Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications. Provided are a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: when a first time period overlaps with a first measurement time period, determining a first overlapped time period, and within the first overlapped time period, sending feedback of a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) or monitoring first control information, wherein the first overlapped time period is the time period overlapped between the first time period and the first measurement time period; the first time period is used for transmitting the feedback of the first HARQ, the feedback of the first HARQ being determined on the basis of a decoding result of first data, or the first time period is used for monitoring the first control information, which indicates retransmission of the first data; the first measurement time period is determined on the basis of a first configuration, which is a configuration for a first cell to send a first reference signal, and a measurement result of the first reference signal indicates the signal quality of the first cell; and the first data is data sent or received by means of a shared channel (SCH) before the start moment of the first time period.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on February 1, 2024, with application number 202410149579.1 and application name “A Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] In a communications system, a terminal device can measure the reference signal of a neighboring cell during a specific time period, such as a measurement gap (MG), to obtain the reference signal measurement results. Cell handover is then performed based on the reference signal measurement results. Furthermore, while the terminal device is performing reference signal measurements, data transmission with the network equipment corresponding to the current cell is not performed, increasing data transmission latency and impacting service transmission performance.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, this application provides a communication method and device that can reduce the impact of reference signal measurement on data transmission and improve service transmission performance. To achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by a terminal device, or by a component in the terminal device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or by a logic module or software that implements all or part of the terminal device's functions. The following description is based on an example in which the terminal device is the execution subject. The method includes:

[0007] When the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period, a first overlapping time period is determined, and first hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ feedback or monitoring first control information is sent in the first overlapping time period. The first overlapping time period is the time period in which the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period.

[0008] The first time period is used to transmit the first HARQ feedback, which is determined based on a decoding result of the first data. Alternatively, the first time period is used to monitor the first control information, which indicates retransmission of the first data.

[0009] The first measurement period is determined based on a first configuration, where the first configuration is a configuration in which a first cell transmits a first reference signal, and a measurement result of the first reference signal indicates signal quality of the first cell. For example, the first cell includes a candidate cell, or the first cell also includes a serving cell. The first data is data sent or received via a shared channel (SCH) before a start time of the first period.

[0010] The first overlapping period may include the following four situations:

[0011] In case a, the start time of the first time period is later than the start time of the first measurement time period, and the end time of the first time period is later than or equal to the end time of the first measurement time period. In this case, the start time of the first overlapping time period is the same as the start time of the first time period, and the end time of the first overlapping time period is the same as the end time of the first measurement time period.

[0012] In case b, the start time of the first time period is later than the start time of the first measurement time period, and the end time of the first time period is earlier than the end time of the first measurement time period. In this case, the start time of the first overlapping time period is the same as the start time of the first time period, and the end time of the first overlapping time period is the same as the end time of the first time period, that is, the first overlapping time period is the first time period.

[0013] Case c: The start time of the first time period is earlier than or equal to the start time of the first measurement time period, and the end time of the first time period is earlier than the end time of the first measurement time period. In this case, the start time of the first overlapping time period is the same as the start time of the first measurement time period, and the end time of the first overlapping time period is the same as the end time of the first time period.

[0014] In case d, the start time of the first time period is earlier than or equal to the start time of the first measurement time period, and the end time of the first time period is later than or equal to the first measurement time period. In this case, the start time of the first overlapping time period is the same as the start time of the first measurement time period, and the end time of the first overlapping time period is the same as the end time of the first measurement time period, that is, the first overlapping time period may also include the entire time period of the first measurement time period.

[0015] That is, even if the first period overlaps with the first measurement period, the terminal device still performs normal operations during the first overlapping period.

[0016] For example, when the first time period is used to transmit the feedback of the first HARQ, the terminal device sends the feedback of the first HARQ in the first overlapping time period instead of performing reference signal measurement. Compared with the situation where the terminal device measures the first reference signal in the first overlapping time period and sends the feedback of the first HARQ after the first overlapping time period, the present application enables the terminal device to send the feedback of the first HARQ as early as possible, so that the network device side can perform data scheduling in time according to the feedback of the first HARQ, thereby reducing the service data transmission delay and reducing the impact of the reference signal measurement on data transmission to a certain extent.

[0017] For another example, when the first time period is used to monitor the first control information, the terminal device monitors the first measurement and control information during the first overlapping time period instead of performing reference signal measurement. Compared to a situation where the terminal device measures the first reference signal during the first overlapping time period and then monitors the first control information after the first overlapping time period, the present application enables the terminal device to receive the first control information as early as possible, thereby reducing the service data transmission delay and, to a certain extent, reducing the impact of reference signal measurement on data transmission.

[0018] In one possible design, the method further includes: not measuring the first reference signal in a second time period, wherein the second time period is the first measurement time period or the first overlapping time period, thereby reducing the impact of the reference signal measurement on data transmission.

[0019] In one possible design, the method further includes: not measuring the first reference signal in a second time period. When the end time of the first overlapping time period is earlier than the end time of the first measurement time period, the start time of the second time period is the start time of the first measurement time period, and / or the end time of the second time period is the end time of the first overlapping time period. Alternatively, when the end time of the first overlapping time period is equal to the end time of the first measurement time period, the start time of the second time period is the start time of the first overlapping time period, and / or the end time of the second time period is the end time of the first measurement time period, thereby reducing the impact of reference signal measurement on data transmission.

[0020] In one possible design, the method further includes: measuring the first reference signal in a third time period, where a start time of the third time period is a first time period, the first time period is equal to or later than an end time of the first time period, and the end time of the third time period is the same as the end time of the first measurement time period.

[0021] That is, the third time period is part of the first measurement time period, such as being located at the end of the first measurement time period and not overlapping with the first time period. In this way, the terminal device measures the first reference signal in a timely manner during the third time period, which helps improve reference signal measurement performance and resource utilization.

[0022] In one possible design, the method further includes: measuring the first reference signal in a third time period, where the start time of the third time period is the first time period, the first time period is the start time of the first measurement time period, and the end time of the third time period is the same as the start time of the first time period.

[0023] That is, the third time period is part of the first measurement time period, such as being located at the beginning of the first measurement time period and not overlapping with the first time period. In this way, the terminal device measures the first reference signal in a timely manner during the third time period, thereby helping to improve reference signal measurement performance and resource utilization.

[0024] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving first information. Sending the first HARQ feedback in the first overlapping period includes: sending the first HARQ feedback in the first overlapping period based on the first information. For example, the first information instructs the terminal device to send the first HARQ feedback in the first overlapping period to simplify processing complexity on the terminal device side.

[0025] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving first information. Monitoring the first control information during the first overlapping period includes: monitoring the first control information during the first overlapping period based on the first information. For example, the first information instructs the terminal device to monitor the first control information during the first overlapping period to simplify processing complexity on the terminal device side.

[0026] In one possible design, when the first time period is used to monitor the first control information, the first time period is associated with a first HARQ. Monitoring the first control information in the first overlapping time period based on the first information includes: determining a first priority and / or a second priority based on the first information, where the first priority indicates a priority of the first HARQ and the second priority indicates a priority of the first configuration. When the first priority is higher than the second priority, monitoring the first control information in the first overlapping time period.

[0027] That is, when the first priority is higher than the second priority, the terminal device monitors the first control information during the first overlapping period, thereby giving priority to ensuring the transmission performance of the service data.

[0028] In one possible design, sending the first HARQ feedback in the first overlapping period according to the first information includes: determining a first priority and / or a second priority according to the first information, where the first priority is the priority of the first HARQ and the second priority is the priority of the first configuration. When the first priority is higher than the second priority, sending the first HARQ feedback in the first overlapping period.

[0029] That is, when the first priority is higher than the second priority, the terminal device sends the first HARQ feedback in the first overlapping period, thereby giving priority to ensuring the transmission performance of the service data.

[0030] In one possible design, the first information is second control information, the second control information schedules the first data, and the second control information also indicates the first priority.

[0031] In one possible design, the first information indicates the first priority.

[0032] In one possible design, the first information further indicates the SCH and the period of the SCH. For example, the first information indicates the time-frequency resources of the SCH.

[0033] In one possible design, the first priority also indicates the priority of the discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration.

[0034] In one possible design, the first information indicates the second priority.

[0035] In one possible design, the second priority is lower than or equal to the first threshold.

[0036] In one possible design, the first information is discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration information, and the DRX configuration information is used to configure a retransmission timer (RetransmissionTimer). The method further includes: determining the first time period according to the retransmission timer, wherein the retransmission timer is associated with the first HARQ.

[0037] That is, the first period is associated with the same HARQ as the retransmission timer, that is, when the first HARQ is used, the first period may be a period during which the retransmission timer runs.

[0038] In one possible design, the DRX configuration information is further used to configure a first timer, and the method further includes: determining a fourth time period based on the first timer, determining a second overlapping time period when the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement time period, and monitoring third control information during the second overlapping time period, the third control information indicating sending or receiving data. The second measurement time period is determined based on the first configuration, and the second overlapping time period is a time period in which the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement time period.

[0039] The second overlapping period may include the following four situations:

[0040] In case a, the start time of the fourth time period is later than the start time of the second measurement time period, and the end time of the fourth time period is later than or equal to the end time of the second measurement time period. In this case, the start time of the second overlapping time period is the same as the start time of the fourth time period, and the end time of the second overlapping time period is the same as the end time of the second measurement time period.

[0041] In case b, the start time of the fourth time period is later than the start time of the second measurement time period, and the end time of the fourth time period is earlier than the end time of the second measurement time period. In this case, the start time of the second overlapping time period is the same as the start time of the fourth time period, and the end time of the second overlapping time period is the same as the end time of the fourth time period, that is, the second overlapping time period is the fourth time period.

[0042] In case c, the start time of the fourth time period is earlier than or equal to the start time of the second measurement time period, and the end time of the fourth time period is earlier than the end time of the second measurement time period. In this case, the start time of the second overlapping time period is the same as the start time of the second measurement time period, and the end time of the second overlapping time period is the same as the end time of the fourth time period.

[0043] In case d, the start time of the fourth time period is earlier than or equal to the start time of the second measurement time period, and the end time of the fourth time period is later than or equal to the second measurement time period. In this case, the start time of the second overlapping time period is the same as the start time of the second measurement time period, and the end time of the second overlapping time period is the same as the end time of the second measurement time period, that is, the second overlapping time period may also include the entire second measurement time period.

[0044] That is to say, even if the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement time period, the terminal device still monitors the third measurement and control information in the second overlapping time period instead of performing reference signal measurement. Compared with the situation where the terminal device measures the first reference signal in the second overlapping time period and monitors the third control information after the second overlapping time period, the present application enables the terminal device to receive the third control information as early as possible, thereby reducing the service data transmission delay and reducing the impact of reference signal measurement on data transmission to a certain extent.

[0045] In one possible design, the first timer includes a duration timer onDurationTimer.

[0046] In one possible design, the first timer includes an inactivity timer InactivityTimer.

[0047] In one possible design, the method further includes: not measuring the first reference signal in a fifth time period, wherein the fifth time period is the second measurement time period or the second overlapping time period, thereby reducing the impact of the reference signal measurement on data transmission.

[0048] In one possible design, the method further includes: not measuring the first reference signal in a fifth time period. When the end time of the second overlapping time period is earlier than the end time of the second measurement time period, the start time of the fifth time period is the start time of the second measurement time period, and / or the end time of the fifth time period is the end time of the second overlapping time period. Alternatively, when the end time of the second overlapping time period is equal to the end time of the second measurement time period, the start time of the fifth time period is the start time of the second overlapping time period, and / or the end time of the fifth time period is the end time of the second measurement time period, thereby reducing the impact of reference signal measurement on data transmission.

[0049] In one possible design, the DRX configuration information also indicates the first priority.

[0050] In a possible design, when the first moment is later than the end moment of the first time period, the first moment and the end moment of the first time period are separated by a sixth time period.

[0051] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by a terminal device, or by a component in the terminal device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or may be executed by a logic module or software that implements all or part of the terminal device's functions. Below, the method is described using the terminal device as an example. The method includes:

[0052] When the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement time period, a second overlapping time period is determined, and third control information is monitored during the second overlapping time period, where the third control information indicates the sending or receiving of data. The fourth time period is used to monitor the third control information, and the second measurement time period is determined based on the first configuration, where the first configuration is a configuration in which the first cell transmits a first reference signal, and a measurement result of the first reference signal indicates signal quality of the first cell. The second overlapping time period is the time period in which the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement time period.

[0053] That is to say, even if the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement time period, the terminal device still monitors the third measurement and control information in the second overlapping time period instead of performing reference signal measurement. Compared with the situation where the terminal device measures the first reference signal in the second overlapping time period and monitors the third control information after the second overlapping time period, the present application enables the terminal device to receive the third control information as early as possible, thereby reducing the service data transmission delay and reducing the impact of reference signal measurement on data transmission to a certain extent.

[0054] In one possible design, the fourth time period is determined based on a first timer.

[0055] In one possible design, the first timer includes a duration timer onDurationTimer.

[0056] In one possible design, the first timer includes an inactivity timer InactivityTimer.

[0057] In one possible design, the method further includes: not measuring the first reference signal in a fifth time period, wherein the fifth time period is the second measurement time period or the second overlapping time period, thereby reducing the impact of the reference signal measurement on data transmission.

[0058] In one possible design, the method further includes: not measuring the first reference signal in a fifth time period. When the end time of the second overlapping time period is earlier than the end time of the second measurement time period, the start time of the fifth time period is the start time of the second measurement time period, and / or the end time of the fifth time period is the end time of the second overlapping time period. Alternatively, when the end time of the second overlapping time period is equal to the end time of the second measurement time period, the start time of the fifth time period is the start time of the second overlapping time period, and / or the end time of the fifth time period is the end time of the second measurement time period, thereby reducing the impact of reference signal measurement on data transmission.

[0059] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by a terminal device, or by a component in the terminal device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or may be executed by a logic module or software that implements all or part of the terminal device's functions. The following description is based on an example in which the execution subject is the terminal device. The method includes:

[0060] When the first overlapping period does not exist and the start time of the first measurement period is reached, the first measurement period is started.

[0061] The first overlapping period is a period during which the first period overlaps with the first measurement period. The first period is used to transmit first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback, where the first HARQ feedback is determined based on a decoding result of the first data. Alternatively, the first period is used to monitor first control information, where the first control information indicates retransmission of the first data. Alternatively, the first period is used to monitor third control information, where the third control information indicates sending or receiving data. For the first period used to monitor the third control information, see the description of the "fourth period" in the second aspect.

[0062] The first measurement period is determined based on a first configuration, where the first configuration is a configuration in which a first cell transmits a first reference signal, and a measurement result of the first reference signal indicates signal quality of the first cell. For example, the first cell includes a candidate cell, or the first cell also includes a serving cell. The first data is data sent or received via a shared channel (SCH) before a start time of the first period.

[0063] The non-existence of the first overlapping period means that the first period does not overlap with the first measurement period.

[0064] Here, starting the first measurement period can be understood as measuring the first reference signal during the first measurement period.

[0065] That is, the terminal device determines whether to start the first measurement period, that is, whether to measure the first reference signal during the first measurement period, based on whether the first overlapping period exists. If the first overlapping period does not exist, the terminal device can promptly start the first measurement period and perform reference signal measurement, thereby improving the accuracy of the reference signal measurement without affecting the transmission delay of the service data.

[0066] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a network device, or by a component in the network device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions. The following description is based on the example of the execution subject being the network device. The method includes:

[0067] When the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period, a first overlapping time period is determined, and first hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ feedback is received or first control information is sent during the first overlapping time period. The first overlapping time period is the time period in which the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period.

[0068] The first time period is used to receive the first HARQ feedback, which is determined based on a decoding result of the first data. Alternatively, the first time period is used to send the first control information, which indicates retransmission of the first data.

[0069] The first measurement period is determined according to a first configuration, wherein the first configuration is a configuration in which the first cell transmits a first reference signal, and a measurement result of the first reference signal indicates a signal quality of the first cell. The first data is data sent or received via a shared channel (SCH) before a start time of the first period.

[0070] In one possible design, when the first time period is used to send the first control information, the first time period is associated with a first HARQ. Sending the first control information in the first overlapping time period includes: when a first priority is higher than a second priority, sending the first control information in the first overlapping time period, the first priority indicating a priority of the first HARQ, and the second priority indicating a priority of the first configuration.

[0071] In one possible design, sending feedback of the first HARQ in the first overlapping period includes: when the first priority is higher than the second priority, sending feedback of the first HARQ in the first overlapping period, the first priority is the priority of the first HARQ, and the second priority is the priority of the first configuration.

[0072] In one possible design, the method further includes: sending first information, where the first information is used to determine the first priority and / or the second priority.

[0073] In one possible design, the first information is second control information, the second control information schedules the first data, and the second control information also indicates the first priority.

[0074] In one possible design, the first information indicates the first priority.

[0075] In one possible design, the first configuration information also indicates the SCH and the period of the SCH.

[0076] In one possible design, the first priority also indicates the priority of the discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration.

[0077] In one possible design, the first information indicates the second priority.

[0078] In one possible design, the second priority is lower than or equal to the first threshold.

[0079] In one possible design, the first information is discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration information, and the DRX configuration information is used to configure a retransmission timer (RetransmissionTimer). The method further includes: determining the first time period according to the retransmission timer, wherein the retransmission timer is associated with the first HARQ.

[0080] In one possible design, the DRX configuration information is further used to configure a first timer, and the method further includes: determining a fourth time period based on the first timer, determining a second overlapping time period when the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement time period, and sending third control information in the second overlapping time period, the third control information indicating sending or receiving data. The second measurement time period is determined based on the first configuration, and the second overlapping time period is a time period in which the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement time period.

[0081] In one possible design, the first timer includes a duration timer onDurationTimer.

[0082] In one possible design, the first timer includes an inactivity timer InactivityTimer.

[0083] In one possible design, the DRX configuration information also indicates the first priority.

[0084] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in the fourth aspect can refer to the technical effects brought about by different design methods in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0085] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a network device, or by a component in the network device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or can be executed by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions. The following description is based on the example of the execution subject being the network device. The method includes:

[0086] When the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement time period, a second overlapping time period is determined, and third control information is sent during the second overlapping time period, where the third control information indicates sending or receiving data. The fourth time period is used to send the third control information, and the second measurement time period is determined based on the first configuration, where the first configuration is a configuration in which the first cell transmits a first reference signal, and a measurement result of the first reference signal indicates signal quality of the first cell. The second overlapping time period is the time period in which the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement time period.

[0087] In one possible design, the fourth time period is determined based on a first timer.

[0088] In one possible design, the first timer includes a duration timer onDurationTimer.

[0089] In one possible design, the first timer includes an inactivity timer InactivityTimer.

[0090] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in the fifth aspect can refer to the technical effects brought about by different design methods in the second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0091] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the methods. The modules, units, or means may be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing the corresponding software implementation. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions.

[0092] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module may be used to implement the processing functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module, also referred to as a transceiver unit, is used to implement the sending and / or receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module may be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0093] In some possible designs, the transceiver module includes a sending module and / or a receiving module, which are used to implement the sending or receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation methods.

[0094] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing a method as in any one of the above aspects or any possible design of any one of the aspects.

[0095] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor configured to execute a computer program or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method described in any aspect or any possible design of any aspect. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a memory, which may be coupled to the processor or may exist independently of the processor, for example, the memory and the processor being two independent modules. The memory may be located externally or internally of the communication device.

[0096] In a ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instruction, which, when executed, enables the method described in any one of the above aspects or any possible design of any one of the above aspects to be implemented.

[0097] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed, enables the method described in any one of the above aspects or any method in any possible design of any one of the aspects to be implemented.

[0098] The communication device provided in any of aspects 6 to 10 may be the terminal device of aspect 1, aspect 2, or aspect 3, or a component included in the terminal device, such as a chip or chip system; alternatively, the communication device may be the network device of aspect 4 or aspect 5, or a component included in the network device, such as a chip or chip system. When the device is a chip system, it may be composed of a chip alone, or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0099] It can be understood that when the communication device provided in any one of the sixth to tenth aspects is a chip, the sending action / function of the communication device can be understood as output information, and the receiving action / function of the communication device can be understood as input information.

[0100] In an eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the method described in any one of the above aspects or any possible design of any one of the above aspects. Optionally, the communication device includes a terminal device, a network device, a chip system, or a chip.

[0101] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in the sixth to eleventh aspects can refer to the technical effects brought about by different design methods in the first, second or third aspects, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0102] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0103] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a data transmission scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0104] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a discontinuous reception configuration provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0105] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of another discontinuous reception configuration provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0106] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of another discontinuous reception configuration provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0107] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of another discontinuous reception configuration provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0108] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a scenario of sending hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ feedback according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a semi-static configuration process according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0110] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a process of another semi-static configuration provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0111] FIG10 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0112] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of another scenario of sending hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ feedback according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0113] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of another scenario of sending hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ feedback according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0114] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of a time period distribution provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0115] FIG14 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0116] FIG15 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0117] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of a scenario for monitoring a control channel according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0118] FIG17 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0119] FIG18 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0120] FIG19 is a schematic diagram of another scenario of monitoring a control channel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0121] FIG20 is a schematic diagram of another scenario of monitoring a control channel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0122] FIG21 is a schematic diagram of another scenario of monitoring a control channel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0123] FIG22 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0124] FIG23 is a schematic diagram of a scenario for measuring a reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0125] FIG24 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0126] FIG25 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0127] FIG26 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0128] Figure 27 is a structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0129] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0130] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following explanations are made before introducing the present application.

[0131] 1. Throughout this application, the term "system" and "network" are interchangeable. This application presents various aspects, embodiments, or features centered around a system that may include multiple devices, components, modules, and the like. It should be understood that each system may include additional devices, components, modules, and the like, and / or may not include all of the devices, components, modules, and the like discussed in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Furthermore, combinations of these aspects may also be used.

[0132] Throughout this application, words like "exemplarily" and "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this application as an "exemplary" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of the word "exemplary" is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner.

[0133] In this application, “of”, “corresponding”, “relevant” and “corresponding” are sometimes used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the distinction between them is not emphasized, the meanings they intend to express are consistent.

[0134] In this application, for ease of description, when numbering is involved, it can be numbered consecutively starting from 1, it can also be numbered consecutively starting from 0, or it can be numbered starting from any parameter. It should be understood that the above are all settings made to facilitate the description of the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application, and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0135] 2. In the embodiment of the present application, "indication" may include direct indication and indirect indication, and may also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by a certain information is called information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, wherein the other information and the information to be indicated have an association relationship. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each piece of information agreed in advance (such as specified in the protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. At the same time, the common parts of each piece of information can be identified and indicated uniformly to reduce the indication overhead caused by indicating the same information separately.

[0136] In addition, the specific indication method can also be various existing indication methods, such as but not limited to the above-mentioned indication methods and various combinations thereof. The specific details of the various indication methods can be referred to the prior art and will not be repeated herein. As can be seen from the above, for example, when it is necessary to indicate multiple information of the same type, there may be a situation where the indication methods for different information are different. In the specific implementation process, the required indication method can be selected according to specific needs. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the selected indication method. In this way, the indication method involved in the embodiment of the present application should be understood to cover various methods that can enable the party to be indicated to obtain the information to be indicated.

[0137] It should be understood that the information to be indicated can be sent as a whole, or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be the same or different. The specific sending method is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Among them, the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be predefined, for example, predefined according to a protocol, or configured by the transmitting device by sending configuration information to the receiving device. Among them, the configuration information can, for example, but not limited to, include radio resource control signaling, media access control layer signaling, physical layer signaling, or a combination of at least two. Among them, radio resource control signaling can include RRC (radio resource control) signaling, media access control layer signaling can include media access control control element (MAC CE), and physical layer signaling can include downlink control information (DCI).

[0138] 3. "Pre-definition" or "pre-configuration" can be achieved by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (for example, including a terminal device). The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation method. Among them, "saving" can mean saving in one or more memories. One or more memories can be set separately or integrated in an encoder or decoder, a processor, or a communication device. One or more memories can also be partially set separately and partially integrated in a decoder, a processor, or a communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, which is not limited by the embodiments of the present application.

[0139] 4. The “protocol” involved in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, for example, it may include a long term evolution (LTE) protocol, a new radio (NR) protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0140] 5. In the embodiments of the present application, descriptions such as "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that the device (such as a terminal device) will perform corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. It does not limit the time, nor does it require the device (such as a terminal device) to perform a judgment action when implementing it, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0141] 6. In the description 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. The “and / or” in the embodiments of the present application is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. 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. In addition, in the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, “multiple” refers to two or more than two. “At least one of the following items” or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0142] 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.

[0143] 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.

[0144] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG1 , the communication system 1000 includes at least one network device (such as 110a and 110b in FIG1 ) and at least one terminal device (such as 120a-120j in FIG1 ). The terminal device can communicate with the network device wirelessly. Alternatively, different network devices can communicate with each other. Alternatively, different terminal devices can communicate with each other.

[0145] It should be pointed out that Figure 1 is only a schematic diagram. Although not shown, the communication system 1000 can also include other network devices. For example, the communication system 1000 can also include one or more core network (CN) devices, wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not specifically limited here.

[0146] The network device can be connected to the core network device via wireless or wired communication. The core network device and the network device can be independent and different physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the network device can be integrated into the same physical device, or the functions of some core network devices and some network devices can be integrated into one physical device. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0147] Optionally, the network device is a network-side device with wireless transceiver functions. The network device may be a device in a radio access network (RAN) that provides wireless communication functions for terminal devices, referred to as a RAN device. The RAN may be an access network in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), for example, 4G, 5G, or the future-oriented 6G network. The RAN may also be an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a communication network of two or more of the above networks. The RAN device may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation base station (next generation nodeB, gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a long-range radio (LoRa) system, or an access node in a vehicle networking system. RAN equipment can also be a module or unit that performs some of the functions of a base station. For example, it can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). The CU here performs the functions of the base station's radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and can also perform the functions of 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, and can also perform some or all of the physical layer functions. For detailed descriptions of each of the above protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The CU and DU can be set up separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as the baseband unit (BBU).The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, for example, a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). In different systems, the CU, DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meanings. For example, in an ORAN system, the CU may also be called an O-CU (Open CU), the DU may also be called an O-DU, and the RU may also be called an O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application may be implemented via a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. The radio access network device may be a macro base station (such as 110a in FIG. 1 ), a micro base station, or an indoor station (such as 110b in FIG. 1 ), a relay node, a donor node, or the like. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms used by the radio access network device. For ease of description, network device is referred to as a shorthand for radio access network device, and base station is used as an example of a radio access network device.

[0148] Optionally, the terminal device accesses the core network via a network device. The terminal device includes a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to the user. Specifically, it includes a device that provides voice to the user, a device that provides data connectivity to the user, or a device that provides both voice and data connectivity to the user. For example, it may include a handheld device with wireless connectivity or a processing device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal device can communicate with the core network via the radio access network, exchange voice or data with the RAN, or exchange voice and data with the RAN. The terminal device may include user equipment (UE), wireless terminal device, mobile terminal device, D2D terminal device, V2X terminal device, machine-to-machine / machine-type communications (M2M / MTC) terminal device, Internet of Things (IoT) terminal device, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, remote station, access point (AP), remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, user agent, or user device, etc. For example, it may include a mobile phone (or so-called "cellular" phone), a computer with a mobile terminal device, a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, or computer-built-in mobile device, etc. Examples include personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Also included are limited devices, such as those with low power consumption, limited storage capacity, or limited computing power. Examples include information sensing devices such as barcode scanners, radio frequency identification (RFID), sensors, global positioning systems (GPS), and laser scanners.

[0149] The various terminal devices introduced above, if located on a vehicle (eg, placed in or installed in a vehicle), can be considered as vehicle-mounted terminal devices, which are also called on-board units (OBUs).

[0150] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may further include a relay. Alternatively, it can be understood that anything that can communicate data with a base station can be considered a terminal device.

[0151] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device, or it can be a device that can support the terminal device to implement the functions, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices. In the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal is a terminal device as an example for description.

[0152] It should be understood that network devices and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. Network devices and terminal devices can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can also be deployed in the air on aircraft, balloons, and artificial satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of network devices and terminal devices.

[0153] The roles of network devices and terminal devices can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile base station. To terminal devices 120j that access the wireless access network through 120i, terminal device 120i is a network device; however, to network device 110a, 120i is a terminal device, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a network device. Therefore, both network devices and terminal devices can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with network device functionality, and 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal device functionality.

[0154] Network devices and terminal devices, network devices and network devices, and terminal devices and terminal devices can communicate through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both. They can communicate 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 communications.

[0155] In an embodiment of the present application, a network device sends a downlink signal or downlink information to a terminal device, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel; the terminal device sends an uplink signal or uplink information to the network device, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. In order to communicate with the network device, the terminal device needs to establish a wireless connection with the cell controlled by the network device. The cell with which the terminal device has established a wireless connection is called the serving cell of the terminal device. When the terminal device communicates with the serving cell, it will also be interfered with by signals from neighboring cells.

[0156] Unless otherwise specified, the "network device" in this application may refer to the network device itself, or a component in the network device (for example, a processor, chip, or chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions.

[0157] Unless otherwise specified, the "terminal device" in this application may refer to the terminal device itself, or a component in the terminal device (for example, a processor, chip, or chip system, etc.), or a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device functions.

[0158] It should be noted that the solutions in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to other communication systems, and the corresponding names can also be replaced by the names of corresponding functions in other communication systems.

[0159] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly describes the terms used in the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that these descriptions are only for facilitating understanding of the embodiments of the present application and should not constitute any limitation on the present application.

[0160] 1. Measurement gap (MG)

[0161] The terminal device has a certain degree of mobility and may not reside in a cell for a long time. When the terminal device monitors the signal quality of the current cell, such as the reference signal received power (RSRP), or the received signal strength indicator (RSSI), or the reference signal received quality (RSRQ), or the signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), when one or more of them is lower than a threshold or after being lower than the threshold for a period of time, the terminal device will report the measurement result, or report the A2 event (A2 event) to notify that the signal quality of the current cell is lower than the threshold. When the network device receives the signal, the network device considers performing a cell handover (HO) for the terminal device, that is, switching the terminal device to an adjacent cell. When the signal frequency of other cells is different from the signal frequency of the current cell, the network device configures a measurement interval and other measurement parameters for the terminal device, such as the measurement frequency of the adjacent cell.

[0162] During the duration of MG, the terminal device will switch to the frequency of the neighboring cell for measurement, such as measuring the synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH, SSB for short) of the neighboring cell. Therefore, the terminal device cannot send or receive data during the duration of MG. Among them, the MG configuration may include several parameters, such as the MG repetition period (MGRP), which is used to indicate the period of MG, that is, whether MG appears periodically according to MGRP, or the terminal device enters MGRP periodically according to MGRP. Exemplarily, the period of MGRP can be 20ms, 40ms, 80ms or 160ms. Optionally, the MG configuration also includes MG length (MG length, MGL), which is used to indicate the duration of MG. For example, the duration of MG is at least 1ms and at most 20ms. Therefore, when the terminal device is configured to perform frequent inter-frequency measurements, such as a small period (eg 20ms), the terminal device needs to frequently enter the MG, which affects data transmission, especially for the transmission of XR-type delay-sensitive services, and has a significant impact on data transmission performance.

[0163] It should be understood that in this application, the measurement interval may also have other names, such as measurement spacing, measurement interval, etc. This application takes the measurement interval as an example for introduction, which should not be understood as a limitation to this application.

[0164] However, when the receiver bandwidth of the terminal device is insufficient to cover both the frequency of the serving cell and the frequency of the neighboring cell to be measured, the terminal device needs to switch the receiving bandwidth to the frequency of the neighboring cell for inter-frequency measurement.

[0165] Currently, for inter-frequency or inter-system scenarios, terminal devices generally require the assistance of a MG to perform effective measurements. Inter-frequency or inter-system measurements: If the terminal device does not have multiple receivers, or the receiver bandwidth of the terminal device does not cover the inter-frequency point to be measured, it is impossible to simultaneously transmit and receive signals in the serving cell and measure neighboring cells. In this case, the serving cell needs to arrange some MGs for the terminal device to perform inter-frequency and inter-system measurements. The measurement interval is the time period for the terminal device to leave the current frequency point and measure other frequencies, such as those involved in inter-frequency and inter-system measurements. During the MG period, the network equipment does not schedule uplink and downlink transmissions, and the terminal device does not transmit or receive data.

[0166] Specifically, the activation period of MG can be obtained by the following formula (a):

[0167] SFN mod T=FLOOR(gapOffset / 10);

[0168] Subframe=gapOffset mod 10; Formula (a)

[0169] T = MGRP / 10.

[0170] SFN represents the system frame number, i.e., the SFN of the MG start time. mod represents the modulo operator. FLOOR represents rounding down. subframe represents the subframe number, i.e., the subframe number corresponding to the subframe of the MG start time. gapOffset represents the offset of the MG start time, typically configured through higher-layer signaling, such as RRC signaling.

[0171] In this way, the terminal device can determine the subframe where the start time of an MG is located and the SFN where the subframe is located based on formula (a) and configuration parameters provided by the network device (such as gapOffset and MGRP).

[0172] In addition, if the terminal device is also configured with the mgta parameter, which is used to indicate the advance amount of the start time of the MG compared to the start time obtained by the above formula, then the actual start time of the MG will also be shifted forward by mgta time units or advanced by mgta time units according to the above formula (a), generally in milliseconds.

[0173] Because the terminal device's receiving bandwidth switches, it cannot send or receive data with network equipment in the cell it resides in during this bandwidth switch. This is why the concept of MG (Mobile Grouping) is introduced. As mentioned earlier, the MG period is configured by the higher-layer signaling MGRP, and its duration is configured by the higher-layer signaling MGL. During the MG period, the terminal device can perform at least one of the following operations: first, switch bandwidth; second, measure reference signals from neighboring cells, such as SSBs.

[0174] 2. SS / PBCH measurement timing configuration (SMTC)

[0175] In order to measure the SSB of the neighboring cell, the network device also needs to configure some other parameters. For example, the network device configures the objects for the terminal device to perform measurements by configuring measurement objects, including SSB frequency, SSB subcarrier spacing, SMTC, whitelist cells and blacklist cells. Among them, SMTC means that when the terminal device performs SSB-based measurement on a certain cell, the network device sends the timing configuration to the terminal device, such as SMTC period, SMTC duration and SMTC bias. The configuration of SMTC actually points out an available measurement window for the terminal device to ensure that the terminal device can search for the SSB sent by each cell on the frequency point within the available measurement window.

[0176] The protocol defines SMTC configurations as SMTC1 and SMTC2, which support differentiated configurations for neighboring cell SSB measurements. SMTC2 is optional.

[0177] Among them, the SMTC1 configuration can be understood as: the configuration information element corresponding to SMTC1 is SSB-MTC, which includes two sub-information elements periodicityAndOffset and duration.

[0178] periodicityAndOffset: indicates the SMTC period (characterizing the repetition period of the measurement action) and the SMTC offset (characterizing the starting subframe of the measurement action within the period).

[0179] duration: indicates the duration of the SMTC (indicates how long the measurement action should last after it starts).

[0180] SMTC2 configuration (optional): The configuration information element corresponding to SMTC2 is SSB-MTC2, which is used to flexibly configure differentiated SSB measurement parameters for specified neighboring cells.

[0181] It should be noted that SMTC2 is optional. If SMTC2 is not configured, all neighboring cells are equivalent to using the SSB measurement parameters of SMTC1. If SMTC2 is configured, the periodicity of SMTC2 must be less than the periodicityAndOffset of SMTC1.

[0182] For SMTC, the terminal device will determine the time of the first SMTC based on the period and offset parameters (periodicityAndOffset). This parameter configuration is usually in the SMTC1 configuration, providing the SMTC period (Periodicity) and offset parameter (Offset). The first subframe of each SMTC can be determined according to the following formula (b):

[0183] SFN mod T=FLOOR(Offset / 10);

[0184] If Periodicity is greater than the length of sf5:

[0185] subframe=Offset mod 10; formula (b)

[0186] otherwise:

[0187] subframe=Offset or(Offset+5);

[0188] with T=CEIL(Periodicity / 10).

[0189] SFN represents the system frame number, i.e., the SFN at the start time of the SMTC. mod represents the modulo operator. FLOOR represents rounding down. Periodicity represents the SMTC period. sf5 represents 5 subframes. Subframe represents the subframe, i.e., the subframe at the start time of the SMTC. Offset represents the offset from the start time of the SMTC. CEIL represents rounding up.

[0190] In addition, there may be a situation where measurement is performed without configuring an MG. In this case, the network device needs to configure SMTC for the terminal device without configuring an MG.

[0191] 3. RSSI measurement timing configuration (RMTC)

[0192] To measure a cell's RSSI, network devices also need to configure other parameters. For example, network devices configure measurement objects to configure the objects that the terminal device performs measurements on, including the RSSI measurement bandwidth, the center frequency of the RSSI measurement bandwidth, and the RMTC. RMTC represents the timing configuration sent by the network device to the terminal device when performing RSSI-based measurements on a cell, including the RMTC period, RMTC duration, and RMTC offset. RMTC configuration effectively specifies an available RSSI measurement window for the terminal device.

[0193] Typically, the duration of the RMTC is determined by the number of consecutive symbols of RSSI samples reported by the physical layer (e.g., determined by measDurationSymbols in the RRC message) and the reference subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix used for RSSI measurement (e.g., determined by ref-SCS-CP in the RRC message).

[0194] For RMTC, the terminal device will determine the time of the first RMTC based on the RMTC measurement period (rmtc-Periodicity) and RMTC offset (rmtc-SubframeOffset). This parameter configuration is usually provided in the RMTC configuration. The first subframe of each RMTC can be determined according to the following formula (c):

[0195] SFN mod T=FLOOR(rmtc-SubframeOffset / 10);

[0196] subframe=rmtc-SubframeOffset mod 10; formula (c)

[0197] T=rmtc-Periodicity / 10.

[0198] SFN represents the system frame number, which is the SFN of the RMTC start time. mod represents the modulo operator. FLOOR indicates rounding down. rmtc-Periodicity represents the RMTC period. subframe represents the subframe, which is the subframe of the RMTC start time. rmtc-SubframeOffset represents the offset of the RMTC start time.

[0199] In addition, it is possible to perform measurements without configuring an MG. In this case, the network device needs to configure RMTC for the terminal device without configuring an MG.

[0200] Typically, the MG duration (MGL) must be greater than or equal to the measurement window duration to ensure that the terminal device can fully monitor all reference signals within the window. For example, the MGL must be greater than or equal to the SMTC duration to ensure that the terminal device can detect all SSBs within the SMTC. In some embodiments, to minimize MG overhead, the MG configuration is typically determined based on the terminal device's capabilities and the SMTC or RMTC configuration.

[0201] In summary, the terminal device needs to perform reference signal measurement and cannot transmit data during a certain time period, such as the duration of MG, the duration of SMTC, or the duration of RMTC.

[0202] 4. Professional (pro) business in extended reality (XR)

[0203] XR pro service is a latency-sensitive service, which means that XR pro service has high requirements for latency.

[0204] For example, the downlink transmission delay budget for an XR frame is typically 10 milliseconds (ms). This means that the service data corresponding to the XR frame can be transmitted over the air interface for a maximum of 10 ms. For example, starting from the moment the XR frame first arrives at the user plane function (UPF) network element, the entire service data of the XR frame must be successfully received by the terminal device within 10 ms.

[0205] For example, the uplink transmission delay budget for an XR frame is typically 30 milliseconds (ms). This means that the service data corresponding to the XR frame can be transmitted over the air interface for a maximum of 30 ms. If we start counting from the moment the XR frame first arrives at the terminal device, the time it takes for all service data in the XR frame to be successfully received by the network device (such as a base station or UPF) must be within 30 ms.

[0206] It should be pointed out that the broadband real-time interaction (RTBC) scenario of the fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G) is designed to achieve low-latency, high-reliability, and large-bandwidth communication interaction, and uses low latency, high reliability, and large bandwidth as the goals to ensure the immersive experience when people interact with the virtual world. Therefore, XR pro services with high latency requirements can be used as typical services in RTBC scenarios.

[0207] In some embodiments, the XR pro service data may be downlink data, for example, XR pro service data sent by a server to an XR device via a network device.

[0208] In some embodiments, XR pro service data may also be uplink data. For example, XR pro service data sent by an XR device to a network device. This application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0209] In some embodiments, the XR pro service can be used to transmit various types of data. For example, video data, audio data, or tactile data. The following is an exemplary description of video data: Video data can be composed of several ultra-high-definition images (for example, images captured by a camera, or images of field of view content, etc.), each of which is compressed and encoded, such as high-efficiency video coding (HEVC), to produce a larger data block. The higher the clarity requirement of the video data, the larger the data block obtained after encoding the video data.

[0210] Video data typically has a periodic nature, such as being transmitted at 60Hz or 90Hz. This poses challenges to system capacity and scheduling, requiring network equipment (such as base stations) to periodically reserve a large amount of resources for scheduling to allow terminal devices to send uplink data, as shown in Figure 2.

[0211] 5. Discontinuous reception (DRX)

[0212] For the scenario of dynamically scheduled transmission, the network equipment (such as the base station) configures DRX for the terminal device through RRC signaling, so that the terminal device periodically enters the sleep state (sleep mode) at certain times and does not monitor the PDCCH. When it needs to monitor the PDCCH, the terminal device wakes up from the sleep state (wake up), thereby achieving the purpose of saving power.

[0213] The DRX implemented by a terminal device in idle state and connected state is different. The DRX described below refers to the DRX used when the terminal device is in the connected state, namely C-DRX (Connected DRX).

[0214] In the DRX mechanism, the time period during which a terminal device monitors the PDCCH is called the DRX active period. During the DRX active period, the terminal device turns on the receiver and continuously monitors the PDCCH. The DRX active period includes at least one of the following: wake-up time (on Duration), DRX inactivity time (DRX Inactivity Time), or retransmission time (Retransmission Time). That is, when the DRX duration timer (drx-onDurationTimer) is running, the DRX inactivity timer (drx-InactivityTimer) is running, or the DRX retransmission timer (drx-RetransmissionTimer) is running, the terminal device is in the DRX active period.

[0215] Figure 3 shows a typical DRX cycle. In Figure 3, the time period marked "on Duration" is the time period when the terminal device monitors the PDCCH. During this time period, the terminal device is in an awake state, which belongs to the "activation period", that is, the DRX activation time. The time period marked "opportunity for DRX" is the time period when the terminal device does not monitor the PDCCH. During this time period, in order to save power consumption, the terminal device is in a sleep state, which belongs to the "dormant period", that is, the DRX sleep time. As can be seen from Figure 3, the longer the DRX sleep time, the lower the power consumption of the terminal device, but correspondingly, the greater the service transmission delay.

[0216] Figure 4 (or Figure 5) shows a schematic diagram of a drx-InactivityTimer running state. In Figure 4 (or Figure 5), when the drx-InactivityTimer is running, the terminal device monitors the PDCCH.

[0217] For example, subframe 0 is the last subframe of the wake-up time (on Duration). At this time, the network device has a large byte of data to send to the terminal device, and this data cannot be fully transmitted in subframe 0. If the DRX cycle in Figure 3 is followed, the terminal device will enter the DRX sleep state in subframe 1 and will no longer receive any downlink data from the network device. The network device can only wait until the current DRX cycle ends and resume sending the untransmitted data to the terminal device when the next on Duration arrives. In other words, the processing mechanism shown in Figure 3 increases data processing latency. To reduce data processing latency, the drx-InactivityTimer is added to the DRX mechanism, as shown in Figure 4 (or Figure 5). If the drx-InactivityTimer is running, even after the on Duration has expired, the terminal device will continue to monitor the PDCCH until the drx-InactivityTimer expires. Therefore, the drx-InactivityTimer mechanism can reduce data processing latency.

[0218] In most cases, after a terminal device is scheduled and receives or sends data in a certain subframe, it is likely to continue to be scheduled in the next few subframes. Therefore, the principle of the drx-InactivityTimer mechanism is as follows: during the time when the terminal device enters the DRX activation time (active time), such as the on Duration and drx-RetransmissionTimer, and the time of drx-InactivityTimer, when the terminal device detects the PDCCH for uplink initial retransmission scheduling or downlink initial retransmission scheduling, a timer drx-InactivityTimer is started or restarted in the next time unit (such as the adjacent symbol) after the end of the PDCCH. The terminal device will remain in the active state until the timer expires, as shown in Figure 4 (or Figure 5).

[0219] In addition, the regulations for retransmission in DRX are as follows:

[0220] Retransmission-related timers include the DRX retransmission timer (drx-RetransmissionTimer) and the DRX hybrid automatic repeat request round-trip time timer (drx-HARQ-RTT-Timer). The drx-RetransmissionTimer indicates the maximum time a terminal device waits for retransmission. When the drx-RetransmissionTimer is running, the terminal device monitors the PDCCH for HARQ retransmissions.

[0221] In the downlink transmission scenario, drx-RetransmissionTimer can be recorded as drx-RetransmissionTimerDL, and drx-HARQ-RTT-Timer can be recorded as drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL. In the uplink transmission scenario, drx-RetransmissionTimer can be recorded as drx-RetransmissionTimerUL, and drx-HARQ-RTT-Timer can be recorded as drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL.

[0222] Taking downlink retransmission as an example, as shown in Figure 6, if the transport block (TB) corresponding to a downlink HARQ process fails to be decoded, the terminal device can assume that there will be retransmission at least after drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL. Therefore, when drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL is running, the terminal device does not need to monitor PDCCH. When drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL times out and the data received by the HARQ process corresponding to the drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL is not successfully decoded, the terminal device starts a drx-RetransmissionTimerDL for the HARQ process in the next time unit (such as the adjacent symbol) after the end of drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL. When the drx-RetransmissionTimerDL is running, the terminal device monitors the PDCCH for HARQ retransmission.

[0223] It is easy to understand that the running time of drx-onDurationTimer, drx-InactivityTimer and drx-RetransmissionTimer all belong to the active time, that is, the terminal device wakes up and monitors the control information when these timers are started, and if the PDCCH scheduled for initial transmission is detected, the drx-InactivityTimer is started in the next time unit (such as the adjacent symbol) after the symbol occupied by the PDCCH.

[0224] It should be noted that if the terminal device does not receive or send any data within a certain period of time (such as 4 ms), the terminal device may enter a sleep state, such as a non-PDCCH monitoring interval of DRX.

[0225] It should be noted that C-DRX technology also affects uplink transmission. Specifically, when a terminal device sends a media access control protocol data unit (PDU, MAC PDU), the terminal device starts the drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL and, in the next time unit (such as the adjacent symbol) after the timer expires, starts the drx-RetransmissionTimerUL. During the drx-RetransmissionTimerUL operation, the terminal device will continuously monitor the PDCCH.

[0226] During the operation of the drx-RetransmissionTimer, if the terminal device detects the retransmission of the HARQ process corresponding to the timer for scheduling, the terminal device can turn off or stop the drx-RetransmissionTimer.

[0227] 6. HARQ Feedback

[0228] Taking downlink transmission as an example, downlink data can be transmitted through the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The network device (such as a base station) indicates the PDSCH through DCI, and the terminal device receives and performs channel decoding according to the PDSCH indicated by the DCI. Afterwards, the terminal device performs HARQ feedback based on the decoding result to inform the network device whether the data is received correctly. For example, if the PDSCH decoding is successful, the terminal device can feedback a positive acknowledgment (ACK), and the network device believes that the data has been successfully received based on the ACK; conversely, if the PDSCH decoding fails, the terminal device can feedback a negative acknowledgment (NACK), and the network device can know that the data decoding has failed based on the NACK, and then schedule the retransmission of data to ensure the reliability of data transmission. Among them, ACK or NACK is called HARQ feedback, and can also be described as HARQ-ACK information, or HARQ-ACK feedback, etc.

[0229] Figure 7 illustrates a HARQ feedback scenario. In Figure 7, the boxes corresponding to the letter "D" represent downlink time slots, and the boxes corresponding to the letter "U" represent uplink time slots. Three PDSCHs occupy downlink time slots, and HARQ feedback for these three PDSCHs is uploaded via the U1 time slot. HARQ feedback for the remaining three PDSCHs is uploaded via the U2 time slot.

[0230] In general, the PDSCH feedback time slot (such as the aforementioned U1 time slot, U2 time slot, etc.) is indicated by the DCI. Specifically, when the DCI indicates the PDSCH resource, it also indicates the time slot where the HARQ feedback of the PDSCH is located through a field, such as indicating the offset from PDSCH to HARQ feedback. Among them, this field can be the PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator, commonly referred to as the k1 value. In other words, the DCI indicates both the timing of the PDSCH and the timing of the HARQ feedback through the offset.

[0231] 7. Semi-static transmission

[0232] XR services usually have certain periodic characteristics. For XR uplink services, network equipment (such as base stations) can configure semi-static transmission for them, such as configured grant (CG). The network equipment configures uplink resources for the terminal device through high-layer signaling (such as RRC messages) or through high-layer signaling and DCI, such as the transmission period (that is, how long the transmission is performed), the starting time of the semi-static transmission (such as indicating an offset value), and the transmission resources (such as time domain resources, frequency domain resources, modulation and coding scheme (MCS)). In this way, the terminal device can use the configured modulation and coding strategy for transmission on the configured transmission resources (such as time domain resources, frequency domain resources, etc.) according to the configured transmission period.

[0233] In the related art, there are two CG transmission methods, referred to as type 1 and type 2.

[0234] As shown in Figure 8, for the type 1 configuration method, the network device only needs to send configuration information to the terminal device through high-level signaling, such as RRC messages. The configuration information is used to configure the transmission period, time domain offset value, and transmission resources. The terminal device can determine the time of the first transmission opportunity based on the reception time and time domain offset value of the high-level signaling, and determine the time domain resources and frequency domain resources for each transmission opportunity based on the parameters of the transmission resources (such as time domain resource allocation, frequency domain resource allocation, MCS), and determine the time of each subsequent transmission opportunity in the semi-static transmission through the period configured by the high-level signaling.

[0235] It should be noted that, in this application, a semi-static transmission may include one or more transmission opportunities. The transmission period refers to the period of the semi-static transmission. For example, a transmission period of 20ms means that the terminal device performs a semi-static transmission every 20ms. The process of determining the time domain resources and frequency domain resources for each transmission opportunity in each semi-static transmission can be found in the description in the previous paragraph.

[0236] As shown in Figure 9, for the type 2 configuration method, usually, the network device first sends configuration information through high-level signaling, and pre-configures some transmission parameters, such as the transmission period, through the configuration information. After that, the network device indicates the relevant parameters of the transmission resources through control information (such as DCI). For example, the moment of the first transmission opportunity is determined through DCI (for example, the offset between the moment of the first transmission opportunity indicated by DCI and the DCI), and the time domain resources and frequency domain resources of each transmission opportunity are indicated through the fields in the DCI.

[0237] Afterwards, the network device periodically schedules uplink resources for the terminal device based on the transmission opportunities configured by high-level signaling. The size of the uplink resources (such as time domain resources, frequency domain resources and MCS, etc.) can be referred to the above introduction and will not be repeated here.

[0238] The network device periodically reserves resources for the terminal device, and the terminal device also transmits on the periodic resources according to the above parameters until the network device releases (or deactivates) the semi-static transmission. Specifically, the network device can release (or deactivate) the semi-static transmission through high-layer signaling or DCI instructions.

[0239] It should be added that when the network device configures the CG configuration for the terminal device, it determines the HARQ process that can be used for the CG configuration through high-level signaling, such as the signaling in ConfiguredGrantConfig (harq-ProcID-Offset or harq-ProcID-Offset2-r16 and nrofHARQ-Processes). Among them, nrofHARQ-Processes is used to determine the number of available HARQ processes, and harq-ProcID-Offset or harq-ProcID-Offset2-r16 is used to determine the starting index of the HARQ process.

[0240] For example, when harq-ProcID-Offset2-r16=3, nrofHARQ-Processes=4, the HARQ process numbers that can be used in the CG configuration are: {3, 4, 5, 6}, that is, each transmission under the CG configuration is HARQ mapped in this order.

[0241] It should be added that under the CG configuration, for downlink transmission scenarios, the network device first sends downlink semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration information to the terminal device, thereby configuring the SPS configuration for the terminal device. Then, the network device sends DCI to the terminal device, instructing the activation of the SPS configuration through control information (such as DCI), and then instructs the deactivation of the SPS configuration through DCI. When the DCI indicates the deactivation of the SPS configuration, the terminal device needs to provide HARQ feedback for the DCI.

[0242] However, the terminal device needs to perform reference signal measurement during a certain period of time (such as the duration of MG, or the duration of SMTC, or the duration of RMTC, etc.), and cannot send and receive data normally, which may increase the transmission delay of service data and affect service transmission performance, especially for delay-sensitive services such as XR pro services.

[0243] Specifically, taking MG as an example, the following example is given:

[0244] Example 1, taking the terminal device sending service data as an example, as shown in Figure 2, when the terminal device needs to send and / or receive data during the MG period, it cannot receive or send data normally, affecting the transmission performance of the XR pro service.

[0245] Furthermore, with respect to the case where uplink data is sent through the configured authorized transmission timing, it can be understood that when the transmission timing of the terminal device conflicts (or overlaps) with the MG in time, the terminal device performs reference signal measurement according to the MG configuration and cannot send uplink data at the transmission timing, thereby increasing the service transmission delay.

[0246] Example 2: Taking drx-RetransmissionTimer as an example, during the operation of drx-RetransmissionTimer, the terminal device continuously monitors the PDCCH.

[0247] For downlink transmission, after the terminal device sends HARQ feedback and there is data with PDSCH decoding failure, the terminal device starts the drx-RetransmissionTimerDL timer. However, if the drx-RetransmissionTimerDL timer and the MG timer conflict (or overlap), the terminal device performs reference signal measurement according to the MG configuration and cannot receive any data. As a result, the terminal device may miss the opportunity to receive retransmissions, affecting the transmission performance of XR pro services.

[0248] For uplink transmission, the drx-RetransmissionTimerUL timer is started after the terminal device sends a MAC PDU. However, if the drx-RetransmissionTimerUL timer conflicts with (or overlaps with) the MG timer, the terminal device performs reference signal measurements based on the MG configuration and cannot receive any data. This may cause the terminal device to miss the opportunity to receive retransmission indication information, affecting the transmission performance of the XR pro service.

[0249] Example 3: Taking the HARQ feedback time as an example, when the HARQ feedback time of the terminal device conflicts with (or overlaps with) the MG, the terminal device performs reference signal measurement based on the MG configuration and is unable to provide HARQ feedback. This causes the network device to be unable to receive HARQ feedback in a timely manner, missing the opportunity to schedule retransmissions, and may result in incomplete data reception, increasing service transmission latency. If the offset value between PDSCH and HARQ feedback is adjusted, it is easy to cause HARQ feedback to be late, resulting in no time for data retransmission scheduling on the network side, affecting the transmission performance of the XR pro service.

[0250] In view of this, the present application provides a communication method. The method can be applied to the system shown in Figure 1. The method includes: when the first time period overlaps with the first measurement period, the terminal device determines the first overlapping time period, sends the first HARQ feedback or monitors the first control information in the first overlapping time period, and the first overlapping time period is the time period in which the first time period overlaps with the first measurement period. The first time period is used to transmit the first HARQ feedback, and the first HARQ feedback is determined based on the decoding result of the first data. Alternatively, the first time period is used to monitor the first control information, and the first control information indicates the retransmission of the first data. The first measurement period is determined according to a first configuration, and the first configuration is a configuration for the first cell to send a first reference signal. The measurement result of the first reference signal indicates the signal quality of the first cell, and the first cell includes a serving cell or a candidate cell. The first data is data sent or received through a shared channel (SCH) before the start time of the first time period.

[0251] That is, even if the first period overlaps with the first measurement period, the terminal device still performs normal operations during the first overlapping period.

[0252] For example, when the first time period is used to transmit the first HARQ feedback, the terminal device sends the first HARQ feedback in the first overlapping time period instead of performing reference signal measurement. Compared with the situation where the terminal device measures the first reference signal in the first overlapping time period and sends the first HARQ feedback after the first overlapping time period, the present application enables the terminal device to send the first HARQ feedback as early as possible, so that the first network device can perform data scheduling according to the first HARQ feedback in a timely manner, thereby reducing the service data transmission delay and reducing the impact of the reference signal measurement on data transmission to a certain extent.

[0253] For another example, when the first time period is used to monitor the first control information, the terminal device monitors the first measurement and control information during the first overlapping time period instead of performing reference signal measurement. Compared to a situation where the terminal device measures the first reference signal during the first overlapping time period and then monitors the first control information after the first overlapping time period, the present application enables the terminal device to receive the first control information as early as possible, thereby reducing the service data transmission delay and, to a certain extent, reducing the impact of reference signal measurement on data transmission.

[0254] The communication method proposed in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to FIG10. The communication method 1000 proposed in the embodiment of the present application includes the following operations:

[0255] (Optional) S1001: A first network device sends first data to a terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first data from the first network device.

[0256] The first data is data transmitted via the SCH (such as PDSCH).

[0257] Optionally, the first data is transmitted via a PDSCH, and the HARQ process corresponding to the PDSCH can be referred to as the first HARQ process. Taking Figure 11 (or Figure 12) as an example, the box corresponding to the letter "D" represents a downlink time slot, and the box corresponding to the letter "U" represents an uplink time slot. The first data is transmitted via three PDSCHs, each of which occupies three downlink time slots.

[0258] For the terminal device, the terminal device receives and performs channel decoding on the first data, thereby obtaining a decoding result of the first data.

[0259] S1002. The terminal device determines a first time period.

[0260] Similarly, the first network device determines a first time period.

[0261] The first time period is used to transmit the first HARQ feedback.

[0262] The first HARQ feedback is determined according to the decoding result of the first data. For example, if the terminal device decodes the first data successfully, the first HARQ feedback is ACK; otherwise, if the terminal device fails to decode the first data, the first HARQ feedback is NACK.

[0263] Alternatively, the first HARQ feedback is determined based on the control information. In one case, the control information may be a DCI indicating deactivation of downlink semi-persistent scheduling (SPS). In this case, the terminal device needs to perform HARQ feedback on the control information.

[0264] Taking FIG. 11 as an example, the first time period may be the time period corresponding to the uplink timeslot U1.

[0265] Taking FIG. 12 as an example, the first time period may be the time period corresponding to the uplink timeslot U2.

[0266] It should be understood that for a terminal device, the terminal device receives control information indicating three PDSCH resources and a k1 value, so that the terminal device determines the time slot where the first HARQ feedback is located based on the time domain position of the PDSCH and the k1 value, such as the uplink time slot U1 in FIG11 or the uplink time slot U2 in FIG12. The control information may be one control information a or multiple control information, such as three control information, control information a, b, and c.

[0267] It should be noted that, in the present application, the first data is the data received by the terminal device through the SCH before the start time of the first time period.

[0268] S1003: When the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period, the terminal device sends first HARQ feedback to the first network device during the first overlapping time period. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the first HARQ feedback from the terminal device.

[0269] For example, when the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period, the terminal device determines the first overlapping time period and sends the first HARQ feedback to the first network device during the first overlapping time period. Accordingly, the first network device determines the first overlapping time period and receives the first HARQ feedback from the terminal device during the first overlapping time period.

[0270] For example, when the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal during the first overlapping time period, and the terminal device sends first HARQ feedback to the first network device during the first overlapping time period. In other words, not measuring the first reference signal and sending the first HARQ feedback occur simultaneously during the first overlapping time period.

[0271] The first period can be found in the introduction of S1002 and will not be described in detail.

[0272] The first measurement period is described as follows:

[0273] The first measurement period is determined according to a first configuration, wherein the first configuration is a configuration in which the first cell sends a first reference signal.

[0274] For example, a terminal device receives configuration information X from a first network device. The configuration information X indicates a first configuration. The terminal device determines a first measurement period based on the first configuration. The first configuration may indicate at least one of the following: a period during which the first cell transmits a first reference signal, a duration during which the first cell transmits the first reference signal, etc.

[0275] Optionally, the first configuration is a measurement timing configuration, such as SMTC (or RMTC, etc.). The first configuration indicates the SMTC period, SMTC duration, and SMTC offset, etc. (see the glossary for details). The first measurement period is the duration of the SMTC. For example, the first measurement period can be one SMTC.

[0276] Optionally, the first configuration is a channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS) configuration, where the CSI-RS configuration indicates a CSI-RS transmission period and duration, as described in the relevant 3GPP technical specifications. The first measurement period is a period during which the CSI-RS is transmitted. For example, the first measurement period may be a period during which the CSI-RS is continuously transmitted within a transmission period.

[0277] In addition, as a possible alternative, the first measurement period may also be determined based on MG configuration, where the MG configuration indicates MGRP, MGL, offset, etc. The first measurement period is a period corresponding to the MG. For example, the first measurement period may be one MG.

[0278] It should be noted that the first cell may include a candidate cell. In some cases, the first cell may also include a serving cell, which is not limited in this application.

[0279] The first overlapping period is the period in which the first period overlaps with the first measurement period, and is specifically described in the following three cases:

[0280] In case a, the start time of the first time period is later than the start time of the first measurement time period, and the end time of the first time period is later than or equal to the end time of the first measurement time period. In this case, the start time of the first overlapping time period is the same as the start time of the first time period, and the end time of the first overlapping time period is the same as the end time of the first measurement time period, as shown in the box where the letter 'a' is located in Figure 13.

[0281] In case b, the start time of the first time period is later than the start time of the first measurement time period, and the end time of the first time period is earlier than the end time of the first measurement time period. In this case, the start time of the first overlapping time period is the same as the start time of the first time period, and the end time of the first overlapping time period is the same as the end time of the first time period. That is, the first overlapping time period is the first time period, as shown in the box where the letter 'b' is located in Figure 13.

[0282] In case c, the start time of the first time period is earlier than or equal to the start time of the first measurement time period, and the end time of the first time period is earlier than the end time of the first measurement time period. In this case, the start time of the first overlapping time period is the same as the start time of the first measurement time period, and the end time of the first overlapping time period is the same as the end time of the first time period, as shown in the box where the letter 'c' is located in Figure 13.

[0283] In case d, the first overlapping period may also include the entire first measurement period. For example, the start time of the first period is earlier than or equal to the start time of the first measurement period, and the end time of the first period is later than or equal to the first measurement period. In this case, the start time of the first overlapping period is the same as the start time of the first measurement period, and the end time of the first overlapping period is the same as the end time of the first measurement period, as shown in the box where the letter 'd' is located in Figure 13.

[0284] In some embodiments, as shown in 'Case 1' in FIG. 14 , the terminal device further executes S1011:

[0285] S1011: A first network device sends first information to a terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the first network device.

[0286] The first information indicates a first priority and / or a second priority, the first priority is a priority for determining the first time period, and the second priority is a priority of the first configuration.

[0287] In one implementation, the first priority may be the priority of the first HARQ, or it may be understood that the priority of the first time period is determined by the priority of the first HARQ, such as the priority of the time period corresponding to the feedback of the first HARQ.

[0288] In mode 1, the first information is control information a, and the control information a indicates a first priority. It can be understood that the first HARQ priority (ie, the first priority) can be dynamically indicated.

[0289] Preferably, the control information a also schedules the first data.

[0290] In this scenario, since the control information a usually explicitly indicates the HARQ process corresponding to the PDSCH, that is, the first HARQ, the priority of the first HARQ can be determined by the control information a for scheduling the PDSCH. The PDSCH indicated by the control information a is used to transmit the first data.

[0291] In one embodiment, the control information a may explicitly carry priority indication information to indicate the priority of the first HARQ. For example, the priority indication information carried by the control information a in the prior art may be reused (in the prior art, the control information a carries 1 bit of priority indication information, and the priority indication information indicates the priority of the HARQ codebook). Alternatively, since the control information a (such as DCI) has multiple formats, the priority of the first HARQ may be determined by the format of the control information a (such as DCI). In this case, the control information a (such as DCI) may not explicitly indicate the first priority, and it can be understood that the control information a (such as DCI) implicitly indicates the first priority. For example, the format of the control information a is format 1, and the format of the control information b is format 2, wherein the priority of format 1 is higher, which can be understood as the priority indicated by the control information a is higher.

[0292] In another embodiment, the control information a indicates the priority of the PDSCH. The PDSCH corresponds to the first HARQ, so the priority of the PDSCH is the same as the priority of the first HARQ. For example, if the priority of the PDSCH is high, the priority of the first HARQ is also high.

[0293] Optionally, control information a can also be used to activate semi-persistent transmission as shown in Figure 9. For example, when control information a is used to activate downlink semi-persistent scheduling (SPS), control information a can be used to indicate the transmission resources of several subsequent SPS PDSCHs. Therefore, the priority indicated by control information a can apply to all semi-persistent transmission opportunities under the semi-persistent transmission configuration, such as the priority of all PDSCHs transmitted semi-persistently.

[0294] It should be noted that, in mode 1, the terminal device may first execute S1011 and then execute S1001, or the terminal device may execute S1001 and S1011 simultaneously.

[0295] Mode 2, the first information is configuration information a, configuration information a indicates the time-frequency resources of the above-mentioned SCH and the period of the SCH, and configuration information a also indicates the first priority. It can be understood that the priority of the first time period or the first HARQ (i.e., the first priority) is semi-statically indicated. For example, the first network device (such as a base station) sends the first information through high-layer signaling, such as RRC signaling, and configures the first priority for the semi-static transmission through the first information. Exemplarily, the first priority can be the priority of the SCH. For example, when the SCH is scheduled through SPS, the priority of all SCHs under the SPS configuration is the first priority. Among them, each data on the SCH, such as the first data, has a corresponding HARQ process. Therefore, it can also be considered that the priority of the HARQ process corresponding to the SCH is the first priority.

[0296] In one case, only the HARQ process corresponding to the SCH is the first priority. It can also be understood that when the same HARQ process number is used in other situations, such as dynamic scheduling indicated by DCI, the priority of the HARQ process is not the first priority. For example, the base station configures the first priority for the SPS through the first information, and the SPS PDSCH corresponds to the HARQ process ID1, then it can be considered that the HARQ process ID1 corresponding to the SPS PDSCH is the first priority. For a certain time, if the PDSCH indicated by the DCI corresponds to the HARQ process ID1, and the DCI is not the activation DCI corresponding to the SPS configuration, the priority of the HARQ process ID1 does not exist or is not the first priority.

[0297] In mode 3, the first information is configuration information a, and configuration information a also indicates a first priority. It can be understood that the first HARQ priority (i.e., the first priority) is semi-statically indicated. For example, the first network device (e.g., a base station) configures a priority for each HARQ process through high-layer signaling, such as RRC signaling. Exemplarily, the HARQ priority can be as follows:

[0298] HARQ-priority-r19::=BIT STRING(SIZE 32)

[0299] Among them, the high-level signaling contains up to 32 bits, each bit corresponds to a HARQ process, and can be mapped one-to-one in ascending order. For example, the first bit in BIT STRING corresponds to HARQ process ID0, the second bit corresponds to HARQ process ID1, and so on. Or, conversely, it can be mapped one-to-one in descending order. For example, the first bit in BIT STRING corresponds to HARQ process ID31, the second bit corresponds to HARQ process ID30, and so on. For example, each HARQ process has 2 priorities. When the value corresponding to a HARQ process is the first value, such as '1' (or '0'), it means that the priority of the HARQ process is high. When the value corresponding to a HARQ process is the second value, such as '0' (or '1'), it means that the priority of the HARQ process is low.

[0300] In addition, when the actual number of HARQ processes of the terminal device is less than the maximum number of processes (i.e., 32), the excess bits can be ignored. The ignored bits can be counted from the most significant bit (MSB) to the least significant bit (LSB), or from the LSB to the MSB.

[0301] When a HARQ process is indicated as the first priority, all SCHs corresponding to the HARQ process can be considered as the first priority. Alternatively, when a HARQ process is indicated as the first priority, the HARQ feedback corresponding to the HARQ process can be considered as the first priority.

[0302] In the ascending mapping mode, if the first HARQ is the HARQ identified by the HARQ process ID0, the value indicated by the first bit in the BIT STRING is the first value, indicating that the first priority is high. If the first HARQ is the HARQ identified by the HARQ process ID1, the value indicated by the second bit in the BIT STRING is the first value, indicating that the first priority is high.

[0303] It should be noted that, in mode 2 or mode 3, the terminal device may first execute S1011 and then execute S1001.

[0304] Mode 4: The first information is configuration information X, the configuration information X indicates the first configuration, and the configuration information X also indicates the second priority.

[0305] Taking the MG priority as an example, the second priority level can include two levels: high and low. Alternatively, the MG priority level can include multiple levels. For example, the MG priority level includes 16 levels, such as MG priority 1, MG priority 2, MG priority 3, ..., MG priority 15, and MG priority 16. In ascending order, the 16 priorities can be ranked from high to low (e.g., MG priority 1 is the highest of the 16 priorities) or from low to high (e.g., MG priority 16 is the highest of the 16 priorities).

[0306] When the terminal device executes S1011, S1003 includes S1003a and S1003b:

[0307] S1003a. The terminal device determines the first priority and / or the second priority according to the first information.

[0308] For example, the first information may explicitly or implicitly indicate the first priority, so that the terminal device can determine the first priority or determine whether the first priority is higher than the second priority based on the first information.

[0309] For another example, the first information may indicate the second priority. In this way, the terminal device may determine the second priority based on the first information, or determine whether the first priority is higher than the second priority.

[0310] It should be pointed out that, for a terminal device, the terminal device may first determine the first priority and then determine the second priority, or the terminal device may first determine the second priority and then determine the first priority, or the terminal device may also determine the first priority and the second priority at the same time, and this application does not limit this.

[0311] S1003b: When the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period and the first priority is higher than the second priority, the terminal device sends first HARQ feedback to the first network device during the first overlapping time period. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the first HARQ feedback from the terminal device during the first overlapping time period.

[0312] Optionally, taking the second priority being the priority of the MG as an example, the following three cases (cases 1 to 3 below) are introduced:

[0313] Case 1: If the first priority (i.e., the first HARQ priority) is High, it means that the first HARQ priority is higher than any of all (e.g., 16) MG priorities. In this case, when the first time period overlaps with the first measurement period, the terminal device sends the first HARQ feedback in the first overlapping period to ensure the transmission performance of the high-priority service.

[0314] If the first priority (i.e., the priority of the first HARQ) is low, it means that the priority of the first HARQ is lower than any of all (e.g., 16) MG priorities. In this case, when the first time period overlaps with the first measurement period, the terminal device does not send the first HARQ feedback during the first overlapping period, but instead measures the first reference signal, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the reference signal measurement.

[0315] Exemplarily, the first priority may exist in the form of a switch, for example, when configured, it represents that the first priority is high, and when not configured, it represents that the first priority is low.

[0316] Case 2: If the first priority (i.e., the first HARQ priority) is High, it means that the first HARQ priority is higher than any one of the M MG priorities, or higher than any one of the M-1 MG priorities. If the first HARQ priority is Low, it means that the first HARQ priority is lower than any one of the M MG priorities, or lower than any one of the M-1 MG priorities.

[0317] Any one of the M MG priorities is lower than or equal to a first threshold.

[0318] For example, the first threshold is MG priority 8 (or 9). As an example, for the 16 MG priorities, there are eight priority levels below the first threshold: MG priority 9, MG priority 10, ..., MG priority 16, and eight priority levels above the first threshold: MG priority 1, MG priority 2, ..., MG priority 8. In this case, the priority of the first HARQ is higher than MG priority 9 - MG priority 16, and lower than MG priority 1 - MG priority 8.

[0319] Alternatively, for the 16 MG priorities, there are 8 levels of priority below the first threshold: MG priority 1, MG priority 2, ..., MG priority 8, and there are 8 levels of priority above the first threshold: MG priority 9, MG priority 10, ..., MG priority 16. In this case, the priority of the first HARQ is higher than MG priority 1 - MG priority 8, and the priority of the first HARQ is lower than MG priority 9 - MG priority 16.

[0320] For example, the MG priority may reuse gapPriority-r17 signaling in GapConfig in RRC message. The first threshold may be semi-statically indicated by the base station through higher layer signaling (eg, through RRC message), pre-configured at the factory, or dynamically indicated.

[0321] At this time, in one possible scenario, after configuring the first threshold or the second priority, the first priority may no longer be explicitly configured, that is, the first priority may be determined by the first threshold. Alternatively, in one scenario, the first threshold may be understood as the first priority.

[0322] Alternatively, in one scenario, after configuring the first priority, the second priority may no longer be explicitly configured. That is, the first and second priorities may be logical concepts, not explicitly indicated by physical signaling. Alternatively, the first or second priority may be configured as a switch. For example, when configuring the first priority as a switch, if the configuration information indicates 'on,' such as enabled, or 'off,' such as disabled, the first priority may be considered higher than the second priority.

[0323] In case 3, if the second priority (e.g., the MG priority) is High, this means that the MG priority is higher than any of the (e.g., two) HARQ priorities. In this case, when the first time period overlaps with the first measurement period, the terminal device does not send the first HARQ feedback during the first overlapping period, but instead measures the first reference signal, thereby ensuring reference signal measurement performance.

[0324] If the second priority (e.g., the MG priority) is low, it means that the MG priority is lower than any of all (e.g., two) HARQ priorities. In this case, when the first time period overlaps with the first measurement period, the terminal device sends the first HARQ feedback in the first overlapping period to ensure the transmission performance of the high-priority service.

[0325] That is, when the first priority is higher than the second priority, the terminal device sends the first HARQ feedback in the first overlapping period, thereby giving priority to ensuring the transmission performance of the service data.

[0326] It should be noted that the first HARQ feedback may include HARQ feedback for multiple data (or multiple PDSCHs). In this case, it can be considered that the priority of the first HARQ feedback can be the priority of the HARQ feedback with the highest priority among the HARQ feedbacks of the multiple data. For example, when the first HARQ feedback includes any high-priority HARQ feedback, the priority of the first HARQ is higher than the priority of the first configuration.

[0327] It should be noted that, in any of the above-mentioned methods, the order in which the terminal device executes S1002 and S1003a can be changed. For example, the terminal device can execute S1003a first and then execute S1002, or can execute S1002 and S1003a simultaneously.

[0328] In some embodiments, as shown in 'Case 2' in FIG. 14 , the terminal device further executes S1012:

[0329] S1012: The first network device sends first information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the first network device.

[0330] The first information indicates that the first HARQ feedback is sent in the first overlapping period. Alternatively, the first information indicates that the first reference signal is not measured in the first overlapping period.

[0331] When the terminal device executes S1012, S1003 includes S1003c:

[0332] S1003c: When the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period, the terminal device sends a first HARQ feedback to the first network device in the first overlapping time period in response to the first information.

[0333] That is to say, it can be understood that the first network device instructs the terminal device to send the first HARQ feedback in the first overlapping period, which helps to ensure the transmission performance of the service data.

[0334] In the above, the operation of the communication device (such as the first network device or the terminal device) in the first overlapping period is introduced by taking the first time period for transmitting the first HARQ feedback as an example.

[0335] The following describes the operation of a communication device (such as a first network device or a terminal device) in the first overlapping period by taking the first period used to monitor the first control information as an example.

[0336] The communication method proposed in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to FIG15. The communication method 1500 proposed in the embodiment of the present application includes the following operations:

[0337] Optionally, the first network device sends downlink data to the terminal device, and may also receive uplink data from the terminal device. Below, taking the first data as an example, S1501 and S1503 are used to introduce:

[0338] (Optional) S1501: A first network device sends first data to a terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first data from the first network device.

[0339] The first data is data transmitted via the SCH (such as the PDSCH). In this case, the first data is downlink data.

[0340] Optionally, the first data is transmitted via a PDSCH, and the HARQ process corresponding to the PDSCH is denoted as the first HARQ. Taking Figure 16 as an example, the box corresponding to the letter "D" represents a downlink time slot, and the box corresponding to the letter "U" represents an uplink time slot. The first data is transmitted via four PDSCHs, each of which occupies four downlink time slots.

[0341] For the terminal device, the terminal device receives and performs channel decoding on the first data, thereby obtaining a decoding result of the first data.

[0342] (Optional) S1502: The terminal device sends first HARQ feedback to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the first HARQ feedback from the terminal device.

[0343] The feedback of the first HARQ is determined based on the decoding result of the first data. For example, if the terminal device decodes the first data successfully, the feedback of the first HARQ is ACK; conversely, if the terminal device fails to decode the first data, the feedback of the first HARQ is NACK. After sending the feedback of the first HARQ, the terminal device turns on the drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL corresponding to the first HARQ feedback. After the drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL times out, the terminal device turns on the drx-RetransmissionTimerDL corresponding to the first HARQ feedback based on the decoding result of the first data.

[0344] Taking FIG. 16 as an example, the terminal device sends the first HARQ feedback to the first network device in the uplink time slot U1.

[0345] It should be understood that for a terminal device, the terminal device receives control information a, and the control information a indicates the resources of four PDSCHs and the k1 value, so that the terminal device determines the time slot in which the first HARQ feedback is located based on the time domain position of the PDSCH and the k1 value, such as the uplink time slot U1 in Figure 16. The control information can be one control information a or multiple control information, such as four control information, control information a, b, c, and d.

[0346] (Optional) S1503: The terminal device sends first data to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the first data from the terminal device.

[0347] The first data is data transmitted via an SCH (such as a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)). In this case, the first data is uplink data.

[0348] Optionally, the first data is transmitted through the PUSCH, and the HARQ process corresponding to the PUSCH can be recorded as the first HARQ.

[0349] Optionally, the first data may be transmitted in two ways, namely, dynamic scheduling or semi-static scheduling.

[0350] Optionally, in a dynamic scheduling scenario, the first network device sends control information a (such as DCI) to indicate uplink resources, such as PUSCH resources, and the terminal device sends the first data to the first network device in the time slot indicated by the control information a according to the time-frequency resources and transmission parameters (such as MCS) indicated by the control information a.

[0351] For the terminal device, after sending the first data (such as MAC PDU), the terminal device starts drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL. After drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL times out, the terminal device continues to start drx-RetransmissionTimerUL.

[0352] S1504. The terminal device determines a first time period.

[0353] Similarly, the first network device determines a first time period.

[0354] For the terminal device, the first time period is used to monitor the first control information. This means that the terminal device needs to continuously monitor the PDCCH during the first time period to promptly obtain the first control information and retransmit the first data. For the first network device, the first time period is used to send the first control information. The first control information indicates the retransmission of the first data.

[0355] Taking the first data as downlink data as an example, as shown in Figure 16, the first time period may be the time period corresponding to drx-RetransmissionTimerDL. drx-RetransmissionTimerDL is a timer corresponding to the first HARQ (or described as drx-RetransmissionTimerDL being associated with the first HARQ). drx-RetransmissionTimerDL is configured by DRX configuration information.

[0356] Taking the first data as uplink data as an example, the first time period may be a time period corresponding to drx-RetransmissionTimerUL. drx-RetransmissionTimerUL is a timer corresponding to the first HARQ (or described as drx-RetransmissionTimerUL being associated with the first HARQ). drx-RetransmissionTimerUL is configured by DRX configuration information.

[0357] That is, the DRX configuration information is used to configure a retransmission timer (such as drx-RetransmissionTimerUL or drx-RetransmissionTimerDL), such as indicating the duration of the retransmission timer operation. For the terminal device, the terminal device can determine the first time period based on the retransmission timer, such as the time period corresponding to the retransmission timer is the first time period. The retransmission timer is associated with the first HARQ. In this case, it can be understood that the first time period is associated with the first HARQ.

[0358] It should be noted that, in the present application, the first data is the data received by the terminal device through the SCH before the start time of the first time period.

[0359] S1505: When the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period, the first network device sends first control information to the terminal device during the first overlapping time period. Accordingly, the terminal device monitors the first control information from the first network device during the first overlapping time period.

[0360] For example, when the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period, the first network device determines the first overlapping time period and sends the first control information to the terminal device during the first overlapping time period. Correspondingly, the terminal device determines the first overlapping time period and monitors the first control information from the first network device during the first overlapping time period.

[0361] For example, when the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal during the first overlapping time period, but instead monitors the first control information from the first network device. In other words, during the first overlapping time period, not measuring the first reference signal and monitoring the first control information occur simultaneously.

[0362] The first period can be found in the introduction of S1504 and will not be described in detail.

[0363] The first measurement period is described as follows:

[0364] The first measurement period is determined according to the first configuration, wherein the first configuration is a configuration in which the first cell sends a first reference signal. The first measurement period can be described in S1003 and will not be described in detail.

[0365] The first overlapping period is a period in which the first period overlaps with the first measurement period. Please refer to the introduction of Figure 13 or Figure 16 and will not be repeated here.

[0366] In some embodiments, as shown in 'Case 1' in FIG. 17 , the terminal device further executes S1511:

[0367] S1511: The first network device sends first information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the first network device.

[0368] The first information indicates a first priority and / or a second priority, the first priority is used to determine the priority of the first time period, and the second priority is the priority of the first configuration.

[0369] In mode 1, the first information is control information a, which indicates a first priority. Preferably, control information a also schedules first data. In one implementation, the first priority may be a first HARQ priority. It can also be understood that the priority of the first time period is determined by the first HARQ priority, such as the priority of the time period during which a retransmission timer corresponding to the first HARQ (e.g., drx-RetransmissionTimerUL or drx-RetransmissionTimerDL) runs.

[0370] It can be understood that the priority of the first HARQ (ie, the first priority) is dynamically indicated. Please refer to the introduction of S1011 and will not be repeated here.

[0371] In this scenario, since the control information a typically explicitly indicates the HARQ process corresponding to the SCH (such as PDSCH or PUSCH), that is, the first HARQ, the priority of the first HARQ can be determined by the control information a of the scheduled SCH. The SCH indicated by the control information a is used to transmit the first data.

[0372] Alternatively, the control information a indicates the priority of the SCH. Since the SCH corresponds to the first HARQ, the priority of the SCH is the same as the priority of the first HARQ.

[0373] Optionally, control information a can also be used to activate semi-persistent transmission as shown in Figure 9. For example, when control information a is used to activate CG type 2, control information a can be used to indicate the transmission resources of several subsequent CG PUSCHs. Therefore, the priority indicated by control information a can be applied to all semi-persistent transmission opportunities under the CG configuration, such as the priority of all CG PUSCHs transmitted semi-persistently.

[0374] It should be noted that, in mode 1, the terminal device may first execute S1511 and then execute S1501, or the terminal device may execute S1501 and S1511 simultaneously. Alternatively, in mode 1, the terminal device may first execute S1511 and then execute S1503, or the terminal device may execute S1503 and S1511 simultaneously.

[0375] In mode 2, the first information is configuration information a, which indicates the time-frequency resources and period of the SCH. Configuration information a also indicates the first priority. It can be understood that the first HARQ priority (i.e., the first priority) is semi-statically indicated. Please refer to the introduction of S1011 and will not be repeated here.

[0376] Optionally, taking SCH as CG PUSCH as an example, configuration information a indicates the priority of CG configuration. The priority of CG configuration is the same as the first priority. Alternatively, the first priority is the priority of CG configuration. For example, if the priority of CG configuration is: high, then:

[0377] The priority of each transmission opportunity in the configuration is: high; or, the priority of the HARQ corresponding to each transmission opportunity in the configuration is: high; or, the priority of the retransmission timer (such as drx-RetransmissionTimerUL) corresponding to the configuration is: high.

[0378] The priority of each transmission opportunity in the configuration is the same as the HARQ priority corresponding to each transmission opportunity in the configuration. The priority of the retransmission timer corresponding to the configuration is the same as the HARQ priority corresponding to each transmission opportunity in the configuration.

[0379] Optionally, the configuration information a may be priority indication information added in an RRC message (such as ConfiguredGrantConfig).

[0380] Mode 3: The first information is configuration information a, and configuration information a also indicates a first priority. It can be understood that the priority of the first HARQ (i.e., the first priority) is semi-statically indicated. Please refer to the introduction of S1011 and will not be repeated here. For example, the first network device (such as a base station) configures a priority for each HARQ process through high-layer signaling, such as RRC signaling. Exemplarily, the HARQ priority can be as follows:

[0381] HARQ-priority-r19::=BIT STRING(SIZE 32)

[0382] The high-layer signaling contains up to 32 bits, each bit corresponds to a HARQ process, and can be mapped one-to-one in ascending order. For example, the first bit in the BIT STRING corresponds to HARQ process ID0, the second bit corresponds to HARQ process ID1, and so on. Alternatively, the mapping can be performed one-to-one in descending order. For example, the first bit in the BIT STRING corresponds to HARQ process ID31, the second bit corresponds to HARQ process ID30, and so on.

[0383] When a HARQ process is indicated as the first priority, all SCHs corresponding to the HARQ process can be considered as the first priority. Alternatively, when a HARQ process is indicated as the first priority, the first time period corresponding to the HARQ process (such as the time period during which the retransmission timer runs) can be considered as the first priority.

[0384] It should be added that, for Mode 1, Mode 2, and Mode 3, in some implementations, the first priority also indicates the priority of the DRX configuration, which can be understood as the first priority also affecting the priority of the DRX configuration. For example, if the first priority is: high, then the priority of the DRX configuration is also: high. Alternatively, if the first priority is: low, then the priority of the DRX configuration is also: low. Alternatively, the above-mentioned DRX configuration can also be replaced with a DRX timer. That is, the first priority also indicates the priority of the DRX timer, which can be understood as the first priority also affecting the priority of the DRX timer. For example, if the first priority is: high, then the priority of the DRX timer is also: high. Alternatively, if the first priority is: low, then the priority of the DRX timer is also: low.

[0385] It should be noted that, in mode 2 or mode 3, the terminal device may first execute S1511 and then execute S1501. Alternatively, the terminal device may first execute S1511 and then execute S1503.

[0386] Mode 4: The first information is DRX configuration information. The DRX configuration information is used to configure one or more of the following: drx-onDurationTimer, drx-InactivityTimer, and drx-RetransmissionTimer. For DRX configuration information, refer to the relevant 3GPP technical specifications and are not described in detail here. In addition, the DRX configuration information also indicates a first priority.

[0387] It is easy to understand that the XR service has a certain periodic characteristic. Therefore, the terminal device can use DRX technology to periodically monitor the PDCCH, thereby ensuring low-latency transmission and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device for transmission and reception. For example, after matching the DRX cycle, such as the cycle of drx-onDurationTimer, with the cycle of the XR service (60Hz), the terminal device can monitor the PDCCH according to the service cycle to ensure low-latency transmission. Therefore, if a set of DRX is configured for certain services (such as XR services), the set of DRX serves low-latency services, so the timers of the DRX (such as one or more of drx-onDurationTimer, drx-InactivityTimer and drx-RetransmissionTimer) should all have a higher priority, or the DRX configuration has a higher priority.

[0388] It should be noted that in the communication method 1500 of the present application, the first priority is the priority of the first HARQ or the first time period, and can also be replaced by the first priority being the priority of the DRX configuration, or the first priority being the priority of a timer in the DRX, such as the priority of the retransmission timer, or the priority of the drx-onDurationTimer, or the priority of the drx-InactivityTimer. Optionally, the first priority can be applied to timers in the DRX configuration that enable the terminal device to be in the activation time, such as one or more of drx-onDurationTimer, drx-InactivityTimer, and drx-RetransmissionTimer, and is not effective for timers that are not in the activation time, such as the drx-HARQ-RTT-Timer.

[0389] Mode 5: The first information is configuration information X, configuration information X indicates the first configuration, and configuration information X also indicates the second priority. Please refer to the introduction of S1011 and will not be repeated here.

[0390] It should be noted that, in one possible scenario, after configuring the first threshold or the second priority, the first priority may no longer be explicitly configured, that is, the first priority may be determined by the first threshold. Alternatively, in one scenario, the first threshold may be understood as the first priority.

[0391] Alternatively, in one case, after configuring the first priority, the second priority may no longer be explicitly configured. That is, the first priority and the second priority may be logical concepts and may not be indicated separately through explicit physical signaling.

[0392] When the terminal device executes S1511, S1505 includes S1505a and S1505b:

[0393] S1505a. The terminal device determines the first priority and / or the second priority according to the first information.

[0394] The implementation process of S1505a can refer to the introduction of S1005a and will not be repeated here.

[0395] S1505b: When the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period and the first priority is higher than the second priority, the first network device sends first control information to the terminal device during the first overlapping time period. Accordingly, the terminal device monitors the first control information from the first network device during the first overlapping time period.

[0396] The implementation process of S1505b can be found in the introduction of S1005b and will not be described in detail here.

[0397] It should be noted that, in any of the above-mentioned methods, the order in which the terminal device executes S1504 and S1505a can be changed. For example, the terminal device can execute S1505a first and then execute S1504, or can execute S1504 and S1505a simultaneously.

[0398] That is, when the first priority is higher than the second priority, the terminal device monitors the first control information during the first overlapping period, thereby giving priority to ensuring the transmission performance of the service data.

[0399] In some embodiments, as shown in 'Case 2' in FIG. 17 , the terminal device further executes S1512:

[0400] S1512: The first network device sends first information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the first network device.

[0401] The first information indicates that the first control information is monitored during the first overlapping period, or the first information indicates that the first reference signal is not measured during the first overlapping period.

[0402] When the terminal device executes S1512, S1505 includes S1505c:

[0403] S1505c: When the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period, the terminal device monitors the first control information from the first network device in the first overlapping time period in response to the first information.

[0404] That is to say, it can be understood that the first network device instructs the terminal device to monitor the first control information during the first overlapping period, which helps to ensure the transmission performance of the service data.

[0405] In the above, the operation of the communication device (such as the first network device or the terminal device) in the first overlapping period is introduced by taking the first period for monitoring the first control information as an example.

[0406] It should be added that, as a possible parallel approach, the present application provides a communication method 1800. Regarding DRX configuration, the following situations may also exist:

[0407] The following describes the operation of the communication device (such as the first network device or the terminal device) in the second overlapping period by taking the fourth period for monitoring the third control information as an example.

[0408] The communication method proposed in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to FIG18. The communication method 1800 proposed in the embodiment of the present application includes the following operations:

[0409] S1801. The terminal device determines a fourth time period.

[0410] Similarly, the first network device determines a fourth time period.

[0411] The fourth time period is used to monitor third control information, where the third control information indicates sending or receiving data. It can be understood that the terminal device continuously monitors the third control information during the fourth time period.

[0412] Optionally, the fourth time period is determined according to the first timer.

[0413] For example, the first timer includes a drx-onDurationTimer, and the fourth period is a period corresponding to the drx-onDurationTimer, as shown in Figure 19. During the operation of the drx-onDurationTimer, the terminal device needs to continuously monitor the PDCCH.

[0414] For another example, the first timer includes a drx-InactivityTimer, and the fourth period is a period corresponding to the drx-InactivityTimer, as shown in Figure 20. During the operation of the drx-InactivityTimer, the terminal device needs to continuously monitor the PDCCH.

[0415] For another example, the first timer includes a drx-onDurationTimer and a drx-InactivityTimer, and the fourth period includes a period corresponding to the drx-onDurationTimer and a period corresponding to the drx-InactivityTimer, as shown in Figure 21. During the operation of the drx-onDurationTimer and the drx-InactivityTimer, the terminal device needs to continuously monitor the PDCCH.

[0416] S1802: When the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement time period, the first network device sends third control information during the second overlapping time period. Accordingly, the terminal device monitors the third control information from the first network device during the second overlapping time period.

[0417] For example, when the fourth period overlaps with the second measurement period, the first network device determines a second overlapping period and sends the third control information during the second overlapping period. Accordingly, the terminal device determines a second overlapping period and monitors the third control information from the first network device during the second overlapping period.

[0418] For example, when the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement time period, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal during the second overlapping time period, and the terminal device monitors the third control information from the first network device during the second overlapping time period. In other words, during the second overlapping time period, not measuring the first reference signal and monitoring the third control information occur simultaneously.

[0419] The third control information indicates sending or receiving data. For example, the third control information is DCI.

[0420] The second measurement period is determined according to the first configuration. For the first configuration, please refer to the introduction of S1003 and will not be described in detail.

[0421] The second overlapping period is a period in which the fourth period overlaps with the second measurement period, as shown in FIG19 , FIG20 or FIG21 .

[0422] The second overlapping period may be a part of the second measurement period, such as the second overlapping period is located at the beginning, middle, or end of the second measurement period, which may be similar to the description in FIG13 .

[0423] That is to say, compared with the introduction of Figures 10 to 17, the fourth period can refer to the introduction of the first period, the second measurement period can refer to the introduction of the first measurement period, and the second overlapping period can refer to the introduction of the first overlapping period.

[0424] That is to say, when the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement time period, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring in the second overlapping time period instead of reference signal measurement. Compared with the situation where the terminal device measures the first reference signal in the second overlapping time period and monitors the third control information after the second overlapping time period, the present application enables the terminal device to receive the third control information as early as possible, thereby reducing the service data transmission delay and, to a certain extent, reducing the impact of reference signal measurement on data transmission.

[0425] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the communication method 1800 of the present application further includes: the first network device sending first information to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the first network device. The first information indicates a first priority and / or a second priority, where the first priority is used to determine the priority of the fourth time period, and the second priority is the priority of the first configuration. For details, see the introduction to S1511, which will not be repeated here.

[0426] In this case, S1802 includes: the terminal device determining the first priority and / or the second priority based on the first information; when the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement time period and the first priority is higher than the second priority, the first network device sending third control information during the second overlapping time period. Accordingly, the terminal device monitors the third control information from the first network device during the second overlapping time period. Please refer to the introduction of S1505a and S1505b, which will not be repeated here.

[0427] That is, when the first priority is higher than the second priority, the terminal device monitors the third control information during the second overlapping period, thereby giving priority to ensuring the transmission performance of the service data.

[0428] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the communication method 1800 of the present application further includes: the first network device sending first information to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the first network device. The first information instructs monitoring of the third control information during the second overlapping period. Alternatively, the first information instructs not to measure the first reference signal during the second overlapping period. For details, see the description of S1512, which is omitted here.

[0429] In this case, S1802 includes: when the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement period, the terminal device responds to the first information and monitors the third control information from the first network device in the second overlapping time period. Please refer to the introduction of S1505c and will not be repeated here.

[0430] That is to say, it can be understood that the first network device instructs the terminal device to monitor the third control information during the second overlapping period, which helps to ensure the transmission performance of the service data.

[0431] The operations performed by the communication device (such as the first network device or the terminal device) during the second overlapping period are introduced above.

[0432] The following describes the reference signal measurement process of the terminal device:

[0433] First, let's explain the following: in communication methods 2200 and 2400 of the present application, the first time period can be used to send first HARQ feedback, as detailed in the introduction to communication method 1000. In this case, the first measurement period and the first overlapping period can be found in the introduction to communication method 1000. The first time period can also be used to monitor first control information, as detailed in the introduction to communication method 1500. In this case, the first measurement period and the first overlapping period can be found in the introduction to communication method 1500. The first time period can also be used to monitor third control information, which is equivalent to the fourth time period in communication method 1800. In this case, the first measurement period can be found in the introduction to the second measurement period in communication method 1800, and the first overlapping period can be found in the introduction to the second overlapping period in communication method 1800.

[0434] As shown in FIG. 22 , the communication method 2200 according to the embodiment of the present application further includes the following operations:

[0435] S2201. The terminal device does not measure the first reference signal in the second time period.

[0436] Optionally, as a possible alternative description: the terminal device cancels the measurement of the first reference signal in the second time period, or the terminal device does not activate the measurement of the first reference signal in the second time period.

[0437] The measurement result of the first reference signal is used to indicate the signal quality of the first cell. For example, if the first reference signal is an SSB, the measurement result of the first reference signal may include one or more of the following: RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, or SINR, etc. For details, please refer to the glossary section.

[0438] It should be noted that, in this application, the first reference signal is a reference signal transmitted by the first cell. The first cell includes a serving cell or a candidate cell. For example, if the first cell is a serving cell, the network device corresponding to the serving cell is denoted as the first network device. If the first cell is a candidate cell, the network device corresponding to the candidate cell is denoted as the second network device. In this application, the serving cell and the candidate cell are different. The first network device and the second network device may be the same or different, and this application does not limit this.

[0439] The second period is introduced as follows:

[0440] Optionally, before introducing the second period, the following description is made in conjunction with FIG23 :

[0441] As shown in the box marked 'a' in Figure 23, when the starting time of the first time period is later than the starting time of the first measurement time period, and the ending time of the first time period is later than or equal to the ending time of the first measurement time period, the starting time of the first overlapping time period is the starting time of the first time period, and the ending time of the first overlapping time period is the ending time of the first measurement time period.

[0442] As shown in the box marked 'a-1' in Figure 23, the terminal device can measure the first reference signal from the start time of the first measurement period to the start time of the first overlapping period. During the first overlapping period, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal.

[0443] As shown in the box marked 'a-2' in Figure 23, the terminal device may not measure the first reference signal during the period between the start time of the first measurement period and the start time of the first overlapping period. During the first overlapping period, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal. This can also be understood as the terminal device not measuring the first reference signal during the first measurement period.

[0444] As shown in the box marked 'b' in Figure 23, when the starting time of the first time period is later than the starting time of the first measurement time period, and the ending time of the first time period is earlier than the ending time of the first measurement time period, the starting time of the first overlapping time period is the starting time of the first time period, and the ending time of the first overlapping time period is the ending time of the first time period.

[0445] As shown in the box marked 'b-1' in Figure 23, the terminal device can measure the first reference signal during the period between the start time of the first measurement period and the start time of the first overlapping period. During the first overlapping period, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal. During the period between the end time of the first period and the end time of the first measurement period, the terminal device can measure the first reference signal.

[0446] As shown in the box marked 'b-2' in Figure 23, the terminal device may not measure the first reference signal during the period between the start time of the first measurement period and the start time of the first overlapping period. During the first overlapping period, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal. During the period between the end time of the first period and the end time of the first measurement period, the terminal device may not measure the first reference signal. This can also be understood as the terminal device not measuring the first reference signal during the first measurement period.

[0447] As shown in the box marked 'b-3' in Figure 23, the terminal device may not measure the first reference signal during the period between the start time of the first measurement period and the start time of the first overlapping period. During the first overlapping period, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal. During the period between the end time of the first period and the end time of the first measurement period, the terminal device may measure the first reference signal.

[0448] As shown in the box marked 'b-4' in Figure 23, the terminal device may measure the first reference signal during the period between the start time of the first measurement period and the start time of the first overlapping period. During the first overlapping period, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal. During the period between the end time of the first period and the end time of the first measurement period, the terminal device may not measure the first reference signal.

[0449] As shown in the box marked 'c' in Figure 23, when the starting time of the first time period is earlier than or equal to the starting time of the first measurement time period, and the ending time of the first time period is earlier than the ending time of the first measurement time period, the starting time of the first overlapping time period is the starting time of the first measurement time period, and the ending time of the first overlapping time period is the ending time of the first time period.

[0450] As shown in the box marked 'c-1' in Figure 23, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal during the first overlapping period. The terminal device may measure the first reference signal during the period between the end time of the first period and the end time of the first measurement period.

[0451] As shown in the box labeled 'c-2' in Figure 23 , during the first overlapping period, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal. During the period between the end time of the first period and the end time of the first measurement period, the terminal device may not measure the first reference signal. This can also be understood as the terminal device not measuring the first reference signal during the first measurement period.

[0452] As shown in the box marked 'd' in Figure 23, when the starting time of the first time period is earlier than or equal to the starting time of the first measurement time period, and the ending time of the first time period is later than or equal to the ending time of the first measurement time period, the starting time of the first overlapping time period is the starting time of the first measurement time period, and the ending time of the first overlapping time period is the ending time of the first measurement time period.

[0453] As shown in the box marked 'd-1' in Figure 23 , the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal during the first overlapping period. This can also be understood as the terminal device not measuring the first reference signal during the first measurement period.

[0454] Among them, the first overlapping period is the period in which the first period overlaps with the first measurement period. The first period and the first measurement period can be referred to the introduction of Figures 10 to 21 and will not be repeated here.

[0455] As shown in FIG. 23 , the second period may include the following situations:

[0456] Optionally, the second time period is the first overlapping time period, as shown in FIG23 .

[0457] Optionally, the second time period is the first measurement time period, as shown in the boxes marked with 'a-2', 'b-2', 'c-2' and 'd-1' in FIG. 23 .

[0458] Optionally, when the end time of the first overlapping period is equal to the end time of the first measurement period (as shown in the boxes marked with 'a' and 'd' in FIG23 ), the start time of the second period is the start time of the first overlapping period, and / or the end time of the second period is the end time of the first measurement period (i.e., the end time of the first overlapping period). In other words, the second period is the first overlapping period, i.e., the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal in the first overlapping period, as shown in the boxes marked with 'a-1', 'a-2', and 'd-1' in FIG23 .

[0459] Optionally, when the end time of the first overlapping period is earlier than the end time of the first measurement period, the start time of the second period is the start time of the first measurement period, and / or the end time of the second period is the end time of the first overlapping period.

[0460] For example, when the end time of the first overlapping period is earlier than the end time of the first measurement period, and the start time of the second period is the start time of the first measurement period, there may be the following two cases (case 1-case 2 below):

[0461] In case 1, the end time of the second measurement period may be the end time of the first measurement period. That is, the second measurement period is the first measurement period, as shown in the box marked 'b-2' in FIG23 .

[0462] In case 2, the end time of the second period may be the end time of the first overlapping period, as shown in the box marked 'b-3' in FIG23 .

[0463] For example, when the end time of the first overlapping period is earlier than the end time of the first measurement period, and the end time of the second period is the end time of the first overlapping period, there may be the following two cases (cases 3 and 4 below):

[0464] In case 3, the start time of the second time period may be the start time of the first overlapping time period. That is, the second time period is the first overlapping time period, as shown in the boxes marked with 'b-1' and 'c-1' in FIG23 .

[0465] In case 4, the start time of the second measurement period may be the start time of the first measurement period, as shown in the box marked 'b-3' in FIG. 23 .

[0466] It should be added that the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal in the second time period. It can be understood that the second time period (ie, all or part of the first measurement time period) is not activated.

[0467] In one possible implementation, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal in the second time period, which can be understood as the condition for the terminal device to measure the first reference signal has changed. For example, when the condition for starting (or activating) the first measurement period in the foregoing text is met, a new condition can also be considered. Among them, in one example, the new condition can refer to whether the first measurement period overlaps with the first time period. Exemplarily, when the condition for starting the first measurement period in the foregoing text is met, and the first measurement period does not overlap with the first time period, the terminal device measures the first reference signal in the first measurement period. Or, conversely, it can also be understood that when the condition for starting the first measurement period in the foregoing text is met, and the first measurement period overlaps with the first time period, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal in the second time period.

[0468] For example, taking the first measurement period as MG, the first time unit (such as subframe) of each MG is a subframe that meets the following conditions:

[0469] SFN mod T=FLOOR(gapOffset / 10);

[0470] Subframe = gapOffset mod 10; Formula (1)

[0471] T = MGRP / 10.

[0472] Furthermore, if the duration of the MG (e.g., determined based on the MGL parameter) does not overlap with the first period, the first measurement period may be started (or activated). For example, the first measurement period may also be associated with other parameters, such as mgta, which are also used to determine the first measurement period, thereby further determining the activation time and duration of the MG.

[0473] It should be noted that the relevant parameters of formula (1) can be found in the introduction of formula (a) and will not be repeated here.

[0474] For another example, taking the first measurement period as SMTC, the first time unit (such as a subframe) of each SMTC is a subframe that meets the following conditions:

[0475] SFN mod T=FLOOR(Offset / 10);

[0476] If Periodicity is greater than the length of sf5:

[0477] subframe = Offset mod 10; Formula (2)

[0478] otherwise:

[0479] subframe=Offset or(Offset+5);

[0480] with T=CEIL(Periodicity / 10).

[0481] Furthermore, if the duration of the SMTC (as determined by the duration parameter) does not overlap with the first time period, the first measurement period may be enabled (or activated), i.e., the terminal device measures the first reference signal during the first measurement period. Alternatively, conversely, it can also be understood that if the duration of the SMTC (as determined by the duration parameter) overlaps with the first time period, the second time period may not be enabled (or activated), i.e., the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal during the second time period.

[0482] It should be noted that the relevant parameters of formula (2) can be found in the introduction of formula (b) and will not be repeated here.

[0483] For another example, taking the first measurement period as RMTC, the first time unit (eg, subframe) of each RMTC is a subframe that satisfies the following conditions:

[0484] SFN mod T=FLOOR(rmtc-SubframeOffset / 10);

[0485] subframe = rmtc-SubframeOffset mod 10; formula (3)

[0486] T=rmtc-Periodicity / 10.

[0487] Furthermore, if the duration of the RMTC, such as the number of consecutive symbols of RSSI sampling reported by the physical layer and the reference subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix used for RSSI measurement, does not overlap with the first time period, then the first measurement period can be turned on (or activated), that is, the terminal device measures the first reference signal in the first measurement period. Or, conversely, it can also be understood that if the duration of the RMTC overlaps with the first time period, the second time period may not be turned on (or activated), that is, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal in the second time period.

[0488] The duration of the first measurement period does not overlap with the first time period, which can also be understood as any time unit of the first measurement period is not within the first time period.

[0489] Furthermore, for the case where the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period, S2201 includes: when the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period and the first priority is higher than the second priority, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal in the second time period.

[0490] Among them, the first priority is used to determine the priority of the first time period, and the second priority is the priority of the first configuration. Please refer to the introduction of Figures 10 to 21 and will not be repeated here.

[0491] Furthermore, for the case where the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period, S2201 includes: when the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period, the terminal device does not measure the first reference signal in the second time period according to the first information.

[0492] The first information indicates that the first reference signal is not measured during the second time period.

[0493] In this way, the terminal device determines, based on the first information, that it does not need to measure the reference signal in the second time period, so that it can perform operations normally, such as sending first HARQ feedback or monitoring the first control information or monitoring the third control information, to reduce data transmission delay.

[0494] In some embodiments, the method further includes S2202:

[0495] S2202. The terminal device measures the first reference signal in a third time period.

[0496] The third period is introduced through two implementation modes (Implementation Mode 1 and Implementation Mode 2 below):

[0497] Implementation 1: The starting time of the third time period is the first time period. The first time period is equal to the ending time of the first time period, as shown in FIG11 , FIG12 , FIG16 , or FIG23 . Alternatively, the first time period is later than the ending time of the first time period. Furthermore, when the first time period is later than the ending time of the first time period, a certain time period, such as a sixth time period, is separated from the ending time of the first time period. The sixth time period is preconfigured, or the sixth time period is configured by a network device (such as the first network device).

[0498] Optionally, the end time of the third time period is the end time of the first measurement time period, as shown in FIG. 11 , FIG. 12 , FIG. 16 or FIG. 23 .

[0499] That is, in embodiment 1, the third time period can be understood as: a part of the first measurement period, for example, the third time period is located at the end of the first measurement period.

[0500] At this time, the first measurement period can be obtained through the foregoing, and the third period can be further obtained through the first measurement period and the first period. Exemplarily, the condition for the terminal device to perform measurement can be further changed as follows: after obtaining the start time of the first measurement period according to formula (1), if the end time of the first period is within the first measurement period (such as determined by parameters such as duration or MGL), start measuring the first reference signal at the first moment. At this time, it can also be understood that the third period is the difference between the first measurement period and the first overlapping period, such as the first measurement period minus the first overlapping period. In one case, the third period can also be interpreted as a measurement timing configuration window for the terminal device to perform measurement, such as MG, SMTC or RMTC.

[0501] Alternatively, it can be understood that the time unit (e.g., subframe) corresponding to the first moment is determined based on the end moment of the first time period, and the end moment of the first time period is within the first measurement period. For example, the activation time of the first measurement period can refer to one or more of formulas (1) to (3).

[0502] For example, taking the first measurement period as MG, the first time unit (such as subframe) of each MG is a subframe that meets the following conditions:

[0503] SFN mod T=FLOOR(gapOffset / 10);

[0504] Subframe = gapOffset mod 10; Formula (1)

[0505] T = MGRP / 10.

[0506] Furthermore, when the duration of the MG (as determined by the MGL parameter) does not overlap with the first period, the third period may be started (or activated). This may be understood as starting the third period at the end of (or after) the first period, such as at the first moment.

[0507] It should be noted that the relevant parameters of formula (1) can be found in the introduction of formula (a) and will not be repeated here.

[0508] For another example, taking the first measurement period as SMTC, the first time unit (such as a subframe) of each SMTC is a subframe that meets the following conditions:

[0509] SFN mod T=(FLOOR(Offset / 10));

[0510] If Periodicity is greater than the length of sf5:

[0511] subframe = Offset mod 10; Formula (2)

[0512] otherwise:

[0513] subframe=Offset or(Offset+5);

[0514] with T=CEIL(Periodicity / 10).

[0515] Furthermore, if the duration of the SMTC (as determined by the duration parameter) does not overlap with the first period, the third period may be started (or activated). This may be understood as starting the third period at the end of (or after) the first period, such as at the first moment.

[0516] It should be noted that the relevant parameters of formula (2) can be found in the introduction of formula (b) and will not be repeated here.

[0517] For another example, taking the first measurement period as RMTC, the first time unit (eg, subframe) of each RMTC is a subframe that satisfies the following conditions:

[0518] SFN mod T=FLOOR(rmtc-SubframeOffset / 10);

[0519] subframe = rmtc-SubframeOffset mod 10; formula (3)

[0520] T=rmtc-Periodicity / 10.

[0521] Furthermore, if the duration of the RMTC, such as the number of consecutive symbols of RSSI samples reported by the physical layer and the reference subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix used for RSSI measurement, does not overlap with the first period, the third period can be started (or activated). In this case, it can be understood that the third period is started at the end of (or after the end of) the first period, such as at the first moment.

[0522] The duration of the first measurement period does not overlap with the first period, and it can be understood that the time period within the first measurement period and not overlapping with the first period is the third period.

[0523] It should be noted that the relevant parameters of formula (3) can be found in the introduction of formula (c) and will not be repeated here.

[0524] Implementation method 2: The start time of the third time period is the first time period. The first time period is equal to the start time of the first measurement time period, as shown in FIG23 . The end time of the third time period is the start time of the first time period (as shown by the boxes labeled 'a-1', 'b-1', and 'b-4' in FIG23 ), or the end time of the third time period is the start time of the first overlapping time period (as shown by the boxes labeled 'a-1', 'b-1', and 'b-4' in FIG23 ). Alternatively, the end time of the third time period is earlier than the start time of the first time period or the first overlapping time period.

[0525] Furthermore, when the end time of the third time period is earlier than the start time of the first time period, a certain time period, such as a seventh time period, is separated from the end time of the third time period and the start time of the first time period. The seventh time period is preconfigured, or the seventh time period is a time period configured by the network device (such as the first network device).

[0526] Furthermore, when the end time of the third period is earlier than the start time of the first overlapping period, a certain period, such as a seventh period, is separated from the end time of the third period and the start time of the first overlapping period. The seventh period is preconfigured, or is configured by the network device (such as the first network device).

[0527] That is to say, the third time period can be understood as: a part of the first measurement period, for example, the third time period is located at the beginning of the first measurement period.

[0528] In this case, the first measurement period can be obtained as described above, and the third period can be further obtained by combining the first measurement period and the first period. For example, the conditions for the terminal device to perform measurement can be further changed as follows: after obtaining the start time of the first measurement period according to formula (1), if the start time of the first period is within the first measurement period (e.g., determined according to parameters such as duration or MGL), measurement of the first reference signal begins at the start time of the first measurement period. Measurement of the first reference signal stops at the start time of the first period.

[0529] In one scenario, as shown in the box labeled 'a-1' in Figure 23, the third period is the difference between the first measurement period and the first overlap period, e.g., the first measurement period minus the first overlap period. In another case, the third period can also be interpreted as a measurement timing configuration window, such as MG, SMTC, or RMTC, during which the terminal device performs measurements.

[0530] Alternatively, it can be understood that the time unit (e.g., subframe) corresponding to the first moment is determined based on the start moment of the first measurement period, and the end moment of the third period is determined based on the start moment of the first period. For example, the activation time of the first measurement period can refer to one or more of formulas (1) to (3).

[0531] For example, taking the first measurement period as MG, the first time unit (such as subframe) of each MG is a subframe that meets the following conditions:

[0532] SFN mod T=FLOOR(gapOffset / 10);

[0533] Subframe = gapOffset mod 10; Formula (1)

[0534] T = MGRP / 10.

[0535] That is, the first moment is determined according to formula (1), that is, the third time period is started. The terminal device measures the first reference signal before the first overlapping time period (or before the first time period).

[0536] It should be noted that the relevant parameters of formula (1) can be found in the introduction of formula (a) and will not be repeated here.

[0537] For another example, taking the first measurement period as SMTC, the first time unit (such as a subframe) of each SMTC is a subframe that meets the following conditions:

[0538] SFN mod T=FLOOR(Offset / 10);

[0539] If Periodicity is greater than the length of sf5:

[0540] subframe = Offset mod 10; Formula (2)

[0541] otherwise:

[0542] subframe=Offset or(Offset+5);

[0543] with T=CEIL(Periodicity / 10).

[0544] That is, the first moment is determined according to formula (2), that is, the third time period is started. The terminal device measures the first reference signal before the first overlapping time period (or before the first time period).

[0545] It should be noted that the relevant parameters of formula (2) can be found in the introduction of formula (b) and will not be repeated here.

[0546] For another example, taking the first measurement period as RMTC, the first time unit (eg, subframe) of each RMTC is a subframe that satisfies the following conditions:

[0547] SFN mod T=FLOOR(rmtc-SubframeOffset / 10);

[0548] subframe = rmtc-SubframeOffset mod 10; formula (3)

[0549] T=rmtc-Periodicity / 10.

[0550] That is, the first moment is determined according to formula (3), that is, the third time period is started. The terminal device measures the first reference signal before the first overlapping time period (or before the first time period).

[0551] The duration of the first measurement period does not overlap with the first period, and it can be understood that the time period within the first measurement period and not overlapping with the first period is the third period.

[0552] It should be noted that the relevant parameters of formula (3) can be found in the introduction of formula (c) and will not be repeated here.

[0553] Optionally, for S2202, as a possible alternative description, the terminal device determines that the third time period is activated. Alternatively, the terminal device determines that a portion of the first measurement period is activated.

[0554] In this way, the terminal device can measure the first reference signal of the first cell in a timely manner during the third time period, which helps to improve the reference signal measurement performance and resource utilization.

[0555] As shown in FIG. 24 , the communication method 2400 according to the embodiment of the present application further includes the following operations:

[0556] S2401: When the first overlapping period does not exist and the start time of the first measurement period is reached, the terminal device starts the first measurement period.

[0557] Among them, the first overlapping period is the period in which the first period overlaps with the first measurement period. The first period, the first measurement period and the first overlapping period can be found in the introduction of Figures 10 to 21 and will not be repeated here.

[0558] The non-existence of the first overlapping period means that the first period does not overlap with the first measurement period.

[0559] The first measurement period is determined according to the first configuration, and reference may be made to the introduction of S1003 , which will not be described in detail.

[0560] Here, starting the first measurement period can be understood as the terminal device measuring the first reference signal during the first measurement period.

[0561] Exemplarily, the terminal device starts the first measurement period. Please refer to the introduction about 'starting the first measurement period' in S2201, which will not be repeated here.

[0562] That is, the terminal device determines whether to start the first measurement period based on whether the first overlapping period exists, and thus determines whether to measure the first reference signal during the first measurement period. If the first overlapping period does not exist, the terminal device can start the first measurement period in a timely manner to measure the reference signal of the first cell, thereby improving the accuracy of the reference signal measurement without affecting the transmission delay of the service data.

[0563] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application may be applicable to frequency band 1 (FR), FR2, or the entire terminal device.

[0564] It should be understood that in this application, a time period, ie, time duration, includes both the start time and the end time of the time period.

[0565] It is understood that in each of the above embodiments, the methods and / or steps implemented by the network device may also be implemented by components applicable to the network device (e.g., processor, chip, chip system, circuit, logic module, or software); and the methods and / or steps implemented by the terminal device may also be implemented by components applicable to the terminal device (e.g., processor, chip, chip system, circuit, logic module, or software). The chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0566] It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, 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 the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0567] The embodiment of the present application can divide the functional modules of the communication device according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be pointed out that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0568] 25 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 2500. The communication device 2500 includes a processing module 2501 and a transceiver module 2502. The communication device 2500 can be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned network device (such as the first network device) or terminal device.

[0569] In some embodiments, the communication device 2500 further includes a storage module (not shown in FIG. 25 ) for storing program instructions and data.

[0570] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 2502, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement a transmitting and / or receiving function. The transceiver module 2502 may be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0571] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 2502 may include a receiving module and a sending module, which are respectively used to execute the receiving and sending steps performed by the network device (such as the first network device) or the terminal device in the above method embodiment, and / or used to support other processes of the technology described herein; the processing module 2501 may be used to execute the processing steps (such as determination, etc.) performed by the network device (such as the first network device) or the terminal device in the above method embodiment, and / or used to support other processes of the technology described herein.

[0572] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module and will not be repeated here.

[0573] Optionally, in this application, "the transceiver module receives / sends information" can also be understood as the processing module receiving / sending information via the transceiver module. "The processing module receives / sends information via the transceiver module" can also be understood as the processing module controlling the transceiver module to receive / send information. Alternatively, "the processing module sends information via the transceiver module" can be understood as the processing module outputs information to the transceiver module, which then sends the information; "the processing module receives information via the transceiver module" can be understood as the transceiver module receiving the information and inputting the information to the processing module.

[0574] In the present application, the communication device 2500 may be presented in the form of functional modules divided in an integrated manner. The "module" here may refer to a specific application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0575] In some embodiments, when the communication device 2500 in Figure 25 is a chip or a chip system, the function / implementation process of the transceiver module 2502 can be implemented through the input and output interface (or communication interface) of the chip or chip system, and the function / implementation process of the processing module 2501 can be implemented through the processor (or processing circuit) of the chip or chip system.

[0576] Since the communication device 2500 provided in this embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0577] As a possible product form, the network device (such as the first network device) or terminal device described in the embodiments of the present application can also be implemented using the following: one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuits, or any combination of circuits that can perform the various functions described throughout this application.

[0578] As another possible product form, the network device (such as the first network device) or terminal device described in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a general bus architecture. For ease of explanation, refer to Figure 26, which is a structural diagram of a communication device 2600 provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein the communication device 2600 includes a processor 2601 and a transceiver 2602. The communication device 2600 can be a network device (such as the first network device), or a chip or chip system therein; or, the communication device 2600 can be a terminal device, or a chip or module therein. Figure 26 only shows the main components of the communication device 2600. In addition to the processor 2601 and the transceiver 2602, the communication device 2600 may further include a memory 2603, and an input and output device (not shown in the figure).

[0579] Optionally, processor 2601 is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, as well as control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process software program data. Memory 2603 is primarily used to store software programs and data. Transceiver 2602 may include a radio frequency circuit and an antenna. The radio frequency circuit is primarily used to convert baseband signals into radio frequency signals and process radio frequency signals. The antenna is primarily used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as a touch screen, display, and keyboard, are primarily used to receive user input and output data to the user.

[0580] Optionally, the processor 2601 , the transceiver 2602 , and the memory 2603 may be connected via a communication bus.

[0581] It should be noted that the memory 2603 may exist independently of the processor 2601 or may be integrated with the processor 2601. The memory 2603 may be located within the communication device 2600 or outside the communication device 2600, without limitation.

[0582] When the communication device is turned on, the processor 2601 can read the software program in the memory 2603, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor 2601 performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 2601. The processor 2601 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0583] In another implementation, the RF circuit and antenna may be provided independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the RF circuit and antenna may be remotely arranged independent of the communication device.

[0584] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the above-mentioned communication device 2500 may take the form of the communication device 2600 shown in FIG. 26 .

[0585] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing module 2501 in FIG25 can be implemented by the processor 2601 in the communication device 2600 shown in FIG26 calling the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 2603. The functions / implementation process of the transceiver module 2502 in FIG25 can be implemented by the transceiver 2602 in the communication device 2600 shown in FIG26.

[0586] As another possible product form, the network device (such as the first network device) or terminal device in this application may adopt the structure shown in Figure 27, or include the components shown in Figure 27. Figure 27 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device 2700 provided in this application.

[0587] As shown in FIG27 , a communication device 2700 includes at least one processor 2701. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface 2702.

[0588] When the program instructions are executed in the at least one processor 2701, the apparatus 2700 can implement the method provided in any of the aforementioned embodiments and any possible designs thereof. Alternatively, the processor 2701 implements the method provided in any of the aforementioned embodiments and any possible designs thereof through logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

[0589] The communication interface 2702 can be used to receive program instructions and transmit them to the processor. Alternatively, the communication interface 2702 can be used for the communication device 2700 to communicate with other communication devices, such as exchanging control signaling and / or service data. Exemplarily, the communication interface 2702 can be used to receive signals from devices other than the communication device 2700 and transmit them to the processor 2701, or to send signals from the processor 2701 to other communication devices other than the communication device 2700.

[0590] Optionally, the communication interface 2702 may be a code and / or data read and write interface circuit, or the communication interface 2702 may be a signal transmission interface circuit between a communication processor and a transceiver, or a pin of a chip.

[0591] Optionally, the communication device 2700 may further include at least one memory 2703, which may be used to store required program instructions and / or data.

[0592] It should be noted that the memory 2703 may exist independently of the processor 2701 or may be integrated with the processor 2701. The memory 2703 may be located within the communication device 2700 or outside the communication device 2700, without limitation.

[0593] Optionally, the communication device 2700 may further include a power supply circuit 2704, which may be used to supply power to the processor 2701. The power supply circuit 2704 may be located in the same chip as the processor 2701, or in another chip other than the chip where the processor 2701 is located.

[0594] Optionally, the communication device 2700 further includes a bus 2705 , and various parts of the communication device 2700 can be interconnected via the bus 2705 .

[0595] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the communication device 2500 shown in FIG. 25 may take the form of the communication device 2700 shown in FIG. 27 .

[0596] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing module 2501 in FIG25 can be implemented by the processor 2701 in the communication device 2700 shown in FIG27 calling the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 2703. The functions / implementation process of the transceiver module 2502 in FIG25 can be implemented by the communication interface 2702 in the communication device 2700 shown in FIG27.

[0597] It should be noted that the structure shown in FIG27 does not constitute a specific limitation on the network device (such as the first network device) or the terminal device. For example, in other embodiments of the present application, the network device (such as the first network device) or the terminal device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or split certain components, or arrange the components differently. The components shown in the figure can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0598] Optionally, the processor in the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc.

[0599] Optionally, the memory in the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of random access memory (RAM) are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), or direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0600] Optionally, the power supply circuit described in the embodiment of the present application includes but is not limited to at least one of the following: a power supply line, a power supply subsystem, a power management chip, a power consumption management processor, or a power consumption management control circuit.

[0601] In some embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, which includes a processor for implementing the method in any of the above method embodiments.

[0602] As a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory. The memory is used to store necessary computer programs and data. The computer program may include instructions, and the processor may invoke the instructions in the computer program stored in the memory to instruct the communication device to execute any of the above-described method embodiments. Of course, the memory may not be located in the communication device.

[0603] As another possible implementation, the communication device also includes an interface circuit, which is a code / data read / write interface circuit, and the interface circuit is used to receive computer execution instructions (computer execution instructions are stored in a memory, may be read directly from the memory, or may pass through other devices) and transmit them to the processor.

[0604] As another possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface, where the communication interface is used to communicate with a module outside the communication device.

[0605] It can be understood that the communication device can be a chip or a chip system. When the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or include chips and other discrete devices. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0606] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instruction stored thereon, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0607] The present application also provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0608] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, for the sake of convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, devices, and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0609] It is understood that the systems, devices, and methods described in this application may also be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interface, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0610] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, i.e., they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Components shown as units may or may not be physical units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the objectives of this embodiment as needed.

[0611] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0612] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, 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 instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state drive (SSD)). In the embodiment of the present application, the computer may include the aforementioned device.

[0613] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art can understand and implement other changes to the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: When the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period, determining a first overlapping time period, sending first hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ feedback or monitoring first control information in the first overlapping time period, the first overlapping time period being a time period in which the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period; The first time period is used to transmit the first HARQ feedback, where the first HARQ feedback is determined based on a decoding result of the first data; or the first time period is used to monitor the first control information, where the first control information indicates retransmission of the first data; The first measurement period is determined according to a first configuration, where the first configuration is a configuration in which the first cell sends a first reference signal, and a measurement result of the first reference signal indicates a signal quality of the first cell; The first data is data sent or received through a shared channel SCH before a start time of the first time period.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: not measuring the first reference signal during a second time period; The second time period is the first measurement time period or the first overlapping time period.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: not measuring the first reference signal during a second time period; When the end time of the first overlapping period is earlier than the end time of the first measurement period, the start time of the second period is the start time of the first measurement period, and / or the end time of the second period is the end time of the first overlapping period; Alternatively, when the end time of the first overlapping period is equal to the end time of the first measurement period, the start time of the second period is the start time of the first overlapping period, and / or the end time of the second period is the end time of the first measurement period.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: measuring the first reference signal in a third time period, where a starting moment of the third time period is the first moment; The first moment is equal to or later than the end moment of the first time period, and the end moment of the third time period is the same as the end moment of the first measurement time period; Alternatively, the first moment is the same as the starting moment of the first measurement period, and the ending moment of the third period is the same as the starting moment of the first period.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving a first message; Sending the first HARQ feedback in the first overlapping period includes: sending, according to the first information, feedback of the first HARQ in the first overlapping period; Monitoring the first control information during the first overlapping period includes: The first control information is monitored during the first overlapping period according to the first information.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that When the first time period is used to monitor the first control information, the first time period is associated with a first HARQ; Monitoring the first control information during the first overlapping period according to the first information includes: determining, according to the first information, a first priority and / or a second priority, where the first priority indicates a priority of the first HARQ, and the second priority indicates a priority of the first configuration; When the first priority is higher than the second priority, the first control information is monitored during the first overlapping period.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that Sending the first HARQ feedback in the first overlapping period according to the first information includes: Determine a first priority and / or a second priority according to the first information, where the first priority is the priority of the first HARQ, and the second priority is the priority of the first configuration; When the first priority is higher than the second priority, the first HARQ feedback is sent in the first overlapping period.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that The first information is second control information, the second control information schedules the first data, and the second control information further indicates the first priority.

9. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that The first information indicates the first priority.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The first information further indicates the SCH and a period of the SCH.

11. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that The first priority also indicates a priority of a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration.

12. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that The first information indicates the second priority.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The second priority is lower than or equal to the first threshold.

14. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first information is discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration information, where the DRX configuration information is used to configure a retransmission timer (RetransmissionTimer); and the method further includes: The first time period is determined according to the retransmission timer, wherein the retransmission timer is associated with the first HARQ.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The DRX configuration information is further used to configure a first timer. The method further includes: determining a fourth time period according to the first timer; When the fourth time period overlaps with the second measurement time period, determining a second overlapping time period, and monitoring third control information in the second overlapping time period, where the third control information indicates sending or receiving data; The second measurement period is determined according to the first configuration, and the second overlapping period is a period in which the fourth period overlaps with the second measurement period.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The first timer includes a duration timer onDurationTimer or an inactivity timer InactivityTimer.

17. A communication method, characterized in that: include: When the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period, determining a first overlapping time period, receiving first hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ feedback or sending first control information in the first overlapping time period, the first overlapping time period being a time period in which the first time period overlaps with the first measurement time period; The first time period is used to receive the first HARQ feedback, where the first HARQ feedback is determined based on a decoding result of the first data; or the first time period is used to send the first control information, where the first control information indicates retransmission of the first data; The first measurement period is determined according to a first configuration, where the first configuration is a configuration in which the first cell sends a first reference signal, and a measurement result of the first reference signal indicates a signal quality of the first cell; The first data is data sent or received through a shared channel SCH before a start time of the first time period.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that When the first time period is used to send the first control information, the first time period is associated with a first HARQ; The sending of the first control information in the first overlapping period includes: When the first priority is higher than the second priority, the first control information is sent in the first overlapping period, the first priority indicates the priority of the first HARQ, and the second priority indicates the priority of the first configuration.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein Sending the first HARQ feedback in the first overlapping period includes: When the first priority is higher than the second priority, the first HARQ feedback is sent in the first overlapping period, the first priority is the priority of the first HARQ, and the second priority is the priority of the first configuration.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that The method further includes: sending first information, where the first information is used to determine the first priority and / or the second priority.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

22. The communication device according to claim 21, wherein: The communication device includes a terminal device or a chip.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 17 to 20.

24. The communication device according to claim 23, wherein: The communication device includes a network device or a chip.

25. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instruction, characterized in that: When the computer program or instruction is executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 20 is implemented.

26. A computer program product, characterized in that When the computer program product is executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 20 is implemented.

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