Synchronization method and device

Abstract

The present application relates to a synchronization method and a device. The method comprises: a first device sends a first signal to a terminal device, wherein the first signal is used for the terminal device to perform time synchronization, the interval between the first signal and control and / or data information satisfies a first time interval, and the control and / or data information is sent subsequent to the first signal. By means of embodiments of the present application, device synchronization in an ambient Internet of Things can be achieved.

Description

Synchronization method and device Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a synchronization method and device. Background Art

[0002] Ambient IoT (A-IoT) communications utilize energy harvesting and backscatter communication technologies. A-IoT devices are IoT devices that use various ambient energies, such as radio frequency energy, light energy, solar energy, thermal energy, and mechanical energy, to power themselves. These devices can have no energy storage capacity or very limited energy storage capacity. Because A-IoT devices are passive, the transmission and reception of synchronization signals are limited to low power consumption and low complexity. Therefore, achieving device synchronization in A-IoT is a challenge that needs to be addressed.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a synchronization method and device that can achieve device synchronization in an environmental Internet of Things.

[0005] This embodiment of the present application provides a synchronization method, including:

[0006] The first device sends a first signal to the terminal device, where the first signal is used for time synchronization of the terminal device; the interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information satisfies a first time interval, and the control and / or data information is sent after the first signal.

[0007] This embodiment of the present application provides a synchronization method, including:

[0008] The network device sends scheduling information to the first device, where the scheduling information is used to schedule the first device to send a first signal, where the first signal is used for time synchronization of the terminal device, and the interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information satisfies a first time interval.

[0009] This embodiment of the present application provides a synchronization method, including:

[0010] The terminal device receives the first signal and, after a first time interval, receives control and / or data information.

[0011] An embodiment of the present application provides a first device, including:

[0012] A transceiver unit is used to send a first signal to a terminal device, where the first signal is used for time synchronization of the terminal device; the interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information satisfies a first time interval, and the control and / or data information is sent after the first signal.

[0013] An embodiment of the present application provides a network device, including:

[0014] The second transceiver unit is used to send scheduling information to the first device, where the scheduling information is used to schedule the first device to send a first signal, where the first signal is used for time synchronization of the terminal device, and the interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information satisfies a first time interval.

[0015] An embodiment of the present application provides a terminal device, including:

[0016] The third transceiver unit is configured to receive the first signal and, after a first time interval, receive control and / or data information.

[0017] An embodiment of the present application provides a first device, comprising: a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, the transceiver is used to communicate with other devices, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to enable the terminal device to perform the above-mentioned synchronization method.

[0018] An embodiment of the present application provides a network device, comprising: a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, the transceiver is used to communicate with other devices, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to enable the network device to perform the above-mentioned synchronization method.

[0019] An embodiment of the present application provides a terminal device, comprising: a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, the transceiver is used to communicate with other devices, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory, so that the terminal device performs the above-mentioned synchronization method.

[0020] An embodiment of the present application provides a chip for implementing the above-mentioned synchronization method.

[0021] Specifically, the chip includes: a processor, configured to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the above-mentioned synchronization method.

[0022] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a device, the device executes the above-mentioned synchronization method.

[0023] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, including computer program instructions, which enable a computer to execute the above-mentioned synchronization method.

[0024] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the above-mentioned synchronization method.

[0025] The embodiments of the present application can realize device synchronization in the environmental Internet of Things. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the environmental Internet of Things communication system structure.

[0027] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a first topological structure according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0028] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a second topological structure according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0029] FIG4 is a schematic flowchart of a synchronization method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0030] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a first device sending a first signal according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0031] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a first device sending a first signal according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0032] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of Example 1 of the present application.

[0033] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the second embodiment of the present application.

[0034] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of Example 3 of the present application.

[0035] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present application.

[0036] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of the fifth embodiment of the present application.

[0037] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of Example 6 of the present application.

[0038] FIG13 is a schematic flowchart of a synchronization method 1300 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0039] FIG14 is a schematic flowchart of a synchronization method 1400 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0040] FIG15 is a schematic block diagram of a first device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0041] FIG16 is a schematic block diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0042] FIG17 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0043] FIG18 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0044] FIG19 is a schematic block diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0046] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) system, New Radio (NR) system, NR system evolution system, LTE on unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, NR on unlicensed spectrum (NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum, NR-U) system, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), Fifth Generation (5G) system or other communication systems.

[0047] Generally speaking, traditional communication systems support a limited number of connections and are easy to implement. However, with the development of communication technology, mobile communication systems will not only support traditional communications, but will also support, for example, device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, etc. The embodiments of the present application can also be applied to these communication systems.

[0048] In one embodiment, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a carrier aggregation (CA) scenario, a dual connectivity (DC) scenario, and a standalone (SA) networking scenario.

[0049] In one embodiment, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to an unlicensed spectrum, wherein the unlicensed spectrum can also be considered as a shared spectrum; or, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to an authorized spectrum, wherein the authorized spectrum can also be considered as an unshared spectrum.

[0050] The embodiments of the present application describe various embodiments in conjunction with network devices and terminal devices, wherein the terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device, etc.

[0051] The terminal device can be a station (STAION, ST) in a WLAN, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a next-generation communication system such as an NR network, or a terminal device in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, etc.

[0052] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.).

[0053] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, or a wireless terminal device in a smart home, etc.

[0054] As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be called wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0055] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device may be a device for communicating with a mobile device. The network device may be an access point (AP) in a WLAN, an evolved base station (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE, or a relay station or access point, or a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a network device (gNB) in an NR network, or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network or a network device in an NTN network, etc.

[0056] As an example and not a limitation, in an embodiment of the present application, the network device may have a mobile feature, for example, the network device may be a mobile device. Alternatively, the network device may be a satellite or a balloon station. For example, the satellite may be a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite, etc. Optionally, the network device may also be a base station set up in a location such as land or water.

[0057] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device can provide services for a cell, and the terminal device communicates with the network device through the transmission resources used by the cell (for example, frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources). The cell can be a cell corresponding to the network device (for example, a base station). The cell can belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. The small cells here may include: metro cells, micro cells, pico cells, femto cells, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0058] In an embodiment of the present application, the network equipment may further include access network equipment and core network equipment. That is, the wireless communication system also includes multiple core networks for communicating with the access network equipment. The access network equipment may be an evolutionary base station (evolutional node B, referred to as eNB or e-NodeB) macro base station, micro base station (also called "small base station"), pico base station, access point (AP), transmission point (TP) or new generation Node B (gNodeB), etc. in a long-term evolution (LTE) system, a next-generation (mobile communication system) (next radio, NR) system or an authorized auxiliary access long-term evolution (LAA-LTE) system.

[0059] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, devices having communication functions in the network / system may be referred to as communication devices. Communication devices may include network devices and terminal devices having communication functions. The network devices and terminal devices may be specific devices in the embodiments of the present application and will not be described in detail here. Communication devices may also include other devices in the communication system, such as network controllers, mobility management entities, and other network entities, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0060] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein. The term "and / or" is simply a description of an association between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0061] It should be understood that the "indication" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association. For example, "A indicates B" can mean that A directly indicates B, for example, B can be obtained through A; it can also mean that A indirectly indicates B, for example, A indicates C, and B can be obtained through C; it can also mean that there is an association between A and B.

[0062] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" may indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or an association relationship between the two, or a relationship between indication and being indicated, configuration and being configured, etc.

[0063] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the relevant technologies of the embodiments of the present application are described below. The following relevant technologies can be arbitrarily combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and they all fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0064] 1. Environmental Internet of Things:

[0065] Ambient IoT (A-IoT) communications utilize energy harvesting and backscatter communication technologies. A-IoT devices are IoT devices that use various ambient energies, such as radio frequency energy, light energy, solar energy, thermal energy, and mechanical energy, to power themselves. These devices may have no energy storage capacity or very limited energy storage capacity (e.g., using capacitors with a capacity of tens of microfarads).

[0066] A-IoT devices have many advantages such as no conventional battery, no maintenance, small size, low complexity and low cost, and long life cycle.

[0067] The Environmental IoT consists of network devices and A-IoT devices, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the Environmental IoT communication system. The network device is used to send wireless power supply signals and downlink communication signals to the A-IoT devices, as well as receive backscattered signals from the A-IoT devices. A basic A-IoT device includes an energy harvesting module, a backscatter communication module, and a low-power computing module. Furthermore, the A-IoT device may also include a memory or sensor to store basic information (such as item identification) or obtain sensor data such as ambient temperature and humidity.

[0068] 2. Low-power IoT based on cellular networks:

[0069] The cellular Internet of Things (IoT) is booming. For example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has standardized IoT technologies such as Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Machine Type Communication (MTC), and Reduced Capability (RedCap). However, there are still many scenarios where IoT communication needs cannot be met using existing technologies. For example, these scenarios require harsh communication environments (high temperature, extremely low temperature, high humidity, high voltage, high radiation, or high-speed movement), require extremely small terminal form factors, and require extremely low costs.

[0070] Therefore, in order to cover these unmet IoT communication needs, cellular networks also need to develop ultra-low-cost, extremely small-size, battery-free / maintenance-free IoT, and environmental IoT can just meet this need.

[0071] Based on the discussion of A-IoT application scenarios in 3GPP System Architecture (SA)1, A-IoT can be used in at least the following four scenarios:

[0072] Object recognition, such as logistics, production line product management, and supply chain management.

[0073] Environmental monitoring, such as temperature, humidity, and harmful gas monitoring of working environment and natural environment.

[0074] Positioning, such as indoor positioning, intelligent object search, and production line item positioning.

[0075] Intelligent control, such as intelligent control of various electrical appliances in smart homes (turning on and off air conditioners, adjusting temperature), and intelligent control of various facilities in agricultural greenhouses (automatic irrigation and fertilization).

[0076] In a low-power IoT based on a cellular network, an A-IoT device can directly receive carriers, data, or signals from a base station and send or backscatter data or channels to the base station, as shown in the first topology (Topology 1) in Figure 2. Alternatively, communication between an A-IoT device and a base station can be achieved through an intermediate node. In this case, the intermediate node sends carriers, data, or signals to the A-IoT device, and the A-IoT device sends or backscatters data or signals to the intermediate node, as shown in the second topology (Topology 2) in Figure 3. The intermediate node can be a terminal device, a base station device, or an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node.

[0077] In the ambient IoT, achieving device synchronization remains an unresolved issue. Unlike existing NR systems, which periodically transmit synchronization signals such as the Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), the ambient IoT may employ aperiodic synchronization signal transmission. Furthermore, since ambient IoT devices are passive, the transmission and reception of synchronization signals is limited by low power consumption and low complexity.

[0078] FIG4 is a schematic flow chart of a synchronization method 400 according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can optionally be applied to any of the systems shown in FIG1-3, but is not limited thereto. The method includes at least part of the following contents.

[0079] S410. The first device sends a first signal to the terminal device, where the first signal is used for time synchronization of the terminal device; wherein the interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information satisfies a first time interval, and the control and / or data information is sent after the first signal.

[0080] The first signal is used to synchronize the terminal device, that is, the terminal device can achieve time synchronization by detecting the first signal. At the same time, taking into account the extremely low power consumption and low complexity of the terminal device, by configuring the transmission time interval between the first information and the subsequently sent control and / or data information, the terminal device is given a certain processing time to complete the synchronization process.

[0081] In some implementations, the first device includes a network device, or an intermediate node between the network device and the terminal device.

[0082] In some embodiments, the terminal device may include an A-IoT device.

[0083] Taking the first topology (Topology 1) as an example, the A-IoT device can communicate directly with the network device. The first device includes the network device, that is, the network device sends a first signal to the A-IoT device.

[0084] In topology 2, an A-IoT device communicates with a network device via an intermediate node. The first device includes the intermediate node, which sends a first signal to the A-IoT device. The intermediate node can be at least one terminal device, and the transmission of the intermediate node can be scheduled by the network device.

[0085] In some embodiments, the first signal includes one or more of the following:

[0086] m sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence;

[0087] Sequences generated based on m-sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence;

[0088] Fixed sequence.

[0089] The fixed sequence may be a universal fixed sequence, such as an all-1 sequence with a fixed length.

[0090] In an embodiment of the present application, taking into account the lower processing power and complexity requirements of the terminal device, the first signal can be a universal fixed sequence, that is, all terminal devices only need to detect a unique fixed sequence. The universal sequence can be predefined by the standard, for example, the sequence is defined as an all-1 sequence with a fixed length.

[0091] In some implementations, the first signal includes a non-periodic synchronization signal, that is, the first device may send the first signal in a non-periodic manner.

[0092] The first device may send the first signal in at least two ways:

[0093] (1) The first implementation method is to trigger the first device to send the first signal based on a condition. For example, in Topology 1, the first device is a network device. When the upper layer of the network device triggers the sending of control and / or data information to the terminal device, it also triggers the sending of the first signal to the terminal device; based on the triggering of the upper layer, the first device (i.e., the network device) sends the first signal to the terminal device. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the first device sending the first signal according to an embodiment of the present application. In the example of Figure 5, the first device is a network device and the terminal device is an A-IoT device.

[0094] (2) The second implementation is that the first device sends the first signal when it receives the scheduling information. For example, in Topolog 2, the first device is an intermediate node. After receiving the scheduling information from the network device, the first device (i.e., the intermediate node) sends the first signal to the terminal device. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the first device sending the first signal according to an embodiment of the present application. In the example of Figure 6, the first device is an intermediate node and the terminal device is an A-IoT device.

[0095] In the two aforementioned implementations, when the first device transmits the first signal, it is necessary to ensure a first time interval between the first signal and the subsequently transmitted control and / or data information. It should be noted that when the first device is a network device, the network device ensures this first time interval based on its implementation, while when the first device is an intermediate node, the intermediate node ensures this first time interval based on scheduling information from the network device. Details of this method will be described in subsequent embodiments.

[0096] In some implementations, the first time interval is greater than or equal to N time units, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 0. The time unit may include an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, an On-Off Keying (OOK) chip length, a time slot, a millisecond, and the like.

[0097] The determination of N may include one or more of the following:

[0098] Predefined by the standard;

[0099] determined by the first device;

[0100] Determined according to the capabilities of the terminal equipment;

[0101] Determined by the type of terminal device.

[0102] Here, N may be associated with the first signal or a feature of the first signal.

[0103] Several specific embodiments are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0104] Example 1:

[0105] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of embodiment 1 of the present application. The example shown in Figure 7 can be applied to the first topology (Topology 1). As shown in Figure 7, the first device (i.e., a network device, such as a base station) needs to send a first signal before sending control and / or data information. The first signal is used for time synchronization of the terminal device. In this embodiment, the terminal device is specifically an A-IoT device as an example. After receiving the first signal, the A-IoT device uses the first signal to complete time synchronization, and can then correctly receive subsequent information. Since the A-IoT device has a simple hardware structure and low processing power, a certain time interval needs to be reserved between the first signal and the subsequent transmission, i.e., the first time interval, for the A-IoT device to process the received first signal.

[0106] The basic unit of the first time interval is a time unit, which may be an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, an On Off Keying (OOK) chip length, a time slot, a millisecond, etc. Specifically, the first time interval may be a fixed value predefined by the standard.

[0107] For example, the standard may predefine an integer value N, requiring the first device to ensure that control and / or data information is transmitted N time units after the first signal is transmitted. After detecting the first signal, the A-IoT device can determine the time domain location for subsequent receipt of control and / or data information based on the predefined value N. The value range of N is greater than or equal to 0.

[0108] For another example, the standard may predefine a set of integer values, which includes one or more integer values, each of which may be associated with a first signal or certain characteristics of the first signal. For example, the characteristic of the first signal may be the length of a sequence. When the first device sends a first signal, an integer value N may be determined from the predefined set of integer values ​​based on the first signal sent and a mapping rule (the preset rule is used to specify the association between the characteristics of the first signal and the first time interval); then the first device sends control and / or data information N time units after sending the first signal. For an A-IoT device, after detecting the first signal, the characteristics of the first signal are obtained; the first signal interval associated with the characteristics of the first signal is determined according to the mapping rule. If the integer value N is determined, the A-IoT device can determine the time domain position of the subsequent reception of the control / data information.

[0109] Using the implementation method of this embodiment, when the A-IoT device detects the first signal, in addition to performing time synchronization according to the first signal, it can also determine the time domain position of subsequent received control / data according to the first time interval, thereby avoiding the A-IoT device being in an energy-consuming state of detecting signals all the time, and achieving energy-saving effects.

[0110] Example 2:

[0111] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of Example 2 of the present application. The example shown in Figure 8 can be applied to the first topology (Topology 1). As shown in Figure 8, the first device (i.e., a network device, such as a base station) needs to send a first signal before sending control and / or data information. The first signal is used for time synchronization of the terminal device. In this embodiment, the terminal device is specifically an A-IoT device as an example. After receiving the first signal, the A-IoT device uses the first signal to complete time synchronization, and can then correctly receive subsequent information. A certain time interval needs to be reserved between the first signal and the subsequent transmission, i.e., the first time interval, for the A-IoT device to process the received first signal.

[0112] The basic unit of the first time interval is a time unit, which can be an OFDM symbol, an OOK chip length, a time slot, a millisecond, etc. Specifically, the first time interval can be greater than or equal to N time units. N is an integer and N ≥ 0. The value of N is predefined by the standard, or depends on the base station implementation, the A-IoT device terminal capabilities, or the type of A-IoT device.

[0113] In this embodiment, in addition to sending the first signal, the first device may also send a periodic synchronization signal (or referred to as a periodic signal). As shown in FIG8 , the first device sends the first signal while satisfying the first time interval and also ensures that the interval between the first signal and the periodic synchronization signal satisfies the second time interval. The basic unit of the second time interval is a time unit, which may be an OFDM symbol, an OOK chip length, a time slot, a millisecond, or the like. The second time interval may be greater than or equal to M time units, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

[0114] Taking Figure 8 as an example, if the first device also supports sending periodic synchronization signals, when the first device sends the first signal, the first device will only send the first signal when the time domain position of the first signal and the time interval between the most recent periodic synchronization signal are greater than or equal to M time units, and it is also necessary to ensure that the time interval between the first signal and the subsequently sent control and / or data information meets the first time interval.

[0115] By implementing this embodiment, when the first device sends a periodic synchronization signal, the time interval between the first signal used to achieve synchronization and the periodic synchronization signal is prevented from being too short. This prevents frequent transmission of synchronization signals in a short period of time, saves energy consumption caused by the A-IoT device repeatedly detecting synchronization signals, and achieves energy conservation. Furthermore, after detecting the first signal, the A-IoT device can not only perform time synchronization based on the first signal, but also determine the time domain location for subsequent control / data reception based on the first time interval. This prevents the A-IoT device from being in an energy-consuming state of detecting signals, thus achieving energy conservation.

[0116] Example 3:

[0117] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of embodiment three of the present application. The example shown in Figure 9 can be applied to the first topology (Topology 1). As shown in Figure 9, the first device (i.e., a network device, such as a base station) needs to send a first signal before sending control and / or data information. The first signal is used for time synchronization of the terminal device. In this embodiment, the terminal device is specifically an A-IoT device as an example. After receiving the first signal, the A-IoT device uses the first signal to complete time synchronization, and can then correctly receive subsequent information. Since the A-IoT device has a simple hardware structure and low processing power, a certain time interval needs to be reserved between the first signal and the subsequent transmission, i.e., the first time interval, for the A-IoT device to process the received first signal.

[0118] The basic unit of the first time interval is a time unit, which can be an OFDM symbol, an OOK chip length, a time slot, a millisecond, etc. Specifically, the first time interval can be greater than or equal to N time units. N is an integer and N ≥ 0. The value of N is predefined by the standard, or depends on the base station implementation, the A-IoT device terminal capabilities, or the type of A-IoT device.

[0119] In this embodiment, the first signal may include one or more transmission opportunities, and different transmission opportunities represent different time domain positions. For example, the first signal includes X transmission opportunities, where X is a positive integer, and the specific value of X may be predefined by the standard. As shown in Figure 9, the first device sends the first signal to meet the first time interval, that is, when sending the first signal, the first device must ensure that the time domain position of the last transmission opportunity and the interval between subsequent control and / or data transmission meet the first time interval; and, it also ensures that the interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal meets the third time interval. The basic unit of the third time interval is a time unit, which may be an OFDM symbol, an OOK code chip length, a time slot, a millisecond, etc. The third time interval is equal to K time units, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 0, and the specific value of K may be predefined by the standard.

[0120] Since the A-IoT device needs to collect and store energy, and use the stored energy to drive the internal circuit to work, the energy storage process takes a certain amount of time. Therefore, in this embodiment, the first signal includes multiple transmission opportunities, which are transmitted at multiple different time domain positions, which can reduce the situation where the A-IoT device misses the reception of the first signal due to the energy storage state. By repeatedly sending the first signal multiple times, the A-IoT device can not only receive the first signal for energy collection, but also use the subsequently repeatedly sent first signal to achieve time synchronization, thereby improving the success rate of synchronization. Moreover, after detecting the first signal, the A-IoT device can not only perform time synchronization based on the first signal, but also determine the time domain position of the subsequent reception of control / data based on the first time interval, thereby avoiding the A-IoT device being in the energy consumption state of the detection signal all the time, and achieving the effect of energy saving.

[0121] Example 4:

[0122] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the fourth embodiment of the present application. The example shown in Figure 10 can be applied to the first topology (Topology 1). In Topology 1, the first device is a network device.

[0123] As shown in Figure 10, the first device (i.e., a network device, such as a base station) needs to send a first signal before sending control and / or data information. The first signal is used for time synchronization of the terminal device. In this embodiment, the terminal device is specifically an A-IoT device as an example. After the A-IoT device receives the first signal, it uses the first signal to complete time synchronization, and can then correctly receive subsequent information. A certain time interval needs to be reserved between the first signal and the subsequent transmission, that is, the first time interval, for the A-IoT device to process the received first signal.

[0124] The basic unit of the first time interval is a time unit, which can be an OFDM symbol, an OOK chip length, a time slot, a millisecond, etc. Specifically, the first time interval can be greater than or equal to N time units. N is an integer and N ≥ 0. The value of N is predefined by the standard, or depends on the base station implementation, the A-IoT device terminal capabilities, or the type of A-IoT device.

[0125] In this embodiment, in addition to sending the first signal, the first device may also send a periodic synchronization signal (or referred to as a periodic signal); in addition, the first signal may include one or more transmission opportunities, and different transmission opportunities represent different time domain positions. For example, the first signal includes X transmission opportunities, where X is a positive integer, and the specific value of X may be predefined by the standard. As shown in FIG10 , in this case, the first device may ensure that the interval between the first transmission opportunity of the first signal and the previous periodic synchronization signal satisfies the second time interval, the interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal satisfies the third time interval, and the interval between the last transmission opportunity of the first signal and the subsequent control and / or data information satisfies the first time interval.

[0126] The basic unit of the first time interval, the second time interval, or the third time interval is a time unit, which can be an OFDM symbol, an OOK chip length, a time slot, a millisecond, or the like. The second time interval can be greater than or equal to M time units, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 0. The third time interval is equal to K time units, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 0. The specific value of M or K may be predefined by the standard.

[0127] In the aforementioned first to fourth embodiments, the basic units of the first time interval, the second time interval, and the third time interval may be the same time unit or different time units.

[0128] By adopting the implementation method of this embodiment, when the first device sends a periodic synchronization signal, the time interval between the first signal used to achieve synchronization and the periodic synchronization signal is avoided to be too short, thereby avoiding frequent sending of synchronization signals in a short period of time, saving the energy consumption caused by multiple detection of synchronization signals by the A-IoT device, and playing a role in energy saving.

[0129] Furthermore, after detecting the first signal, the A-IoT device can not only perform time synchronization based on the first signal, but also determine the time domain location for subsequent control / data reception based on the first time interval, thereby preventing the A-IoT device from being in an energy-consuming state of detecting the signal, thereby achieving energy conservation. In this embodiment, the first signal includes multiple transmission opportunities, which are transmitted at multiple different time domain locations. This can reduce the possibility of the A-IoT device missing the first signal due to the energy storage state. Repeated transmission of the first signal can also be used by the A-IoT device for energy harvesting, and the subsequent repeated transmission of the first signal can be used for time synchronization, thereby improving the success rate of synchronization.

[0130] The above embodiments 1 to 4 can all be applied to the first topology (Topology 1), that is, the first device communicates directly with the A-IoT device. The first device may include a network device. The upper layer of the network device triggers the transmission of a first signal to the A-IoT device, and then sends control and / or data information to the A-IoT device after a first time interval.

[0131] For the second topology (Topology 2), in which a network device communicates with an A-IoT device via an intermediate node, the first device may be the intermediate node. Under the scheduling of the network device, the first device transmits a first signal and control and / or data information to the A-IoT device. Furthermore, under the scheduling of the network device, the interval between the transmitted first signal and the control and / or data information satisfies a first time interval.

[0132] In this case, the network device sends scheduling information to the first device. The scheduling information is used to schedule the first device to send a first signal. The first signal is used for time synchronization of the A-IoT device, and the interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information meets a first time interval. The first time interval can be greater than or equal to N time units, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

[0133] There are at least three specific implementation methods for scheduling information:

[0134] Method 1: The network device uses a scheduling information to schedule the first device to send a first signal and control and / or data information; in order to ensure the first time interval between the time domain position of the first device sending the first signal and the time domain position of the subsequent sending of control and / or data information, the scheduling information may include relevant information of the first time interval to indicate the time domain position of the first device sending the control and / or data information. Specifically, in one case, the scheduling information includes a first offset and a first time interval information, and the A-IoT device can determine the location of the control and / or data transmission based on the first time interval information; in another case, the scheduling information includes a first offset and the location information of the control and / or data transmission, and the information of the first time interval is equivalent to being implicitly reflected in the interval between the first signal and the control and / or data location information.

[0135] Method 2: The network device uses two different scheduling information to respectively schedule the first device to send the first signal and control and / or data information. For example, the network device sends scheduling information 1 and scheduling information 2 to the first device, wherein scheduling information 1 is used to schedule the first device to send the first signal and indicates relevant information of the first time interval, and scheduling information 2 is used to schedule the first device to send control and / or data information. The first device receives scheduling information 1 and scheduling information 2, sends the first signal according to scheduling information 1, and determines the time domain position of the control and / or data information to be sent subsequently according to the relevant information of the first time interval indicated by scheduling information 1; the first device sends the control and / or data information at the time domain position according to scheduling signal 2.

[0136] Method three: The network device uses two different scheduling information to respectively schedule the sending of the first signal and the control and / or data information. For example, scheduling information 1 is used to schedule the first device to send the first signal, and scheduling information 2 is used to schedule the first device to send control and / or data information. After the network device sends scheduling information 1, it sends scheduling information 2 after a first time interval; accordingly, after the first device receives scheduling information 1, it sends the first signal; after the first device receives scheduling information 2, it sends control and / or data information. Since there is a first time interval when the network device sends scheduling information 1 and scheduling information 2, there is also a first time interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information sent by the first device after being scheduled.

[0137] In the above-mentioned methods 2 and 3, the network devices use two scheduling information to perform scheduling separately. The difference is that in method 2, the scheduling information of the first signal also indicates relevant information of the first time interval for the first device to determine the time domain position of the subsequent transmission of control and / or data information, so as to ensure that the interval between the first signal sent by the first device and the control and / or data information meets the first time interval; in method 3, the scheduling information of the first signal does not indicate relevant information of the first time interval, but controls the time interval of the two scheduling information to ensure that the interval between the first signal sent by the first device after being scheduled by the scheduling information and the control and / or data information meets the first time interval. It is easy to understand that in method 2, there is no time interval requirement when the network device sends two scheduling information, and the scheduling information of the control and / or data information can also be omitted.

[0138] In the above-mentioned methods 1 to 3, the first signal may include multiple transmission opportunities, and different transmission opportunities represent different time domain positions. For example, the first signal includes X transmission opportunities, where X is a positive integer, and the specific value of X can be predefined by the standard. In addition, the interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal satisfies the third time interval. The basic unit of the third time interval is a time unit, which can be an OFDM symbol, an OOK code chip length, a time slot, a millisecond, etc. The third time interval is equal to K time units, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 0, and the specific value of K can be predefined by the standard.

[0139] To ensure the time intervals between multiple transmission opportunities of the first signal, in the above-mentioned methods 1 to 3, the scheduling information used to schedule the first signal may further include one or more of the following:

[0140] the number of transmission opportunities of the first signal;

[0141] The interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal.

[0142] The first device sends a first signal according to the scheduling information, where the first signal includes multiple transmission opportunities, and an interval between adjacent transmission opportunities meets the interval indicated by the scheduling information.

[0143] In view of the above situation, specific embodiments are introduced below.

[0144] Embodiment 5:

[0145] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of Example 5 of the present application. The example shown in FIG11 can be applied to the second topology (Topology 2). In Topology 2, the first device is an intermediate node. In this embodiment, the terminal device is specifically an A-IoT device as an example.

[0146] In this embodiment, the first device sends a first signal and control and / or data information to the A-IoT device based on the scheduling of the network device, and the interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information meets the first time interval. The network device uses a scheduling information to schedule the transmission of the first signal and the transmission of the control and / or data information; in order to ensure the first time interval, the scheduling information may include relevant information of the first time interval. Therefore, the above scheduling information includes at least one or more of the following information:

[0147] (1) Time domain offset of the first signal, that is, the time domain offset between the time domain position of the scheduling information and the time domain position of the first signal:

[0148] The reference point of the time domain offset is the time domain location at which the scheduling information is sent, and the basic unit of the time domain offset is a time unit. The time unit can be an OFDM symbol, an OOK chip length, a time slot, a millisecond, etc. When the first device detects the scheduling information, it can determine the time domain location at which the first signal is subsequently sent based on the detected time domain location and the time domain offset of the first signal.

[0149] (2) Relevant information of the first time interval:

[0150] The relevant information of the first time interval can be a specific time interval value determined by the network device based on the method in Example 1 to Example 4. The specific determination method can refer to the aforementioned embodiment and will not be repeated here. When the information of the first time interval is specifically indicated by scheduling information, there can be two ways. One way is to use the time domain position where the scheduling information is sent as a reference point, then the value of the relevant information of the first time interval = the first signal time domain offset + the first time interval. The other way is to use the time domain position where the first signal is sent as a reference point, then the value of the relevant information of the first time interval is equal to the true value of the first time interval.

[0151] The information related to the first signal time domain offset and the first time interval can be separately indicated by two pieces of information: information a indicating the first signal time domain offset, and information b indicating the information related to the first time interval. The two pieces of information are carried by bits of the same or different lengths. For example, information a and information b are each carried by 3 bits, with "000" representing the value 0, 001 representing the value 1, and so on.

[0152] The information related to the first signal time domain offset and the first time interval may also be indicated separately using one piece of information.

[0153] The scheduling information in this embodiment can be carried in a newly defined downlink control information (DCI) format, which is dedicated to the A-IoT system, and can also be scrambled using a new radio network temporary identifier (RNTI).

[0154] In addition, in this embodiment, the first signal may include multiple transmission opportunities, and the scheduling information sent by the network device to the first device may also include the number of transmission opportunities and / or the interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal; under the scheduling of the network device, the first device can transmit the first signal multiple times, and the interval between adjacent transmissions meets the instructions of the scheduling information, and the last transmission opportunity and the subsequently sent control and / or data information meet the first time interval.

[0155] Example 6:

[0156] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of Example 6 of the present application. The example shown in FIG12 can be applied to the second topology (Topology 2). In Topology 2, the first device is an intermediate node. In this embodiment, the terminal device is specifically an A-IoT device as an example.

[0157] In this embodiment, the first device sends a first signal and control and / or data information to the A-IoT device based on scheduling by the network device, and the interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information satisfies a first time interval. The network device uses two different scheduling information to schedule the sending of the first signal and the sending of the control and / or data information, respectively.

[0158] As shown in FIG12 , scheduling information 1 is used to schedule the first signal, and scheduling information 2 is used to schedule control and / or data information.

[0159] Scheduling information 1 may include information related to the first time interval. Therefore, scheduling information 1 includes at least the first one or more of the following information:

[0160] (1) Time domain offset of the first signal, that is, the time domain offset between the time domain position of the scheduling information and the time domain position of the first signal:

[0161] The reference point of the time domain offset is the time domain location at which the scheduling information is sent, and the basic unit of the time domain offset is a time unit. The time unit can be an OFDM symbol, an OOK chip length, a time slot, a millisecond, etc. When the first device detects the scheduling information, it can determine the time domain location at which the first signal is subsequently sent based on the detected time domain location and the time domain offset of the first signal.

[0162] (2) Relevant information of the first time interval:

[0163] The relevant information of the first time interval may be a specific time interval value determined by the network device based on the method in Embodiment 1 to Embodiment 4. When the information of the first time interval is specifically indicated by scheduling information, there may be two ways. One way is to use the time domain position where the scheduling information is sent as a reference point, then the value of the relevant information of the first time interval = the first signal time domain offset + the first time interval. The other way is to use the time domain position where the first signal is sent as a reference point, then the value of the relevant information of the first time interval is equal to the true value of the first time interval.

[0164] The information related to the first signal time domain offset and the first time interval can be separately indicated by two pieces of information: information a indicating the first signal time domain offset, and information b indicating the information related to the first time interval. The two pieces of information are carried by bits of the same or different lengths. For example, information a and information b are each carried by 3 bits, with "000" representing the value 0, 001 representing the value 1, and so on.

[0165] The information related to the first signal time domain offset and the first time interval may also be indicated separately using one piece of information.

[0166] The scheduling information in this embodiment can be carried in a newly defined downlink control signaling (DCI) format, which is dedicated to the A-IoT system, and can also be scrambled using a new radio network temporary identifier (RNTI).

[0167] Alternatively, scheduling information 1 may not include information related to the first time interval. The network device controls the time interval between the time of sending scheduling information 1 and the time of sending scheduling information 2 to control the first device to send control and / or data information after the first time interval after sending the first signal. In this case, scheduling information 1 at least includes the first signal time domain offset, that is, the time domain offset between the time domain position of the scheduling information and the time domain position of the first signal.

[0168] In addition, in this embodiment, the first signal may include multiple transmission opportunities, and the scheduling information sent by the network device to the first device may also include the number of transmission opportunities and / or the interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal; under the scheduling of the network device, the first device can transmit the first signal multiple times, and the interval between adjacent transmissions meets the instructions of the scheduling information, and the last transmission opportunity and the subsequently sent control and / or data information meet the first time interval.

[0169] It can be seen from the above embodiments that this solution proposes a method for sending non-periodic synchronization signals in an A-IoT network. A-IoT devices can achieve time synchronization by detecting the synchronization signal. At the same time, taking into account the extremely low power consumption and complexity of A-IoT devices, by increasing the transmission time interval between synchronization information and control / data information, the A-IoT device is given a certain processing time to complete the synchronization process. In addition, for scenarios where there are intermediate nodes, this solution provides a method for network devices to schedule intermediate nodes to send the first signal and the content of the scheduling information.

[0170] The present application also provides a synchronization method. FIG13 is a schematic flowchart of synchronization method 1300 according to an embodiment of the present application. This method can optionally be applied to the system shown in FIG1 or FIG3 and executed by network devices in the second topology (Topology 2) of the A-IoT network, but is not limited thereto. The method includes at least part of the following content.

[0171] S1310. The network device sends scheduling information to the first device. The scheduling information is used to schedule the first device to send a first signal. The first signal is used for time synchronization of the terminal device, and the interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information meets the first time interval.

[0172] The network device schedules the first device to transmit a first signal, which is used for time synchronization of the terminal device, and the interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information satisfies a first time interval. The terminal device can achieve time synchronization by detecting the first signal. Furthermore, considering the extremely low power consumption and low complexity of the terminal device, by ensuring a transmission time interval between the first information and subsequently transmitted control and / or data information, a certain processing time can be given to the terminal device to complete the synchronization process.

[0173] In some implementations, the first time interval is greater than or equal to N time units, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

[0174] In some embodiments, the determination of N includes one or more of the following:

[0175] Predefined by the standard;

[0176] Determined by the network device;

[0177] Determined according to the capabilities of the terminal device;

[0178] Determined by the type of the terminal device.

[0179] In some embodiments, the N is associated with the first signal or a characteristic of the first signal.

[0180] In some implementations, the scheduling information includes one or more of the following:

[0181] a time domain offset between a time domain position of the scheduling information and a time domain position of the first signal;

[0182] Related information for the first time interval.

[0183] In some embodiments, the information related to the first time interval includes one or more of the following:

[0184] A time domain offset between a time domain position of the scheduling information and a time domain position of the control and / or data information;

[0185] The first time interval.

[0186] In some implementations, when the first signal includes multiple transmission opportunities, the scheduling information further includes one or more of the following:

[0187] The number of transmission opportunities;

[0188] The interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal.

[0189] In some embodiments, the scheduling information includes one or more of the following:

[0190] first scheduling information, where the first scheduling information is used to schedule the first signal and / or indicate the first time interval;

[0191] Second scheduling information, where the second scheduling information is used to schedule the control and / or data information.

[0192] In some implementations, the scheduling information is carried in DCI.

[0193] In some embodiments, the first device comprises an intermediate node between the network device and the terminal device.

[0194] In some embodiments, the intermediate node comprises a terminal device.

[0195] In some embodiments, the first signal comprises a non-periodic synchronization signal.

[0196] In some embodiments, the first signal includes one or more of the following:

[0197] m sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence;

[0198] Sequences generated based on m-sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence;

[0199] Fixed sequence.

[0200] In some embodiments, the terminal device includes an A-IoT device.

[0201] In the embodiment of the present application, the specific manner in which the network device executes the synchronization method can be found in the relevant content of the network device in the aforementioned embodiment, and will not be described in detail.

[0202] The present application also provides a synchronization method. FIG14 is a schematic flowchart of synchronization method 1400 according to an embodiment of the present application. This method can optionally be applied to the system shown in FIG1 or FIG3 and executed by a terminal device in the second topology (Topology 2) of the A-IoT network, but is not limited thereto. The method includes at least part of the following content.

[0203] S1410. The terminal device receives a first signal, and after a first time interval, receives control and / or data information.

[0204] The first signal can be used to synchronize the terminal device, that is, the terminal device can achieve time synchronization by detecting the first signal. At the same time, taking into account the extremely low power consumption and low complexity of the terminal device, by ensuring the transmission time interval between the first information and subsequent control and / or data information, the terminal device can be given a certain processing time to complete the synchronization process.

[0205] In some embodiments, the terminal device further includes determining the first time interval, where the first time interval is greater than or equal to N time units, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

[0206] In some implementations, the terminal device determines the first time interval using one or more of the following:

[0207] Standard predefined;

[0208] The capabilities of the terminal equipment;

[0209] The type of the terminal device;

[0210] The first signal or a characteristic of the first signal.

[0211] In some embodiments, the terminal device includes an A-IoT device.

[0212] In the embodiment of the present application, the specific manner in which the terminal device executes the synchronization method can be found in the relevant content of the terminal device in the aforementioned embodiment, and will not be described in detail.

[0213] FIG15 is a schematic block diagram of a first device 1500 according to an embodiment of the present application. The first device 1500 may include:

[0214] The first transceiver unit 1510 is used to send a first signal to the terminal device, where the first signal is used for time synchronization of the terminal device; the interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information meets the first time interval, and the control and / or data information is sent after the first signal.

[0215] In some implementations, the first time interval is greater than or equal to N time units, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

[0216] In some embodiments, the determination of N includes one or more of the following:

[0217] Predefined by the standard;

[0218] determined by the first device;

[0219] Determined according to the capabilities of the terminal device;

[0220] Determined by the type of the terminal device.

[0221] In some embodiments, the N is associated with the first signal or a characteristic of the first signal.

[0222] In some embodiments, an interval between the first signal and the periodic synchronization signal satisfies a second time interval.

[0223] In some embodiments, the second time interval is greater than or equal to M time units, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

[0224] In some embodiments, the first signal includes X transmission opportunities, where X is a positive integer.

[0225] In some embodiments, an interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal satisfies a third time interval.

[0226] In some implementations, the third time interval is equal to K time units, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

[0227] In some implementations, the first device includes a network device, or an intermediate node between the network device and the terminal device.

[0228] In some embodiments, when the first device includes the intermediate node, the first transceiver unit 1510 is further used to receive scheduling information from a network device, where the scheduling information is used to schedule the first device to send the first signal and / or schedule the first device to send the control and / or data information.

[0229] In some implementations, the scheduling information includes one or more of the following:

[0230] a time domain offset between a time domain position of the scheduling information and a time domain position of the first signal;

[0231] Related information for the first time interval.

[0232] In some embodiments, the information related to the first time interval includes one or more of the following:

[0233] A time domain offset between a time domain position of the scheduling information and a time domain position of the control and / or data information;

[0234] The first time interval.

[0235] In some implementations, when the first signal includes multiple transmission opportunities, the scheduling information further includes one or more of the following:

[0236] The number of transmission opportunities;

[0237] The interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal.

[0238] In some embodiments, the scheduling information includes one or more of the following:

[0239] first scheduling information, where the first scheduling information is used to schedule the first signal and / or indicate the first time interval;

[0240] Second scheduling information, where the second scheduling information is used to schedule the control and / or data information.

[0241] In some implementations, the scheduling information is carried in DCI.

[0242] In some embodiments, the intermediate node comprises a terminal device.

[0243] In some implementations, the time unit includes an OFDM symbol, an OOK chip length, a time slot, or a millisecond.

[0244] In some implementations, the time unit of the time domain offset includes an OFDM symbol, an OOK chip length, a time slot, or a millisecond.

[0245] In some embodiments, the first signal comprises a non-periodic synchronization signal.

[0246] In some embodiments, the first signal includes one or more of the following:

[0247] m sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence;

[0248] Sequences generated based on m-sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence;

[0249] Fixed sequence.

[0250] In some embodiments, the terminal device includes an A-IoT device.

[0251] The first device 1500 of the embodiment of the present application can implement the corresponding functions of the first device in the aforementioned method embodiment. The processes, functions, implementation methods and beneficial effects corresponding to the various modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) in the first device 1500 can be found in the corresponding descriptions in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and will not be repeated here. It should be noted that the functions described in the various modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) in the first device 1500 of the application embodiment can be implemented by different modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) or by the same module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.).

[0252] FIG16 is a schematic block diagram of a network device 1600 according to an embodiment of the present application. The network device 1600 may include:

[0253] The second transceiver unit 1610 is used to send scheduling information to the first device, where the scheduling information is used to schedule the first device to send a first signal, where the first signal is used for time synchronization of the terminal device, and the interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information satisfies a first time interval.

[0254] In some implementations, the first time interval is greater than or equal to N time units, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

[0255] In some embodiments, the determination of N includes one or more of the following:

[0256] Predefined by the standard;

[0257] Determined by the network device;

[0258] Determined according to the capabilities of the terminal device;

[0259] Determined by the type of the terminal device.

[0260] In some embodiments, the N is associated with the first signal or a characteristic of the first signal.

[0261] In some implementations, the scheduling information includes one or more of the following:

[0262] a time domain offset between a time domain position of the scheduling information and a time domain position of the first signal;

[0263] Related information for the first time interval.

[0264] In some embodiments, the information related to the first time interval includes one or more of the following:

[0265] A time domain offset between a time domain position of the scheduling information and a time domain position of the control and / or data information;

[0266] The first time interval.

[0267] In some implementations, when the first signal includes multiple transmission opportunities, the scheduling information further includes one or more of the following:

[0268] The number of transmission opportunities;

[0269] The interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal.

[0270] In some embodiments, the scheduling information includes one or more of the following:

[0271] first scheduling information, where the first scheduling information is used to schedule the first signal and / or indicate the first time interval;

[0272] Second scheduling information, where the second scheduling information is used to schedule the control and / or data information.

[0273] In some implementations, the scheduling information is carried in DCI.

[0274] In some embodiments, the first device comprises an intermediate node between the network device and the terminal device.

[0275] In some embodiments, the intermediate node comprises a terminal device.

[0276] In some embodiments, the first signal comprises a non-periodic synchronization signal.

[0277] In some embodiments, the first signal includes one or more of the following:

[0278] m sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence;

[0279] Sequences generated based on m-sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence;

[0280] Fixed sequence.

[0281] In some embodiments, the terminal device includes an A-IoT device.

[0282] The network device 1600 of the embodiment of the present application can implement the corresponding functions of the network device in the aforementioned method embodiment. The corresponding processes, functions, implementation methods and beneficial effects of each module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.) in the network device 1600 can be found in the corresponding description in the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here. It should be noted that the functions described in the various modules (sub-module, unit or component, etc.) in the network device 1600 of the embodiment of the application can be implemented by different modules (sub-module, unit or component, etc.) or by the same module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.).

[0283] FIG17 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device 1700 according to an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device 1700 may include:

[0284] The third transceiver unit 1710 is configured to receive the first signal and, after a first time interval, receive control and / or data information.

[0285] In some embodiments, the terminal device further includes determining the first time interval, where the first time interval is greater than or equal to N time units, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

[0286] In some implementations, the terminal device determines the first time interval using one or more of the following:

[0287] Standard predefined;

[0288] The capabilities of the terminal equipment;

[0289] The type of the terminal device;

[0290] The first signal or a characteristic of the first signal.

[0291] In some embodiments, the terminal device includes an A-IoT device.

[0292] The terminal device 1700 of the embodiment of the present application can implement the corresponding functions of the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiment. The processes, functions, implementation methods and beneficial effects corresponding to the various modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) in the terminal device 1700 can be found in the corresponding descriptions in the above-mentioned method embodiments, which will not be repeated here. It should be noted that the functions described by the various modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) in the terminal device 1700 of the embodiment of the application can be implemented by different modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) or by the same module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.).

[0293] Figure 18 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1800 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1800 includes a processor 1810, which can call and run a computer program from a memory to enable the communication device 1800 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0294] In one embodiment, the communication device 1800 may further include a memory 1820. The processor 1810 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 1820 to enable the communication device 1800 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0295] The memory 1820 may be a separate device independent of the processor 1810 , or may be integrated into the processor 1810 .

[0296] In one embodiment, the communication device 1800 may further include a transceiver 1830 , and the processor 1810 may control the transceiver 1830 to communicate with other devices. Specifically, the transceiver 1830 may send information or data to other devices, or receive information or data sent by other devices.

[0297] The transceiver 1830 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 1830 may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more.

[0298] In one embodiment, the communication device 1800 may be a network device of an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1800 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0299] In one embodiment, the communication device 1800 may be the first device of the embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1800 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the first device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0300] In one embodiment, the communication device 1800 may be a terminal device of an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1800 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0301] 19 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip 1900 according to an embodiment of the present application. The chip 1900 includes a processor 1910, which can call and execute a computer program from a memory to implement the method according to the embodiment of the present application.

[0302] In one embodiment, the chip 1900 may further include a memory 1920. The processor 1910 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 1920 to implement the method executed by the first device, the network device, or the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application.

[0303] The memory 1920 may be a separate device independent of the processor 1910 , or may be integrated into the processor 1910 .

[0304] In one embodiment, the chip 1900 may further include an input interface 1930. The processor 1910 may control the input interface 1930 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may obtain information or data sent by other devices or chips.

[0305] In one embodiment, the chip 1900 may further include an output interface 1940. The processor 1910 may control the output interface 1940 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0306] In one embodiment, the chip can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0307] In one embodiment, the chip can be applied to the first device in the embodiment of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the first device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0308] In one embodiment, the chip can be applied to the terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device in each method of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0309] The chips used in the network device, the first device, and the terminal device may be the same chip or different chips.

[0310] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

[0311] The processor mentioned above may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor mentioned above may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0312] The memory mentioned above may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. 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).

[0313] It should be understood that the above-mentioned memories are exemplary but not restrictive. For example, the memories in the embodiments of the present application may also be static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAM RAM (DR RAM), etc. In other words, the memories in the embodiments of the present application are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

[0314] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When software is used for implementation, it 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. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function in accordance with 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 devices. 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 a website, computer, server or data center by wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0315] 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.

[0316] 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.

[0317] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited to this. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by any 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 synchronization method, comprising: The first device sends a first signal to the terminal device, where the first signal is used for the terminal device to perform time synchronization; The interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information meets a first time interval, and the control and / or data information is sent after the first signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first time interval is greater than or equal to N time units, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The method for determining N includes one or more of the following: Predefined by the standard; determined by the first device; Determined according to the capabilities of the terminal device; Determined according to the type of the terminal device.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The N is associated with the first signal or a feature of the first signal.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The interval between the first signal and the periodic synchronization signal satisfies a second time interval.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The second time interval is greater than or equal to M time units, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The first signal includes X transmission opportunities, where X is a positive integer.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: An interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal satisfies a third time interval.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The third time interval is equal to K time units, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: The first device includes a network device, or an intermediate node between the network device and the terminal device.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: In the case where the first device includes the intermediate node, the device further includes: The first device receives scheduling information from a network device, where the scheduling information is used to schedule the first device to send the first signal and / or schedule the first device to send the control and / or data information.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The scheduling information includes one or more of the following: a time domain offset between a time domain position of the scheduling information and a time domain position of the first signal; Related information for the first time interval.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The relevant information of the first time interval includes one or more of the following: A time domain offset between the time domain position of the scheduling information and the time domain position of the control and / or data information; the first time interval.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein: In the case where the first signal includes multiple transmission opportunities, the scheduling information further includes one or more of the following: the number of transmission opportunities; The interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein: The scheduling information includes one or more of the following: first scheduling information, where the first scheduling information is used to schedule the first signal and / or indicate the first time interval; Second scheduling information, where the second scheduling information is used to schedule the control and / or data information.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein: The scheduling information is carried in downlink control information DCI.

17. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, wherein: The intermediate node includes a terminal device.

18. The method of claim 2, 3, 6 or 9, wherein: The time unit includes an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, an on-off keying (OOK) chip length, a time slot, or a millisecond.

19. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein: The time unit of the time domain offset includes an OFDM symbol, an OOK chip length, a time slot or a millisecond.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein: The first signal comprises a non-periodic synchronization signal.

21. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein: The first signal includes one or more of the following: m sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence; Sequences generated based on m-sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence; Fixed sequence.

22. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein: The terminal device includes an A-IoT device.

23. A synchronization method, comprising: The network device sends scheduling information to the first device, where the scheduling information is used to schedule the first device to send a first signal. The signal is used for time synchronization of the terminal device, and the interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information meets the first time interval.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein The first time interval is greater than or equal to N time units, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein The method for determining N includes one or more of the following: Predefined by the standard; determined by the network device; Determined according to the capabilities of the terminal device; Determined according to the type of the terminal device.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein The N is associated with the first signal or a feature of the first signal.

27. The method according to any one of claims 23-24, wherein: The scheduling information includes one or more of the following: a time domain offset between a time domain position of the scheduling information and a time domain position of the first signal; Related information for the first time interval.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein The relevant information of the first time interval includes one or more of the following: A time domain offset between the time domain position of the scheduling information and the time domain position of the control and / or data information; the first time interval.

29. The method according to claim 27 or 28, wherein In the case where the first signal includes multiple transmission opportunities, the scheduling information further includes one or more of the following: the number of transmission opportunities; The interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal.

30. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 29, wherein: The scheduling information includes one or more of the following: first scheduling information, where the first scheduling information is used to schedule the first signal and / or indicate the first time interval; Second scheduling information, where the second scheduling information is used to schedule the control and / or data information.

31. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 30, wherein: The scheduling information is carried in DCI.

32. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 31, wherein: The first device includes an intermediate node between the network device and the terminal device.

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein The intermediate node includes a terminal device.

34. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 32, wherein: The first signal comprises a non-periodic synchronization signal.

35. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 34, wherein: The first signal includes one or more of the following: m sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence; Sequences generated based on m-sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence; Fixed sequence.

36. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 35, wherein: The terminal device includes an A-IoT device.

37. A synchronization method, comprising: The terminal device receives the first signal and, after a first time interval, receives control and / or data information.

38. The method according to claim 37 further includes the terminal device determining the first time interval, the first time interval being greater than or equal to N time units, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

39. The method according to claim 38, wherein The terminal device determines the first time interval by using one or more of the following: Standard predefined; The capabilities of the terminal equipment; The type of the terminal device; The first signal or a characteristic of the first signal.

40. The method according to any one of claims 37 to 39, wherein: The terminal device includes an A-IoT device.

41. A first device, comprising: A first transceiver unit is configured to send a first signal to a terminal device, where the first signal is used for time synchronization of the terminal device; The interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information meets a first time interval, and the control and / or data information is sent after the first signal.

42. The first device according to claim 41, wherein The first time interval is greater than or equal to N time units, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

43. The first device according to claim 42, wherein The method for determining N includes one or more of the following: Predefined by the standard; determined by the first device; Determined according to the capabilities of the terminal device; Determined according to the type of the terminal device.

44. The first device according to claim 43, wherein The N is associated with the first signal or a feature of the first signal.

45. The first device according to any one of claims 41 to 44, wherein: The interval between the first signal and the periodic synchronization signal satisfies a second time interval.

46. ​​The first device according to claim 45, wherein The second time interval is greater than or equal to M time units, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

47. The first device according to any one of claims 41 to 46, wherein: The first signal includes X transmission opportunities, where X is a positive integer.

48. The first device according to claim 47, wherein An interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal satisfies a third time interval.

49. The first device according to claim 48, wherein The third time interval is equal to K time units, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

50. The first device according to any one of claims 41 to 49, wherein: The first device includes a network device, or an intermediate node between the network device and the terminal device.

51. The first device according to claim 50, wherein In the case where the first device includes the intermediate node, the first transceiver unit is further used to receive scheduling information from a network device, where the scheduling information is used to schedule the first device to send the first signal and / or schedule the first device to send the control and / or data information.

52. The first device according to claim 51, wherein The scheduling information includes one or more of the following: a time domain offset between a time domain position of the scheduling information and a time domain position of the first signal; Related information for the first time interval.

53. The first device according to claim 52, wherein The relevant information of the first time interval includes one or more of the following: A time domain offset between the time domain position of the scheduling information and the time domain position of the control and / or data information; the first time interval.

54. The first device according to claim 52 or 53, wherein In the case where the first signal includes multiple transmission opportunities, the scheduling information further includes one or more of the following: the number of transmission opportunities; The interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal.

55. The first device according to any one of claims 51 to 54, wherein: The scheduling information includes one or more of the following: first scheduling information, where the first scheduling information is used to schedule the first signal and / or indicate the first time interval; Second scheduling information, where the second scheduling information is used to schedule the control and / or data information.

56. The first device according to any one of claims 51 to 55, wherein: The scheduling information is carried in DCI.

57. The first device according to any one of claims 50 to 56, wherein: The intermediate node includes a terminal device.

58. The first device of claim 42, 43, 46 or 49, wherein: The time unit includes an OFDM symbol, an OOK chip length, a time slot or a millisecond.

59. The first device according to any one of claims 52 to 54, wherein: The time unit of the time domain offset includes an OFDM symbol, an OOK chip length, a time slot or a millisecond.

60. The first device according to any one of claims 41 to 59, wherein: The first signal comprises a non-periodic synchronization signal.

61. The first device according to any one of claims 41 to 60, wherein: The first signal includes one or more of the following: m sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence; Sequences generated based on m-sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence; Fixed sequence.

62. The first device according to any one of claims 41 to 61, wherein: The terminal device includes an A-IoT device.

63. A network device comprising: The second transceiver unit is used to send scheduling information to the first device, where the scheduling information is used to schedule the first device to send a first signal, where the first signal is used for time synchronization of the terminal device, and the interval between the first signal and the control and / or data information satisfies a first time interval.

64. The network device according to claim 63, wherein: The first time interval is greater than or equal to N time units, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

65. The network device according to claim 64, wherein The method for determining N includes one or more of the following: Predefined by the standard; determined by the network device; Determined according to the capabilities of the terminal device; Determined according to the type of the terminal device.

66. The network device according to claim 65, wherein The N is associated with the first signal or a feature of the first signal.

67. The network device according to any one of claims 63 to 66, wherein: The scheduling information includes one or more of the following: a time domain offset between a time domain position of the scheduling information and a time domain position of the first signal; Related information for the first time interval.

68. The network device according to claim 67, wherein: The relevant information of the first time interval includes one or more of the following: A time domain offset between the time domain position of the scheduling information and the time domain position of the control and / or data information; the first time interval.

69. The network device according to claim 67 or 68, wherein: In the case where the first signal includes multiple transmission opportunities, the scheduling information further includes one or more of the following: the number of transmission opportunities; The interval between adjacent transmission opportunities of the first signal.

70. The network device according to any one of claims 63 to 69, wherein: The scheduling information includes one or more of the following: first scheduling information, where the first scheduling information is used to schedule the first signal and / or indicate the first time interval; Second scheduling information, where the second scheduling information is used to schedule the control and / or data information.

71. The network device according to any one of claims 63 to 70, wherein: The scheduling information is carried in DCI.

72. The network device according to any one of claims 63 to 71, wherein: The first device includes an intermediate node between the network device and the terminal device.

73. The network device according to claim 72, wherein: The intermediate node includes a terminal device.

74. The network device according to any one of claims 63 to 72, wherein: The first signal comprises a non-periodic synchronization signal.

75. The network device according to any one of claims 63 to 74, wherein: The first signal includes one or more of the following: m sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence; Sequences generated based on m-sequence / Gold sequence / ZC sequence; Fixed sequence.

76. The network device according to any one of claims 63 to 75, wherein: The terminal device includes an A-IoT device.

77. A terminal device comprising: The third transceiver unit is configured to receive the first signal and, after a first time interval, receive control and / or data information.

78. The terminal device according to claim 77 further includes the terminal device determining the first time interval, the first time interval is greater than or equal to N time units, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

79. The terminal device according to claim 78, wherein: The terminal device determines the first time interval by using one or more of the following: Standard predefined; The capabilities of the terminal equipment; The type of the terminal device; The first signal or a characteristic of the first signal.

80. The terminal device according to any one of claims 77 to 79, wherein: The terminal device includes an A-IoT device.

81. An apparatus comprising: A transceiver, a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, the transceiver is used to communicate with other devices, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to enable the first device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 40.

82. A chip comprising: A processor, configured to call and execute a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 40.

83. A computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, which, when executed by a device, causes the device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 40.

84. A computer program product comprising computer program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 40.

85. A computer program causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 40.

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