Communication method and apparatus, and storage medium and computer program product

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method and apparatus, and a storage medium and a computer program product, which are used for improving the performance of a communication system. In the present application, a terminal apparatus receives first information from a first network apparatus, wherein the first information comprises information used for indicating a second network apparatus; and the terminal apparatus performs data transmission with the second network apparatus on the basis of the first information. The first information carries information used for indicating the second network apparatus, and therefore the terminal apparatus can identify, on the basis of recevied information, which network apparatus is scheduled by the first network apparatus to perform data transmission with the terminal apparatus, and then the first network apparatus can have the capability of scheduling itself and other network apparatuses to perform data transmission with the terminal apparatus, such that the data transmission throughput can be increased, the communication performance is improved, and the resource overheads can also be saved.

Description

A communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product

[0001] Cross Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410679976.X, filed on May 28, 2024, entitled “A communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product. BACKGROUND

[0004] At present, the 5th generation (5G) new radio (NR) technology is evolving from revision (R) 18 to R19. At the same time, the NR technology has also entered the commercial deployment stage from the standardization stage. The NR standard protocol can be a wireless communication technology designed for terrestrial network (TN) scenarios, which can provide users with ultra-low latency, ultra-reliability, ultra-high rate, and ultra-quantity connection wireless communication services. Compared with TN communication, non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication has the characteristics of large coverage area and flexible networking, and can achieve global network seamless coverage. NTN communication includes networking using unmanned aerial vehicles, high-altitude platforms, satellites, and other devices to provide data transmission, voice communication, and other services for user equipment (UE). In TN and / or NTN networks, how to improve data transmission throughput is a problem that needs to be solved at present. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product, which are used to enable a first network device to have the ability to schedule other network devices in addition to the first network device to perform data transmission with a terminal device. In the case that the first network device schedules data transmission between multiple network devices and a terminal device, the data transmission throughput can be improved.

[0006] The solution provided in the present application can be applied to an NTN network, can also be applied to a TN network, and can also be applied to a network integrating TN and NTN. In a possible implementation, a terminal device can communicate with multiple communication devices. For example, the terminal device can establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection with one communication device and does not establish an RRC connection with other communication devices. The communication device that establishes an RRC connection with the terminal device can be referred to as a primary communication device, and the communication device that does not establish an RRC connection with the terminal device can be referred to as a secondary communication device.

[0007] The terminal device establishes an RRC connection with the primary communication device and does not establish an RRC connection with the secondary communication device. Therefore, the primary communication device cannot currently schedule data transmission between other communication devices and the terminal device, which in turn leads to low data transmission throughput.

[0008] To solve the above problem, the present application provides a solution. In the solution, a first network device can send first information. The first information includes information indicating a second network device. The terminal device can determine, based on the first information, that the first network device schedules data transmission between the second network device and the terminal device through the first information. As can be seen, because the first network device carries information indicating the network device in the signaling used to schedule data transmission between the terminal device and the network device (for example, the second network device), the first network device can schedule data transmission between other network devices (for example, the second network device) and the terminal device in addition to the first network device. Because the first network device has the capability of scheduling data transmission between other network devices and the terminal device in addition to the first network device, in the present application, the first network device can schedule data transmission between multiple network devices (for example, the first network device and the second network device) and the terminal device, which in turn can improve data transmission throughput.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the first network device sends second information to the terminal device. The second information includes information indicating the first network device. The terminal device can determine, based on the second information, that the first network device schedules data transmission between the first network device and the terminal device through the second information. For example, the first network device can schedule data transmission between the first network device and the terminal device on different resources. For another example, the first network device can schedule data transmission between the first network device and the terminal device on the same resource. In the present application, the "same resource" can be replaced by "the same time-domain resource" or "the same frequency-domain resource". For example, the first network device can schedule data transmission between the first network device and the terminal device on the same frequency-domain resource (for example, the same carrier).

[0010] For example, the first network device corresponds to a first carrier, and the second network device also corresponds to the first carrier. According to the scheme provided in the embodiments of the present application, the first network device can schedule the terminal device to transmit data with the first network device on the first carrier through the second information, and the first network device can schedule the terminal device to transmit data with the second network device on the first carrier through the first information. It can be seen that even if the first network device and the second network device use the same resource (for example, a carrier) to transmit data with the terminal device, the embodiments of the present application can schedule multiple network devices to transmit data with the terminal device on the same carrier through the first network device. The example can provide a solution for data scheduling of different network devices on the same carrier.

[0011] For another example, the first network device and the second network device can be network devices in an NTN communication system. For example, the first network device is a first satellite device, and the second network device is a second satellite device. According to the scheme, the first satellite device can schedule data transmission between the terminal device and the first satellite device by sending the second information. The first satellite device can schedule data transmission between the terminal device and the second satellite device by sending the first information. The first satellite device and the second satellite device can transmit data with the terminal device on the same resource (for example, the same frequency domain resource, for example, the same time domain resource, for example, the same frequency domain and time domain resource) or different resources. It can be seen that the example can improve the data transmission throughput in the satellite communication scenario.

[0012] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a terminal device. The terminal device can include a terminal device or a chip system inside the terminal device.

[0013] The terminal device receives first information from a first network device. The first information includes information for indicating a second network device. The first information indicates that the terminal device transmits data with the second network device. The terminal device transmits data with the second network device according to the first information. In the present application, the first network device can schedule the second network device to send data to the terminal device through the first information, or schedule the terminal device to send data to the second network device through the first information.

[0014] Since the first network device has the ability to schedule other network devices in addition to the first network device to transmit data with the terminal device, in the present application, the first network device can schedule multiple network devices (for example, the first network device and the second network device) to transmit data with the terminal device, thereby improving the data transmission throughput.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the terminal device can receive second information from the first network device. The second information comprises information for indicating the first network device. The second information indicates the terminal device to perform data transmission with the first network device. The terminal device performs data transmission with the first network device according to the second information. In this application, the first network device can schedule the first network device to send data to the terminal device through the second information, or schedule the terminal device to send data to the first network device through the second information. As can be seen, since the second information comprises information for indicating the first network device, the terminal device can identify which network device the information is used to schedule data transmission with the terminal device according to the received information. The information for scheduling the first network device sent by the first network device can be distinguished from the information for scheduling the second network device. In this way, the first network device can schedule data transmission between itself and other network devices and the terminal device through the information, so as to improve the data transmission throughput.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the terminal device acquires information for indicating the first resource, and the terminal device can perform data transmission with the second network device on the first resource. For example, the terminal device acquires information for indicating the second resource, and the terminal device can perform data transmission with the first network device on the second resource. For example, the first resource can be replaced with “first time domain resource”. For example, the first resource can be replaced with “first frequency domain resource”. For example, the first resource can be replaced with “first time domain resource and first frequency domain resource”. For example, the second resource can be replaced with “second time domain resource”. For example, the second resource can be replaced with “second frequency domain resource”. For example, the second resource can be replaced with “second time domain resource and second frequency domain resource”. For example, the information for indicating the first resource can be carried in the same message as the first information or in different messages. Alternatively, part of the information for indicating the first resource can be carried in the same message as the first information, and another part of the information for indicating the first resource can be carried in other messages. For example, the information for indicating the second resource can be carried in the same message as the second information. Alternatively, part of the information for indicating the second resource can be carried in the same message as the second information, and another part of the information for indicating the first resource can be carried in other messages.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the first information is carried in the first DCI. For example, the second information is carried in the second DCI. In this way, the application can be more compatible with the prior art. The following describes the carrying manner of the first information in the first DCI by taking the first information as an example. The carrying manner of the second information in the second DCI is similar and will not be described herein.

[0018] Example 1: A first field in the first DCI used to indicate that information about the second network device is carried. For example, the first field can be a newly added field in the first DCI. For example, the first field can be a field that is not present in the DCI format to which the first DCI belongs, as defined in existing standards.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the terminal device may also receive information indicating whether the first DCI includes a first field. When the terminal device receives information indicating that the first DCI includes a first field, it determines that the first DCI includes the first field based on this information. Subsequently, the terminal device can more accurately estimate the number of fields included in the first DCI and the information length of the first DCI, thereby improving the decoding success rate of the first DCI. For example, if the terminal device does not receive information indicating that the first DCI includes a first field, or if the terminal device receives information indicating that the first DCI does not include a first field, the terminal device can determine that the first DCI does not include the first field.

[0020] In another possible implementation, the first field may carry information indicating a network device (e.g., a satellite device) in the NTN communication system. When the first network device needs to schedule data transmission between a network device (e.g., a satellite device) and a terminal device in the NTN communication system, the first field can be added to the first DCI. When the first network device does not need to schedule data transmission between a network device (e.g., a satellite device) and a terminal device in the NTN communication system, the first field may not be added to the first DCI.

[0021] In another possible implementation, the information used to indicate the first network device is carried in a first field of the second DCI. For example, the first field can be a newly added field in the second DCI. For example, the first field can be a field that is not present in the DCI format to which the second DCI belongs, as defined in existing standards. In one possible implementation, the terminal device can also receive information indicating whether the second DCI includes the first field. Related solutions are similar to those described above and will not be repeated.

[0022] Example 2: Information about the second network device is carried in a carrier indication field or reserved field in the first DCI. In another possible implementation, information about the first network device is carried in a carrier indication field or reserved field in the second DCI. In this scheme, the terminal device can reuse existing fields in the DCI, which is more compatible with existing technologies and does not increase the number of fields in the existing DCI, thus saving resource overhead.

[0023] Example 3: When the first DCI includes information indicating a second network device, the first DCI can use a first format. In another possible implementation, when the second DCI includes information indicating a first network device, the second DCI can use a first format. For example, the first format can be a newly defined DCI format (e.g., the first format can be different from the DCI format defined in existing standards). For example, the first format defines a field carrying information indicating a network device. In this example, the terminal device can determine whether the first DCI includes information indicating a second network device based on the format of the received first DCI. The terminal device can also determine whether the second DCI includes information indicating a first network device based on the format of the received second DCI. For example, if the format of the first DCI is the first format, the terminal device determines that the first DCI includes a second field, which carries information indicating a second network device from the first information. Alternatively, if the format of the first DCI is not the first format, the terminal device determines that the first DCI does not include a second field. For example, if the format of the second DCI is the first format, the terminal device determines that the second DCI includes a second field, which carries information indicating a first network device from the second information. For example, if the terminal device's second DCI format is not the same as the first format, it is determined that the second DCI does not include the second field. This scheme distinguishes whether a DCI includes information used to indicate a network device by its DCI format. This scheme does not increase the number of fields in the existing DCI, thus saving resource overhead.

[0024] In another possible implementation, in the scheme provided in Example 3, the DCI format can also be used to distinguish whether the DCI is used to schedule network devices (e.g., satellite devices) in the NTN communication system to transmit data to the terminal device. For example, if the terminal device determines that the received first DCI format is a first format, then it determines that the first DCI includes a field for identifying information of the network device (e.g., satellite device), or it determines that the first DCI is used to schedule data transmission between the network device (e.g., satellite device) and the terminal device. As another example, if the terminal device determines that the received first DCI format does not belong to the first format, then it determines that the first DCI does not include a field for identifying information of the network device (e.g., satellite device), or it determines that the first DCI is not used to schedule data transmission between the network device (e.g., satellite device) and the terminal device.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the time-domain resources occupied by the first information belong to / are a first time unit. The terminal device and the second network device perform data transmission in the second time unit. The time-domain resources in the first resource may include / are the second time unit. The second time unit can be determined based on the first time unit and a first duration. The first duration is associated with the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device. Thus, the terminal device can determine the position of the second time unit based on the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device, thereby reducing or avoiding situations where the second time unit corresponding to the second network device is later than the first time unit corresponding to the first network device, thereby improving the success rate of data transmission by the terminal device.

[0026] In another possible implementation, the time-domain resources occupied by the second information belong to / are the fourth time unit. The terminal device and the first network device transmit data in the fifth time unit. The time-domain resources in the second resource may include / are the fifth time unit. The fifth time unit can be determined based on the fourth time unit. The fifth time unit may not be determined based on the first duration, or in other words, the fifth time unit may not be associated with the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device. In this scheme, the way the terminal device determines the time unit for data transmission with the first network device may be different from the way the terminal device determines the time unit for data transmission with the second network device. In this scheme, the terminal device may not consider the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device when determining the time unit for data transmission with the first network device, thus shortening the latency of data transmission between the terminal device and the first network device and improving data transmission efficiency.

[0027] In another possible implementation, the fifth time unit can also be determined based on the first duration. Thus, the way the terminal device determines the time unit for data transmission with the first network device can be the same as the way the terminal device determines the time unit for data transmission with the second network device, which can reduce the complexity of the solution on the terminal device side.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the terminal device receives information indicating a first duration. For example, the terminal device may receive information indicating the first duration from a first network device. The first network device can determine the first duration based on the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device. This approach can reduce the complexity of the solution on the terminal device side.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the terminal device sends information indicating the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device. This information can assist the first network device in determining the first duration, thereby reducing the complexity of the scheme on the first network device side.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the first duration is the duration of S1 time units, where S1 is a positive integer. The value of S1 includes the rounded-up or rounded-down value of the quotient between the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device and the duration of a single time unit. This scheme allows the first duration to be set to an integer number of time units, thereby reducing the complexity of the terminal device scheme and also reducing the signaling overhead for indicating the first duration.

[0031] In one possible implementation, for example, when downlink transmission occurs between the terminal device and the second network device in a second time unit, the second time unit is determined based on a first duration, and can also be determined based on the value of K0. The value of K0 is related to the latency of the terminal device processing uplink information and / or the latency of processing downlink information. For example, the difference between the index values ​​of the time units of the first and second time units is determined based on the sum of the first duration and the value of K0. As another example, the fifth time unit is also determined based on the value of K0. For example, if downlink transmission occurs between the terminal device and the first network device in the fifth time unit, the difference between the index values ​​of the time units of the fifth and fourth time units can be determined based on the value of K0 (e.g., not based on the first duration); or based on the sum of the first duration and the value of K0. This scheme takes into account the latency of the terminal device processing uplink information and / or the latency of processing downlink information, thereby allowing for a more reasonable second time unit and improving the success rate of data transmission by the terminal device.

[0032] In one possible implementation, for example, when uplink transmission (e.g., PUSCH) occurs between the terminal device and the second network device in a second time unit, the second time unit is determined based on a first duration. The second time unit can also be determined based on the value of K2 and a time unit offset. The value of K2 is associated with the delay in the terminal device processing uplink information and / or the delay in processing downlink information. The time unit offset is associated with the timing advance (TA) corresponding to the first network device. For another example, the fifth time unit is determined based on the first duration, the value of K2, and the time unit offset. This scheme considers the value of K2 and the time unit offset, thereby determining a more reasonable second time unit and improving the success rate of data transmission by the terminal device.

[0033] In the above embodiments, the time unit offset value used by the terminal device when sending data to the first network device can be the same as the time unit offset value used when sending data to the second network device. Since the terminal device can determine the time unit offset value based on the TA corresponding to the first network device, this value can be made smaller, thus avoiding excessive delay in sending data from the terminal device to the first network device. On the other hand, since the time unit offset value is set smaller, the timing difference between the first and second network devices is also considered when calculating the time unit for sending data to the second network device. This can extend the delay in sending data to the second network device, reducing or avoiding problems caused by excessively small delays in sending data to the second network device (e.g., the fifth time unit being before the fourth time unit), thereby improving the success rate of sending data to the second network device and improving communication performance.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the first network device can schedule the second network device to send data to the terminal device via first information, and the terminal device can also send response information corresponding to the data from the second network device back to the first network device. Alternatively, the first network device can schedule the first network device to send data to the terminal device via second information. In this implementation, the terminal device can also send response information corresponding to the data from the first network device back to the first network device.

[0035] For example, the terminal device acquires a first duration. The terminal device sends a first response message in a third time unit. The first response message is a response to data received from the second network device in the second time unit. The third time unit is determined based on the second time unit, the value of K, the time unit offset, and the first duration. Details regarding the first duration can be found in the preceding description. The time unit offset can be associated with the TA used by the terminal corresponding to the first network device, but not with the timing difference between the second and first network devices. In this scheme, since the transmission of the first response message also considers the first duration, this scheme can increase the feedback delay of the second network device, thereby reducing or avoiding the situation where the first response message is transmitted before the terminal device receives data from the second network device, thus improving the success rate of transmitting the first response message and enhancing communication performance.

[0036] For example, the terminal device sends a second response message in the sixth time unit. The second response message is a response to data received from the first network device in the fifth time unit. The sixth time unit is determined based on the fifth time unit, the value of K, and the time unit offset. The value of K is associated with the latency of the terminal device processing downlink information from the first network device and / or processing uplink information (e.g., uplink response information), and the time unit offset is associated with the TA used by the terminal corresponding to the first network device. The time unit offset corresponding to the first response message can be the same as the time unit offset corresponding to the second response message. In this scheme, since the time unit offset is associated with the TA used by the terminal corresponding to the first network device, the timing difference between the second and first network devices is not considered. Therefore, the time unit offset can be set to a smaller value, thereby shortening the time between the second response message and the data transmitted by the first network device, thus reducing the feedback latency of the first network device.

[0037] In one possible implementation, the first duration in this application can also be referred to by other parameter names, such as offset, offset value, or offset. The determination of the sixth time unit may not consider the first duration. Alternatively, the determination of the sixth time unit may consider the first duration, but when calculating the sixth time unit, the value of the first duration (or offset) is set to zero. However, in the determination of the third unit, the first duration needs to be considered, and the first duration is not zero.

[0038] As can be seen from the above scheme, the terminal device can determine the time unit offset value based on the TA used by the terminal corresponding to the first network device. This allows the value to be relatively small, thus avoiding excessive feedback delay of the first network device. Furthermore, because the time unit offset value is set relatively small, the timing difference between the first and second network devices is considered when calculating the transmission of the first response information. This reduces or avoids situations where the first response information is transmitted before the terminal device receives data from the second network device, thereby improving the success rate of transmitting the first response information and enhancing communication performance.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the terminal device transmits third information indicating the difference in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and / or received power received from the first network device and the second network device. This third information is used by the first network device and / or the second network device to adjust their transmit power. The first network device and / or the second network device can adjust their transmit power based on the third information to bring the SNR difference between the first network device and the second network device closer to zero, thereby improving transmission spectral efficiency.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the first network device and the second network device may be of the same or different device types. For example, the first network device may be a satellite device, and the second network device may be a satellite device. Alternatively, the first network device may be a ground-deployed network device or a chip system within a network device, and the second network device may be a satellite device. Alternatively, the first network device may be a satellite device, and the second network device may be a ground-deployed network device or a chip system within a network device. Alternatively, both the first and second network devices may be ground-deployed network devices or chip systems within network devices.

[0041] Secondly, this application provides a communication method that can be executed by a first network device. The first network device may include a network device or a chip system within a network device. For example, the first network device may include a satellite device or a chip (or chip system) within a satellite device. As another example, the first network device may include a ground station or a chip (or chip system) within a ground station. The ground station may, for example, include network devices deployed on the ground (e.g., access network devices).

[0042] A first network device sends first information. The first information includes information for instructing a second network device. The first information instructs a terminal device to transmit data with the second network device. The terminal device transmits data with the second network device based on the first information.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the first network device sends second information, which includes information instructing the first network device. The second information instructs the terminal device to transmit data with the first network device. The terminal device then transmits data with the first network device based on the second information.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the first information is carried in a first DCI. Alternatively, the second information is carried in a second DCI.

[0045] In one possible implementation, information indicating a second network device is carried in a first field of the first DCI. The first network device sends information indicating that the first DCI includes the first field.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the information for indicating the second network device is carried in the carrier indication field or reserved field in the first DCI.

[0047] In one possible implementation, if the first network device determines that the format of the first DCI belongs to a first format when the first DCI carries information for indicating the second network device, the first DCI in the first format includes a second field that carries information for indicating the first network device.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the time domain resources occupied by the first information belong to a first time unit, and the terminal device and the second network device perform data transmission in a second time unit. The second time unit is determined based on the first time unit and a first duration. The first duration is associated with the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device.

[0049] In one possible implementation, the first network device sends information indicating a first duration.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the first network device receives information indicating the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device.

[0051] In one possible implementation, the first duration is the duration of S1 time units, where S1 is a positive integer. The value of S1 includes the value obtained by rounding up or down the quotient of the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device and the duration of a single time unit.

[0052] In one possible implementation, for example, when downlink transmission occurs between the terminal device and the second network device in the second time unit, the second time unit is further determined based on the value of K0, which is associated with the delay of the terminal device in processing uplink information and / or the delay in processing downlink information.

[0053] In one possible implementation, for example, when uplink transmission occurs between the terminal device and the second network device in the second time unit, the second time unit is further determined based on the value of K2 and the time unit offset value. The value of K2 is associated with the latency of the terminal device processing uplink information and / or the latency of processing downlink information. The time unit offset value is associated with the TA used by the terminal corresponding to the first network device. As another example, the fifth time unit is also determined based on the value of K2 and the time unit offset value.

[0054] In one possible implementation, the difference between the index values ​​of the time units of the first time unit and the second time unit is determined by the sum of the first duration and the value of K0.

[0055] In one possible implementation, the terminal device and the second network device transmit data in a second time unit. The first network device receives first response information. The first response information occupies a third time unit. The first response information is a response to data received from the second network device in the second time unit. The third time unit is determined based on the second time unit, the value of K, the time unit offset value, and a first duration, which is associated with the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device.

[0056] In one possible implementation, the first network device receives third information. The third information indicates the SNR difference and / or received power difference between the received signals from the first network device and the second network device. The first network device adjusts its transmit power based on the third information to bring the SNR difference between the first and second network devices closer to zero, thereby improving transmission spectral efficiency.

[0057] In one possible implementation, the first network device sends a sixth piece of information to the second network device, which instructs the second network device to adjust its transmit power. The sixth piece of information may be determined based on the third piece of information. For example, the sixth piece of information may be the third piece of information. Alternatively, the sixth piece of information may be used to indicate the target SNR of the second network device. Or, the sixth piece of information may be used to indicate the target transmit power of the second network device.

[0058] The description of the second aspect and its possible implementations, as well as its beneficial effects, can be found in the description of the first aspect and its possible implementations, and will not be repeated here.

[0059] Thirdly, this application provides a communication method that can be executed by a second network device. The second network device may include a network device or a chip system within a network device. For example, the second network device may include a satellite device or a chip (or chip system) within a satellite device. As another example, the second network device may include a ground station or a chip (or chip system) within a ground station. A ground station may, for example, include network devices deployed on the ground (e.g., access network devices).

[0060] In one possible implementation, the second network device receives a seventh message, which instructs the second network device to transmit data with the terminal device. The second network device then transmits data with the terminal device.

[0061] In another possible implementation, the second network device may receive the sixth information and adjust its transmit power based on the sixth information. This is to bring the difference in SNR between the first and second network devices closer to zero, thereby improving transmission spectral efficiency. For example, the sixth information may be the third information. Alternatively, the sixth information may be used to indicate the target SNR of the second network device. Or, the sixth information may be used to indicate the target transmit power of the second network device.

[0062] For a description of the third aspect and its possible implementations, as well as its beneficial effects, please refer to the description of the first aspect, its possible implementations, the second aspect, and its possible implementations; these will not be repeated here.

[0063] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, which can be the aforementioned terminal device, first network device, or second network device. The communication device may include a communication unit and a processing unit to perform any one of the first to third aspects, or any possible implementation of the first to third aspects. The communication unit is used to perform functions related to sending and receiving. The communication unit may be referred to as a transceiver unit. Optionally, the communication unit includes a receiving unit and a sending unit. The communication unit may also be referred to as a transceiver unit. In one design, the communication device is a communication chip, the processing unit may be one or more processors or processor cores, and the communication unit may be the input / output circuit, input / output interface, or antenna port of the communication chip.

[0064] In another design, the communication unit can be a transmitter and a receiver, or the communication unit can be a transmitter and a receiver.

[0065] Optionally, the communication device may also include modules that can be used to perform any one of the first to third aspects described above, or to perform any possible implementation of the first to third aspects.

[0066] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, which may be the aforementioned terminal device, a first network device, or a second network device. The communication device may include a processor and a memory to execute any one of the first to third aspects, or any possible implementation thereof. Optionally, it may also include a transceiver; the memory is used to store computer programs or instructions, and the processor is used to retrieve and execute the computer programs or instructions from the memory. When the processor executes the computer programs or instructions in the memory, the communication device executes any one of the first to third aspects, or any possible implementation thereof.

[0067] Optionally, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories.

[0068] Optionally, the memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory can be set up separately from the processor.

[0069] Optionally, the transceiver may include a transmitter and a receiver.

[0070] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be the aforementioned terminal device, a first network device, or a second network device. The communication device may include a processor to execute any one of the first to third aspects, or to execute any possible implementation of the first to third aspects. The processor is coupled to a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0071] In one implementation, when the communication device is a terminal device, a first network device, or a second network device, the communication interface can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0072] In another implementation, when the communication device is a chip or chip system, the communication interface can be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip or chip system. The processor can also be manifested as a processing circuit or logic circuit.

[0073] Seventhly, a system is provided, which includes the aforementioned terminal device.

[0074] In one possible implementation, the system may further include a first network device and a second network device.

[0075] Eighthly, a computer program product is provided, comprising: a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when executed, causes a computer to perform any one of the first to third aspects described above, or to perform any possible implementation of the first to third aspects.

[0076] Ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the first to third aspects described above, or to perform any possible implementation of the first to third aspects.

[0077] A tenth aspect provides a processing apparatus, comprising: an interface circuit and a processing circuit. The interface circuit may include an input circuit and an output circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive signals through the input circuit and transmit signals through the output circuit, thereby enabling any one of the first to third aspects, or any possible implementation thereof, to be implemented.

[0078] In specific implementation, the aforementioned processing device can be a chip, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the processing circuit can be a transistor, gate circuit, flip-flop, and various logic circuits, etc. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example, but not limited to, a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit can be, for example, but not limited to, output to a transmitter and transmitted by the transmitter. Furthermore, the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, which is used as the input circuit and output circuit at different times. This application does not limit the specific implementation method of the processor and various circuits.

[0079] In one implementation, the communication device is a terminal device, a first network device, or a second network device. The interface circuit can be an RF processing chip in the terminal device, the first network device, or the second network device, and the processing circuit can be a baseband processing chip in the terminal device, the first network device, or the second network device.

[0080] In another implementation, the communication device can be a component of a terminal device, a first network device, or a second network device, such as an integrated circuit product like a system-on-a-chip (SoC) or a communication chip. The interface circuit can be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pins, or related circuits on the chip or chip system. The processing circuit can be the logic circuit on the chip. Attached Figure Description

[0081] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of this application;

[0082] Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of another communication system applicable to the embodiments of this application;

[0083] Figure 1C is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of another communication system applicable to the embodiments of this application;

[0084] Figure 1D is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of another communication system applicable to the embodiments of this application;

[0085] Figure 1E is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of another communication system applicable to the embodiments of this application;

[0086] Figure 1F is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of another communication system applicable to the embodiments of this application;

[0087] Figure 1G is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of another communication system applicable to the embodiments of this application;

[0088] Figure 2 is a possible flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0089] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the possible locations of time-domain resources of PDSCH scheduled by a first network device through PDCCH according to an embodiment of this application;

[0090] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the possible locations of time-domain resources of PDSCH scheduled by a first network device through PDCCH according to another embodiment of this application.

[0091] Figure 5 is a possible flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0092] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the possible locations of time-domain resources of PDSCH scheduled by a first network device through PDCCH according to another embodiment of this application.

[0093] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the possible locations of time-domain resources for response information sent by a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0094] Figure 8 is a possible flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0095] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the possible location of time-domain resources for response information sent by a terminal device according to another embodiment of this application;

[0096] Figure 10 is a possible flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0097] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the possible locations of the time-domain resources of the PUSCH scheduled by the first network device through the PDCCH according to an embodiment of this application;

[0098] Figure 12 is a possible flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0099] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0100] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of another structure of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0101] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of another structure of the communication device provided in the embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0102] The terms and nouns used in the embodiments of this application are described below.

[0103] (1) Resources.

[0104] The resources in the embodiments of this application may include, for example, time-domain resources and / or frequency-domain resources.

[0105] (1.1) Time domain resources.

[0106] Time-domain resources may include at least one of the following: radio frames, subframes, slots, mini slots, or symbols (e.g., orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), such as discrete fourier transform (DFT)-spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM), orthogonal time-frequency and space (OTFS)).

[0107] A time unit may include a radio frame, a subframe, a slot, a mini slot, or an OFDM symbol. A time unit may also include resources aggregated from multiple radio frames, subframes, slots, mini slots, or OFDM symbols. Specifically, a radio frame may include multiple subframes, a subframe may include one or more slots, and a slot may include at least one symbol. Alternatively, a radio frame may include multiple slots, and a slot may include at least one symbol. It should be noted that, in this embodiment, an OFDM symbol may also be simply referred to as a symbol.

[0108] Depending on the subcarrier spacing, the length of each symbol can vary, and therefore the time slot length can also vary. For example, a time slot with a subcarrier spacing of 15 kilo mega hertz (kHz) has a length of 0.5 ms, a time slot with a subcarrier spacing of 60 kHz has a length of 0.125 ms, and so on.

[0109] In this embodiment of the application, the time unit can also be replaced by: time domain resource unit or time domain unit, etc.

[0110] (1.2) Frequency domain resources.

[0111] In the frequency domain, frequency domain resources can include one or more frequency domain units. A frequency domain unit can be a resource block (RB), a physical resource block (PRB), a subcarrier, a resource block group (RBG), a predefined subband, a precoding resource block group (PRG), a resource pool, a bandwidth part (BWP), a resource element (RE) (also called a resource unit or resource particle), a carrier, or a serving cell. PRBs and RBs can be interchanged. Optionally, a resource pool can include one or more resources, which can include at least one of time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, code-domain resources, or spatial-domain resources. The number and size of resources included in the resource pool can be predetermined or configured by signaling.

[0112] Subcarrier or RE refers to the smallest frequency domain unit on a specific symbol in a multicarrier system. Subcarrier spacing (SCS) is the interval between the center or peak positions of two adjacent subcarriers in the frequency domain in an OFDM system. In 5G NR, various subcarrier spacings are introduced, and different carriers can have different subcarrier spacings. The baseline is 15kHz, which can be 15kHz × 2n, where n is an integer from 3.75, 7.5 up to 480kHz. In the embodiments of this application, RE can refer to a resource unit of time-frequency resources, such as the smallest time-frequency resource unit. In this application, subcarrier and RE are interchangeable and have the same content.

[0113] A subchannel is the smallest unit of frequency domain resources occupied by a physical cross-channel shared channel. A subchannel can include one or more resource blocks (RBs). The bandwidth of a wireless communication system in the frequency domain can include multiple RBs. For example, in the various possible bandwidths of an LTE system, the number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) included can be 6, 15, 25, 50, etc. In the frequency domain, an RB can include several subcarriers. For example, in an LTE system, an RB includes 12 subcarriers, where the spacing between each subcarrier can be 15kHz. Of course, other subcarrier spacings can also be used, such as 3.75kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz, or 120kHz subcarrier spacings, which are not limited here.

[0114] A frequency domain unit may include a RE, an RB, a channel, a subchannel, a carrier, or a bandwidth part (BWP). A frequency domain unit may also include resources aggregated from multiple REs, multiple RBs, multiple subchannels, multiple carriers, or multiple BWPs. In the embodiments of this application, a channel can be equivalently replaced by a resource block set (RB set), and the frequency domain bandwidth of an RB set can be 20 MHz.

[0115] In this embodiment, the frequency domain unit can also be replaced by: frequency domain resource unit or frequency unit, etc.

[0116] A frequency domain resource set may include one or more frequency domain elements. A frequency domain resource set may also be called a frequency domain resource collection, frequency domain resource group, etc. For example, a frequency domain resource set may include a resource block set (RBset), a resource block (RB), a subchannel, a resource pool, a carrier, and a resource pool (BWP).

[0117] Figure 1A exemplarily illustrates an architecture diagram of a communication system 1000 applicable to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1A, the communication system includes a wireless access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include an Internet 300. The wireless access network 100 may include at least one wireless access network device (110a and 110b in Figure 1A) and at least one terminal device (120a-120j in Figure 1A). The terminal device is wirelessly connected to the wireless access network device, and the wireless access network device is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network. The core network device and the wireless access network device may be independent and different physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the wireless access network device may be integrated on the same physical device, or a single physical device may integrate some of the functions of the core network device and some of the functions of the wireless access network device. Terminal devices and wireless access network devices may be interconnected via wired or wireless means. Figure 1A is just a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1A.

[0118] The network devices involved in the embodiments of this application include, for example, radio access network (RAN) devices. RAN devices can be base stations, evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs), transmission reception points (TRPs), transmission points (TPs), base stations in 5th generation (5G) mobile communication systems, base stations in future mobile communication systems, or access nodes in WiFi systems; they can also be modules or units that perform some of the functions of a base station, for example, they can be central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), or radio units (RUs). The CU (Radio Control Unit) performs the functions of the radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also perform the functions of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP). The DU (Radio Link Control Unit) performs the functions of the radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also perform some or all of the physical layer functions. For specific descriptions of the above-mentioned protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The CU and DU can be set up separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as in the baseband unit (BBU). The RU (Radio Receiver Unit) can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as in the remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), or remote radio head (RRH). In different systems, CU, DU, or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an open radio access network (ORAN) system, a CU can also be called an open CU (open-CU, O-CU), a DU can also be called an open DU (open-DU, O-DU), and a RU can also be called an open RU (open-RU, O-RU).In this application, any of the following units—CU (or CU control plane (CU-CP), CU user plane (CU-UP), DU, and RU)—can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules. CU-CP can also be called open-CU-CP (O-CU-CP), and CU-UP can also be called open-CU-UP (O-CU-UP).

[0119] Figure 1B exemplarily illustrates a schematic diagram of an O-RAN system architecture provided by an embodiment of this application. The O-RAN system in the embodiments provided by this application may include components other than those shown in Figure 1B. As shown in Figure 1B, the access network device (RAN, for example, may be an eNB, gNB, or access network device in a future mobile communication system) communicates with the core network (CN) via a backhaul link and with user equipment (UE) via an air interface. For example, the baseband unit (BBU) in the access network device communicates with the core network via a backhaul link, and the radio unit (RU) in the access network device communicates with at least one UE via an air interface. The BBU communicates with at least one RU via a fronthaul link; the BBU and RU may or may not be co-located. The BBU includes at least one control unit (CU) and at least one distributed unit (DU), which can communicate via at least one midhaul link. In this embodiment of the application, the first network device may send signaling to the terminal device (e.g., UE) for scheduling the first network device and / or auxiliary communication devices. The sending of these signaling messages may be carried out by the CU and / or DU in the first network device to the terminal device.

[0120] Figure 1C exemplarily illustrates a schematic diagram of an O-RAN system architecture provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1C, O-RAN may include O-CU-CP, O-CU-UP, O-DU, and O-RU. This system architecture may also include an open cloud (O-cloud), a service management and orchestration framework, an open eNB (O-eNB), a near-real-time (RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), and a non-real-time RIC. The non-RT RIC can monitor, configure, manage, and control radio resources of at least one of multiple O-CU-CP, O-CU-UP, DU, or O-eNB. As shown in Figure 1C, the interfaces defined by 3GPP include, for example: E1, F1 (e.g., F1-c, F1-u), NG (e.g., NG-c, NG-u), Xn (e.g., Xn-c, Xn-u), and X2 (e.g., X2-c, X2-u). For example, O-RAN communication systems also include interfaces such as O1, O2, E2, A1, and Open Front Hull (FH) interfaces (e.g., Open-FH Control (M)-plane, and Open-FH Control, User and Synchronization (CUS)-plane). The names of the interfaces and the connection methods of the units shown in Figure 1C are an example; in practical applications, O-RAN systems may include more or fewer interfaces, or more or fewer units.

[0121] Wireless access network equipment can be a macro base station (as shown in Figure 1A, 110a), a micro base station or an indoor station (as shown in Figure 1A, 110b), or a relay node or donor node, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or equipment form used in the wireless access network equipment. For ease of description, a base station is used as an example of wireless access network equipment in the following description.

[0122] Terminal devices can also be referred to as user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminal devices, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, etc. Terminal devices can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, sensors, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies or device forms used in the terminal devices.

[0123] The aforementioned terminal devices can establish connections with the operator's network through interfaces provided by the operator's network (such as N1), and use data and / or voice services provided by the operator's network. The terminal devices can also access the Domain Name System (DNS) through the operator's network, and use operator services deployed on the DNS, and / or services provided by third parties. These third parties can be service providers outside of the operator's network and the terminal devices, and can provide other data and / or voice services to the terminal devices. The specific form of these third parties can be determined according to the actual application scenario and is not limited here.

[0124] Terminal devices can also be referred to as user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminal devices, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, etc. Terminal devices can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, roadside units (RSUs), etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies or device forms used in the terminal devices.

[0125] Base stations and terminal equipment 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 base stations and terminal equipment.

[0126] The roles of base stations and terminal devices can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1A can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal devices 120j that access the wireless access network 100 through 120i, terminal device 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, 120i is a terminal device, meaning that 110a and 120i communicate via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a base station. Therefore, both base stations and terminal devices can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1A can be called communication devices with base station functions, and 120a-120j in Figure 1A can be called communication devices with terminal device functions.

[0127] Communication between base stations and terminal devices, between base stations, and between terminal devices can be conducted using licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or both simultaneously. Communication can be conducted using spectrum below 6 GHz, spectrum above 6 GHz, or both simultaneously. The embodiments of this application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0128] In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the base station can be executed by modules (such as chips) within the base station, or by a control subsystem that includes base station functions. This control subsystem, including base station functions, can be a control center in the aforementioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. Similarly, the functions of the terminal device can be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within the terminal device, or by a device that includes terminal device functions.

[0129] In this application, the base station sends downlink signals or downlink information to the terminal device, with the downlink information carried on the downlink channel; the terminal device sends uplink signals or uplink information to the base station, with the uplink information carried on the uplink channel. In order to communicate with the base station, the terminal device needs to establish a radio connection with a cell controlled by the base station. The cell with which the terminal device has established a radio connection is called the serving cell of the terminal device. When the terminal device communicates with this serving cell, it is also subject to interference from signals from neighboring cells.

[0130] The core network involved in this application embodiment may include network devices that process and forward user signaling and data. For example, it includes core network devices such as access and mobility management functions (AMF), session management functions (SMF), user plane gateways, and location management devices. The user plane gateway can be a server with functions such as mobility management, routing, and forwarding of user plane data, generally located on the network side, such as a serving gateway (SGW), packet data network gateway (PGW), or user plane function (UPF). AMF and SMF are equivalent to the mobility management entity (MME) in a long-term evolution (LTE) system. AMF is mainly responsible for admission aspects, and SMF is mainly responsible for session management. Of course, the core network may also include other network elements, which are not listed here.

[0131] Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C are only schematic diagrams. This wireless communication system may also include other devices, such as core network devices, wireless relay devices, and / or wireless backhaul devices, which are not all shown in the figures.

[0132] Figures 1D and 1E exemplarily illustrate network architecture diagrams of several communication systems applicable to embodiments of this application. The communication system may include satellites, network devices, and terminal devices, etc. The communication system may also include gateways and core network devices. Figures 1D and 1E exemplarily illustrate a converged network architecture of NTN and terrestrial networks. A description is provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0133] The satellite can be a highly elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite, a GEO satellite, a medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite, or a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite. This application does not limit the satellite's operating mode; for example, the satellite can operate in transparent mode or regenerative mode. Figure 1D illustrates the satellite operating in transparent mode, and Figure 1E illustrates the satellite operating in regenerative mode.

[0134] When a satellite operates in transparent mode, it provides transparent relay forwarding functionality. A gateway possesses the functions of a network device (such as a base station) or some of the functions of a network device (such as a base station); in this case, the gateway can be considered a network device (such as a base station). Alternatively, the network device (such as a base station) can be deployed separately from the gateway. In this case, the feeder link latency includes both the latency from the satellite to the gateway and the latency from the gateway to the gNB. The transparent mode discussed later assumes that the gateway and gNB are located together or close to each other. For cases where the gateway and gNB are far apart, the feeder link latency is simply the sum of the latency from the satellite to the gateway and the latency from the gateway to the gNB.

[0135] When a satellite is operating in regenerative mode, it has data processing capabilities and functions as a network device (such as a base station) or partially functions as a network device (such as a base station). In this case, the satellite can be regarded as a network device (such as a base station).

[0136] Satellites can communicate wirelessly with terminals via broadcast communication signals and navigation signals. Optionally, each satellite can provide communication, navigation, and positioning services to terminal devices through multiple beams. For example, each satellite uses multiple beams to cover the service area, and the relationship between different beams can be one or more of time-division, frequency-division, and space-division.

[0137] A gateway (also known as a ground station, earth station, or gateway) is a network device used to connect satellites and ground-based networks (such as ground base stations). One or more satellites can connect to one or more ground-based network devices (such as ground base stations) through one or more gateways; this is not a limitation. The link between a satellite and a terminal is called a service link, and the link between a satellite and a gateway is called a feeder link. Network devices can be deployed separately from gateways; therefore, the latency of the feeder link can include both the latency from the satellite to the gateway and the latency from the gateway to the network device.

[0138] The network devices in this application embodiment may include network devices deployed on satellites (such as satellite base stations), network devices deployed on gateways, or network devices deployed on the ground (such as ground base stations). For example, the network devices may be radio access network (RAN) nodes, RAN nodes in O-RAN systems, etc., as shown in Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C. Related details are as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0139] A core network (CN) is a device located on the ground that can communicate with NTN devices in the NTN system. For example, a CN can be the CN shown in Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C. See the foregoing description for related details, which will not be repeated here.

[0140] The terminal can be the terminal involved in Figures 1A, 1B and 1C. For relevant details, please refer to the above description and we will not repeat them here.

[0141] The embodiments of this application can also be applied to other communication system architectures, such as air-to-ground (ATG) communication systems, which include at least one network device and at least one high-altitude terminal. High-altitude terminals include, for example, high-altitude aircraft and onboard terminals. The satellites in Figures 1D and 1E can also be replaced with other relay devices, such as high-altitude platform stations (HAPS) or other NTN devices. The communication system shown in Figure 1D or 1E is merely an example and does not limit the communication systems to which the methods provided in the embodiments of this application are applicable.

[0142] It is understood that the embodiments of this application can also be applied to air-to-ground (ATG) communication systems. As an example, please refer to Figure 1F, which is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of another communication system to which the embodiments of this application are applicable. This communication system includes at least one network device and at least one high-altitude terminal device. High-altitude terminal devices include, for example, high-altitude aircraft and onboard terminal devices.

[0143] Figure 1G exemplarily illustrates another possible communication system architecture applicable to embodiments of this application. The terminal device can communicate with two or more communication devices. For example, the terminal device can communicate with a primary communication device and one or more secondary communication devices. For example, the primary communication device and at least one secondary communication device send data to the terminal device on the same resources. In this application example, "same resources" can be replaced with "same time-domain resources," or "same frequency-domain resources," or "same time-domain resources and frequency-domain resources." Descriptions of "same resources" in other locations are provided here and will not be repeated. The primary communication device and at least one secondary communication device can also send data to the terminal device on different resources (e.g., different time-domain resources, different frequency-domain resources, or different time-domain resources and different frequency-domain resources).

[0144] Figure 1G illustrates a communication system comprising a first network device, a second network device, and a terminal device. This embodiment uses the first network device as the primary communication device and the second network device as the secondary communication device. The communication system shown in Figure 1G may also include other secondary communication devices, which are not shown here. In this embodiment, the primary and / or secondary communication devices can be satellite devices or other ground-deployed network devices, such as ground-deployed base stations. Figure 1G illustrates this using the first network device as the primary satellite device and the second network device as the secondary satellite device. As shown in Figure 1G, the terminal device can establish an RRC connection with the primary satellite device but not with the secondary satellite device. The primary and secondary satellite devices can communicate with the terminal device; for example, the primary and secondary satellite devices can send data to the terminal device on the same resources.

[0145] The terminal device in Figure 1G can be the terminal or its internal chip system involved in Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, or 1F. The first network device in Figure 1G can be the satellite or its internal chip system involved in Figures 1D, 1E, or 1F, or it can be a network device (e.g., access network equipment, ground station, etc.) involved in Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, or 1F, or its internal chip system. The second network device in Figure 1G can be the satellite or its internal chip system involved in Figures 1D, 1E, or 1F, or it can be a network device (e.g., access network equipment, ground station, etc.) involved in Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, or 1F, or its internal chip system.

[0146] The communication devices (e.g., the first network device and / or the second network device) in this application embodiment can also be replaced by cells or transmission reception points (TRPs). For example, the first network device can be replaced by a cell, a first cell, or a primary cell. The second network device can be replaced by a cell, a second cell, or a secondary cell. The first cell and the second cell can belong to cells within the coverage areas of different network devices, or they can belong to cells within the coverage areas of the same network device. This application embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0147] In the embodiments of this application, any two of the first and second network devices can be of the same type or different types. For example, the first network device may be a first satellite device (e.g., a primary satellite device), and the second network device may be a second satellite device (e.g., a secondary satellite device). The satellite device (e.g., the first and second satellite devices) in the embodiments of this application can be a satellite or a chip system inside a satellite as shown in Figures 1D, 1E, or 1F. In the embodiments of this application, when either the first or second network device is a satellite device, the operating mode of the satellite device can be a transparent transmission mode or a regeneration mode. The operating modes of any two of the first and second network devices can be the same or different. For example, the first network device may be a satellite device, and the second network device may be a ground-deployed network device (e.g., an access network device, a ground station, etc.). For example, the first and second network devices may be ground-deployed network devices (e.g., an access network device, a ground station, etc.).

[0148] Based on the content shown in at least one of Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, and 1G, as well as the other content mentioned above, Figure 2 exemplarily illustrates a possible flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of this application. For ease of understanding, Figure 2 uses the interaction between a terminal device, a first network device, and a second network device as an example. Examples of the terminal device, the first network device, and the second network device can be found in the description of Figure 1G above, and will not be repeated here.

[0149] This application embodiment uses a first network device as the primary communication device and a second network device as the secondary communication device as an example. The terminal device can establish an RRC connection with the primary communication device (first network device), but does not need to establish an RRC connection with the secondary communication device (second network device). The terminal device can communicate with the primary communication device (first network device) (e.g., sending uplink or downlink data), and the terminal device can also communicate with the secondary communication device (second network device) (e.g., sending uplink or downlink data). The terminal device can communicate with at least one secondary communication device. This application embodiment uses one secondary communication device (second network device) as an example for description; related solutions for other secondary communication devices can be found in the relevant description of the second network device, and will not be repeated here.

[0150] The following description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying diagram.

[0151] Step 201: The first network device sends the first information.

[0152] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the first network device.

[0153] The first information instructs the terminal device to transmit data with the second network device. In one possible implementation, the first information may include / become information indicating the second network device. This information may include, for example, the identifier of the second network device, the index of the second network device, the satellite identifier of the second network device, or the satellite orbit identifier of the second network device. This information instructs the terminal device to transmit data with the second network device. For instance, after receiving the first information, the terminal device determines that data transmission with the second network device is necessary based on this information.

[0154] In this application embodiment, "data" can be carried in a channel, such as a "shared channel (SCH)," such as a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). In this application embodiment, "data transmission between the terminal device and the second network device" can include: the terminal device receiving data (e.g., PDSCH) from the second network device, and / or the terminal device sending data (e.g., PUSCH) to the second network device. The first information instructing the terminal device to transmit data with the second network device can also be replaced by at least one of the following: the first information instructing the second network device, the first information instructing the terminal device to receive PDSCH from the second network device, or the first information instructing the terminal device to send PUSCH to the second network device.

[0155] Step 202: The first network device sends the second information.

[0156] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives second information from the first network device.

[0157] The second information instructs the terminal device to transmit data with the first network device. In one possible implementation, the second information may include / become information indicating the first network device. This information may include, for example, the identifier of the first network device, the index of the first network device, the satellite identifier of the first network device, or the satellite orbit identifier of the first network device. This information instructs the terminal device to transmit data with the first network device. For instance, after receiving the second information, the terminal device determines that data transmission with the first network device is necessary based on this information.

[0158] In this embodiment of the application, "the terminal device and the first network device perform data transmission" may include: the terminal device receiving data from the first network device, and / or, the terminal device sending data to the first network device. The second information instructing the terminal device to perform data transmission with the first network device may also be replaced by at least one of the following: the second information instructing the first network device, the second information instructing the terminal device to receive PDSCH from the first network device, or the second information instructing the terminal device to send PUSCH to the first network device.

[0159] In steps 202 and 201 above, in one possible implementation, the information sent by the first network device to indicate the network device (e.g., first information and / or second information) can be carried in downlink control information (DCI). The first network device can schedule data transmission between the network device and the terminal device (e.g., PDSCH and / or PUSCH) through the DCI. The first network device can schedule data transmission between itself and the terminal device through the DCI (e.g., the DCI sent by the first network device carries information to indicate the first network device). The first network device can also schedule data transmission between other network devices (e.g., the second network device) and the terminal device through the DCI (e.g., the DCI sent by the first network device carries information to indicate the second network device). The first network device can schedule data transmission between one network device and the terminal device through one DCI (e.g., the DCI sent by the first network device carries information to indicate one network device), or it can schedule data transmission between multiple network devices and the terminal device through one DCI (e.g., the DCI sent by the first network device carries information to indicate multiple network devices). For example, the first information and the second information can be carried in two different DCIs, or in the same DCI. For ease of understanding, the following explanation will use the example of the first information being carried in the first DCI and the second information being carried in the second DCI.

[0160] The following describes, using the first information as an example, related implementation methods for the information indicating the second network device carried in the first DCI through implementation methods A1 and A2. In implementation method A1, the information indicating the second network device in the first information can be carried in the first DCI. In implementation method A1, the format of the first DCI is not limited; for example, it can be a DCI format defined in a standard. In implementation method A2, the first information can be carried in a first DCI with a first format. Related implementation methods for the second information carried in the second DCI are similar and will not be repeated here.

[0161] In implementation method A1, the information in the first information used to indicate the second network device can be carried in the first DCI.

[0162] For example, the format of the first DCI (and / or the format of the second DCI) can be a DCI format defined in the standard. For example, the format of the first DCI can include DCI format 1_0, DCI format 1_1, DCI format 0_0, DCI format 0_1, etc., as defined in the current protocol standard, and can also include DCI formats defined in future protocols.

[0163] In implementation A1, the information in the first information used to indicate the second network device can be carried in the first field of the first DCI (for example, a newly added field, see implementation A1.1), or it can be a reused existing field of the first DCI (see implementation A1.2).

[0164] In implementation method A1.1, the information in the first information used to indicate the second network device can be carried in the first field of the first DCI.

[0165] The solution provided in this application can be applied to NTN networks, TN networks, or networks where NTN and TN are converged. In this application, the first field is used to distinguish the defined name; the first field can also be replaced with other names, such as: satellite indicator field, network device indicator field, or communication device indicator field, etc.

[0166] In this embodiment, the first field can be, for example, a newly added field in the first DCI. For example, the first field may be a field not present in the DCI format defined in the standard. For example, the position of the first field may be after the last field in the DCI format defined in the standard.

[0167] In one possible implementation, the method provided in this application is applicable to NTN communication systems or to communication systems that integrate TN and NTN. The first field can carry information indicating a network device (e.g., a satellite device) in the NTN communication system. When the first network device needs to schedule data transmission between a network device (e.g., a satellite device) and a terminal device in the NTN communication system, the first field can be added to the first DCI. When the first network device does not need to schedule data transmission between a network device (e.g., a satellite device) and a terminal device in the NTN communication system, the first field can be omitted from the first DCI.

[0168] In one possible implementation, the first network device may also send information to the terminal device indicating whether a DCI includes the first field. For example, the information indicating whether a DCI includes the first field may be carried in radio resource control (RRC) or media access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling.

[0169] For example, if the first network device includes a first field in the first DCI, it can also send information to the terminal device indicating that the first DCI includes the first field. The terminal device determines that the first DCI includes the first field based on the information indicating that the first DCI includes the first field. In this way, the terminal device can more accurately determine the number of fields included in the first DCI and the length of information in the first DCI, avoiding missed reception and thus improving the success rate of correct information reception. As another example, if the first network device does not include a first field in a DCI, it can also send information to the terminal device indicating that the DCI does not include the first field. This allows the terminal device to correctly determine the number of fields included in the DCI and the length of information in the DCI when receiving it, avoiding receiving excessive information and thus improving the success rate of correct information reception. It can be seen that this implementation allows compatibility between DCIs including and excluding the first field, and also reduces the operational complexity on the terminal device side.

[0170] Similarly, the information in the second information used to indicate the first network device can be carried in the first field of the second DCI. The first network device can also send information to the terminal device to indicate that the second DCI includes the first field. The content is similar to the relevant content of the first DCI and will not be described again.

[0171] The following table exemplifies a DCI format example. As shown in Table 1, the DCI may include a first field, which carries information indicating a network device. For example, the DCI in Table 1 is a first DCI, and the first field carries information indicating a second network device. As another example, the DCI in Table 1 is a second DCI, and the first field carries information indicating a first network device. Table 1 exemplarily shows some of the fields included in a DCI, along with their corresponding functions. It also shows a possible example of the number of bits occupied by some fields; relevant details are provided in Table 1 and will not be repeated here.

[0172] Table 1 includes examples of DCIs with the first field.

[0173] In implementation A1.2, the information in the first information used to indicate the second network device can be carried in an existing field in the first DCI.

[0174] For example, the information in the first information used to indicate the second network device can be carried in a reserved field in the first DCI. As another example, the information in the first information used to indicate the second network device can be carried in the carrier indicator field of the first DCI. This can also be understood as the carrier indicator field being given a new meaning or definition; the carrier indicator field is being redefined, for example, it could be redefined as a satellite indicator field, a network device indicator field, or a communication device indicator field, etc. These implementations can avoid adding new fields to the DCI, thereby reducing the length of the DCI and saving resource overhead.

[0175] Similarly, the information in the second information used to indicate the first network device can be carried in existing fields in the second DCI, with similar content, and will not be described again.

[0176] In implementation method A2, the first information is carried in a DCI of a first format.

[0177] In implementation A2, when the first network device needs to schedule data transmission (e.g., PDSCH and / or PUSCH) between the network device and the terminal device via a DCI, it can schedule the data transmission via a first format DCI. When the first network device does not need to schedule data transmission (e.g., PDSCH and / or PUSCH) between the network device and the terminal device via a DCI, it can send DCI in other formats.

[0178] For example, if the first network device sets the first DCI to a first format when the first DCI includes information for indicating the second network device, the terminal device determines that the received first DCI includes information for indicating the network device when it determines that the received first DCI is in the first format. As another example, if the first network device sets the second DCI to a first format when the second DCI includes information for indicating the first network device, the terminal device determines that the received second DCI includes information for indicating the network device when it determines that the received second DCI is in the first format.

[0179] In another possible implementation, the method provided in this application is applicable to NTN communication systems, or to communication systems that integrate TN and NTN. A first network device can distinguish whether a DCI is used to schedule network devices (e.g., satellite devices) in an NTN communication system to transmit data to a terminal device based on the DCI format. For example, if the terminal device determines that the received first DCI format is a first format, it determines that the first DCI includes a field for indicating information about network devices (e.g., satellite devices) in the NTN communication system, or it determines that the first DCI is used to schedule data transmission between one or more network devices (e.g., satellite devices) in the NTN communication system and the terminal device.

[0180] For example, if the terminal device determines that the received first DCI format does not belong to the first format, it determines that the first DCI does not include a field for identifying network devices (e.g., satellite devices) in the NTN communication system, or determines that the first DCI is not used to schedule network devices (e.g., satellite devices) in the NTN communication system to transmit data with the terminal device (e.g., the first DCI may be used for other purposes, such as scheduling base stations (e.g., base stations in cellular networks) in the TN communication system to transmit data with the terminal device), or determines that the first DCI is not used to schedule multiple network devices (e.g., satellite devices) in the NTN communication system to transmit data with the terminal device (e.g., the first DCI may schedule one network device to transmit data with the terminal device).

[0181] The solution provided by implementation method A2 allows the terminal device to identify whether the received DCI contains information for indicating a network device (e.g., a first network device and / or a second network device) through the DCI format. This saves signaling overhead. In this solution, the first network device does not need to notify whether the DCI contains information for indicating a network device through other signaling, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0182] Step 203: The terminal device transmits data with the second network device based on the first information.

[0183] In step 203, the terminal device transmits data with the second network device based on the first information. For example, the terminal device may send data (e.g., PUSCH) to the second network device based on the first information, and / or the terminal device may receive data (e.g., PDSCH) from the second network device based on the first information. For example, the first information is carried in the first DCI, and the terminal device can distinguish whether the first DCI is used for scheduling uplink or downlink data based on its format. As another example, the terminal device can distinguish whether the first DCI is used for scheduling uplink or downlink data based on information such as the search space or scrambling code corresponding to the first DCI.

[0184] In one possible implementation, the terminal device acquires information indicating a first resource, and the terminal device can transmit data with the second network device on the first resource. For example, the first resource can be replaced with a "first time-domain resource." Alternatively, the first resource can be replaced with a "first frequency-domain resource." Yet another example is that the first resource can be replaced with "a first time-domain resource and a first frequency-domain resource." For instance, the information indicating the first resource can be carried in the same message (e.g., a first DCI) or a different message as the first information. Alternatively, some information indicating the first resource can be carried in the same message as the first information, while other information indicating the first resource can be carried in a different message. For example, the first network device indicates the information of the first resource through the frequency domain resource assignment and time domain resource assignment fields in the first DCI.

[0185] In one possible implementation, the first network device may send seventh information to the second network device. The seventh information may instruct the second network device to transmit data with the terminal device. The second network device may also acquire information indicating a first resource and transmit data with the terminal device on the first resource. The information indicating the first resource may be pre-configured on the second network device side, or it may be indicated to the second network device by the first network device or another network device. The seventh information and the information indicating the first resource may be the same piece of information, or they may be two different pieces of information.

[0186] For example, when a second network device needs to send data (e.g., PDSCH) to a terminal device, the second network device can also obtain information used to indicate that data (e.g., PDSCH). The information used to indicate that data (e.g., PDSCH) can be generated by the second network device, or it can be indicated to the second network device by the first network device or other network devices. The seventh information and the information used to indicate that data (e.g., PDSCH) can be the same piece of information, or they can be two different pieces of information.

[0187] Step 204: The terminal device transmits data with the first network device based on the second information.

[0188] In step 204, the terminal device transmits data with the first network device according to the second information. For example, the terminal device may send data (e.g., PUSCH) to the first network device according to the second information, and / or the terminal device may receive data (e.g., PDSCH) from the first network device according to the second information. For example, the second information is carried in the second DCI, and the terminal device can distinguish whether the second DCI is used for scheduling uplink or downlink data by its format. As another example, the terminal device can distinguish whether the second DCI is used for scheduling uplink or downlink data by information such as the search space or scrambling code corresponding to the second DCI.

[0189] In one possible implementation, the terminal device acquires information indicating a second resource, and the terminal device can transmit data with the first network device on the second resource. For example, the second resource can be replaced with a "second time-domain resource." Alternatively, the second resource can be replaced with a "second frequency-domain resource." Or, the second resource can be replaced with both a "second time-domain resource and a second frequency-domain resource." For example, the information indicating the second resource can be carried in the same message (e.g., a second DCI) or a different message as the second information. Alternatively, some information indicating the second resource can be carried in the same message as the second information, while other information indicating the second resource can be carried in a different message. For example, the first network device indicates the information of the second resource through the frequency domain resource assignment and time domain resource assignment fields in the second DCI.

[0190] In one possible implementation, the first resource may belong to a first resource set, and the second resource may belong to a second resource set. The first resource set and the second resource set may be the same resource set. Alternatively, at least one resource in the first resource set may be different from every resource in the second resource set.

[0191] For example, the first time-domain resource and the second time-domain resource may be the same or different. Similarly, the first frequency-domain resource and the second frequency-domain resource may be the same or different. For instance, both the first and second frequency-domain resources may be the first carrier, but the first and second time-domain resources may be the same or different. A first network device can transmit data with a second information scheduling terminal device on the first carrier, and the first network device can also transmit data with a second network device on the first carrier. It can be seen that even if the resources (e.g., carriers) used for data transmission between the first and second network devices and the terminal device are the same, embodiments of this application can still schedule multiple network devices to transmit data with the terminal device on the same carrier through the first network device. This example provides a solution for data scheduling between different network devices on the same carrier.

[0192] Based on the implementation shown in Figure 2, Figure 3 provides an exemplary schematic diagram of the possible locations of time-domain resources of PDSCH (or PUSCH) scheduled by the first network device via PDCCH. Figure 3 illustrates this using the example of the first network device as the first satellite device and the second network device as the second satellite device. As shown in Figure 3, the first network device corresponds to the downlink time slot #n. 14 Send PDCCH#2. The first network device can send PDCCH#2 in the downlink time slot #n corresponding to the first network device. 11 Send PDCCH#1. Downlink slot #n 11 This can be an example of the first time unit involved in the subsequent content of this application, downlink time slot #n 14 This can be an example of the fourth time unit discussed later in this application. In the embodiments of this application, the first time unit and the fourth time unit can be the same time unit (e.g., the same time slot) or different time units (e.g., two adjacent time slots). PDCCH#2 may include a second DCI, which may include the aforementioned second information (e.g., information carrying indications for the first network device). The second DCI is used to schedule data transmission between the first network device and the terminal device (e.g., PDSCH and / or PUSCH). In Figure 3, the terminal device uses the information in PDCCH#2 to access the downlink time slot #n corresponding to the first network device. 15 The following is an example of receiving PDSCH#2 from a first network device. Similarly, PDCCH#1 may include a first DCI, which may include the aforementioned first information (e.g., information carrying instructions for the second network device). The first DCI is used to schedule data transmission (e.g., PDSCH and / or PUSCH) between the second network device and the terminal device. In Figure 3, the terminal device uses the information in PDCCH#1 to access the downlink time slot #n corresponding to the second network device. 12The following is an example of receiving PDSCH#1 from a second network device. Downlink time slot #n 12 This can be an example of a second time unit that will be discussed later in this application, downlink time slot #n 15 This can be an example of the fifth time unit discussed later in this application. In the embodiments of this application, the second time unit and the fifth time unit can be the same time unit (e.g., the same time slot) or different time units (e.g., two adjacent time slots).

[0193] In another possible implementation, PDSCH#1 and PDSCH#2 occupy the same frequency domain resources (e.g., the same carrier) and the same time domain resources. This allows the terminal device to receive data from multiple network devices on the same time and frequency domain resources, thereby improving the throughput of the communication system. Figure 3 illustrates this using time slots as an example. The time slots in the various figures provided in this application's embodiments can also be replaced with other time units; for example, a time slot can be replaced by a radio frame, a subframe, a mini slot, or an OFDM symbol, etc.

[0194] As can be seen from the schemes in Figures 2 and 3 above, the first network device can schedule data transmission between itself and / or other network devices and the terminal device by sending information (e.g., DCI). This scheme is applicable to NTN networks, TN networks, or networks where NTN and TN are converged. For example, if the first network device is a first satellite device and the second network device is a second satellite device, the first satellite device can schedule data transmission between one or more satellite devices and the terminal device by sending information, thereby improving the throughput of the communication system. Furthermore, embodiments of this application also provide a scheme to solve the problem of how the information sent by the first network device to indicate the network device is transmitted. For example, the information sent by the first network device to indicate the network device can be carried in a new field or an existing field of the DCI, or carried in a new format DCI. These DCIs carrying information to indicate the network device are compatible with DCIs that do not carry such information.

[0195] In this embodiment, the first network device may send one of the first information and the second information. In this case, one of the above steps 201 and 202 may not be executed. For example, step 201 may not be executed (in this case, step 203 will also not be executed), or step 202 may not be executed (in this case, step 204 will also not be executed). The embodiment provided in Figure 2 is illustrated by taking the execution of steps 201 and 202 by the first network device as an example. Step 203 may be executed after step 201. There is no strict order between step 203 and step 204 (and step 202). For example, step 203 may be executed after step 204 or before step 202. Step 204 may be executed after step 202. There is no strict order between step 204 and step 203 (and step 201). For example, step 204 may be executed before step 201 or before step 203.

[0196] Based on the schemes provided in Figures 2 and 3, in one possible implementation, the terminal device can receive first information in a first time unit, and the terminal device can transmit data (e.g., PUSCH and / or PDSCH) with the second network device in a second time unit. The terminal device can receive second information in a fourth time unit, and the terminal device can transmit data (e.g., PUSCH and / or PDSCH) with the first network device in a fifth time unit. Taking the terminal device receiving PDSCH from the second network device in the second time unit and receiving PDSCH from the first network device in the fifth time unit as an example, the relationship between the second time unit and the first time unit can be seen in the following formula (1): n2=n1+K0……Formula (1)

[0197] In formula (1), n2 is the index value of the second time unit, and n1 is the index value of the first time unit. In this embodiment, the value of K0 is associated with the delay of the terminal device in processing uplink information and / or the delay in processing downlink information. The protocol specifies that the maximum value of K0 is 32, and the unit is the time slot length. For a subcarrier spacing of 120kHz, the maximum value of K0 represents 4 milliseconds (ms). The meaning of K0 at other locations is described here and will not be repeated.

[0198] During data transmission, there will be a delay in data transmission between multiple network devices, which will result in a timing difference when the terminal device receives data from multiple network devices. When the scenario applicable to the embodiments of this application includes communication devices (such as satellite devices) in an NTN communication system, the timing difference corresponding to data transmission between multiple network devices is likely to be large. As can be seen from the above formula (1), the interval between the second time unit and the first time unit is affected by K0. The maximum value of K0 (e.g., a maximum of 40ms) is also limited. Therefore, if the receiving timing difference is too large, the signaling (e.g., the first information) sent by the first network device for scheduling data transmission will be later than the time domain resources required for data transmission, which may lead to communication failure.

[0199] For ease of understanding, Figure 4 exemplarily illustrates a schematic diagram of the possible locations of time-domain resources of the PDSCH scheduled by the first network device through the PDCCH according to an embodiment of this application. The example shown in Figure 4 can be considered as a possible scenario of the example provided in Figure 3, and related descriptions can be found in Figure 3. Unlike Figure 3, in Figure 4, there is a large reception timing difference between the first network device and the second network device. In Figure 4, the first duration is represented by t1, which is associated with the reception timing difference between the first and second network devices. It can be seen that due to the excessively large duration t1, the downlink time slot #n corresponding to the second network device is... 12 Later than the downlink time slot #n corresponding to the first network device 11 Thus, the terminal device in the downlink time slot #n corresponding to the first network device 11 Upon receiving PDCCH#1, it was determined that downlink time slot #n corresponding to the second network device was required. 12 Data transmission is performed, but the downlink time slot #n corresponding to the second network device 12 It is already earlier than the downlink time slot #n corresponding to the first network device. 11 Consequently, the terminal device is unable to access the downlink time slot corresponding to the second network device. 12 Data transmission may occur, potentially leading to communication failure.

[0200] Based on the above problems, Figure 5 exemplarily illustrates a possible flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of this application. In this embodiment, the second time unit is determined based on the first time unit and the first duration. The first duration is associated with the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device. This scheme can increase the duration between the time unit for data transmission by the terminal device and the time unit for receiving the second and first information, thereby reducing or avoiding situations where the second time unit corresponding to the second network device is later than the first time unit corresponding to the first network device, and thus improving the success rate of data transmission by the terminal device.

[0201] The following description is based on Figure 5. For ease of understanding, Figure 5 uses the interaction between the terminal device, the first network device, and the second network device as an example. Examples of the terminal device, the first network device, and the second network device can be found in the descriptions of Figures 2 and 1G above, and will not be repeated here.

[0202] Step 501: The terminal device acquires the first duration.

[0203] For example, the first duration is associated with the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device.

[0204] For example, the first duration is the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device, or the rounded-up or rounded-down of the timing difference. Another example is that the first duration is the duration of S1 time units. S1 is a positive integer, and the value of S1 includes the rounded-up or rounded-down value obtained by dividing the quotient of the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device by the duration of a single time unit.

[0205] For example, the first duration can be determined by any one of the following formulas (2):

[0206] or, or,

[0207] The above content uses three possible examples from formula (2) as illustrations. In formula (2), t1 is the first duration, ΔT is the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device, and slot_duration is the duration of a single time unit. In the embodiments of this application, This indicates rounding down. This indicates rounding up. The meanings of these symbols in other positions can be found in the description here, and will not be repeated here.

[0208] In one possible implementation, the terminal device can determine the first duration itself based on the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device. In another possible implementation, the first network device can obtain the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device, then determine the first duration, and send information indicating the first duration to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the information indicating the first duration. There are several ways for the first network device to obtain the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device. For example, the terminal device can report the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device to the first network device (e.g., the terminal device can determine the timing difference based on information received from the first network device and the second network device respectively). Another example is that the first network device can determine the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device based on the location information of the second network device and the location information of the terminal device.

[0209] In this embodiment, the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device can refer to the difference between the timing of the terminal device receiving the signal from the first network device and the timing of the signal from the second network device. The first duration can be associated with the first network device and the second network device. The timing in this embodiment can be replaced by downlink timing, downlink synchronization timing, time synchronization, or downlink time synchronization. Downlink timing is used to enable the terminal device to determine the frame boundary, subframe boundary, time slot boundary, symbol boundary, or receive window position of the frame transmitted by the network device. For example, the difference between the downlink timing corresponding to the first network device and the downlink timing corresponding to the second network device can also be replaced by / include: the downlink timing difference between the first and second network devices, the difference in the frame boundaries of the downlink frames of the first and second network devices, the downlink timing difference, the synchronization position difference, the time difference, the downlink time difference, the time difference of the received signal, etc. For example, the difference between the downlink timing corresponding to the first network device and the downlink timing corresponding to the second network device can also be replaced by / include: the downlink timing difference when the terminal receives data from the first network device and the second network device respectively, the difference in frame boundaries of the downlink frames received by the terminal from the first network device and the second network device respectively, downlink timing difference, synchronization position difference, time difference, downlink time difference, time difference of the received signal, etc. For example, the difference between the downlink timing corresponding to the first network device and the downlink timing corresponding to the second network device can also be replaced by / include: the time difference of frame boundaries of the same frame number of two downlink signals received by the terminal device from the first network device and the second network device respectively, the time difference of time slot boundaries of the same time slot number, or the time difference of symbol boundaries of the same symbol index number. The difference between the downlink timing corresponding to the first network device and the downlink timing corresponding to the second network device may be a variable, which may be related to the difference in data transmission delay between the first network device and the second network device. The difference between the downlink timing corresponding to the first network device and the downlink timing corresponding to the second network device may be equal to or not equal to the difference in data transmission delay between the first network device and the second network device.

[0210] In this embodiment, the first duration is associated with the first network device and the second network device. The value of the first duration may be different for different network devices. For example, the value of the first duration corresponding to network device #1 and network device #2 may be T1, the value of the first duration corresponding to network device #3 may be T2, and the value of the first duration corresponding to network device #4 and network device #5 may be T3. Any two of T1, T2, and T3 may be equal or unequal.

[0211] Step 502: The first network device sends the first information in the first time unit.

[0212] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information.

[0213] The content of step 502 can be found in the relevant description of step 201 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0214] Step 503: The terminal device transmits data with the second network device in the second time unit according to the first information.

[0215] The details of step 503 can be found in the description of step 203 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0216] In one possible implementation, the second time unit is determined based on the first time unit and the first duration. Thus, the terminal device can determine the position of the second time unit based on the timing difference between the first and second network devices, thereby reducing or avoiding situations where the second time unit corresponding to the second network device is later than the time unit occupied by the first information, and thus improving the success rate of data transmission by the terminal device. In another possible implementation, the second time unit is also determined based on the value of K0, which is related to the latency of the terminal device processing uplink information and / or the latency of processing downlink information. For example, the difference between the index values ​​of the first and second time units is determined by the sum of the first duration and the value of K0.

[0217] In one possible example, the relationship between the second time unit and the first time unit can be seen in the following formula (3): n2=n1+K0+t1……Formula (3)

[0218] In formula (3), n2 is the index value of the second time unit, n1 is the index value of the first time unit, and t1 can be the first duration. t1 is a parameter used to identify the first duration, which can also be written with other names, such as offset for the first parameter. The value of K0 is related to the delay of the terminal device in processing uplink information and / or the delay in processing downlink information. For related information, please refer to the above description and will not be repeated here.

[0219] In one possible implementation, the units of n2, n1 and t1 are the same (e.g., the time slot lengths of uplink and downlink transmissions are the same) or different (e.g., the time slot lengths of uplink and downlink transmissions are different). If the units of n2, n1 and t1 are the same, the above formula (3) can be used directly.

[0220] In another possible example, n2, n1, and t1 have different units, so unit conversion can be considered. For example, n1 in the above formula (3) can be replaced with or For example, t1 in the above formula (3) can be replaced with or In the embodiments of this application, the parameters in each formula can be rounded (rounded up or rounded down), or they can be left unrounded (e.g., ...). It is an integer. (In the formula, rounding is not required). Based on these descriptions, for example, formula (3) can also be replaced with any of the following: or, Based on the above description, formula (3) can also be replaced with other ways of writing, which will not be listed here.

[0221] In the embodiments of this application, Indicates rounding down. The asterisk (*) indicates rounding up, and the multiplication symbol (*) indicates multiplication. μ PDSCH It is related to the subcarrier spacing corresponding to the PDSCH, for example, the subcarrier spacing corresponding to the PDSCH is... Kilohertz (kHz), μ PDCCH Related to the PDCCH subcarrier spacing, the subcarrier spacing corresponding to the PDCCH is: μ offset The subcarrier spacing corresponding to the time unit corresponding to the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device is related to the first duration t1. The subcarrier spacing corresponding to the time unit is equal to the first duration t1. The meanings of the same parameters at other locations can be found in the description here, and will not be repeated elsewhere.

[0222] In the embodiments of this application, the units of the parameters in the various formulas (e.g., formula (3), formula (2), and formula (1)) can be time units, such as time slots, or other units, such as symbols corresponding to time lengths, 1ms, 1 microsecond (μs), 10ms, etc. The meanings of the units of the parameters in other formulas are similar and will not be repeated here.

[0223] Step 504: The first network device sends the second information in the fourth time unit.

[0224] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second information.

[0225] The content of step 504 can be found in the relevant description of step 202 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0226] Step 505: The terminal device transmits data with the first network device in the fifth time unit according to the second information.

[0227] The details of step 505 can be found in the description of step 204 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0228] There are several possible implementations for determining the fifth time unit. Two possible implementations are illustrated below through Example 1 and Example 2.

[0229] Example 1: The fifth time unit can be associated with the first duration. For example, the fifth time unit is determined based on the fourth time unit and the first duration. For example, the fifth time unit = the fourth time unit + K0 + t1. This implementation method can refer to the scheme related to the aforementioned formula (3), which is similar and will not be repeated here. In this implementation method, the value of t1 can be equal to the value of t1 in the aforementioned formula (3).

[0230] Example 2: The fifth time unit may be unrelated to the first time unit. For example, the relationship between the fifth time unit and the fourth time unit can be seen in the following formula (4): n5=n4+K0……Formula (4)

[0231] In formula (4), n5 is the index value of the fifth time unit, and n4 is the index value of the fourth time unit. The meaning of K0 is as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0232] In formula (4), the units of n5 and n4 may be the same or different, and unit conversion can be considered. For example, n4 in formula (4) above can be replaced with or

[0233] Alternatively, in Example 2 above, formula (4) can also be written as n5 = n4 + K0 + t1, but the value of t1 is set to zero in this formula. The value of t1 is not zero in the aforementioned formula (3).

[0234] Based on the embodiment shown in Figure 5, Figure 6 exemplarily illustrates a schematic diagram of the possible locations of time-domain resources of the PDSCH scheduled by the first network device through the PDCCH according to another embodiment of this application. The example shown in Figure 6 can be regarded as another possible situation of the example provided in Figure 3, and the relevant description can be found in the content of Figure 3. The example shown in Figure 6 can be regarded as an embodiment after modification of the example shown in Figure 4. In Figure 6, there is a large receiving timing difference between the first network device and the second network device. In Figure 6, the first duration is represented by duration t1. In Figure 6, the time slot #n 22 This represents an example of a second time unit. In the example shown in Figure 6, the second time unit (slot #n) 22 ) and the first time unit (time slot #n 11 This satisfies the above formula (3). It can be seen that the second time unit (slot #n) 22 ) and the first time unit (time slot #n 11The number of time units between them is larger, which can reduce or avoid the second time unit (time slot #n) corresponding to the second network device in Figure 4 above. 22 Later than the first time unit (time slot #n) corresponding to the first network device 11 This situation can improve the success rate of data transmission from the terminal device. In Figure 6, time slot #n 15 The time delay can be determined based on Example 1 (e.g., fifth time unit = fourth time unit + K0 + t1) or Example 2 (e.g., formula (4)) in step 505 above. In this way, the data transmission delay of the first network device can be reduced.

[0235] In one possible implementation, after the terminal device transmits data (e.g., PDSCH) with the network device, it can send response information. Due to the RRC connection established between the terminal device and the first network device, the terminal device sends response information corresponding to the data from both the primary and secondary communication devices to the first network device. For example, after receiving data from the second network device, the terminal device can send a first response message to the first network device. Similarly, after receiving data from the first network device, the terminal device can send a second response message to the first network device. Figure 7 exemplarily illustrates a schematic diagram of the possible location of time-domain resources for response information sent by a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 7, the first network device is in time slot #n 15 Send PDSCH#2 (time slot #n) to the terminal device 15 (This can be considered an example of a fifth time unit), the second network device in time slot #n 32 Send PDSCH#1 (time slot #n) to the terminal device 32 This can be considered an example of a second time unit. (Time slot #n) 32 and time slot #n 15 The time slot indices can be the same or different. The terminal device corresponds to the uplink time slot #n of the first network device. 33 Send the second response message and the first response message. In one possible example, time slot #n 33 With time slot #n 15 The relationship between them can be calculated using the following formula (5):

[0236] In formula (5), the value of K is related to the latency of the terminal device processing downlink information from the first network device and / or the latency of processing uplink information (e.g., uplink response information). offset This is the time unit offset value.

[0237] In this embodiment of the application, μ Koffset With K offsetIt depends on the corresponding subcarrier spacing, for example, K offset The corresponding subcarrier spacing is For the meaning of this parameter in other positions, please refer to this link; it will not be described again here.

[0238] In one possible implementation, the factors that the terminal device needs to consider when sending the first response information include: the timing interaction (TA) used by the terminal device when sending uplink information to the first network device, and the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device. K is defined in the standard. offset The maximum value can be 1023 milliseconds. Since the first response information takes into account the timing difference between the first and second network devices, K in the above formula (5) is... offset This will be set to a larger value, which will cause the time slot used for feeding back the second and first response information to #n 33 Distance time slot #n 15 The distance is relatively far, which in turn leads to a significant delay in the feedback of the second response information.

[0239] Based on the above problems, Figure 8 exemplarily illustrates a possible flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. In this embodiment, when the terminal device sends the second response information to the first network device, the timing difference between the first and second network devices can be disregarded; however, when the terminal device sends the first response information to the first network device, the timing difference between the first and second network devices needs to be considered. This reduces the feedback delay of the first network device and allows for a larger feedback delay of the second network device, thus satisfying the factors that the first response information needs to consider.

[0240] The following description is based on Figure 8. For ease of understanding, Figure 8 uses the interaction between the terminal device, the first network device, and the second network device as an example. Examples of the terminal device, the first network device, and the second network device can be found in the descriptions of Figures 2 and 1G above, and will not be repeated here.

[0241] Step 801: The second network device sends data in the second time unit, and the first network device sends data in the fifth time unit.

[0242] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives data (e.g., PDSCH) from the first network device and data (e.g., PDSCH) from the second network device.

[0243] The second time unit and the fifth time unit can be the same or different. The data sent by the first network device and the data sent by the second network device can be the same or different.

[0244] The content of step 801 can be found in the relevant descriptions of steps 203 and 204 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0245] Step 802: The terminal device sends the second response information in the sixth time unit.

[0246] Correspondingly, the first network device receives the second response information.

[0247] The terminal device can send the decoding result of the data (e.g., PDSCH) received from the first network device back to the first network device via a sixth time unit. The second response information is the response information for the data received from the first network device in the second time unit. The second response information may include, for example, ACK or NACK. An ACK second response indicates that the terminal device has successfully decoded the data (e.g., PDSCH) from the first network device. A NACK second response indicates that the terminal device has failed to decode the data (e.g., PDSCH) from the first network device.

[0248] The sixth time unit can be determined based on the second time unit, the value of K, and the time unit offset. For example, the difference between the time unit index of the sixth time unit and the time unit index of the second time unit is determined by the sum of the value of K and the time unit offset. For example, the difference between the time unit index of the sixth time unit and the time unit index of the second time unit is the sum of the value of K and the time unit offset; or it is the value obtained by operating on the sum of the value of K and the time unit offset with other parameters. For example, the relationship between the sixth time unit and the fifth time unit can satisfy the following formula (6):

[0249] In formula (6), n5 is the time unit index of the fifth time unit, n6 is the time unit index of the sixth time unit, and K offset This is the time unit offset value. In the embodiments of this application, the value of K can be a constant, and the value of K can be associated with the delay of the terminal device processing downlink information from the first network device and / or the delay of processing uplink information (e.g., uplink response information).

[0250] In this embodiment, μ is related to the uplink subcarrier spacing (e.g., PUCCH, where the subcarrier spacing corresponding to PUCCH is, for example, 2). μ *15kHz). Other parameters are described in other formulas and will not be repeated here.

[0251] In one possible implementation, the unit of n5 in formula (6) is the same as the unit of n6 (e.g., the time slot lengths for uplink and downlink transmissions are the same), then formula (6) can be used directly. If the units of n5 and n6 in formula (6) are different, unit conversion can be considered; for example, n5 can be replaced with... or

[0252] Time unit offset value K offset Associated with the TA corresponding to the first network device. In one possible implementation, the time unit offset value K offset It is not related to the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device. Thus, K offset It can be set to a smaller value, which can shorten the time between the second response information and the data transmitted by the first network device, thereby reducing the feedback latency of the first network device.

[0253] Step 803: The terminal device acquires the first duration.

[0254] For details regarding the first duration and the method by which the terminal device obtains the first duration, please refer to the foregoing description.

[0255] The details of step 803 can be found in the description of step 501 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0256] Step 804: The terminal device sends the first response information in the third time unit.

[0257] Correspondingly, the first network device receives the first response information.

[0258] The terminal device can send the decoding result of the data (e.g., PDSCH) received from the second network device back to the first network device via a third time unit. The first response information is the response information for the data received from the second network device in the second time unit. For example, the first response information may include ACK or NACK. An ACK first response indicates that the terminal device has successfully decoded the data (e.g., PDSCH) from the second network device. A NACK first response indicates that the terminal device has failed to decode the data (e.g., PDSCH) from the second network device.

[0259] The time unit offset value can be associated with the TA corresponding to the first network device, but not with the timing difference between the second and first network devices. The time unit offset value used to calculate the third time unit is the same as the offset value used to calculate the sixth time unit. The third time unit is determined based on the second time unit, the value of K, the time unit offset value, and the first duration. Details regarding the first duration can be found in the foregoing description. For example, the third time unit is: the sum of the second time unit, the value of K, the time unit offset value, and the first duration, or the result of calculating this sum with a set value.

[0260] In one possible implementation, the difference between the index values ​​of the third time unit and the sixth time unit is: a first duration, or the result of calculating the first duration with other set values. The details of the first duration can be found in the foregoing description and will not be repeated here. This increases the delay of the first response information, thereby reducing or avoiding the situation where the first response information is sent before the terminal device receives data from the second network device, thus improving communication performance.

[0261] For example, the relationship between the third time unit and the second time unit can satisfy the following formula (7):

[0262] In formula (7), n3 is the time unit index of the third time unit, n2 is the time unit index of the second time unit, and K offset t1 is the time unit offset value, where t1 is the first duration. The parameters n2, K, and K in formula (7) are... offset Please refer to the relevant descriptions in the other formulas mentioned above; they will not be repeated here.

[0263] In one possible implementation, the units of n2 and t1 are the same as the units of n3 (e.g., the time slot lengths for uplink and downlink transmissions are the same), in which case formula (7) can be used directly. Alternatively, the units (or time lengths of the units) of at least two of n2, t1, and n3 in formula (7) may be different, and unit conversion can be considered. For example, n2 in formula (7) can be replaced with... or t1 can also be replaced with or In the embodiments of this application, the parameters in each formula can be rounded (rounded up or rounded down), or they can be left unrounded (e.g., ...). It is an integer. (The formula may not be rounded down). Based on these descriptions, for example, the above formula (7) can also be replaced with any of the following: or, Based on the above description, formula (7) can also be replaced with other ways of writing, which will not be listed here.

[0264] In another possible implementation, the above formula (6) can also be understood to have a parameter t1. For example, formula (6) can be replaced with: However, t1 is set to 0 in this formula. But t1 in formula (7) is not 0.

[0265] Based on the embodiment provided in Figure 8, for ease of understanding, Figure 9 exemplarily illustrates a schematic diagram of the possible locations of time-domain resources for a response information sent by a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 9 can be considered as an improved version of the solution provided in Figure 7. As shown in Figure 9, the first network device in time slot #n 15 Send PDSCH#2 (time slot #n) to the terminal device 15 (This can be considered an example of a fifth time unit), the second network device in time slot #n 32 Send PDSCH#1 (time slot #n) to the terminal device 32 This can be considered an example of a second time unit. (Time slot #n) 32 and time slot #n 15 The time slot indices can be the same or different. The terminal device corresponds to the uplink time slot #n of the first network device. 46 Send second response information (slot #n) 46 This can be considered an example of a sixth time unit. The terminal device corresponds to the uplink time slot #n of the first network device. 43 Send first response information (slot #n) 43 This can be considered an example of a third time unit. Where, time slot #n 46 The time slot #n can be calculated using the formula (6) above. 43 It can be calculated using formula (7). It can be seen that the parameter K in formulas (6) and (7) is... offset Since the timing difference between the first and second network devices does not need to be considered, it can be set to a smaller value, thereby shortening the feedback delay of the PDSCH sent by the first network device. Furthermore, due to time slot #n 43 The calculation process takes into account the first duration, so the feedback delay of the second network device can also meet the requirements.

[0266] In the solution provided in this application embodiment, the first network device can also send uplink data (e.g., PUSCH) to the first network device through the second information scheduling terminal device, and the first network device can also send uplink data (e.g., PUSCH) to the second network device through the first information scheduling terminal device. Figure 10 exemplarily illustrates a possible flowchart of a communication method provided in this application embodiment. For ease of understanding, Figure 10 uses the interaction between the terminal device, the first network device, and the second network device as an example. Related examples of the terminal device, the first network device, and the second network device can be found in the descriptions of Figures 2 and 1G above, and will not be repeated here.

[0267] In the embodiment shown in Figure 10, the time domain resources occupied by the uplink data sent by the terminal device to the first network device can disregard the timing difference between the first and second network devices. The location of these time domain resources can be similar to the scheme for the time domain resources occupied by the second response information sent by the terminal device to the first network device in the embodiment shown in Figure 8. The time domain resources occupied by the uplink data sent by the terminal device to the second network device can take into account the timing difference between the first and second network devices. The location of these time domain resources can be similar to the scheme for the time domain resources occupied by the first response information sent by the terminal device in the embodiment shown in Figure 8. Thus, the latency of the uplink data (e.g., PUSCH) sent by the terminal device to the first network device is relatively small, while the latency of the uplink data (e.g., PUSCH) sent by the terminal device to the second network device is relatively large. This ensures timely feedback of uplink data to the first network device while also guaranteeing that the latency of the uplink data fed back to the second network device meets the timing difference requirements of the first and second network devices.

[0268] The following explanation is based on Figure 10.

[0269] Step 1001: The first network device sends the second information in the fourth time unit.

[0270] For example, the second information is used to schedule the terminal device to send data to the first network device (e.g., PUSCH).

[0271] The content of step 1001 can be found in the relevant description of step 202 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0272] Step 1002: The terminal device sends the fourth information in the fifth time unit.

[0273] Correspondingly, the first network device receives the fourth information.

[0274] The fourth piece of information includes, for example, PUSCH.

[0275] The method for determining the fifth time unit is similar to that for the sixth time unit. For example, the fifth time unit is determined based on the fourth time unit, the value of K2, and the time unit offset. For example, the difference between the time unit index of the fifth time unit and the time unit index of the fourth time unit is determined by the sum of the value of K2 and the time unit offset. For example, the difference between the time unit index of the fifth time unit and the time unit index of the fourth time unit is either the sum of the value of K2 and the time unit offset, or the result of calculating the sum of the value of K2 and the time unit offset with a predetermined value.

[0276] For example, the relationship between the fifth time unit and the fourth time unit can satisfy formula (8):

[0277] In formula (8), n5 is the time unit index of the fifth time unit, n4 is the time unit index of the fourth time unit, and K offset This is the time unit offset value. In the embodiments of this application, the value of K2 can be a constant or configured by the first network device to the terminal device. The value of K2 can be associated with the delay of the terminal device processing downlink information sent by the network device and / or the delay of the terminal device sending uplink information to the first network device.

[0278] In this embodiment of the application, μ PUSCH It is related to the PUSCH subcarrier spacing, for example, the subcarrier spacing corresponding to PUSCH is... kilohertz (kHz).

[0279] In formula (8), the units of n5 and n4 may be the same or different; unit conversion can be considered. For example, n4 in formula (8) above can be replaced with... or For example, formula (8) can be replaced with: Other ways of writing formula (8) will not be elaborated here.

[0280] In this embodiment of the application, μ PUSCH It is related to the subcarrier spacing corresponding to PUSCH, for example, the subcarrier spacing corresponding to PUSCH is... The remaining parameters are described in other formulas and will not be repeated here.

[0281] In this embodiment of the application, the time unit offset value K offset Associated with the TA corresponding to the first network device. In one possible implementation, the time unit offset value K offset It is not related to the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device. Thus, K offset It can be set to a smaller value, which allows the fourth message to be sent faster, thereby reducing the feedback delay of the first network device. Time unit offset value K offset For related information, please refer to the description in Figure 8 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0282] The content of step 1002 can also be found in the relevant description of step 204 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0283] Step 1003: The first network device sends the first information in the first time unit.

[0284] For example, the first information may be used to schedule the terminal device to send data to the second network device (e.g., PUSCH).

[0285] The details of step 1003 can be found in the description of step 201 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0286] Step 1004: The terminal device acquires the first duration.

[0287] For details regarding the first duration and the method by which the terminal device obtains the first duration, please refer to the foregoing description.

[0288] The content of step 1004 can be found in the relevant description of step 501 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0289] Step 1005: The terminal device sends the fifth information in the second time unit.

[0290] Correspondingly, the second network device receives the fifth information.

[0291] The fifth piece of information is, for example, PUSCH.

[0292] The second time unit is determined based on the first time unit, the value of K2, the time unit offset, and the first duration. The time unit offset used to calculate the second time unit is the same as the offset used to calculate the fifth time unit. For example, the difference between the index values ​​of the time units of the fifth and second time units is the first duration, or the result of calculating the first duration with other set values. Since the terminal device can determine the time unit offset based on the TA corresponding to the first network device, this value can be made relatively small, thus avoiding excessive delay in sending data from the terminal device to the first network device. On the other hand, because the time unit offset value is set relatively small, the timing difference between the first and second network devices is also considered when calculating the time unit for sending data to the second network device, thereby extending the delay in sending data to the second network device. This reduces or avoids problems caused by excessively short delays in sending data to the second network device, thereby improving communication performance.

[0293] For example, the relationship between the first time unit and the second time unit can satisfy formula (9).

[0294] In formula (9), n2 is the time unit index of the second time unit, n1 is the time unit index of the first time unit, and K offset Here, t1 is the time unit offset value, and t1 is the first duration. The parameters n1, K2, and K in formula (9) are... offset Please refer to the relevant descriptions in the other formulas mentioned above; they will not be repeated here. Because K offsetThe setting is too small, and since the information sent by the terminal device to the second network device can take into account the timing difference (TA) used by the terminal device when sending uplink information to the network device, as well as the timing difference between the first and second network devices, the solution provided in this application requires consideration of parameter t1 when determining the sixth time unit.

[0295] In one possible implementation, the units of n2, n1 and t1 are the same (e.g., the time slot lengths of uplink and downlink transmissions are the same) or different (e.g., the time slot lengths of uplink and downlink transmissions are different). If the units of n2, n1 and t1 are the same, the above formula (9) can be used directly.

[0296] In another possible example, n2, n1, and t1 have different units (e.g., different time slot lengths for uplink and downlink transmissions), so unit conversion can be considered. For example, n1 in the above formula (9) can be replaced with... or For example, t1 in the above formula (9) can be replaced with or In the embodiments of this application, the parameters in each formula can be rounded (rounded up or rounded down), or they can be left unrounded (e.g., ...). t1* is an integer. (Rounding is not required in the formula). Based on these descriptions, for example, formula (9) can also be replaced with: Based on the above description, formula (9) can also be replaced with other ways of writing, which will not be listed here.

[0297] In another possible implementation, the above formula (8) can also be understood to have a parameter t1, for example, formula (8) can be... However, t1 in this formula is set to 0, while t1 in formula (9) is not 0. In another possible implementation, formula (8) can be... However, the t1 in this formula is the same as the t1 in formula (9), and neither of them can be zero.

[0298] The content of step 1002 can also be found in the relevant description of step 203 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0299] Figure 11 illustrates, exemplarily, a schematic diagram of the possible locations of time-domain resources of a PUSCH scheduled by a first network device via PDCCH according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 11, the first network device in time slot #n 11 The first network device sends PDCCH#1 to the terminal device, and PDCCH#1 may include second information. The first network device sends PDCCH#1 in time slot #n. 14The terminal device sends PDCCH#2, which may include the first information. The terminal device then sends the PDCCH#2 to the uplink time slot #n corresponding to the second network device. 52 (Second Time Unit) Send PUSCH#1 (Fifth Information), terminal device in the uplink time slot #n corresponding to the first network device 55 (Fifth time unit) Send PUSCH#2 (fourth information). Where, time slot #n 55 The time slot #n can be calculated using the formula (8) above. 52 It can be calculated using formula (9). It can be seen that the parameter K in formulas (8) and (9) is... offset Since the timing difference between the first and second network devices does not need to be considered, it can be set to a smaller value, thereby shortening the delay for the terminal device to send PUSCH to the first network device. Furthermore, due to time slot #n 52 The calculation process takes into account the first duration, so the latency for the terminal device to send PUSCH to the second network device can also meet the requirements.

[0300] Any two embodiments provided in this application can be used in combination. For example, a first network device may send uplink data to a second network device through a first information scheduling terminal device (refer to the embodiment shown in Figure 10), and the first network device may send downlink data to a terminal device through a second information scheduling terminal device (refer to the embodiment shown in Figure 5). As another example, a first network device may send uplink data to a first network device through a second information scheduling terminal device (refer to the embodiment shown in Figure 10), and the first network device may send downlink data to a terminal device through a first information scheduling terminal device (refer to the embodiment shown in Figure 5). The terminal device may only need to send response information to one network device (e.g., the first network device or the second network device), and the method of sending the response information can be seen in the embodiment shown in Figure 8.

[0301] Based on the embodiments shown in Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, Figure 12 exemplarily illustrates a possible flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. In this embodiment, the first network device and the second network device can adjust their transmission power based on the information sent by the terminal device to improve transmission spectral efficiency.

[0302] The following description is based on Figure 12. For ease of understanding, Figure 12 uses the interaction between the terminal device, the first network device, and the second network device as an example. Examples of the terminal device, the first network device, and the second network device can be found in the descriptions of Figures 2 and 1G above, and will not be repeated here.

[0303] Step 1201: The terminal device sends the third information.

[0304] Correspondingly, the first network device receives the third information.

[0305] The third information is used to indicate the SNR difference and / or received power difference of the signals received from the first network device and the second network device. The third information is used by the first network device and / or the second network device to adjust their transmit power.

[0306] The SNR difference between the signals of the first network device and the second network device may, for example, include / be the value obtained by subtracting the SNR of the second network device from the SNR of the first network device; or may include / be the value obtained by subtracting the SNR of the first network device from the SNR of the second network device.

[0307] The difference in received power between the first network device and the second network device may, for example, include / be the value obtained by subtracting the received power of the second network device from the received power of the first network device; or may include / be the value obtained by subtracting the received power of the first network device from the received power of the second network device.

[0308] Step 1202: The first network device adjusts its transmission power based on the third information.

[0309] Step 1203: The first network device sends the sixth information to the second network device.

[0310] Correspondingly, the second network device receives the sixth information.

[0311] The sixth information is used to instruct the second network device to adjust its transmit power. The sixth information may be determined based on the third information. For example, the sixth information may be the third information. Alternatively, the sixth information may be used to indicate the target SNR of the second network device. Alternatively, the sixth information may be used to indicate the target transmit power of the second network device. Alternatively, the sixth information may be used to indicate the amount by which the second network device increases or decreases its transmit power. Alternatively, the sixth information may be used to indicate the difference between increasing and decreasing the SNR of the second network device.

[0312] Step 1204: The second network device adjusts the transmission power based on the sixth information.

[0313] The closer the difference in SNR between the first network device and the second network device is to zero, the higher the overall transmission spectral efficiency of the system. Based on this, the terminal device can provide a reference for adjusting the transmit power of the first network device and / or the second network device by reporting third information, thereby improving the overall transmission performance and / or transmission spectral efficiency of the system.

[0314] For example, UE#1 receives a signal with a signal SNR of 3 dB from a first network device (e.g., satellite #1), and a signal with a signal SNR of 5 dB from a second network device (e.g., satellite #2). UE#2 receives a signal with a signal SNR of 3 dB from the first network device (e.g., satellite #1), and a signal with a signal SNR of 5 dB from the second network device (e.g., satellite #2). The first and / or second network devices can adjust their power or energy distribution so that the SNRs of the signals received by UE1 from the first network device (e.g., satellite #1) and the second network device (e.g., satellite #2) are 3 dB and 3 dB respectively, and the SNRs of the signals received by UE2 from the first network device (e.g., satellite #1) and the second network device (e.g., satellite #2) are 5 dB and 5 dB respectively, to achieve high spectral efficiency for the overall system transmission.

[0315] In this embodiment, the signaling or information (such as at least one of first information, second information, and information indicating a first duration) sent by the first network device can be transmitted in multiple ways. For example, any of these signaling or information can be carried in at least one of the broadcast information of system information block (SIB) 1, SIB 19, other system information (OSI), master information block (MIB), physical broadcast channel (PBCH) messages, etc. The signaling or information (such as at least one of first information, second information, and information indicating a first duration) sent by the first network device is broadcast, multicast, or unicast to the relay device by the network device. Broadcasting or multicasting the above signaling to the relay device can avoid scheduling different resources for different relay devices in order to send the above signaling, saving the signaling overhead of scheduling resources and reducing the system scheduling complexity.

[0316] In another possible implementation, if transmitted during the radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment phase and subsequent communication, the signaling or information (such as at least one of first information, second information, and information indicating a first duration) sent by the first network device can be carried in at least one of RRC signaling (e.g., RRC setup message, RRC reconfiguration message, RRC recovery message, etc.), DCI, group DCI, media access control (MAC) control element (CE), and timing advance command (TAC). The signaling or information (such as at least one of first information, second information, and information indicating a first duration) sent by the first network device can be indicated by information or tables, or sent unicast or multicast to the relay device along with data transmission or in a separately allocated PDSCH bearer. The advantage of sending the above signaling to UEs individually or in groups is that it allows for flexible control of parameter values ​​for each UE / group of UEs. Different parameter values ​​can be configured for UEs based on their location or region to optimize system parameters and improve UE / system communication performance. For example, different initial durations can be configured based on UE locations, allowing for optimization of feedback delays in multi-satellite joint transmission systems for UEs in different locations, thereby reducing feedback delays and improving system transmission efficiency.

[0317] It is understood that, in order to achieve the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal device, relay device, and network device may include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and method steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0318] Based on the same concept, Figures 13, 14, and 15 are schematic diagrams of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of this application. These communication devices shown in Figures 13, 14, and 15 can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device, the first network device, or the second network device in the above method embodiments, and therefore can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, the communication device can be a terminal device as shown in Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, or 1G; it can also be a network device (such as a satellite device or a network device deployed on the ground) as shown in Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, or 1G; or it can be a chip (or chip system) applied to the terminal device or network device shown in Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, or 1G.

[0319] As shown in Figure 13, the communication device 1300 includes a processing unit 1310 and a transceiver unit 1320. The communication device 1300 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device, the first network device, or the second network device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 2, 5, 8, 14, or 12. The transceiver unit 1320 can also be referred to as a communication unit. The transceiver unit 1320 may include a sending unit and a receiving unit.

[0320] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive first information from the first network device and transmit data with the second network device according to the first information.

[0321] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive second information from the first network device and perform data transmission with the first network device according to the second information.

[0322] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive information indicating that the first DCI includes the first field, and the processing unit 1310 is used to determine that the first DCI includes the first field based on the information indicating that the first DCI includes the first field.

[0323] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is used to determine that the first DCI includes a second field when the format of the first DCI belongs to a first format.

[0324] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive information for indicating a first duration.

[0325] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to transmit information for indicating the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device.

[0326] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send second response information.

[0327] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is used to acquire a first duration and the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send a first response information.

[0328] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to transmit information for indicating the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device.

[0329] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send fourth information in the fifth time unit.

[0330] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is used to acquire the first duration, and the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send the fifth information in the sixth time unit.

[0331] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send third information.

[0332] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the first network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send second information and / or send first information. For example, the transceiver unit 1320 can also be used to perform data transmission with a terminal device.

[0333] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the first network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send information indicating that the first DCI includes a first field.

[0334] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the first network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is used to determine that the format of the first DCI belongs to the first format when the first DCI carries information for indicating the second network device.

[0335] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the first network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send information for indicating a first duration.

[0336] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the first network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive information indicating the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device.

[0337] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the first network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive the second response information.

[0338] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the first network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive the first response information.

[0339] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the first network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive information indicating the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device.

[0340] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the first network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive fourth information.

[0341] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the first network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive the fifth information.

[0342] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the first network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive third information, and the processing unit 1310 is used to adjust the transmission power according to the third information.

[0343] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the second network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send data to the terminal device on the first resource.

[0344] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the function of the second network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, in one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive the sixth information, and the processing unit 1310 is used to adjust the transmission power based on the sixth information.

[0345] For a more detailed description of the above-mentioned processing unit 1310 and transceiver unit 1320, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown in Figures 2, 5, 8, 14 or 12.

[0346] As shown in Figure 14, the communication device 1400 includes a processor 1410 and an interface circuit 1420. The processor 1410 and the interface circuit 1420 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1420 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. The input / output interface is used for inputting and / or outputting information; output can be understood as sending, and input can be understood as receiving. Optionally, the communication device 1400 may also include a memory 1430 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1410, or storing input data required by the processor 1410 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 1410 executes instructions.

[0347] When the communication device 1400 is used to implement the method shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, the processor 1410 is used to implement the function of the processing unit 1310, and the interface circuit 1420 is used to implement the function of the transceiver unit 1320.

[0348] Please refer to Figure 15. The communication device shown in Figure 15 can also be a schematic diagram of a possible baseband architecture. As shown in Figure 15, the communication device may include a processing system, which may include one or more processors. The processors can be used to execute processes, such as process #1...process #N shown in Figure 15.

[0349] A processing system can be implemented using a bus architecture, typically represented by a bus. A bus can include any number of interconnect buses and bridges, depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system. The bus communicatively couples various circuits together, including one or more processors (typically represented by a processor), memory, and computer-readable media (typically represented by computer-readable media, such as computer-readable media #1…computer-readable media #N shown in Figure 15). The bus can also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further. The bus interface provides the interface between the bus and transceivers, and between the bus and the interface.

[0350] The communication device may also include a transceiver (not shown in Figure 15), which may be replaced by interface circuitry or a communication interface, etc. The transceiver provides a communication interface or means for communicating with various other devices via a wireless transmission medium. The transceiver may be coupled to an antenna array, and the transceiver and antenna array may be used together for communication with a corresponding network type. At least one interface (e.g., a network interface and / or a user interface) provides a communication interface or means for communication via an internal bus or via an external transmission medium.

[0351] The processor is responsible for managing the bus and general processing, including executing software stored on a computer-readable medium. When executed by the processor, the software causes the processing system to perform the various functions described below for any particular device. Functions achievable by the processor, memory, and computer-readable medium may include one or more of the following: encoding, decoding, rate matching, rate dematching, scrambling, descrambling, modulation, demodulation, layer mapping, fast fourier transform (FFT), inverse fast fourier transform (IFFT), inverse discrete fourier transform (IDFT), precoding, resource element (RE) mapping, channel equalization, RE demapping, digital beamforming (BF), adding CP, removing CP, etc.

[0352] The signaling (such as first information, second information, data, etc.) involved in the embodiments of this application can be implemented by a processor, a memory, and a computer-readable medium. For example, the aforementioned signaling sent by the first network device (e.g., a satellite device) to the terminal device is processed by the processor, memory, and computer-readable medium shown in FIG15 after the aforementioned parameters are processed, and then sent to the terminal device.

[0353] When the communication device shown in FIG15 is used to implement the method shown in FIG2, FIG5, FIG8, FIG14 or FIG12, the processor is used to implement the function of the processing unit 1310, and the interface circuit is used to implement the function of the transceiver unit 1320.

[0354] When the aforementioned communication device (e.g., the communication device shown in Figures 13, 14, or 15) is a chip applied to a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from a base station, which can be understood as the information being first received by other modules in the terminal (such as an RF module or antenna), and then sent to the terminal chip by these modules. The terminal chip sends information to the base station, which can be understood as the information being first sent to other modules in the terminal (such as an RF module or antenna), and then sent to the base station by these modules.

[0355] When the aforementioned communication device (e.g., the communication device shown in Figures 13, 14, or 15) is a chip applied to a base station (e.g., a satellite base station), the base station chip implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. The base station chip receives information from the terminal, which can be understood as the information being first received by other modules in the base station (such as radio frequency modules or antennas), and then sent to the base station chip by these modules. The base station chip sends information to the terminal, which can be understood as the information being sent down to other modules in the base station (such as radio frequency modules or antennas), and then sent to the terminal by these modules.

[0356] In this application, entity A sends information to entity B, either directly or indirectly through other entities. Similarly, entity B receives information from entity A, either directly or indirectly through other entities. Entities A and B can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules within RAN nodes or terminals. Information transmission and reception can be between RAN nodes and terminals, such as between a base station and a terminal; between two RAN nodes, such as between a CU and a DU; or between different modules within a single device, such as between a terminal chip and other modules of the terminal, or between a base station chip and other modules of the base station.

[0357] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application (e.g., processor 1410 in FIG. 14 and / or the processor in the processing system in FIG. 15) may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0358] The method steps in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can consist of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Alternatively, the ASIC can reside in a base station or terminal. The processor and storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a base station or terminal.

[0359] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. A computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When a computer program or instruction is loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions of the embodiments of this application are performed. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, a computer program or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video optical disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both types of storage media.

[0360] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0361] 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 represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the textual description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between the preceding and following related objects; in the formulas of this application, the character " / " indicates a "division" relationship between the preceding and following related objects. "Including at least one of A, B, and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B, and C.

[0362] It is understood that the various numbers involved in the embodiments of this application (such as the numerical numbers "first" and "second", and the letter numbers "implementation A1", "implementation A1.1", "implementation C1", etc.) are only for the convenience of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the above-mentioned process numbers does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: receiving first information from a first network device, the first information comprising information for indicating a second network device, the first information indicating the terminal device to perform data transmission with the second network device; performing data transmission with the second network device according to the first information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving second information from the first network device, the second information comprising information for indicating the first network device, the second information indicating the terminal device to perform data transmission with the first network device; performing data transmission with the first network device according to the second information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The first information comprises information for indicating the first network device; The second information comprises information for indicating the second network device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first information is carried in a first downlink control information (DCI).

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The information for indicating the second network device is carried in a first field in the first DCI, and the method further comprises: receiving information for indicating that the first field is included in the first DCI, and determining that the first field is included in the first DCI according to the information for indicating that the first field is included in the first DCI.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The information for indicating the second network device is carried in a carrier indication field or a reserved field in the first DCI.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The method further comprises: in a case where a format of the first DCI belongs to a first format, determining that a second field is included in the first DCI, the second field carrying the information for indicating the second network device.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein The first information occupies a first time unit, the terminal device performs data transmission with the second network device in a second time unit, the second time unit being determined according to the first time unit and a first time length; the first time length is associated with a timing difference between the first network device and the second network device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving information for indicating the first time length.

10. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein, The method further comprises: sending information for indicating a timing difference between the first network device and the second network device.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein, The first time length is a time length of an S1 number of time units, the S1 being a positive integer; a value of the S1 comprises a value obtained by rounding up or rounding down a quotient of the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device and a time length of a single time unit.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that, The second time unit is further determined according to a value of K0, the value of K0 being associated with a time delay of processing uplink information and / or a time delay of processing downlink information of the terminal device.

13. The method of any one of claims 8-12, wherein: The second time unit is further determined according to a value of K2 and / or a time unit offset value; The value of K2 is associated with a time delay of processing uplink information and / or a time delay of processing downlink information of the terminal device; The time unit offset value is associated with a time advance (TA) used by a terminal device corresponding to the first network device.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein, A difference between an index value of a time unit of the first time unit and an index value of a time unit of the second time unit is determined according to a sum of the first time length and the value of K0.

15. The method of any one of claims 1-14, wherein, The terminal device and the second network device perform data transmission in a second time unit; The method further comprises: obtaining a first time length, the first time length being associated with a timing difference between the first network device and the second network device; sending first response information in a third time unit, the first response information being response information of data received from the second network device in the second time unit, the third time unit being determined according to the second time unit, a value of K, a time unit offset value and the first time length, the value of K being associated with a time delay of the terminal device in processing downlink information from the first network device and / or processing uplink information, and the time unit offset value being associated with a time advance TA corresponding to the first network device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, A difference between a time unit index of the third time unit and a time unit index of the second time unit is determined according to a sum of the value of K and the time unit offset value.

17. The method of any one of claims 15-16, wherein, The method further comprises: sending second response information in a sixth time unit, the second response information being response information of data received from the first network device in a fifth time unit, the sixth time unit being determined according to the fifth time unit, a value of K and a time unit offset value, the value of K being associated with a time delay of the terminal device in processing downlink information from the first network device and / or processing uplink information (e.g. uplink response information), and the time unit offset value being associated with a TA used by the terminal corresponding to the first network device.

18. The method of any one of claims 1-17, wherein, The method further comprises: sending third information, the third information being used to indicate a signal-to-noise ratio SNR difference and / or a received power difference of signals received from the first network device and the second network device, the third information being used by the first network device and / or the second network device to adjust a transmission power.

19. The method of any one of claims 1-18, wherein, The first network device is a first satellite device, and the second network device is a second satellite device.

20. A method of communication, comprising: The method is applicable to a first network device, and the method comprises: obtaining first information, the first information comprising information used to indicate a second network device, the first information indicating that a terminal device performs data transmission with the second network device; sending the first information.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein, The method further comprises: sending second information, the second information comprising information used to indicate the first network device, the second information indicating that a terminal device performs data transmission with the first network device.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein, The first information comprises information used to indicate the first network device. The second information comprises information used to indicate the second network device.

23. The method of any one of claims 20-22, wherein, The first information is carried in a first DCI.

24. The method of any one of claims 20-23, wherein, The information used to indicate the second network device is carried in a first field in the first DCI, and the method further comprises: sending information used to indicate that the first field is included in the first DCI.

25. The method of any one of claims 20-23, wherein, The information used to indicate the second network device is carried in a carrier indication field or a reserved field in the first DCI.

26. The method of any one of claims 20-23, wherein, The method further comprises: In a case that the first DCI includes information for indicating the second network device, a format of the first DCI is set as a first format, the first format of the first DCI includes a second field, and the second field carries the information for indicating the second network device.

27. The method of any one of claims 20-26, wherein, The first information occupies a first time unit, the terminal device performs data transmission with the second network device in a second time unit, and the second time unit is determined according to the first time unit and a first time length; the first time length is associated with a timing difference between the first network device and the second network device.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein, The method further includes: sending information for indicating the first time length.

29. The method of any one of claims 27-28, wherein, The method further includes: receiving information for indicating a timing difference between the first network device and the second network device.

30. The method of any of claims 27-29, wherein the first time length is a time length of S1 time unit quantities, S1 is a positive integer, and a value of S1 includes a value obtained by rounding up or rounding down a quotient of the timing difference between the first network device and the second network device and a time length of a single time unit.

31. The method of any of claims 27-30, wherein the second time unit is further determined according to a value of K0, and the value of K0 is associated with a time delay of processing uplink information and / or a time delay of processing downlink information of the terminal device.

32. The method of any of claims 27-31, wherein the second time unit is further determined according to a value of K2 and a time unit offset value; the value of K2 is associated with a time delay of processing uplink information and / or a time delay of processing downlink information of the terminal device; the time unit offset value is associated with a TA used by a terminal corresponding to the first network device.

33. The method of any of claims 27-32, wherein a difference between index values of the first time unit and the second time unit is determined according to a sum of the first time length and the value of K0.

34. The method of any one of claims 20-33, wherein, the terminal device performs data transmission with the second network device in the second time unit; receiving first response information, the first response information being sent by the terminal device in a third time unit, the first response information being response information of data received from the second network device in the second time unit, and the third time unit being determined according to the second time unit, a value of K, the time unit offset value, and the first time length, the value of K being associated with a time delay of processing downlink information from the first network device and / or processing uplink information of the terminal device, and the time unit offset value being associated with a TA corresponding to the first network device.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein, a difference between a time unit index of the third time unit and a time unit index of the second time unit is determined according to a sum of the value of K and the time unit offset value.

36. The method of any one of claims 34-35, wherein, The method further includes: receiving second response information, the second response information being transmitted by the terminal device at a sixth time unit, the second response information being response information of data received from the first network device at a fifth time unit, the sixth time unit being determined according to the fifth time unit, a value of K and a time unit offset value, the value of K being associated with a time delay of the terminal device in processing downlink information from the first network device and / or processing uplink information (e.g. uplink response information), the time unit offset value being associated with a TA used by the terminal device corresponding to the first network device.

37. The method of any one of claims 20-36, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving third information, the third information being used to indicate a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) difference and / or a received power difference of signals received from the first network device and the second network device; adjusting the transmission power according to the third information.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein, The method further comprises: transmitting sixth information to the second network device, the sixth information being used to indicate that the second network device adjusts the transmission power.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein, The sixth information is determined according to the third information.

40. The method of claim 38 or 39, wherein, The sixth information is the third information; or the sixth information is used to indicate a target SNR of the second network device; or the sixth information is used to indicate a target transmission power of the second network device.

41. The method of any one of claims 20-40, wherein, The first network device is a first satellite device, and the second network device is a second satellite device.

42. A method of communication, the method comprising: The method is applicable to a second network device, and the method comprises: receiving seventh information, the seventh information indicating that the second network device transmits data with a terminal device; transmitting data with the terminal device according to the seventh information.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving sixth information, the sixth information being used to indicate that the second network device adjusts the transmission power; adjusting the transmission power according to the sixth information.

44. The method of any one of claims 42-43, wherein, The second network device is a second satellite device.

45. A communications device, characterized by A module for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 19, or a module for performing the method of any one of claims 20 to 41, or a module for performing the method of any one of claims 42 to 44.

46. A communications device, characterized by A processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being used to receive signals from other communication devices and transmit the signals to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices, the processor being used to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 19, or the method of any one of claims 20 to 41, or the method of any one of claims 42 to 44 through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

47. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising: The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, when the computer program or instructions are executed by a communication device, the method of any one of claims 1 to 19, or the method of any one of claims 20 to 41, or the method of any one of claims 42 to 44 is implemented.

48. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product stores a computer program comprising program instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the method of any one of claims 1 to 19, or the method of any one of claims 20 to 41, or the method of any one of claims 42 to 44.

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