spectral efficiency and the resource utilization rate.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on January 26, 2024, with application number "202410128299.2" and invention name "Communication Method and Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and in particular to communication methods and devices. Background Art

[0003] With the development of information technology, more urgent requirements have been placed on efficient, mobile, and diverse communications. Currently, satellites play an irreplaceable role in some important fields, such as space communications and aviation communications.

[0004] Scheduling of different terminals in non-terrestrial networks (NTN) can be achieved by time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing. However, if some data is repeatedly transmitted too many times for a certain terminal, the spectrum efficiency and resource utilization will be reduced. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus that scrambles repeated signals so that different transmitters can reuse the same time-frequency resources for communication, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: obtaining first information. The first information indicates a repetition count K and a length of a first signal. K is a positive integer greater than 1. The first signal carries service data. Obtaining second information. The second information indicates a scrambling sequence. Repeating and scrambling the first signal based on the first and second information to obtain a second signal. Sending the second signal.

[0008] The embodiment of the present application scrambles the repeated signals so that different transmitting ends can reuse the same time-frequency resources for communication, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0009] In one possible design, the second signal includes at least one third signal, the third signal including 1st to Mth sub-signals, where the mth sub-signal includes the mth portion of the first signal that has been repeated and scrambled L times, and L is the length of the scrambling sequence. For example, the multiple third signals may be the same third signal. Alternatively, the second signal includes 1st to Mth sub-signals, where the mth sub-signal includes the mth portion of the first signal that has been repeated and scrambled K times, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and 1<=m<=M.

[0010] The embodiments of the present application provide multiple ways of composing the second signal, so that the second signal can be composed in a suitable way in different scenarios, thereby enabling multiple transmitting ends to communicate using the same resources, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0011] In one possible design, the M is 1, and the second signal is repeated and scrambled in units of transmission blocks (TB).

[0012] The embodiment of the present application can enable multiple transmitters to communicate by multiplexing the same resources in a scenario where repetition and scrambling are performed in TB units, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0013] In one possible design, M is equal to the length of the first signal multiplied by the number of symbols included in a time slot, and the second signal is repeated and scrambled in units of symbols.

[0014] The embodiment of the present application can perform repetition and scrambling in units of symbols. In this scenario, it can support larger frequency offset residuals and enable multiple transmitting ends to communicate using the same resources, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0015] In one possible design, the method further includes: obtaining third information, where the third information is used to indicate a segmentation method of the first signal.

[0016] The embodiment of the present application can also segment the first signal based on the third information, and the segmentation method of the first signal can be configured more flexibly.

[0017] In one possible design, the first signal includes a demodulation reference signal (DMRS).

[0018] In the embodiment of the present application, a scrambling sequence can be used to scramble the DMRS and the data signal together, so that the receiving end can descramble the DMRS and the data signal together, and recover the source data sent by the sending end based on the DMRS, thereby improving the accuracy of data transmission.

[0019] In one possible design, the second signal includes a DMRS.

[0020] The second signal sent in the embodiment of the present application also includes DMRS, so that the receiving end can remove channel interference during the process of demodulating the data signal, thereby improving the accuracy of the data.

[0021] In one possible design, the DMRS is scrambled using another scrambling sequence different from the scrambling sequence.

[0022] In the embodiment of the present application, when the first signal is repeated and scrambled based on symbols, DMRS can be configured separately for different transmitting ends, or different scrambling sequences can be used for scrambling, so that the receiving end can independently perform channel estimation and demodulation of the data signal, thereby improving data accuracy.

[0023] In one possible design, the second information includes the length of the scrambling sequence and / or an identifier used to indicate the scrambling sequence.

[0024] The embodiments of the present application provide a variety of possible parameters included in the second information, so that the scrambling sequence can be indicated in an appropriate manner in different scenarios, thereby improving universality.

[0025] In one possible design, repeating and scrambling the first signal according to the first information and the second information to obtain the second signal includes: repeating and scrambling the first signal according to the first length, the first information, and the second information to obtain the second signal, wherein the first length is obtained based on the frequency offset compensation information, and the first length is used to represent the maximum span of time slot merging.

[0026] In embodiments of the present application, the maximum span of time slot merging may be considered when determining a scrambling method for repeating and scrambling the first signal. This can prevent a receiving end from being unable to parse the second signal due to exceeding the maximum span of time slot merging during the repetition and scrambling of the first signal.

[0027] In one possible design, the repeating and scrambling of the first signal according to the first length, the first information and the second information includes: the product of the length of the scrambling sequence and the time slot length of the TB is less than or equal to the first length, and it is determined that the first signal is repeated and scrambled in units of TB; or, the product of the length of the scrambling sequence and the time slot length of the TB is greater than the first length, and the length of the scrambling sequence is less than or equal to the first length, and it is determined that the first signal is repeated and scrambled in units of segments; or, the length of the scrambling sequence is greater than the first length, or the network device is not configured with the first length, and it is determined that the first signal is repeated and scrambled in units of symbols.

[0028] The embodiments of the present application provide multiple methods for repeating and scrambling the first signal based on the first length, so that the transmitting end and the receiving end can more flexibly determine the appropriate method for repetition and scrambling according to the frequency offset compensation information.

[0029] In one possible design, the first signal is repeated and scrambled in segments, and the time slot length corresponding to the segment is a maximum integer that satisfies that the product of the length of the scrambling sequence and the time slot length of the segment is less than or equal to the first length.

[0030] The embodiment of the present application provides a method for determining the length of the time slot corresponding to the segment, thereby avoiding excessive splitting of the first signal, thereby reducing the amount of repetition and scrambling operations and improving communication efficiency.

[0031] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving the first length.

[0032] In the embodiment of the present application, the first length is obtained to determine the scrambling method for repeating and scrambling the first signal. In this scenario, multiple repeated signals can be scrambled for different network environments, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0033] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving frequency offset compensation information, obtaining the first length based on the frequency offset compensation information, and sending the first length.

[0034] In an embodiment of the present application, a first length can be determined based on frequency offset compensation information, and a scrambling method for repeating and scrambling the first signal can be determined based on the first length. In this scenario, multiple repeated signals can be scrambled in different network environments, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0035] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: receiving a second signal. The second signal is obtained by repeating and scrambling the first signal based on first information and second information. The first signal is used to carry service data. The first information is used to indicate the number of repetitions K and the length of the first signal. The second information is used to configure the scrambling sequence. K is a positive integer greater than 1. The second signal is recovered based on the scrambling sequence to obtain the first signal.

[0036] The signal received and recovered in the embodiment of the present application may be a scrambled, repeated signal. The scrambling sequence may enable different transmitting ends to multiplex the same time-frequency resources for communication, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0037] In one possible design, the second signal includes at least one third signal, the third signal including 1st to Mth sub-signals, where the mth sub-signal includes the mth portion of the first signal that has been repeated and scrambled L times, and L is the length of the scrambling sequence. For example, the multiple third signals may be the same third signal. Alternatively, the second signal includes 1st to Mth sub-signals, where the mth sub-signal includes the mth portion of the first signal that has been repeated and scrambled K times, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and 1<=m<=M.

[0038] In one possible design, the M is 1, and the second signal is repeated and scrambled in units of transmission blocks (TB).

[0039] In one possible design, M is equal to the length of the first signal multiplied by the number of symbols included in a time slot, and the second signal is repeated and scrambled in units of symbols.

[0040] In one possible design, the first signal includes a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

[0041] In one possible design, the second signal includes a DMRS.

[0042] In one possible design, the first signal is repeated and scrambled based on symbols, and the DMRS is scrambled using a scrambling sequence different from the scrambling sequence.

[0043] In one possible design, the second information includes the length of the scrambling sequence and / or an identifier used to indicate the scrambling sequence.

[0044] In one possible design, the second signal is obtained by repeating and scrambling the first signal based on the first information and the second information, including: the second signal is obtained by repeating and scrambling the first signal based on a first length, the first information, and the second information. The first length is obtained based on frequency offset compensation information, and the first length is used to represent a maximum span of time slot merging.

[0045] In one possible design, the second signal is obtained by repeating and scrambling the first signal based on the first length, the first information and the second information, and is achieved in any one of the following ways: the product of the length of the scrambling sequence and the time slot length of the TB is less than or equal to the first length, and the second signal is repeated and scrambled in units of TB; the product of the length of the scrambling sequence and the time slot length of the TB is greater than the first length, and the length of the scrambling sequence is less than or equal to the first length, and the second signal is repeated and scrambled in units of segments; the length of the scrambling sequence is greater than the first length, or the network device is not configured with the first length, and the second signal is repeated and scrambled in units of symbols.

[0046] In one possible design, the second signal is repeated and scrambled in segments, and the time slot length corresponding to the segment is a maximum integer that satisfies that the product of the length of the scrambling sequence and the time slot length of the segment is less than or equal to the first length.

[0047] In one possible design, the method further includes: obtaining the first length based on frequency offset compensation information, and sending the first length.

[0048] In one possible design, the method also includes: sending frequency offset compensation information; and receiving the first length.

[0049] In one possible design, the method further includes: sending the first information and sending the second information.

[0050] The receiving end of the embodiment of the present application may also send first information and second information so that the receiving end can repeat and scramble the first signal based on the first information and the second information, thereby enabling different transmitting ends to multiplex the same time-frequency resources for communication, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0051] According to a third aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: at least one processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to receive and / or send signals, and the processor is configured to enable the communication method of any of the above aspects to be executed.

[0052] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store computer instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the communication device executes the communication method according to any of the above aspects.

[0053] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a processor for supporting the communication device to implement the functions involved in any of the above aspects.

[0054] In a possible design, the communication device further includes a memory, which is used to store program instructions and data necessary for the communication device.

[0055] In one possible design, the communication device further includes: a communication interface for receiving and / or sending signals.

[0056] In the sixth aspect, a chip system is provided, which includes a processor and an input / output port, the processor is used to implement the processing functions involved in the communication method of any aspect of the above aspects, and the input / output port is used to implement the transceiver functions involved in the communication method of any aspect of the above aspects.

[0057] In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory, which is used to store program instructions and data for implementing the functions involved in the communication method of any of the above aspects.

[0058] The chip system may be composed of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0059] In a seventh aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a transmitting end executing the first aspect and a receiving end executing the second aspect.

[0060] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute any communication method designed in any of the above aspects.

[0061] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the communication method according to any one of the above aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0062] FIG1 is an exemplary diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a communication scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a communication scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of signals sent in different time slots according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a second signal mapping provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of another second signal mapping provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a residual frequency offset provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of another second signal mapping provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a second signal mapping according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a second signal mapping according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of another second signal mapping provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of mapping a second signal based on symbol mapping provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of a transport block structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of repeated transmission using different redundancy versions provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of repeated transmission using the same redundancy version provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG17 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG18 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0080] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field will know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0081] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field will know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0082] The terms "first" and "second" in the description and drawings of the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish different objects, or to distinguish different treatments of the same object. Words such as "first" and "second" can distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. For example, the first device and the second device are merely used to distinguish different devices and do not limit their order. Those skilled in the art will understand that words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit differences.

[0083] "At least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more.

[0084] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in the embodiments of the present application is merely a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural.

[0085] In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or plural.

[0086] In addition, to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that the words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different.

[0087] In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner to facilitate understanding.

[0088] It will be understood that the “embodiment” mentioned throughout the specification means that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments in the entire specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It will be understood that in the various embodiments of the embodiment of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application.

[0089] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "when" and "if" both mean that corresponding processing will be performed under certain objective circumstances, and do not limit the time, nor do they require any judgment action when implementing, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0090] It is understood that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application may, in certain scenarios, be implemented independently of other features, such as the solution on which they are currently based, to solve corresponding technical problems and achieve corresponding effects. In certain scenarios, they may also be combined with other features as needed. Accordingly, the devices provided in the embodiments of the present application may also implement these features or functions accordingly, which will not be described in detail here.

[0091] In the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can refer to each other. In the various embodiments of the present application, and the various implementation methods / implementation methods / implementation methods in the various embodiments, if there is no special explanation and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments and the various implementation methods / implementation methods / implementation methods in the various embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments and the various implementation methods / implementation methods / implementation methods in the various embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments, implementation methods, implementation methods, or implementation methods according to their inherent logical relationships. The implementation methods of the embodiments of the present application described below do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application.

[0092] FIG1 is an example diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0093] As shown in FIG. 1 , the communication system involved in the embodiment of the present application may include at least one terminal 110 and a network device 120 .

[0094] Terminal 110 and network device 120 communicate wirelessly. Network device 120 may be a wireless access network device. Terminals and wireless access network devices may be connected to each other via wired or wireless means. Figure 1 is merely a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices, wireless backhaul devices, and core network devices, which are not shown in Figure 1. The connection relationships between devices are not limited to the methods listed above.

[0095] A radio access network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a future mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. It can also be a module or unit that performs some of the functions of a base station, such as a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The CU performs the functions of the base station's radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), as well as the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP). The DU performs the functions of the base station's radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer, as well as some or all of the physical layer. For detailed descriptions of each of these protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The wireless access network device may be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, etc. In some other embodiments, the wireless access network device may also be an access network device in an open RAN (open RAN, O-RAN). In O-RAN, the CU may be referred to as an open CU (open CU, O-CU), the DU may be referred to as an open DU (open DU, O-DU), and the RU may be referred to as an open RU (open RU, O-RU). The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the wireless access network device. The wireless access network device is sometimes also referred to as a network device. For ease of description, the following description takes a base station as an example of a wireless access network device.

[0096] A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. Terminal devices can be mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver functions, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal devices.

[0097] Base stations and terminals can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of base stations and terminal devices.

[0098] Communication between base stations and terminals, between base stations, and between terminals can be carried out through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; communication can be carried out through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0099] In an embodiment of the present application, the function of the base station may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station, or by a control subsystem including a base station function. The control subsystem including the base station function here may be a control center in the application scenarios of the above-mentioned terminal devices such as smart grid, industrial control, intelligent transportation, smart city, etc. The function of the repeater may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the repeater, or by a device including a relay function. The function of the terminal may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal, or by a device including a terminal function.

[0100] A wireless communication system includes communication devices that can communicate wirelessly using air interface resources. These devices can include network devices and terminal devices. Network devices can also be referred to as base stations. Air interface resources can include at least one of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, code resources, and space resources.

[0101] The solutions provided in the embodiments of this application can be applied to wireless communications between communication devices. Wireless communications can include wireless communications between network devices and terminals, wireless communications between network devices, and wireless communications between terminals. In the embodiments of this application, the term "wireless communications" can also be simply referred to as "communication," which can also be described as "data transmission," "information transmission," or "transmission."

[0102] The embodiments of the present application can be used for possible communication links such as uplink (UL), downlink (DL), access link, backhaul link, sidelink (SL), etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited here. From the perspective of business scenarios, the embodiments of the present application are applicable to various scenarios, such as layered data coding in XR services, uplink large capacity scenarios, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited here.

[0103] Currently, compared to NTN, satellite communications can utilize high-, medium-, and low-orbit satellites to achieve wide-area and even global network coverage, providing undifferentiated communication services to users worldwide. Satellite communication systems and fifth-generation mobile networks (5G) are integrated and complement each other, forming a seamless global integrated communications network covering land, sea, air, and space, meeting the diverse service needs of users. This can be considered a key direction for future communications development. The integration of satellite and 5G can provide the following advantages:

[0104] 1. In remote areas, on airplanes or at sea where terrestrial 5G networks cannot cover, satellites can provide reliable network services, extending the network to places that terrestrial networks cannot reach.

[0105] 2. Satellites can provide uninterrupted network connectivity for IoT devices, aircraft, ships, trains, cars, and other mobile carriers. The integration of satellites and 5G can significantly enhance the service capabilities of 5G systems.

[0106] 3. Satellites' excellent broadcast and multicast capabilities enable efficient data distribution services for network edge devices. Compared to earlier mobile communication systems, current satellite communication systems exhibit two key characteristics: miniaturization of mobile terminals, such as support for a wide range of mobile communication devices, including handhelds; and broadband communication services. For example, in addition to traditional narrowband voice services, high-speed data services and Internet multimedia communication services can also be provided.

[0107] Due to significant path propagation losses and limited satellite transmit power in the NTN system, the terminal link budget is relatively low. Therefore, in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release (R) 18, uplink coverage enhancement was proposed. Furthermore, considering the actual parameters of handheld devices, the terminal antenna gain was reduced from 0dBi to -5.5dBi, demonstrating the greater need for uplink coverage enhancement during communication.

[0108] For example, some solutions have proposed physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) repetition enhancement that introduces uplink hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (ACK) of message (MSG) 4, as well as joint channel estimation technology for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). However, an increase in the number of repetitions will lead to reduced spectrum efficiency of the terminal and the system, as well as reduced capacity. Generally speaking, the coverage area of ​​an NTN is large, and the number of terminals within the coverage area is also relatively large. If a large number of repetitions are used to increase the coverage of a single terminal, only a small number of terminals in the system will be able to access the network.

[0109] It can be seen that how to ensure spectrum efficiency and capacity while achieving uplink coverage enhancement is an urgent problem that needs to be solved.

[0110] Therefore, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method that scrambles multiple repeated signals so that different transmitters can reuse the same time-frequency resources for communication, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0111] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a communication scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0112] For example, as shown in FIG2 , the communication method involved in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a satellite communication scenario. This scenario may include a terminal 210, which may be similar to the terminal 110 in FIG1 . For example, the terminal 210 may be a mobile device that supports 5G New Radio (NR). It can access the satellite network via 5G NR and initiate services such as paging and Internet access. For example, the terminal 210 in FIG2 can communicate with the access network device 220 via 5G NR. This scenario may also include an access network device 220, which may be, for example, a 5G base station, for providing wireless access services, scheduling wireless resources to accessed terminals, and providing reliable wireless transmission protocols and data encryption protocols. Data exchange between different access network devices 220 may be achieved via the Xn interface. This scenario may also include a core network for implementing services such as user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, and billing. The core network may be composed of multiple functional units. For example, it may be divided into functional entities of the control plane and functional entities of the data plane. Functional entities of the control plane may include, for example, an access and mobility management function (AMF) entity 260, responsible for user access management, security authentication, and mobility management; and a session management function (SMF) entity 270. Functional entities of the data plane may include, for example, a user plane function (UPF) entity 240, responsible for managing user plane data transmission, traffic statistics, and other functions; and a data network 250. The system may also include a ground station 230, responsible for forwarding signaling and service data between the access network device 220 and the core network. The access network device 220 and the core network may communicate via an NG interface, which is used to exchange signaling and service data of the core network's non-access stratum (NAS).

[0113] In an embodiment of the present application, downlink data sent by an access network device to a terminal may be encoded using channel coding techniques, and the channel-coded data may be constellation-modulated before being sent to the terminal. Uplink data sent by the terminal to a satellite base station may also be encoded using channel coding techniques, and the encoded data may be constellation-modulated before being sent to the access network device.

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

[0115] As shown in FIG3, the communication process can be applied to but not limited to the communication scenarios shown in FIG1 and FIG2. The method can be applied to any of the above-mentioned devices, such as terminals, access network devices, core network devices, etc. The method may include the following steps:

[0116] S101: The sending end obtains first information.

[0117] In some embodiments, a transmitting end may obtain first information. The first information may be used to indicate the number of repetitions K and the length N of the first signal. The first signal may be used to carry service data. In some examples, the first signal may correspond to at least one time slot. K is a positive integer greater than 1. The length N of the first signal may be understood as the number of time slots corresponding to the first signal, which is N. N is a positive integer.

[0118] In some examples, the sending end may be a terminal. In this case, the sending end may receive the first information sent by the network device. In other examples, the sending end may be a network device, and the sending end may configure the first information itself.

[0119] In some examples, the first information can be carried by one or more of radio resource control (RRC), medium access control control element (MAC CE), and downlink control information (DCI). For example, the network device can directly indicate the first information to the terminal through DCI. For another example, the network device can configure multiple candidate first information through RRC and / or MAC CE, and then indicate one of the first information through DCI. For the scenario where multiple candidate first information is configured through RRC and MAC CE, RRC can configure X1 candidate first information, and MAC CE can configure X2 candidate first information, wherein the X2 candidate first information is selected from the X1 candidate first information. Finally, DCI indicates one first information from the X2 candidate first information. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific way of carrying the first information.

[0120] In some embodiments, the first information may include the number of repetitions K of the first signal.

[0121] In some embodiments, the first information may include the number N of time slots corresponding to the first signal.

[0122] For example, in a transmission block over multiple slots (TBoMS) scenario, N can be expressed as the number of TBoMS slots. For another example, in a narrowband (NB) IoT scenario, N can be expressed as the number of slots occupied by a transmission block (TB). It can be understood that in both of the above scenarios, the first signal can be considered as a signal corresponding to a TB.

[0123] In some examples, the first information may include symbol identifiers and / or the number of symbols corresponding to the first signal. For example, the first signal may correspond to three time slots, but not all symbols in the three time slots are used to map the first signal. Therefore, the first information may include symbol identifiers corresponding to the first signal in each time slot, thereby determining which symbols in the corresponding time slot correspond to the first signal. And / or, the first information may include the number of symbols of the first signal in each time slot, thereby determining how many symbols in the corresponding time slot correspond to the first signal.

[0124] It is clear that the K-times repeated first signal mentioned in the embodiments of the present application includes the initial first signal and the first signal repeated K-1 times. In other words, it can be considered that there are K first signals in total.

[0125] S102: The sending end obtains second information.

[0126] In some embodiments, the transmitting end may obtain second information. The second information may be used to indicate a scrambling sequence.

[0127] In some examples, the scrambling sequence may also be called a spread spectrum sequence, an orthogonal cover code (OCC), a mask, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the name of the scrambling sequence.

[0128] In some examples, the sending end may be a terminal. In this case, the sending end may receive the second information sent by the network device. In other examples, the sending end may be a network device, and the sending end may configure the second information itself.

[0129] In some embodiments, due to the use of time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing to schedule resources, excessive signal repetitions may lead to reduced spectrum efficiency, reduced resource utilization, etc. Therefore, multiple terminals may be considered to reuse the same resources.

[0130] In satellite communications scenarios, due to the large satellite coverage area, terminals within the coverage area may be relatively far apart. Therefore, two different receive beams can be used to spatially distinguish signals from different terminals. However, for terminals located closer to the satellite, the propagation path between the terminal and the satellite lacks scatterers, resulting in a strong direct component in the channel. The communication channels between multiple terminals and the satellite are highly spatially correlated, making it impossible to distinguish signals from each other spatially. Given that different terminals within close proximity often have similar path losses, the number of repetitions of repeatedly transmitted signals is also relatively close. Therefore, using masking in the time domain can multiplex signals from different terminals onto the same time-frequency resources.

[0131] Referring to the communication scenario diagram shown in FIG4 , it can be seen that the distances between different terminals in this scenario are close. The channel factor of the communication channel between terminal 311 and satellite 320 is H1, and the channel factor of the communication channel between terminal 312 and satellite 320 is H2. Of course, the channel factor can also be referred to as a channel matrix, etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. Terminal 311 and terminal 312 can each use different masks to scramble the signal that needs to be repeatedly sent, so that terminal 311 and terminal 312 can reuse the same time-frequency resources. Referring to FIG5 , the signal sent in different time slots in the scenario of FIG4 is shown. For example, since terminal 311 and terminal 312 reuse the same time-frequency resources, satellite 320 can receive S1H1 related to terminal 311 and S2H2 related to terminal 312 in time slot 1. S1 represents the source data sent by terminal 311, and S2 represents the source data sent by terminal 312. Similarly, in time slot 2, satellite 320 can receive S1H1 associated with terminal 311 and S2H2 associated with terminal 312.

[0132] In the scenarios shown in Figures 4 and 5, terminal 311 and terminal 312 can use different masks to scramble the transmitted signals. The mask can be the scrambling sequence mentioned above. Assume that the mask used by terminal 311 is [1,1] and the mask used by terminal 312 is [1,-1]. Then in time slot 1, the signal received by satellite 320 can be recorded as y1=S1H1+S2H2. And, in time slot 2, the signal received by satellite 320 can be recorded as y1=S1H1-S2H2. The masks used by different terminals can form a mask matrix W. Taking the mask used by terminal 311 as [1,1] and the mask used by terminal 312 as [1,-1] as an example, W can be S1H1 and S2H2 can be analyzed using Formula 1.

[0133] The above formulas can be used to obtain S1H1 and S2H2, respectively. The channel conditions of the corresponding time slots can be estimated by combining the reference signal, and the source data S1 and S2 can be recovered. In the above-mentioned process of scrambling the signal using a mask, it is assumed that the channel factors H1 and H2 hardly change in two consecutive time slots.

[0134] In some embodiments, the second information may include a length L of the scrambling sequence, where L is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0135] In some other embodiments, the second information may include an identifier for indicating a scrambling sequence.

[0136] In some examples, the identifier can be an identity (ID) or an index. For example, the scrambling sequence can be determined by the identifier of the scrambling sequence. For example, multiple scrambling sequences can constitute a scrambling sequence matrix W. The scrambling sequence matrix can be the above-mentioned mask matrix, and the scrambling sequence matrix can also be called a scrambling matrix, an orthogonal cover code matrix, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the name of the matrix. Each row in W can be considered as a scrambling sequence. Each scrambling sequence corresponds to a unique identifier, that is, different scrambling sequences correspond to different identifiers, and different identifiers are used to indicate different scrambling sequences. The transmitting end can determine the corresponding scrambling sequence in W through the identifier.

[0137] Assume there are two scrambling sequences [a1, a2] and [b1, b2], for example, W can be written as Different rows in W can be considered different scrambling sequences. For example, W can also be written as [a1, a2; b1, b2], where each ";" distinguishes a different scrambling sequence. As can be seen, the length of the columns in W determines the maximum number of terminals that can reuse resources. Alternatively, the number of scrambling sequences can be considered to determine the maximum number of terminals that can reuse resources.

[0138] For each scrambling sequence, when using it to scramble repeated data, each time the first signal is repeated and scrambled using that scrambling sequence, L repetitions of the first signal are considered complete. For example, if the scrambling sequence length is 2 and the scrambling sequence is [1, -1], assuming the first signal is c1, the transmitter can first scramble c1 based on the 1 in [1, -1], and then scramble c1 based on the -1 in [1, -1], resulting in the scrambled [c1, -c1]. Alternatively, c1 can be repeated L times to obtain [c1, c1]. Then, [c1, c1] can be scrambled using the scrambling sequence of [1, -1]. For example, the first c1 can be scrambled using the first parameter of the scrambling sequence, and the second c1 can be scrambled using the second parameter of the scrambling sequence, resulting in the scrambled [c1, -c1]. It can be understood that regardless of the implementation method, the scrambled [c1, -c1] can be considered to have completed two repetitions of c1. Of course, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation process of using the scrambling sequence to scramble the first signal.

[0139] In some examples, W may be predefined by the protocol or may be obtained through configuration of a network device, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, when the transmitting end is a terminal, the W may be determined by receiving information indicating W sent by the network device. For another example, when the transmitting end is a network device, the transmitting end may configure W on its own. In some examples, when the transmitting end is a network device, the transmitting end may also send the self-configured W to the terminal so that the terminal can descramble the received signal based on W.

[0140] In some further embodiments, the second information may include a length L of the scrambling sequence and an identifier for indicating the scrambling sequence.

[0141] In some embodiments, the second information may be configured semi-statically, such as via a MAC CE. In other embodiments, the second information may be configured dynamically, such as via a DCI. This is not limited in the present embodiment.

[0142] The embodiments of the present application provide a variety of possible parameters included in the second information, so that the scrambling sequence can be indicated in an appropriate manner in different scenarios, thereby improving universality.

[0143] S103: The transmitting end repeats and scrambles the first signal according to the first information and the second information to obtain a second signal.

[0144] In some embodiments, the transmitting end may determine to repeat and scramble the first signal based on the first information and the second information to obtain a second signal. It is understood that the second signal is the repeated and scrambled first signal.

[0145] For example, the transmitting end may scramble the first signal repeated K times indicated by the first information according to the scrambling sequence indicated by the second information.

[0146] The second signal can then be composed in two different ways.

[0147] Method 1:

[0148] In some embodiments, the second signal may include at least one third signal. The third signal may include first to Mth sub-signals. The mth sub-signal includes the mth portion of the first signal that has been repeated and scrambled L times, where L is the length of the scrambling sequence. M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, where 1≤m≤M. Alternatively, it may be expressed as m∈[1,M].

[0149] For example, the total number of time slots corresponding to the K-times repeated first signal is N*K. The number of repetitions is K, and the first signal corresponds to N time slots. Assume that the first signal is a TB. The first signal can be divided into M segments, for example, {subTB1,…,subTB M}. Each segment can correspond to B=N / M time slots. In the process of resource mapping the first signal repeated K times, the transmitting end can first map subTB1 to the 1st to L*B time slots using a scrambling sequence of length L. That is, subTB1 is repeated L times and scrambled using a scrambling sequence. The scrambled L-repeated subTB1 is mapped to the 1st to L*B time slots. It can be understood that the 1st to L*B time slots correspond to the 1st sub-signal. Similarly, subTB2 is mapped to L*B+1~2L*B time slots using an OCC sequence of length L, which corresponds to the 2nd sub-signal. And so on, until the resource mapping of L*N time slots is completed, that is, the L repetitions and scrambling of all segments, which means that the L repetitions of the first signal are completed. That is, the 1st to Mth sub-signals are obtained, and the M sub-signals can be considered as a third signal. In this case, the signal mapped to the 1st to L*N time slots can be considered as the third signal mentioned above. A similar method is then used to complete subsequent KL repetitions. The remaining third signals are obtained. It will be appreciated that the aforementioned third signals may be identical. For example, when K is 8 and L is 2, four third signals may be included, each of which includes the 1st to Mth sub-signals, wherein any sub-signal includes a portion of the first signal that has been repeated and scrambled L times. Of course, each third signal may also be considered to include the first signal that has been repeated and scrambled twice.

[0150] For example, the transmitter can repeat and scramble the first signal based on segment granularity. Segmentation can be considered as dividing the first signal into multiple segments. Assuming the first signal is one TB, it can be divided into two segments, namely segment 1 and segment 2. For example, the scrambling sequence is [1, -1], and the scrambling sequence length is 2. Assume that the signal corresponding to segment 1 is denoted as d1, and the signal corresponding to segment 2 is denoted as d2. The transmitter can scramble d1 based on [1, -1] to obtain the scrambled signal [d1, -d1]. The scrambled signal [d1, -d1] can be considered to have repeated the signal at the granularity of d1 twice. Similarly, the transmitter can scramble d2 based on [1, -1] to obtain the scrambled signal [d1, -d1], thus completing the repetition at the granularity of d2 twice.

[0151] For example, as shown in Figure 6, consider M greater than 1 and the first signal being a TB. Assume that a TB consists of two segments, Segment 1 and Segment 2. Since a TB corresponds to 8 time slots, Segment 1 and Segment 2 can each correspond to 4 time slots. Assuming the length L of the scrambling sequence is 2, the scrambling sequence can be [a1, a2]. A TB needs to be repeated 4 times, meaning K is 4. Segment 1 can then be scrambled using the scrambling sequence. For example, Segment 1 can be repeated twice to obtain Segments 1-1 and 1-2. Segments 1-1 and 1-2 are then scrambled using the scrambling sequence, completing the second repetition of Segment 1 and obtaining the first sub-signal. Similarly, Segment 2 can be repeated twice to obtain Segments 2-1 and 2-2. Segments 2-1 and 2-2 are then scrambled using the scrambling sequence to obtain the second sub-signal. As shown in Figure 6, time slots 1 to 16 complete two repetitions of one TB, corresponding to the first third signal. Considering that one TB needs to be repeated four times, the process from time slots 1 to 16 is repeated again, corresponding to the second third signal, to complete four repetitions of one TB.

[0152] For another example, refer to Figure 7, which is similar to Figure 6, except that the first signal is assumed to be one TB, and one TB consists of eight segments, namely segments 1 to 8. Assuming that one TB corresponds to eight time slots, each segment can correspond to one time slot. The scrambling sequence [a1, a2] with L = 2 is still used for repetition and scrambling, and each segment is repeated and scrambled twice. For a certain segment, the segment can be repeated twice and then scrambled using the scrambling sequence, completing two repetitions for the segment, thus obtaining the mth sub-signal. This segment can be considered the mth segment of the first signal. Time slots 1 to 16 in Figure 7 also complete two repetitions of a complete TB, namely the first third signal. The process of time slots 1 to 16 is then repeated again, corresponding to the second third signal, thus completing four repetitions of one TB.

[0153] If the number of repetitions K of the first signal is the same as the length L of the scrambling sequence, for example, L and K are both 2, then two repetitions of one TB have been completed from time slot 1 to time slot 16 in Figures 6 and 7. The two repetitions of one complete TB shown in Figures 6 and 7 can be considered a set of first signals that have been repeated L times and scrambled.

[0154] In some examples, M can be a positive integer. For example, when M is 1, the first signal does not need to be segmented. In this case, the first signal can be one TB, or the first signal can be multiple TBs. The second signal is obtained by repeating and scrambling the first signal in units of TBs.

[0155] For example, the transmitter can repeat and scramble the first signal based on TB granularity. For example, the scrambling sequence is [1, -1], and the scrambling sequence length is 2. Assuming the granularity of the first signal is TB, denoted as c1, the first signal can be one TB. The transmitter can scramble c1 based on [1, -1] to obtain the scrambled [c1, -c1]. The scrambled [c1, -c1] can be considered to have completed two TB granularity repetitions.

[0156] For example, when M is 1, all parts of segments 2-1 and 2-2 in FIG6 can be ignored with reference to FIG6 . The original segment 1-1 can be regarded as the first first signal, and the original segment 1-2 can be regarded as the second first signal. The rest of the process is similar and will not be further described in detail in this embodiment of the present application.

[0157] In some examples, M may be equal to the length of the first signal multiplied by the number of symbols included in a time slot. In other words, the first signal may be divided into M segments, each segment corresponding to one symbol. This can also be considered as segmenting the first signal in symbol units.

[0158] For example, the transmitter can repeat and scramble the first signal based on the granularity of symbols. The time slots corresponding to the first signal can be determined, and each time slot can be divided according to the symbol to obtain the signal corresponding to each symbol. This can be considered as dividing the first signal into signals corresponding to multiple symbols. Assume that the first signal is 1 TB, one TB corresponds to 1 time slot, and one time slot corresponds to 14 symbols. Then, the first signal can be divided into signals corresponding to 14 symbols. For example, the scrambling sequence is [1, -1], and the scrambling sequence length is 2. Assuming that the signal corresponding to a certain symbol is recorded as e1, the transmitter can scramble e1 based on [1, -1] to obtain the scrambled [e1, -e1]. The scrambled [e1, -e1] can be considered to have completed two repetitions of the e1 granularity, that is, the mth sub-signal. This symbol can be considered to be the mth segment of the first signal.

[0159] It is clear that when considering the use of OCC for resource multiplexing of multiple transmitters, the requirements for channel variation are relatively high. The high-speed movement of satellites in NTN will cause relatively obvious Doppler frequency offset. Although the transmitter will perform pre-compensation in advance and the receiver will also perform post-compensation, a certain degree of frequency offset residual will still exist. Referring to Figure 8, assuming that the OCC length is 2 and the number of repetitions of the first signal is 10, the corresponding communication performance for different frequency offset residuals is shown. Among them, the communication performance is represented by the corresponding relationship between block error rate (BLER) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as an example. The frequency offset residual is described by carrier frequency offset (CFO). It can be seen that the higher the CFO, the higher the BLER at the same SNR. Moreover, as the SNR increases, the higher the CFO, the less obvious the change in BLER.

[0160] Therefore, it is considered to repeat and scramble the first signal based on symbols to support a larger frequency offset residual and improve spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0161] For example, as shown in Figure 9, assume that the first signal is 1 TB, 1 TB corresponds to 1 time slot, and 1 time slot contains 14 symbols. The first signal can then be divided into 14 parts, denoted as symbol 1, symbol 2, ..., symbol 14. Assuming the length L of the scrambling sequence is 2, and the scrambling sequence is [a1, a2], the first signal needs to be repeated 4 times, that is, K equals 4. Therefore, symbol 1 can be scrambled using the scrambling sequence first. For example, symbol 1 can be repeated twice to obtain symbols 1-1 and 1-2. Symbols 1-1 and 1-2 are then scrambled using the scrambling sequence, completing the second repetition of symbol 1, i.e., the first sub-signal. Similarly, symbols 2 through 14 can be repeated and scrambled in the same manner, i.e., the second sub-signal. As can be seen, two repetitions of a complete TB are completed within a length of 28 symbols, corresponding to the first third signal. Considering that one TB needs to be repeated four times, the scrambling of symbols 1 to 14 is repeated again, corresponding to the second and third signals, thereby completing four repetitions of one TB.

[0162] If the number of repetitions K of the first signal is the same as the length L of the scrambling sequence, for example, L and K are both 2, then the second signal includes one third signal, which may correspond to the third signals corresponding to time slots 1 to 16 in Figures 6 and 7, or the third signals corresponding to symbols 1 to 28 in Figure 9.

[0163] Method 2:

[0164] In some embodiments, the second signal may include 1st to Mth sub-signals, wherein the mth sub-signal includes the mth portion of the first signal that has been repeated and scrambled K times. M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, 1≤m≤M, or denoted as m∈[1,M].

[0165] For example, the total number of time slots corresponding to the K-times repeated first signal is N*K. The number of repetitions is K, and the first signal corresponds to N time slots. Assume that the first signal is a TB. The first signal can be divided into M segments, for example, {subTB1,…,subTB M}. Each segment can correspond to B=N / M time slots. The transmitting end can first map subTB1 to the 1st to L*B time slots using a scrambling sequence of length L, which means that L subTB1 repetitions are completed. Then, a similar method is used to complete the remaining KL subTB1 repetitions. In other words, K repetitions are completed for subTB1, that is, the first sub-signal mentioned above. Similarly, subTB2 is mapped to K*B+1~K*B+L*B time slots using an OCC sequence of length L. Then a similar method is used to complete the remaining KL subTB2 repetitions, that is, the second sub-signal. And so on, until the resource mapping of K*N time slots is completed, that is, the mapping of M sub-signals is completed.

[0166] In some examples, the description assumes that M is greater than 1. For example, as shown in Figure 10, assume that the first signal is 1 TB, and 1 TB consists of 2 segments, namely segment 1 and segment 2. Among them, 1 TB corresponds to 8 time slots, so segment 1 and segment 2 can each correspond to 4 time slots. Assuming that the length L of the scrambling sequence is 2, the scrambling sequence is [a1, a2], and the first signal needs to be repeated 4 times, that is, K is equal to 4. Then, 4 repetitions can be performed directly on segment 1, and scrambled using the scrambling sequence to obtain the first sub-signal. For example, segment 1 is repeated 4 times to obtain segments 1-1, segment 1-2, segment 1-3, and segment 1-4. Segments 1-1, segment 1-2, segment 1-3, and segment 1-4 are then scrambled using the scrambling sequence, completing the 4 repetitions of segment 1, i.e., the first sub-signal. Since the number of repetitions, K, is greater than the length of the scrambling sequence, L, the scrambling sequence can be used to scramble segments 1-1 and 1-2, and segments 1-3 and 1-4. In this case, time slots 1 through 16 complete four repetitions of segment 1, i.e., the first sub-signal. Similarly, segment 2 is repeated and scrambled in the same manner as segment 1, thus completing four repetitions of one TB. As can be seen, for sub-signal 1, this involves K repetitions and scrambling of the first part of the first signal, i.e., segment 1; for sub-signal 2, this involves K repetitions and scrambling of the second part of the first signal, i.e., segment 2.

[0167] Referring to Figure 11, which is similar to Figure 10, the difference is that it is assumed that the first signal is 1 TB, and 1 TB is composed of 8 segments, namely segment 1 to segment 8. Assuming that 1 TB corresponds to 8 time slots, each segment can correspond to 1 time slot respectively. Still using the scrambling sequence with L being 2 to repeat and scramble [a1, a2], then repeat and scramble are performed for each segment respectively. For the mth segment, the segment can be repeated 4 times and scrambled using the scrambling sequence to complete 4 repetitions for the segment, that is, to obtain the mth sub-signal. For example, 4 repetitions are completed for segment 1 and scrambled using a scrambling sequence of length 2 to obtain the 1st sub-signal. The repetition and scrambling method for each segment is the same, and the specific method of repeating and scrambling each segment is the same as that in Figure 9, and the embodiments of the present application will not be repeated here.

[0168] In Figure 11, time slots 1 to 4 complete four repetitions of segment 1, i.e., sub-signal 1. Subsequent repetitions of each segment are repeated four times in the same manner as for segment 1, thereby completing four repetitions of one TB. This yields the sub-signals and, in turn, the second signal.

[0169] It is clear that when M is equal to 1, the process of implementation of Method 1 and Method 2 is the same, and the embodiments of the present application will not be repeated here.

[0170] In other examples, such as that shown in FIG12 , the example described in FIG11 is similar. Assume that the first signal is 1 TB, and 1 TB can be divided into 14 parts, namely symbol 1, symbol 2, ..., symbol 14. Assume that the length L of the scrambling sequence is 2, and the scrambling sequence is [a1, a2], and the first signal needs to be repeated 4 times, that is, K is equal to 4. Then 4 repetitions can be completed directly for symbol 1, and scrambled using the scrambling sequence. The process is similar to FIG11 , except that the unit of each segment is a symbol. For example, the scrambling sequence is used to scramble symbols 1-1 and 1-2, and the scrambling sequence is used to scramble symbols 1-3 and 1-4, thereby completing 4 repetitions for symbol 1 and obtaining the first sub-signal. Similarly, the remaining symbols are repeated and scrambled in the same manner as symbol 1, thereby completing 4 repetitions of 1 TB, that is, obtaining the remaining sub-signals, and thus obtaining the second signal.

[0171] Of course, Figures 9 and 12 only illustrate the case where one symbol is grouped. In other examples, multiple symbols can also be grouped. For example, assuming the first signal is 1 TB, 1 TB corresponds to 1 time slot, and 1 time slot includes 14 symbols, 1 TB can be divided into 4 parts, each corresponding to 3 symbols. In this case, the processing method for each piece of data is similar to the processing of one symbol in Figures 9 and 12, and this application implements it and will not be repeated here.

[0172] It can be understood that Figures 6 to 12 show multiple mapping methods of the second signal based on segmentation, but Figures 6 to 12 are only some possible situations. The specific second signal should be determined according to the specific values ​​of parameters such as the number of time slots, number of repetitions, scrambling sequence, number of segments, etc. actually corresponding to the first signal. The embodiments of the present application are not limited here.

[0173] In some examples, regardless of whether method 1 or method 2 is adopted, the second signal can be mapped to a corresponding time slot according to its composition.

[0174] The embodiments of the present application provide multiple ways of composing the second signal, so that the second signal can be composed in a suitable way in different scenarios, thereby enabling multiple transmitting ends to communicate using the same resources, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0175] In some embodiments, the first signal includes a demodulation reference signal (DMRS).

[0176] For example, when the transmitter repeats and scrambles the first signal, the corresponding DMRS is scrambled together with the data signal. For example, referring to the scrambling process for segment 1 in Figure 6, the data signal for segment 1 corresponds to four time slots, and some symbols in these four time slots are used to map the DMRS. Therefore, when scrambling segment 1, the scrambling sequence is used to scramble the data signal for segment 1 and the DMRS in the corresponding time slot of segment 1.

[0177] In the embodiment of the present application, a scrambling sequence can be used to scramble the DMRS and the data signal together, so that the receiving end can descramble the DMRS and the data signal together, and recover the source data sent by the sending end based on the DMRS, thereby improving the accuracy of data transmission.

[0178] In some embodiments, the method may further include: acquiring third information, wherein the third information is used to indicate a segmentation method of the first signal.

[0179] For example, if the transmitting end is a terminal, the transmitting end may receive third information sent by the network device and segment the first signal based on the third information. For example, the first signal may be segmented into M segments. For another example, if the transmitting end is a network device, the transmitting end may configure the third information itself and segment the first signal based on the configuration corresponding to the third information.

[0180] In some examples, the third information may include the number of segments M, which means that the first signal can be divided into M segments.

[0181] In some examples, the third information may include the number of time slots corresponding to each segment, so that the transmitter segments the number of time slots N corresponding to the first signal based on the number of time slots corresponding to each segment to obtain multiple segments corresponding to the first signal.

[0182] The embodiment of the present application can also segment the first signal based on the third information, and the segmentation method of the first signal can be configured more flexibly.

[0183] In some embodiments, the second signal comprises a DMRS.

[0184] For example, the second signal sent by the transmitter includes DMRS. The DMRS is not scrambled together with the first signal. That is to say, in the process of scrambling the first signal based on the symbol, the symbols mapped to the DMRS can be avoided. Referring to FIG13 , the example corresponding to FIG9 is still described. It can be seen that, assuming that the fifth symbol can be mapped to the DMRS, in the process of mapping the second signal, the fifth symbol will be skipped, and the symbol 3-1 will be mapped to the sixth symbol, and the remaining symbols will continue to be mapped in sequence. Of course, the remaining symbols mapped to the DMRS can also be skipped in the process of mapping the second signal until the second signal is fully mapped.

[0185] In some embodiments, during the symbol-based repetition and scrambling of the first signal, the DMRS in the second signal can be independently configured by the network device for different transmitters. The DMRSs corresponding to different transmitters can be orthogonal. In this case, the DMRS in the second signal does not need to be scrambled. For example, if the transmitter is a terminal, the transmitter can receive information from the network device for configuring the DMRS. For another example, if the transmitter is a network device, the transmitter can configure the DMRS itself.

[0186] In this case, the transmitter that reuses the same resources uses orthogonal DMRS, which allows the receiver to perform channel estimation for each time slot separately, making it more suitable for communication scenarios with rapidly changing channels.

[0187] In some embodiments, during the symbol-by-symbol repetition and scrambling of the first signal, the DMRS in the second signal may be uniformly configured by the network device. In this case, the DMRS in the second signal may be scrambled using a scrambling sequence different from the scrambling sequence used to scramble the first signal.

[0188] For example, if the scrambling sequence used to scramble the first signal is sequence P, the DMRS can be scrambled using another scrambling sequence different from sequence P, such as sequence Q. In other words, the scrambling sequence used to scramble the DMRS and the scrambling sequence used to scramble the first signal are two independent scrambling sequences.

[0189] In this case, the transmitter that reuses the same resources uses the same DMRS, but uses a different scrambling sequence from the data signal for scrambling during resource mapping. This allows the receiver to obtain performance gains in joint channel estimation, making it more suitable for communication scenarios where the channel changes slowly.

[0190] In some examples, it is not ruled out that in some specific cases, the scrambling sequence used to scramble the DMRS is the same as the scrambling sequence used to scramble the first signal, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0191] In some embodiments, the receiving end can perform channel estimation based on the DMRS time slot by time slot, and then combine and descramble the remaining data signal parts by symbol. Then, the data is demodulated based on the channel conditions to obtain the source data sent by the transmitting end.

[0192] In some embodiments, when the first signal is repeatedly scrambled based on symbols, during the mapping of the second signal, the total number of symbols corresponding to the second signal can be determined based on the number of time slots occupied by the TB and the number of symbols included in a time slot, and resource mapping can be performed on these symbols. For example, the total number of symbols corresponding to the second signal can be obtained by multiplying the number of time slots occupied by the TB by the number of symbols included in a time slot.

[0193] In the embodiment of the present application, when the first signal is repeated and scrambled based on symbols, DMRS can be configured separately for different transmitting ends, or different scrambling sequences can be used for scrambling, so that the receiving end can independently perform channel estimation and demodulation of the data signal, thereby improving data accuracy.

[0194] The second signal sent in the embodiment of the present application also includes DMRS, so that the receiving end can remove channel interference during the process of demodulating the data signal, thereby improving the accuracy of the data.

[0195] It can be understood that by repeating and scrambling the first signal using any of the above-mentioned methods 1 and 2, when the first signal corresponds to multiple time slots or multiple symbols, it can be ensured that the repeated signals scrambled by the same scrambling sequence are relatively close in the time domain, thereby ensuring that the channel has almost no change when sending repeated signals, so that different terminals can use the scrambling sequence to multiplex the same resources for communication, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0196] Compared with method 2, method 1 can send a complete TB faster, thereby increasing the data parsing rate and reducing transmission delay.

[0197] Compared with method 1, method 2 can obtain all repeated TBs, thereby better achieving data enhancement and improving the robustness of the communication system.

[0198] S104: The transmitting end sends a second signal to the receiving end.

[0199] In some embodiments, after the transmitting end determines the second signal in S103 and maps the second signal to corresponding time-frequency resources, the transmitting end may send the second signal to the receiving end.

[0200] The embodiment of the present application scrambles the repeated signals so that different terminals can reuse the same time-frequency resources for communication, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0201] In the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, repeating and scrambling the first signal based on the first information and the second information to obtain the second signal in S103 may include: repeating and scrambling the first signal based on the first length, the first information, and the second information to obtain the second signal. The first length is obtained based on the frequency offset compensation information, and the first length is used to indicate the maximum span of time slot merging.

[0202] In some embodiments, the transmitting end may determine how to repeat and scramble the first signal based on the first length, the first information, and the second information. The first length may be obtained based on frequency offset compensation information. This frequency offset compensation information is typically determined by the receiving end. In other words, the maximum span of time slot merging allowed by the transmitting end and the receiving end may be determined based on the frequency offset compensation information determined by the receiving end, as the first length.

[0203] In some examples, if the transmitting end is a terminal, the transmitting end may receive the first length sent by the network device. In this case, if the receiving end is a network device, the frequency offset compensation information may be determined by the network device itself. In other examples, if the receiving end is not a network device, the receiving end may send the frequency offset compensation information to the network device, and the network device may determine the first length based on the frequency offset compensation information.

[0204] The embodiments of the present application are applicable to scenarios where the transmitting end is a terminal. By obtaining the first length sent by the network device, the scrambling method for repeating and scrambling the first signal is determined. In this scenario, multiple repeated signals can be scrambled in different network environments, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0205] In some examples, if the transmitting end is a network device, the transmitting end can receive frequency offset compensation information sent by the terminal. In this case, the receiving end is usually the terminal. The transmitting end, i.e., the network device, can obtain the first length based on the received frequency offset compensation information. The transmitting end can repeat and scramble the first signal based on the obtained first length, the first information, and the second information. In some examples, the transmitting end can also send the first length to the receiving end. This allows the receiving end to determine an appropriate method for descrambling the second signal based on the first length, the first information, and the second information. For example, if the transmitting end determines to repeat and scramble the first signal based on segments, the receiving end can determine to descramble the second signal using a method corresponding to the segments. For another example, if the transmitting end determines to repeat and scramble the first signal based on symbols, the receiving end can determine to descramble the second signal using a method corresponding to the symbols.

[0206] In some examples, when the receiving end is a terminal, the terminal can send frequency offset compensation information to the network device by reporting capabilities. For example, the frequency offset compensation information is reported as a type of capability information. Alternatively, the frequency offset compensation information can be included in other capability information that the terminal needs to report and reported to the network device together. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific method by which the terminal sends frequency offset compensation information to the network device.

[0207] The embodiments of the present application are applicable to scenarios where the transmitting end is a network device. A first length is determined based on frequency offset compensation information, and a scrambling method for repeating and scrambling the first signal is further determined based on the first length. In this scenario, multiple repeated signals can be scrambled in different network environments, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and resource utilization.

[0208] In embodiments of the present application, the maximum span of time slot merging may be considered when determining a scrambling method for repeating and scrambling the first signal. This can prevent a receiving end from being unable to parse the second signal due to exceeding the maximum span of time slot merging during the repetition and scrambling of the first signal.

[0209] In the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, repeating and scrambling the first signal according to the first length, the first information and the second information may include: the product between the length of the scrambling sequence and the time slot length of the TB is less than or equal to the first length, and determining to repeat and scramble the first signal in units of TB.

[0210] In some examples, the transmitting end may determine the number of time slots required to repeat and scramble the TB using a scrambling sequence. For example, this may be determined by multiplying the length L of the scrambling sequence by the time slot length of the TB. For example, this number of time slots is denoted as U. When U is less than or equal to the first length, the transmitting end may determine to repeat and scramble the first signal based on the TB. For example, one TB may be used as the first signal. In this case, the scrambling sequence may be used to repeat and scramble each TB. It will be appreciated that since the first signal is not split, the first signal may be directly repeated K times, and the K repeated first signals may be scrambled using the scrambling sequence.

[0211] In other examples, for the case where the first signal consists of multiple TBs, if the number of time slots required to repeat and scramble the first signal using a scrambling sequence is less than or equal to the first length, the first signal can be repeated and scrambled directly based on the multiple TBs corresponding to the first signal. For example, the first signal consists of 2 TBs, each TB occupies 4 time slots, and it is assumed that the first length is 20 and the length of the scrambling sequence is 2. It can be determined that the number of time slots required to repeat and scramble the first signal using a scrambling sequence is 16. This 16 is less than the first length of 20, so the scrambling sequence can be directly used to repeat and scramble the first signal. That is, repetition and scrambling are performed with the 2 TBs of the first signal as the granularity.

[0212] Of course, the process of repeating and scrambling the first signal in units of TB can also be regarded as a case of dividing the first signal into one segment.

[0213] In other embodiments, repeating and scrambling the first signal according to the first length, the first information and the second information may include: the product between the length of the scrambling sequence and the time slot length of the TB is greater than the first length, and the length of the scrambling sequence is less than or equal to the first length, determining to repeat and scramble the first signal in segments.

[0214] In some examples, the transmitter can determine the number of time slots required to repeat and scramble the TB using a scrambling sequence. For example, if U is determined to be greater than the first length, this means that repeating and scrambling the first signal directly based on the TB would exceed the maximum time slot merging span allowed by the transmitter and receiver. Consequently, it is impossible to ensure that the channel remains virtually unchanged within this time slot span, which means that using the scrambling sequence for scrambling cannot enable different terminals to reuse the same resources. Therefore, splitting the first signal can be considered. The transmitter can also determine the relationship between the length L of the scrambling sequence and the first length. For example, if L is less than or equal to the first length, the first signal can be scrambled at the granularity of time slots. For example, the first signal can be segmented, with each segment corresponding to at least one time slot. The transmitter can determine to repeat and scramble the first signal based on the segments, for example, treating each segment as the first signal. In this case, the scrambling sequence can be repeated and scrambled for each segment.

[0215] In other examples, when the first signal consists of multiple TBs, if the number of time slots required to repeat and scramble the first signal using the scrambling sequence is greater than the first length, the first signal can also be segmented. In this case, the relationship between the length L of the scrambling sequence and the first length can also be considered. For example, if L is less than or equal to the first length, this means that the first signal can be scrambled at least at the granularity of a time slot. That is, the first signal can be segmented at the granularity of at least one time slot. In some examples, if the number of time slots corresponding to one TB is less than or equal to the first length, this means that the first signal can be segmented at the granularity of a TB.

[0216] Of course, for the specific implementation process of repeating and scrambling the first signal based on segments, reference can be made to the description of the above-mentioned relevant embodiments regarding the composition of the second signal, and the embodiments of the present application will not be repeated here.

[0217] In some embodiments, the time slot length corresponding to the segment in the above embodiments may be a maximum integer that satisfies that the product of the length of the scrambling sequence and the time slot length of the segment is less than or equal to the first length.

[0218] For example, the product of L and the time slot length of the segment may be determined. If the product is less than or equal to the first length, a maximum integer value of L is determined. The maximum integer value is used as the time slot length of the segment.

[0219] The embodiment of the present application provides a method for determining the length of the time slot corresponding to the segment, thereby avoiding excessive splitting of the first signal, thereby reducing the amount of repetition and scrambling operations and improving communication efficiency.

[0220] In some further embodiments, repeating and scrambling the first signal according to the first length, the first information and the second information may include: when the length of the scrambling sequence is greater than the first length, or the network device is not configured with the first length, determining to repeat and scramble the first signal in units of symbols.

[0221] In some examples, if L is greater than the first length, this means that scrambling the first signal at the time slot granularity would exceed the maximum span of time slots allowed by both the transmitter and receiver. In this case, consideration may be given to repeating and scrambling the first signal at the symbol granularity. In other examples, if the network device is not configured with the first length, or the first length is a default, the transmitter also determines to repeat and scramble the first signal at the symbol granularity.

[0222] Of course, the process of repeating and scrambling the first signal in symbol units can also be regarded as a situation where the first signal is segmented, and each segment is processed in symbol units.

[0223] For the specific implementation process of repeating and scrambling the first signal based on symbols, reference may be made to the description of the above-mentioned relevant embodiments regarding the composition of the second signal, and the embodiments of the present application will not be repeated here.

[0224] Of course, the aforementioned method of repeating and scrambling the first signal based on the first length, the first information, and the second information is also applicable to the receiving end. That is, the receiving end can use any of the above implementation methods to determine how the transmitting end repeats and scrambles the first signal, so as to use the corresponding descrambling method to descramble the second signal.

[0225] In some possible embodiments, the consideration is from the perspective of a network device and a terminal. The network device may determine, based on the first length, the first information, and the second information, whether to repeat and scramble the first signal based on TBs, segments, or symbols. The network device may inform the terminal of the scrambling method via signaling. In some examples, the network device may pre-configure multiple resource mapping methods via RRC, where each resource mapping method corresponds one-to-one to the method for repeating and scrambling the first signal. It is understood that, to some extent, the resource mapping method and the method for repeating and scrambling the first signal can be considered to have the same meaning. In other words, a method for repeating and scrambling the first signal based on segments can also be considered a method for resource mapping based on segments. The network device may dynamically instruct the terminal, based on actual frequency offset compensation information, via MAC CE and / or DCI, which resource mapping method to use. In this case, the transmitting end may be the network device and the receiving end may be the terminal; alternatively, the transmitting end may be the terminal and the receiving end may be the network device.

[0226] The embodiments of the present application provide multiple methods for repeating and scrambling the first signal based on the first length, so that the transmitting end and the receiving end can more flexibly determine the appropriate method for repetition and scrambling according to the frequency offset compensation information.

[0227] In some possible implementations, the transmitting end and / or the receiving end may also determine whether to repeat and scramble the first signal based on TB, segmentation, or symbol according to the terminal type. For example, for an IoT type terminal, the first signal may be repeated and scrambled based on symbols. Alternatively, for a low capability (reduced capability, RedCap) type terminal, the first signal may be repeated and scrambled based on segments. Among them, the RedCap terminal, for example, may be a terminal with only two antennas, a portable and carryable terminal, etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. It should also be clear that the above is only an exemplary description, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the correspondence between the terminal type and the applicable scrambling method.

[0228] In the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, considering that if applied in the NB IoT scenario, the uplink scheduling can be scheduled according to the resource unit (RU) as the basic unit. Depending on the different sub-carrier space (SCS) and the number of subcarriers, the number of time slots occupied by the RU may be different. Taking SCS of 15KHz as an example, for the scheduling of 12 subcarriers, one RU can occupy 2 time slots; and for the scheduling of 6 subcarriers, one RU can occupy 4 time slots. Of course, the number of RUs occupied by 1 TB may also be different. For example, 1 TB can occupy multiple RUs. The repetition of TB can also be implemented in units of RU. Therefore, in some examples, the first signal mentioned above can also be considered as 1 RU in some scenarios.

[0229] In some examples, the number of repetitions in NB IoT scenarios can be pre-set. For example, the number of repetitions can include {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}. Each repetition number can be divided into multiple parts, and the number of repetitions for each part can be determined using Formula 2.

[0230] Among them, min(XX, YY) means taking the minimum value from XX and YY. Nrep is any parameter in the above-mentioned repetition number {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}. Therefore, according to Formula 2 and the optional repetition number, {1, 1, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4} can be determined. Each parameter in {1, 1, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4} corresponds one-to-one to each parameter in {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}, which can be expressed as the number of repetitions in each portion when the corresponding repetition number corresponds to at least one portion. Furthermore, the number of portions corresponding to different repetition numbers can also be determined.

[0231] In some technologies, each piece of data may be processed using a different redundancy version (RV). For example, data corresponding to different pieces may be processed alternately according to RV0 and RV2.

[0232] For example, reference Figure 14 shows a possible structure of a TB. Assume that one TB can be divided into two RUs, namely, RU1 and RU2. Each RU corresponds to two time slots, and the one TB corresponds to four time slots. Different filling patterns are used in Figure 14 to represent different time slots. For example, the time slot filled with a diagonal line in the lower left direction is the first time slot of RU1, that is, Slot 1; the time slot filled with a vertical line is the second time slot of RU1, that is, Slot 2; the time slot filled with a diagonal line in the lower right direction is the first time slot of RU2, that is, Slot 3; and the time slot filled with a horizontal line is the second time slot of RU2, that is, Slot 4.

[0233] Assume that the number of repetitions for the TB is 4. Based on the above formula, the repeated data can be divided into two parts, each with a TB repetition number of 2. Referring to Figure 15 , we can first perform two repetitions for the two time slots of RU1, followed by two repetitions for the two time slots of RU2. This completes two repetitions for one part of the TB, which can be processed using RV0. Similarly, the second part of the TB with two repetitions can be processed using RV2.

[0234] In some technologies, for the scenario shown in Figure 15, when using OCC for scrambling, the entire copy is scrambled. Referring to RV0*a1 in Figure 15, this indicates that the first copy is scrambled using a1. Similarly, the second copy is scrambled using a2. This requires ensuring that the channel does not change significantly during the transmission of these two copies of data.

[0235] For any embodiment of the present application, if applied in an NB-IoT scenario, the first signal can be segmented by RU. In this case, the number of time slots corresponding to each segment is equal to the number of time slots corresponding to each RU. In some examples, to maximize the use of the scrambling sequence for scrambling, below the case of a repetition count of {2, 4}, Formula 2 can be used to determine that the data is divided into two parts, each with a repetition count of {1, 2}. For example, for a repetition count of 2, the corresponding scrambling sequence length is also at most 2. This is because, due to the data repetition count of 2, for an excessively long scrambling sequence, the remaining parameters do not correspond to scrambled data. Therefore, in this case, the scrambling sequence length is only 2. Furthermore, if different RVs are used to process data scrambled with the same scrambling sequence, after the receiver descrambles the second signal, the result is a superposition of the same source data processed with different RVs. The receiver will not be able to correctly parse such data and, therefore, will not be able to obtain the source data. Therefore, it is necessary to consider that when repeating and scrambling the first signal with a single scrambling sequence, only one RV should be used for processing. For example, when the data is repeated twice, although it is divided into two parts, each part is repeated once. Instead of using two RVs, the same RV is used for processing. As shown in Figure 16, instead of using two different RVs for processing, the data scrambled with the same scrambling sequence is processed using the same RV. In this example, the scrambling sequence can be [a1, a2].

[0236] In other examples, when the number of repetitions is 4, Formula 2 can be used to determine that the data is divided into 2 parts, and the number of repetitions in each part is 2. If the length of the scrambling sequence is 2, then after scrambling the scrambling sequence for the two repetitions in each part, different parts of data can still be processed using different RVs. Therefore, the data corresponding to each RV contains two repeated data that are repeated and scrambled using the scrambling sequence. In other words, each piece of data scrambled using a scrambling sequence is not processed using a different RV. In other examples, if the length of the scrambling sequence is 4, similar to the method shown in Figure 16, it is necessary to complete 4 repetitions at one time and scramble using the scrambling sequence of length 4. In this case, only the same RV is used for processing, and different RVs are no longer used.

[0237] It is understood that in any of the embodiments described in Figures 6, 7, 10, and 11, when a scrambling sequence is used to repeat and scramble the first signal, a set of scrambling sequences is used to complete the repetition of the first signal. If RV processing is used, the same RV must be used. For example, [1, 1] mentioned in the aforementioned embodiment can be considered a set of scrambling sequences, and [1, -1] can also be considered a set of scrambling sequences.

[0238] It can be understood that RV0 and RV2 in the above examples are merely exemplary descriptions, and any possible RV can be used, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0239] It should be noted that the above-mentioned multiple embodiments can be combined and the combined solutions can be implemented. Optionally, some operations in the process of each method embodiment are optionally combined, and / or the order of some operations is optionally changed. In addition, the execution order between the steps of each process is only exemplary and does not constitute a limitation on the execution order between the steps. There can also be other execution orders between the steps. It is not intended to indicate that the execution order is the only order in which these operations can be performed. Ordinary technicians in this field will think of many ways to reorder the operations of this article. In addition, it should be pointed out that the process details involved in a certain embodiment of this article are also applicable to other embodiments in a similar manner, or different embodiments can be used in combination.

[0240] It is understood that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the base station and the terminal include hardware structures and / or software modules that perform the corresponding functions. Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that, in combination with the units and method steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the embodiments of 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 computer software-driven hardware manner depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0241] Figures 17 and 18 are schematic diagrams of the structures of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of any possible transmitting end or receiving end in the above-mentioned method embodiments, thereby also achieving the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be a terminal or a network device, or a module applied to a terminal or a network device. For example, a chip.

[0242] As shown in FIG. 17 , the communication device 1700 includes a processing unit 1710 .

[0243] In a possible implementation, the communication device 1700 may further include a transceiver unit 1720 .

[0244] In a possible implementation, the communication device 1700 may further include a storage unit 1730 .

[0245] In a possible implementation, the communication device 1700 may further include a transceiver unit 1720 and a storage unit 1730 .

[0246] The communication device 1700 is used to implement the functions of any device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 3 .

[0247] When the communication device 1700 is used to implement the function of the transmitting end in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3: the transceiver unit 1720 is used to obtain the first information. The transceiver unit 1720 is also used to obtain the second information. The processing unit 1710 is used to repeat and scramble the first signal according to the first information and the second information to obtain the second signal. The transceiver unit 1720 is also used to send the second signal. The processing unit 1710 is also used to perform all operations other than the transceiver operations performed by the communication device 1700 in the embodiment shown in Figure 3, and / or other processes for supporting the technology described herein. The storage unit 1730 is used to store any data, computer instructions and / or computer programs that may be involved in the various embodiments of the present application.

[0248] When communication device 1700 is used to implement the functions of a receiving end in the method embodiment shown in FIG3 , transceiver unit 1720 is used to receive a second signal. Processing unit 1710 is used to perform all operations performed by communication device 1700 in the embodiment shown in FIG3 , except for the transceiver operations, and / or other processes used to support the technology described herein. Storage unit 1730 is used to store any data, computer instructions, and / or computer programs that may be involved in various embodiments of this application.

[0249] For a more detailed description of the processing unit 1710 and the transceiver unit 1720, please refer to the relevant description of the method embodiment shown in Figure 3. The processing unit 1710 and the transceiver unit 1720 may also perform other steps, and the specific implementation can refer to the method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0250] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1720 may be a transceiver, which may include an antenna and a radio frequency circuit, etc.

[0251] The processing unit 1710 may be a processor (or a processing circuit), such as a baseband processor, which may include one or more CPUs.

[0252] As shown in FIG18 , the communication device 1800 includes at least one processor 1810 . In one possible implementation, the communication device 1800 may further include an interface circuit 1820 .

[0253] In one possible implementation, the communication device 1800 may further include a memory 1830 .

[0254] In a possible implementation, the communication device 1800 may further include a memory 1830 and an interface circuit 1820 .

[0255] In some embodiments, the processor 1810 and the memory 1830 are coupled to each other; and / or the processor 1810 and the interface circuit 1820 are coupled to each other. It will be appreciated that the interface circuit 1820 may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. The memory 1830 may be used to store computer instructions executed by the processor 1810, input data required by the processor 1810 to execute computer instructions, or data generated by the processor 1810 after executing computer instructions.

[0256] When the communication device 1800 is used to implement the method shown in Figure 3, the processor 1810 can be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned processing unit 1710, and / or the interface circuit 1820 can be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 1720, and / or the memory 1830 can be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned storage unit 1730.

[0257] When the communication device is a chip used in a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above-mentioned method embodiment. When the terminal chip receives information from the network device, it can be understood that the information is first received by other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the terminal chip by these modules. When the terminal chip sends information to the network device, it can be understood that the information is first sent to other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the network device by these modules.

[0258] When the communication device is a chip used in a network device, the network device chip implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. When the network device chip receives information from a terminal, it can be understood that the information is first received by other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the network device chip by these modules. When the network device chip sends information to a terminal, it can be understood that the information is sent to other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the terminal by these modules.

[0259] The communication device shown in FIG. 17 or FIG. 18 is merely an example, and in actual applications the communication device may have more or fewer components than those shown in FIG. 17 or FIG. 18 , may combine two or more components, or may have a different component configuration.

[0260] In the embodiments of the present application, when entity A sends information to entity B, A may send the information directly to B or indirectly to B through another entity. Similarly, when entity B receives information from entity A, entity B may directly receive the information sent by entity A or indirectly receive the information sent by entity A through another entity. Entities A and B herein may be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules within a RAN node or terminal. The sending and receiving of information may be information exchange between a RAN node and a terminal, for example, information exchange between a network device and a terminal; the sending and receiving of information may also be information exchange between two RAN nodes, for example, information exchange between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information may also be information exchange between different modules within a device, for example, information exchange between a terminal chip and other modules of the terminal, or information exchange between a network device chip and other modules within the network device.

[0261] In the embodiments of the present application, a network device sends downlink signals or downlink information to a terminal device, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel. The terminal device sends uplink signals or uplink information to the network device, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. To communicate with the network device, the terminal device needs to establish a wireless connection with a cell controlled by the network device. The cell with which the terminal device has established a wireless connection is called the serving cell of the terminal device.

[0262] It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, PDSCH and PUSCH are only used as examples of downlink data channels and uplink data channels. In different systems and different scenarios, data channels and control channels may have different names, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0263] 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.

[0264] 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 disk, mobile hard disk, 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 storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a network device or a terminal. The processor and storage medium can also exist in a network device or a terminal as discrete components.

[0265] 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. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. 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 medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0266] In each embodiment of the present application, unless otherwise specified or provided by logic, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0267] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease 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 necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, including: obtaining first information for indicating a repetition count K and a length of a first signal, where K is a positive integer greater than 1, and the first signal is used to carry service data; obtaining second information for indicating a scrambling sequence; repeating and scrambling the first signal according to the first information and the second information to obtain a second signal; transmitting the second signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The second signal includes at least one third signal, and the third signal includes sub-signals from the 1st to the Mth. Among them, the mth sub-signal includes the mth part of the first signal that has been repeated and scrambled L times, where L is the length of the scrambling sequence; or, The second signal includes sub-signals from the 1st to the Mth, where the mth sub-signal includes the mth part of the first signal that has been repeated and scrambled K times; where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and 1 <= m <= M.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein M is 1, and the second signal is repeated and scrambled in units of a transport block TB.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein M is equal to the length of the first signal multiplied by the number of symbols included in one time slot, and the second signal is repeated and scrambled in units of symbols.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that The method further includes: obtaining third information for indicating a segmentation method of the first signal.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The first signal includes a demodulation reference signal DMRS.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that The second signal includes DMRS.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that, The DMRS is scrambled using a scrambling sequence different from the above-mentioned scrambling sequence.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The second information includes the length of the scrambling sequence and / or an identifier for indicating the scrambling sequence.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The repeating and scrambling the first signal according to the first information and the second information to obtain a second signal includes: repeating and scrambling the first signal according to a first length, the first information, and the second information to obtain the second signal, where the first length is obtained based on frequency offset compensation information, and the first length is used to represent the maximum span of time slot merging.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein The repeating and scrambling the first signal according to the first length, the first information, and the second information includes: if the product of the length of the scrambling sequence and the time slot length of the TB is less than or equal to the first length, determining to repeat and scramble the first signal in units of the transport block TB; or, if the product of the length of the scrambling sequence and the time slot length of the TB is greater than the first length, and the length of the scrambling sequence is less than or equal to the first length, determining to repeat and scramble the first signal in units of segments; or, if the length of the scrambling sequence is greater than the first length, or the network device does not configure the first length, determining to repeat and scramble the first signal in units of symbols.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein When repeating and scrambling the first signal in units of segments, the time slot length corresponding to the segment is the largest integer that satisfies the product of the length of the scrambling sequence and the time slot length of the segment being less than or equal to the first length.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving the first length.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving the frequency offset compensation information; obtaining the first length based on the frequency offset compensation information; transmitting the first length.

15. A communication method, characterized in that, including: Receive a second signal, where the second signal is obtained by repeating and scrambling a first signal based on first information and second information, the first signal is used to carry service data, the first information is used to indicate a repetition count K and the length of the first signal, the second information is used to configure the scrambling sequence, and K is a positive integer greater than 1; Recover the first signal based on the scrambling sequence for the second signal.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The second signal includes at least one third signal, the third signal includes sub-signals from the 1st to the Mth, where the mth sub-signal includes the mth part of the first signal that has been repeated and scrambled L times, and L is the length of the scrambling sequence; or, The second signal includes sub-signals from the 1st to the Mth, where the mth sub-signal includes the mth part of the first signal that has been repeated and scrambled K times; where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and 1 <= m <= M.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, M is 1, and the second signal is repeated and scrambled in units of transport blocks TB.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein M is equal to the length of the first signal multiplied by the number of symbols included in one time slot, and the second signal is repeated and scrambled in units of symbols.

19. The method according to any one of claims 15 - 18, characterized in that, The first signal includes a demodulation reference signal DMRS 20. The method according to any one of claims 15 - 19, characterized in that, The second signal includes DMRS.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein The DMRS is scrambled using a scrambling sequence different from the scrambling sequence.

22. The method according to any one of claims 15 - 21, characterized in that, The second information includes the length of the scrambling sequence and / or an identifier used to indicate the scrambling sequence.

23. The method according to any one of claims 15-22, characterized in that, The second signal being obtained by repeating and scrambling the first signal based on first information and second information includes: The second signal is obtained by repeating and scrambling the first signal based on a first length, the first information, and the second information, where the first length is obtained based on frequency offset compensation information, and the first length is used to represent the maximum span of time slot merging.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein The second signal is obtained by repeating and scrambling the first signal based on a first length, the first information, and the second information, and is implemented in any of the following ways: The product of the length of the scrambling sequence and the time slot length of the TB is less than or equal to the first length, and the second signal is repeated and scrambled in units of TB; The product of the length of the scrambling sequence and the time slot length of the TB is greater than the first length, and the length of the scrambling sequence is less than or equal to the first length, and the second signal is repeated and scrambled in units of segments; The length of the scrambling sequence is greater than the first length, or the network device does not configure the first length, and the second signal is repeated and scrambled in units of symbols.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein The second signal is repeated and scrambled in units of segments, and the time slot length corresponding to the segment is the largest integer that satisfies the product of the length of the scrambling sequence and the time slot length of the segment being less than or equal to the first length.

26. The method according to any one of claims 15-25, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain the first length based on the frequency offset compensation information; Transmit the first length.

27. The method according to any one of claims 15-25, characterized in that The method further includes: Transmit the frequency offset compensation information; Receive the first length.

28. The method according to any one of claims 15-27, characterized in that, The method further includes: Transmit the first information; Transmit the second information.

29. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes: At least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface being configured to receive and / or transmit signals, the processor being configured to enable the execution of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, or the processor being configured to enable the execution of the method according to any one of claims 15 to 28.

30. A communication device, characterized in that, Comprising: At least one processor and a memory, the memory being configured to store computer instructions, the processor being configured to execute the computer instructions to cause the communication device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, or to cause the communication device to execute the method according to any one of claims 15 to 28.

31. A communication system, characterized in that, The system comprises: a sending end that executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, and a receiving end that executes the method according to any one of claims 15 to 28.

32. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, Instructions or a program are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the instructions or the program runs on a communication device, the communication device is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 - 14, or the communication device is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 15 - 28.

33. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product comprises a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 - 14, or the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 15 - 28.

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