Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application discloses a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: a first apparatus receives a first downlink message and a second downlink message from a second apparatus, wherein the first downlink message is used for confirming the successful access of the first apparatus or used for triggering an access occasion of the first apparatus, the second downlink message is used for confirming the successful access of a third apparatus or used for triggering an access occasion of the third apparatus, the first downlink message is associated with a first time unit, the second downlink message is associated with a second time unit, and the second time unit is a time unit for the third apparatus to transmit a second uplink message to the second apparatus; the first apparatus transmits a first uplink message to the second apparatus in the first time unit. According to the described method, when the time units respectively associated with a plurality of downlink messages are different, the transmission time units of a plurality of uplink messages responding to the plurality of downlink messages are different, so that the collision between the plurality of uplink messages is reduced and the access efficiency is improved. In addition, the second apparatus can transmit a plurality of downlink messages for confirming the successful access of an apparatus having a label function, thereby further improving the access efficiency.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on February 8, 2024, with application number 202410178202.9 and invention name "A Communication Method and Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0004] Tags are used in a variety of industries. Logistics management, a typical application, relies on physical tag inventory. Tag inventory requires tags to be connected to the network. After each tag is randomly connected to the network, it reports its identity to a reader, allowing the reader to determine the presence of tags within its coverage area.

[0005] Currently, access network devices with reader / writer functionality can send a repeating query message to a tag to trigger network access. After receiving the repeating query message, the tag can send a random number to the access network device in response to the repeating query message. Because a single repeating query message can trigger multiple tags to send random numbers, these random numbers can collide, causing all of them to fail to access the network, resulting in low access efficiency. If the random numbers sent by these multiple tags do not collide, the access network device will recognize the random numbers sent by the multiple tags and only send a confirmation message to one tag, allowing only one tag to access the network. This causes all other tags to fail to access the network, resulting in low access efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus for improving access efficiency.

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a first device, where the first device is a terminal device with a tag function or a component in the terminal device (such as a unit / module, circuit or chip, etc.), the method comprising: receiving a first downlink message and a second downlink message from a second device, the first downlink message being used to confirm successful access of the first device or to trigger the access timing of the first device, the second downlink message being used to confirm successful access of a third device or to trigger the access timing of the third device, the first downlink message being associated with a first time unit, the second downlink message being associated with a second time unit, the second time unit being a time unit for the third device to send a second uplink message to the second device; and sending a first uplink message to the second device in the first time unit.

[0008] In the above method, the first device and the third device have the function of a tag, and the second device has the function of a reader / writer. A downlink message sent by the second device can be associated with a time unit. After receiving the downlink message, the first device can send an uplink message in the time unit to respond to the downlink message. Through the above method, when the time units associated with multiple downlink messages are different, the time units of sending multiple uplink messages in response to the multiple downlink messages are different, thereby reducing the collision between the multiple uplink messages and improving the access efficiency. In addition, the second device can send multiple downlink messages for confirming the successful access of the device with the tag function, that is, the second device allows multiple devices with the tag function (such as the first device or the third device) to access, further improving the access efficiency.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the first downlink message and the second downlink message include one or more of the following information: first time information, the first time information is used to determine the first time unit; second time information, the first time information is used to determine the second time unit; third time information, the third time information is related to first configuration information, the first configuration information is used for the first device to send an uplink message to the second device, and for the third device to send an uplink message to the second device; first configuration information, the first configuration information is used for the first device to send an uplink message to the second device, and for the third device to send an uplink message to the second device; a first numerical value, the first numerical value is the maximum value of a first duration indicated by the first time information, and the maximum value of a second duration indicated by the second time information.

[0010] In this embodiment, multiple ways are provided for the second device to indicate the first time unit associated with the first downlink message and the second time unit associated with the second downlink message. For example, direct indication can determine the first time message of the first time unit and the second time message of the second time unit. For another example, indirect indication can determine the third time message of the first time message and the second time message, or indirect indication can determine the first value of the first time message and the second time message, or indirect indication can determine the first configuration information of the first time message and the second time message. This makes the way in which the first device determines the first time unit associated with the first downlink message and the third device determines the second time unit associated with the second downlink message more flexible.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: determining first time information based on third time information or first configuration information and the order in which the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, the third time information being related to the first configuration information, and the first configuration information being used by the first device to send an uplink message to the second device; and determining the first time unit based on the first time information.

[0012] In this embodiment, a method is provided for a first device to determine a first time unit associated with a first downlink message. For example, the first time message is determined based on a third time message or first configuration information and the order in which the first downlink message and the second downlink message are received by the first device (e.g., if the first downlink message is received before the second downlink message, the third duration indicated by the third time message is equal to the first duration indicated by the first time message; if the first downlink message is received after the second downlink message, twice the third duration indicated by the third time message is equal to the first duration indicated by the first time message), and the first time unit is determined based on the first time message.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: determining the first time information based on third time information or first configuration information and a second value, the third time information being related to the first configuration information, the first configuration information being used by the first device to send an uplink message to the second device, the second value being less than or equal to the first value, and the first value being the maximum value of the first duration indicated by the first time information; and determining the first time unit based on the first time information.

[0014] In this embodiment, a method is provided for a first device to determine a first time unit associated with a first downlink message. For example, the first time message is determined based on a third time message or first configuration information and a second value (e.g., the product of a third duration indicated by the third time message and the second value is equal to the first duration indicated by the first time message), and the first time unit is determined based on the first time message.

[0015] In one possible implementation, determining the first time unit based on the first time information includes: determining the first time unit based on the first time information and a third time unit, the third time unit being a time unit in which the first device receives the first downlink message from the second device, or a time unit in which the first device receives both the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device.

[0016] In this embodiment, a method is provided for the first device to determine the first time unit indicating association with the first downlink message based on the first time information. For example, the first duration indicated by the first time information is equal to the duration between the third time unit and the first time unit.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the first downlink message is used to confirm successful access of the first device, and the first uplink message is used to transmit uplink data of the first device; alternatively, the first downlink message is used to trigger an access opportunity for the first device, and the first uplink message is used to request access of the first device. In this implementation, multiple first uplink messages in response to the first downlink message are provided.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the second downlink message is used to confirm the successful access of the third device, and the second uplink message is used to transmit uplink data of the third device; alternatively, the second downlink message is used to trigger the access timing of the third device, and the second uplink message is used to request the access of the third device. In this implementation, multiple second uplink messages in response to the second downlink message are provided.

[0019] In a possible implementation manner, the first downlink message and the second downlink message are the same message.

[0020] In this implementation, the second device may combine and send the first downlink message and the second downlink message to reduce overhead.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the first downlink message and the second downlink message include one or more of the following: a first process number associated with the first device; a second process number associated with the third device.

[0022] In this embodiment, the first device may only respond to the first downlink message from the second device that carries the number of the first process associated with the first device, and the third device may only respond to the second downlink message from the second device that carries the number of the second process associated with the third device. If the second device sends a downlink message carrying the number of other processes during the processing time of processing the uplink message, the first device and the third device will not respond to the downlink message, so that the second device can realize multi-process processing, reduce the impact of the processing time of the second device processing the uplink message, and improve the access rate.

[0023] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication method, which can be applied to a second device. The second device can be a network device with a reader / writer function or a component in a network device (such as a unit / module, circuit or chip, etc.), or it can also be a terminal device with a reader / writer function or a component in a terminal device (such as a unit / module, circuit or chip, etc.). The method includes: sending a first downlink message and a second downlink message, the first downlink message is used to confirm the successful access of the first device or to trigger the access timing of the first device, and the second downlink message is used to confirm the successful access of the third device or to trigger the access timing of the third device. The first downlink message is associated with a first time unit, and the second downlink message is associated with a second time unit; receiving a first uplink message from the first device in the first time unit, and receiving a second uplink message from the third device in the second time unit.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the first downlink message and the second downlink message include one or more of the following information: the first time information, the first time information is used to determine the first time unit; the second time information, the first time information is used to determine the second time unit; third time information, the third time information is related to the first configuration information, the first configuration information is used for the first device to send an uplink message to the second device, and for the third device to send an uplink message to the second device; first configuration information, the first configuration information is used for the first device to send an uplink message to the second device, and for the third device to send an uplink message to the second device; a first numerical value, the first numerical value is the maximum value of a first duration indicated by the first time information, and the maximum value of a second duration indicated by the second time information.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: third time information or first configuration information and the order in which the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device are used to determine the first time information, and the third time information or the first configuration information and the order in which the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device are used to determine the second time information; wherein, the third time information is related to the first configuration information, the first configuration information is used for the first device to send an uplink message to the second device, the first time information is used to determine the first time unit, and the second time information is used to determine the second time unit.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: third time information or first configuration information and a second numerical value are used to determine the first time information, and the third time information or the first configuration information and the third numerical value are used to determine the second time information; wherein, the third time information is related to the first configuration information, the first configuration information is used by the first device to send an uplink message to the second device, the second numerical value is less than or equal to the first numerical value, the third numerical value is less than or equal to the first numerical value, the first numerical value is the maximum value of the first duration indicated by the first time information, the first time information is used to determine the first time unit, and the second time information is used to determine the second time unit.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the first time information and the third time unit are used to determine the first time unit, and the second time information and the fourth time unit are used to determine the second time unit; wherein, the third time unit is the time unit in which the first device receives the first downlink message from the second device, or the time unit in which the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, and the fourth time unit is the time unit in which the third device receives the second downlink message from the second device, or the time unit in which the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the first downlink message is used to confirm successful access of the first device, and the first uplink message is used to transmit uplink data of the first device; or, the first downlink message is used to trigger access timing of the first device, and the first uplink message is used to request access of the first device.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the second downlink message is used to confirm the successful access of the third device, and the second uplink message is used to transmit the uplink data of the third device; or, the second downlink message is used to trigger the access timing of the third device, and the second uplink message is used to request the third device to access.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner, the first downlink message and the second downlink message are the same message.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the first downlink message and the second downlink message include one or more of the following: a first process number associated with the first device; a second process number associated with the third device.

[0032] The beneficial effects of the above-mentioned second aspect and its embodiments can refer to the beneficial effects of the first aspect and any one of its embodiments.

[0033] In a third aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication device comprising a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer instructions, and when the device is running, the processor executes the computer instructions stored in the memory to cause the device to perform any of the implementation methods described in the first or second aspects above. The memory can be volatile or non-volatile memory, such as a cache memory in a semiconductor chip.

[0034] In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communications device, which may be a terminal device or a network device, or a chip for a terminal device or a network device. The device has the function of implementing any of the implementation methods described in the first or second aspects above. The function may be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0035] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a unit or means for executing each step of any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect or second aspect.

[0036] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with another device via the interface circuit and execute any implementation method of the first aspect or the second aspect. The processor may be one or more processors.

[0037] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor coupled to a memory, the processor configured to call a program stored in the memory to execute any of the implementation methods described in the first or second aspects above. The memory may be located within or outside the device. The processor may also be one or more processors.

[0038] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, which, when executed on a communication device, enables any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect or second aspect to be executed.

[0039] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run by a communication device, any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect or second aspect is executed.

[0040] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a chip system, including: a processor, used to execute any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect or second aspect.

[0041] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, which includes: a first device for executing any implementation method executed by the first device in the above-mentioned first aspect or the second aspect; a second device for executing any implementation method executed by the second device in the above-mentioned first aspect or the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a wireless access network intelligent controller provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of an artificial intelligence module provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a process for conducting business between a tag and a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a process for conducting business between another tag and a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG9 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG10 is a timing diagram between a first device, a second device, a third device, and a fifth device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG11 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG12 is a timing diagram between a first device, a second device, and a third device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG13 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG14 is a timing diagram between another first device, a second device, and a third device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG15 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG16 is a timing diagram between another first device, a second device, and a third device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG17 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG18 is a timing diagram between another first device, a second device, and a third device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG19 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG20 is a timing diagram between another first device, a second device, and a third device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG21 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG22 is a timing diagram between another first device, a second device, and a third device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG23 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG24 is a timing diagram between another first device, a second device, and a third device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG25 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] Figure 26 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0069] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the Internet of Things (IoT) system, and the IoT includes the Ambient IoT (A-IoT), the Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), and the like. IoT technology is widely used in various industries. For example, IoT technology can be applied to scenarios such as logistics, warehousing, industrial manufacturing, identity recognition, or environmental monitoring. IoT is implemented based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. RFID technology is a contactless communication technology implemented using radio frequency communication. The principle is that data communication is achieved through radio waves without contact between the reader / reader and the tag. IoT technology can be applied to communication systems related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication system, the 5th Generation (5G) mobile communication system, or can also be applied to other next-generation mobile communication systems, such as the 6th Generation (6G) communication system, or other similar communication systems. Other similar communication systems may include wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), vehicle to everything (V2X), and so on.

[0070] Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a network device and a tag. The tag can be a standalone device or integrated with a terminal device. In this communication system, the network device can function as a reader / writer in an RFID system, that is, the network device can communicate with the tag as a reader / writer, and the two can communicate using a UU interface, that is, air interface communication.

[0071] Please refer to Figure 2, which is a schematic diagram of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 2, the communication system includes a terminal device and a tag. The tag can be a standalone device or integrated with the terminal device. In this communication system, the terminal device can have the function of a reader / writer in an RFID system, that is, the terminal device can communicate with the tag as a reader / writer, and the two can communicate via a sidelink (SL).

[0072] Please refer to Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 3, the communication system includes a network device, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, and a tag. The communication system may also include other devices, such as terminal devices. In this communication system, the IAB node can serve as a relay node between the network device and the tag. The tag transmits information to the IAB node, and the IAB node forwards the information to the network device through the uu interface.

[0073] Please refer to Figure 4, which is a schematic diagram of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4, the communication system includes a network device, a terminal device and a tag, and the communication system is a system with a separated architecture. In this communication system, in one implementation, as shown in (a) in Figure 4, the tag has only an uplink connection with the network device, and the tag has only a downlink connection with the terminal device. In this implementation, the terminal device can transmit information to the tag, and the tag then forwards the information to the network device. In another implementation, as shown in (b) in Figure 4, the tag has only a downlink connection with the network device, and the tag has only an uplink connection with the terminal device. In this implementation, the network device can transmit information to the tag, and the tag then forwards the information to the terminal network device.

[0074] The network architecture shown in Figures 1 to 4 is only for illustration, and the number of tags, terminal devices and network devices may be less or more. The communication system described in the embodiment of the present application is to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the communication system to which the embodiment of the present application is applicable. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that, with the evolution of network architecture, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is equally applicable to similar technical problems. When applying the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application to other communication systems, the devices, components, modules, etc. in the embodiment can be replaced with corresponding devices, components, modules in other communication systems without limitation. The network devices mentioned in the embodiment of the present application include access network devices and / or core network devices.

[0075] Tags, which can be called RFID tags or electronic tags, or A-IoT terminals or A-IoT devices, are typically attached to objects to identify them. Tags receive radio frequency signals from a reader and, using the energy gained from the induced current, transmit information stored in the tag's internal chip. Alternatively, tags can actively transmit a signal of a certain frequency to the reader, which then reads the information. Tags have a relatively simple design, integrating application layer signaling and air interface signaling, resulting in low power consumption. Tags are categorized as active, passive, and semi-active / semi-passive. Active tags are also called active tags, passive tags are also called passive tags, and semi-active / semi-passive tags are also called semi-passive tags. Active tags are equipped with a power supply and utilize an actively generated carrier wave communication method. This means they can actively transmit signals to the reader without needing to generate energy from received signals. Passive tags / passive tags are not equipped with modules such as power supply, or the power supply module has low power. They can adopt a communication method based on reflection (backscatter), which can obtain energy from the environment and send signals through the energy. Passive tags can work in reflection communication scenarios. For example, passive tags obtain energy by reflecting signals from readers and writers to transmit data. Semi-active / semi-passive tags integrate the advantages of active tags and passive tags and can be used as a special marker. Usually, semi-active / semi-passive tags are in a dormant state and may not work or send signals to the outside world. Only when they enter the activation signal range of the low-frequency activator, the semi-active / semi-passive tag is activated and starts working. The tags involved in the embodiments of the present application may be active tags, passive tags or semi-active / semi-passive tags, etc.

[0076] In the embodiments of this application, a tag can be used as a terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal devices used as tags in this application can be of the following three types: passive terminals: these lack energy storage, cannot independently generate signals, and use backscattering to transmit signals; semi-passive terminals: these have energy storage but cannot independently generate signals, and use backscattering to transmit signals, where the stored energy can amplify reflected signals; and active terminals: these have energy storage, can independently generate signals, and have active RF components for transmission.

[0077] Both tags and readers can be implemented based on the infrastructure of a cellular network, or they can be devices within the cellular network. For example, the reader's functionality can be implemented by a network device or terminal device within the cellular network, while the tag's functionality can be implemented by a terminal device within the cellular network. For example, the tag can be an extremely low-power, low-complexity A-IoT terminal. When a terminal device functions as a tag, it can perform contactless data communication with a network device that functions as a reader or another terminal device that functions as a reader.

[0078] Terminal devices are also called terminals, terminal devices, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, or mobile terminals. For example, terminal devices can be: mobile phones, computers, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, robotic arms, cameras, robots, or smart home devices (such as TVs, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners, speakers, set-top boxes), relays, and customer premise equipment (CPE).

[0079] The various terminal devices introduced above, if located on a vehicle (e.g., placed / installed in a vehicle), can be considered as on-board terminal devices. On-board terminal devices can be on-board modules, on-board modules, on-board components, on-board chips, or on-board units built into a vehicle as one or more components or units. On-board terminal devices can also be complete vehicle equipment, on-board modules, vehicles, on-board units (OBU), roadside units (RSU), telematics boxes (T-boxes), chips, or system-on-chips (SOCs), etc. The above chips or SOCs can be installed in vehicles, OBUs, RSUs, or T-boxes.

[0080] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing the functions, such as a chip system or a combination of devices or components capable of implementing the functions of the terminal device, which can be installed in the terminal device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the terminal device.

[0081] Access network equipment is also called radio access network (RAN) equipment. RAN can be a 3GPP-related cellular system, such as an LTE system, a new radio (NR) system, or a future-oriented evolution system (such as a 6G mobile communication system). RAN can also be an open access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a virtualized RAN (vRAN). RAN can also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0082] RAN devices may also be referred to as RAN nodes, RAN entities, or access nodes. For example, a RAN node may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system. A RAN node may also be a RAN node in V2X technology, such as a RSU or an access node in a Wi-Fi system. A RAN node may also be a module or unit that performs some of the functions of a base station; or multiple RAN nodes may collaborate to assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes each performing some of the functions of a base station. For example, a RAN node may be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). CU, DU, or RU may have different names in different systems, but those skilled in the art will understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be referred to as O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be referred to as O-DU (Open DU), CU control plane (CU-control plane, CU-CP) may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, CU user plane (CU-user plane, CU-UP) may also be referred to as O-CU-UP, and RU may also be referred to as O-RU (Open RU). For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. CU and DU can be configured according to the protocol layer functions of the wireless network they implement. The embodiment of this application does not limit which protocol layers are configured for CU and DU respectively. Any of the CU, DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0083] In different systems, RAN nodes can communicate with different devices. For example, as shown in Figure 5, in an ORAN system, a RAN node (such as a CU, DU, or RU) can communicate with a RAN intelligent controller (RIC). RICs include near-real-time RICs (near-RT RICs) and non-real-time RICs (non-RT RICs).

[0084] Near real-time RIC is used for model training and reasoning. For example, it is used to train artificial intelligence (AI) models and use the AI ​​models for reasoning. Near real-time RIC can obtain information on the network device side and / or the terminal device side from the RAN node and / or the terminal device. This information can be used as training data or reasoning data. Optionally, the near real-time RIC can submit the reasoning results to the RAN node and / or the terminal device. Optionally, the reasoning results can be exchanged between the CU and the DU, and / or between the DU and the RU. For example, the near real-time RIC submits the reasoning results to the DU, and the DU sends it to the RU.

[0085] Non-real-time RIC is used for model training and inference. For example, it is used to train AI models and use them for inference. Non-real-time RIC can obtain information from the RAN node and / or terminal device on the network device side and / or the terminal device side. This information can be used as training data or inference data, and the inference results can be delivered to the RAN node and / or the terminal device. Optionally, inference results can be exchanged between the CU and the DU, and / or between the DU and the RU. For example, the non-real-time RIC delivers the inference results to the DU, which then sends them to the RU.

[0086] The near-real-time RIC and non-real-time RIC can also be set up as separate network elements. Optionally, the near-real-time RIC and non-real-time RIC can also be part of other devices. For example, the near-real-time RIC is set up in a RAN node (such as a CU or DU), while the non-real-time RIC is set up in an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) system, a cloud server, a core network device, or other network equipment.

[0087] For example, as shown in Figure 6, in the ORAN system, network elements are connected through interfaces (such as NG, Xn or F1) or air interfaces. These network element nodes, such as core network equipment, RAN nodes, terminal equipment or one or more devices in the OAM system are provided with one or more AI modules (for ease of explanation, only one is shown in Figure 6). The RAN node can be one RAN node or multiple RAN nodes, for example, including CU and DU. The CU and / or DU can also be provided with one or more AI modules. Optionally, the CU can also be split into CU-CP and CU-UP. One or more AI models are provided in the CU-CP and / or CU-UP.

[0088] The AI ​​module is used to implement the corresponding AI function. The AI ​​modules deployed in different network elements can be the same or different. The model of the AI ​​module can implement different functions according to different parameter configurations. The model of the AI ​​module can be configured based on one or more of the following parameters: structural parameters (such as the number of neural network layers, the width of the neural network, the connection relationship between layers, the weight of the neuron, the activation function of the neuron, or at least one of the bias in the activation function), input parameters (such as the type of input parameters and / or the dimension of the input parameters), or output parameters (such as the type of output parameters and / or the dimension of the output parameters). Among them, the bias in the activation function can also be called the bias of the neural network.

[0089] An AI module can have one or more models. A model can infer an output, which includes one or more parameters. The learning, training, or inference processes of different models can be deployed on different nodes or devices, or on the same node or device.

[0090] In an embodiment of the present application, the access network device may have a built-in reader / writer for performing the sending and receiving functions of the reader / writer. The functions of the reader / writer can be further separated, and the reader / writer is divided into a receiver (receiver) and an exciter (helper). The receiver is also called a receiving end or a receiving unit, and the exciter is also called an excitation end or an excitation unit. The excitation unit is equivalent to the transmitter in the reader / writer, and the receiving unit is equivalent to the receiver in the reader / writer. When the reader / writer is implemented in a separated architecture, different entities of the reader / writer can be deployed on different access network devices. For example, the exciter is deployed on the first access network device to perform the sending function of the reader / writer; the receiver is deployed on the second access network device to perform the receiving function of the reader / writer. The exciter and the reader / writer / access network device can be transmitted through the air interface or through a wired connection.

[0091] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the access network device may be the access network device itself, or may be a device capable of supporting the access network device in implementing the functions, such as a chip system or a combination of devices or components capable of implementing the functions of the access network device. The device may be installed in the access network device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology or specific device form used by the access network device.

[0092] Core network devices correspond to different devices in different systems. For example, in a 4G system, the core network device may be a mobility management entity (MME) and / or a serving gateway (S-GW). In a 5G system, the core network device may be an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF) or a user plane function (UPF). In an embodiment of the present application, the core network device has a function of managing tags, and the core network device may also be a tag management function (TMF) or an enhanced AMF. The enhanced AMF has a tag management function.

[0093] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the functions of the core network device may be the core network device itself, or may be an apparatus capable of supporting the core network device in implementing the functions, such as a chip system or a combination of devices or components capable of implementing the functions of the core network device. The apparatus may be installed in the core network device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology or specific device form used by the core network device.

[0094] The above briefly introduces the communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application. The following introduces the relevant technical solutions involved in the embodiments of the present application.

[0095] Tags can be applied in a variety of industries. Logistics management, as a typical application, is achieved by taking inventory of physical tags. Tag inventory requires tags to access the network. After each tag is randomly connected to the network, the tag's identification can be reported to the reader, so that the reader can determine the existence of tags within the coverage area. After the tag is connected to the network, it can interact with the access network device (such as a reader) and / or the core network device to exchange some business information. For example, the core network device can forward a message to the tag through the access network device, and the message may include information about the operation that needs to be performed on the tag. Alternatively, the access network device can also forward a message from the tag to the core network device. The access network device can parse or process messages from the core network device or the tag. Common tag services include inventory operations, read operations, write operations, positioning operations, kill operations, or operations to obtain tag information. Among them, the inventory operation is used to obtain the identification of all tags within the coverage of the access network device; the read operation can read data from the tag; the write operation can write data to the tag; the positioning operation can obtain the location information of the tag; the deactivation operation is also called the invalidation operation, which can make the tag identification invalid or inactivated; the tag information acquisition operation can obtain the tag information, such as the tag identification, the information stored in the tag, the tag location information, etc. The above tag services are only listed, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the number and types of tag services. For example, tag services also include authentication services.

[0096] Please refer to Figure 7, which is a schematic diagram of a process flow for conducting business between a tag and a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. The network device includes an access network device and a core network device. The access network device has the function of a reader / writer. The process includes the following steps:

[0097] S701. The core network device sends an N2 message to the access network device.

[0098] N2 is the communication interface between the core network device and the access network device. The N2 message can be used to request an operation on one or more tags.

[0099] S702: The access network device broadcasts a select message or a paging message.

[0100] The selection / paging message includes an identification range of a tag to be operated. The identification range of the tag includes the identification of the tag.

[0101] S703: The access network device sends a query message.

[0102] The query message carries a Q value, which determines the number of random access slots. Setting the Q value can reduce access collisions between tags. Based on the Q value, the tag generates a random number between [0, 2^Q-1]. For example, if Q=4, the tag generates a random number between [0, 15]. The tag records this random number as the initial value of a counter. Each time the tag receives a repeat query message, the counter is incremented by 1. When the counter reaches 0, the tag sends a random number to initiate access.

[0103] S704: The access network device sends a query repetition (queryrep) message.

[0104] The access network device may send the query repetition message multiple times. For example, the access network device may send 2^Q query repetition messages repeatedly. S704 shows only one query repetition message. Subsequent query repetition messages may be sent after S706 or S707.

[0105] S705: The tag sends a random number to the access network device.

[0106] When the tag determines that its own identifier is within the identifier range indicated by the selection message, after detecting the query message, it sends a random number to the access network device in response to the query message.

[0107] S706: The access network device sends a confirmation message to the tag, where the confirmation message includes the random number received from the tag.

[0108] The access network device sends a confirmation message to the tag. If the random number included in the confirmation message is consistent with the random number sent by the tag to the access network device, the tag is connected to the access network device.

[0109] S707 : The tag sends service data to the core network device through the access network device.

[0110] The tag is connected to the access network device and can send service data to the core network device through the access network device. For example, the tag sends the electronic product code (EPC) of the tag to the access network device, and the access network device forwards the EPC to the core network device.

[0111] After receiving the service data, the core network device can send a response to the service data to the access network device, which then forwards the response to the tag. In Figure 7, the access network device does not need to parse the messages from the core network device and / or the tag; it is only responsible for forwarding the received messages. In other words, the access network device transparently transmits the tagged service data to the core network device, and this service data is carried in a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

[0112] In a possible scenario, the tag's service data is not carried in a NAS message. Instead, it is first sent to the access network device, which then sends it to the core network device via the N2 interface. In this scenario, the service flow between the tag and the core network device is shown in Figure 8. Any overlap between Figure 8 and Figure 7 can be found in the relevant content of Figure 7 and will not be repeated here.

[0113] S801. The core network device sends an N2 message to the access network device.

[0114] S802: The access network device broadcasts a select message or a paging message.

[0115] S803: The access network device sends a query message.

[0116] S804: The access network device sends a query repetition (queryrep) message.

[0117] S805: The tag sends a random number to the access network device.

[0118] S806: The access network device sends a confirmation message to the tag, where the confirmation message includes the random number received from the tag.

[0119] S807: The tag sends service data to the access network device.

[0120] S808. The access network device sends a response message to the N2 message to the core network device.

[0121] The response message includes the service data sent by the tag.

[0122] S809. The core network device sends downlink data to the access network device.

[0123] S810. The access network device sends the downlink data sent by the core network device to the label.

[0124] S811. The core network device sends an end marker (end_marker) to the access network device.

[0125] When the service is completed, the core network device sends an end_marker to the access network device, carrying the temporary identifier of the tag, to instruct the access network device to release the tag and the temporary identifier.

[0126] S812: The access network device sends a query repetition message to the tag.

[0127] The access network device receives the end_marker, releases the temporary identifier of the label, and releases the label. For example, the access network device sends a query message.

[0128] In the process shown in Figure 8, each time the access network device counts a tag, it sends a temporary identifier for that tag to the core network device. This identifier is used to associate the tag with the N2 interface, allowing the access network device to determine which tag the N2 message corresponds to from the received N2 message. This temporary identifier can be a random number sent by the tag.

[0129] Currently, a duplicate query message sent by an access network device can trigger multiple tags to send random numbers. These random numbers can collide, causing all of them to fail to access the network, resulting in low access efficiency. If the random numbers sent by these tags do not collide, the access network device will identify the random numbers sent by the multiple tags and send a confirmation message to only one tag, allowing only one tag to access the network. This will cause the other tags to fail to access the network, resulting in low access efficiency.

[0130] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method for improving access efficiency.

[0131] In the embodiments of this application, "when," "if," and "if" all indicate that the device will perform a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances. They do not limit the time, do not require the device to perform a judgment action when implemented, and do not imply any other limitations. Unless otherwise specified, "if" and "if" are interchangeable, and "when" and "under the circumstances" are interchangeable. "When" and "if" are interchangeable.

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

[0133] In this document, “used to indicate” can include being used for direct indication and being used for indirect indication. For example, when describing that a certain indication information is used to indicate information I, it can include that the indication information directly indicates I or indirectly indicates I, but it does not mean that the indication information must carry I.

[0134] The information indicated by the indication 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, directly indicating the information to be 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 there is an association between the other information and the information to be indicated. 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, it is also possible to use the arrangement order of each piece of information that is pre-agreed (such as specified by the protocol) to achieve the indication of specific information, thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. At the same time, it is also possible to identify the common parts of each piece of information and indicate them uniformly to reduce the indication overhead caused by indicating the same information separately. For example, those skilled in the art should understand that the precoding matrix is ​​composed of precoding vectors, and the precoding vectors in the precoding matrix may have the same parts in terms of composition or other properties.

[0135] 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. As can be seen from the above, for example, when it is necessary to indicate multiple pieces of information of the same type, different indication methods may be used for different pieces of information. During the specific implementation process, the desired indication method can be selected according to specific needs. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the selected indication method. As such, the indication methods involved in the embodiments 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.

[0136] In the embodiments of the present application, "sending" and "receiving" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which can include direct sending through the air interface, and indirect sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which can include direct receiving from YY through the air interface, and indirect receiving from YY through the air interface from other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface.

[0137] In other words, sending and receiving can be performed between devices, for example, between a network device and a terminal device, or can be performed within a device, for example, sending or receiving between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within the device through a bus, wiring or interface.

[0138] It is understandable that information may be processed between the source and destination of information transmission, such as coding, modulation, etc., but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated.

[0139] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, means "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "plural" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B means: A or B. "At least one of the following items" or 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 means: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0140] The ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish between multiple objects, and are not used to limit the size, content, order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects. For example, the number of first monitoring opportunities and the number of first subgroups refer to two different information, and do not indicate the difference in content, priority or importance of the two information. For a technical feature, "A", "B", "C" and "D" are used to distinguish the technical features in the technical feature, and there is no order of precedence or size between the technical features described by "A", "B", "C" and "D". For example, Case A and Case B in this article are only for distinguishing different contents, and do not limit the order of precedence or size, priority or importance, etc. between Case A and Case B.

[0141] The solution provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application is applied to the communication system shown in Figures 1 to 6 as an example. The communication system and application scenario described in the embodiment of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application. It is known to those skilled in the art that with the evolution of the communication system and the emergence of new application scenarios, the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0142] The following describes the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application by an example in which the communication method is performed by a first device, a second device, and a third device. The first device and the third device may be terminal devices with a tag function (such as an A-IoT terminal or an A-IoT device), or may be components of a terminal device with a tag function (such as a chip, a processing unit, or a processor and other modules). For example, the first device and the third device may be the terminal devices with a tag function in Figures 1-6, or may be the chip (system) in the terminal devices with a tag function in Figures 1-6. The second device may be a network device or a terminal device with a reader / writer function, or may be a component of a network device or a terminal device with a reader / writer function (such as a chip, a processing unit, or a processor and other modules). For example, the second device may be the network device or the terminal device with a reader / writer function in Figures 1-6, or may be the chip (system) in the network device or the terminal device with a tag function in Figures 1-6.

[0143] In the first embodiment, see Figure 9, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 9 introduces the method from the perspective of the interaction between the first device, the second device, and the third device. It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application is only performed by the first device, the second device, and the third device as an example, and is not limited to the first device, the second device, and the third device. For example, the embodiment of the present application can also be performed by more first devices. When more first devices are involved, the execution process of each first device in these more first devices is the same. As shown in Figure 9, the process of the communication method includes the following steps.

[0144] S901: The second device sends a first downlink message and a second downlink message. Correspondingly, the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, and the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device.

[0145] In an embodiment of the present application, the first downlink message can be used to confirm the successful access of the first device (or called successful contention resolution), for example, the first downlink message is an acknowledgment (ack) message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message).

[0146] Alternatively, the first downlink message can be used to trigger the access timing (or access resources, or access opportunity, or access time slot) of the first device, for example, the first downlink message is a select message, a paging (paging or paging-like) message, a query message (or access round trigger or indication message) or a query repeat (queryrep) message (or access occasion trigger or indication message).

[0147] Alternatively, the first downlink message may be used to trigger the first device to send an uplink message, for example, the first downlink message is a downlink trigger message.

[0148] Alternatively, the first downlink message is used to calibrate a time offset of the first device or provide a time calibration message for the first device. For example, the first downlink message is a synchronization message.

[0149] Alternatively, the first downlink message is used to broadcast information to the first device, for example, the first downlink message is a system message.

[0150] Alternatively, the first downlink message can be used to indicate that the transmission of the first device is completed (or ended, or successful), for example, indicating that the uplink data transmission of the first device is completed (or ended, or successful), or indicating that the downlink data transmission of the first device is completed (or ended, or successful), or indicating that the service of the first device is completed (or ended, or successful).

[0151] The second downlink message may be used to confirm successful access of the third device (or called successful contention resolution). For example, the second downlink message is a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message).

[0152] Alternatively, the second downlink message may be used to trigger an access opportunity (or access resource, or access opportunity, or access time slot) of the third device. For example, the second downlink message is a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or an access round trigger or indication message), or a query repetition message (or an access opportunity trigger or indication message).

[0153] Alternatively, the second downlink message may be used to trigger the third apparatus to send an uplink message, for example, the second downlink message is a downlink triggering message;

[0154] Alternatively, the second downlink message is used to calibrate the time offset of the third device or provide a time calibration message for the third device, for example, the second downlink message is a synchronization message;

[0155] Or the second downlink message is used to broadcast information to the third device, for example, the second downlink message is a system message;

[0156] Alternatively, the second downlink message may be used to indicate that the transmission of the third device is complete (or ended, or successful), for example, indicating that the uplink data transmission of the third device is complete (or ended, or successful), or indicating that the downlink data transmission of the third device is complete (or ended, or successful), or indicating that the service of the third device is complete (or ended, or successful). This embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0157] The uplink message sent by the first device and the third device may be data of the first device and the third device, such as storage area data (such as EPC, tag identification (tag ID), user data, encrypted data, keys, sensor data, written data, etc.), cache data (such as medium access control (MAC) cache data, radio link layer control protocol (RLC) or radio resource control layer (RRC) or packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) cache data, uplink data to be transmitted, feedback (or response) message to downlink data (or downlink signaling, downlink message, etc.), data stored in register or memory, etc.), specific sequence (such as positioning sequence, scrambling sequence, etc.), request message (such as authentication request, registration request, authentication request, etc.), etc. Optionally, the uplink message may be encapsulated or carried in an RRC message, or a MAC message, or a NAS message, or an RLC, or an application layer message, or an A-IoT-NAS message, etc. The uplink message can be sent to the access network device or an entity that can receive A-IoT uplink messages, such as a reader entity, etc., or it can be transparently transmitted by the base station to the core network device or server, where the core network device can be AMF, or environmental Internet of Things management function (A-IoT management function, A-IoTMF) or TMF, UPF, application function (AF) and other 5G, 5.5G or 6G core network devices, and the server can be an Internet of Things server, or a factory server, user server, etc. Optionally, the uplink message can also be sent to the terminal device, or sent to the terminal device and forwarded to the access network device.

[0158] When the downlink message received by the first device and the third device is downlink data, the downlink data may be from a network device (access network device or core network device), a server, an application layer entity, a relay node, or an entity capable of sending downlink messages to an A-IoT device (such as a reader / writer entity). The downlink data may also be transparently transmitted from the core network device or server through a base station or terminal device or reader / writer entity to a terminal device that receives the downlink data, wherein the core network device may be an AMF, or an A-IoT management function (A-IoTMF) or a TMF, UPF, an application function (AF), or other 5G, 5.5G, or 6G core network device, and the server may be an IoT server, a factory server, a user server, or the like. The downlink data may also come from a terminal device, or be forwarded from a network device to a terminal device (receiving end) through a terminal device. Optionally, the downlink data may be cache data of the above-mentioned entity or device (such as MAC cache data, RLC or RRC or PDCP cache data, transmitted (or to be transmitted) downlink data (such as read, write, lock, fire extinguishing, request sensing, positioning, ranging and other messages (or commands)), feedback on uplink data (or uplink message) (or response or confirmation (such as read success response, data transmission success response, service completion response, registration response, authentication response, authorization response, access request response, etc.)) message, data stored in register or memory, etc.), specific sequence (such as positioning sequence, scrambling sequence, etc.), etc. Optionally, the downlink data may be encapsulated or carried in an RRC message, or a MAC message, or a NAS message, or an RLC, or an application layer message, or an A-IoT-NAS message, etc.

[0159] It is understandable that S901 is merely an example of the second device sending two downlink messages (i.e., the first downlink message and the second downlink message). The second device may also send more downlink messages. Accordingly, the first device may also receive more downlink messages from the second device, and the third device may also receive more downlink messages from the second device. This embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0160] During the specific implementation process, the second device can send the first downlink message and the second downlink message in combination (or called cascade sending), which can be understood as the first downlink message and the second downlink message can be carried in the same message, or it can also be understood as the same message includes the information or fields of the first downlink message and the second downlink information, that is, the first downlink message and the second downlink message can be the same message; or, the second device can send the first downlink message and the second downlink message separately, which can be understood as the first downlink message and the second downlink message can be carried in different downlink messages, or it can also be understood as different downlink messages respectively include the information or fields of the first downlink message and the second downlink information, that is, the first downlink message and the second downlink message can be different downlink messages. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0161] The first downlink message may be associated with a first time unit, and the second downlink message may be associated with a second time unit. The first time unit is the time unit in which the first device sends the first uplink message to the second device, and the second time unit is the time unit in which the third device sends the second uplink message to the second device. Optionally, the first time unit and the second time unit may be different, and it can be understood that there is no overlapping part between the first time unit and the second time unit. For example, the first time unit is time slot 1, and the second time unit is time slot 2; or, the first time unit is subframe 1 or frame 1, and the second time unit is subframe 2 or frame 2. Optionally, the first time unit and the second time unit may be a time window, or a period of time, or a moment, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0162] The first device may determine the first time unit associated with the first downlink message based on one or more of the following information, and the third device may determine the second time unit associated with the second downlink message based on one or more of the following information:

[0163] 1) First time information (or called time offset).

[0164] The first time information may be carried in the first downlink message and the second downlink message, or may be carried in the first downlink message, or may be carried in a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message) that is not the first downlink message or the second downlink message, a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message) or a query repetition message (or called an access timing trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message. Optionally, the first time information may be configured for the second device by a fourth device, and the fourth device may be a near real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC in the ORAN system. For example, after the fourth device determines the first time information based on historical data, it sends the first time information to the second device.

[0165] The first time information may indicate a first duration, or may indicate an index of the first duration, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The unit of the first duration may be microseconds (us), seconds (s), milliseconds (ms), etc., for example, the first duration is 10us; or the unit of the first duration may be a frame, a subframe, a superframe, or a time slot, for example, the first duration is 2 time slots; or it may be the number of times a downlink message similar to a synchronization signal is received, for example, the first duration is the number of times a downlink message similar to a synchronization signal is received 2 times. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0166] For example, when the first time information indicates the first duration, the first time information can indicate 128 consecutive numbers as the value of the first duration through 7 bits, and the unit of the first duration can be indicated by another bit, such as 0 for microseconds, 1 for milliseconds, or the protocol default unit.

[0167] When the first time information indicates the index of the first duration, the first time information may indicate the index of the first duration as shown in Table 1, and the first device may determine the first duration based on the index of the first duration as shown in Table 1.

[0168] Table 1

[0169] For another example, when the first time information indicates an index of the first duration, the first device may determine the first duration based on the index of the first duration and the coverage level of the first device as shown in Table 2. For example, when the first device is a terminal device with a semi-passive tag function, and the coverage distance of the first device is less than or equal to 37 meters, the coverage level of the first device is 0. When the first device is a terminal device with a passive tag function, and the coverage distance of the first device is less than or equal to 15 meters, the coverage level of the first device is 0.

[0170] Table 2

[0171] The first device can determine the first time unit based on the first duration indicated by the first time information. Specifically, the first device can determine the first time unit based on the first duration indicated by the first time information and the third time unit, and the third time unit is the time unit when the first device receives the first downlink message from the second device. For example, if the first duration indicated by the first time information is T1, the duration between the third time unit and the first time unit is T1. Optionally, the third time unit can be a time window, or a period of time, or a moment, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this. Optionally, when the first downlink message and the second downlink message are sent together, that is, the first downlink message and the second downlink message are carried in the same message, the third time unit can be the time unit when the first device reads the first downlink message from the same message after receiving the same message, or it can also be the time when the first device receives the same message. For example, if the first downlink message is located after the second downlink message in the same message, the first device receives the same message in time slot 1, reads the second downlink message from the same message in time slot 2, and reads the first downlink message from the same message in time slot 3, then the third time unit is time slot 3; or, if the first downlink message is located before the second downlink message in the same message, the first device receives the same message in time slot 1, reads the first downlink message from the same message in time slot 2, and reads the second downlink message from the same message in time slot 3, then the third time unit is time slot 2; or, regardless of whether the first downlink message is located before or after the second downlink message in the same message, the first device receives the same message in time slot 1, then the third time unit is time slot 1.

[0172] Optionally, the first duration indicated by the first time information may be less than or equal to the processing duration of the first device. The processing duration of the first device may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: the duration of the first device processing the downlink message, which is related to the length of the downlink message and is generally several or tens of us, such as 15.625 us; the duration of the first device switching from a receiving state to a sending state, which is generally several or tens of us; and the duration of the first device performing an operation (such as a read operation, a write operation, or a deactivation operation), which is related to the content of the downlink message.

[0173] Alternatively, the first duration indicated by the first time information may also be greater than the processing duration of the first device. Accordingly, when the first device determines the first time unit based on the first duration indicated by the first time information and the third time unit, it needs to consider the processing duration of the first device. For example, if the first duration indicated by the first time information is T1 and the processing duration of the first device is T2, if T2 is greater than T1, then the duration between the third time unit and the first time unit is T1+T2, or the duration between the third time unit and the first time unit is T2.

[0174] 2) Second time information.

[0175] The second time information may be carried in the first downlink message and the second downlink message, or may be carried in the second downlink message, or may be carried in a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message) that is not the first downlink message or the second downlink message, a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message) or a query repetition message (or called an access timing trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message or a system message. Optionally, the second time information may be configured for the second device by a fourth device, and the fourth device may be a near real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC in the ORAN system. For example, after the fourth device determines the second time information based on historical data, it sends the second time information to the second device.

[0176] The second time information may indicate a second duration, or may indicate an index of the second duration, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. The second duration may be in units of microseconds, seconds, milliseconds, etc., for example, the second duration is 10 us; or the second duration may be in units of frames, subframes, superframes, or time slots, for example, the second duration is 2 time slots; or it may be the number of times a downlink message similar to a synchronization signal is received, for example, the second duration is the number of times a downlink message similar to a synchronization signal is received 2 times. This embodiment of the present application is not limited in this regard.

[0177] The third device can determine the second time unit based on the second duration indicated by the second time information. Specifically, the third device can determine the second time unit based on the second duration indicated by the second time information and the fourth time unit. For example, if the second duration indicated by the second time information is T3, the duration between the fourth time unit and the second time unit is T3. Optionally, the fourth time unit can be a time window, or a period of time, or a moment, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. Optionally, when the first downlink message and the second downlink message are sent together, that is, the first downlink message and the second downlink message are carried in the same message, the fourth time unit can be the time unit when the first device reads the second downlink message from the same message after receiving the same message, or it can also be the time when the first device receives the same message. For example, if the first downlink message is located after the second downlink message in the same message, and the first device receives the same message in time slot 1, reads the second downlink message from the same message in time slot 2, and reads the first downlink message from the same message in time slot 3, then the fourth time unit is time slot 2. Alternatively, if the first downlink message is located before the second downlink message in the same message, and the first device receives the same message in time slot 1, reads the first downlink message from the same message in time slot 2, and reads the second downlink message from the same message in time slot 3, then the fourth time unit is time slot 3. Alternatively, regardless of whether the first downlink message is located before or after the second downlink message in the same message, if the first device receives the same message in time slot 1, then the fourth time unit is time slot 1. Alternatively, the third device may determine the second time unit based on the second duration indicated by the second time information and the first time unit. For example, if the second duration indicated by the second time information is T3, then the duration between the first time unit and the second time unit is T3.

[0178] Optionally, the second duration indicated by the second time information may be less than or equal to the processing duration of the third device. The processing duration of the third device may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: the duration for the third device to process the downlink message, which is related to the length of the downlink message and is generally several or tens of us, such as 15.625 us; the duration for the third device to switch from a receiving state to a sending state, which is generally several or tens of us; and the duration for the third device to perform an operation (such as a read operation, a write operation, or a deactivation operation), which is related to the content of the downlink message.

[0179] Alternatively, the second duration indicated by the second time information may also be greater than the processing duration of the third device. Accordingly, when the third device determines the second time unit based on the second duration indicated by the second time information and the fourth time unit, it needs to consider the processing duration of the third device. For example, if the second duration indicated by the second time information is T3 and the processing duration of the third device is T4, if T4 is greater than T3, then the duration between the fourth time unit and the second time unit is T3+T4, or the duration between the fourth time unit and the second time unit is T4.

[0180] 3) Third time information.

[0181] Among them, the third time information can be (pre-) configured, or can be defined by the standard, or can be agreed upon by the first device, the second device and the third device, or can be calculated based on the calculation formula satisfied by the third time information, or can be carried in the first downlink message and the second downlink message, or can be carried in a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message) that is not the first downlink message and the second downlink message, a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message) or a query repetition message (or called an access timing trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message or a system message that is not the first downlink message and the second downlink message.

[0182] The third time information may indicate a third duration, or may indicate an index of the third duration, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. The third duration may be in units of microseconds, seconds, milliseconds, etc., for example, the third duration is 10 us; or the third duration may be in units of frames, subframes, superframes, or time slots, for example, the third duration is 2 time slots; or it may be the number of times a downlink message similar to a synchronization signal is received, for example, the third duration is the number of times a downlink message similar to a synchronization signal is received 2 times. This embodiment of the present application is not limited in this regard.

[0183] The third time information may be related to the first configuration information. The first configuration information may be used for the first device to send an uplink message to the second device, and may be used for the third device to send an uplink message to the second device. The first configuration information is related to the coverage level of the first device and / or to the coverage level of the third device. For example, when the first device is a terminal device with a semi-passive tag function, the coverage distance of the first device is less than or equal to 37 meters, then the coverage level of the first device is 0; when the first device is a terminal device with a passive tag function, the coverage distance of the first device is less than or equal to 15 meters, then the coverage level of the first device is 0, and the configuration information corresponding to the coverage level 0 indicates: the transmission time per bit is 1.5625us, the number of preamble bits is 8, and the number of postamble bits = 8. For example, the third duration indicated by the third time information may satisfy the following calculation formula: x / t1+y*t2+z / t3, where x is the number of preamble bits, t1 is the start symbol time of the uplink message, y is the bit length of the uplink message, t2 is the transmission time per bit, z is the number of postamble bits, and t3 is the end symbol time of the uplink message. The uplink message may be an uplink message sent by the first device to the second device, or may be an uplink message sent by the third device to the second device.

[0184] Specifically, if the first time information is not carried in the first downlink message and the second downlink message, is not carried in the first downlink message, and is not carried in an acknowledgment message (or random access request response message, or random access identification response message), a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or an access round trigger or indication message), a query repetition message (or an access opportunity trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message that is not the first downlink message or the second downlink message, then the first device can determine the third time information in the above manner. Furthermore, the first device can determine the first time unit based on the third time information, the order in which the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, and the third time unit, while determining the order in which the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device. For example, if the third time information indicates a third duration of T5, and the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device in the order of: first downlink message, second downlink message, then the first device can determine the duration between the third time unit and the first time unit to be 0. It can be understood that the first time information is determined based on the third time information and the order in which the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, and the first time unit is determined based on the first time information and the third time unit.

[0185] If the second time information is not carried in the first downlink message and the second downlink message, is not carried in the second downlink message, and is not carried in an acknowledgment message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message), a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message), or a query repetition message (or called an access opportunity trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message that is not a part of the first downlink message or the second downlink message, then the third device can determine the third time information in the above manner. Furthermore, the third device can determine the second time unit based on the third time information, the order in which the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, and the fourth time unit, while being able to determine the order in which the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device. For example, if the third time information indicates a third duration of T5, and the order in which the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device is: first downlink message, second downlink message, then the third device can determine the duration between the fourth time unit and the second time unit as T5. It can be understood that the second time information is determined based on the third time information and the order in which the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, and the second time unit is determined based on the second time information and the fourth time unit.

[0186] 4) First configuration information.

[0187] Among them, the first configuration information can be (pre-) configured, or can be defined by the standard, or can be agreed upon by the first device, the second device and the third device, or can be carried in the first downlink message and the second downlink message, or can be carried in a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message) that is not the first downlink message and the second downlink message, a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message) or a query repetition message (or called an access timing trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message or a system message that is not the first downlink message and the second downlink message.

[0188] Specifically, if the first time information is not carried in the first downlink message or the second downlink message, is not carried in the first downlink message, and is not carried in an acknowledgment message (or random access request response message, or random access identification response message), a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or an access round trigger or indication message), a query repetition message (or an access opportunity trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message that is not the first downlink message or the second downlink message, then the first device can determine the first configuration information in the above manner. The first device can determine the third time information based on the first configuration information while determining the order in which the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, and determine the first time unit based on the third time information, the order in which the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, and the third time unit. For example, if the third time information indicates a third duration of T5, and the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device in the order of first downlink message, second downlink message, then the first device can determine the duration between the third time unit and the first time unit to be 0. It can be understood that the third time information is determined based on the first configuration information, the first time information is determined based on the third time information and the order in which the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, and the first time unit is determined based on the first time information and the third time unit.

[0189] If the second time information is not carried in the first downlink message and the second downlink message, is not carried in the second downlink message, and is not carried in an acknowledgment message (or random access request response message, or random access identification response message), a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or an access round trigger or indication message), a query repetition message (or an access opportunity trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message that is not a part of the first downlink message or the second downlink message, then the third device can determine the first configuration information in the above manner. Furthermore, the third device can determine the third time information based on the first configuration information, and determine the second time unit based on the third time information, the order in which the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, and the fourth time unit, provided that the order in which the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device can be determined. For example, if the third time information indicates a third duration of T5, and the order in which the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device is: first downlink message, then second downlink message, then the third device can determine the duration between the fourth time unit and the second time unit as T5. It can be understood that the third time information is determined based on the first configuration information, the second time information is determined based on the third time information and the order in which the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, and the second time unit is determined based on the second time information and the fourth time unit.

[0190] 5) The first value.

[0191] Among them, the first numerical value can be (pre-) configured, or can be defined by the standard, or can be agreed upon by the first device, the second device and the third device, or can be carried in the first downlink message and the second downlink message, or can be carried in a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message) that is not the first downlink message and the second downlink message, a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message) or a query repetition message (or called an access timing trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message or a system message that is not the first downlink message and the second downlink message.

[0192] The first value may be the maximum value of the first duration (or the duration between the third time unit and the first time unit) indicated by the first time information, and may be the maximum value of the second duration (or the duration between the third time unit and the first time unit) indicated by the second time information. Optionally, the first value may be related to the first time information, the second time information, or the third time information, for example, less than or equal to K times the third duration indicated by the third time information, where K is a positive integer.

[0193] Specifically, if the first time information is not carried in the first downlink message and the second downlink message, is not carried in the first downlink message, and is not carried in an acknowledgment message (or random access request response message, or random access identification response message), a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or an access round trigger or indication message), or a query repetition message (or an access opportunity trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message that is not the first downlink message or the second downlink message, then the first device can determine the third time information and the first value in the above manner. Furthermore, the first device can determine the first time unit based on the third time information, the second value (e.g., randomly generated by the first device), and the third time unit without determining the order in which the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, where the second value is less than or equal to the first value. For example, if the first value is 4, the third duration indicated by the third time information is T5, and the second value randomly generated by the first device is 1, then the first device can determine the duration between the third time unit and the first time unit as T5. It can be understood that the first time information is determined based on the third time information and the second value, and the first time unit is determined based on the first time information and the third time unit. Alternatively, the first device can determine the first time unit based on the second value (for example, randomly generated by the first device) and the third time unit, and the second value is less than or equal to the first value. For example, if the first value is 100us and the second value randomly generated by the first device is 50us, the first device can determine that the duration between the third time unit and the first time unit is 50us. It can be understood that the first time information is determined based on the second value, and the first time unit is determined based on the first time information and the third time unit.

[0194] If the second time information is not carried in the first downlink message and the second downlink message, and is not carried in the second downlink message, and is not carried in an acknowledgment message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message), a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message), or a query repetition message (or called an access opportunity trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message that is not the first downlink message or the second downlink message, then the third device can determine the third time information and the first value in the above manner. Furthermore, the third device can determine the second time unit based on the third time information, a third value (e.g., randomly generated by the third device), and a fourth time unit without determining the order in which the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, where the third value is less than or equal to the first value. For example, if the first value is 4, the third duration indicated by the third time information is T5, and the second value randomly generated by the third device is 2, then the third device can determine the duration between the fourth time unit and the second time unit as 2*T5. It can be understood that the second time information is determined based on the third time information and the third value, and the second time unit is determined based on the second time information and the fourth time unit. Alternatively, the third device can determine the first time unit based on the third value (for example, randomly generated by the third device) and the third time unit, and the third value is less than or equal to the first value. For example, if the first value is 100us and the third value randomly generated by the third device is 50us, the third device can determine that the duration between the fourth time unit and the second time unit is 50us. It can be understood that the second time information is determined based on the third value, and the second time unit is determined based on the second time information and the fourth time unit.

[0195] In one possible implementation, the first downlink message and the second downlink message may include one or more of the following information: first time information; second time information; third time information; first configuration information; and a first numerical value. In this case, the first device may determine the first time unit associated with the first downlink message based on the one or more information included in the first and second downlink messages, and the third device may determine the second time unit associated with the second downlink message based on the one or more information included in the first and second downlink messages.

[0196] In another possible implementation, the first downlink message and the second downlink message may also not include any of the following information: first time information; second time information; third time information; first configuration information; or first numerical value. In this case, the third time information may be (pre-)configured, or may be defined by a standard, or may be agreed upon by the first device, the second device, and the third device, or may be calculated based on a calculation formula satisfied by the third time information, or may be carried in a confirmation message (or random access request response message, or random access identification response message), a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or an access round trigger or indication message), or a query repetition message (or an access opportunity trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message that is not used as the first downlink message or the second downlink message. The first value may be (pre)configured, or may be defined by a standard, or may be agreed upon by the first, second, and third devices, or may be carried in an acknowledgment message (or random access request response message, or random access identification response message), a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or an access round trigger or indication message), a query repetition message (or an access opportunity trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message that is not a first or second downlink message. Thus, the first device may determine the first duration indicated by the first time information based on the third time information and the order in which the third device receives the first and second downlink messages from the second device, or the second value, and determine the first time unit based on the first duration indicated by the first time information and the third time unit. The third device may determine the second duration indicated by the second time information based on the third time information and the order in which the third device receives the first and second downlink messages from the second device, or the third value, and determine the second time unit based on the second duration indicated by the second time information and the fourth time unit.

[0197] In one possible implementation, the first downlink message and the second downlink message may include one or more of the following information: first identification information; second identification information. The first identification information may include one or more of the number of the first process associated with the first device, or the frequency information identifier associated with the first device, or the transmission configuration identifier associated with the first device, or the group identifier associated with the first device, or a temporary identifier associated with the first device. The first identification information may include one or more of the number of the second process associated with the third device, or the frequency information identifier associated with the third device, or the transmission configuration identifier associated with the third device, or the group identifier associated with the third device, or a temporary identifier associated with the third device.

[0198] Specifically, the first device may only respond to the first downlink message from the second device that carries the identification information associated with the first device, and the third device may only respond to the second downlink message from the second device that carries the identification information associated with the third device. For example, the second device sends downlink message 1 that carries the number of process 1 associated with the first device, and downlink message 2 that carries the number of process 2 associated with the third device. In response to downlink message 1, the first device sends uplink message 1 to the second device during time unit 1 associated with downlink message 1. The third device responds to downlink message 2 and sends uplink message 2 to the second device during time unit 2 associated with downlink message 1. The second device may send downlink message 3 that carries the number of process 3 within the processing time of uplink message 1. After receiving downlink message 3, the first and third devices will not respond to downlink message 3 because downlink message 3 does not carry the numbers of process 1 and process 2. The A-IOT device associated with process 3 will respond to downlink message 3. This enables the second device to implement multi-process processing, reduces the impact of the uplink message processing time on the second device, and improves the access rate.

[0199] After the first device and the third device receive the first downlink message and the second downlink message carrying identification information associated with the first device and identification information associated with the third device from the second device, if the identification information associated with the first device is a frequency information identifier associated with the first device and the identification information associated with the third device is a frequency information identifier associated with the third device, the first device and the second device may respectively send the first uplink message and the second uplink message to the second device at their respective associated frequencies in the same time unit. By staggering the frequency at which the first device sends the first uplink message to the second device and the frequency at which the third device sends the second uplink message to the second device, frequency division multiplexing is achieved, thereby reducing collisions between the first device and the third device.

[0200] In one possible implementation, the second device may send a first downlink message and a second downlink message separately. The first downlink message may be used to trigger the access timing (or access resource, or access opportunity, or access time slot) of the first device and to indicate that the transmission of the first device is complete (or ended, or successful). The second downlink message may be used to trigger the access timing (or access resource, or access opportunity, or access time slot) of the third device and to indicate that the transmission of the third device is complete (or ended, or successful). For example, the first downlink message and the second downlink message may be a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or an access round trigger or indication message), or a query repetition message (or an access timing trigger or indication message). The first downlink message may be associated with at least one first sub-time unit, and each first sub-time unit may be triggered by the first sub-downlink message. It can be understood that the first time unit associated with the first downlink message is determined from the at least one first sub-time unit.

[0201] Optionally, the first downlink message may trigger a first first sub-time unit in at least one first sub-time unit.

[0202] Optionally, the first downlink message can be associated with at least one first sub-time unit, and each first sub-time unit in the at least one first sub-time unit can be a time window, or a period of time, or a moment, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. After the A-IOT device (such as the first device) receives the first downlink message, it can randomly select one of the first sub-time units to respond to the first downlink message, which can be understood as randomly selecting one of the first sub-time units as the first time unit associated with the first downlink message.

[0203] Optionally, the A-IOT device (e.g., the first device) may select a first sub-time unit set before selecting a first sub-time unit. This may be understood as the first downlink message being associated with a first sub-time unit set, and the first sub-time unit set may include at least one first sub-time unit.

[0204] Optionally, the A-IOT device (eg, the first apparatus) may receive the first sub-downlink message multiple times, and determine whether the first sub-time unit triggered by the first sub-downlink message received each time is the first time unit.

[0205] Specifically, the first sub-time unit set associated with the first downlink message can be the number of times the first downlink message is received. For example, the first device selects the first sub-time unit set triggered by the first downlink message received for the fourth time, and the first sub-time unit set includes at least one first sub-time unit; or, the first downlink message sent by the second device may include a number associated with the A-IOT device (such as the first device). For example, the first first downlink message sent by the second device includes number 1, the second first downlink message includes number 2, and the third first downlink message includes number 3. If the number associated with the first device is number 2, the first device will select the first sub-time unit set triggered by the second first downlink message, and the first sub-time unit set includes at least one first sub-time unit. For another example, the first device may determine, based on the time unit of receiving the Q1th first downlink message, that the Q1th or Q1-1th or Q1+1th first sub-time unit set is the first time unit set selected by the first device, where Q1 is a positive integer less than or equal to P (or P-1, or 2^P-1, etc.), Q1 may be randomly generated by the first device, and P may be (pre) configured, or may be defined by a standard, or may be agreed upon by the first device, the second device, and the third device, or may be carried in the first downlink message.

[0206] Among them, the number of times the first downlink message is received, or the number associated with the A-IOT device (such as the first device) included in the first downlink message sent by the second device, can be randomly selected by the first device, or can be determined by the first device based on identification information, or can be determined by the first device based on mask information, or can be determined by the first device based on the indication information of the second device. For example, a first sub-time unit set is selected, and after the second device indicates access failure or uplink data transmission failure, the first device attempts to access again in other subsequent first sub-time unit sets, thereby avoiding as much as possible that multiple devices select the same first sub-time unit and cause a collision in sending uplink messages.

[0207] The first time unit associated with the first downlink message may also be the number of times the first sub-downlink message is received; or the first sub-downlink message sent by the second device may further include a number associated with the A-IOT device (e.g., the first device). For example, if the first first sub-downlink message sent by the second device includes number 1, the second first sub-downlink message includes number 2, and the third first sub-downlink message includes number 3, and if the number associated with the first device is number 3, the first device will select the first sub-time unit triggered by the third first sub-downlink message as the first time unit to respond to the first downlink message.

[0208] Among them, the number of times the first sub-downlink message is received, or the number associated with the A-IOT device (such as the first device) included in the first sub-downlink message sent by the second device, can be randomly selected by the first device, or can be determined by the first device based on identification information, or can be determined by the first device based on mask information, or can be determined by the first device based on the indication information of the second device. For example, after selecting a first sub-time unit and the second device indicates access failure or uplink data transmission failure, the first device attempts to access again in other subsequent first sub-time units, thereby avoiding as much as possible that multiple devices select the same first sub-time unit and cause a collision in sending uplink messages.

[0209] It can be understood that the first sub-downlink message can be used to trigger the access timing of the A-IOT device (e.g., the first device), and the first sub-downlink message can also be used by the A-IOT device (e.g., the first device) to determine the time unit for sending the uplink message (e.g., the first time unit for sending the first uplink message). The first device determines that the transmission is complete (or ends, or is successful) when receiving the second downlink message. Optionally, the first device determines that the transmission is complete (or ends, or is successful) when receiving the first sub-downlink message.

[0210] Specifically, after the first device and the third device receive the first downlink message from the second device, the first device may determine the number of first sub-time units based on the number of times the first downlink message is received, or the number carried by the first downlink message, or the number carried by the first sub-downlink message. For example, the first device may determine the N1th, N1-1th, or N1+1th first sub-time unit as the first time unit based on the time unit of receiving the N1th first downlink message or the first sub-downlink message, where N1 is a positive integer less than or equal to M (or M-1, or 2^M-1, etc.), N1 may be randomly generated by the first device, and M may be (pre) configured, or may be defined by a standard, or may be agreed upon by the first device, the second device, and the third device, or may be carried in the first downlink message.

[0211] For example, as shown in FIG10 , a timing diagram between a first device, a second device, a third device, and a fifth device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown, and the horizontal axis of FIG10 represents time. The fifth device is an A-IOT device, or it can be a component of an A-IOT device (such as a chip, a processing unit, or a processor module). T1 is the processing time for the first device, the third device, and the fifth device to process a downlink message (such as a first downlink message; downlink signaling; a second downlink message) (it can be understood that if the influence of the processing time is not considered, T1 can be 0, and if the influence of the processing time is considered, T1 can be greater than 0). When the first downlink message triggers the access timing of the first device and the fifth device at the same time, the first device can send a random access request message 1 to the second device after receiving the first downlink signaling and after processing the downlink message (such as the first sub-downlink message) for a processing time T1. The fifth device can send a random access request message 2 to the second device after receiving the second first sub-downlink message and after processing the downlink message (such as the first sub-downlink message) for a processing time T1. That is, the time when the first device sends the random access request message 1 to the second device and the time when the fifth device sends the random access request message 2 to the second device are staggered to reduce the collision between the first device and the fifth device. Among them, the role of the random access request message 1 and the random access request message 2 is to request access to the network (which can be understood as access to the access device, or access to the network, or access to the core network device, or access to the terminal device (relay scenario)). Optionally, the terminal device or some received instructions, identifiers or resource information can also be associated for contention resolution. For example, it can be a random number, a random access identifier, a preamble sequence, a code division sequence, identification information pre-stored in the device, or identification information assigned by the network.

[0212] S902: The first device sends a first uplink message to the second device in a first time unit, and the third device sends a second uplink message to the second device in a second time unit. Correspondingly, the second device receives the first uplink message from the first device in the first time unit and receives the second uplink message from the third device in the second time unit.

[0213] In an embodiment of the present application, after the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, it can send a first uplink message to the second device in a first time unit associated with the first downlink message.

[0214] Among them, the first uplink message responds to the first downlink message (that is, the first uplink message is related to the first downlink message). For example, when the first downlink message is a confirmation message for confirming the successful access of the first device, the first uplink message is an uplink data message for transmitting the uplink data of the first device, and the uplink data message may include the EPC of the first device; or, when the first downlink message is a query message or a query repetition message for triggering the access timing of the first device, the first uplink message is a random access request message for requesting the first device to access (or called contention resolution), and the random access request message may include the first identification of the first device (for example, a first random number (random number, RN) randomly generated by the first device, a first random access identification (random access identification, random access identification ID) corresponding to the first device, etc.).

[0215] After receiving the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, the third device may send a second uplink message to the second device in a second time unit associated with the second downlink message.

[0216] The second uplink message responds to the second downlink message (i.e., the second uplink message is related to the second downlink message). For example, when the second downlink message is a confirmation message for confirming successful access of the third device, the second uplink message is an uplink data message for transmitting uplink data of the third device, and the uplink data message may include the EPC of the third device; or, when the second downlink message is a query message or a query repetition message for triggering the access timing of the third device, the second uplink message is a random access request message for requesting access (or contention resolution) of the third device, and the random access request message may include the second identifier of the third device (e.g., a second random number randomly generated by the third device, a second random access identifier corresponding to the third device, etc.).

[0217] In one possible implementation, since the clock offset (e.g., sampling clock frequency offset (SFO)) between the first device and the third device may be large, e.g., 1 ms offset every 10 ms, the first device may be unable to accurately send the first uplink message in the first time unit, and the third device may be unable to accurately send the second uplink message in the second time unit. Therefore, the first device, the second device, and the third device may solve this problem in the following manner:

[0218] Method 1: The second device may reserve time for receiving the first uplink message from the first device in a first time unit, which may include the first time unit. For example, the first time unit corresponds to the first device sending the first uplink message 100 us after receiving the first downlink message. The second device reserves time resources between 90 and 110 us (with a 10% redundancy, the specific amount of redundancy may be related to the clock offset of the first device. For example, if SFO = 10^5, the first device's clock will offset by 1ms every 10ms) for receiving the first uplink message from the first device. The second device may reserve time for receiving the second uplink message from the third device in a second time unit, which may include the second time unit. For example, the second time unit corresponds to the third device sending the second uplink message 200 us after receiving the second downlink message. The second device reserves time resources between 190 and 210 us (with a 10% redundancy, the specific amount of redundancy may be related to the clock offset of the third device. For example, if SFO = 10^5, the third device's clock will offset by 1ms every 10ms) for receiving the second uplink message from the third device.

[0219] Method 2: The first time unit corresponds to a time window, the length of which may be related to the clock offset of the first device. The second time unit corresponds to a time window, the length of which may be related to the clock offset of the third device.

[0220] Method 3: The first device may send the first uplink message to the second device before the first time unit, and the third device may send the second uplink message to the second device before the second time unit (or between the first time unit and the second time unit). For example, if the first time unit is 100us after receiving the first downlink message, and the second time unit is 200us after receiving the second downlink message, the first device may send the first uplink message to the second device 1 to 100us after receiving the first downlink message, and the second device may send the second uplink message to the second device 100 to 200us after receiving the second downlink message.

[0221] Mode 4: The first time unit and the second time unit are the same time unit, which corresponds to a time window. Both the first device and the third device send within the time unit. The specific sending time depends on the first device or the third device.

[0222] The following introduces the specific contents of the first downlink message, the second downlink message, the first uplink message and the second uplink message based on whether the first downlink message and the second downlink message are carried in the same message and the specific functions of the first downlink message and the second downlink message.

[0223] In case A, the first downlink message and the second downlink message are carried in the same message. The first downlink message is confirmation message 1 used to confirm the successful access of the first device and / or trigger the first device to send uplink data. The second downlink message is confirmation message 2 used to confirm the successful access of the third device and / or trigger the third device to send uplink data.

[0224] Correspondingly, the first uplink message is an uplink data message 1 for transmitting uplink data of the first device, and the second uplink message is an uplink data message 2 for transmitting uplink data of the third device.

[0225] For example, as shown in FIG11 , it is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein SA1-SA4 are optional steps:

[0226] SA1. The second device sends a selection message, a paging message, or a downlink trigger message. Accordingly, the first device receives a selection message, a paging message, or a downlink trigger message from the second device, and the third device receives a selection message, a paging message, or a downlink trigger message from the second device.

[0227] The selection message may be used to select the first device and the third device to perform an operation, the paging message may be used to page the first device and the third device to perform an operation, and the downlink trigger message may be used to trigger the first device and the third device to perform an operation. The selection message or the paging message may include information indicating the first device and the third device that need to perform an operation. For example, the selection message or the paging message may include identification information of the first device (such as the group identifier of the subgroup to which the first device belongs, the class identifier of the category to which the first device belongs, the mask corresponding to the first device, or the device identifier of the first device, etc.) to indicate that the first device needs to perform an operation.

[0228] Optionally, the selection message or the paging message may further include information indicating the operations that the first device and the third device need to perform. For example, the information for a read operation may include one or more of the following: the location or type of the storage area of ​​the data to be read (e.g., a user-defined storage area, an EPC area, etc.), the length of the data to be read, or the starting byte of the data to be read. For another example, the information for a write operation may include one or more of the following: the location or type of the storage area of ​​the data to be written (e.g., a user-defined storage area, an EPC area, etc.), the length of the data to be written, or the starting byte of the data to be written.

[0229] SA2. The second device sends a query message. Correspondingly, the first device receives the query message from the second device, and the third device receives the query message from the second device.

[0230] The query message may be used to trigger access opportunities for the first and third devices. The query message may include a Q value, which may determine the number of access opportunities for the first and third devices. Setting the Q value may reduce access collisions between the first and third devices.

[0231] During the specific implementation process, the first device and the third device can generate a random number between [0, 2^Q-1] based on the Q value. For example, if Q=4, the first device and the third device generate a random number between [0, 15]. The first device and the third device record the random number as the initial value of the counter, and each time the first device and the third device receive a query repetition message, the counter is -1. When the counter is 0, the first device and the third device can send a random access request message to the second device to initiate access. For example, if the initial value of the counter is 3, the first device and the third device can send a random access request message to the second device upon receiving the third query repetition message to initiate access. It can be understood that the first device and the third device select the access timing of the first device and the third device triggered by the third query repetition message to access. For another example, if the initial value of the counter is 0, the first device and the third device can directly send a random access request message to the second device to initiate access. It can be understood that the first device and the third device select the access timing of the first device and the third device triggered by the query message to access.

[0232] Optionally, the query message and the aforementioned selection message, paging message, or downlink trigger message may be carried in the same message, that is, the query message and the aforementioned selection message, paging message, or downlink trigger message may be the same message, for example, downlink message 1 includes information and a Q value for indicating the first device and the third device on which an operation needs to be performed; or, the query message and the aforementioned selection message, paging message, or downlink trigger message may be carried in different downlink messages, that is, the query message and the aforementioned selection message, paging message, or downlink trigger message may be different downlink messages, for example, downlink message 1 includes information for indicating the first device and the third device on which an operation needs to be performed, and downlink message 2 includes a Q value. This embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0233] SA3. The second device sends a query repetition message. Correspondingly, the first device receives the query repetition message from the second device, and the third device receives the query repetition message from the second device.

[0234] The query repetition message may be used to trigger access opportunities for the first and third devices. The second device may send a query repetition message multiple times. For example, the second device may repeatedly send 2^Q query repetition messages. SA3 illustrates only one query repetition message. Subsequent query repetition messages may be sent after SA5 or SA6.

[0235] SA4. The first device sends a random access request message 1 to the second device, and the third device sends a random access request message 2 to the second device. Accordingly, the second device receives the random access request message 1 from the first device and the random access request message 2 from the third device.

[0236] The random access request message 1 is used to request a first device to access, and the random access request message 1 may include a first identifier of the first device. The random access request message 2 is used to request a third device to access, and the random access request message 2 may include a second identifier of the third device.

[0237] During a specific implementation, the second device may receive one or more random access request messages at one access opportunity. The second device may identify multiple random access request messages or only identify one random access request message.

[0238] For example, if a second device receives a random access request message 1 from a first device at an access opportunity, and the second device successfully identifies random access request message 1, the second device returns a confirmation message 1, indicating that the first device has successfully accessed. For another example, if a second device receives a random access request message 1 from a first device and a random access request message 2 from a third device at an access opportunity, and the second device fails to identify both random access request message 1 and random access request message 2. For another example, if a second device receives a random access request message 1 from a first device and a random access request message 2 from a third device at an access opportunity, and the second device successfully identifies only random access request message 1, the second device returns a confirmation message 1, indicating that the first device has successfully accessed. For another example, if a second device receives a random access request message 1 from a first device and a random access request message 2 from a third device at an access opportunity, and the second device successfully identifies both random access request message 1 and random access request message 2, the second device returns a confirmation message 1 and a confirmation message 2, with confirmation message 1 indicating that the first device has successfully accessed, and confirmation message 2 indicating that the third device has successfully accessed.

[0239] SA4 takes the case where the second device receives multiple random access request messages at one access opportunity and the second device can identify the multiple random access request messages as an example.

[0240] SA5: The second device sends a combined confirmation message 1 and a confirmation message 2. Accordingly, the first device receives the confirmation message 1 and the confirmation message 2 from the second device, and the third device receives the confirmation message 1 and the confirmation message 2 from the second device.

[0241] Among them, confirmation message 1 is used to confirm the successful access of the first device and / or trigger the first device to send uplink data, and confirmation message 2 is used to confirm the successful access of the third device and / or trigger the third device to send uplink data.

[0242] Confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 may include a first identifier of the first device and a second identifier of the third device. Confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 may also include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following information: first time information and second time information; third time information; first configuration information; first numerical value. Optionally, confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 may also include information for indicating the number of identifiers, for example, indicating that confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 include 2 identifiers before the first identifier of the first device and the second identifier of the third device. Optionally, the format of confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 may be a MAC protocol data unit (PDU) format, that is, confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 may be in the same MAC PDU. Optionally, MAC PDU is composed of a character string arranged in bytes (8 bits), and the character string can be read in order from left to right and from top to bottom.

[0243] For example, the format of confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 can be the MAC PDU format shown in Table 3, where the first time information is located after the first identifier, and the second time information is located after the second identifier. Therefore, after the first device receives confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2, it can determine the first time unit based on the first duration indicated by the first time information located after the first identifier and the third time unit (i.e., the time unit when the first device receives confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2). After the third device receives confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2, it can determine the second time unit based on the second duration indicated by the second time information located after the second identifier and the fourth time unit (i.e., the time unit when the third device receives confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2).

[0244] Table 3

[0245] For another example, the format of confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 may be the MAC PDU format shown in Table 4, where the third time information is located before the first identifier, and the first identifier is located before the second identifier. Therefore, after the first device and the third device receive confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2, they can determine the order in which the first device received confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2: confirmation message 1, confirmation message 2 based on the order of the first identifier and the second identifier. Furthermore, the first device can determine the first duration indicated by the first time information based on the third duration indicated by the third time information and the order in which the first device received confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2, and determine the first time unit based on the first duration indicated by the first time information and the third time unit (i.e., the time unit in which the first device received confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2). The third device can determine the second duration indicated by the second time information based on the third duration indicated by the third time information and the order in which the third device received confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2, and determine the second time unit based on the second duration indicated by the second time information and the fourth time unit (i.e., the time unit in which the third device received confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2).

[0246] Table 4

[0247] SA6: The first device sends uplink data message 1 to the second device in the first time unit, and the third device sends uplink data message 2 to the second device in the second time unit. Correspondingly, the second device receives uplink data message 1 from the first device in the first time unit and receives uplink data message 2 from the third device in the second time unit.

[0248] Uplink data message 1 is used to transmit uplink data of a first device and may include the EPC of the first device. Uplink data message 2 is used to transmit uplink data of a third device and may include the EPC of the third device.

[0249] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG12 , it is a timing diagram between a first device, a second device, and a third device provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the horizontal axis of FIG12 represents time. T1 is the processing time for the first device and the third device to process downlink messages (such as query duplication messages; confirmation messages 1 and confirmation messages 2), and T2 is the processing time for the second device to process uplink messages (such as random access request messages 1 and random access request messages 2). The first time information included in the confirmation message 1 indicates a first time length of 0, and the second time information included in the confirmation message 2 indicates a second time length of t1. t1 is greater than T1. After the first device receives confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2, after the processing time T1 of processing downlink messages (such as confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2), it sends uplink data message 1 to the second device. After the third device receives confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2, after t1 (t1 includes the processing time T1 of processing downlink messages (such as confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2)), it sends uplink data message 2 to the second device. That is, the time when the first device sends the uplink data message 1 to the second device and the time when the third device sends the uplink data message 2 to the second device are staggered, thereby reducing the collision between the first device and the third device.

[0250] In case B, the first downlink message and the second downlink message are carried in different downlink messages. The first downlink message is confirmation message 1 for confirming successful access of the first device, and the second downlink message is confirmation message 2 for confirming successful access of the third device.

[0251] Correspondingly, the first uplink message is an uplink data message 1 for transmitting uplink data of the first device, and the second uplink message is an uplink data message 2 for transmitting uplink data of the third device.

[0252] For example, as shown in FIG13 , it is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein SB1-SB4 are optional steps:

[0253] SB1. The second device sends a selection message, a paging message, or a downlink trigger message. Correspondingly, the first device receives the selection message or the paging message from the second device, and the third device receives the selection message, the paging message, or the downlink trigger message from the second device.

[0254] The SB1 can refer to the above-mentioned SA1 and will not be described in detail here.

[0255] SB2. The second device sends a query message. Correspondingly, the first device receives the query message from the second device, and the third device receives the query message from the second device.

[0256] The SB2 can refer to the above-mentioned SA2 and will not be repeated here.

[0257] SB3. The second device sends a query repetition message. Correspondingly, the first device receives the query repetition message from the second device, and the third device receives the query repetition message from the second device.

[0258] The SB3 can refer to the above-mentioned SA3 and will not be described in detail here.

[0259] SB4. The first device sends a random access request message 1 to the second device, and the third device sends a random access request message 2 to the second device. Accordingly, the second device receives the random access request message 1 from the first device and the random access request message 2 from the third device.

[0260] The SB4 can refer to the above-mentioned SA4 and will not be repeated here.

[0261] SB5. The second device separately sends confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2. Accordingly, the first device receives confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 from the second device, and the third device receives confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 from the second device.

[0262] Among them, confirmation message 1 is used to confirm the successful access of the first device and / or trigger the first device to send uplink data, and confirmation message 2 is used to confirm the successful access of the third device and / or trigger the third device to send uplink data.

[0263] Confirmation message 1 may include the first identifier of the first device. Confirmation message 1 may also include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following information: first time information; third time information; first configuration information; first numerical value. Confirmation message 2 may include the second identifier of the third device, and confirmation message 2 may also include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following information: first time information; third time information; first configuration information; first numerical value. Optionally, the format of confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 may be a MAC PDU format, that is, confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 may be in different MAC PDUs. Optionally, the MAC PDU is composed of a string arranged in bytes (8 bits), and the string can be read in order from left to right and from top to bottom.

[0264] For example, the format of confirmation message 1 can be the MAC PDU format shown in Table 5, and the first time information is located after the first identifier. Therefore, after the first device receives confirmation message 2, it can determine the first time unit based on the first duration indicated by the first time information located after the first identifier and the third time unit (that is, the time unit when the first device receives confirmation message 1).

[0265] Table 5

[0266] The format of the confirmation message 2 can be the MAC PDU format shown in Table 6. The second time information is located after the second identifier. Therefore, after the third device receives the confirmation message 2, it can determine the second time unit based on the second duration indicated by the second time information located after the second identifier and the fourth time unit (that is, the time unit when the third device receives the confirmation message 2).

[0267] Table 6

[0268] For another example, the format of confirmation message 1 may be the MAC PDU format shown in Table 7, with the third time information located before the first identifier. Since confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 are sent separately, the first device may determine that the order of receiving confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 is: confirmation message 1, confirmation message 2. Therefore, after the first device receives confirmation message 1, the first device may determine the first duration indicated by the first time information based on the third duration indicated by the third time information and the order in which the first device receives confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2, and determine the first time unit based on the first duration indicated by the first time information and the third time unit (i.e., the time unit in which the first device receives confirmation message 1).

[0269] Table 7

[0270] The format of confirmation message 2 may be the MAC PDU format shown in Table 8, with the third time information located before the second identifier. Since confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 are sent separately, the third device may determine that the order of receiving confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2 is: confirmation message 1, confirmation message 2. Therefore, after the third device receives confirmation message 2, the third device may determine the second duration indicated by the second time information based on the third duration indicated by the third time information and the order in which the third device receives confirmation message 1 and confirmation message 2, and determine the second time unit based on the second duration indicated by the second time information and the fourth time unit (i.e., the time unit in which the third device receives confirmation message 2).

[0271] Table 8

[0272] It is understandable that in this case, the first and third devices do not determine whether access has failed based on whether the received confirmation messages correspond, but rather determine whether the corresponding confirmation messages have been received within a preset time period. For example, if the first and third devices first receive confirmation message 1 and then receive confirmation message 2, after receiving confirmation message 1, the third device will not determine that access has failed based on the fact that confirmation message 1 does not correspond to itself. Instead, it will continue to wait for a period of time and only determine that access has failed if it does not receive confirmation message 2 within the preset time period.

[0273] SB6. The first device sends uplink data message 1 to the second device in the first time unit, and the third device sends uplink data message 2 to the second device in the second time unit. Correspondingly, the second device receives uplink data message 1 from the first device in the first time unit and receives uplink data message 2 from the third device in the second time unit.

[0274] Uplink data message 1 is used to transmit uplink data of a first device and may include the EPC of the first device. Uplink data message 2 is used to transmit uplink data of a third device and may include the EPC of the third device.

[0275] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG14 , it is another timing diagram between the first device, the second device and the third device provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the horizontal axis of FIG14 represents time. T1 is the processing time for the first device and the third device to process downlink messages (such as query duplication message; confirmation message 1; confirmation message 2), and T2 is the processing time for the second device to process uplink messages (such as random access request message 1 and random access request message 2). The first time information included in the confirmation message 1 indicates a first time duration t1, and the second time information included in the confirmation message 2 indicates a second time duration t2. t1 is greater than T1. t2 is greater than T1. After the first device receives the confirmation message 1, after t1 (t1 includes the processing time duration T1 for processing the downlink message (such as confirmation message 1)), it sends the uplink data message 1 to the second device. After the third device receives the confirmation message 2, after t2 (t2 includes the processing time duration T1 for processing the downlink message (such as confirmation message 1)), it sends the uplink data message 2 to the second device. That is, the time when the first device sends the uplink data message 1 to the second device and the time when the third device sends the uplink data message 2 to the second device are staggered, and the time when the first device sends the uplink data message 1 to the second device and the time when the second device sends the confirmation message 2 are staggered, thereby reducing the collision between the first device and the third device, and the collision between the first device and the second device.

[0276] In case C, the first downlink message and the second downlink message are carried in the same message. The first downlink message is used to trigger a query repetition message 1 for access timing of the first device, and the second downlink message is used to trigger a query repetition message 2 for access timing of the third device.

[0277] Correspondingly, the first uplink message is a random access request message 1 for requesting access by the first device, and the second uplink message is a random access request message 2 for requesting access by the third device.

[0278] As shown in FIG15 , there is shown a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein SC1-SC2 are optional steps.

[0279] SC1. The second device sends a selection message, a paging message, or a downlink trigger message. Correspondingly, the first device receives the selection message, the paging message, or the downlink trigger message from the second device, and the third device receives the selection message, the paging message, or the downlink trigger message from the second device.

[0280] The SC1 can refer to the above-mentioned SA1 and will not be described in detail here.

[0281] SC2. The second device sends a query message. Correspondingly, the first device receives the query message from the second device, and the third device receives the query message from the second device.

[0282] The SC2 can refer to the above SA2 and will not be described in detail here. The SC2 takes the initial value of the counter of the first device and the initial value of the counter of the third device as an example where both are not 0.

[0283] SC3. The second device sends query repetition message 1 and query repetition message 2 in combination. Correspondingly, the first device receives query repetition message 1 and query repetition message 2 from the second device, and the third device receives query repetition message 1 and query repetition message 2 from the second device.

[0284] The query repetition message 1 is used to trigger an access opportunity of the first device, and the query repetition message 2 is used to trigger an access opportunity of the third device.

[0285] The query repetition message 1 and the query repetition message 2 may include one or more of the following information: first time information; second time information; third time information; first configuration information; and a first value.

[0286] Taking the example of query repeat message 1 and query repeat message 2 including a first numerical value, after receiving query repeat message 1 and query repeat message 2, the first device can determine the first duration indicated by the first time information based on the third time information and the second numerical value, and determine the first time unit based on the first duration indicated by the first time information and the third time unit (i.e., the time unit when the first device receives query repeat message 1 and query repeat message 2). After receiving query repeat message 1 and query repeat message 2, the third device can determine the second duration indicated by the second time information based on the third time information and the third numerical value, and determine the second time unit based on the second duration indicated by the second time information and the fourth time unit (i.e., the time unit when the third device receives query repeat message 1 and query repeat message 2). Among them, the third time information can be (pre) configured, or can be defined by a standard, or can be agreed upon by the first device, the second device, and the third device, or can be calculated based on a calculation formula satisfied by the third time information, or can be carried in a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message) that is not a first downlink message and a second downlink message, a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message) or a query repetition message (or called an access timing trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message. The second value can be randomly generated by the first device, and the second value is less than or equal to the first value. The third value can be randomly generated by the third device, and the third value is less than or equal to the first value.

[0287] Query repetition message 1 and query repetition message 2 may also include one or more of the following information: first identification information; second identification information. The first identification information may include one or more of the following: the number of the first process associated with the first device, the frequency information identifier associated with the first device, the transmission configuration identifier associated with the first device, the group identifier associated with the first device, or the temporary identifier associated with the first device. The first identification information may include one or more of the following: the number of the second process associated with the third device, the frequency information identifier associated with the third device, the transmission configuration identifier associated with the third device, the group identifier associated with the third device, or the temporary identifier associated with the third device.

[0288] Optionally, if the first device has already responded to repeat query message 3 and repeat query message 4, then upon determining that the first identification information is identification information associated with the first device, the first device may not respond to repeat query message 1 and repeat query message 2. If the third device has already responded to repeat query message 3 and repeat query message 4, then upon determining that the second identification information is identification information associated with the third device, the third device may not respond to repeat query message 1 and repeat query message 2. Repeat query message 3 and repeat query message 4 correspond to event 1, and repeat query message 3 and repeat query message 4 correspond to event 1, thereby preventing repeated responses to the same event.

[0289] Correspondingly, the sixth device is an A-IOT device, or may be a component of an A-IOT device (such as a chip, a processing unit, or a processor module). The process number associated with the sixth device, or the associated frequency information identifier, or the associated transmission configuration identifier, or the associated group identifier, or the associated temporary identifier is the same as the process number associated with the first device or the third device, or the associated frequency information identifier, or the associated transmission configuration identifier, or the associated group identifier, or the associated temporary identifier. After the sixth device receives the query repetition message 1 and the query repetition message 2, it can perform the same operation as the first device or the third device.

[0290] SC4. The first device sends a random access request message 1 to the second device in the first time unit, and the third device sends a random access request message 2 to the second device in the second time unit. Accordingly, the second device receives the random access request message 1 from the first device in the first time unit, and receives the random access request message 2 from the third device in the second time unit.

[0291] The random access request message 1 is used to request a first device to access, and the random access request message 1 may include a first identifier of the first device. The random access request message 2 is used to request a third device to access, and the random access request message 2 may include a second identifier of the third device.

[0292] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG16, it is another timing diagram between the first device, the second device and the third device provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the horizontal axis of FIG16 represents time. As shown in (1) of FIG16, T1 is the processing time for the first device and the third device to process the downlink message (for example, random access request 1). T2 is the processing time for the second device to process the uplink message (for example, random access request 1; random access request 1). The first device determines that the first time information indicated by the first time information based on the query repetition message 1 is 0 and the process associated with the first device is process 1. The third device determines that the second time information indicated by the second time information based on the query repetition message 2 is t1 and the process associated with the third device is process 2. t1 is greater than T1. After the first device receives the query repetition message 1 and the query repetition message 2, it sends the random access request message 1 to the second device after processing the downlink message (for example, the query repetition message 1 and the query repetition message 2) for the processing time T1. After receiving Repeat Query Message 1 and Repeat Query Message 2, the third device sends Random Access Request Message 2 to the second device after t1 (t1 includes the processing time T1 for processing downlink messages (e.g., Repeat Query Message 1 and Repeat Query Message 2)). This staggers the time between the first device sending Random Access Request Message 1 to the second device and the time between the third device sending Random Access Request Message 2 to the second device, thereby reducing collisions between the first and third devices.

[0293] In addition, after receiving the random access request message 1, the second device sends a query repetition message 3 within the processing time T2 for processing the downlink message (e.g., the random access request message 1). After receiving the query repetition message 3, the first and third devices determine that the query repetition message 3 does not carry the number of the process 1 associated with the first device and the number of the process 2 associated with the third device, and therefore do not respond to the query repetition message 3. That is, the first and third devices will only respond to downlink messages carrying the numbers of the processes associated with themselves, allowing the second device to implement multi-process processing, reducing the impact of T2 and improving the access rate.

[0294] As shown in (2) of FIG16 , T1 is the processing time for the first device and the third device to process the downlink message (e.g., random access request 1). The first device determines that the frequency associated with the first device is frequency 1 based on the query repetition message 1, and the third device determines that the frequency associated with the first device is frequency 1 based on the query repetition message 2. After the first device receives the query repetition message 1 and the query repetition message 2, it can send the random access request message 1 to the second device at frequency 1 after processing the downlink message (e.g., query repetition message 1 and query repetition message 2) for a processing time of T1. After the third device receives the query repetition message 1 and the query repetition message 2, it can send the random access request message 2 to the second device at frequency 2 after processing the downlink message (e.g., query repetition message 1 and query repetition message 2) for a processing time of T1. That is, the time when the first device sends the random access request message 1 to the second device and the time when the third device sends the random access request message 2 to the second device are not staggered, and the frequency at which the first device sends the random access request message 1 to the second device and the frequency at which the third device sends the random access request message 2 to the second device are staggered, thereby reducing collisions between the first device and the third device.

[0295] In case D, the first downlink message and the second downlink message are the same message. The first downlink message is a confirmation message 1 used to confirm the successful access of the first device, and the second downlink message is a query repetition message 2 used to trigger the access opportunity of the third device.

[0296] Correspondingly, the first uplink message is an uplink data message 1 for transmitting uplink data of the first device, and the second uplink message is a random access request message 2 for requesting access of the third device.

[0297] For example, as shown in FIG17 , it is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein SD1 to SD4 are optional steps:

[0298] SD1. The second device sends a selection message, a paging message, or a downlink trigger message. Accordingly, the first device receives the selection message, the paging message, or the downlink trigger message from the second device, and the third device receives the selection message, the paging message, or the downlink trigger message from the second device.

[0299] The SD1 can refer to the above-mentioned SA1 and will not be described in detail here.

[0300] SD2. The second device sends a query message. Correspondingly, the first device receives the query message from the second device, and the third device receives the query message from the second device.

[0301] The SD2 can refer to the above SA2 and will not be described in detail here. The SD2 takes the initial value of the counter of the first device and the initial value of the counter of the third device as an example where both are not 0.

[0302] SD3. The second device sends a query repetition message 1. Correspondingly, the first device receives the query repetition message 1 from the second device, and the third device receives the query repetition message 1 from the second device.

[0303] The query repetition message 1 is used to trigger an access opportunity of the first device.

[0304] SD4. The first device sends a random access request message 1 to the second device. Correspondingly, the second device receives the random access request message 1 from the first device.

[0305] The random access request message 1 is used to request the first device to access the network. The random access request message 1 may include a first identifier of the first device.

[0306] SD5. The second device sends the confirmation message 1 and the query repetition message 2 in combination. Accordingly, the first device receives the confirmation message 1 and the query repetition message 2 from the second device, and the third device receives the confirmation message 1 and the query repetition message 2 from the second device.

[0307] The confirmation message 1 is used to confirm the successful access of the first device, and the query repetition message 2 is used to trigger the access timing of the third device.

[0308] Confirmation message 1 may include the first identifier of the first device. Confirmation message 1 may also include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following information: first time information; third time information; first configuration information; and a first value. Optionally, confirmation message 1 may be in a MAC PDU format. Optionally, a MAC PDU consists of a string arranged in 8-bit bytes, and the string can be read from left to right and from top to bottom.

[0309] For example, the format of the confirmation message 1 may be the MAC PDU format shown in Table 5 above, where the first time information is located after the first identifier. Therefore, after the first device receives the confirmation message 1 and the query repeat message 2, it may determine the first time unit based on the first duration indicated by the first time information located after the first identifier and the third time unit (i.e., the time unit at which the first device receives the confirmation message 1 and the query repeat message 2). After the third device receives the confirmation message 1 and the query repeat message 2, since the query repeat message 2 does not include any information, it may determine that the second duration indicated by the second time information is 0, and further determine the second time unit based on the second duration indicated by the second time information and the fourth time unit (i.e., the time unit at which the third device receives the confirmation message 1 and the query repeat message 2).

[0310] For another example, the format of confirmation message 1 can be the MAC PDU format shown in Table 7 above, with the third time information located before the first identifier. Since confirmation message 1 and query repeat message 2 are sent together, the first device and the third device can determine the order of receiving confirmation message 1 and query repeat message 2 as: query repeat message 2, confirmation message 1. Therefore, after the first device and the third device receive confirmation message 1 and query repeat message 2, the first device can determine the first duration indicated by the first time information based on the third duration indicated by the third time information and the order in which the first device receives confirmation message 1 and query repeat message 2, and determine the first time unit based on the first duration indicated by the first time information and the third time unit (i.e., the time unit in which the first device receives confirmation message 1 and query repeat message 2). The third device can determine the second duration indicated by the second time information based on the third duration indicated by the third time information and the order in which the third device receives confirmation message 1 and query repeat message 2, and determine the second time unit based on the second duration indicated by the second time information and the fourth time unit (i.e., the time unit in which the third device receives confirmation message 1 and query repeat message 2).

[0311] It is understood that in this case, the first and third devices do not determine access failure based on whether the received confirmation messages correspond, but rather determine access failure based on whether the corresponding confirmation messages are received within a preset time period. For example, if the third device first receives confirmation message 1 corresponding to the first device, after receiving confirmation message 1, the third device will not determine access failure based on the fact that confirmation message 1 does not correspond to itself. Instead, the third device will continue to wait for a period of time and only determine access failure if it does not receive confirmation message 2 corresponding to the third device within the preset time period.

[0312] SD6. The first device sends an uplink data message 1 to the second device in the first time unit, and the third device sends a random access request message 2 to the second device in the second time unit. Accordingly, the second device receives the uplink data message 1 from the first device in the first time unit, and receives the random access request message 2 from the third device in the second time unit.

[0313] The uplink data message 1 is used to transmit uplink data of the first device, and includes the EPC of the first device. The random access request message 2 is used to request access from a third device, and includes the second identifier of the third device.

[0314] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG18 , it is a timing diagram between another first device, a second device, and a third device provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the horizontal axis of FIG18 represents time. T1 is the processing time for the first device and the third device to process downlink messages (such as query repetition message 1; query repetition message 2 and confirmation message 1), and T2 is the processing time for the second device to process uplink messages (such as random access request message 1; random access request message 2; uplink data message 1). The first time information included in the confirmation message 1 indicates the first time duration as t1, and the query repetition message 2 does not include any information, so it can be understood that the second time information included in the query repetition message 2 indicates the second time duration as 0. t1 is greater than T1. After the third device receives the confirmation message 1 and the query repetition message 2, it sends a random access request message 2 to the second device after processing the downlink messages (such as the confirmation message 1 and the query repetition message 2) for a processing time T1. After receiving the confirmation message 1 and the query repetition message 2, the first device sends an uplink data message 1 to the second device after t1 (t1 includes the processing time T1 for processing downlink messages (such as the confirmation message 1 and the query repetition message 2)). That is, the time when the first device sends the uplink data message 1 to the second device and the time when the third device sends the random access request message 2 to the second device are staggered, thereby reducing collisions between the first device and the third device. In addition, because the second device can send the confirmation message 1 and the query repetition message 2 in combination after receiving the random access request message 1, after processing the random access request message 1 for the processing time T2, the impact of T2 is reduced and the access rate is improved.

[0315] In case E, the first downlink message and the second downlink message are the same message. The first downlink message is a query repetition message 1 for triggering access timing of the first device, and the second downlink message is a confirmation message 2 for confirming successful access of the third device.

[0316] Correspondingly, the first uplink message is a random access request message 1 for requesting access of the first device, and the second uplink message is an uplink data message 2 for transmitting uplink data of the third device.

[0317] As shown in FIG19 , there is shown a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein steps SE1 to SE4 are optional.

[0318] SE1 and the second device send a selection message, a paging message, or a downlink trigger message. Accordingly, the first device receives a selection message, a paging message, or a downlink trigger message from the second device, and the third device receives a selection message, a paging message, or a downlink trigger message from the second device.

[0319] The SE1 can refer to the above SA1 and will not be described in detail here.

[0320] SE2. The second device sends a query message. Correspondingly, the first device receives the query message from the second device, and the third device receives the query message from the second device.

[0321] The above-mentioned SA2 can be referred to for SE2, which will not be described in detail here. The SE2 takes the case where both the initial value of the counter of the first device and the initial value of the counter of the third device are not 0 as an example.

[0322] SE3. The second device sends a query repetition message 2. Correspondingly, the first device receives the query repetition message 2 from the second device, and the third device receives the query repetition message 2 from the second device.

[0323] The query repetition message 2 is used to trigger an access opportunity of the third device.

[0324] SE4. The third device sends a random access request message 2 to the second device. Correspondingly, the second device receives the random access request message 2 from the third device.

[0325] The random access request message 2 is used to request access by the third device. The random access request message 2 may include the second identifier of the third device.

[0326] SE5. The second device sends a confirmation message 2 and a query repetition message 1 in combination. Accordingly, the first device receives the confirmation message 2 and the query repetition message 1 from the second device, and the third device receives the confirmation message 2 and the query repetition message 1 from the second device.

[0327] The confirmation message 2 is used to confirm that the third device has successfully accessed, and the query repetition message 1 is used to trigger the access timing of the first device.

[0328] Confirmation message 2 may include the second identifier of the third device. Confirmation message 2 may also include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following information: second time information; third time information; first configuration information; and first numerical value. Optionally, confirmation message 2 may be in MAC PDU format. Optionally, a MAC PDU consists of a string arranged in 8-bit bytes, and the string may be read from left to right and from top to bottom.

[0329] For example, the format of the confirmation message 2 may be the MAC PDU format shown in Table 6 above, where the second time information is located after the second identifier. Therefore, after the third device receives the confirmation message 2 and the query repeat message 1, it may determine the second time unit based on the second duration indicated by the second time information located after the second identifier and the fourth time unit (i.e., the time unit at which the third device receives the confirmation message 2 and the query repeat message 1). After the first device receives the confirmation message 2 and the query repeat message 1, since the query repeat message 1 does not include any information, it may determine that the first duration indicated by the first time information is 0, and further determine the first time unit based on the first duration indicated by the first time information and the third time unit (i.e., the time unit at which the first device receives the confirmation message 2 and the query repeat message 1).

[0330] For another example, the format of confirmation message 2 may be the MAC PDU format shown in Table 8 above, with the third time information located before the second identifier. Since confirmation message 2 and query repeat message 1 are sent together, the first device and the third device may determine the order of receiving confirmation message 2 and query repeat message 1 as: query repeat message 1, confirmation message 2. Therefore, after the first device and the third device receive confirmation message 2 and query repeat message 1, the third device may determine the second duration indicated by the second time information based on the third duration indicated by the third time information and the order in which the third device receives confirmation message 2 and query repeat message 1, and determine the second time unit based on the second duration indicated by the second time information and the fourth time unit (i.e., the time unit in which the third device receives confirmation message 2 and query repeat message 1). The first device may determine the first duration indicated by the first time information based on the third duration indicated by the third time information and the order in which the first device receives confirmation message 2 and query repeat message 1, and determine the first time unit based on the first duration indicated by the first time information and the third time unit (i.e., the time unit in which the first device receives confirmation message 2 and query repeat message 1).

[0331] It is understood that in this case, the first and third devices do not determine access failure based on whether the received confirmation messages correspond, but rather determine access failure based on whether the corresponding confirmation messages are received within a preset time period. For example, if the third device first receives confirmation message 1 corresponding to the first device, after receiving confirmation message 1, the third device will not determine access failure based on the fact that confirmation message 1 does not correspond to itself. Instead, the third device will continue to wait for a period of time and only determine access failure if it does not receive confirmation message 2 corresponding to the third device within the preset time period.

[0332] SE6. The first device sends a random access request message 1 to the second device in the first time unit, and the third device sends an uplink data message 2 to the second device in the second time unit. Accordingly, the second device receives the random access request message 1 from the first device in the first time unit, and receives the uplink data message 2 from the third device in the second time unit.

[0333] The random access request message 1 is used to request access by the first device, the random access request message 2 includes the second identifier of the second device, and the uplink data message 2 is used to transmit uplink data of the third device, and includes the EPC of the third device.

[0334] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG20 , it is a timing diagram between another first device, a second device, and a third device provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the horizontal axis of FIG20 represents time. T1 is the processing time for the first device and the third device to process downlink messages (such as query repetition message 2; query repetition message 1 and confirmation message 2), and T2 is the processing time for the second device to process uplink messages (such as random access request message 2; random access request message 1; uplink data message 2). The second time duration indicated by the second time information included in the confirmation message 2 is t1, and the query repetition message 1 does not include any information, so it can be understood that the first time duration indicated by the first time information included in the query repetition message 1 is 0. t1 is greater than T1. After the first device receives the confirmation message 2 and the query repetition message 1, it sends the random access request message 1 to the second device after processing the downlink message (such as the confirmation message 2 and the query repetition message 1) for a processing time T1. After receiving the confirmation message 2 and the query repeat message 1, the third device sends an uplink data message 2 to the second device after t1 (t1 includes the processing time T1 for processing downlink messages (such as the confirmation message 2 and the query repeat message 1)). This staggers the time when the first device sends the random access request message 1 to the second device and the time when the third device sends the uplink data message 2 to the second device, thereby reducing collisions between the first and third devices. In addition, after receiving the random access request message 2, the second device can combine the confirmation message 2 and the query repeat message 1 after processing the random access request message 2 for the processing time T2, thereby reducing the impact of T2 and improving the access rate.

[0335] In the second embodiment, see Figure 21, which is a flow chart of another communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application. Figure 21 introduces the method from the perspective of the interaction between the first device, the second device, and the third device. It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application is only performed by the first device, the second device, and the third device as an example, and is not limited to the first device, the second device, and the third device. For example, the embodiment of the present application can also be performed by more first devices. When more first devices are involved, the execution process of each first device in these more first devices is the same. As shown in Figure 21, the process of the communication method includes the following steps.

[0336] S2101: The second device sends a first downlink message and a second downlink message. Correspondingly, the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, and the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device.

[0337] In an embodiment of the present application, the first downlink message may be used to confirm successful access of the first device (or referred to as successful contention resolution). The second downlink message may be used to confirm successful access of the third device (or referred to as successful contention resolution). The first downlink message may be associated with a first time unit, and the second downlink message may be associated with a second time unit.

[0338] For the relevant contents of the first downlink message, the second downlink message, the first time unit and the second time unit in S2101, reference may be made to the relevant contents of the above-mentioned S901, which will not be repeated here.

[0339] S2102: The first device sends a first uplink message to the second device in a first time unit. Correspondingly, the second device receives the first uplink message from the first device in the first time unit.

[0340] In the embodiment of the present application, the relevant content of the first uplink message in S2102 can refer to the above S902 and will not be repeated here.

[0341] S2103: The second device sends a third downlink message. Correspondingly, the first device receives the third downlink message from the second device, and the third device receives the third downlink message from the second device.

[0342] In an embodiment of the present application, the third downlink message can be used to transmit downlink data of the first device, and the third downlink message can be associated with a fifth time unit. The fifth time unit is the time unit in which the first device sends the third uplink message to the second device. Optionally, the fifth time unit is different from the second time unit, which can be understood as the absence of overlap between the fifth time unit and the second time unit. Optionally, the fifth time unit can be a time window, a period of time, or a moment, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0343] The first apparatus may determine the fifth time unit associated with the third downlink message based on one or more of the following information:

[0344] 1) Fourth time information.

[0345] The fourth time information may be carried in the third downlink message, or may be carried in a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message) that is not a third downlink message, a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message) or a query repetition message (or called an access timing trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message. Optionally, the fourth time information may be configured by a fourth device for the second device, and the fourth device may be a near real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC in the ORAN system. For example, after the fourth device determines the fourth time information based on historical data, it sends the fourth time information to the second device.

[0346] The fourth time information may indicate a fourth duration, or may indicate an index of the fourth duration, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. The fourth duration may be in units of microseconds, seconds, milliseconds, etc., for example, the fourth duration is 10 us; or the fourth duration may be in units of frames, subframes, superframes, or time slots, for example, the fourth duration is 2 time slots; or it may be the number of times a downlink message similar to a synchronization signal is received, for example, the fourth duration is the number of times a downlink message similar to a synchronization signal is received 2 times. This embodiment of the present application is not limited in this regard.

[0347] The first device may determine the fifth time unit based on the fourth duration indicated by the fourth time information. Specifically, the first device may determine the fifth time unit based on the fourth duration indicated by the fourth time information and the sixth time unit, where the sixth time unit is the time unit in which the first device receives the third downlink message from the second device. For example, if the fourth duration indicated by the fourth time information is T1, then the duration between the sixth time unit and the fifth time unit is T1. Optionally, the sixth time unit may be a time window, or a period of time, or a moment, and this embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0348] Optionally, the fourth duration indicated by the fourth time information may be less than or equal to the processing duration of the first device. The processing duration of the first device may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: the duration of the first device processing the downlink message, which is related to the length of the downlink message and is generally several or tens of us, such as 15.625 us; the duration of the first device switching from a receiving state to a sending state, which is generally several or tens of us; and the duration of the first device performing an operation (such as a read operation, a write operation, or a deactivation operation), which is related to the content of the downlink message.

[0349] Alternatively, the fourth duration indicated by the fourth time information may also be greater than the processing duration of the first device. Accordingly, when the first device determines the fifth time unit based on the fourth duration indicated by the fourth time information and the sixth time unit, it needs to consider the processing duration of the first device. For example, the fourth duration indicated by the fourth time information is T1, and the processing duration of the first device is T2. If T2 is greater than T1, then the duration between the sixth time unit and the fifth time unit is T1+T2, or the duration between the sixth time unit and the fifth time unit is T2.

[0350] 2) Third time information.

[0351] The third time information may be (pre) configured, or may be defined by a standard, or may be agreed upon by the first device, the second device, and the third device, or may be calculated based on a calculation formula satisfied by the third time information, or may be carried in a third downlink message, or may be carried in a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message) that is not a third downlink message, a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message) or a query repetition message (or called an access timing trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message.

[0352] The third time information may indicate a third duration, or may indicate an index of the third duration, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. The third duration may be in units of microseconds, seconds, milliseconds, etc., for example, the third duration is 10 us; or the third duration may be in units of frames, subframes, superframes, or time slots, for example, the third duration is 2 time slots; or it may be the number of times a downlink message similar to a synchronization signal is received, for example, the third duration is the number of times a downlink message similar to a synchronization signal is received 2 times. This embodiment of the present application is not limited in this regard.

[0353] The third time information may be related to the first configuration information. The first configuration information may be used for the first device to send an uplink message to the second device, and may be used for the third device to send an uplink message to the second device. The first configuration information is related to the coverage level of the first device and / or to the coverage level of the third device. For example, when the first device is a terminal device with a semi-passive tag function, the coverage distance of the first device is less than or equal to 37 meters, then the coverage level of the first device is 0; when the first device is a terminal device with a passive tag function, the coverage distance of the first device is less than or equal to 15 meters, then the coverage level of the first device is 0, and the configuration information corresponding to the coverage level 0 indicates: the transmission time per bit is 1.5625us, the number of preamble bits is 8, and the number of postamble bits = 8. For example, the third duration indicated by the third time information may satisfy the following calculation formula: x / t1+y*t2+z / t3, where x is the number of preamble bits, t1 is the start symbol time of the uplink message, y is the bit length of the uplink message, t2 is the transmission time per bit, z is the number of postamble bits, and t3 is the end symbol time of the uplink message. The uplink message may be an uplink message sent by the first device to the second device, or may be an uplink message sent by the third device to the second device.

[0354] 3) The fourth value.

[0355] The fourth value may be (pre) configured, or may be defined by a standard, or may be agreed upon by the first device, the second device, and the third device, or may be carried in a third downlink message, or may be carried in a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message) that is not a third downlink message, a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message) or a query repetition message (or called an access timing trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message.

[0356] The fourth value may be the maximum value of the fourth duration (or also referred to as the duration between the sixth time unit and the fifth time unit) indicated by the fourth time information.

[0357] Specifically, if the fourth time information is carried in the third downlink message and is not carried in a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message), a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message), or a query repetition message (or called an access opportunity trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message that is not a third downlink message, then the first device can determine the third time information and the fourth value in the above manner. Furthermore, the first device can determine the fifth time unit based on the third time information, a fifth value (e.g., randomly generated by the first device), and the sixth time unit, where the fifth value is less than or equal to the fourth value. For example, if the fourth value is 4, the third duration indicated by the third time information is T, and the fifth value randomly generated by the first device is 1, then the first device can determine the duration between the sixth time unit and the fifth time unit as T. It can be understood that the fourth time information is determined based on the third time information and the fifth value, and the fifth time unit is determined based on the fourth time information and the sixth time unit. Alternatively, the first device may determine the fifth time unit based on a fifth value (e.g., randomly generated by the first device) and the sixth time unit, where the fifth value is less than or equal to the fourth value. For example, if the fourth value is 100 us and the fifth value randomly generated by the first device is 50 us, the first device may determine that the duration between the sixth time unit and the fifth time unit is 50 us. This can be understood as determining the fourth time information based on the fifth value, and determining the fifth time unit based on the fourth time information and the sixth time unit.

[0358] In one possible implementation, the third downlink message may include one or more of the following information: fourth time information; third time information; fourth value. In this case, the first device may determine the fifth time unit associated with the third downlink message based on the one or more information included in the third downlink message.

[0359] In another possible implementation, the third downlink message may not include any of the following information: fourth time information; third time information; fourth value. In this case, the third time information may be (pre-)configured, or may be defined by a standard, or may be agreed upon by the first device, the second device, and the third device, or may be calculated based on a calculation formula satisfied by the third time information, or may be carried in a confirmation message (or random access request response message, or random access identification response message) that is not the third downlink message, a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or an access round trigger or indication message), or a query repetition message (or an access opportunity trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message. The fourth value may be (pre)configured, or may be defined by a standard, or may be agreed upon by the first device, the second device, and the third device, or may be carried in a confirmation message (or referred to as a random access request response message, or referred to as a random access identification response message), a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or referred to as an access round trigger or indication message), or a query repetition message (or referred to as an access opportunity trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message that is not a third downlink message. Thus, the first device may determine the fourth duration indicated by the fourth time information based on the third time information and the fifth value, and determine the fifth time unit based on the fourth duration indicated by the fourth time information and the sixth time unit.

[0360] S2104: The third device sends a second uplink message to the second device in the second time unit, and the first device sends a third uplink message to the second device in the fifth time unit. Correspondingly, the second device receives the second uplink message from the third device in the second time unit and receives the third uplink message from the first device in the fifth time unit.

[0361] In the embodiment of the present application, the relevant content of the second uplink message in S2104 can refer to the relevant content of S902 above, which will not be repeated here. The third uplink message can be used to transmit uplink data of the first device.

[0362] As shown in Figure 22, it is a timing diagram between another first device, a second device, and a third device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The horizontal axis of Figure 22 represents time. T1 is the processing time for the first device and the third device to process downlink messages (such as the first downlink message and the second downlink message; the third downlink message), and T2 is the processing time for the second device to process uplink messages (such as the first uplink message; the second uplink message; the third uplink message). The first time duration indicated by the first time information included in the first downlink message is 0, and the second time duration indicated by the second time information included in the second downlink message is t1. t1 is greater than T1. After the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message, it sends the first uplink message to the second device after processing the downlink messages (such as the first downlink message and the second downlink message) for a processing time of T1. After the second device receives the first uplink message, it sends the third downlink message after processing the uplink message (such as the first uplink message) for a processing time of T2. The fourth time duration indicated by the fourth time information included in the third downlink message is t2. t2 is greater than T1. After the first device receives the third downlink message, it sends a third uplink message to the second device after t2 (t2 includes the processing time T1 for processing the downlink message (for example, the third downlink message)). After the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message, it sends a second uplink message to the second device after t1 (t1 includes the processing time T1 for processing the downlink message (for example, the first downlink message and the second downlink message)). That is, the time when the first device sends the first uplink message to the second device and the time when the third device sends the second uplink message to the second device are staggered, and the time when the first device sends the third uplink message to the second device and the time when the third device sends the second uplink message to the second device are staggered, thereby reducing collisions between the first device and the third device.

[0363] Example 3, see Figure 23, Figure 23 is a flow chart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 23 introduces the method from the perspective of the interaction between the first device, the second device, and the third device. It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application is only performed by the first device, the second device, and the third device as an example, and is not limited to the first device, the second device, and the third device. For example, the embodiment of the present application can also be performed by more first devices. When more first devices are involved, the execution process of each first device in these more first devices is the same. As shown in Figure 23, the process of the communication method includes the following steps.

[0364] S2301: The second device sends a first downlink message and a second downlink message. Correspondingly, the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, and the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device.

[0365] The first downlink message may be used to confirm successful access of the first device (or successful contention resolution). The second downlink message may be used to confirm successful access of the third device (or successful contention resolution). The first downlink message may be associated with a first time unit, and the second downlink message may be associated with a second time unit.

[0366] For the relevant contents of the first downlink message, the second downlink message, the first time unit and the second time unit in S2301, reference may be made to the relevant contents of S901 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0367] S2302: The third device sends a second uplink message to the second device in the second time unit. Correspondingly, the second device receives the second uplink message from the third device in the second time unit.

[0368] In the embodiment of the present application, the relevant content of the second uplink message in S2302 can refer to the above S902 and will not be repeated here.

[0369] S2303: The second device sends the first indication information. Correspondingly, the first device receives the first indication information from the second device, and the third device receives the first indication information from the second device.

[0370] In an embodiment of the present application, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first downlink message is not associated with the first time unit, and the first indication information may be associated with the seventh time unit. Optionally, the seventh time unit is different from the first time unit, which can be understood as the seventh time unit and the first time unit having no overlapping portion. Optionally, the seventh time unit is different from the second time unit, which can be understood as the seventh time unit and the second time unit having no overlapping portion. Optionally, the seventh time unit may be a time window, or a period of time, or a moment, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0371] The first device may determine the seventh time unit associated with the first indication information based on one or more of the following information:

[0372] 1) Fifth time information.

[0373] The fifth time information may be carried in the first indication information, or may be carried in a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message) that is not used as the first indication information, a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message) or a query repetition message (or called an access timing trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message. Optionally, the fifth time information may be configured for the second device by a fourth device, and the fourth device may be a near real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC in the ORAN system. For example, after the fourth device determines the fifth time information based on historical data, it sends the fifth time information to the second device.

[0374] The fifth time information may indicate a fifth duration, or may indicate an index of the fifth duration, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. The unit of the fifth duration may be microseconds, seconds, milliseconds, etc., for example, the fifth duration is 10 us; or the unit of the fifth duration may be a frame, subframe, superframe, or time slot, for example, the fifth duration is 2 time slots; or it may be the number of times a downlink message similar to a synchronization signal is received, for example, the fifth duration is the number of times a downlink message similar to a synchronization signal is received 2 times. This embodiment of the present application is not limited in this regard.

[0375] The first device may determine the seventh time unit based on the fifth duration indicated by the fifth time information. Specifically, the first device may determine the seventh time unit based on the fifth duration indicated by the fifth time information and the eighth time unit, where the eighth time unit is the time unit during which the first device receives the first indication information from the second device. For example, if the fifth duration indicated by the fifth time information is T1, then the duration between the eighth time unit and the seventh time unit is T1.

[0376] Optionally, the fifth duration indicated by the fifth time information may be less than or equal to the processing duration of the first device. The processing duration of the first device may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: the duration of the first device processing the downlink message, which is related to the length of the downlink message and is generally several or tens of us, such as 15.625 us; the duration of the first device switching from a receiving state to a sending state, which is generally several or tens of us; and the duration of the first device performing an operation (such as a read operation, a write operation, or a deactivation operation), which is related to the content of the downlink message.

[0377] Alternatively, the fifth duration indicated by the fifth time information may also be greater than the processing duration of the first device. Accordingly, when the first device determines the seventh time unit based on the fifth duration indicated by the fifth time information and the eighth time unit, it needs to consider the processing duration of the first device. For example, the fifth duration indicated by the fifth time information is T1, and the processing duration of the first device is T2. If T2 is greater than T1, then the duration between the eighth time unit and the seventh time unit is T1+T2, or the duration between the eighth time unit and the seventh time unit is T2.

[0378] 2) Third time information.

[0379] The third time information may be (pre) configured, or may be defined by a standard, or may be agreed upon by the first device, the second device, and the third device, or may be calculated based on a calculation formula satisfied by the third time information, or may be carried in the first indication information, or may be carried in a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message) that is not used as the first indication information, a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message) or a query repetition message (or called an access timing trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message.

[0380] The third time information may indicate a third duration, or may indicate an index of the third duration, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. The third duration may be in units of microseconds, seconds, milliseconds, etc., for example, the third duration is 10 us; or the third duration may be in units of frames, subframes, superframes, or time slots, for example, the third duration is 2 time slots; or it may be the number of times a downlink message similar to a synchronization signal is received, for example, the third duration is the number of times a downlink message similar to a synchronization signal is received 2 times. This embodiment of the present application is not limited in this regard.

[0381] The third time information may be related to the first configuration information. The first configuration information may be used for the first device to send an uplink message to the second device, and may be used for the third device to send an uplink message to the second device. The first configuration information is related to the coverage level of the first device and / or to the coverage level of the third device. For example, when the first device is a terminal device with a semi-passive tag function, the coverage distance of the first device is less than or equal to 37 meters, then the coverage level of the first device is 0; when the first device is a terminal device with a passive tag function, the coverage distance of the first device is less than or equal to 15 meters, then the coverage level of the first device is 0, and the configuration information corresponding to the coverage level 0 indicates: the transmission time per bit is 1.5625us, the number of preamble bits is 8, and the number of postamble bits = 8. For example, the third duration indicated by the third time information may satisfy the following calculation formula: x / t1+y*t2+z / t3, where x is the number of preamble bits, t1 is the start symbol time of the uplink message, y is the bit length of the uplink message, t2 is the transmission time per bit, z is the number of postamble bits, and t3 is the end symbol time of the uplink message. The uplink message may be an uplink message sent by the first device to the second device, or may be an uplink message sent by the third device to the second device.

[0382] 3) The sixth value.

[0383] The sixth value may be (pre) configured, or may be defined by a standard, or may be agreed upon by the first device, the second device, and the third device, or may be carried in the first indication information, or may be carried in a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identification response message) that is not used as the first indication information, a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message) or a query repetition message (or called an access timing trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message.

[0384] The sixth value may be the maximum value of the fifth duration (or also referred to as the duration between the eighth time unit and the seventh time unit) indicated by the fifth time information.

[0385] Specifically, if the fifth time information is carried in the first indication information and is not carried in an acknowledgment message (or random access request response message, or random access identification response message), a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or an access round trigger or indication message), a query repetition message (or an access opportunity trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message that does not serve as the first indication information, then the first device may determine the third time information and the sixth value in the manner described above. Furthermore, the first device may determine the seventh time unit based on the third time information, a seventh value (e.g., randomly generated by the first device), and the eighth time unit, where the seventh value is less than or equal to the sixth value. For example, if the sixth value is 4, the third duration indicated by the third time information is T, and the seventh value randomly generated by the first device is 1, then the first device may determine the duration between the eighth time unit and the seventh time unit as T. This can be understood as determining the fifth time information based on the third time information and the seventh value, and determining the seventh time unit based on the fifth time information and the eighth time unit. Alternatively, the first device may determine the seventh time unit based on the seventh value (e.g., randomly generated by the first device) and the eighth time unit, where the seventh value is less than or equal to the sixth value. For example, if the sixth value is 100 us and the seventh value randomly generated by the first device is 50 us, the first device can determine that the duration between the eighth time unit and the seventh time unit is 50 us. This can be understood as determining the fifth time information based on the seventh value, and determining the seventh time unit based on the fifth time information and the eighth time unit.

[0386] In one possible implementation, the first indication information may include one or more of the following information: fifth time information; third time information; and sixth value. In this case, the first device may determine the seventh time unit associated with the first indication information based on the one or more information included in the first indication information.

[0387] In another possible implementation, the first indication information may not include any of the following information: fifth time information; third time information; and sixth value. In this case, the third time information may be (pre-)configured, or may be defined by a standard, or may be agreed upon by the first, second, and third devices, or may be calculated based on a calculation formula satisfied by the third time information, or may be carried in a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identity response message), a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message), or a query repetition message (or called an access opportunity trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message that is not used as the first indication information. The sixth value may be (pre-)configured, or may be defined by a standard, or may be agreed upon by the first, second, and third devices, or may be carried in a confirmation message (or called a random access request response message, or called a random access identity response message), a selection message, a paging message, a query message (or called an access round trigger or indication message), or a query repetition message (or called an access opportunity trigger or indication message), a downlink trigger message, a synchronization message, or a system message that is not used as the first indication information. Thus, the first device can determine the fifth duration indicated by the fifth time information based on the third time information and the seventh value, and determine the seventh time unit based on the fifth duration indicated by the fifth time information and the eighth time unit.

[0388] S2304: The second device sends a fourth downlink message. Correspondingly, the first device receives the fourth downlink message from the second device, and the third device receives the fourth downlink message from the second device.

[0389] In this embodiment of the present application, the fourth downlink message is used to transmit downlink data of the third device.

[0390] S2305: The third device sends a fourth uplink message to the second device in the ninth time unit, and the first device sends a first uplink message to the second device in the seventh time unit. Correspondingly, the second device receives the fourth uplink message from the third device in the ninth time unit and receives the first uplink message from the first device in the fifth time unit.

[0391] In the embodiment of the present application, the relevant content of the first uplink message in S2305 can refer to the relevant content of S902 above and will not be repeated here. The fourth uplink message is used to transmit uplink data of the third device. The seventh time unit is different from the ninth time unit, which can be understood as there is no overlap between the seventh time unit and the ninth time unit.

[0392] As shown in Figure 24, this is another timing diagram between a first device, a second device, and a third device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The horizontal axis of Figure 24 represents time. T1 is the processing time for the first device and the third device to process downlink messages (such as the first downlink message and the second downlink message; the first indication information; the fourth downlink message), and T2 is the processing time for the second device to process uplink messages (such as the second uplink message). The first time information included in the first downlink message indicates a first time duration of t1, and the second time information included in the second downlink message indicates a second time duration of 0. t1 is greater than T1. After receiving the first downlink message and the second downlink message, the third device sends the second uplink message to the second device after processing the downlink messages (such as the first downlink message and the second downlink message) for a processing time duration of T1. After receiving the second uplink message, the second device sends the first indication message and the fourth downlink message separately after processing the uplink message (such as the second uplink message) for a processing time duration of T2. The fifth time duration indicated by the fifth time information included in the first indication information is t2. t2 is greater than T1. Originally, after the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message, it should send the first uplink message to the second device after t1 (t1 includes the processing time T1 for processing the downlink messages (such as the first downlink message and the second downlink message)). However, the first device receives the first indication message within t1. Therefore, after the first device receives the first indication message, it sends the first uplink message to the second device after t2 (t2 includes the processing time T1 for processing the downlink message (such as the first indication message)). After the third device receives the fourth downlink message, it sends the fourth uplink message to the second device after the processing time T1 for processing the downlink message (such as the fourth downlink message). That is, the time when the first device sends the first uplink message to the second device and the time when the third device sends the second uplink message to the second device are staggered, and the time when the first device sends the first uplink message to the second device and the time when the third device sends the fourth uplink message to the second device are staggered, thereby reducing collisions between the first device and the third device.

[0393] It is understandable that the above-mentioned embodiments of the present application can be implemented separately or in combination with each other, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited.

[0394] The method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and the device provided by the embodiment of the present application is described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0395] Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of the present application provide a communication device that includes modules / units / means for executing the methods executed by the devices in the above method embodiments. The modules / units / means can be implemented in software or hardware, or the corresponding software implementation can be executed by hardware.

[0396] For example, see FIG. 25 , which is a schematic diagram of a communication device. The device 2500 includes a transceiver module 2501 and a processing module 2502 .

[0397] When the device 2500 is the first device, the functions of the modules of the device 2500 are as follows:

[0398] The transceiver module 2501 is configured to receive a first downlink message and a second downlink message from a second device, where the first downlink message is used to confirm successful access of the first device or to trigger an access timing for the first device, and the second downlink message is used to confirm successful access of a third device or to trigger an access timing for the third device. The first downlink message is associated with a first time unit, and the second downlink message is associated with a second time unit, where the second time unit is a time unit for the third device to send a second uplink message to the second device; and the first uplink message is sent to the second device during the first time unit.

[0399] Alternatively, when the device 2500 is the second device, the functions of the modules of the device 2500 are as follows:

[0400] Transceiver module 2501 is used to send a first downlink message and a second downlink message, where the first downlink message is used to confirm the successful access of the first device or to trigger the access timing of the first device, and the second downlink message is used to confirm the successful access of the third device or to trigger the access timing of the third device. The first downlink message is associated with a first time unit, and the second downlink message is associated with a second time unit; receive a first uplink message from the first device in the first time unit, and receive a second uplink message from the third device in the second time unit.

[0401] In specific implementation, the above-mentioned device 2500 can have various product forms. Several possible product forms are introduced below.

[0402] Refer to Figure 26, which is a schematic diagram of another communication device. The communication device 2600 includes a processor 2610 and an interface circuit 2620. The interface circuit 2620 is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor 2610, or send signals from the processor 2610 to other communication devices outside the communication device. The processor 2610 is used to implement the method performed by the first device or the second device in the above method embodiment through logic circuits or execution instructions.

[0403] The processor 2610 and the interface circuit 2620 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 2620 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 2600 may further include a memory 2630 for storing instructions executed by the processor 2610, or storing input data required by the processor 2610 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 2610 executes instructions.

[0404] When the above-mentioned communication device is a module applied to the first device or the second device, the module implements the functions of the first device or the second device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The module receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the first device or the second device, and the information is sent from the second device to the first device or from the first device to the second device; or the module sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the first device or the second device, and the information is sent from the second device to the first device or from the first device to the second device.

[0405] It should be understood that the processors mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc. When implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor that is implemented by reading software code stored in a memory.

[0406] Exemplarily, the processor 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, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0407] It should be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of 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 RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (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), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0408] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0409] It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0410] Based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a processor, the method executed by the first device or the second device in the above method embodiment is implemented.

[0411] Based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a processor, the method executed by the first device or the second device in the above method embodiment is implemented.

[0412] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0413] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the flow chart and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more flow charts and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0414] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0415] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a first device, the method includes: receiving a first downlink message and a second downlink message from a second device, the first downlink message being used to confirm successful access of the first device or to trigger an access timing for the first device, the second downlink message being used to confirm successful access of a third device or to trigger an access timing for the third device, the first downlink message being associated with a first time unit, the second downlink message being associated with a second time unit for the third device to send a second uplink message to the second device; A first uplink message is sent to the second device during the first time unit.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first downlink message and the second downlink message include one or more of the following information: first time information, where the first time information is used to determine the first time unit; second time information, where the first time information is used to determine the second time unit; third time information, where the third time information is related to first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used by the first apparatus to send an uplink message to the second apparatus, and is used by the third apparatus to send an uplink message to the second apparatus; first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used by the first apparatus to send an uplink message to the second apparatus, and is used by the third apparatus to send an uplink message to the second apparatus; A first value, where the first value is the maximum value of the first duration indicated by the first time information and the maximum value of the second duration indicated by the second time information.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: determining first time information based on third time information or first configuration information and an order in which the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device, the third time information being related to the first configuration information used by the first device to send an uplink message to the second device; Based on the first time information, the first time unit is determined.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Determining first time information based on third time information or first configuration information and a second value, where the third time information is related to the first configuration information, the first configuration information is used by the first apparatus to send an uplink message to the second apparatus, the second value is less than or equal to the first value, and the first value is a maximum value of a first duration indicated by the first time information; Based on the first time information, the first time unit is determined.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that Determining the first time unit based on the first time information includes: The first time unit is determined based on the first time information and a third time unit, where the third time unit is the time unit in which the first device receives the first downlink message from the second device, or the time unit in which the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The first downlink message is used to confirm successful access of the first device, and the first uplink message is used to transmit uplink data of the first device; or The first downlink message is used to trigger an access opportunity for the first device, and the first uplink message is used to request the first device to access.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The second downlink message is used to confirm that the third device has successfully accessed, and the second uplink message is used to transmit uplink data of the third device; or The second downlink message is used to trigger an access opportunity for the third device, and the second uplink message is used to request the third device to access.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The first downlink message and the second downlink message are the same message.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The first downlink message and the second downlink message include one or more of the following: a number of a first process, the number of the first process being associated with the first device; A number of a second process, wherein the number of the second process is associated with the third device.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to the second device, the method includes: Sending a first downlink message and a second downlink message, where the first downlink message is used to confirm successful access of a first device or to trigger an access timing for the first device, and the second downlink message is used to confirm successful access of a third device or to trigger an access timing for the third device, the first downlink message being associated with a first time unit, and the second downlink message being associated with a second time unit; A first uplink message is received from the first device during the first time unit, and a second uplink message is received from the third device during the second time unit.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The first downlink message and the second downlink message include one or more of the following information: The first time information is used to determine the first time unit; the second time information, wherein the first time information is used to determine the second time unit; third time information, where the third time information is related to first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used by the first apparatus to send an uplink message to the second apparatus, and is used by the third apparatus to send an uplink message to the second apparatus; first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used by the first apparatus to send an uplink message to the second apparatus, and is used by the third apparatus to send an uplink message to the second apparatus; A first value, where the first value is the maximum value of the first duration indicated by the first time information and the maximum value of the second duration indicated by the second time information.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that The method further comprises: The third time information or the first configuration information and the order in which the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device are used to determine the first time information, and the third time information or the first configuration information and the order in which the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device are used to determine the second time information; The third time information is related to the first configuration information, the first configuration information is used by the first device to send an uplink message to the second device, the first time information is used to determine the first time unit, and the second time information is used to determine the second time unit.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The third time information or the first configuration information and the second value are used to determine the first time information, and the third time information or the first configuration information and the third value are used to determine the second time information; Among them, the third time information is related to the first configuration information, the first configuration information is used by the first device to send an uplink message to the second device, the second value is less than or equal to the first value, the third value is less than or equal to the first value, the first value is the maximum value of the first duration indicated by the first time information, the first time information is used to determine the first time unit, and the second time information is used to determine the second time unit.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that The first time information and the third time unit are used to determine the first time unit, and the second time information and the fourth time unit are used to determine the second time unit; The third time unit is a time unit in which the first device receives the first downlink message from the second device, or a time unit in which the first device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device; the fourth time unit is a time unit in which the third device receives the second downlink message from the second device, or a time unit in which the third device receives the first downlink message and the second downlink message from the second device.

15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that: The first downlink message is used to confirm successful access of the first device, and the first uplink message is used to transmit uplink data of the first device; or The first downlink message is used to trigger an access opportunity for the first device, and the first uplink message is used to request the first device to access.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that: The second downlink message is used to confirm that the third device has successfully accessed, and the second uplink message is used to transmit uplink data of the third device; or The second downlink message is used to trigger an access opportunity for the third device, and the second uplink message is used to request the third device to access.

17. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that: The first downlink message and the second downlink message are the same message.

18. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 17, characterized in that: The first downlink message and the second downlink message include one or more of the following: a number of a first process, the number of the first process being associated with the first device; A number of a second process, wherein the number of the second process is associated with the third device.

19. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a communication system, the method includes: The first device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9; The second device performs the method according to any one of claims 10 to 18.

20. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system includes a first device and a second device, wherein the first device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, and the second device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 10 to 18.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 10 to 18.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 18 through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: include: Memory for storing computer programs; A processor, configured to call and execute the computer program from the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 10 to 18.

24. A chip system, characterized in that: include: Memory for storing computer programs; A processor, configured to call and run the computer program from the memory, so that a device equipped with the chip system executes the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, or executes the method as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 18.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that The device comprises a computer program, which, when executed by a communication device, implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 18.

26. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 18 is implemented.

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