Communication method and apparatus involving timing advance

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus involving timing advance (TA), applied to the fields of ATG, NTN and the like. In the communication method, for scenarios with high mobility and rapid TA variations, when an access network sends first configuration information, a terminal determines a symbol length by using an SCS corresponding to a currently active BWP upon receiving the first configuration information, and calculates a second time value on the basis of a first time value in the first configuration information. Thus, in subsequent procedures, the terminal and the access network can maintain a consistent understanding of TA.

Description

A communication method and communication device for timing advance

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202410638295.9, filed on May 21, 2024, entitled “A communication method and communication device for timing advance”, and the Chinese Patent Application No. 202411291738.8, filed on September 13, 2024, entitled “A communication method and communication device for timing advance”, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, in particular to a communication method and communication device for timing advance. BACKGROUND

[0004] Air to ground (ATG) communication is an important communication technology. In a typical scenario, a base station is deployed on the ground to transmit signals to a terminal in the air, such as an airplane or a terminal on the airplane, to establish an air-ground communication link, so that ordinary users can directly or indirectly access the airplane network on the airplane, and then access the ground communication through the airplane. Another important direction for future communication network development is non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication, which includes satellite communication and high-altitude platform communication. For these two types of communication networks, a common problem is that the propagation delay from the terminal to the access network device is large, and how to ensure that the terminal and the access network device have consistent understanding of the timing advance has become a problem to be solved. SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and communication device, which can ensure that the terminal and the access network device have consistent understanding of the timing advance, and will not cause inconsistent situations on both sides due to complex situations in the communication process.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising,

[0007] receiving first configuration information, the first configuration information comprising a first time value, the time unit of the first time value being a symbol length;

[0008] calculating a second time value based on the first time value and the symbol length, comprising:

[0009] The symbol length is determined based on a subcarrier spacing (SCS) corresponding to an active bandwidth part (BWP) at a time when the first configuration information takes effect or is applied.

[0010] By the method in the above solution, the terminal determines the symbol length using the SCS corresponding to the BWP activated by the terminal at a time when the first configuration takes effect or is applied each time the terminal acquires the first configuration, and is no longer affected by subsequent SCS changes. In this way, the terminal and the access network can both conveniently and stably determine the symbol length of the first configuration time value, thereby achieving the effect that the understanding of timing advance on both sides is always consistent regardless of changes.

[0011] In some possible implementation manners, the communication method further includes,

[0012] Converting the second time value into a third time value in units of absolute time length.

[0013] In some possible implementation manners, the communication method further includes receiving a first message, where the first message indicates a BWP switch, and the second time value does not change after the BWP switch.

[0014] Optionally, the first message is a downlink control information (DCI) or a radio resource control (RRC) message, and the first configuration information is an RRC message.

[0015] In some possible implementation manners, the communication method further includes,

[0016] The first time value or the second time value is used to determine whether to trigger a TA report MAC CE report.

[0017] In some possible implementation manners, the communication method further includes that the first time unit is an absolute time length.

[0018] With this solution, the absolute time is directly and clearly indicated, and the conversion is omitted, so that the understanding of timing advance on both sides can always be consistent.

[0019] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, including,

[0020] sending a second message, where the second message includes a first indication field; and the first indication field indicates a fourth time value.

[0021] The time unit of the fourth time value is the symbol length. The second message includes a second indication field, which is used to indicate the first SCS corresponding to the symbol length. The second indication field includes at least one of the following:

[0022] At least one bit in the second indication field indicates the first SCS;

[0023] At least one bit in the second indication field indicates whether the first SCS is the same as the second SCS, the second SCS being the SCS indicated by the third message preceding the sending of the second message, and the second message and the third message being messages of the same type;

[0024] At least one bit in the second indication field indicates whether the first SCS is the SCS corresponding to the BWP after the BWP switch;

[0025] At least one bit in the second indication field explicitly indicates the value of the first SCS.

[0026] Using the method described above, when the terminal reports TA, the SCS can be reported to the access network by utilizing the second indication field, thereby ensuring that both sides have a consistent understanding of the timing advance. In addition, it may also report whether the BWP handover was successfully performed.

[0027] In some possible implementations, the communication method further includes the second message and the third message being a Timing Advance Report MAC CE.

[0028] In some possible implementations, the communication method further includes the first time value being Timing Advance.

[0029] Optionally, in the above scheme, the second message is the Timing Advance Report MAC CE reported when the reporting conditions are met this time, and the third message is the Timing Advance Report MAC CE reported when the reporting conditions were met last time. The two have the same purpose and the same type, mainly to report the TA and the corresponding SCS after the TA change reaches the trigger threshold, so that the access network can update the TA of the terminal in a timely manner.

[0030] In some possible implementations, the communication method further includes at least one bit in the second indication field being a reserved field of the second message or a first field different from the reserved field.

[0031] In some possible implementations, the communication method further includes receiving a fourth message that indicates a BWP handover.

[0032] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising,

[0033] sending first configuration information, the first configuration information comprising a first time value, a time unit of the first time value being a symbol length;

[0034] indicating to calculate a second time value based on the first time value and the symbol length, comprising:

[0035] determining the symbol length based on a subcarrier spacing (SCS) corresponding to an active Bandwidth Part (BWP) at which the first configuration information takes effect or is applied.

[0036] In some possible implementation manners, the communication method further comprises, indicating to calculate a second time value based on the first time value and the symbol length, further comprising:

[0037] converting the second time value into a third time value in a unit of absolute time length.

[0038] In some possible implementation manners, the communication method further comprises,

[0039] sending a first message, the first message indicating a BWP switch, after the BWP switch, the second time value does not change.

[0040] In some possible implementation manners, the communication method further comprises, the first time value or the second time value is used to determine whether to trigger a TA report MAC CE report.

[0041] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising,

[0042] receiving a second message, the second message comprising a first indication field; the first indication field indicating a fourth time value;

[0043] a time unit of the fourth time value being a symbol length, the second message comprising a second indication field, the second indication field being used to indicate a first SCS corresponding to the symbol length, the second indication field comprising at least one of:

[0044] at least one bit in the second indication field indicating the first SCS;

[0045] at least one bit in the second indication field indicating whether the first SCS is the same as a second SCS, the second SCS being a SCS indicated by a third message for a previous transmission of the second message, the second message and the third message being messages of the same type;

[0046] at least one bit in the second indication field indicates whether the first SCS is the SCS corresponding to the BWP after the BWP switching;

[0047] at least one bit in the second indication field explicitly indicates the value of the first SCS.

[0048] In some possible implementation manners, the communication method further includes that the second indication field is a reserved field of the second message or a first field different from the reserved field.

[0049] In some possible implementation manners, the communication method further includes that a fourth message is sent, and the fourth message indicates the BWP switching.

[0050] In some possible implementation manners, the communication method further includes that the first time value is a Timing Advance.

[0051] In some possible implementation manners, the communication method further includes that the second message and the third message are Timing Advance Report MAC CEs.

[0052] In a fifth aspect, an electronic device is provided, including units or modules for performing the method in any of the aspects above.

[0053] In a sixth aspect, a chip is provided, including a processor, a memory connected to the processor, the memory being configured to store a computer program, and the processor being configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory, so that the chip performs the communication method in any of the aspects above.

[0054] In a seventh aspect, an electronic device is provided, including a processor coupled to a memory, the memory being configured to store a program or instructions, and the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, causing the electronic device to perform the method in any of the aspects above.

[0055] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, and the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, and the computer program or instructions, when executed, cause a computer to perform the method in any of the aspects above.

[0056] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, and the computer program product includes computer program code, and the computer program code, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to implement the method in any of the aspects above.

[0057] It can be understood that the beneficial effects of the fifth aspect to the ninth aspect above can be referred to the related description in the aspects above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0058] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of TA compensation provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0059] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the TA interaction process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0060] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the TA MAC CE format provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0061] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0062] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0063] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0064] The technical solutions of this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) systems, next-generation communication systems (e.g., fifth-generation (5G) systems), converged systems of multiple access systems, or evolved systems; the three major application scenarios of 5G mobile communication systems: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), and enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC); or new communication systems that will emerge in the future. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as sixth-generation mobile communication systems. This application does not limit these applications.

[0065] The technical solutions provided in the application can also be applied to machine type communication (MTC), long term evolution-machine (LTE-M), device-to-device (D2D) network, machine to machine (M2M) network, internet of things (IoT) network, Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), or other networks. The IoT network may, for example, include a vehicle network. In the vehicle network, the communication modes are collectively referred to as vehicle to X (V2X), where X can represent any object. For example, the V2X can include vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle to pedestrian (V2P) communication, or vehicle to network (V2N) communication. NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) is a new wireless communication technology with low power consumption, wide coverage, and low cost, designed specifically for IoT applications. It uses narrowband modulation technology to enable IoT devices to connect and transmit data on existing mobile communication networks, and has the following characteristics: 1. Low power consumption: NB-IoT uses ultra-long standby technology, and the device can enter a low-power mode when it does not need to transmit data, thereby prolonging the battery life. 2. Wide coverage: NB-IoT has strong penetration and coverage, and can communicate in complex environments such as indoors, underground, and remote from cities. 3. Low cost: NB-IoT uses narrowband technology to achieve low-cost device manufacturing and network construction. 4. Large capacity: NB-IoT supports large-scale device access and can connect billions of devices. NB-IoT has been widely used in smart home, smart city, intelligent transportation, industrial Internet of Things, and other fields.

[0066] The network device in the embodiments of the application can also be referred to as a (wireless) access network device (radio access network, (R)AN). The (R)AN can manage wireless resources, provide access services for terminal devices, and forward data between terminal devices and a core network. The (R)AN can also be understood as a base station in the network, which is a device deployed in a wireless access network to provide wireless communication functions for mobile stations (MS).

[0067] Exemplarily, the access network device in the embodiments of the present application can be any kind of communication device with wireless transceiving function for communicating with the terminal device. The access network device includes but is not limited to: an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home evolved NodeB (HeNB) or a home Node B (HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP) or a transmission and reception point (TRP), and the like, and can also be a gNB or a TP in a 5G such as an NR system, one or a group of (including multiple antenna panels) antenna panels of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point such as a baseband unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DU). It can be understood that all or part of the functions of the access network device in the present application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform).

[0068] In addition, in a network structure, the access network device can include a centralized unit (CU) node, or a distributed unit (DU) node, or a RAN device including the CU node and the DU node. The RAN device including the CU node and the DU node splits the protocol layers of the gNB in the NR system, and the functions of part of the protocol layers are placed in the CU for centralized control, and the rest or all of the protocol layers are distributed in the DU, which is controlled by the CU. The centralized unit CU can also be divided into a control plane (CU-CP) and a user plane (CU-UP). The CU-CP is responsible for the control plane function, mainly including the RRC and the PDCP corresponding to the control plane, i.e. PDCP-C. The PDCP-C is mainly responsible for the encryption and decryption of the control plane data, the integrity protection, the data transmission, etc. The CU-UP is responsible for the user plane function, mainly including the SDAP and the PDCP corresponding to the user plane, i.e. PDCP-U. The SDAP is mainly responsible for processing the data of the core network and mapping the flow to the bearer. The PDCP-U is mainly responsible for the encryption and decryption of the data plane, the integrity protection, the header compression, the sequence number maintenance, the data transmission, etc. The CU-CP and the CU-UP are connected through the E1 interface. The CU-CP represents the gNB to connect with the core network through the NG interface. The control plane of the F1 interface, i.e. F1-C, is connected with the DU. The CU-UP is connected with the DU through the user plane of the F1 interface, i.e. F1-U. Of course, there is also a possible implementation that the PDCP-C is also in the CU-UP. The RAN device can be responsible for the functions of the radio resource management, the quality of service (QoS) management, the data compression and encryption, etc. on the air interface. The AN device provides access services for the terminal device, and then completes the forwarding of the control signals and the user data between the terminal device and the core network.

[0069] The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), a terminal, an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent or a user apparatus. The terminal in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal in a 5G network or a terminal in a future evolution network, etc.

[0070] Among them, the wearable device can also be called a wearable smart device, which is a general term for devices that can be designed and developed by applying wearable technology to daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing and shoes, etc. The wearable device is a portable device that can be directly worn on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also a powerful function realized through software support and data interaction, cloud interaction. The general wearable smart device includes full function, large size, and can realize complete or partial functions without relying on a smart phone, such as smart watches or smart glasses, etc., and focuses on a certain application function and needs to cooperate with other devices such as a smart phone, such as various smart wristbands, smart jewelry, etc. for monitoring vital signs.

[0071] In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device for realizing the function of the network device can be a network device, a network device with base station part function, or a device capable of supporting the network device to realize the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the network device.

[0072] Non-terrestrial networks refer to networks or network segments used in satellite, unmanned aerial system (UAS) platforms, high-altitude platform RF (Radio Frequency) or air-to-ground communication.

[0073] The communication system described in this application is intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of this application and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0074] The relevant terms and technologies involved in the embodiments of this application will be explained below. It should be noted that these explanations are for the purpose of making the embodiments of this application easier to understand, and should not be regarded as a limitation on the scope of protection claimed by this application.

[0075] Timing Advance (TA) is a method used to maintain uplink time synchronization of terminals. Taking the ATG scenario as an example, the uplink signals of terminals located at different locations in the cell take different delays to reach the base station compared to users on the ground. This difference in distance causes the uplink signals of each terminal to be misaligned in time when they arrive at the base station.

[0076] After using TA compensation, the signals sent by terminals at different locations in the cell arrive at the base station in time, allowing the base station to process all terminals in the same cell at a consistent time. TA is equal to twice the one-way transmission delay (i.e., round-trip delay (RTD)). As shown in Figure 1, compared to the downlink synchronization frame timing sent by the eNodeb, the timing of the radio frame received by the terminal has a downlink delay. Then, after the random access preamble sent by the terminal is received by the eNodeb, there is also a corresponding uplink delay. The sum of these downlink and uplink delays is called the round-trip delay (RTD). To maintain synchronization, the terminal needs to overcome this RTD. Therefore, the most effective method is to send the radio frame earlier, by one RTD compared to the timing of the radio frame received by the terminal. This ensures that the radio frame arrives at the eNodeb precisely in sync with the downlink synchronization frame timing sent by the eNodeb. Therefore, this time value equal to the RTD is called TA. The terminal detects the TA and reports it to the base station. The base station then uses this TA to allocate resources for the terminal to send radio frames earlier.

[0077] Part of the concept of bandwidth (Bandwidth Part, BWP) is introduced in NR, the network side will allocate a continuous bandwidth resource to the terminal, and the terminal must obtain the configuration of the initial BWP before entering the network. After the terminal enters the connected state, the network side can configure multiple BWP for each terminal, and allow the terminal to switch within each BWP. The subcarrier spacing (SCS) of different BWP can be configured to different values. The application scenarios of BWP include the following:

[0078] Scenario 1: applied to small bandwidth capability terminal access to large bandwidth network

[0079] Scenario 2: the terminal switches between BWP of different sizes as needed to achieve power saving effect

[0080] Scenario 3: a cell needs to support different SCS coexistence, isolated by different BWP

[0081] BWP can be divided into initial BWP and dedicated BWP, and dedicated BWP can be divided into active BWP and default BWP.

[0082] Initial BWP (Initial BWP): the BWP used by the terminal in the initial access stage (including random access, RRC establishment, etc.), dedicated BWP (Dedicated BWP): the BWP configured by the terminal in the RRC connected state; In the 3GPP protocol, it is stipulated that a maximum of 4 dedicated BWP can be configured for a terminal through RRC signaling.

[0083] Active BWP (Active BWP): the BWP activated by the terminal in the RRC connected state at a certain moment, which is one of the configured dedicated BWP. The 3GPP protocol stipulates that the terminal can only activate one of the configured dedicated BWP at a certain moment in the RRC connected state. The base station can send RRC signaling or DCI to instruct the terminal to switch BWP and specify the terminal to activate one of the configured multiple BWP.

[0084] Default BWP (Default BWP): the BWP used by the terminal when the BWP inactivity timer expires in the RRC connected state, which is also one of the configured dedicated BWP. The RRC signaling instructs the terminal which of the configured dedicated BWP is the default BWP.

[0085] Default BWP (Default BWP): the BWP used by the terminal when the BWP inactivity timer expires in the RRC connected state, which is also one of the configured dedicated BWP. The RRC signaling instructs the terminal which of the configured dedicated BWP is the default BWP.

[0086] On this basis, in combination with the ATG or NTN scenario, the relative movement speed between the terminal and the base station / satellite is relatively fast compared to the ordinary ground scenario speed, which may cause the transmission delay between the terminal and the base station to change rapidly, which may cause the base station to be unable to learn the terminal side TA in real time, thereby causing scheduling problems.

[0087] Taking the ATG scenario as an example, in order to solve this problem, a new mechanism is introduced: when the terminal is in a connected state, the terminal reports a TA value. This TA value can be calculated according to the current position of the terminal and the base station position broadcast by the base station. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the base station will first configure a TA reporting trigger threshold for the terminal (currently, the 3GPP standard stipulates that the trigger threshold configured by the base station is offsetThresholdTA), and the terminal judges whether the difference between the currently calculated TA and the TA reported to the base station last time exceeds the trigger threshold configured by the base station. If the threshold is exceeded, the TA reporting is triggered. After triggering the TA reporting, if there is available uplink resource, the TA is reported to the base station through the uplink resource. This mechanism can enable the base station to learn the new TA measured by the terminal with a large change in real time when the TA has a large change, so as to timely adjust the scheduling timing and improve the scheduling efficiency.

[0088] Taking ATG as an example, the threshold value that can be configured is 1-56, and the unit length is a symbol.

[0089] In addition, the Timing Advance Report MAC CE (TA MAC CE) format is as shown in FIG. 3, wherein R is a reserved field, and the value is 0. The Timing Advance field is used to indicate the TA value calculated by the terminal, which is represented using an integer number of symbol lengths. That is, the TA value calculated by the terminal is divided by the symbol length and rounded up to an integer, for example, if the TA length is 9.5 symbols, then the value corresponding to the field is the binary representation of 10, which is 1010.

[0090] Considering that in ATG, two SCSs are currently supported, the unit symbol length under these two SCSs is not consistent, which may cause the base station to be unable to accurately know the actual TA sent by the terminal.

[0091] In a possible scenario, since according to the current protocol, the unit length of the trigger threshold offsetThresholdTA configured by the base station is a symbol, when the base station instructs the terminal to perform BWP switching, the SCS may be inconsistent, so that the symbol length is inconsistent, and then although the base station actually does not change the configured offsetThresholdTA, because of the change of the symbol length, the terminal considers that the offsetThresholdTA is changed, thereby causing inconsistency in understanding.

[0092] To this end, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, comprising:

[0093] In an optional embodiment, the SCS used to calculate the symbol length used to calculate the TA is based on the SCS of the active BWP of the terminal when the base station issues the configuration of offsetThresholdTA (or when the terminal applies the configuration).

[0094] In a possible case, before the next base station reconfiguration or terminal release of offsetThresholdTA, whether the terminal has performed BWP switching or not, the terminal calculates the TA value based on the SCS of the active BWP of the terminal when the base station issues the configuration of offsetThresholdTA.

[0095] For example, the terminal is configured with four BWP in the connected state, including BWP1 and BWP2, and the SCS of BWP1 and BWP2 is different, when the terminal works in BWP1, the base station sends an RRC reconfiguration message, which contains the configuration of offsetThresholdTA and the configured value is 10, after receiving the message, the terminal determines that the currently active BWP is BWP1, the SCS of BWP1 is SCS1, and the corresponding symbol length is t1, then the terminal determines that the value of offsetThresholdTA is T1=10*t1, and compares the subsequent TA change value of the terminal with T1 as the reference before updating offsetThresholdTA again. When the terminal switches from BWP1 to BWP2, the SCS of BWP2 is SCS2, and the corresponding symbol length is t2, then when comparing the TA change value and the configured offsetThresholdTA value, the terminal still compares with T1, that is, 10*t1.

[0096] In a possible case, when the terminal receives the offsetThresholdTA configuration, the terminal calculates the offsetThresholdTA length according to the SCS of the current active BWP, converts the unit into an absolute unit length, and maintains the offsetThresholdTA value according to the converted absolute unit length. The maintained offsetThresholdTA value does not change until the next time the base station reconfigures or the terminal releases the offsetThresholdTA. In this way, the case that the offsetThresholdTA is unclear due to the change of SCS after BWP switching can be avoided.

[0097] In an optional embodiment, when the base station issues the offsetThresholdTA configuration, the absolute unit length is directly used for configuration. Because the absolute unit length is not associated with the SCS, the subsequent SCS switching problem and the re-conversion of the terminal and the base station are avoided.

[0098] For example, the absolute unit length can be a common time unit such as a second, a millisecond, or a microsecond, and the absolute unit length does not change with the change of the SCS.

[0099] In a possible scenario, when the base station instructs the terminal to switch the BWP (or before and after the BWP switching), the change value of the terminal TA exceeds the configured offsetThresholdTA value, the TA reporting condition is met, and the terminal reports the new TA to the base station. However, at this time, it is possible that the base station cannot accurately obtain the new TA because the base station cannot know the symbol length corresponding to the TA reported by the terminal. Because there is a possible case that the base station issues the BWP switching message, but the terminal does not receive it or reports the TA when the terminal does not successfully switch, the terminal actually calculates according to the SCS before the BWP switching, and the base station calculates according to the SCS after the BWP switching, which may cause inconsistent understanding.

[0100] To this end, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, comprising:

[0101] In an alternative embodiment, the terminal judges whether the change of the current TA value compared with the last reported TA value exceeds the configured offsetThresholdTA value, and if so, reports the Timing Advance Report MAC CE. The MAC CE contains indication information indicating the SCS corresponding to the value carried in the Timing Advance field. In this way, the base station can know the specific value of the reported TA according to the Timing Advance field and the indication information in the MAC CE.

[0102] In a possible case, the indication information contained in the TA MAC CE is that at least one R field reserved bit is redefined, and when it takes different values, it corresponds to different SCS values. The correspondence between different values and specific SCS values can be specified in advance in the protocol or configured in advance by the network to the terminal.

[0103] For example, the 2nd R bit is defined as the SCS field, and when the value of the SCS field is 0, it indicates that the SCS corresponding to the value carried in the current Timing Advance field is 15khz, and when the value of the SCS field is 1, it indicates that the SCS corresponding to the value carried in the current Timing Advance field is 30khz; or 2 R bits are defined as the SCS field, and when the value of the SCS field is 00, it indicates that the SCS corresponding to the value carried in the current Timing Advance field is 15khz, when the value of the SCS field is 01, it indicates that the SCS corresponding to the value carried in the current Timing Advance field is 30khz, and when the value of the SCS field is 10, it indicates that the SCS corresponding to the value carried in the current Timing Advance field is 60khz.

[0104] In a possible case, the indication information contained in the TA MAC CE is that at least one R field reserved bit is redefined, so that it can be indicated whether the SCS corresponding to the value carried in the Timing Advance field this time is the same as the SCS corresponding to the value carried in the Timing Advance field in the last TA MAC CE reported by the terminal.

[0105] Exemplarily, the 2nd R bit is defined as the SCS field, and the value corresponding to the SCS carried in the Timing Advance field in the TA MAC CE reported for the first time after the offsetThresholdTA is configured is SCS1 corresponding to the current active BWP1. When the TA MAC CE is reported again subsequently, it can be specified that if the value of the SCS field is 0, it indicates that the SCS corresponding to the value carried in the current Timing Advance field is the same as the SCS1 reported last time, and if the value of the SCS field is 1, it indicates that the SCS corresponding to the value carried in the current Timing Advance field is different from the SCS1 reported last time. In this way, in addition to the fact that the base station can clearly understand the specific value of the TA, another additional effect of the present solution is that the base station can determine that the terminal has not successfully received and executed the BWP switching command according to the indication information. Because if the terminal has not successfully received the BWP switching command sent by the base station (the case where the SCS changes after BWP switching), the SCS of the terminal will not change, that is, the SCS field in the TA MAC CE will be set to 0; and in the case of successful switching, the terminal will set the SCS field to 1.

[0106] In a possible case, the indication information contained in the TA MAC CE is specifically that at least one R field bit is redefined so as to indicate whether the SCS corresponding to the value carried in the current Timing Advance field is the SCS value after BWP switching.

[0107] Exemplarily, the 2nd R bit is defined as the SCS field, and the value corresponding to the SCS carried in the Timing Advance field in the TA MAC CE reported for the first time after the offsetThresholdTA is configured is SCS1 corresponding to the current active BWP1. When the TA MAC CE is reported again subsequently, it can be specified that if the value of the SCS field is 0, it indicates that the SCS corresponding to the value carried in the current Timing Advance field is the same as the SCS1 reported last time, and if the value of the SCS field is 1, it indicates that the SCS corresponding to the value carried in the current Timing Advance field is different from the SCS1 reported last time. In this way, in addition to the fact that the base station can clearly understand the specific value of the TA, another additional effect of the present solution is that the base station can determine that the terminal has not successfully received and executed the BWP switching command according to the indication information. Because if the terminal has not successfully received the BWP switching command sent by the base station (the case where the SCS changes after BWP switching), the SCS of the terminal will not change, that is, the SCS field in the TA MAC CE will be set to 0; and in the case of successful switching, the terminal will set the SCS field to 1.

[0108] In a possible case, the indication information contained in the TA MAC CE is specifically that at least one R field bit is redefined so as to indicate whether the SCS corresponding to the value carried in the current Timing Advance field is the SCS value after BWP switching.

[0109] For example, if the number of bits of the added SCS field is n, such as n = 1, the SCS field can be defined as follows: when the SCS field is 0, the SCS corresponding to the value carried by the current Timing Advance field is 15 kHz; when the SCS field is 1, the SCS corresponding to the value carried by the current Timing Advance field is 30 kHz. For another example, if n = 2, the SCS field can be defined as follows: when the SCS field is 00, the SCS corresponding to the value carried by the current Timing Advance field is 15 kHz; when the SCS field is 01, the SCS corresponding to the value carried by the current Timing Advance field is 30 kHz; when the SCS field is 10, the SCS corresponding to the value carried by the current Timing Advance field is 60 kHz; and when the SCS field is 11, the SCS corresponding to the value carried by the current Timing Advance field is 120 kHz. In addition, the value corresponding to n bits can also be set to 15, indicating that the SCS is 15 kHz, and so on.

[0110] In an optional implementation, specifically, in the handover process, if it is a scenario of interaction between the target base station and the source base station, the target base station carries an RRC reconfiguration message in the message sent to the source base station (for example, a handover request acknowledge message), which includes the configuration of the target base station, and the configuration includes the offsetThresholdTA of the target cell. After the source base station receives the message, the corresponding RRC reconfiguration message is sent to the UE (for example, through a handover command message), and when the UE receives the offsetThresholdTA of the target cell, the activated BWP is still the BWP of the source cell, because the handover process has not been completed at this time, and the UE has not been switched to the target cell. The time when the UE really applies the target cell offsetThresholdTA or the time when the target cell offsetThresholdTA takes effect will be after the UE switches to the target cell. The UE should determine the absolute value of the target cell offsetThresholdTA according to the SCS corresponding to the currently activated BWP of the target cell after switching to the target cell.

[0111] In an alternative embodiment, specifically, when the handover procedure is ongoing, the target base station can decide whether to carry specific configuration information in the message sent to the source base station (e.g. handover request acknowledge message) according to the configuration of the source cell. For example, if the target cell wants to follow the same configuration as the source cell, then the specific configuration information or information element can be omitted in the message sent to the source base station, and the target base station can follow the original configuration information or information element upon receiving the message. Correspondingly, if the target cell wants to use a new configuration, then the new specific configuration information or information element is carried in the message, and the target base station can overwrite or replace the configuration of the source cell according to the new specific configuration upon receiving the message. This specific configuration is called delta configuration.

[0112] In a possible case, the source base station sends the absolute value of the offsetThresholdTA of the source cell to the target base station, so that the target cell can perform delta configuration as needed.

[0113] In a possible case, the source base station sends the configuration of the offsetThresholdTA of the source cell (i.e. the sign value of the offsetThresholdTA) and the configuration of the active BWP corresponding to the configuration of the offsetThresholdTA to the target base station, so that the target cell can perform delta configuration as needed.

[0114] In a possible case, the source base station sends the configuration of the offsetThresholdTA of the source cell (i.e. the sign value of the offsetThresholdTA) and the SCS used to determine the offsetThresholdTA to the target base station, so that the target cell can perform delta configuration as needed.

[0115] Based on the above possible cases, the target base station can determine the absolute value of the offsetThresholdTA used by the UE in the source cell after receiving the corresponding information, and then decide whether to reconfigure it.

[0116] In an alternative embodiment, the terminal uses an absolute unit length as the unit to report the value in the Timing Advance field in the TA MAC CE.

[0117] For example, the value of 1 in the Timing Advance field can correspond to a TA value of 1 ms. Alternatively, if the TA value is usually small, the absolute unit length can be 1 / 100 ms, and the value of 1 in the Timing Advance field can correspond to a TA value of 1 / 100 ms.

[0118] In a possible case, a segmented indication method can also be used, for example, the absolute unit length of the first segment is 1 / 100 ms, and the absolute unit length of the second segment is 1 ms, so that a smaller number of bits can be used to indicate a larger absolute value.

[0119] In the above examples, the specific values and corresponding relationships are only examples and are not limited, and reasonable values can be included in the embodiments.

[0120] In addition, the embodiments of the present application take ATG as an example for illustration, but other satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles, or rapid TA change scenarios of ground base stations related to trains and highways of NTN can also be applicable to the solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0121] FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4, the communication apparatus 400 can include a processing unit 410 and a communication unit 420. The communication unit 420 can implement corresponding communication functions, which can be internal communication of the communication apparatus 400 or communication between the communication apparatus 400 and other apparatuses; the processing unit 410 can implement corresponding processing functions. The communication unit 420 can also be referred to as a communication interface or a transceiver unit. Optionally, the communication apparatus 400 can further include a storage unit, which can be used to store instructions and / or data, and the processing unit 410 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit to enable the apparatus to implement the foregoing method embodiments.

[0122] In a possible design, the communication apparatus 400 can be a terminal device in the above communication method, and can also be a module or a chip applied to the terminal device. The communication apparatus 400 can be used to execute the steps or processes performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the communication apparatus 400 can be a network device in the above communication method, and can also be a module or a chip applied to the network device. The communication apparatus 400 can be used to execute the steps or processes performed by the network device in the above communication method embodiments.

[0123] For the steps or processes performed by each unit in the communication apparatus 400, reference can be made to the above method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0124] It should be understood that the "units" in the communication device 400 can be implemented by hardware, or implemented by software, or implemented by the hardware executing the corresponding software. For example, the "units" can refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (for example, a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or a group processor, etc.) and a memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, a combination logic circuit, and / or other suitable components supporting the described functions. For another example, the communication unit 420 can be replaced by a transceiver circuit (for example, which can include a receiving circuit and a transmitting circuit), and the processing unit 410 can be replaced by a processor or a processing circuit.

[0125] FIG. 5 shows a schematic block diagram of another communication device 500 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 500 can be a terminal device or a network device, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor, etc. supporting a terminal device or a network device to implement the above method. The device can be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiments, which can be referred to the description in the above method embodiments.

[0126] The communication device 500 can include one or more processors 510, which can also be referred to as processing units, and can implement certain control functions. The processor 510 can be a general purpose processor or a special purpose processor, etc. For example, it can be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (for example, a base station, a baseband chip, a user chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute software programs, and process data of the software programs.

[0127] In an alternative design, the processor 510 can also store instructions and / or data, which can be executed by the processor 510, so that the communication device 500 performs the method described in the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the processing unit 410 in the communication device 400 can be the processor 510.

[0128] In another alternative design, the communication device 500 can include a communication interface 520 for implementing receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the communication interface 520 can be a transceiver circuit, an interface, an interface circuit, or a transceiver, etc. The transceiver circuit, the interface, the interface circuit, or the transceiver for implementing the receiving and transmitting functions can be separate or integrated together. The above transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver can be used for reading and writing of codes / data, or the above transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver can be used for transmission or transfer of signals. Alternatively, the communication unit 420 in the communication device 400 can be the communication interface 520.

[0129] Optionally, the communication device 500 can include one or more memories 530, on which instructions can be stored, which can be run on the processor 510, so that the communication device 500 performs the method described in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the memory 530 can also store data. Optionally, the processor 510 can also store instructions and / or data. The processor 510 and the memory 530 can be separately arranged, or integrated together.

[0130] Those skilled in the art can understand that, for the convenience of description, FIG. 5 only shows one memory and one processor. In an actual communication device, there can be multiple processors and memories. The memory can also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0131] For example, the processor can include a baseband processor and a central processor, the baseband processor is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, and the central processor is mainly used for controlling the whole terminal device, executing software programs, and processing data of the software programs. The processor in FIG. 5 integrates the functions of the baseband processor and the central processor. Those skilled in the art can understand that the baseband processor and the central processor can also be independent processors, which are interconnected through a bus or the like. Those skilled in the art can understand that the terminal device can include multiple baseband processors to adapt to different network modes, and the terminal device can include multiple central processors to enhance its processing capability. Various components of the terminal device can be connected through various buses. The baseband processor can also be referred to as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processor can also be referred to as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing communication protocols and communication data can be built into the processor, or stored in the form of software programs in the storage unit, and the processor executes the software programs to realize the baseband processing function.

[0132] It should be understood that, in a possible design, the steps in the method embodiments provided by the present application can be completed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in the processor or instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being completed by a hardware processor, or being completed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module can be located in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, or other mature storage media in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads information in the memory and combines the hardware to complete the steps of the above method. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0133] It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with a signal processing capability. In the implementation process, the steps of the above method embodiments can be completed by an integrated logic circuit or an instruction in the form of software in the processor. The processor described above 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. The disclosed methods, steps and logic block diagrams in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as a hardware code processor for execution, or a combination of hardware and software modules in the code processor for execution. The software module can be located in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register or other mature storage medium in the art. The storage medium is located in the storage, and the processor reads the information in the storage, and combines the hardware to complete the steps of the above method.

[0134] It can be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM) or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM) 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 SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM) and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the system and method described herein is intended to include but not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0135] The present application also provides a computer program product, which comprises computer program codes, when the computer program codes are run on a computer, the computer is caused to perform each step or procedure performed by the terminal device or the network device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0136] The present application also provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores program codes, when the program codes are run on a computer, the computer is caused to perform each step or procedure performed by the terminal device or the network device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0137] The present application also provides a communication apparatus, which comprises a processor and an interface for sending and / or receiving signals, so that the processor performs each step or procedure performed by the terminal device or the network device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0138] The present application also provides a communication system, which comprises a terminal device and a network device.

[0139] Each of the above apparatus embodiments and method embodiments corresponds completely, and the corresponding steps are performed by the corresponding modules or units, for example, the steps of receiving or sending in the method embodiments are performed by the communication unit or the communication interface, and the other steps except sending and receiving can be performed by the processing unit or the processor.

[0140] In the embodiments of the present application, each term and English abbreviation is an exemplary example given for convenience of description, and should not constitute any limitation on the present application. The present application does not exclude the possibility of defining other terms capable of achieving the same or similar functions in existing or future protocols.

[0141] The terms "component", "module", "system", and the like used in the present specification are used to represent computer-related entities, hardware, combinations of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and / or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and / or thread of execution, and a component can be localized on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components can communicate by way of local and / or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and / or across a network such as the Internet with other systems via the signal), by way of the data packets, and / or other means in accordance with the signals themselves (e.g., via information fields in the signals, information about the components that generated the signals, etc.).

[0142] Those of skill in the art would understand that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. The disclosure is not limited to implementations set forth herein for the sake of providing an overall understanding of architectures, suitability, and alternatives thereof. Those of skill would further understand that the functionality of various illustrative logical blocks and steps can be carried out by one or more electrical circuits, microprocessors, or gate arrays designed with source or object code, by a programmed computer, or by a combination thereof. Such functionality can be carried out in various ways, depending inter alia on the particular application for which the disclosure is employed, the design choices, and available technology. Skilled artisans can employ a variety of different approaches to implement the described functionality, and all combinations of these approaches are contemplated.

[0143] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described system, device and unit can be based on the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0144] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are merely illustrative, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0145] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separate, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

[0146] In addition, the functional units in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present separately, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0147] In the above embodiments, the functions of the various functional units can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, the whole or part of the computer program instructions (program) can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. When the computer program instructions (program) are loaded and executed on a computer, the whole or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that includes one or more available media sets. The available media can be magnetic media (for example, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical media (for example, DVD), or semiconductor media (for example, solid state disk (SSD)) and the like.

[0148] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially or the parts that contribute to the prior art or parts of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of software products. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a number of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk or optical disk and various media that can store program codes.

[0149] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method involving a time parameter, characterized in that, comprising, receiving first configuration information, the first configuration information comprising a first time value, a time unit of the first time value being a symbol length; calculating a second time value based on the first time value and the symbol length, comprising: determining the symbol length based on a subcarrier spacing (SCS) corresponding to an active Bandwidth Part (BWP) at a time when the first configuration information takes effect or is applied.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, converting the second time value into a third time value in a unit of absolute time length.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises, receiving a first message, the first message indicating a BWP switch, after the BWP switch, the second time value does not change.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein, The second time value or the third time value is used to determine whether to trigger a Timing Advance report MAC CE report.

5. A communication method involving a time parameter, characterized by, comprising, sending a second message, the second message comprising a first indication field; the first indication field indicating a fourth time value; a time unit of the fourth time value being a symbol length, the second message comprising a second indication field, the second indication field being used to indicate a first SCS corresponding to the symbol length, the second indication field comprising at least one of: at least one bit in the second indication field indicating the first SCS; at least one bit in the second indication field indicating whether the first SCS is the same as a second SCS, the second SCS being a SCS indicated by a third message in a previous sending of the second message, the second message and the third message being the same type of message; at least one bit in the second indication field indicating whether the first SCS is a SCS corresponding to a BWP after a BWP switch; at least one bit in the second indication field explicitly indicating a value of the first SCS.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The second indication field is a reserved field of the second message or a first field different from the reserved field.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein, The method further comprises, receiving a fourth message, the fourth message indicating a BWP switch.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein, The first time value is a Timing Advance.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein, The second message and the third message are Timing Advance Report MAC CEs.

10. A communication method involving a time parameter, characterized by, comprising, sending first configuration information, the first configuration information comprising a first time value, a time unit of the first time value being a symbol length; indicating that a second time value is calculated based on the first time value and the symbol length, comprising: determining the symbol length based on a SCS corresponding to a BWP at a time when the first configuration information takes effect or is applied.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, indicating that a second time value is calculated based on the first time value and the symbol length, comprising: converting the second time value into a third time value in a unit of absolute time length.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein, The method further comprises, sending a first message, the first message indicating a BWP switch, after the BWP switch, the second time value does not change.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein, The first time value or the second time value is used to determine whether to trigger a Timing Advance report MAC CE report.

14. A communication method involving a time parameter, characterized by, The method comprises, receiving a second message, the second message comprising a first indication field; the first indication field indicating a fourth time value; The time unit of the fourth time value is a symbol length, and the second message comprises a second indication field, the second indication field being used to indicate a first SCS corresponding to the symbol length, the second indication field comprising at least one of the following: At least one bit in the second indication field indicates the first SCS; At least one bit in the second indication field indicates whether the first SCS is the same as a second SCS, the second SCS being an SCS indicated by a third message for a previous transmission of the second message, the second message and the third message being messages of the same type; At least one bit in the second indication field indicates whether the first SCS is an SCS corresponding to a BWP after BWP switching; At least one bit in the second indication field explicitly indicates a value of the first SCS.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The second indication field is a reserved field of the second message or a first field different from the reserved field.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein, The method further comprises, sending a fourth message, the fourth message indicating BWP switching.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein, The first time value is a Timing Advance.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein, The second message and the third message are Timing Advance Report MAC CEs.

19. An electronic device, comprising: The method comprises units or modules for performing the method of any one of claims 1-4, 5-9, 10-13, or 14-18.

20. A chip, characterized by The chip comprises a processor connected with a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program, and the processor being used to execute the computer program stored in the memory to make the chip perform the communication method of any one of claims 1-4, 5-9, 10-13, or 14-18.

21. An electronic device, comprising: The method comprises: The processor is coupled with a memory, and the memory is used to store a program or instruction, when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the electronic device performs the method of any one of claims 1-4, 5-9, 10-13, or 14-18.

22. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program or instructions, characterized in that, The computer program or instruction is executed to make the computer perform the method of any one of claims 1-4, 5-9, 10-13, or 14-18.

23. A computer program product comprising computer program code in said computer program product, characterised in that, When the computer program code runs on the computer, the computer implements the method of any one of claims 1-4, 5-9, 10-13, or 14-18.

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