Communication method, and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method, and an apparatus, which belong to the field of communications. In the method, a first apparatus can know from information of a second apparatus that leaving first N1 sub-time units and / or last M1 sub-time units within a time unit vacant is supported, such that when the first apparatus sends data to the second apparatus by means of at least one time unit, the first apparatus can leave at least first J sub-time units within an initial time unit and / or last K sub-time units within a final time unit vacant, i.e. not carrying data. On the basis of the method, if there is the problem that a receiving window of the second apparatus may open late or early due to its own errors, leaving some sub-time units at the start and / or the end vacant enables data to be as much as possible within the receiving window of the second apparatus in the time domain, preventing missed data reception of the second apparatus due to delayed or early opening of the window, and ensuring to the greatest extent that data can be successfully received, thus improving the communication reliability.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on February 28, 2024, with application number 202410231352.1 and application name “A Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] Compared to terrestrial communication systems, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) are booming due to their wide coverage area and flexible networking. These systems utilize satellites, drones, high-altitude platforms, or surface ships to establish transmission points (TPs) and network, providing data transmission services or voice communication services to user equipment (UE). Satellites include low Earth orbit (LEO), geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), and medium Earth orbit (MEO).

[0004] Typical scenarios for device access on NTN networks include transparent transmission payloads. This refers to satellites performing only frequency-conversion forwarding, effectively acting as analog RF repeaters. As relay stations, satellites communicate with both base stations and terminals. For example, they forward data received from base stations directly to terminals, and vice versa, forwarding data received from terminals directly to base stations without any processing or modification.

[0005] However, due to the limitations of satellite capabilities, the communication reliability between base stations and satellites is not high enough.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus to improve the reliability of communication.

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0009] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a device, or by a module (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the device, or by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the device functions. For the convenience of description, the following is an introduction to the method performed by the first device. The method includes: the first device obtains information from the second device, the information from the second device indicates that the second device supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit empty, N1 and M1 are positive integers, and a time unit includes multiple sub-time units; the first device sends data to the second device based on the information from the second device, wherein the data is carried on non-empty sub-time units in at least one time unit, and the empty sub-time units in at least one time unit include the first J sub-time units in the first time unit and / or the last K sub-time units in the last time unit, J is a positive integer greater than or equal to N1, and K is a positive integer greater than or equal to M1.

[0010] Based on the method of the first aspect, it can be known that since the first device can learn from the information of the second device that it supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit vacant, when the first device sends data to the second device through at least one time unit, the first device can at least leave the first J sub-time units in the first time unit and / or the last K sub-time units in the last time unit vacant, that is, not carry data. Based on this method, if there is a problem that the receiving window of the second device may cause its window opening to be delayed or advanced due to its own errors, leaving some of the first and / or last sub-time units vacant can avoid the second device from missing data due to window opening delay or advance. In other words, by leaving some of the first and / or last sub-time units vacant, the data can be placed as much as possible within the receiving window of the second device in the time domain, ensuring that the data can be successfully received as much as possible, thereby improving the reliability of communication.

[0011] A possible design scheme is that the first device obtains the information of the second device, including: the first device receives the information of the second device from the second device. The information of the second device can be carried in the information element in the signaling transmitted from the second device to the first device. The signaling can be any possible signaling, such as RRC, DCI, MAC-CE, etc., or, in future communication systems, it can also be a newly defined signaling without limitation. That is to say, the second device can flexibly report its own capabilities (such as the information of the second device) to the first device through signaling. For example, if it has not been reported before, it can be initially reported to the first device. Later, if there is an update, it can also be reported to the first device again, so that the first device can be aware of the latest capabilities of the second device, achieve capability synchronization alignment, and avoid transmission errors caused by capability misalignment.

[0012] In one possible design, when a first device needs to communicate with the second device, the first device obtains information about the second device that has been preconfigured by the first device. This can be seen as reducing the communication overhead associated with preconfigured second device information compared to the second device reporting its own information to the first device.

[0013] Optionally, the first device sending data to the second device based on information from the second device includes: the first device sending instruction information to the second device based on the information from the second device, the instruction information instructing the first device to leave the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units within a time unit vacant; and the first device sending data to the second device. In other words, before data transmission, the first device may inform the second device which sub-time units to leave vacant, or which sub-time units the data will be carried in, to ensure that the second device can correctly receive the data.

[0014] Optionally, the indication information is carried in a physical downlink control channel PDCCH.

[0015] A possible design scheme is that the first device also obtains information of the third device, and the information of the third device is that the third device supports leaving the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units within a time unit empty, where N2 and M2 are positive integers; accordingly, the first device sends data to the second device based on the information of the second device, including: the first device sends the data of the third device to the second device based on the information of the second device and the information of the third device, J is a positive integer greater than or equal to N2, and K is a positive integer greater than or equal to M2.

[0016] It can be seen that the so-called first device sending data to the second device means that the second device acts as a relay and finally forwards the data to the third device. The third device may also cause windowing delay or advance due to time offset error. Therefore, in this case, not only the windowing delay or advance of the second device can be considered, but also when the second device supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units within a time unit empty, the windowing delay or advance of the third device can also be considered. The third device supports leaving the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units within a time unit empty, so that the data is as close as possible to the receiving window of the second device and the third device in the time domain, further ensuring that the data can be successfully received and further improving the reliability of communication.

[0017] Optionally, the first device obtains information about the third device, including: the first device receives information about the third device from the third device. The information about the third device can be carried in a signaling element in the signaling transmitted from the third device to the first device, and the signaling can be any possible signaling, such as RRC, MAC-CE, etc., or, in future communication systems, it can also be a newly defined signaling without limitation. In other words, the third device can flexibly report its own capabilities (such as information about the third device) to the first device through signaling. For example, if it has not been reported before, it can be initially reported to the first device. Later, if there is an update, it can also be reported to the first device again, so that the first device can be aware of the latest capabilities of the third device, achieve capability synchronization alignment, and avoid transmission errors caused by capability misalignment.

[0018] Optionally, the first device obtaining information about the third device includes: when the first device needs to communicate with the third device, the first device obtaining information about the third device pre-configured by the first device. It can be seen that, compared to the third device reporting its own information to the first device, the first device pre-configuring the third device information can avoid the communication overhead associated with the reporting.

[0019] Optionally, the first device sends data from the third device to the second device based on information from the second device and information from the third device, including: the first device sends instruction information to the second and third devices based on information from the second and third devices, the instruction information instructing the first device to leave the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units within a time unit empty; and the first device sends the data from the third device to the second device. In other words, before data transmission, the first device can inform the third device which sub-time units to leave empty, or in other words, which sub-time units the data will be carried in, to ensure that the third device can correctly receive the data.

[0020] Optionally, the indication information is carried in a physical downlink control channel PDCCH.

[0021] Optionally, the third device is a terminal device.

[0022] Optionally, the information about the second device further includes information indicating that the time required for the second device to switch beams must be greater than the length of the cyclic prefix. In other words, when the time required for the second device to switch beams is greater than the length of the cyclic prefix, the first device can transmit data taking this into account, thereby avoiding reception failure on the second device due to the cyclic prefix length being less than the time required to switch beams.

[0023] Optionally, the vacant sub-time units in at least one time unit specifically include: the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units of each time unit in at least one time unit. If at least one time unit is continuous, when the first device sends data, it can only empty the first part of the sub-time units of the first time unit and / or the last part of the sub-time units of the last time unit, so as to increase the transmission capacity as much as possible while ensuring that the second device can correctly receive the data. If at least one time unit is discontinuous, then when the first device sends data, it can empty the first and / or last part of the sub-time units of each time unit to ensure that the data of each time unit can be successfully received. However, it is not limited to the case where at least one time unit is continuous, and it is still possible to empty the first and / or last part of the sub-time units of each time unit to maximize the possibility of transmission.

[0024] Optionally, the data is carried in a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH.

[0025] Optionally, the first device is an access network device, and the second device is a non-terrestrial communication device.

[0026] Optionally, the time unit is a time slot and the sub-time unit is a symbol.

[0027] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a device, or by a module (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the device, or by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the device functions. For the convenience of description, the following is an introduction to the method performed by the second device. The method includes: the second device sends information of the second device to the first device, and the information of the second device indicates that the second device supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit empty, N1 and M1 are positive integers, and a time unit includes multiple sub-time units; the second device receives data from the first device, wherein the data is carried on non-empty sub-time units in at least one time unit, and the empty sub-time units in at least one time unit include the first J sub-time units in the first time unit and / or the last K sub-time units in the last time unit, J is a positive integer greater than or equal to N1, and K is a positive integer greater than or equal to M1.

[0028] Based on the method of the second aspect, it can be known that since the first device can learn from the information of the second device that it supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit vacant, when the first device sends data to the second device through at least one time unit, the first device can at least leave the first J sub-time units in the first time unit and / or the last K sub-time units in the last time unit vacant, that is, not carry data. Based on this method, if the receiving window of the second device may cause its window opening to be delayed or advanced due to its own errors, leaving some of the first and / or last sub-time units vacant can avoid the second device from missing data due to window opening delay or advance. In other words, by leaving some of the first and / or last sub-time units vacant, the data can be placed as close to the receiving window of the second device as possible in the time domain, ensuring that the data can be successfully received as much as possible, thereby improving the reliability of communication.

[0029] A possible design scheme, the method of the second aspect also includes: the second device receives indication information from the first device, the indication information instructs the first device to leave the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units within a time unit vacant; the second device receives data from the first device, including: the second device receives the data from the first device according to the indication information.

[0030] Optionally, the information of the second communication device also includes that the time required for the second device to switch beams needs to be greater than the length of the cyclic prefix.

[0031] Optionally, the vacant sub-time units in the at least one time unit specifically include: the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

[0032] Optionally, the data is carried in a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH.

[0033] Optionally, the first device is an access network device, and the second device is a non-terrestrial communication device.

[0034] Optionally, the time unit is a time slot and the sub-time unit is a symbol.

[0035] It can be understood that the technical effects of the method of the second aspect can also refer to the relevant introduction of the method of the first aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0036] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a device, or by a module (such as a processor, chip, or chip system) applied to the device, or by a logical node, logic module, or software that can realize all or part of the device functions. For the convenience of description, the following is an introduction to the method performed by a third device. The method includes: the third device sends information of the third device to the first device, the information of the third device indicates that the third device supports leaving the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units in a time unit empty, N2 and M2 are positive integers, and a time unit includes multiple sub-time units; the third device receives data from the first device, wherein the data is carried on non-empty sub-time units in at least one time unit, and the empty sub-time units in at least one time unit include the first J sub-time units in the first time unit and / or the last K sub-time units in the last time unit, J is a positive integer greater than or equal to N1, and K is a positive integer greater than or equal to M1.

[0037] Based on the method of the third aspect, it can be known that since the first device can learn from the information of the third device that it supports leaving the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units in a time unit vacant, when the first device sends data to the third device through at least one time unit, the first device can at least leave the first J sub-time units in the first time unit and / or the last K sub-time units in the last time unit vacant, that is, not carry data. Based on this method, if the receiving window of the third device may cause its window opening to be delayed or advanced due to a time offset error, leaving some of the first and / or last sub-time units vacant can avoid the third device from missing data due to window opening delay or advance. In other words, by leaving some of the first and / or last sub-time units vacant, the data can be placed as close to the receiving window of the third device as possible in the time domain, ensuring that the data can be successfully received as much as possible, thereby improving the reliability of communication.

[0038] A possible design scheme, the method of the third aspect also includes: the third device receives indication information from the first device, the indication information instructs the first device to leave the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units within a time unit vacant; the third device receives data from the first device, including: the third device receives data from the first device according to the indication information.

[0039] Optionally, the vacant sub-time units in the at least one time unit specifically include: the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

[0040] Optionally, the data is carried in a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH.

[0041] Optionally, the first device is an access network device, and the third device is a terminal device.

[0042] Optionally, the time unit is a time slot and the sub-time unit is a symbol.

[0043] It can be understood that the technical effects of the method of the third aspect can also refer to the relevant introduction of the method of the first aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0044] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a module for executing the method of any one of the first to third aspects above, for example, a transceiver module and a processing module.

[0045] In one possible design solution, the communication device described in the fourth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the third aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0046] In one possible design, the communication device described in the fourth aspect may further include a memory. The memory may be integrated with the processor or provided separately. The memory may be used to store the computer program and / or data involved in the method described in the first aspect.

[0047] In an embodiment of the present application, the communication device described in the fourth aspect can be a first device, a second device or a third device, or it can be executed by a module (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) applied to the first device, the second device or the third device, or it can be a logical node, a logical module or software implementation that can realize all or part of the functions of the first device, the second device or the third device.

[0048] It can be understood that the technical effects of the device described in the fourth aspect can also refer to the relevant introduction of any aspect of the first to third aspects above, and will not be repeated here.

[0049] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor coupled to a memory, the processor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method described in any one of the first to third aspects.

[0050] In one possible design solution, the communication device described in the fifth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the fifth aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0051] In an embodiment of the present application, the communication device described in the fifth aspect can be the network device described in any one of the first to third aspects, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the network device, or a device that includes the network device.

[0052] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the fifth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the methods described in any one of the first to third aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0053] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the communication device executes the method described in any one of the first to third aspects.

[0054] In one possible design solution, the communication device described in the sixth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the sixth aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0055] In an embodiment of the present application, the communication device described in the sixth aspect can be the network device described in any one of the first to third aspects, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the network device, or a device that includes the network device.

[0056] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the sixth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the methods described in any one of the first to third aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0057] In a seventh aspect, a chip is provided, comprising: a controller and an interface circuit, wherein the controller is used to interact with other devices through the interface circuit to execute the method described in any one of the first to third aspects.

[0058] In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising at least one of the following: an apparatus for executing the method according to the first aspect, an apparatus for executing the method according to the second aspect, or an apparatus for executing the method according to the third aspect.

[0059] In a ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which includes a computer program or instruction stored therein, and when the computer program or instruction is executed, the method described in the first aspect is executed.

[0060] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program or instructions, which, when executed, causes the method described in the first aspect to be executed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a typical NTN scenario based on transparent transmission load;

[0062] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a typical NTN scenario based on regenerative load;

[0063] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a transparent forwarding satellite link;

[0064] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of base station signal transmission;

[0065] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG6 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG7 is a second flow chart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG8 is a first structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG9 is a second structural diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as satellite communication systems, wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication systems, device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, Internet of Vehicles communication systems, 4th generation (4G) mobile communication systems, such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication systems, fifth generation (5G) mobile communication systems, such as new radio (NR) systems, and future communication systems, such as sixth generation (6G) mobile communication systems.

[0071] For ease of understanding, the technical terms involved in the embodiments of this application are first introduced below.

[0072] NTN refers to a network that uses radio frequency resources from satellite platforms (including low, medium, and high Earth orbits (LEO), MEO, and GEO), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or high-altitude communication platforms (HAPS) to provide communication services. Compared to terrestrial cellular networks (such as 5GNR), NTN networks offer wider coverage, lower path loss, greater latency, faster speeds, and lower costs. As a supplement and extension of terrestrial networks, NTNs can achieve wide-area seamless coverage that neither wired telephone networks nor terrestrial mobile communication networks can achieve, effectively solving internet access challenges in areas lacking communication infrastructure. For example, deploying a large number of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and rationally constructing a constellation can achieve seamless coverage across the ground. The round-trip data transmission delay between satellites and ground terminals can also be significantly reduced, down to tens of milliseconds, compared to satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO). With the use of high-frequency bands, multi-spot beams, and frequency reuse, satellite communication capabilities have been significantly enhanced, while also reducing the unit cost of bandwidth, thus meeting the needs of high-information-rate services. Compared to communications infrastructure such as terrestrial 5G networks and submarine fiber optic cables, NTN also offers significant cost advantages. Modern small satellites are inexpensive to develop and manufacture, and software-defined technologies can further extend the service life of satellites in orbit. In addition to global coverage (e.g., for remote areas and ocean-going vessels), NTN can also be used for emergency response (e.g., disaster monitoring and emergency communications), the Internet of Things (IoE), and high-speed mobility (e.g., high-speed rail and aircraft), attracting widespread attention from both industry and academia.

[0073] As NTN research intensified, the 3GPP standards organization also conducted standardization research on NTN, committed to implementing NTN using the NR architecture. 3GPP began research on satellite-ground convergence in Release 14 (R14). TS22.261 explored the role and advantages of satellite in 5G systems and, for the first time, specified that 5G support satellite access. In Release 15, the first technical report on 5G and satellite convergence, TR 38.811, was released, defining eight eMBB scenarios and two mMTC scenarios, as well as the NTN channel model. Release 16 further explored the architecture and solutions for NR support of NTN in TR 38.821. Based on the findings of Release 16, the standardization work on 5G NR support of NTN was initiated in Release 17, resulting in the first version of the converged technical specification. Research on NTN enhancements will continue in Release 18.

[0074] Typical scenarios for user equipment access provided by NTN networks include transparent payloads and regenerative payloads. As shown in Figure 1, a transparent payload modifies the frequency carrier of the uplink RF signal, filtering and amplifying it before downlink transmission. This payload only has a RF processing unit and does not perform baseband demodulation, decoding, or other processing. Therefore, the signal waveform remains unchanged and is repeated. As shown in Figure 2, a regenerative payload transforms and amplifies the uplink RF signal before downlink transmission. Signal transformation refers to digital processing, which may include demodulation, decoding, re-encoding, remodulation, and / or filtering. This is effectively equivalent to having all or part of the base station functions (such as gNB) on a satellite (or UAS platform).

[0075] NTN networks typically have the following elements: (1) One or more gateways connecting the NTN network and the public data network. (2) Feeder link: a wireless link between the gateway and the satellite (or UAS platform). (3) Service link: a wireless link between the user equipment and the satellite (or UAS platform). (4) Satellites (or UAS platforms) can achieve transparent transmission of payloads and regenerative payloads. (5) Whether the satellite constellation has an inter-satellite link (ISL) is optional. The inter-satellite link requires that the satellite is a regenerative payload (i.e., if there is an inter-satellite link, the satellite must be a regenerative payload). The inter-satellite link can operate in RF frequency or optical band. (6) User equipment UE is served by the satellite (or UAS platform) within the target service area.

[0076] The NTN network provides transparent transmission of typical user payload scenarios, while the satellite performs only frequency conversion and forwarding, effectively acting as an analog RF repeater, thus ensuring transparent forwarding. As shown in Figure 3, the satellite performs analog RF filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification forwarding onboard. Therefore, the core network transmits downlink data to the base station via the base station-to-core network interface. The satellite replicates the NR Uu radio interface signals from the feeder link (between the gateway and satellite) to the serving link (between the satellite and the UE), and vice versa. The satellite radio interface on the feeder link transmits the NR-Uu interface signal; that is, the satellite does not terminate the NR Uu interface signal but replicates it. The NTN gateway supports all necessary functions for forwarding the NR-Uu interface signal. Different transmitting satellites can be connected to the same terrestrial gNB.

[0077] Transparent forwarding satellites utilize a beam-hopping design. The base station generates beam control information based on user needs, and the effective time of beam hopping is synchronized with the satellite. Onboard processing capabilities are limited, and simplifying the design of beam control signals facilitates rapid onboard analysis and processing. Transparent forwarding satellite links are divided into forward and reverse links. The forward link is: base station -> gateway -> satellite -> terminal; the reverse link is: terminal -> satellite -> gateway -> base station. Furthermore, base station -> gateway -> satellite can also be understood as direct communication between the base station and the satellite. This refers to communication between access network devices (e.g., base stations) and non-terrestrial communication devices (e.g., satellites). Unless otherwise specified, this can be understood as either direct communication between access network devices and non-terrestrial communication devices, or communication between access network devices and non-terrestrial communication devices through a gateway.

[0078] As shown in Figure 4, a base station transmits data to a satellite, taking the data for one time slot as an example. A time slot typically consists of 14 symbols, such as symbols 0 through 13. First, the base station sends a beam control signal to the satellite. The satellite receives the beam control signal, adjusts its angle, and then receives the data through a window. However, due to varying satellite capabilities, beam control errors may occur during the satellite's reception of the beam control signal and angle adjustment. This can cause delays in the satellite's windowed reception of data, potentially missing some or all of the first symbol, leading to missed data during the windowed reception.

[0079] In response to the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application propose the following technical solutions.

[0080] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0081] In the embodiment of the present application, "indication" may include direct indication and indirect indication, and may also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by a certain information is called information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, wherein there is an association relationship 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, the indication of specific information can also be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each piece of information agreed in advance (such as specified in the protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. At the same time, the common parts of each piece of information can also be identified and indicated uniformly to reduce the indication overhead caused by indicating the same information separately.

[0082] In addition, the specific indication method can also be various existing indication methods, such as but not limited to the above-mentioned indication methods and various combinations thereof. The specific details of the various indication methods can be referred to the prior art and will not be repeated herein. As can be seen from the above, for example, when it is necessary to indicate multiple information of the same type, there may be a situation where the indication methods for different information are different. In the specific implementation process, the required indication method can be selected according to specific needs. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the selected indication method. In this way, the indication method involved in the embodiment of the present application should be understood to cover various methods that can enable the party to be indicated to obtain the information to be indicated.

[0083] It should be understood that the information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be the same or different. The specific sending method is not limited in the embodiments of this application. The sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be predefined, for example, predefined according to a protocol, or can be configured by the transmitting device by sending configuration information to the receiving device.

[0084] In this application, "sending information" can be understood as one device sending information to another device, or as one logical module within a device sending information to another logical module. For example, "an access network device sending information" can be understood as an access network device sending information to another device (such as a terminal), or as logical module 1 within an access network device sending information to logical module 2 within the access network device.

[0085] In this application, "receiving information" can be understood as one device receiving information from another device, or as a logical module within a device receiving information from another logical module. For example, "an access network device receiving information" can be understood as the access network device receiving information from another device (such as a terminal), or as logical module 1 within the access network device receiving information from logical module 2 within the access network device.

[0086] In this application, "sending information to... (e.g., a terminal)" or the related illustrations in the accompanying drawings can be understood as the destination end of the information being the terminal. This can include sending information to the terminal directly or indirectly. "Receiving information from... (e.g., a terminal)" or "receiving information from... (e.g., a terminal)" or "receiving information sent by (e.g., a terminal)", or the related illustrations in the accompanying drawings can be understood as the source end of the information being the terminal, which can include receiving information from the terminal directly or indirectly. The information may be processed as necessary between the source end and the destination end of the information transmission, such as format changes, etc., but the destination end can understand the valid information from the source end. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0087] In this application, "pre-definition" or "pre-configuration" can be implemented by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device, and the embodiments of this application do not limit its specific implementation method. Among them, "saving" can mean saving in one or more memories. The one or more memories can be set separately or integrated in an encoder or decoder, a processor, or a communication device. The one or more memories can also be partially set separately and partially integrated in a decoder, a processor, or a communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0088] The "protocol" involved in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a protocol family in the communication field, a standard protocol with a similar protocol family frame structure, or a related protocol used in future communication systems. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0089] In the embodiments of the present application, descriptions such as "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that the device will perform corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. It does not limit the time, nor does it require the device to perform judgment actions when implemented, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0090] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can represent A or B. "And / or" in the embodiments of the present application is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, in the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" refers to two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple. In addition, in order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with basically the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit differences. At the same time, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete way for easy understanding.

[0091] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field will know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0092] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, a communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application is first described in detail using a communication system as an example. For example, as shown in FIG5 , the communication system mainly includes at least one of the following: access network equipment, non-terrestrial communication equipment, and terminal equipment.

[0093] In one possible scenario, the 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 sixth generation mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The RAN node may be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the RAN node may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an on-board device, etc. For example, the access network device in the vehicle outreach technology may be a road side unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the RAN node in this application may also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform). The RAN node in this application may also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the RAN node.

[0094] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be set separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0095] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), 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.

[0096] It is understood that the above-mentioned RAN node can be a newly defined name, and RAN node can also be expressed in different ways, such as access node, network device, wireless access node, etc., without limitation. Unless otherwise specified in this application, network device is used to express it.

[0097] Access network equipment can be any type of communication device with wireless transceiver capabilities. Such access network equipment includes, but is not limited to, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a radio network controller (RNC), a NodeB (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home evolved NodeB (HeNB) or home NodeB (HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP), or a transmission / reception point (TRP) in a 5G network, such as a gNB in ​​a NR system, or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node that constitutes a gNB or a transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DU). In some deployments, a gNB may include a CU and a DU. A gNB may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some of the gNB's functions, and the DU implements some of the gNB's functions. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, and implementing the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layers. The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, and implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the physical (PHY) layer. The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing, and related functions of active antennas. The information of the RRC layer is generated by the CU and will eventually be encapsulated by the PHY layer of the DU to become PHY layer information, or converted from PHY layer information. Therefore, under this architecture, high-level signaling such as RRC layer signaling can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or by the DU+AAU. It can be understood that the access network device can be a device including one or more of the CU node, DU node, and AAU node. In addition, the CU can be divided into an access network device in the radio access network (RAN), or the CU can be divided into an access network device in the core network (CN). The embodiments of the present application do not limit the form of the access network device.

[0098] Non-terrestrial communication equipment can be equipment with a large coverage area. The network equipment includes but is not limited to: satellites, high-altitude platforms, drones, etc. in NTN systems, access points AP in wireless fidelity WiFi systems, such as home gateways, routers, servers, switches, bridges, etc., evolved nodes eNodeB, radio network controllers RNC, node B, base station controllers BSC, base transceiver stations BTS, home base stations (for example, home evolved NodeB, or homeNode B, HNB), baseband units BBU, wireless relay nodes, wireless backhaul nodes, transmission points (TRP or TP), etc., and can also be 5G, such as gNB in ​​the new air interface NR system, or transmission points (TRP or TP), one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of base stations in the 5G system, or network nodes constituting gNB or transmission points, such as baseband units (BBU), or distributed units DU, road side units (RSU) with base station functions, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the form of non-terrestrial communication equipment.

[0099] A terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable, or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on water (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons, etc.). It can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a vehicle-mounted terminal device, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, a wearable terminal device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios. Terminal devices may also be referred to as terminals, user equipment (UE), access terminal devices, vehicle-mounted terminals, industrial control terminals, UE units, UE stations, mobile stations, mobile stations, remote stations, remote terminal devices, mobile devices, UE terminal devices, terminal devices, wireless communication devices, UE agents, or UE devices. Terminals may also be fixed or mobile. The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form factor of the terminal.

[0100] In this communication system, access network equipment, non-terrestrial communication equipment or terminal equipment can be understood as devices. The first device mentioned below in the embodiment of the present application can be understood as access network equipment, such as a base station, the second device can be understood as non-terrestrial communication equipment, such as a satellite, and the third device can be understood as a terminal device, such as a mobile phone, or there can be other device forms in other scenarios without limitation.

[0101] The following is a further introduction to a communication method in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It can be understood that this application uses the first device and the second device or the first device, the second device and the third device as examples to illustrate the execution subjects of the interaction diagram, but this application does not limit the execution subjects of the interaction diagram. For example, the methods executed by the first device, the second device and the third device in this application can also be applied to the modules of the device (such as processors, chips, or chip systems, etc.) for execution, and can also be implemented by logical nodes, logical modules or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the device.

[0102] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings to specifically introduce the interaction process between the various devices in the above communication system through a method embodiment. A communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application can be applied to the above communication system and specifically applied to various scenarios mentioned in the above communication system, which will be described in detail below.

[0103] Figure 6 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication method is applicable to the above-mentioned communication system and mainly involves interaction between a first device and a second device.

[0104] As shown in Figure 6, the process of the communication method is as follows:

[0105] S601: The first device obtains information of the second device.

[0106] The information of the second device may indicate that the second device supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units within a time unit vacant, where N1 and M1 are positive integers, and a time unit includes multiple sub-time units. Leaving a sub-time unit vacant means that the sub-time unit cannot be used to carry data / signaling, or in other words, the sub-time unit is vacant or cannot be sent.

[0107] A time unit can be a radio frame, frame, sub-frame, slot, mini-slot, symbol, or any other possible granularity. A time unit can contain multiple sub-time units, meaning that a sub-time unit can be a time unit with a finer granularity than a time unit. For example, if the time unit is a radio frame, a sub-time unit can be a frame / subframe contained in the radio frame. If the time unit is a frame, a sub-time unit can be a slot contained in the frame. If the time unit is a slot, a sub-time unit can be a symbol contained in the slot. Taking the time slot as an example, a time slot can usually contain 14 symbols, such as symbol 0 to symbol 13. If N1=1, the first N1 sub-time units in a time unit will be vacant, which means that the symbol 0 of the time slot is vacant. If M1=1, the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit will be vacant, which means that the symbol 13 of the time slot is vacant. That is to say, except for symbol 0 and symbol 13, symbol 1 to symbol 12 in the time slot can be used to carry data / signaling and can be sent to the other end.

[0108] In the embodiment of the present application, there are multiple ways for the first device to obtain information about the second device, which are introduced below.

[0109] In one possible implementation, the second device sends the second device information to the first device; and the first device receives the second device information from the second device.

[0110] The information about the second device may be carried in an information element in signaling transmitted from the second device to the first device. The signaling may be any possible signaling, such as RRC, DCI, MAC-CE, or, in future communication systems, may also be newly defined signaling, without limitation. The information about the second device may be implemented by reusing existing information elements in the signaling.

[0111] For example, the information element is downlink head and tail enhancement (DlEnhanceofHeadandTail), and the value of downlink head and tail enhancement can be configured as true, indicating that it supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit empty.

[0112] For another example, the TD Enhance of Head and Tail (DlEnhanceofHeadandTail) can be configured with a value of true, head, or headandtail. When the value is head, it indicates that the first N1 sub-time units within a time unit can be left blank; when the value is tail, it indicates that the last M1 sub-time units within a time unit can be left blank; and when the value is headandtail, it indicates that the first N1 sub-time units within a time unit and the last M1 sub-time units within a time unit can be left blank.

[0113] For another example, the signal element is downlink head and tail enhancement (DlEnhanceofHeadandTail), and the value of downlink head and tail enhancement can be configured as true and false. When downlink head and tail enhancement is true, there may be three corresponding situations. At this time, the sub-signature elements of downlink head and tail enhancement (i.e., sub-downlink head and tail enhancement) are head, tail, or headandtail, head, tail, or headandtail. When the sub-signature element is head, it means that the first N1 sub-time units in a time unit are supported to be vacant; when the sub-signature element is tail, it means that the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit are supported to be vacant; when the sub-signature element is headandtail, it means that the first N1 sub-time units in a time unit and the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit are supported to be vacant. When the downlink head and tail enhancement is false, it means that the first N1 sub-time units and the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit do not need to be vacant.

[0114] Alternatively, the signal element is a downlink head and tail enhancement (DlEnhanceofHeadandTail), and the value of the downlink head and tail enhancement can be configured as 00, 01, 10, or 11; when the downlink head and tail enhancement is 00, it means that the first N1 sub-time units in a time unit are supported to be vacant; when the downlink head and tail enhancement is 01, it means that the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit are supported to be vacant; when the downlink head and tail enhancement is 10, it means that the first N1 sub-time units in a time unit and the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit are supported to be vacant; when the downlink head and tail enhancement is 11, it means that the first N1 sub-time units and the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit do not need to be vacant.

[0115] Alternatively, the information of the second device may also be indicated using a newly defined information element. For example, the information element may be one or more bitmaps, such as two bitmaps (denoted as bitmap #1 and bitmap #2), each bitmap having three bits, bitmap #1 being 000 indicates support for leaving the first sub-time unit within a time unit vacant, bitmap #1 being 001 indicates support for leaving the first two sub-time units within a time unit vacant, bitmap #1 being 010 indicates support for leaving the first three sub-time units within a time unit vacant, and so on; similarly, bitmap #2 being 000 indicates support for leaving the last sub-time unit within a time unit vacant, bitmap #2 being 001 indicates support for leaving the last two sub-time units within a time unit vacant, bitmap #2 being 010 indicates support for leaving the last three sub-time units within a time unit vacant, and so on. Alternatively, the information element may also have an enumerated filling value. Taking the 14 symbols contained in the time slot as an example, the filling value is 14 bits, which are used to indicate one-to-one whether each of the 14 symbols can be left empty. For example, 10000000000000 indicates that the first sub-time unit in a time unit can be left empty, 10000000000001 indicates that the first sub-time unit and the last sub-time unit in a time unit can be left empty, and so on. No further details will be given.

[0116] That is to say, the second device can flexibly report its own capabilities (such as information of the second device) to the first device through signaling. For example, if it has not been reported before, it can be initially reported to the first device. Later, if there is an update, it can also be reported to the first device again, so that the first device can obtain the latest capabilities of the second device, achieve synchronous alignment of capabilities, and avoid transmission errors caused by misaligned capabilities.

[0117] In another possible implementation, when a first device needs to communicate with a second device, the first device obtains information of the second device preconfigured by the first device.

[0118] The first device needs to communicate with the second device because the first device determines based on the ephemeris information that the second device is about to operate above the service area (cell) of the first communication (or can serve the cell), and therefore needs to communicate with the second device.

[0119] There are many ways for the first device to obtain the information of the second device pre-configured by the first device, such as ground annotation and / or obtaining from local historical data, which are introduced below.

[0120] 1) Note on the ground: The relevant information of the second device is pre-configured to the ground operation and control center. When the first device determines that it needs to communicate with the second device based on the ephemeris information, the first device requests the ground operation and control center to send the relevant information of the second device to the first device. The relevant information may carry the second device's support for leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units within a time unit vacant. The first device directly pre-configures the second device's support for leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units within a time unit vacant locally.

[0121] 2) Obtain from local historical data: When the first device determines that it needs to communicate with the second device based on the ephemeris information, the first device obtains relevant information of the second device from the data of each local device, provided that the ground operation control center has sent relevant information of the second device to the first device, and the relevant information can carry the second device's support for leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units within a time unit vacant. The first device directly pre-configures the second device's support for leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units within a time unit vacant locally.

[0122] Information about the second device can be obtained based on the ground annotations and / or historical data of the second device, which means that the first device can know whether the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit need to be left empty when sending data to the second device.

[0123] It can be understood that the above two methods can also be implemented in combination. For example, when the first device determines that it needs to communicate with the second device, it can first determine whether the information of the second device is stored locally. If so, it can be obtained locally; otherwise, it can request ground registration.

[0124] S602: The first device sends data to the second device based on the information of the second device.

[0125] The second device receives data from the first device.

[0126] In which, the data is carried on non-empty sub-time units in at least one time unit, and the empty sub-time units in at least one time unit include the first J sub-time units in the first time unit and / or the last K sub-time units in the last time unit, J is a positive integer greater than or equal to N1, and K is a positive integer greater than or equal to M1.

[0127] According to the information of the second device obtained in the above steps, the first device knows that the second device supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit vacant.

[0128] Optionally, the first device has learned from the information of the second device that the second device supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit vacant. In this case, when the first device chooses to leave them vacant, it can choose to carry the data on other non-vacant sub-time units in accordance with the second device's support for leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit vacant, or it can choose to leave the first J (i.e., N1+i) sub-time units and / or the last K (i.e., M1+i) sub-time units in a time unit vacant. The specific vacancy method adopted by the first device is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. Wherein, i is a positive integer and is not greater than the number of sub-time units in a time unit.

[0129] For example, if N1=1, M1=1, when the first device chooses to leave it empty, it can choose to carry the data on other non-empty sub-time units in a manner that the second device supports leaving the first sub-time unit and / or the last sub-time unit in a time unit empty, or it can choose to leave the first two sub-time units and / or the last two sub-time units in a time unit empty.

[0130] It should also be understood that when a first device sends data to a second device, if at least one time unit is continuous, the first device may only empty some of the sub-time units at the beginning of the first time unit and / or some of the sub-time units at the end of the last time unit when sending data, so as to maximize the transmission capacity while ensuring that the second device can correctly receive the data. If at least one time unit is non-continuous, then when the first device sends data, it may empty some of the sub-time units at the beginning and / or end of each time unit to ensure that the data of each time unit can be successfully received. However, it is not limited to the case where at least one time unit is continuous, and some of the sub-time units at the beginning and / or end of each time unit may still be empty to maximize the possibility of transmission.

[0131] When the second device receives data from the first device, the second device can receive the data sent by the first device according to the existing technology, that is, the second device detects each sub-unit in each time unit and receives the data; or according to an embodiment of the present application, before the second device receives data from the first device, the first device can also send an indication message to the second device to instruct the first device to leave the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units in a time unit empty. The second device can receive the data sent by the first device according to the indication message, which means that the second device can know which specific sub-time unit is empty according to the indication message and does not need to detect. The second device only detects the non-empty sub-time units and receives the data. Taking the time slot as an example, a time slot can generally contain 14 symbols, such as symbol 0 to symbol 13. If J = 1 and K = 1, when the second device receives data from the first device, it only needs to detect symbols 1 to symbol 12 in the time slot to receive the data. Among them, the indication message sent by the first device to the second device can refer to the relevant description below.

[0132] In summary, since the first device can learn from the information of the second device that it supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit vacant, when the first device sends data to the second device through at least one time unit, the first device can at least leave the first J sub-time units in the first time unit and / or the last K sub-time units in the last time unit vacant, that is, not carry data. Based on this method, if there is a problem that the receiving window of the second device may cause its window opening to be delayed or advanced due to its own errors, leaving some of the first and / or last sub-time units vacant can avoid the second device from missing data due to window opening delay or advance. In other words, by leaving some of the first and / or last sub-time units vacant, the data can be placed as far as possible within the receiving window of the second device in the time domain, ensuring that the data can be successfully received as much as possible, thereby improving the reliability of communication.

[0133] Optionally, before the second device receives data from the first device, the first device may send an indication message to the second device. This indication message may instruct the first device to leave the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units within a time unit vacant, which may be achieved specifically by means of a padding value. Taking a time unit (such as a time slot) as an example, which includes Q sub-time units (such as symbols), the indication message may be Q bits as a padding value, used to indicate one-to-one whether each of the Q symbols can be left vacant. If Q is 7, then the indication message of "0111111" indicates that the second device should start receiving from the second symbol and stop receiving at the Qth symbol; "1111110" means that the second device should start receiving from the first symbol and stop receiving at the Q-1th symbol; "0111110" means that the second device should start receiving from the second symbol and stop receiving at the Q-1th symbol; "1111111" means that the second device should start receiving from the first symbol and stop receiving at the Qth symbol. In the indication information, "0" and "1" respectively indicate that the sub-time unit is vacant and data is placed normally in the sub-time unit.

[0134] Furthermore, the above-described representation of the indication information is merely an example. Other representations are possible, such as using "1" in the indication information to indicate that the sub-time unit is empty and "0" to indicate that data is normally placed in the sub-time unit. Other representations are not described here.

[0135] Before a second device receives data from a first device, the first device sends an indication to the second device. Specifically, before the second device receives data from the first device, the first device sends an indication via the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), instructing the first device on how to leave the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units within a time unit empty when transmitting data. The second device periodically searches the search space configured by the first device, monitors the PDCCH, and receives the indication from the first device.

[0136] Optionally, the first device sends data to the second device, and the second device receives data from the first device. The above data is carried in a downlink physical shared channel PDSCH.

[0137] Additionally, the information from the second device may also include that the time required for the second device to switch beams must be greater than the length of the cyclic prefix. That is, when the first device obtains the aforementioned information from the second device, it also obtains that the time required for the second device to switch beams must be greater than the length of the cyclic prefix. This means that when the first device transmits data to the second device, based on the aforementioned information, if the second device supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units within a time unit blank, then, given that the time required for the second device to switch beams must be greater than the length of the cyclic prefix, the second device should actually support leaving the first N1+1 sub-time units and / or the last M1+1 sub-time units within a time unit blank, or leaving a greater number of sub-time units blank. This means that if the second device requires a certain amount of time to switch beams that is greater than the length of the cyclic prefix, the first device can take this into account when transmitting data, thereby avoiding reception failures on the second device due to the cyclic prefix length being shorter than the time required to switch beams.

[0138] Figure 7 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. This communication method is applicable to the above communication system and mainly involves interaction between the first device, the second device, and the third communication device.

[0139] As shown in Figure 7, the process of the communication method is as follows:

[0140] S701: The first device obtains information about the second device and information about the third device.

[0141] The information of the second device may indicate that the second device supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units within a time unit vacant, where N1 and M1 are positive integers, and a time unit includes multiple sub-time units.

[0142] The information of the third device may indicate that the third device supports leaving the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units within a time unit vacant, where N2 and M2 are positive integers, and a time unit includes multiple sub-time units. For details on leaving time units and sub-time units vacant, refer to the corresponding description in the aforementioned method embodiment and are not repeated here.

[0143] In the embodiment of the present application, there are multiple ways for the first device to obtain information about the second device and information about the third device, which are introduced below.

[0144] In one possible implementation, the second device sends information of the second device to the first device, and the first device receives information of the second device from the second device; the third device sends information of the third device to the first device, and the first device receives information of the third device from the third device.

[0145] For the introduction of the first device receiving the information of the second device from the second device, reference can be made to the corresponding description in the aforementioned method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0146] The information about the third device may be carried in an information element in signaling transmitted from the third device to the first device. The signaling may be any possible signaling, such as RRC, MAC-CE, or, in future communication systems, may also be newly defined signaling, without limitation. The information about the third device may be implemented by reusing existing information elements in the signaling.

[0147] For example, the signal element is downlink head and tail enhancement 2 (DlEnhanceofHeadandTail2), and the value of downlink head and tail enhancement 2 can be configured as true, indicating that it supports leaving the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units in a time unit empty.

[0148] For another example, the information element is Downlink Enhancement of Head and Tail 2, and the value of Downlink Enhancement of Head and Tail 2 can be configured as true, head, or headandtail. When the value is head, it indicates that the first N2 sub-time units within a time unit can be left blank; when the value is tail, it indicates that the last M2 sub-time units within a time unit can be left blank; when the value is headandtail, it indicates that the first N2 sub-time units within a time unit and the last M2 sub-time units within a time unit can be left blank.

[0149] For another example, the signal element is downlink head and tail enhancement 2 (DlEnhanceofHeadandTail2), and the value of downlink head and tail enhancement 2 can be configured as true and false. When downlink head and tail enhancement 2 is true, there may be three corresponding situations. At this time, the sub-signatures of downlink head and tail enhancement (i.e., sub-downlink head and tail enhancement) are head, tail or headandtail, head, tail or headandtail. When the sub-signature value is head, it means that the first N1 sub-time units in a time unit are supported to be vacant; when the sub-signature value is tail, it means that the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit are supported to be vacant; when the sub-signature value is headandtail, it means that the first N1 sub-time units in a time unit and the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit are supported to be vacant.

[0150] Alternatively, the signal element is downlink head and tail enhancement 2 (DlEnhanceofHeadandTail2), and the value of downlink head and tail enhancement can be configured as 00, 01, 10, or 11; when the downlink head and tail enhancement is 00, it means that the first N1 sub-time units within a time unit are supported to be vacant; when the downlink head and tail enhancement is 01, it means that the last M1 sub-time units within a time unit are supported to be vacant; when the downlink head and tail enhancement is 10, it means that the first N1 sub-time units within a time unit and the last M1 sub-time units within a time unit are supported to be vacant; when the downlink head and tail enhancement is 11, it means that the first N1 sub-time units and the last M1 sub-time units within a time unit do not need to be vacant.

[0151] Alternatively, the information of the third device may also be indicated using a newly defined information element. For example, the information element may be one or more bitmaps, such as two bitmaps (denoted as bitmap #1 and bitmap #2), each bitmap having three bits, wherein bitmap #1 being 000 indicates support for leaving the first sub-time unit within a time unit blank, bitmap #1 being 001 indicates support for leaving the first two sub-time units within a time unit blank, bitmap #1 being 010 indicates support for leaving the first three sub-time units within a time unit blank, and so on; similarly, bitmap #2 being 000 indicates support for leaving the last sub-time unit within a time unit blank, bitmap #2 being 001 indicates support for leaving the last two sub-time units within a time unit blank, bitmap #2 being 010 indicates support for leaving the last three sub-time units within a time unit blank, and so on. Alternatively, the information element may also have an enumerated filling value. Taking the 14 symbols contained in the time slot as an example, the filling value is 14 bits, which are used to indicate one-to-one whether each of the 14 symbols can be left empty. For example, 10000000000000 indicates that the first sub-time unit in a time unit can be left empty, 10000000000001 indicates that the first sub-time unit and the last sub-time unit in a time unit can be left empty, and so on. No further details will be given.

[0152] That is to say, the third device can flexibly report its own capabilities (such as information of the third device) to the first device through signaling. For example, if it has not been reported before, it can be initially reported to the first device. Later, if there is an update, it can also be reported to the first device again, so that the first device can obtain the latest capabilities of the third device, achieve synchronous alignment of capabilities, and avoid transmission errors caused by misaligned capabilities.

[0153] In another possible implementation, when the first device needs to communicate with the second device and the third device, the first device respectively obtains information of the second device preconfigured by the first device and information of the third device preconfigured by the first device.

[0154] For the introduction of the first device obtaining the information of the second device pre-configured by the first device, reference can be made to the corresponding description in the aforementioned method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0155] There are many ways for the first device to obtain the information of the third device pre-configured by the first device, such as ground annotation and / or obtaining from local historical data, which are introduced below.

[0156] 1) Note on the ground: The relevant information of the third device is pre-configured to the ground operation and control center. When the first device determines that it needs to communicate with the third device based on the ephemeris information, the first device requests the ground operation and control center to send the relevant information of the third device to the first device. The relevant information may carry the third device's support for leaving the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units within a time unit vacant. The first device directly pre-configures the third device's support for leaving the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units within a time unit vacant locally.

[0157] 2) Obtain from local historical data: When the first device determines that it needs to communicate with the third device based on the ephemeris information, the first device obtains relevant information of the third device from the data of each local device, provided that the ground operation control center has sent relevant information of the third device to the first device, and the relevant information can carry the third device's support for leaving the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units within a time unit vacant. The first device directly pre-configures the third device's support for leaving the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units within a time unit vacant locally.

[0158] The information of the third device can be obtained based on the ground annotations and / or historical data of the second device, which means that the first device can know whether the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units in a time unit need to be left empty when sending data to the third device.

[0159] It can be understood that the above two methods can also be implemented in combination. For example, when the first device determines that it needs to communicate with the third device, it can first determine whether the information of the third device is stored locally. If so, it can be obtained locally; otherwise, it can request ground registration.

[0160] S702, the first device sends data to the second device based on the information of the second device and the information of the third device, and the second device forwards the data to the third device;

[0161] The third device receives data from the first device.

[0162] In which, the data is carried on non-empty sub-time units in at least one time unit, and the empty sub-time units in at least one time unit include the first J sub-time units in the first time unit and / or the last K sub-time units in the last time unit, J is a positive integer greater than or equal to N1, and K is a positive integer greater than or equal to M1.

[0163] Based on the information of the second device and the third device obtained in the above steps, the first device can know that the second device supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit empty, and the third device supports leaving the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units in a time unit empty. Since the third device receives data from the first device, it is actually the first device sending data to the second device, and then the second device forwards it to the third device. Therefore, the first device needs to consider the information of the second device and the third device when sending data to the second and third devices. For details on how the third device receives data from the first device, please refer to the relevant introduction below and will not be elaborated here.

[0164] Optionally, the first device knows based on the information of the second device and the third device that the second device supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit empty, and the third device supports leaving the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units in a time unit empty. In this case, when the first device chooses to leave empty, if N1≥N2, M1≥M2, it can choose to leave the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit empty to carry the data on other non-empty sub-time units; if N1≤N2, M1≥M2, it can choose to leave the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit empty to carry the data on other non-empty sub-time units. On the sub-time units set; if N1≥N2, M1≤M2, you can choose to leave the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units in a time unit empty to carry the data on other non-empty sub-time units; if N1≤N2, M1≤M2, you can choose to leave the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units in a time unit empty to carry the data on other non-empty sub-time units; or you can choose to leave the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units in a time unit empty. The specific vacancy method adopted by the first device is not limited in the embodiment of the present application, wherein J and K are positive integers and J is greater than or equal to either N1 or N2, and K is greater than or equal to either M1 or M2.

[0165] For example, if N1=1, M1=1, N2=2, M2=3, when the first device selects to leave it empty, since N1≤N2, M1≤M2, it can choose to leave the first sub-time unit and / or the last three sub-time units in a time unit empty to carry the data on other non-empty sub-time units, or it can choose to leave the first two sub-time units and / or the last three sub-time units in a time unit empty.

[0166] It should also be understood that when the first device sends data to the second device and the second device forwards it to the third device, if at least one time unit is continuous, the first device can only empty the first part of the sub-time unit of the first time unit and / or the last part of the sub-time unit of the last time unit when sending data, so as to maximize the transmission capacity while ensuring that the subsequent second and third devices can correctly receive the data. If at least one time unit is non-continuous, then when the first device sends data, it can empty the first and / or last part of the sub-time unit of each time unit to ensure that the data of each time unit can be successfully received. However, it is not limited to the case where at least one time unit is continuous, and it is still possible to empty the first and / or last part of the sub-time unit of each time unit to maximize the possibility of transmission.

[0167] When the second device receives data from the first device, the second device can receive the data sent by the first device according to the existing technology, that is, the second device detects each sub-unit in each time unit and receives the data; or according to an embodiment of the present application, before the second device receives data from the first device, the first device can also send an indication message to the second device to instruct the first device to leave the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units in a time unit empty. The second device can receive the data sent by the first device according to the indication message, which means that the second device can know which sub-time unit is empty according to the indication message and does not need to detect. The second device only detects the non-empty sub-time units and receives the data. Taking the time slot as an example, a time slot can generally contain 14 symbols, such as symbol 0 to symbol 13. If J = 1 and K = 1, when the second device receives data from the first device, it only needs to detect symbols 1 to symbol 12 in the time slot to receive the data. Among them, the indication message sent by the first device to the second device can refer to the description in the aforementioned method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0168] Afterwards, when the third device receives data forwarded from the second device, the third device can receive the data forwarded by the second device according to the existing technology, that is, the third device detects each sub-unit in each time unit and receives the data; or according to an embodiment of the present application, before the third device receives the data forwarded from the second device, it has been learned that the first device sends an indication information to the third device to instruct the first device to leave the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units in a time unit vacant. The third device can receive the data forwarded by the second device according to the indication information, which means that the third device can know which specific sub-time unit is vacant according to the indication information and does not need to detect. The third device only detects the non-vacant sub-time units and receives the data. Taking the time slot as an example, a time slot can generally contain 14 symbols, such as symbol 0 to symbol 13. If J = 1 and K = 1, when the third device receives data forwarded from the second device, it only needs to detect symbols 1 to 12 in the time slot to receive the data. Among them, the indication information sent by the first device to the third device can refer to the description of the indication information sent by the first device to the second device in the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0169] Optionally, the first device sends data of the third device to the second device, and the second device forwards the data to the third device. The above data is carried in the downlink physical shared channel PDSCH.

[0170] In summary, since the first device can learn from the information of the second device and the information of the third device that the second device supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units within a time unit empty and the third device supports leaving the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units within a time unit empty, when the first device sends data to the second device through at least one time unit, the first device can integrate the information of the second device and the information of the third device, and leave at least the first J sub-time units in the first time unit and / or the last K sub-time units in the last time unit empty, that is, not carry data. Based on this method, if there is a problem that the receiving window of the second device may cause its window opening to be delayed or advanced due to its own errors, then leaving some of the first and / or last sub-time units vacant can avoid the second device from missing data due to the delayed or early window opening. If there is a problem that the receiving window of the third device may cause its window opening to be delayed or advanced due to time offset errors, then leaving some of the first and / or last sub-time units vacant can avoid the third device from missing data due to the delayed or early window opening. In other words, by leaving some of the first and / or last sub-time units vacant, the data can be placed as far as possible within the receiving windows of the second and third devices in the time domain, ensuring that the data can be successfully received as much as possible, thereby improving the reliability of communication.

[0171] In addition, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to the situation where the third device sends data to the second device, and the third device sends data to the first device via forwarding by the second device. For details, please refer to the above related introduction and will not be repeated here.

[0172] Figure 8 is a structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 8 , the communication device 800 includes a transceiver module 801 and a processing module 802. For ease of illustration, Figure 8 only shows the main components of the communication device.

[0173] The transceiver module 801 is used to perform the transceiver function of the above communication method, and the processing module 802 is used to perform other functions of the above communication method except the transceiver function.

[0174] Optionally, the transceiver module 801 may include a sending module (not shown in FIG8 ) and a receiving module (not shown in FIG8 ). The sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device 800 , and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device 800 .

[0175] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG8 ) storing a program or instruction. When the processing module 802 executes the program or instruction, the communication device 800 may perform the functions of the first device, the second device, and the third device in the method shown in FIG6 or FIG7 in the above method.

[0176] It can be understood that the communication device 800 can be an access network device, a non-terrestrial communication device or a terminal device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in an access network device, a non-terrestrial communication device or a terminal device, or a device that includes an access network device, a non-terrestrial communication device or a terminal device. This application does not limit this.

[0177] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 800 can refer to the technical effects of the method shown in Figure 6 or Figure 7, and will not be repeated here.

[0178] FIG9 is a second structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. For example, the communication device may be a non-terrestrial communication device, or a chip (system) or other component or assembly that can be provided in a non-terrestrial communication device. As shown in FIG9 , a communication device 900 may include a processor 901. Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include a memory 902 and / or a transceiver 903. The processor 901 is coupled to the memory 902 and the transceiver 903, for example, by a communication bus.

[0179] The following is a detailed introduction to the various components of the communication device 900 in conjunction with FIG9 :

[0180] The processor 901 is the control center of the communication device 900 and can be a single processor or a collective term for multiple processing elements. For example, the processor 901 can be one or more central processing units (CPUs), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present application, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs) or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0181] Optionally, the processor 901 may execute various functions of the communication device 900 by running or executing a software program stored in the memory 902 and calling data stored in the memory 902 .

[0182] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 901 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in FIG. 9 .

[0183] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 900 may also include multiple processors, such as the processor 901 and the processor 904 shown in FIG9 . Each of these processors may be a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). The processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0184] The memory 902 is used to store the software program for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 901. The specific implementation method can refer to the above method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0185] Optionally, the memory 902 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 902 can be integrated with the processor 901 or exist independently and be coupled to the processor 901 through the interface circuit of the communication device 900 (not shown in Figure 9). This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0186] Transceiver 903 is used for communication with other communication devices. For example, if communication device 900 is a terminal, transceiver 903 can be used to communicate with a network device or another terminal device. For another example, if communication device 900 is a network device, transceiver 903 can be used to communicate with a terminal or another network device.

[0187] Optionally, the transceiver 903 may include a receiver and a transmitter (not shown separately in FIG9 ), wherein the receiver is used to implement a receiving function, and the transmitter is used to implement a sending function.

[0188] Optionally, the transceiver 903 may be integrated with the processor 901 or exist independently and be coupled to the processor 901 through an interface circuit (not shown in FIG. 9 ) of the communication device 900 . This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0189] It is understandable that the structure of the communication device 900 shown in FIG9 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device, and an actual communication device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0190] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 900 can refer to the technical effects of the methods described in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0191] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor may also be 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.

[0192] It should also be understood that the memory 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 random access memory (RAM) are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0193] The above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware (such as circuits), firmware or any other combination. When implemented using software, the above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer program are loaded or executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that contains one or more available media sets. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (for example, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium can be a solid-state drive.

[0194] It should be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein simply describes a relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A alone, A and B together, or B alone. A and B can be singular or plural. Furthermore, the character " / " as used herein generally indicates an "or" relationship between the associated objects, but it may also indicate an "and / or" relationship. For specific understanding, please refer to the context.

[0195] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or plural.

[0196] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0197] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0198] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0199] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0200] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0201] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0202] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0203] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The first device obtains information of the second device, where the information of the second device indicates that the second device supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units in a time unit vacant, where N1 and M1 are positive integers, and a time unit includes multiple sub-time units; The first device sends data to the second device based on the information of the second device, wherein the data is carried on non-empty sub-time units in at least one time unit, and the empty sub-time units in at least one time unit include the first J sub-time units in the first time unit and / or the last K sub-time units in the last time unit, J is a positive integer greater than or equal to N1, and K is a positive integer greater than or equal to M1.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first device acquiring information of the second device includes: The first device receives information of the second device from the second device.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first device acquiring information of the second device includes: In a case where the first device needs to communicate with the second device, the first device obtains information of the second device preconfigured by the first device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The first device sending data to the second device according to the information of the second device includes: The first device sends instruction information to the second device based on the information of the second device, wherein the instruction information instructs the first device to leave the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units in a time unit vacant; The first device sends the data to the second device.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The indication information is carried in the physical downlink control channel PDCCH.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first device obtains information about the third device, where the information about the third device indicates that the third device supports leaving the first N2 sub-time units and / or the last M2 sub-time units within a time unit vacant, where N2 and M2 are positive integers; Accordingly, the first device sends data to the second device according to the information of the second device, including: The first device sends the data of the third device to the second device according to the information of the second device and the information of the third device, J is a positive integer greater than or equal to N2, and K is a positive integer greater than or equal to M2.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first device acquiring information of the third device includes: The first device receives information of the third device from the third device.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first device acquiring information of the third device includes: In a case where the first device needs to communicate with the third device, the first device obtains information of the third device preconfigured by the first device.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that The first device sending the data of the third device to the second device according to the information of the second device and the information of the third device includes: The first device sends instruction information to the second device and the third device based on the information of the second device and the information of the third device, wherein the instruction information instructs the first device to leave the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units in a time unit vacant; The first device sends the data of the third device to the second device.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The indication information is carried in the physical downlink control channel PDCCH.

11. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that The third device is a terminal device.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that The information of the second device also includes that the time required for the second device to switch beams needs to be greater than the length of the cyclic prefix.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that The vacant sub-time units in the at least one time unit specifically include: the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that The data is carried in the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that The first device is an access network device, and the second device is a non-terrestrial communication device.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that The time unit is a time slot, and the sub-time unit is a symbol.

17. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The second device sends information about the second device to the first device, where the information about the second device indicates that the second device supports leaving the first N1 sub-time units and / or the last M1 sub-time units within a time unit vacant, where N1 and M1 are positive integers, and a time unit includes multiple sub-time units; The second device receives data from the first device, wherein the data is carried on non-empty sub-time units in at least one time unit, and the empty sub-time units in the at least one time unit include the first J sub-time units in the first time unit and / or the last K sub-time units in the last time unit, J is a positive integer greater than or equal to N1, and K is a positive integer greater than or equal to M1.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: The second device receives instruction information from the first device, wherein the instruction information instructs the first device to leave the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units in a time unit vacant; The second device receives data from the first device, including: The second device receives the data from the first device according to the instruction information.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The information of the second communication device also includes that the time required for the second device to switch beams needs to be greater than the length of the cyclic prefix.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, characterized in that The vacant sub-time units in the at least one time unit specifically include: the first J sub-time units and / or the last K sub-time units of each time unit in the at least one time unit.

21. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 20, characterized in that The data is carried in the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH.

22. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 21, characterized in that The first device is an access network device, and the second device is a non-terrestrial communication device.

23. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 22, characterized in that The time unit is a time slot, and the sub-time unit is a symbol.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 17 to 23.

25. A communication device, characterized in that: The device includes a processor coupled to a memory; the memory is used to store instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or the memory is used to store instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the device performs the method according to any one of claims 17 to 23.

26. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, which, when executed, causes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23 to be performed.

27. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises a computer program or instructions, which, when executed, causes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23 to be performed.

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