Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

The present application discloses a communication method and a related apparatus, capable of improving spectrum efficiency. The method comprises: a first communication apparatus obtaining a first code block (CB) and a second CB; encoding the first CB and the second CB, and obtaining first encoded bits, the first encoded bits comprising first information bits and a first check bit, the first information bits comprising a bit of the first CB and a bit of the second CB, and the first check bit being a check bit of the first information bits; and sending all or some of the first encoded bits. The first CB and the second CB satisfy at least one of the following: the first CB being an initial transmission CB and the second CB being a retransmission CB, or the first CB and the second CB belonging to different HARQ processes.

Description

Communication methods and related devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410518070.X, filed on April 26, 2024, entitled "Communication Method and Related Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and related apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] In wireless communication systems, data retransmission can improve data transmission reliability. Data retransmission includes retransmission at the transport block (TB) granularity, retransmission at the code block group (CBG) granularity, and retransmission at the code block (CB) granularity. However, existing retransmission methods have relatively low spectral efficiency.

[0004] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method that can use limited spectrum resources for more data transmission, thereby improving spectrum efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and related apparatus to improve spectrum efficiency.

[0006] Firstly, this application provides a communication method applicable to a first communication device, which may be a communication equipment (such as a terminal device or network device), or a component for the communication equipment (such as a baseband chip, chip system, processor, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the communication equipment, etc. This application does not limit the scope of the application.

[0007] For example, the method includes: acquiring a first CB and a second CB; encoding the first CB and the second CB to obtain a first encoded bit, the first encoded bit including a first information bit and a first check bit, the first information bit including bits of the first CB and bits of the second CB, the first check bit being a check bit of the first information bit; and sending all or part of the bits in the first encoded bit.

[0008] Wherein, the first CB and the second CB satisfy at least one of the following:

[0009] The first CB is the initial transmission CB and the second CB is the retransmission CB, or,

[0010] The first CB and the second CB belong to different hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes.

[0011] The initial CB refers to the CB sent for the first time, and the retransmission CB refers to the CB sent for the Tth time (T is an integer greater than 1).

[0012] Based on this technical solution, the first communication device encodes the information bits composed of the first CB and the second CB to obtain the check bit in the first encoded bit, thereby transmitting all or part of the bits in the first encoded bit on a single scheduled resource. Compared with transmitting a TB or a CBG on a single scheduled resource, this method can effectively improve spectral efficiency and reduce data transmission latency. Moreover, by encoding multiple CBs, the spectral gain can be further improved.

[0013] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending first information, the first information including a bit map, wherein the bits in the bit map have a predefined correspondence with the CBs participating in the encoding, and the bit map indicates the CBs participating in the encoding.

[0014] Since the CBs participating in encoding are different each time, a first correspondence can be predefined between the first CB participating in encoding in each encoding and one or more bits in the first bit diagram, as well as a predefined correspondence between each CB sent before the first CB participating in encoding and each bit in the first bit diagram. In this way, the first communication device can determine whether the corresponding CB participates in encoding based on the value of the bit in the bit diagram.

[0015] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving second information, the second information including a bit map, wherein multiple bits in the bit map respectively indicate whether the first CB and the second CB are correctly decoded.

[0016] Alternatively, each bit group in the bitmap indicates whether one or more CBs have been correctly decoded.

[0017] Optionally, each bit group may include one or more CBs. When multiple bit groups are included in the bit map, the number of bits included in any two bits may be the same or different.

[0018] Alternatively, where each bit indicates whether a CB has been correctly decoded, the number of bits in the bitmap is the same as the number of CBs involved in encoding.

[0019] It is understood that the correspondence between the multiple bits and the first CB and the second CB can be predefined.

[0020] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: retransmitting the first CB and the second CB in a first transmission mode, wherein the first transmission mode includes: encoding the first CB, the second CB and the third CB to obtain encoded bits, or sending a redundant version of the first encoded bits.

[0021] Wherein, the third CB satisfies at least one of the following: the third CB is the initial CB, or the third CB belongs to a different HARQ process from at least one of the first CB and the second CB.

[0022] Optionally, when the first retransmission method is to encode the first CB, the second CB, and the third CB to obtain coded bits, the retransmission of the first CB and the second CB in the first transmission method includes: encoding the first CB, the second CB, and the third CB to obtain third coded bits, which include third information bits and third check bits, and the third information bits include bits of the first CB, bits of the second CB, and bits of the third CB; and transmitting all or part of the bits of the third coded bits.

[0023] Optionally, when the first retransmission method is to send a redundant version of the first coded bits, the retransmission of the first CB and the second CB in the first transmission method includes: determining a redundant version of the first coded bits; and sending the redundant version of the first coded bits.

[0024] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending third information, the third information indicating the first transmission method.

[0025] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: punching holes in the first encoded bit to obtain a portion of the bits in the first encoded bit.

[0026] Optionally, the step of punching holes in the first encoded bit includes: punching holes in N bits of the first encoded bit, where N is greater than 1 and less than X, and X is the number of bits contained in the first encoded bit.

[0027] Optionally, the N bits in the first encoded bits can be either continuously distributed or discretely distributed.

[0028] For example, the N bits can be the first N bits in the first encoded bits.

[0029] Based on this, by punching holes in the first encoded bit and sending a portion of the punched first encoded bit, the coupling between the first CB and the second CB during the decoding process can be reduced, thereby improving decoding performance.

[0030] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the encoding includes low-density parity check code (LDPC) encoding or global coupling code encoding.

[0031] Secondly, this application provides a communication method applicable to a second communication device, which may be a communication equipment (such as a terminal device or network device), or a component used in the communication equipment (such as a baseband chip, chip system, processor, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the communication equipment, etc. This application does not limit the scope of the application.

[0032] For example, the method includes: receiving a second coded bit, the second coded bit being all or part of the bits in a first coded bit sent by a first communication device, and the coded bit received by the second communication device after passing through a wireless channel, wherein the first coded bit includes a first information bit and a first check bit, the first information bit including bits of a first code block CB and bits of a second CB, and the first check bit being a check bit of the first information bit;

[0033] Wherein, the first CB and the second CB satisfy at least one of the following:

[0034] The first CB is the initial transmission CB and the second CB is the retransmission CB, or,

[0035] The first CB and the second CB belong to different HARQ processes.

[0036] For a description of the initial pass CB and repass CB, please refer to the description in the first part, which will not be repeated here.

[0037] Based on this technical solution, the first communication device encodes the information bits composed of the first CB and the second CB to obtain the check bit in the first encoded bit, thereby transmitting all or part of the bits in the first encoded bit on a single scheduled resource. Compared with transmitting a TB or a CBG on a single scheduled resource, this method can effectively improve spectral efficiency and reduce data transmission latency. Moreover, by encoding multiple CBs, the spectral gain can be further improved.

[0038] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving first information, the first information including a bit map, wherein the bits in the bit map have a predefined correspondence with the CBs participating in the encoding.

[0039] For a description of the bitmap included in the first piece of information, please refer to the description in the first aspect above, which will not be repeated here.

[0040] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending second information, the second information including a bitmap, wherein multiple bits in the bitmap respectively indicate whether the first CB and the second CB are correctly decoded.

[0041] For a description of the bitmap included in the second information, please refer to the description in the first aspect above, which will not be repeated here.

[0042] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, if the first CB and the second CB are decoded incorrectly, the method further includes: receiving a first bit sequence, wherein the first bit sequence is a bit sequence received by the second communication device after the second bit sequence sent by the first communication device passes through a wireless channel, and the second bit sequence is the first CB and the second CB retransmitted according to a first transmission method, wherein the first transmission method includes: encoding the first CB, the second CB and the third CB to obtain encoded bits, or sending a redundant version of the first encoded bits.

[0043] Wherein, the third CB satisfies at least one of the following: the third CB is the initial CB, or the third CB belongs to a different HARQ process from at least one of the first CB and the second CB.

[0044] Optionally, if the first transmission method is to encode the first CB, the second CB, and the third CB to obtain coded bits, the second bit sequence is all or part of the third coded bits described in the first aspect.

[0045] Optionally, when transmitting a redundant version of the first coded bits, the second bit sequence is a redundant version of the first coded bits described in the first aspect.

[0046] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving third information, the third information indicating the first transmission mode.

[0047] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, some bits in the first encoded bit are obtained by punching holes in the first encoded bit.

[0048] For a description of obtaining a portion of the bits in the first encoded bits, please refer to the description in the first aspect; it will not be repeated here.

[0049] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the encoding includes low-density parity check (LDPC) encoding or global coupling code encoding.

[0050] In conjunction with the second aspect and the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect and the second aspect, the first CB includes one or more CBs, and the second CB includes one or more CBs.

[0051] Optionally, the first CB is the initial transmission CB, and the second CB is the retransmission CB; when the first CB and the second CB belong to the same HARQ process, the number of CBs included in the second CB is related to the number of CBs with decoding errors that were determined before the transmission of the first CB. For example, the second CB includes CBs with decoding errors that were determined before the transmission of the first CB.

[0052] Optionally, the first CB is the initial CB, and the second CB is the retransmission CB. If the first CB and the second CB belong to different HARQ processes, and no feedback information for any CB is received before sending the first CB, the number of CBs included in the second CB is related to the number of CBs transmitted before transmitting the first CB, wherein the feedback information is used to indicate whether the CB decoding is correct or incorrect. For example, the second CB includes CBs that were transmitted before transmitting the first CB.

[0053] It is understandable that, in the case that the first CB and the second CB belong to different HARQ processes, at least one of the multiple CBs included in the first CB and the second CB is the initial transmission CB.

[0054] In conjunction with the second aspect and the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect and the second aspect, the number of columns of the parity check matrix corresponding to the first coded bit is greater than or equal to (n1+n2), where n1 is the number of bits contained in the first CB and n2 is the number of bits contained in the second CB.

[0055] Based on this, the first communication device can use the check matrix to encode multiple CBs.

[0056] Thirdly, this application provides an apparatus. This apparatus may include modules corresponding to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect, or may include modules corresponding to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect. These modules may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software.

[0057] In one design, the device may include a processing module and a communication module. The communication module is used to perform the sending and receiving actions performed by the first communication device in the method described in the first aspect above, while the processing module is used to perform processing-related actions performed by the first communication device in the method described in the first aspect above.

[0058] In one design, the device may include a processing module and a communication module. The communication module is used to perform the sending and receiving actions performed by the second communication device in the method described in the second aspect above, while the processing module is used to perform processing-related actions performed by the second communication device in the method described in the second aspect above.

[0059] In one design, the device can be a terminal, or a device, module, circuit, or chip configured in the terminal, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the terminal.

[0060] In one design, the device can be a network device, or a device, module, circuit, or chip configured in the network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the network device.

[0061] Fourthly, this application provides an apparatus including a processor and a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof to be implemented, or cause the method as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof to be implemented.

[0062] Fifthly, this application provides an apparatus including a processing circuit for processing data and / or information to enable the implementation of a method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or to enable the implementation of a method as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0063] The processing circuit may include one or more processors, or all or part of the circuitry in one or more processors used for processing functions.

[0064] Optionally, the apparatus may further include a memory for storing programs or instructions, and the processor for running the programs or instructions to implement the methods as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or to implement the methods as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0065] Optionally, the device may also include the transceiver circuit, or an input / output interface.

[0066] In a sixth aspect, this application provides a chip including a processing circuit for running a program or instructions to cause the method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof to be implemented, or to cause the method as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof to be implemented.

[0067] Optionally, the chip may further include a memory for storing programs or instructions.

[0068] Optionally, the chip may also include transceiver circuitry, or input / output interfaces.

[0069] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof to be implemented, or cause the method as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof to be implemented.

[0070] Eighthly, this application provides a computer program product comprising computer program code or instructions that, when executed, cause the method as described in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof to be implemented, or cause the method as described in the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof to be implemented.

[0071] Ninthly, this application provides a communication system including means for performing the first or second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0072] It should be understood that the third to ninth aspects of this application correspond to the technical solutions of the first to second aspects of this application, and the beneficial effects obtained by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation are similar, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0073] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to the method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0074] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of several different communication scenarios applicable to the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0075] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the signal processing process of the physical layer provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0076] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the transport block TB provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0077] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the coded block group (CBG) provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0078] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a retransmission scheme based on CB foreign code provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0079] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0080] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the transmission of multiple CBs belonging to the same HARQ process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0081] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the transmission of multiple CBs belonging to different HARQ processes provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0082] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the base map of the LDPC provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0083] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the LDPC base map segmentation method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0084] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the LDPC matrix segmentation method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0085] Figure 13 illustrates an extended LDPC matrix provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0086] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of another segmentation method for the LDPC matrix provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0087] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of a base map of a global coupling code provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0088] Figure 16 is a schematic diagram of an extension method of the global coupling code provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0089] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of another extension method of the global coupling code provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0090] Figure 18 is a schematic block diagram of the device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0091] Figure 19 is another schematic block diagram of the device provided in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0092] The technical solutions in this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0093] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the following points will be explained first:

[0094] First, for ease of understanding and explanation, the terms encoder and decoder (or decoder) are introduced in this application. These names are given only to distinguish different functions and do not limit the structure of the communication device. For example, a first communication device has an encoding function, so it can be said that the first communication device includes an encoder, which can be understood as a functional module in the first communication device; a second communication device has a decoding function, so it can be said that the second communication device includes a decoder, which can be understood as a functional module in the second communication device. In specific implementations, the encoder and decoder can be implemented separately in hardware, or in software, or in a combination of hardware and software; this application does not limit this.

[0095] Of course, the first communication device may also have a decoding function, and the second communication device may also have an encoding function; that is, the first communication device may also include a decoder, and the second communication device may also include an encoder. This application does not limit this.

[0096] It is understood that the communication device in this application can also be replaced by a device or an encoding / decoding device, for example, the first communication device can be replaced by a first device or an encoding / decoding device, and the second communication device can be replaced by a second device or an encoding / decoding device.

[0097] Second, in this application, the indication includes direct indication (also known as explicit indication) and indirect indication (also known as implicit indication). Direct indication information A refers to information A; indirect indication information A can refer to indicating information A through the correspondence between information A and information B and direct indication information B; or it can refer to indicating information A through a preset rule that can be used to determine A based on B and direct indication information B. The correspondence between information A and information B, and the preset rule, can be predefined, pre-stored, pre-burned, or pre-configured.

[0098] Third, for ease of understanding, the method provided in this application is described in several accompanying drawings. These drawings are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the application in any way. For example, the order of steps shown in the drawings may be modified according to their function and internal logic; or, for example, all steps in the drawings may be performed, or only some of them may be performed, as long as the same function as in the embodiments of this application can be achieved.

[0099] Fourth, in this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between the preceding and following related objects, but it does not exclude the possibility of indicating an "and" relationship. The specific meaning can be understood in conjunction with the context. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Here, a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0100] Fifth, in this application, the use of prefixes such as "first" and "second" is merely for the purpose of distinguishing and describing different things belonging to the same category, and does not constrain the order, size, or quantity of things. For example, "first communication device" and "second communication device" are simply different devices, and do not limit the number of devices or their priority; similarly, "first information" and "second information" are simply different information, and there is no temporal sequence, size, or priority relationship between them.

[0101] Sixth, in this application, "send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send first information to the second communication device" can be understood as the destination of the information being the second communication device, which may include direct transmission via the air interface or indirect transmission via the air interface by other units or modules. "Receive second information from the second communication device" can be understood as the source of the second information being the second communication device, which may include direct reception from the second communication device via the air interface or indirect reception from the second communication device via the air interface by other units or modules. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface.

[0102] In other words, sending and receiving can be done between devices, such as between a second communication device and a first communication device; or it can be done within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within a device via a bus, wiring, or interface.

[0103] Seventh, in the embodiments of this application, "when," "if," and "if" all refer to the device making corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, and are not limited to a time, nor do they require the device to make a judgment action when it is implemented, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0104] Eighth, in this application, the words "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design described as "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of the words "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0105] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the following is a brief explanation of several terms used in this document.

[0106] Channel coding: Encoding information transmitted through unreliable channels in digital communication to improve the reliability of information transmission. In channel coding, the transmitting end can adopt a certain coding type to convert the original information (such as information bits) into encoded data of a certain format and transmit it through the channel; the receiving end needs to decode the received data and restore the original information. The most critical part of channel coding is forward error correcting coding (FEC). The purpose of FEC is to ensure that the receiving end can automatically correct errors that occur during data transmission with as little redundancy overhead as possible. At the same bit error rate, the smaller the overhead required, the higher the coding efficiency. Traditional channel coding types generally include linear block codes (LBCs) (such as Hamming codes, Gray codes, BCH codes (Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem codes), RS codes (Reed-Solomon codes), etc.), convolutional codes, and concatenated codes. These codes have their own different characteristics and performance, and are suitable for different scenarios.

[0107] HARQ is a combination of Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) and Forward Error Correction (FEC) techniques. HARQ avoids using a low bit rate for the initial transmission, ensuring reliability through retransmissions and improving spectral efficiency. Currently, the protocol defines a maximum of four retransmissions.

[0108] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: 5th generation (5G) or new radio (NR) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, wireless local area network (WLAN) systems, satellite communication systems, future communication systems such as 6th generation (6G) mobile communication systems, or integrated systems of multiple systems. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), and Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems or other communication systems.

[0109] In a communication system, a device can send signals to or receive signals from another device. These signals can include information, signaling, or data. The device can also be replaced by an entity, network entity, communication equipment, communication module, node, communication node, etc.; this disclosure uses a device as an example. For instance, a communication system can include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The network device can send downlink signals to the terminal device, and / or the terminal device can send uplink signals to the network device. It is understood that the terminal device in this disclosure can be replaced by a first communication device, and the network device can be replaced by a second communication device, both performing the corresponding communication methods described in this disclosure.

[0110] The radio access network (RAN) device in this application is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities. The RAN device can provide wireless communication services, enabling terminal devices to access the wireless network. The RAN can also be called an access network device or a network device. In the embodiments of this application, the network device can refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) used in a cellular network (or mobile network) to connect terminal devices to the wireless network; it can also be a Zigbee base station, a Bluetooth master, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) master, a LoRa base station, or a Wi-Fi access point.

[0111] Network equipment can be a base station. The term "base station" can broadly encompass, or be interchangeable with, various names including: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next-generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master station, auxiliary station, motor slide retainer (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), radio unit (RU), positioning node, etc. A base station can be a macro base station, micro base station, relay node, donor node, or similar entities, or combinations thereof. A base station can also refer to a communication module, modem, or chip installed in the aforementioned equipment or device. A base station can also be a mobile switching center and equipment performing base station functions in D2D, V2X, and M2M communications, network-side equipment in 6G networks, or equipment performing base station functions in future communication systems. A base station can support networks with the same or different access technologies. Optionally, a RAN node can also be a server, wearable device, vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or equipment form used in the network equipment. In some deployments, the network equipment mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be equipment including a CU, or a DU, or equipment including both CU and DU, or equipment with a control plane CU node (central unit-control plane (CU-CP)) and a user plane CU node (central unit-user plane (CU-UP)) and a DU node. For example, the network equipment can include gNB-CU-CP, gNB-CU-UP, and gNB-DU.

[0112] In some deployments, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist terminals in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes each implementing some of the base station's functions. For example, RAN nodes can be CUs, DUs, CU-CPs, CU-UPs, or RUs. CUs and DUs can be configured separately or included in the same network element, such as a BBU. RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as RRUs, AAUs, or RRHs.

[0113] RAN nodes can support one or more types of fronthaul interfaces, each corresponding to a DU and RU with different functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and RU is a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI), the DU is configured to implement one or more baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement one or more radio frequency functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and RU is another type of interface, relative to CPRI, it moves some downlink and / or uplink baseband functions—for example, for downlink, one or more of precoding, beamforming (BF), or inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) / adding a cyclic prefix (CP)—from the DU to the RU; and for uplink, one or more of beamforming (BF), or fast Fourier transform (FFT) / removing CP—from the DU to the RU. In one possible implementation, this interface can be an enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI). Under the eCPRI architecture, the splitting methods between DU and RU are different, corresponding to different types (category, Cat) of eCPRI, such as eCPRI Cat A, B, C, D, E, F.

[0114] Taking eCPRI Cat A as an example, for downlink transmission, layer mapping is used as the dividing line. The DU is configured to implement one or more functions preceding layer mapping (i.e., coding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, and layer mapping itself), while other functions following layer mapping (e.g., resource element (RE) mapping, digital BF, or IFFT / CP addition) are implemented in the RU. For uplink transmission, de-RE mapping is used as the dividing line. The DU is configured to implement one or more functions preceding de-mapping (i.e., decoding, rate matching de-matching, descrambling, demodulation, inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT), channel equalization, and de-RE mapping itself), while other functions following de-mapping (e.g., digital BF or FFT / CP removal) are implemented in the RU. It is understood that descriptions of the functions of the DU and RU corresponding to various types of eCPRI can be found in the eCPRI protocol and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0115] In one possible design, the processing unit in the BBU used to implement baseband functions is called the baseband high (BBH) unit, and the processing unit in the RRU / AAU / RRH used to implement baseband functions is called the baseband low (BBL) unit.

[0116] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an open-RAN (O-RAN or ORAN) system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules. The network device in this application can be a virtualized device, for example, implemented through general-purpose hardware and instantiated virtualization functions, or dedicated hardware and instantiated virtualization functions. Among them, general-purpose hardware can be a server, such as a cloud server.

[0117] In this embodiment, the apparatus for implementing the functions of a network device can be a network device itself; it can also be an apparatus capable of supporting the network device in implementing those functions, such as a chip system, hardware circuit, software module, or a hardware circuit plus a software module. This apparatus can be installed in the network device or used in conjunction with the network device. In this embodiment, the example of a network device being used to implement the functions of a network device is provided only and does not constitute a limitation on the solutions described in this embodiment.

[0118] The terminal equipment in this application 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 equipment, user agent, or user device.

[0119] Terminal devices can be devices that provide voice / data, such as handheld devices with wireless connectivity, in-vehicle devices, etc. Currently, examples of terminals include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving vehicles, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks, or future public land mobile communication networks. Terminal devices in a network (PLMN), devices in a Zigbee network, devices in a LoRa network, Bluetooth slaves, BLE slaves, Wi-Fi stations (STAs), etc. This application does not limit the scope of the embodiments.

[0120] Terminal devices can also be terminal devices in an IoT system, also known as IoT nodes. IoT is an important component of future information technology development. Its main technical characteristic is connecting objects to networks through communication technologies, thereby realizing an intelligent network that enables human-machine interconnection and machine-to-machine interconnection. Connectivity can be achieved through broadband or narrowband technologies. IoT technology, for example, can achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and low terminal power consumption through narrowband (NB) technology. IoT technologies include reflective communication technology, spread spectrum technology, and ultra-wideband (UWB), which will not be elaborated further.

[0121] In addition, terminal devices may also include sensors such as smart printers, train detectors, and gas stations. Their main functions include collecting data (for some terminal devices), receiving control information and downlink data from network devices, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to network devices.

[0122] By way of example and not limitation, in this embodiment, the terminal device can also be a wearable device. Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for devices that utilize wearable technology to intelligently design and develop everyday wearables, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not merely hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are feature-rich, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smartwatches or smart glasses, as well as those that focus on a specific type of application function and require the use of other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0123] In this embodiment, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or it can be any device capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing those functions, such as a chip system. This device can be installed in or used in conjunction with the terminal device. In this embodiment, the chip system can be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete components. This embodiment only uses the terminal device as an example to illustrate the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device, and does not constitute a limitation on the solution of this embodiment.

[0124] The terminal device in this application can be a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, or a software function running on general-purpose hardware. It can also be a virtualized device, for example, implemented through general-purpose hardware and instantiated virtualization functions, or dedicated hardware and instantiated virtualization functions. Among them, the general-purpose hardware can be a server, such as a cloud server.

[0125] Network devices and / or terminal devices can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can also be deployed in the air on airplanes, balloons, and satellites. This application does not limit the scenario in which the network devices and terminal devices are located.

[0126] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 10 applicable to the method provided in the embodiments of this application. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting system architecture. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 10 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 10 also includes an Internet 300. The RAN 100 may include at least one RAN node (110a and 110b in Figure 1) and at least one terminal device (120a-120j in Figure 1). The terminal device can be wirelessly connected to the radio access network device. Terminal devices and radio access network devices can be interconnected via wired or wireless means. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 wirelessly or via wired means. The core network device in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device integrating core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0127] Figure 1 is just a schematic diagram. The communication system 10 may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1.

[0128] RAN 100 can be a cellular system related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 4G, 5G mobile communication systems, or future-oriented evolution systems (such as 6G mobile communication systems). RAN 100 can also be ORAN, cloud radio access network (CRAN), Zigbee network system, or wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system. RAN 100 can also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0129] The RAN node can be an airborne base station, such as satellite base station 110a; or an indoor base station, such as a micro base station or indoor station 110b. It should be understood that this application does not limit the specific technology or device form used in the wireless access network equipment. For ease of description, the following description uses a base station as an example of a wireless access network device.

[0130] The terminal equipment can be terminal equipment deployed in the air, such as the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1; or it can be terminal equipment deployed on the ground, such as mobile phones 120a, 120e, 120f and 120j, vehicle 120b, computer 110b, printer 120h, etc. in Figure 1.

[0131] Alternatively, the terminal device can also be used as a RAN node. For example, the UE can act as a scheduling entity, providing sidelink signaling between terminal devices in vehicle-to-everything (V2X), device-to-device (D2D), or peer-to-peer (P2P) scenarios.

[0132] RAN nodes and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the RAN nodes and terminal devices.

[0133] The roles of RAN nodes and terminal devices can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a RAN node. For terminal devices 120j that access RAN 100 through 120i, terminal device 120i is a RAN node; however, for RAN node 110a, 120i is a terminal device. That is, 110a and 120i communicate via a radio interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate via an interface protocol between RAN nodes. In this case, 120i is also a RAN node relative to 110a. Therefore, RAN nodes and terminal devices can both be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a, 110b, and 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be called communication devices with their respective corresponding functions, such as communication devices with RAN node functions or communication devices with terminal functions.

[0134] In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the RAN node can be executed by modules (such as chips) within the RAN node, or by a control subsystem that includes RAN node functions. This control subsystem, including RAN node functions, can be a control center in the aforementioned terminal application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. The functions of the terminal device can also be executed by modules (such as chips) within the terminal device, or by a device that includes terminal device functions. This application does not limit the scope of these limitations.

[0135] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of several different communication scenarios applicable to the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application. Examples include point-to-point transmission between RAN nodes and terminals or between terminals (as shown in Figure 2(a)), multi-hop transmission between RAN nodes and terminals (as shown in Figure 2(b) and (c)), dual connectivity (DC) between multiple RAN nodes and terminals (as shown in Figure 2(d)), and other scenarios. It should be noted that the specific communication application scenarios described above are merely examples and do not constitute limitations. In particular, from a business perspective, the embodiments of this application are applicable to many business scenarios, such as data encoding scenarios in extended reality (XR) services and high-capacity uplink scenarios. Furthermore, Figure 2 does not impose limitations on the network architecture applicable to this application, and this application does not limit uplink, downlink, access link, backhaul link, sidelink (SL), and other transmission methods.

[0136] To better understand the method provided in this application, the signal processing process of the physical layer will be briefly explained below with reference to Figure 3.

[0137] When sending information data, the sending end can divide the data from the MAC layer into multiple TBs according to the size of the transport block (TB) supported by the system, and add a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code to each TB. If the size of the TB after adding the CRC code exceeds the maximum code block length, the TB can be segmented to obtain multiple code blocks (CBs). Each segmented CB can be further added with a CRC code to obtain the input to be encoded corresponding to each CB (the bits to be encoded corresponding to each CB are the bits of the CB described in this application). It can be understood that the bits to be encoded are a sequence of bits to be encoded, which may specifically include the information bits and redundant bits (i.e., the CRC code) in its corresponding CB.

[0138] The transmitting end can perform channel coding on the input to be encoded, such as LDCP coding or Polar coding, to obtain the corresponding coded code blocks (or coded bits). The coded code blocks are then rate-matched and concatenated to form a code word (CW).

[0139] The transmitter can scramble the codewords to generate scrambled bits. These scrambled bits are then modulated to obtain modulation symbols. After being mapped onto multiple REs (Relay Arrays), the modulation symbols are mapped to the REs, thus obtaining the value carried on each RE. Based on the values ​​carried on these REs, the transmitter can generate a baseband signal. The baseband signal can be up-converted to a bandpass signal, which, after power amplification and other operations, is then transmitted through the antenna.

[0140] The receiver can receive signals via an antenna. After receiving the bandpass signal from the transmitter, the receiver can down-convert the bandpass signal to obtain the baseband signal. Subsequently, the physical layer of the receiver can sequentially perform RE mapping, demodulation, descrambling, rate matching de-matching, and channel decoding (or decoding) on ​​the signal to obtain the bit sequence before encoding (e.g., the bits to be encoded mentioned above), which may specifically include information bits and parity bits.

[0141] Optionally, after completing RE mapping and before demodulation, the receiver can perform channel equalization. Channel equalization is based on the channel estimated by the channel, and the influence of the channel is removed by using an equalization algorithm, thereby ensuring correct signal demodulation. It can be understood that the information bits received by the receiver correspond to the information bits to be transmitted by the transmitter.

[0142] Optionally, after modulation but before RE mapping, the transmitter can perform layer mapping and precoding. For example, the transmitter can map the modulation symbols to multiple layers, and the layer-mapped modulation symbols are then precoded to obtain a precoded signal. The precoded signal is then mapped onto multiple REs via RE mapping. Correspondingly, before de-RE mapping and channel equalization, the receiver can perform de-layer mapping and de-precoding, and then perform channel equalization.

[0143] Since the specific implementation methods for each step in Figure 3 can be achieved using existing technologies, please refer to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3). rd The relevant sections of the Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) technical specification (TS) 38.211 are not detailed here.

[0144] In 3G and 4G mobile communication systems, iterative (Turbo) codes, as a coding and decoding technique defined by the 3GPP standard, belong to convolutional codes and boast excellent performance, approaching the limits of Shannon's theory. In the 5G era, data transmission rates are orders of magnitude higher than in 4G. For Turbo codes, their serial-processing-based decoders struggle to effectively support such high-speed data transmission. Simultaneously, the 5G era has seen the emergence of richer service application scenarios and new requirements for channel coding. For example, massive machine-type communication (mMTC) scenarios require smaller data packets, while ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) scenarios have high requirements for coding and decoding latency and low error rates. Therefore, based on the key channel coding requirements of these three major 5G application scenarios, the 5G standard ultimately adopted LDPC and Polar codes. Compared to traditional linear block codes and convolutional codes, these two types of codes offer superior performance, approaching the limits of Shannon's theory. However, they also have different characteristics in terms of applicable scenarios and the complexity of their codecs.

[0145] With the approach of 6G, commercial applications such as XR, mixed reality (MR), and immersive services have emerged, providing real-time high data rate applications. These emerging services place higher demands on the peak throughput and area efficiency of encoding and decoding, with peak rates even required to reach megabytes per second (Tbps). At the same time, the power consumption requirements for decoders are further reduced. 5G's LDPC and Polar codes are difficult to meet these extremely high requirements. Therefore, for next-generation chip channel encoding and decoding, technological breakthroughs need to be sought in two main directions: high-throughput low-power encoding and decoding, and high-reliability encoding and decoding.

[0146] In wireless communication systems, data retransmission can improve data transmission reliability. From LTE to NR 5G, retransmission is supported at the transport block (TB) granularity, meaning one TB occupies the time-frequency resources of one transmission. For example, as shown in Figure 4, if the initial TB is decoded incorrectly at the receiver, the receiver sends a negative acknowledgement (NACK) message to the sender. The sender then retransmits the TB using a redundant version (RV) (e.g., RV1). The receiver merges and decodes the initial and retransmitted soft information of the TB. After successful decoding, the receiver sends an acknowledgement (ACK) message to the sender.

[0147] In NR systems, data transmission rates can reach gigabits per second (Gbps), and a transport block (TB) can contain hundreds of code blocks (CBs). If HARQ feedback is performed based on a TB, a decoding error in that TB will cause the entire transport block to be retransmitted. However, in reality, only a small number of CBs in a transport block may have decoding errors. If the TB is large, retransmitting the entire TB would result in low resource utilization and significant resource waste. Therefore, NR systems introduce retransmission based on code block groups (CBGs). For example, as shown in Figure 5, a TB includes 8 CBs. By grouping every 2 CBs into a CBG, we get 4 CBGs, denoted as CBG0, CBG1, CBG2, and CBG3. In scenarios where feedback is based on each CBG, retransmission requires retransmitting the CBG with decoding errors, not the CBG with correct decoding. For example, if the decoding of CBG1 retransmission fails, CBG1 needs to be retransmitted, but CBG0, CBG2, and CBG3 do not need to be retransmitted. Compared to retransmitting the entire TB, CBG-based retransmission can reduce resource consumption; compared to feedback for each CB, CBG-based feedback can reduce signaling overhead.

[0148] The 3GPP standard release 15 (R15) also proposes a retransmission scheme based on CB (Block Code) outer codes. This scheme generates a check CB by encoding multiple initially transmitted CBs (or, the information bits within those CBs), and then transmits this check CB on retransmission resources. In the process of generating the check CB from the initial transmitted CBs, these initial transmitted CBs can be referred to as system CBs. As shown in Figure 6, CB6 is the check CB obtained by encoding CB0 to CB5 as system CBs (or, the bits contained in CB0 to CB5 as information bits). If the initial transmitted CB3 is decoded incorrectly, the receiver can correctly decode CB3 using the received CB6 during retransmission. Compared to the CBG (Block Code for Retransmission) scheme, this scheme does not require the receiver to explicitly indicate which CBs or CBGs are erroneous; it only needs to report the number of erroneous CBs. The transmitter encodes the corresponding number of check CBs based on the feedback and sends them to the receiver. Therefore, the CB outer code retransmission scheme has less feedback overhead and higher spectrum utilization.

[0149] While the spectral efficiency of the aforementioned retransmission schemes based on TB granularity, CBG granularity, and CB granularity is gradually improving, each retransmission requires a separate allocation of resources for each data retransmission. This means that only the retransmitted data is sent on the allocated resources. Since the number of erroneous bits during the initial data transmission is relatively small, using existing retransmission methods results in less data being sent on the allocated resources, leading to lower spectral efficiency.

[0150] In view of this, embodiments of this application provide a communication method and related apparatus. In this method, by jointly encoding the initial transmission data and the retransmission data, the initial transmission data and the retransmission data can be transmitted on a single scheduled resource, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and reducing transmission latency.

[0151] The communication method provided in the embodiments of this application is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0152] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 700 provided in an embodiment of this application. The flowchart in Figure 7 illustrates the method from the perspective of the interaction between the first communication device and the second communication device, but this application does not limit the entity executing the method. For example, the first communication device in Figure 7 can be replaced by a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the implementation of the method by the first communication device, or it can be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first communication device. Similarly, the second communication device in Figure 7 can be replaced by a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the implementation of the method by the second communication device, or it can be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second communication device.

[0153] It should be understood that the first communication device can be a terminal device or a network device, and the second communication device can also be a terminal device or a network device. For example, the first communication device is a network device, and the second communication device is a terminal device or a network device; or, the first communication device is a terminal device, and the second communication device is a terminal device or a network device.

[0154] The communication method 700 shown in Figure 7 may include steps S701 to S703. The steps in method 700 are described in detail below.

[0155] S701, the first communication device acquires the first CB and the second CB.

[0156] The first CB and the second CB satisfy at least one of the following:

[0157] The first pass (CB) is the initial pass (CB) and the second pass (CB) is the retransmission (CB), or...

[0158] The first CB and the second CB belong to different HARQ processes.

[0159] Here, the initial CB refers to the first CB sent, and the retransmitted CB refers to the T-th CB sent (T is an integer greater than 1). It can be understood that the CBs sent from the 1st to the (T-1)th may be decoded incorrectly or correctly. A CB with a decoding error can be determined in either of the following ways: receiving feedback that the decoding of any CB is incorrect after its transmission, or not receiving feedback for any CB within a preset time period after its transmission.

[0160] For example, when the first CB is the initial transmission CB and the second CB is the retransmission CB, the first CB and the second CB may belong to the same HARQ process or to different HARQ processes.

[0161] For example, if the first CB and the second CB belong to different HARQ processes, the first CB and the second CB are both initial transmission CBs, or both are retransmission CBs, or the first CB is an initial transmission CB and the second CB is a retransmission CB, or the first CB is a retransmission CB and the second CB is an initial transmission CB.

[0162] S702, the first communication device encodes the first CB and the second CB to obtain the first encoded bit.

[0163] The first encoded bit includes a first information bit and a first parity bit. The first information bit includes bits of the first CB and bits of the second CB, and the first parity bit is the parity bit of the first information bit.

[0164] For a description of the bits of CB, please refer to the relevant description in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0165] The encoding process will be introduced in conjunction with different channel coding types below, and will not be described in detail here.

[0166] S703, the first communication device transmits all or part of the bits in the first encoded bits. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the second encoded bits.

[0167] The second encoded bit is all or part of the first encoded bit sent by the first communication device, and the encoded bit received by the second communication device after passing through the wireless channel.

[0168] It is understandable that all or some of the bits in the first coded bits transmitted by the first communication device may not be successfully received by the receiving end after passing through the wireless channel, for example, due to noise interference or packet loss. Therefore, the second coded bits correspond to all or some of the bits in the first coded bits. That is, the second coded bits may be equal to the bits transmitted by the first communication device, and all or some of the bits in the first coded bits may not be equal to the bits transmitted by the first communication device.

[0169] In this embodiment of the application, the first communication device encodes the information bits composed of the first CB and the second CB to obtain the check bit in the first encoded bit, thereby transmitting all or part of the bits in the first encoded bit on a single scheduled resource. Compared with the method of transmitting a TB or a CBG on a single scheduled resource, this method can effectively improve the spectrum efficiency, reduce the data transmission latency, and further improve the spectrum gain by encoding multiple CBs.

[0170] Optionally, the first CB includes one or more CBs, and the second CB includes one or more CBs.

[0171] It is understood that, in the case that the second CB is a retransmission CB, the number of CBs included in the second CB is related to the number of CBs with decoding errors that were determined before the transmission of the first CB. For example, the second CB includes CBs with decoding errors that were determined before the transmission of the first CB; or, the number of CBs included in the second CB is related to the number of CBs that were transmitted before the transmission of the first CB. For example, the second CB includes all or part of the CBs that were transmitted before the transmission of the first CB.

[0172] It can also be understood that when the first CB and the second CB belong to different HARQ processes, and the first CB includes multiple CBs, the multiple CBs included in the first CB can belong to the same HARQ process or different HARQ processes. Similarly, when the first CB and the second CB belong to different HARQ processes, and the second CB includes multiple CBs, the multiple CBs included in the second CB can belong to the same HARQ process or different HARQ processes.

[0173] Optionally, the method 700 further includes: a first communication device sending first information to a second communication device, the first information including a first bitmap, wherein the bits in the first bitmap and the CBs participating in the encoding have a predefined correspondence, and the first bitmap indicates the CBs participating in the encoding. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first information from the first communication device; and determines the CBs participating in the encoding based on the first information.

[0174] Since the CBs participating in encoding are different each time, a first correspondence can be predefined between the first CB participating in encoding in each encoding and one or more bits in the first bit diagram, as well as a predefined correspondence between each CB sent before the first CB participating in encoding and each bit or group of bits (a group of bits includes at least one bit) in the first bit diagram. In this way, the first communication device can determine whether the corresponding CB participates in encoding by the value of the bit in the bit diagram.

[0175] For example, if the first bitmap includes *a* bits, these *a* bits are numbered sequentially from left to right or from right to left, and can be denoted as: first bit, second bit, ..., the *a*th bit. The first bit of these *a* bits is predefined, for example, the bit with the highest importance (MSB), i.e., the leftmost bit, corresponding to the first CB (denoted as CB1) to be encoded; the second bit corresponds to the last CB transmitted before CB1 (denoted as CB2); the third bit corresponds to the last CB transmitted before CB2 (denoted as CB3), and so on, with the (j+1)th bit corresponding to the last CB transmitted before CBj (denoted as CBp, p = j+1). Therefore, the CBs participating in the encoding can be determined based on the first bitmap. Here, *j* is an integer greater than 0 and less than *a*, and *a* is a positive integer.

[0176] For example, if a = 4, and "1" indicates that the corresponding CB participates in the encoding, and "0" indicates that the corresponding CB does not participate in the encoding, when the first bit map is "1011", the CBs participating in the encoding indicated by the first bit map are: CB1, CB3, CB4; if "0" indicates that the corresponding CB participates in the encoding, and "1" indicates that the corresponding CB does not participate in the encoding, when the first bit map is "0101", the CBs participating in the encoding indicated by the first bit map are: CB1, CB3.

[0177] Similarly, if the first bitmap consists of *a* bits, these *a* bits are numbered sequentially from left to right or from right to left, and can be denoted as: first bit, second bit, ..., the *a*th bit. The *a*th bit is predefined, for example, the least important (LSB) bit, i.e., the rightmost bit, corresponding to the first CB (denoted as CB1) involved in encoding; the (*a-1*)th bit corresponds to the last CB transmitted before CB1 (denoted as CB2); the (*a-2*)th bit corresponds to the last CB transmitted before CB2 (denoted as CB3), and so on, until the (*aj*)th bit corresponds to the last CB transmitted before CBj (denoted as CBp, p = j + 1). Here, j is an integer greater than 0 and less than a, and a is a positive integer.

[0178] For example, if a = 4, and "1" indicates that the corresponding CB participates in the encoding, and "0" indicates that the corresponding CB does not participate in the encoding, when the first bit map is "1011", the CBs participating in the encoding indicated by the first bit map are: CB4, CB2, CB1; if "0" indicates that the corresponding CB participates in the encoding, and "1" indicates that the corresponding CB does not participate in the encoding, when the first bit map is "0010", the CBs participating in the encoding indicated by the first bit map are: CB1, CB3, CB4.

[0179] It is understood that the first bitmap can reuse an existing bitmap used to indicate feedback information for multiple CBGs. The feedback information for each CBG can be used to indicate whether the decoding of that CBG is correct. Alternatively, the first bitmap can also be a redefined bitmap used to indicate CBs participating in the encoding. This application does not limit this. However, it should be noted that when reusing an existing bitmap used to indicate feedback information for multiple CBGs, the function of the current bitmap can be indicated by signaling such as radio resource control (RRC). For example, an indicator bit "1" can indicate that the first bitmap is used to indicate CBs participating in the encoding, and an indicator bit "0" can indicate that the first bitmap is used to indicate feedback information for multiple CBGs.

[0180] Optionally, the method 700 further includes: the second communication device sending second information to the first communication device, the second information including a second bitmap, wherein multiple bits in the second bitmap respectively indicate whether the first CB and the second CB have been correctly decoded. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the second information from the second communication device.

[0181] Alternatively, each bit group in the second bit diagram indicates whether one or more CBs have been correctly decoded, each bit group includes at least one bit, and the number of bits included in any two bit groups may be the same or different.

[0182] For example, if bit group 1 in a plurality of bit groups includes a single bit and bit group 1 indicates a plurality of CBs, then in the case where one CB has a decoding error, a single bit in bit group 1 can be used to indicate that a plurality of CBs have a decoding error; or, in the case where a plurality of CBs are decoded correctly, a single bit in bit group 1 can be used to indicate that a plurality of CBs are decoded correctly.

[0183] Since the second bitmap indicates whether each of the multiple CBs involved in the encoding is correctly decoded, the bits included in the second bitmap have a predefined correspondence with the CBs involved in the encoding. However, unlike the first bitmap, the second bitmap is used to indicate whether the CBs involved in the encoding are correctly decoded.

[0184] For example, a "0" in the second bit diagram can represent a decoding error and a "1" can represent a decoding success; or, a "1" in the second bit diagram can represent a decoding error and a "0" can represent a decoding success.

[0185] Optionally, the number of bits included in the second bitmap is related to the number of bounding cells (CBs) involved in encoding and the number of CBs indicated by each bit in the second bitmap. For example, if the number of CBs involved in encoding is P (P is an integer greater than 1), and each bit indicates Q (Q is a positive integer) CBs, then the number of bits included in the bitmap can be (P / Q). For example, if each bit indicates one CB, the number of bits in the second bitmap is equal to the number of CBs involved in encoding.

[0186] It is understandable that, since the CBs participating in the encoding may be different each time, the correspondence between the CBs participating in the encoding and the bits in the second bit diagram can be determined by predefining the correspondence between the number of times each CB participates in the encoding and one bit in the second bit diagram.

[0187] For example, the number of CBs involved in encoding is P (P is an integer greater than 1). When each CB is indicated by 1 bit, the second bit diagram includes at least P bits. The first bit from left to right in the second bit diagram, for example, the bit with the highest importance (MSB), corresponds to the first CB involved in encoding, the second bit corresponds to the second CB involved in encoding, and so on, with the p-th bit (p is an integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to P) corresponding to the p-th CB involved in encoding.

[0188] For example, P=3, and the second bit map is "010". When "0" indicates a decoding error and "1" indicates a decoding success, the first bit "0" indicates a CB decoding error in the first encoding attempt, the second bit "1" indicates a CB decoding success in the second encoding attempt, and the third bit "0" indicates a CB decoding error in the third encoding attempt.

[0189] Optionally, the method 700 further includes: the first communication device retransmitting the first CB and the second CB in a first transmission mode, the first transmission mode including: encoding the first CB, the second CB and the third CB to obtain coded bits, or sending a redundant version of the first coded bits.

[0190] The third CB satisfies at least one of the following: the third CB is the initial CB, or the third CB belongs to a different HARQ process from at least one of the first CB and the second CB.

[0191] It is understood that the third CB and at least one of the first CB and the second CB belong to different HARQ processes, including the third CB and the first CB belonging to different HARQ processes, the third CB and the second CB belonging to different HARQ processes, or the third CB, the first CB and the second CB each belonging to different HARQ processes.

[0192] It is also understood that the aforementioned first transmission method can be predefined or indicated by the network side.

[0193] Optionally, when the first retransmission method involves encoding the first CB, second CB, and third CB to obtain coded bits, the first communication device retransmitting the first CB and second CB in the first transmission method may include: the first communication device encoding the first CB, second CB, and third CB to obtain third coded bits; and sending all or part of the bits in the third coded bits (hereinafter referred to as the second bit sequence for ease of description). Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first bit sequence, which is the bit sequence received by the second communication device after the second bit sequence sent by the first communication device passes through the wireless channel.

[0194] The third encoded bit includes a third information bit and a third check bit. The third information bit includes the bits of the first CB, the bits of the second CB, and the bits of the third CB. The third check bit is the check bit of the third information.

[0195] Compared to the encoding of the first CB and the second CB by the first communication device, the encoding of the first CB, the second CB, and the third CB includes the addition of the third CB bit in the information bits.

[0196] Optionally, when the first retransmission method is a redundant version of the first coded bits, the first communication device retransmitting the first CB and the second CB using the first transmission method may include: the first communication device acquiring a redundant version of the first coded bits (hereinafter referred to as the second bit sequence for ease of description); and sending the second bit sequence. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first bit sequence, which is the bit sequence received by the second communication device after the second bit sequence sent by the first communication device passes through the wireless channel.

[0197] The method for obtaining the redundant version of the first coded bit can be found in the relevant description in section 5.4.2 of the 3GPP technical specification (TS), which will not be repeated here.

[0198] Optionally, the method 700 further includes: the first communication device sending third information to the second communication device, the third information indicating a first transmission mode. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the third information from the first communication device, so that the second communication device determines the encoding mode and performs decoding using a corresponding decoding mode.

[0199] This third information can be carried in downlink control information (DCI) or uplink control information (UCI).

[0200] The following section uses the transmission of CB1, CB2, CB3, and CB4 as examples, and describes the transmission process of multiple CBs in detail with reference to Figures 8 and 9.

[0201] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the transmission of multiple CBs belonging to the same HARQ process according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 8(a) and (b), CB1, CB2, CB3 and CB4 all belong to the i-th HARQ process, and the sending end sends CB1, CB2, CB3 and CB4 to the receiving end in sequence.

[0202] As shown in Figure 8(a), after the sending end initially transmits CB1, it receives a NACK message for CB1, determining that CB1 needs to be retransmitted. Upon determining that CB1 needs to be retransmitted, the sending end does not immediately initiate a retransmission. Instead, it waits until the initial transmission of CB2, encodes the initial transmission of CB2 and the retransmission of CB1, and sends the encoded bit 1. After sending the encoded bit 1, the sending end receives negative acknowledgment (NACK) messages for CB1 and CB2, determining that both CB1 and CB2 need to be retransmitted. Similar to the retransmission of CB1, the sending end does not immediately initiate a retransmission. Instead, during the initial transmission of CB3, it encodes the initial transmission of CB3, the retransmission of CB2, and the retransmission of CB1, sending the encoded bit 2. After sending the encoded bit 2, the sending end receives NACK messages for CB3, CB2, and CB1, determining that CB1, CB2, and CB3 all need to be retransmitted. Similar to the retransmission of CB1, the sending end does not immediately initiate a retransmission.

[0203] It is understandable that since CB1, CB2, and CB3 are all decoded incorrectly, alternative redundant versions of the transmitted coded bit 2 can be considered for retransmission of CB1, CB2, and CB3. Alternatively, similar to retransmission of CB1, the sender can encode the initial transmission of CB4, retransmission of CB1, retransmission of CB2, and retransmission of CB3 during the initial transmission of CB4, and then transmit the resulting coded bit 3.

[0204] As shown in Figure 8(b), after the sending end initially transmits CB1, it receives the NACK message of CB1 and determines that CB1 needs to be retransmitted. Upon determining that CB1 needs to be retransmitted, the sending end does not immediately initiate a retransmission. Instead, it waits until the initial transmission of CB2, encodes both the initial transmission of CB2 and the retransmission of CB1, and sends the encoded bit 1. After sending the encoded bit 1, the sending end receives the ACK message of CB2 and the NACK message of CB1, confirming that CB1 needs to be retransmitted. Similar to the previous retransmission of CB1, the sending end does not immediately initiate a retransmission. Instead, during the initial transmission of CB3, it encodes both the initial transmission of CB3 and the retransmission of CB1, and sends the encoded bit 2. After sending the encoded bit 2, the sending end receives the ACK message of CB1 and the NACK message of CB3, confirming that CB3 needs to be retransmitted. Similar to the retransmission of CB1, the sending end does not immediately initiate a retransmission. Instead, during the initial transmission of CB4, it encodes both the initial transmission of CB4 and the retransmission of CB3, and sends the encoded bit 3.

[0205] It is understandable that when retransmitting CB1, CB2, or CB3, the sender may consider using a redundant version of the previously encoded bits to retransmit CB1, CB2, or CB3. For example, when retransmitting CB3, the sender may consider using a redundant version of encoded bit 2 to retransmit CB3.

[0206] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the transmission of multiple CBs belonging to different HARQ processes according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 9(a) and (b), CB1, CB2, CB3 and CB4 belong to different HARQ processes, and CB1 belongs to HARQ process (i), CB2 belongs to HARQ process (i+1), CB3 belongs to HARQ process (i+2) and CB4 belongs to HARQ process (i+3). The sending end sends CB1, CB2, CB3 and CB4 to the receiving end in sequence.

[0207] As shown in Figure 9(a), after the sending end initially transmits CB1, it encodes CB1 and CB2 during the initial transmission of CB2 and sends the encoded bit 1. During the initial transmission of CB3, the sending end continues to encode CB1, CB2, and CB3 and sends the encoded bit 2. If the sending end receives NACK messages for CB1, CB2, and CB3 after sending the encoded bit 2, it determines that CB1, CB2, and CB3 need to be retransmitted.

[0208] It is understandable that since CB1, CB2, and CB3 are all decoded incorrectly, it is advisable to consider sending other redundant versions of encoded bit 2 to retransmit CB1, CB2, and CB3. Since encoded bit 2 was obtained when sending CB3, which belongs to the HARQ process (i+2), it can be assumed that other redundant versions of encoded bit 2 belong to the HARQ process (i+2).

[0209] In another implementation, the sender can also encode the initial CB4, retransmission CB1, retransmission CB2, and retransmission CB3 during the initial CB4 transmission, and then send the encoded bit 3. As mentioned earlier, this encoded bit 3 belongs to the HARQ process (i+3).

[0210] As shown in Figure 9(b), after the sending end initially transmits CB1 and CB2 in sequence, it receives the NACK message of CB1 and determines that CB1 needs to be retransmitted. When the sending end determines that CB1 needs to be retransmitted, it does not immediately initiate a retransmission, but continues to initially transmit CB3. After initially transmitting CB3, it receives the NACK message of CB2 and continues to receive the NACK message of CB3. Similar to CB1, the sending end does not immediately initiate a retransmission, but waits for the initial transmission of CB4, encodes the initial transmission of CB4, the retransmission of CB1, the retransmission of CB2, and the retransmission of CB1, and sends the encoded bit 1.

[0211] It is understandable that if the sending end receives NACK messages for CB4, CB3, CB2, and CB1 after sending encoded bit 1, it can retransmit CB4, CB1, CB2, and CB3 by sending other redundant versions of encoded bit 1, or encode the initial transmission of CB5, retransmission of CB1, retransmission of CB2, retransmission of CB3, and retransmission of CB4 when initially transmitting other CBs (e.g., CB5), and then send the encoded bit 2.

[0212] The aforementioned ACK / NACK message can be a separate ACK / NACK message sent to each CB or each HARQ process, or a single ACK / NACK message sent to multiple HARQ processes; this is not limited here. For example, the ACK / NACK feedback shown in Figure 8(a) or Figure 9(a) is for the same process, such as all CBs in process (i) sending one ACK / NACK, or for the same process, such as each CB in process (i) sending one ACK / NACK; as another example, the ACK / NACK feedback shown in Figure 8(b) is for the same process, such as each CB in process (i) sending one ACK / NACK; as yet another example, the ACK / NACK feedback in Figure 9(b) is a separate ACK / NACK message sent to different processes.

[0213] The CBs involved in encoding as shown in Figures 8 and 9 can be indicated by the first bit diagram above. For example, in the case where "1" in the first bit diagram indicates participation in encoding and "0" indicates no participation in encoding, the CB involved in encoding corresponding to bit 2 in Figure 8(b) can be indicated by bit diagram "101", where the first bit on the right corresponds to the initial transmission CB3, the middle bit corresponds to the last CB transmitted before CB3 (i.e., CB2 in Figure 8), and the left bit corresponds to the last CB transmitted before CB2 (i.e., CB1 in Figure 8). As another example, in the case where "1" in the bit diagram indicates participation in encoding and "0" indicates no participation in encoding, the CB involved in encoding corresponding to bit 2 in Figure 9(a) can be indicated by bit diagram "111", where the first bit on the right, i.e., the rightmost bit, corresponds to the initial transmission CB3, the middle bit corresponds to the last CB transmitted before CB3 (i.e., CB2 in Figure 9), and the leftmost bit corresponds to the last CB transmitted before CB2 (i.e., CB1 in Figure 9).

[0214] The decoding errors or correct decoding of the CBs in Figures 8 and 9 can be indicated by the second bit diagram described above. For example, when the CBs involved in the encoding include CB1 and CB2, the second bit can include two bits. The right bit corresponds to the initial transmission of CB2, and the left bit corresponds to the retransmission of CB1. In the case where "0" indicates a decoding error and "1" indicates a correct decoding, "00" can indicate that both CB1 and CB2 are decoding errors, and "10" can indicate that CB1 is decoding correctly and CB2 is decoding incorrectly.

[0215] Optionally, the method 700 further includes: the first communication device punching holes in the first encoded bit to obtain a portion of the bits in the first encoded bit.

[0216] Punching a hole in the first encoded bit can be understood as deleting a bit from the first encoded bit.

[0217] For example, the first communication device can punch holes in N bits of the first encoded bits, where N is greater than 1 and less than X, and X is the number of bits contained in the first encoded bits. Alternatively, the first communication device can delete N bits from the first encoded bits.

[0218] The embodiments of this application reduce the coupling between the first CB and the second CB during the decoding process by puncturing the first encoded bit and sending a portion of the punctured first encoded bit. This improves decoding performance.

[0219] Optionally, the N bits can be distributed continuously or discretely in the first encoded bits. This application does not limit the position of the N bits in the first encoded bits. For example, the N bits can be the first N bits in the first encoded bits, which avoids the repeated transmission of information bits.

[0220] The N bits can be determined by the first communication device based on a punching pattern, which indicates the columns in the parity check matrix corresponding to the first encoded bit that need to be punched. Since the columns of the parity check matrix correspond one-to-one with the bits in the first encoded bit, and the first column corresponds to the first bit in the first encoded bit, the second column corresponds to the second bit in the first encoded bit, and so on, with the x-th column (x being a positive integer less than or equal to x) corresponding to the x-th bit in the first encoded bit, the bits in the first encoded bit that need to be punched can be determined based on the punching pattern.

[0221] The parity check matrix corresponding to the first encoded bit includes X columns, and the punching pattern indicates that the k-th, 2k-th, ..., (i×k)-th columns of the X columns need to be punched. Then, the partial bits in the first encoded bit are the encoded bits obtained by deleting the k-th, 2k-th, ..., (i×k)-th bits from the first encoded bit, where (i×k) is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to L, and i and k are positive integers.

[0222] Optionally, the above encoding includes LDPC encoding.

[0223] The following illustrates the process of LDPC encoding the first CB and the second CB.

[0224] For example, suppose the bit sequence of the first CB is The bit sequence of the second CB is Then the bit sequence of the first information bit is: Let the bit sequence of the first parity bit be Both M and K are positive integers.

[0225] Therefore, the bit sequence of the first parity bit can be obtained by the following formula (1):

[0226] in, express transpose, H represents the first encoded bit, and H is the parity check matrix (known).

[0227] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the base diagram of the LDPC parity check matrix provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 10, matrix A is the core matrix, which corresponds to the input information bits; matrix B corresponds to the redundant bits (also known as parity bits) of the core matrix A; matrix 0 is a zero matrix, that is, all elements in this matrix are 0; matrix C is an extended matrix, which is sparser than the core matrix; matrix I is a diagonal matrix. Matrix I enables the LDPC parity check matrix to support a raptor-like redundant bit generation method.

[0228] It is understood that when encoding the first CB and the second CB using the parity-check matrix corresponding to the base graph of the LDPC parity-check matrix shown in Figure 10, the parity-check matrix H in the above formula (1) can have the base graph of the LDPC shown in Figure 10. When encoding the first CB and the second CB using the LDPC base graph in the existing protocol, the columns corresponding to the core matrix in the LDPC base graph can be divided into two parts. One possible division method is shown in Figure 11: the first part corresponds to the bits of the second CB, the second part corresponds to the bits of the first CB, and the third part corresponds to the first parity bit; or, the first part corresponds to the bits of the first CB, the second part corresponds to the bits of the second CB, and the third part corresponds to the first parity bit.

[0229] Alternatively, when encoding more CBs (e.g., b CBs (where b is an integer greater than 2) using the LDPC base map in an existing protocol, the columns corresponding to the core matrix in the LDPC base map can be divided into more parts, as shown in Figure 12. In the LDPC base map shown in Figure 12, the column corresponding to matrix A is divided into b parts, each corresponding to one of the b CBs.

[0230] Since the maximum dimension of the extended matrix Z of the existing LDPC matrix is ​​384×384, combined with the column dimension of the LDPC basemap, the LDPC basemap can encode a maximum of 8448 bits for a single CB. If the LDPC matrix segmentation method shown in Figure 11 is used to segment the LDPC basemap matrix to encode two or more CBs, this segmentation method cannot support encoding a maximum of 8448 information bits for each of multiple CBs. Therefore, to solve the problem of still supporting encoding a maximum of 8448 information bits for each CB when encoding multiple CBs, this application proposes the following possible implementation methods.

[0231] The first possible implementation is to expand the LDPC matrix by increasing the expansion matrix Z, so that the expanded LDPC matrix can support encoding up to 8448 information bits for each of the multiple CBs.

[0232] For example, we define an extended matrix Z with a larger dimension. For instance, we define the dimension of the extended matrix Z as 384n × 384n, where n is an integer greater than 1. Or, for another example, we define the dimension of the extended matrix Z as (A × n) × (A × n), where A is a positive integer and n is a positive power of 2.

[0233] The second possible implementation is to extend the LDPC matrix by adding columns to it.

[0234] Figure 13 illustrates an extended LDPC matrix provided in an embodiment of this application. For ease of understanding and explanation, the matrix formed by concatenating matrices A, B, and C will be denoted as matrix S. The number of rows in matrix S is the sum of the number of rows in matrix A (or matrix B) and the number of rows in matrix C, and the number of columns in matrix S is the same as the number of columns in matrix C. As shown in Figure 13, matrices D and E are obtained by left-expanding the LDPC matrix. Matrices D and E can be obtained by copying all or part of the columns included in matrix S; or matrices D and E can be newly designed matrices, and the degree distribution of the newly designed matrices can be determined through simulation to ensure the performance of the extended LDPC parity-check matrix for multiple CB encodings.

[0235] For example, matrix matrix matrix matrix Matrix S consists of 3 columns. By copying the first two columns of matrix S, we can obtain the matrix... Partitioning matrix Q yields matrices D and E. This can be understood as partitioning matrix Q in the same way that matrices A or B and C are partitioned within matrix S. For example, matrix... matrix

[0236] In this context, copying a column in a matrix means copying all elements in that column to obtain a new matrix, where the relative positions of the elements in the new matrix remain unchanged, or in other words, the relative positions of the elements in the new matrix are the same as the relative positions of the elements in the copied column.

[0237] It should be understood that the matrix S illustrated above with reference to Figure 13 is introduced for ease of description only and should not constitute any limitation on this application. In actual processing, the sending and receiving ends may not necessarily perform the splicing operation described above. Furthermore, matrices Q, D, and E are all examples and should not constitute any limitation on the way the matrices are partitioned.

[0238] The degree of the matrix mentioned above includes the degree of the matrix rows and the degree of the matrix columns. The degree of a matrix row can be understood as the number of non-zero elements in each row, and the degree of a matrix column can be understood as the number of non-zero elements in each column. The distribution of matrix degree refers to the number of non-zero elements in each row of the matrix, and / or the number of non-zero elements in each column of the matrix.

[0239] When encoding the first CB and the second CB using the extended LDPC matrix shown in Figure 13, the first part of the extended LDPC matrix can correspond to the bits of the second CB, the second part can correspond to the bits of the first CB, and the third part can correspond to the first parity bit; or, the first part can correspond to the bits of the first CB, the second part can correspond to the bits of the second CB, and the third part can correspond to the first parity bit.

[0240] Similar to the first possible implementation, when encoding more CBs (e.g., b CBs), the column corresponding to matrix D in the extended LDPC matrix can be divided into b parts to correspond to multiple CBs (as shown in Figure 14).

[0241] Referring to Figures 11 to 13, when performing LDPC encoding on the first CB and the second CB, the number of columns in the parity-check matrix should be greater than or equal to (n1 + n2), where n1 is the number of bits in the first CB and n2 is the number of bits in the second CB. In other words, the number of columns in the extended LDPC matrix should be greater than or equal to (n1 + n2).

[0242] Optionally, the above encoding includes global coupling code encoding.

[0243] The following illustrates the process of global coupling code encoding for the first CB and the second CB.

[0244] For example, suppose the bit sequence of the first CB is The bit sequence of the second CB is Then the bit sequence of the first information bit is: Let the bit sequence of the first parity bit be

[0245] Therefore, the bit sequence of the first parity bit can be obtained by the following formula (2):

[0246] in, express The transpose of , H1 is the first parity check matrix (known).

[0247] Based on formula (2) Afterwards, Further divided into L segments Take the l-th bit segment (where l can be any integer from 1 to L) from the L-segment bit sequence. As new information bits, continue encoding, making the bit sequence The corresponding parity bit sequence is The specific process is as follows:

[0248] in, express transpose, H represents the encoded bits corresponding to the l-th segment. l This is the second parity check matrix (known).

[0249] Since l can take the value of any integer from 1 to L, the L-segment encoded bit sequence can be obtained based on formula (3). By arranging the L-segment encoded bits in ascending order of the value of l, the first encoded bit can be obtained.

[0250] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of the base map of a global coupling code provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 15, the global coupling code includes a first type of encoding and a second type of encoding. The first type of encoding is a global code, corresponding to matrices C, 0, D, E and 0 in Figure 15. This global code is used as the outer code for encoding first. The second type of encoding consists of multiple local codes, corresponding to two matrices A and two matrices B in Figure 15. This second type of encoding is used as the inner code for encoding the bits obtained after encoding the outer code.

[0251] It can be understood that when the first CB and the second CB are encoded using the global coupling code shown in Figure 15, the parity check matrix H1 in the above formula (2) is the matrix corresponding to the global code shown in Figure 15, and the parity check matrix H in the above formula (3) is... l Let A and B be matrices in the second type of encoding shown in Figure 15, and L = 2. It should be noted that the value of L is the same as the number of matrices A or B, and the number of matrices A is the same as the number of matrices B.

[0252] It can be understood that when encoding the first CB and the second CB using a global coupled code, the parity check matrix H in formula (1) above is the global code in the global coupled code. For example, when encoding the first CB and the second CB using the base map matrix shown in Figure 15, matrix E and matrix 0 in the global code in Figure 15 correspond to the first parity check bit, matrix C (or matrix D) corresponds to the second CB, and matrix D (or matrix C) corresponds to the first CB.

[0253] Similar to LDPC codes, in order to address the issue of still supporting the encoding of up to 8448 information bits for each CB when encoding multiple CBs, this application proposes the following two extension methods for global coupling codes, as shown in Figures 16 and 17.

[0254] Figure 16 illustrates an extension method of the global coupling code provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 16, matrices C and 0 in the base diagram are copied along the rows corresponding to the outer codes in the base diagram, and matrices A and B are copied along the diagonal directions of the inner codes in the base diagram, thereby extending the global coupling code. In the extended global coupling code, multiple matrices A and B are arranged in a ladder-like matrix combination.

[0255] In this application, a copy matrix refers to a matrix in which all elements are copied, and the relative positions of the elements in the copied matrix remain unchanged. In other words, the relative positions of the elements in the copied matrix are the same as the relative positions of the elements in the original copy matrix.

[0256] Figure 17 illustrates another extension method of the global coupling code provided in the embodiments of this application. For ease of understanding and explanation, the matrix formed by concatenating matrices A, B, and the outer codes in the base diagram will be denoted as matrix R. The number of rows in matrix R is the sum of the number of rows in matrix A and matrix C, and the number of columns in matrix R is the sum of the number of columns in matrix C, the columns of the two matrices 0, the columns of matrix D, and the columns of matrix E. As shown in Figure 17, the global coupling code is extended by copying matrix R in the base diagram, and the global codes in the extended global coupling code are arranged in a ladder manner.

[0257] It is understood that the global coupling codes shown in Figures 16 and 17 can be predefined or obtained by extending the base graph matrix based on the number of CBs to be encoded.

[0258] The method provided by the embodiments of this application has been described in detail above with reference to Figures 1 to 17. The apparatus provided by the implementation of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 18 and 19.

[0259] Figures 18 and 19 are schematic diagrams of possible apparatuses provided in embodiments of this application. These apparatuses can be used to implement the functions of terminal devices or network devices in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments.

[0260] Figure 18 is a schematic block diagram of the apparatus provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 18, the apparatus 1800 includes a processing module 1810 and a transceiver module 1820.

[0261] One possible design is that the device 1800 is used to implement the function of the first communication device in the method embodiment shown in FIG7 above.

[0262] For example, the processing module 1810 is configured to: acquire a first code block CB and a second CB; and encode the first CB and the second CB to obtain a first encoded bit; the transceiver module 1820 is configured to: transmit all or part of the bits in the first encoded bit.

[0263] Optionally, the transceiver module 1820 is further configured to: send first information, the first information including a bit map, wherein the bits in the bit map have a predefined correspondence with the CBs participating in the encoding.

[0264] Optionally, the transceiver module 1820 is further configured to: receive second information, the second information including a bit map, wherein multiple bits in the bit map respectively indicate whether the first CB and the second CB are correctly decoded.

[0265] Optionally, the transceiver module 1820 is further configured to: retransmit the first CB and the second CB in a first transmission mode, the first transmission mode including: encoding the first CB, the second CB and the third CB to obtain encoded bits, or sending a redundant version of the first encoded bits;

[0266] Optionally, the transceiver module 1820 is further configured to: send third information, the third information indicating the first transmission mode.

[0267] Optionally, the processing module 1810 is further configured to: punch holes in the first encoded bit to obtain a portion of the bits in the first encoded bit.

[0268] A more detailed description of the transceiver module 1820 and the processing module 1810 can be obtained directly from the relevant description in the embodiment shown in Figure 7, and will not be repeated here.

[0269] Another possible design is that the device 1800 is used to implement the function of the second communication device in the method embodiment shown in FIG7 above.

[0270] For example, the transceiver module 1820 is configured to: receive a second coded bit, the second coded bit being all or part of the bits in the first coded bit sent by the first communication device, and the coded bit received by the second communication device after passing through a wireless channel, wherein the first coded bit includes a first information bit and a first check bit, the first information bit including bits of the first code block CB and bits of the second CB, and the first check bit being a check bit of the first information bit.

[0271] Optionally, the transceiver module 1820 is further configured to: receive first information, the first information including a bit map, wherein the bits in the bit map have a predefined correspondence with the CBs participating in the encoding.

[0272] Optionally, the transceiver module 1820 is further configured to: send second information, the second information including a bit map, wherein multiple bits in the bit map respectively indicate whether the first CB and the second CB are correctly decoded.

[0273] Optionally, the transceiver module 1820 is further configured to: receive a first bit sequence, wherein the first bit sequence is a bit sequence received by the second communication device after the second bit sequence sent by the first communication device passes through the wireless channel, and the second bit sequence is the first CB and the second CB retransmitted according to a first transmission method, wherein the first transmission method includes: encoding the first CB, the second CB and the third CB to obtain encoded bits, or sending a redundant version of the first encoded bits;

[0274] Optionally, the transceiver module 1820 is further configured to: receive third information, the third information indicating the first transmission mode.

[0275] A more detailed description of the processing module 1810 and the transceiver module 1820 can be obtained directly from the relevant description in the embodiment shown in Figure 7, and will not be repeated here.

[0276] It should be noted that device 1800 may include a transmitting module but not a receiving module. Alternatively, device 1800 may include a receiving module but not a transmitting module. Specifically, it depends on whether the above-described scheme executed by device 1800 includes both transmitting and receiving actions. It is understood that because device 1800 has communication capabilities, it can also be called a communication device.

[0277] Figure 19 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 19, the device 1900 includes a processing circuit 1910 and a communication circuit 1920. The processing circuit 1910 and the communication circuit 1920 are coupled to each other.

[0278] It can be understood that the processing circuit 1910 can be one or more processors, or it can be all or part of the processing functions of one or more processors.

[0279] Understandably, the communication circuit 1920 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface.

[0280] Optionally, the device 1900 may further include a memory 1930 for storing instructions executed by the processing circuit 1910, or storing input data required for the processing circuit 1910 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processing circuit 1910 executes instructions.

[0281] It is understood that the memory 1930 may be located outside the processing circuit 1910, or inside the processing circuit 1910.

[0282] As an example, the processing circuit 1910 is used to implement the functions of the processing module 1810, and the communication circuit 1920 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver module 1820.

[0283] As an example, device 1900 can be a communication device or a chip used in a communication device.

[0284] When device 1900 is a communication device, the communication circuit can be a transceiver; when device 1900 is a chip, the communication circuit can be an input / output circuit, a bus, pins, or other types of communication interfaces, wherein the input circuit in the input / output circuit can be used for receiving, and the output interface can be used for transmitting.

[0285] In some embodiments of this application, a computer program product is also provided. When the computer program product runs on a processor, it can implement the encoding method implemented by the first communication device in the above method embodiments, or it can implement the decoding method implemented by the second communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0286] In some embodiments of this application, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, which contains computer instructions that, when executed on a processor, can implement the encoding method implemented by the first communication device in the above method embodiments, or can implement the decoding method implemented by the second communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0287] In some embodiments of this application, a communication system is also provided, including the aforementioned first communication device and second communication device. The first communication device can implement the encoding method provided in the above embodiments, and the second communication device can implement the decoding method provided in the above embodiments; or, the communication system can implement the encoding method implemented by the first communication device and the decoding method implemented by the second communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0288] It should be noted that the above method embodiments can be applied to a processor, or implemented by a processor. A processor may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiments can be completed by integrated logic circuits in the processor's hardware or by software instructions.

[0289] The aforementioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0290] The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly manifested as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules can reside in mature storage media in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or registers. This storage medium is located in memory, and the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method.

[0291] The memory in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as 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 linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory used in the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0292] The methods provided in the above embodiments can be implemented, in whole or in part, by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, they can be implemented, in whole or in part, in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product may include one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic disk), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state disk (SSD)).

[0293] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0294] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0295] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0296] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0297] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0298] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory, random access memory, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0299] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Obtain the first code block (CB) and the second CB; The first CB and the second CB are encoded to obtain a first encoded bit. The first encoded bit includes a first information bit and a first check bit. The first information bit includes bits of the first CB and bits of the second CB. The first check bit is a check bit of the first information bit. Send all or part of the bits in the first encoded bits; Wherein, the first CB and the second CB satisfy at least one of the following: The first CB is the initial transmission CB and the second CB is the retransmission CB, or, The first CB and the second CB belong to different Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first CB includes one or more CBs, and the second CB includes one or more CBs.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send first information, the first information including a first bit map, wherein the bits in the first bit map have a predefined correspondence with the CBs involved in the encoding.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive second information, the second information including a second bit map, wherein multiple bits in the second bit map respectively indicate whether the first CB and the second CB are correctly decoded.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first CB and the second CB are retransmitted in a first transmission mode, the first transmission mode including: encoding the first CB, the second CB and the third CB to obtain encoded bits, or sending a redundant version of the first encoded bits; Wherein, the third CB satisfies at least one of the following: the third CB is the initial CB, or the third CB belongs to a different HARQ process from at least one of the first CB and the second CB.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a third message, which indicates the first transmission method.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Punch holes in the first encoded bit to obtain a portion of the bits in the first encoded bit.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The encoding includes low-density parity check (LDPC) encoding or global coupling code encoding.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The number of columns in the parity check matrix corresponding to the first encoded bit is greater than or equal to (n1+n2), where n1 is the number of bits contained in the first CB and n2 is the number of bits contained in the second CB.

10. A communication method, characterized in that, include: The second encoded bit is all or part of the first encoded bit sent by the first communication device. The encoded bit received by the second communication device after passing through the wireless channel includes a first information bit and a first check bit. The first information bit includes bits of the first code block CB and bits of the second CB. The first check bit is a check bit of the first information bit. Wherein, the first CB and the second CB satisfy at least one of the following: The first CB is the initial transmission CB and the second CB is the retransmission CB, or, The first CB and the second CB belong to different Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The first CB includes one or more CBs, and the second CB includes one or more CBs.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive first information, the first information including a first bit map, wherein the bits in the first bit map have a predefined correspondence with the CBs involved in the encoding.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second message, which includes a second bitmap, wherein multiple bits in the second bitmap indicate whether the first CB and the second CB have been correctly decoded.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that, If the first CB and the second CB are decoded incorrectly, the method further includes: Receive a first bit sequence, the first bit sequence being the bit sequence received by the second communication device after the second bit sequence sent by the first communication device passes through the wireless channel, the second bit sequence being the first CB and the second CB retransmitted according to a first transmission method, the first transmission method including: encoding the first CB, the second CB and the third CB to obtain encoded bits, or sending a redundant version of the first encoded bits; Wherein, the third CB satisfies at least one of the following: the third CB is the initial CB, or the third CB belongs to a different HARQ process from at least one of the first CB and the second CB.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive third information, which indicates the first transmission method.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that, Some bits in the first encoded bit are obtained by punching holes in the first encoded bit.

17. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that, The encoding includes low-density parity check (LDPC) encoding or global coupling code encoding.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The number of columns in the parity check matrix corresponding to the first encoded bit is greater than or equal to (n1+n2), where n1 is the number of bits contained in the first CB and n2 is the number of bits contained in the second CB.

19. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes functional modules for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 18.

20. A communication device, characterized in that, include: One or more processors and communication circuitry, the communication circuitry being used by the communication device to perform at least one of signal input or output; the one or more processors being used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 18.

21. A chip, characterized in that, It includes processor circuitry for running programs or instructions to enable the implementation of the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 18.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, Used to store instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 18 to be implemented.

23. A computer program, characterized in that, Includes computer program code or instructions that, when executed, cause the method of any one of claims 1 to 18 to be implemented.

24. A communication system, characterized in that, It includes means for implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 9 and means for implementing the method of any one of claims 10 to 18.

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