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

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product. In the method, a first device of a first communication system receives indication information from a second device of the first communication system in a first transmission time block of the first communication system, and on the basis of the indication information, sends an uplink signal to the second device in a second transmission time block of the first communication system, wherein at least one transmission time block of a second communication system exists between the first transmission time block and the second transmission time block, the first communication system comprises a cellular communication system, and the second communication system comprises a non-cellular communication system. In this way, in the embodiments of the present application, ultra-long-duration scheduling indication can be realized, resources can be effectively saved, latency can be reduced, the range of scheduling indication is large, diverse scenarios are supported, and the present application can be well applied to scenarios where different communication systems coexist.

Description

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

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410711115.5, filed on June 3, 2024, and entitled "Communication method, apparatus, computer-readable storage medium and program product", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of communications, and more specifically to a communication method, apparatus, computer-readable storage medium and computer program product. BACKGROUND

[0003] In the current rapidly developing field of wireless communications, the use of unlicensed spectrum is increasingly attracting attention, particularly in the frequency band of 6425MHz to 7125MHz. With the development of technologies such as 5G NR-U (New Radio-Unlicensed), LTE-LAA (Licensed-Assisted Access) and Auto Frequency Coordination, some coexistence designs between different wireless technologies have gradually developed. In this frequency band of 6425MHz to 7125MHz, the coexistence of cellular networks and non-cellular systems (e.g., Wi-Fi systems) not only presents a technical challenge, but also brings significant benefits. This coexistence strategy can significantly improve the efficiency of spectrum use, especially in the current situation where spectrum resources are increasingly scarce. At the same time, it also provides more diverse and flexible service options for users of different types of networks, further promoting the innovation and application of wireless communication technologies. SUMMARY

[0004] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, apparatus, computer-readable storage medium and computer program product, which can realize scheduling indication, effectively save resources, reduce delay, have a large range of scheduling indication, support multiple scenarios, and can be well applied to a coexistence scenario of a cellular communication system and other communication systems.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. An execution subject of the method provided in the first aspect can be a first device. In the absence of special description, the first device in the embodiments of the present disclosure can refer to the first device itself (for example, a first device, which can be a terminal device in some examples), a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) in the first device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the first device. Hereinafter, the first device is taken as an example. In the method, a first device of a first communication system receives indication information from a second device of the first communication system in a first transmission time block of the first communication system. The first device sends an uplink signal to the second device in a second transmission time block of the first communication system based on the indication information, wherein there is at least one transmission time block of a second communication system between the first transmission time block and the second transmission time block, and the first communication system includes a cellular communication system, and the second communication system includes a non-cellular communication system. In this way, the uplink transmission scheduling of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be realized, the resources can be effectively saved, the delay can be reduced, the range of scheduling indication is large, more scenarios are supported, and the cellular communication system can be well applied to the coexistence scenario of the cellular communication system and other communication systems.

[0006] In some implementations, the indication information includes scheduling indication for the uplink signal. In this way, the scheduling indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be realized, the resources can be effectively saved, and the delay can be reduced.

[0007] In some implementations, the indication information includes scheduling indication based on the first device receiving the first configuration parameter from the second device, or the indication information does not include scheduling indication based on the first device not receiving the first configuration parameter from the second device. In this way, whether to enable the scheduling indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be flexibly configured, and more scenarios are supported.

[0008] In some implementations, the first configuration parameter is received via a radio resource control (RRC) message. Thus, whether to enable the scheduling indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be determined by implementing the RRC upper layer parameter, and more scenarios are supported.

[0009] In some implementations, the indication information includes a first field and a second field, the first field and the second field are used to indicate a value of a first time interval, and the first time interval is a time interval from a time corresponding to the indication information to a time corresponding to the uplink signal. In this way, the first time interval is indicated by multiple fields, and the range of scheduling indication is large.

[0010] In some implementations, the first field indicates a first number of first time units in the first time interval, and the second field indicates a second number of second time units in the first time interval. In this way, the first time interval is indicated jointly with different granularities, e.g., coarse designation combined with fine designation, the range of the scheduling indication is large.

[0011] In some implementations, the first field indicates an index of a first number of first time units in the first time interval in a first time unit set, and the second field indicates a second number of second time units in the first time interval. The scheduling indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be implemented, the number of bits transmitted is reduced, resources are effectively saved, delay is reduced, and the range of the scheduling indication is large.

[0012] In some implementations, the indication information includes a first field, the first field is used to indicate an index of the first time interval in a time interval list or to indicate that a single time interval in the time interval list is configured as the first time interval, and the first time interval is a time interval between a time corresponding to the indication information and a time corresponding to the uplink signal. The scheduling indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be implemented, and the uplink scheduling can be triggered quickly, the number of bits transmitted is reduced, resources are effectively saved, delay is reduced, and the range of the scheduling indication is large.

[0013] In some implementations, the time interval list includes one of the following: a single time interval; a first plurality of time intervals, the first plurality of time intervals respectively include different numbers of same time units; a second plurality of time intervals, the second plurality of time intervals are represented by different time units; or a plurality of first values, a plurality of second values obtained by mapping transformation of the plurality of first values represent the number of time units. In this way, various time interval lists can be used to implement the scheduling indication of the uplink transmission of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario in different situations, and the indication manner is flexible.

[0014] In some implementations, the sending the uplink signal includes sending an uplink synchronization signal. In this way, the scheduling indication of the ultra-long uplink synchronization can be implemented, delay is reduced, and the range of the scheduling indication is large.

[0015] In some implementations, the uplink synchronization signal is one of a sounding reference signal (SRS) or a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) transmitted in one of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or a physical random access channel (PRACH). Thus, scheduling indication of uplink synchronization of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be implemented for various uplink signals, delay is reduced, and the range of scheduling indication is large.

[0016] In some implementations, the indication information includes a reception indication for the downlink signal used for downlink synchronization. In this way, downlink synchronization indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be implemented.

[0017] In some implementations, the indication information includes a reception indication based on the second configuration parameter being received from the second device, or the indication information does not include the reception indication based on the second configuration parameter not being received from the second device. In this way, whether to enable synchronization indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be flexibly configured, and efficiency and robustness of the coexistence system are enhanced.

[0018] In some implementations, the second configuration parameter is received via a radio resource control (RRC) message. Thus, more scenarios can be supported by implementing an RRC upper layer parameter to determine whether to enable indication of the downlink synchronization time.

[0019] In some implementations, the indication information includes a single field or multiple fields for determining a value of the second time interval, the second time interval being a time interval between a time corresponding to the downlink signal used for downlink synchronization and a time corresponding to the uplink signal, wherein one of the single field is used to indicate the value of the second time interval, the single field is used to indicate a value of a third time interval, the third time interval being a time interval between a time corresponding to the indication information and a time corresponding to the downlink signal used for downlink synchronization, or the multiple fields collectively indicate the value of the second time interval in different time units with the same or different number. In this way, indication of the downlink synchronization time can be implemented in various ways, delay is reduced, the range of scheduling indication is large, and more scenarios are supported.

[0020] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The execution subject of the method provided in the second aspect can be a second device. In the absence of special description, the second device in the embodiments of the present disclosure can refer to the second device itself (for example, a second device, which can be a network device in some examples), a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) in the second device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the second device. Hereinafter, the second device is taken as the second device as an example. In the method, the second device of a first communication system sends indication information to a first device of the first communication system in a first transmission time block of the first communication system, and the indication information is used for the first device to send an uplink signal; and the second device receives the uplink signal from the first device in a second transmission time block of the first communication system, wherein there is at least one transmission time block of a second communication system between the first transmission time block and the second transmission time block, and the first communication system includes a cellular communication system, and the second communication system includes a non-cellular communication system. In this way, the uplink transmission scheduling of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be realized, the resources can be effectively saved, the delay can be reduced, the range of scheduling indication is large, more scenarios are supported, and the cellular communication system can be well applied to the coexistence scenario of the cellular communication system and other communication systems.

[0021] In some implementations, the indication information includes scheduling indication for the uplink signal. In this way, the scheduling indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be realized, the resources can be effectively saved, and the delay can be reduced.

[0022] In some implementations, the second device sends a first configuration parameter to the first device, and based on sending the first configuration parameter, the indication information includes the scheduling indication. In this way, whether to enable the scheduling indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be flexibly configured, and more scenarios are supported.

[0023] In some implementations, the first configuration parameter is sent via a radio resource control (RRC) message. In this way, whether to enable the scheduling indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be determined by implementing the RRC upper layer parameter, and more scenarios are supported.

[0024] In some implementations, the indication information includes a first field and a second field, and the first field and the second field are used to indicate a value of a first time interval, and the first time interval is a time interval from a time corresponding to the indication information to a time corresponding to the uplink signal. In this way, the first time interval is indicated by multiple fields, and the range of scheduling indication is large.

[0025] In some implementations, the first field indicates a first number of first time units in the first time interval, and the second field indicates a second number of second time units in the first time interval. In this way, the first time interval is indicated in different granularities, for example, the combination of rough specification and fine specification, and the range of scheduling indication is large.

[0026] In some implementations, the first field indicates an index of a first number of first time units in the first time interval in the first set of time units, and the second field indicates a second number of second time units in the first time interval. The scheduling indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be implemented, the number of bits transmitted is reduced, the resources are effectively saved, the delay is reduced, and the range of the scheduling indication is large.

[0027] In some implementations, the indication information includes a first field, the first field is used to indicate an index of the first time interval in a time interval list or used to indicate that a single time interval in the time interval list is configured as the first time interval, and the first time interval is a time interval from a time corresponding to the indication information to a time corresponding to the uplink signal. The scheduling indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be implemented, the uplink scheduling can be triggered quickly, the number of bits transmitted is reduced, the resources are effectively saved, the delay is reduced, and the range of the scheduling indication is large.

[0028] In some implementations, the time interval list includes one of the following: a single time interval; a first plurality of time intervals, the first plurality of time intervals respectively include different numbers of same time units; a second plurality of time intervals, the second plurality of time intervals are represented by different time units; or a plurality of first values, a plurality of second values obtained by mapping transformation of the plurality of first values represent the number of time units. In this way, various time interval lists can be used to implement the scheduling indication of the uplink transmission of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario in different situations, and the indication manner is flexible.

[0029] In some implementations, receiving the uplink signal includes receiving an uplink synchronization signal. In this way, the scheduling indication of the uplink synchronization of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be implemented, the delay is reduced, and the range of the scheduling indication is large.

[0030] In some implementations, the uplink synchronization signal is one of the following: a sounding reference signal SRS or a demodulation reference signal DMRS transmitted in one of a physical uplink shared channel PUSCH, a physical uplink control channel PUCCH, or a physical random access channel PRACH. Thus, the scheduling indication of the uplink synchronization of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be implemented for various uplink signals, the delay is reduced, and the range of the scheduling indication is large.

[0031] In some implementations, the indication information includes a reception indication for a downlink signal used for downlink synchronization. In this way, the downlink synchronization indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be implemented.

[0032] In some implementations, the second device sends the second configuration parameter to the first device, and based on sending the second configuration parameter, the indication information comprises a reception indication. In this way, whether to enable the synchronization indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be flexibly configured, and the efficiency and robustness of the coexistence system are enhanced.

[0033] In some implementations, the second configuration parameter is sent via a radio resource control (RRC) message. Thus, more scenarios can be supported by implementing the RRC upper layer parameter to determine whether to enable the indication of the downlink synchronization time.

[0034] In some implementations, the indication information comprises a single field or multiple fields for determining a value of the second time interval, the second time interval being a time interval between a time corresponding to the downlink signal for downlink synchronization and a time corresponding to the uplink signal, and wherein one of the following: the single field is used to indicate the value of the second time interval; the single field is used to indicate a value of a third time interval, the third time interval being a time interval between a time corresponding to the indication information and the time corresponding to the downlink signal for downlink synchronization; or the multiple fields collectively indicate the value of the second time interval in different time units in the same or different number. In this way, the indication of the downlink synchronization time can be implemented in various ways, the delay is reduced, the range of the indication is large, and more scenarios are supported.

[0035] In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus has the advantages of the first aspect or the second aspect. Details are described for the first aspect or the second aspect. The communication apparatus has the functions of implementing the methods in the first aspect or the second aspect. The functions can be implemented by hardware, or by corresponding software executed by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions. The above description for the first device of the first aspect or the second device of the second aspect also applies to the communication apparatus of the third aspect. The communication apparatus of the third aspect can be the communication apparatus itself, or a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) in the communication apparatus, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the communication apparatus. In one possible design, the communication apparatus includes units that perform the methods of the first aspect or the second aspect or the implementations thereof.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, a device is provided. The device includes a processor and a memory storing computer programs or instructions. When the computer programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the electronic device performs any method according to the first aspect or the second aspect or the implementations thereof.

[0037] In a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer programs or instructions. When the computer programs or instructions are executed by an electronic device, the electronic device performs the method performed by the device in the above aspects.

[0038] In a sixth aspect, a computer program (product) includes computer program or instructions that, when executed by an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method performed by the apparatus in the above aspects.

[0039] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a chip system including a processor for implementing the functions of the apparatus in the method of the above aspects. In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory for saving computer programs or instructions and / or data. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0040] In an eighth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a communication system including: a first apparatus for performing the first aspect or a second apparatus for performing the method of the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0041] FIG. 1A shows a schematic diagram of a communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0042] FIG. 1B shows a comparison between a normal 3GPP frame structure and a 3GPP frame structure in a coexistence scenario.

[0043] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a communication flow according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0044] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of time-frequency resources for scheduling indication of a cellular system in a coexistence scenario according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0045] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of implementation of scheduling indication of a cellular system in a coexistence scenario according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0046] FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a communication flow for scheduling indication of a cellular system in a coexistence scenario according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0047] FIG. 6 shows a design example of scheduling indication of a cellular system in a coexistence scenario according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0048] FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a manner of indicating a GAP duration according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0049] FIG. 8 shows an example of indication of a GAP duration according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0050] FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram of scheduling uplink synchronization based on scheduling indication of a cellular system in a coexistence scenario according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0051] FIG. 10 shows a communication flow diagram of scheduling indication in a coexistence scenario based on a cellular system, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0052] FIG. 11 shows a diagram of scheduling uplink synchronization in a multiple UE case in a coexistence scenario based on a cellular system, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0053] FIG. 12A shows a diagram of sending a timing advance command by a MAC CE, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0054] FIG. 12B shows a diagram of sending a timing advance command by a MAC CE, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0055] FIG. 13 shows a diagram of indicating time of downlink synchronization in a coexistence scenario based on a cellular system, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0056] FIG. 14 shows a communication flow diagram of scheduling indication in a coexistence scenario based on a cellular system, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0057] FIG. 15 shows an example of indicating time of downlink synchronization, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0058] FIG. 16 shows a diagram of a flowchart implemented at a first device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0059] FIG. 17 shows a diagram of a flowchart implemented at a second device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0060] FIG. 18 is a block diagram of an apparatus that can be used to implement a device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0061] FIG. 19 is a structural diagram of an apparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0062] FIG. 20 is a structural diagram of an apparatus according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While certain embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it is understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but rather these embodiments are provided so as to more completely and thoroughly understand the present disclosure. It is understood that the drawings and embodiments of the present disclosure are for exemplary purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0064] In the description of embodiments of the disclosure, the term "includes" and its conjugates are to be construed as open-ended inclusive of items that follow the term, indicating that "comprising" the recited items but not excluding items not listed. The term "based on" is to be construed as "based at least in part on." The term "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" is to be construed as "at least one embodiment." The terms "a" and "the" are to be construed as "one or more" unless otherwise indicated. Other definitions can be found in the detailed description of embodiments below.

[0065] Embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented according to any appropriate communication protocol, including but not limited to, cellular communication protocols such as third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), and future communication protocols (e.g., sixth generation (6G)), wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocol now known or developed in the future. The technical solutions provided in the present application can also be applied to device to device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine to machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), and internet of things (IoT) communication systems or other communication systems.

[0066] FIG. 1A shows a schematic diagram of a communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1A, in the communication system 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a terminal device 110 and a network device 120 are shown. The transmission of information from the network device 120 to the terminal device 110 is referred to as downlink communication, and the transmission of information from the terminal device 110 to the network device 120 is referred to as uplink communication. In some embodiments, the communication system 100 can be a cellular communication system, and can coexist with other non-cellular communication systems, for example, in a scenario where a cellular network and a Wi-Fi operate in the same frequency band, the communication system 100 can be a cellular communication system, or a cellular communication network. The Wi-Fi communication system is an example of a non-cellular communication system. In some embodiments, the network device 120 can send indication information to the terminal device 110 to schedule the terminal device 110 to perform uplink transmission to the network device 120, for example, to send an uplink signal to the network device 120. It should be noted that the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 are taken as examples in FIG. 1A, and the communication system 100 can include any number of terminal devices or network devices.

[0067] The communication system 100 in the embodiments of the present disclosure includes, but is not limited to, a narrow band-Internet of things (NB-IoT), a global system for mobile communications (GSM), an enhanced data rate for GSM evolution (EDGE), a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), a code division multiple access 2000 (CDMA2000), a time division-synchronization code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA), a long term evolution (LTE), a Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A), and three application scenarios of a 5G mobile communication system, including enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), and enhanced machine type communication (eMTC).

[0068] In a Long Term Evolution (LTE) / Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) communication system and a New Radio (NR) system, according to different duplex modes, it can be mainly divided into a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode and a Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode. For a wireless communication system working in the TDD mode, the downlink carrier and the uplink carrier of the system are carriers of the same carrier frequency. The multiple access mode usually adopts an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Access (OFDMA) mode. The main feature of the OFDMA mode is to divide the transmission resources into mutually orthogonal time-frequency resource elements (REs), and the signals sent by the sending end are transmitted to the receiving end on the REs. Since different REs are mutually orthogonal, the receiving end can separately receive the signals sent on each RE. The time-frequency resource element is the smallest resource granularity in an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) system, which is one OFDM symbol (the smallest time unit in the time domain of the OFDM system) in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain.

[0069] The scheme of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applicable to a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD), a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, a 5th generation (5G) communication system, and a future 6th generation (6G) communication system, and the like. Of course, the scheme of the embodiments of the present disclosure can also be applicable to other possible communication systems, for example, applied to an internet of things (IoT) network, a wireless local area network system supporting an 802.11 series protocol, and can also be applied to a wireless personal area network system based on ultra-wideband UWB, and can also be applied to a sensing system, and can also be applied to a vehicle to X (V2X) network, a machine type communication (MTC) network, a long term evolution-machine (LTE-M) network, a machine to machine (M2M) network, a vehicle to vehicle (V2V) network, a long term evolution-vehicle (LTE-V) network, a satellite communication system, and the like. The above communication systems to which the embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable are only illustrative, and the communication systems to which the embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable are not limited thereto, and are uniformly described herein, and the following will not be described herein.

[0070] A terminal device is a device with wireless transceiving function. The terminal device can communicate with one or more core network (CN) devices (or referred to as core devices) through an access network device (or referred to as an access device) in a radio access network (RAN). The terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water (such as ships, etc.); and can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons, and satellites, etc.). In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal device can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), which can be a mobile phone, a mobile station (MS), a pad, a computer with wireless transceiving function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical, a wireless terminal device in smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in smart city, a wireless terminal device in smart home, a subscriber unit, a cellular phone, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA) computer, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal device, a drone, etc. The terminal device can include various handheld devices with wireless communication function, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. Optionally, the terminal device can be a handset with wireless communication function, a terminal device in Internet of Things or Internet of Vehicles, any form of terminal device in a 5G and a communication system evolved after 5G, etc., and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. The terminal device can also be a communication chip with communication module, or a vehicle or vehicle-mounted device (such as a vehicle-mounted communication device or a vehicle-mounted communication chip) with communication function.

[0071] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatus for implementing the function of the terminal device can be a terminal device, or can be an apparatus capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the function, for example, a chip system or a chip, which can be installed in the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include the chip and other discrete devices.

[0072] The network device in the embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, an access network device, can be any device having a wireless transceiving function and capable of communicating with a terminal device, for example, a radio access network (RAN) node for accessing the terminal device to a wireless network. At present, some examples of the RAN node include: a macro base station, a micro base station (also referred to as a small station), a relay station, an access point, a gNB, a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a home base station (for example, a home evolved NodeB, or a home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), a Wi-Fi access point (AP), an integrated access and backhaul (IAB), a satellite, an unmanned aerial vehicle, and the like. The network device can be a wearable device or a vehicle-mounted device. The network device can also be a communication chip having a communication module.

[0073] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatus for implementing the function of the network device can be a network device, or can be an apparatus capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, for example, a chip system or a chip, which can be installed in the network device. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include the chip and other discrete devices.

[0074] An uplink data transmission manner is dynamic grant (DG) (or dynamic uplink grant) based uplink transmission. In this manner, when a terminal has user plane data to be sent to a base station, the terminal can listen to the downlink control information (DCI) issued by the base station through the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The DCI carries an uplink grant (UL grant), which can be used to authorize the terminal to send uplink data on a specified time-frequency resource using a specified parameter, such as a specified modulation and coding scheme (MCS). Before listening to the DCI, the terminal can first send a scheduling request (SR) to the base station through the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or report the buffer state (BS) to the base station through the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), so as to inform the base station of the uplink transmission demand or the buffer state, and facilitate the base station to perform uplink grant and resource scheduling according to the demand.

[0075] Among them, the terminal device can listen to the PDCCH according to the PDCCH configuration to obtain the DCI. The PDCCH configuration can include a control resource set (CORESET) configuration, a search space (search space) configuration, a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) configuration for scrambling / descrambling the PDCCH, a signaling format (format) configuration, or other configurations for PDCCH detection.

[0076] The time-frequency resource used to transmit the DCI belongs to a configured control resource set (CORESET), and the terminal device can detect the candidate time-frequency resource position in the CORESET to receive the DCI.

[0077] It can be understood that the uplink data transmission manner provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can also include data transmission in a random access (RA) process or grant-free (GF) based data transmission, without specific requirements.

[0078] Based on similar principles, the network device in the embodiments of the present disclosure can send downlink data to the terminal device. The downlink data here includes but is not limited to physical layer data. Generally, the communication process of the downlink data is as follows: the network device sends a PDCCH, which contains scheduling information (such as DCI) of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the PDCCH. The scheduling information of the PDSCH includes, for example, time-frequency resources of the PDSCH and the like, and the PDSCH carries the downlink data sent by the base station to the terminal device. The terminal device receives the downlink data from the network device according to the scheduling of the PDCCH.

[0079] For the convenience of description, the data appearing in the following can include uplink data or downlink data. In addition, the uplink data in the embodiments of the present disclosure can also be replaced by downlink data, for example, "sending uplink data" and "receiving downlink data" can be replaced with each other, and "sending downlink data" and "receiving uplink data" can be replaced with each other.

[0080] Optionally, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can also be applied to sidelink (SL) communication, in which one terminal device can initiate paging or access to another terminal device. For example, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to a device-to-device (D2D) communication scenario, which can be, for example, an NR D2D communication scenario and / or an LTE D2D communication scenario, etc.; or can be applied to a vehicle to everything (V2X) communication scenario, which can be, for example, an NR V2X communication scenario, an LTE V2X communication scenario, a vehicle networking communication scenario, and / or a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication scenario, etc.; or can be used in the field of intelligent driving, intelligent networked vehicles, etc. Therefore, the data in the embodiments of the present disclosure can also include data in a sidelink communication scenario.

[0081] In unlicensed spectrum, especially in the frequency band of 6425-7125 MHz, the strategy of coexistence of cellular networks and Wi-Fi brings many benefits. First, enhanced spectrum efficiency, sharing unlicensed spectrum can maximize the efficiency of spectrum use. Cellular networks and non-cellular networks (e.g., Wi-Fi) operate in the same frequency band, and the allocation of spectrum can be dynamically adjusted according to the actual network load and user demand. Such a strategy can reduce idle spectrum and improve overall network service quality. Second, improved network coverage and capacity, deploying cellular technology (such as NR-U and LTE-LAA) in unlicensed spectrum can help provide more uniform network coverage, especially in areas where traditional cellular networks may not cover. At the same time, it can also increase the total capacity of the network, especially in user-intensive environments such as business centers, stadiums, and other public places. Third, better user experience, the coexistence of cellular networks and Wi-Fi technology not only provides higher data transmission rates, but also intelligently selects the most suitable network according to the specific needs of users and the network conditions on site, thereby providing a smoother and more stable service experience. Fourth, cost-effectiveness, by using unlicensed spectrum resources, operators can expand their service capabilities and range without paying additional spectrum fees, which is of great significance for reducing deployment costs and accelerating the promotion of new technologies.

[0082] Some solutions, for example, use NR-U, LTE-LAA, and spectrum management servers, provide a technical framework to support the coexistence of multiple wireless technologies in unlicensed spectrum, but still face many challenges in actual deployment. LTE-LAA and NR-U are mainly based on a contention mechanism, which can affect the quality of service (QoS) of the cellular system, and the spectrum management server is mainly applied to the Wi-Fi system. How to ensure fair spectrum access, manage interference, improve spectrum utilization, time-frequency synchronization between devices, access, time-frequency switching, and the design of coexistence signals are all problems that need to be solved urgently.

[0083] In the coexistence scenario, the time resources allocated by the spectrum management server to the cellular communication system are not continuous, and the uplink transmission in the latest cellular transmission block needs to be indicated. The allocation of time-frequency resources is not bound to the spectrum manager and can be in various ways, for example, it can be determined by the cellular communication system, based on the scheduling of the cellular communication system by the Wi-Fi communication system, or it can be determined by the spectrum manager. The interval between two cellular services can be long, leaving a long time interval for Wi-Fi communication, causing the UE to enter a sleep state or leave the coexistence frequency band of the cellular communication system and the Wi-Fi communication system and return to the normal cellular communication system. The corresponding connection of the UE in the last cellular communication system transmission block can change after switching to the next transmission block, and the PUSCH transmission will be affected.

[0084] Figure 1B shows a comparison diagram of a common 3GPP frame structure and a 3GPP frame structure in a coexistence scenario. As shown in Figure 1B, when switching to a non-cellular transmission time block, the UE does not occupy the coexistence channel, and when switching back to a cellular transmission time block from the non-cellular transmission time block, the transmission between the network device in the cellular communication system and the UE is resumed. The non-cellular transmission time block is, for example, a transmission time block of the Wi-Fi communication system described above. The time block for transmission of the non-cellular transmission system is a non-cellular transmission time block. The time block for transmission of the cellular communication system is a cellular transmission time block.

[0085] Based on the above discussion and analysis, for the above coexistence scenario, some schemes have some problems. For example, in NR and NR-U, the UE and the gNB are not connected for a period of time, and how to resume the transmission. Using discontinuous reception (DRX) and wake-up signal (WUS), periodic reception of PDCCH, resulting in long latency. Periodically broadcast downlink signals to maintain synchronization signals and broadcast blocks (Synchronization Signal / PBCH block, SSB), downlink synchronization, due to discontinuous time-frequency resources, such cannot periodically send such downlink signals. By re-executing the complete random access process RACH (Random Access), the cost is large. In view of this, the embodiments of the present disclosure propose a scheduling-based transmission scheme for the coexistence scenario, such as the coexistence scenario of cellular and Wi-Fi, in the case of limited time-frequency resources UE and gNB data transmission, to send a long timeout scheduling indication in the previous cellular transmission time block, to schedule the uplink transmission of the next cellular transmission time block. This will be further described in the embodiments of Figures 2 to 17.

[0086] Figure 2 shows a communication flow diagram of some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2, flow 200 involves a first device 210 and a second device 220 of a first communication system. One example of the first device 210 can be a terminal device, such as terminal device 110. One example of the second device 220 can be a network device, such as network device 120. In some examples, the first communication system can be a cellular communication system, and the second communication system can be a non-cellular communication system. One example of the non-cellular communication system can be a Wi-Fi communication system, and in other examples, the non-cellular communication system can also be other non-cellular communication systems different from the Wi-Fi communication system.

[0087] In the procedure 200, the second device 220 of the first communication system sends (202) an indication information 205 to the first device 210 of the first communication system in a first transmission time block of the first communication system, the indication information 205 being used by the first device 210 to send an uplink signal 215. Accordingly, the first device 210 receives (204) the indication information 205 from the second device 220 in the first transmission time block of the first communication system. In some examples, the indication information 205 comprises a scheduling indication for the uplink signal 215. The scheduling indication is an indication for scheduling an uplink transmission in a next transmission time block (may be referred to as a second transmission time block) of the first communication system. For a cellular communication system, the second transmission time block is a next cellular transmission time block. In some embodiments, the scheduling indication can be referred to as an ultra-long scheduling indication. In some examples below, an example of the first transmission time block is a cellular transmission time block K, and an example of the second transmission time block is a cellular transmission time block K+1. There is at least one transmission time block of the second communication system between the first transmission time block and the second transmission time block, for example, there is a non-cellular transmission time block between the cellular transmission time block K and the cellular transmission time block K+1. In some examples, the non-cellular transmission time block can be a Wi-Fi transmission time block, but is not limited to a Wi-Fi transmission time block. Since there is at least one transmission time block of the second communication system between the first transmission time block and the second transmission time block in a coexistence scenario of the first communication system (for example, a cellular communication system) and the second communication system (for example, a non-cellular communication system), the scheduling indication in the coexistence scenario has a longer time length than the scheduling indication in a non-coexistence scenario of the first communication system, and thus can be referred to as an ultra-long scheduling indication, in some examples or a scheduling indication of a cellular system in a coexistence scenario. There is no transmission time block of another communication system between two transmission time blocks of the first communication system in a non-coexistence scenario.

[0088] In some examples, the second device 220 can send a first configuration parameter to the first device 210, and based on sending the first configuration parameter, the indication information 205 comprises the scheduling indication, and otherwise, does not comprise the scheduling indication. In some examples, the first configuration parameter can be an upper layer parameter, for example, UltraLongIntervalSchedulingDCI-0-a. The scheduling indication is an indicator of an ultra-long scheduling, for example, UltraLongIntervalScheduling.

[0089] At the first device 210, based on receiving the first configuration parameter from the second device 220, the indication information 205 received by the first device 210 includes the scheduling indication. Alternatively, based on not receiving the first configuration parameter from the second device 220, the indication information received by the first device 210 does not include the scheduling indication. For example, when the upper layer parameter UltraLongIntervalSchedulingDCI-0-a is configured, the indication of UltraLongIntervalScheduling is contained in DCI 0_a, otherwise the indication of UltraLongIntervalScheduling is not contained. In some examples, the second device 220 transmits the first configuration parameter via a radio resource control (RRC) message, and the first device 210 receives the first configuration parameter via the RRC message.

[0090] In some examples, the indication information includes a plurality of fields, for example, the indication information includes a first field and a second field, the first field and the second field are used to indicate a value of a first time interval, the first time interval is a time interval from a time point corresponding to the indication information to a time point corresponding to the uplink signal.

[0091] In some examples, the first field indicates a first number of first time units in the first time interval, and the second field indicates a second number of second time units in the first time interval. The time unit can be a unit length of various time granularities, such as a symbol, a slot, a frame, etc. In some examples, the first time unit corresponds to a different time granularity than the second time unit.

[0092] In other examples, the first field indicates an index of a first number of first time units in the first time interval in a first time unit set, and the second field indicates a second number of second time units in the first time interval. For example, the first time unit set U-K2set is defined in RRC as: {10, 20, 50, 100}, the first field U-K2=3, 3 is the index corresponding to“50” in U-K2set, so that 50 is determined corresponding to the first field, and the second field is K2, then based on the example of the first field and the second field, the first time interval GAP can be indicated as: 50+K2.

[0093] In some examples, the indication information can include one field, e.g., the indication information includes a first field, in some examples, the first field is used to indicate an index of the first time interval in the time interval list. For example, through RRC configuration of the time length set UltraLongIntervalScheduling-K2-List (abbreviated as U-K2-List), U-K2 in the DCI can indicate the index of U-K2-List. Wherein U-K2-List is an example of the time interval list, and U-K2 is an example of the first field. In other examples, the first field is used to indicate that a single time interval in the time interval list is configured as the first time interval. For example, the time interval list U-K2-List includes a single time interval: {400} slots, and the first field U-K2 value sent in DCI_0_a is 1, which means that the single time interval {400} is configured as the first time interval based on the single time interval, i.e., the UE can be quickly informed that the uplink scheduling is performed after 400 slots. Therefore, it can be known from the foregoing that the first time interval is the time interval between the time corresponding to the indication information and the time corresponding to the uplink signal.

[0094] In some examples, the time interval list includes a single time interval. For example, for the example that the first field is used to indicate that a single time interval in the time interval list is configured as the first time interval, the time interval list can include only one time interval, e.g., the time interval list U-K2-List includes a single time interval: {400} slots in the above example.

[0095] In some examples, the time interval list includes multiple time intervals. In some examples, the multiple time intervals included in the time interval list (referred to as a first plurality of time intervals) can each include a different number of the same time units. For example, U-K2-List is {10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000}, where the unit can be one of a symbol number, a slot number, and a frame number. In other examples, the multiple time intervals included in the time interval list (referred to as a second plurality of time intervals) can be represented in different time units. For example, U-K2-List is {10T_s, 20slots, 50slots, 100frames, 200frames, …}.

[0096] In some examples, the time interval list includes multiple values (referred to as first values), and multiple values (referred to as second values) obtained by mapping and transforming the multiple first values represent the number of time units. For example, U-K2-List is {10, 20, 50, 100, …}, and the corresponding {2^10, 2^20, 2^50, 2^100}.

[0097] Based on the indication information 205, in a second transmission time block of the first communication system, the first device 210 transmits (206) the uplink signal 215 to the second device 220, and accordingly, the second device 220 receives (208) the uplink signal 215 from the first device 210 in the second transmission time block.

[0098] In some examples, the first device 210 can perform uplink synchronization with the long timeout scheduling indication and the long timeout uplink data, i.e. schedule the uplink synchronization of the second transmission time block (e.g. the next cellular transmission time block K+1) in the first transmission time block (e.g. the cellular transmission time block K) with the long timeout scheduling indication. Then the first device 210 transmitting the uplink signal 215 can comprise transmitting an uplink synchronization signal, and accordingly, the second device 220 receiving the uplink signal 215 comprises receiving the uplink synchronization signal. In some examples, the uplink synchronization signal comprises a sounding reference signal SRS or a demodulation reference signal DMRS transmitted in one of a physical uplink shared channel PUSCH, a physical uplink control channel PUCCH, or a physical random access channel PRACH.

[0099] In some examples, the first device 210 can further perform downlink synchronization before the uplink synchronization. For example, the second device 220 can indicate to the first device 210 a time of downlink synchronization of the second transmission time block (e.g. the cellular transmission time block K+1) in the first transmission time block (e.g. the cellular transmission time block K) with the long timeout scheduling indication. Then the indication information 205 can comprise a reception indication for a downlink signal for the downlink synchronization. Based on the examples that the indication information 205 comprises the reception indication, further, in some examples, the indication information 205 can comprise a single field or multiple fields for determining a value of a second time interval, the second time interval being a time interval between a time corresponding to the downlink signal for the downlink synchronization and a time corresponding to the uplink signal, in some examples below, e.g. referring to FIG. 15, the second time interval can be DL-Sync-offset.

[0100] In some examples, the single field for determining the value of the second time interval comprised in the indication information 205 is for indicating the value of the second time interval. In other examples, the single field for determining the value of the second time interval comprised in the indication information 205 is for indicating a value of a third time interval, the third time interval being a time interval between a time corresponding to the indication information and a time corresponding to the downlink signal for the downlink synchronization. In some examples below, e.g. referring to FIG. 15, the third time interval can be GAP2. In yet other examples, the indication information 205 comprises multiple fields for determining the value of the second time interval to jointly indicate the value of the second time interval in the same or different number of different time units.

[0101] In some examples, the second device 220 can send a second configuration parameter to the first device 210, based on sending the second configuration parameter, the indication information includes the reception indication, otherwise does not include the reception indication. The second configuration parameter can be an upper layer parameter, for example, a DLSynchronizationGapDCI-0-a. The reception indication is, for example, an indicator of the DLSynchronizationGap. In some examples, when the upper layer parameter DLSynchronizationGapDCI-0-a is configured, the DCI 0_a contains the indication of the DLSynchronizationGap, otherwise does not contain the indication of the DLSynchronizationGap. At the first device 210, based on receiving the second configuration parameter from the second device, the indication information 205 received by the first device 210 includes the reception indication. Alternatively, based on not receiving the second configuration parameter from the second device, the indication information 205 received by the first device 210 does not include the reception indication. In some examples, the second device 220 sends the second configuration parameter via a radio resource control (RRC) message. The first device 210 receives the second configuration parameter via the RRC message.

[0102] Based on the above introduction of the flow 200, in some examples of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the second device 220 (for example, a network device such as a BS, etc.) can schedule the uplink transmission of the next cellular transmission time block by sending the long timeout scheduling indication. The specific implementation can be further referred to the introduction of FIG. 3 to FIG. 8 below.

[0103] FIG. 3 shows a time-frequency resource diagram of scheduling indication (or long timeout scheduling indication) of a cellular system in a coexistence scenario, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the Wi-Fi transmission time block is before and after the cellular transmission time block. Through the long timeout scheduling indication (as shown in 301), the network can indicate to the UE the time available for the uplink transmission of the next cellular transmission time block, and the UE can send the long timeout uplink data to the base station at the time (as shown in 302).

[0104] FIG. 4 shows a diagram of implementing scheduling indication (or long timeout scheduling indication) of a cellular system in a coexistence scenario, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, where the cellular communication system coexists with the non-cellular communication system, the relationship between the cellular transmission time block K, the non-cellular transmission time block, and the cellular transmission time block K+1 is shown in FIG. 4, and it can be known from the figure that the cellular transmission time block K+1 is the next cellular transmission time block of the cellular transmission time block K. The UE receives the long timeout scheduling indication (as shown in 401) in the cellular transmission time block K, which indicates the scheduling of the transmission of the next cellular transmission time block, based on the indication of the scheduling, at the corresponding time, the UE sends the long timeout uplink data (as shown in 402) in the cellular transmission time block K+1.

[0105] FIG. 5 illustrates a communication flow diagram of scheduling indication (or long duration scheduling indication) in coexistence scenario based on cellular system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, in flow 500, UE 510 can be an example of first device 210, and BS 520 can be an example of second device 220, which can be a gNB in some examples. At 502, BS 520 obtains time-frequency resources of next transmission opportunity, which can be determined by cellular, i.e., non-cellular listens to cellular scheduling. Alternatively, it can be determined by spectrum manager, i.e., cellular and non-cellular (e.g., Wi-Fi) through third party management server. At 504, cellular data transmission between BS 520 and UE 510 is performed in cellular transmission time block K. BS 520 transmits (506) long duration scheduling indication 505 to UE 510 in cellular transmission time block K, specifically, DCI of long duration scheduling indication can be transmitted from PDCCH in cellular transmission time block K to indicate when and at what frequency UE 510 transmits long duration uplink data 515. UE 510 receives (508) long duration scheduling indication 505. UE 510 does not use coexistence channel or enter sleep state during non-cellular communication system (e.g., Wi-Fi) transmission. After the start of next cellular transmission time block (cellular transmission time block K+1), UE 510 transmits (512) long duration uplink data 515 on corresponding indicated time-frequency resources, such as PUSCH or PUCCH. BS 520 receives (514) long duration uplink data 515. At cellular transmission time block K+1, subsequent cellular data transmission between UE 510 and BS 520 is performed, as shown at 516.

[0106] The long duration scheduling indication is information for gNB to indicate time-frequency of uplink data transmission to UE. The design of long duration scheduling indication according to embodiments of the present disclosure can be in multiple ways. In some examples, long duration scheduling indication can be multiplexed in a way in cellular system by DCI, and its time-frequency resources are defined by CORESET. The location of DCI of long duration scheduling indication can be at the front, middle, or back of transmission time block, etc.

[0107] In some examples, the specific indication manner of the Ultra Long Scheduling indication can be to add an indicator of the Ultra Long Scheduling in the DCI 0_a (0_a can reuse the DCI format or add a new DCI format). For example, an indicator for UltraLongIntervalScheduling is added. In some examples, when the upper-layer parameter UltraLongIntervalSchedulingDCI-0-a is configured, the DCI 0_a contains the indication of UltraLongIntervalScheduling, otherwise it does not contain the indication of UltraLongIntervalScheduling. In some examples, UltraLongIntervalSchedulingDCI-0-a is configured by RRC, indicating whether the Ultra Long Scheduling is activated. If activated, the value of UltraLongIntervalScheduling is 1, indicating that the DCI indicates the Ultra Long Scheduling, and the value of UltraLongIntervalScheduling is 0, indicating normal PUSCH scheduling (i.e. non-Ultra Long Scheduling). The frequency domain resource allocation can reuse the frequency domain resource indication in the DCI 0_a, and the time domain resource allocation is mainly indicated by the GAP length.

[0108] FIG. 6 shows a design example of scheduling indication (or Ultra Long Scheduling indication) of a cellular system in a coexistence scenario according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, GAP represents the time experienced from the time when the DCI is sent in the PDCCH (as shown in 601) to the time when the next uplink synchronization signal is sent (as shown in 602). The GAP consists of two parts: K2 and SLIV, where K2 indicates how many slots are experienced from the time when the DCI is sent in the PDCCH to the time when the next uplink synchronization signal is sent, and SLIV indicates the specific starting symbol position and the number of continuous symbols of the uplink synchronization signal. SLIV can be represented by two fields: S and L, where S represents the starting symbol and L represents the number of continuous symbols for time domain resource allocation.

[0109] K2 has two indication manners according to the GAP length, referring to FIG. 7, according to the length of GAP, UltraLongIntervalScheduling can take 0 or 1, indicating different length of uplink transmission. When UltraLongIntervalScheduling takes 0, it indicates the time domain resource indication manner of some schemes, for example, consistent with the time domain resource indication in DCI 0_0 / DCI 0_1, as shown in 702, for example, K2 is set to INTEGER(0..32). When UltraLongIntervalScheduling takes 1, it indicates to add an additional indication, as shown in 701, that is, to add UltraLongIntervalScheduling-K2 (abbreviated as U-K2).

[0110] In some examples, the time duration (or time interval) GAP experienced from the DCI is sent on PDCCH to the next uplink synchronization signal is sent can be jointly indicated based on U-K2 and K2. In some examples, the specific way GAP is determined based on U-K2 and K2 jointly is, for example, UltraLongIntervalScheduling-K2 is set as INTEGER(0..2^N), UltraLongIntervalScheduling-K2 indicates a large granularity time duration, K2 indicates a small granularity time duration, GAP is determined based on the large granularity time duration and the small granularity time duration jointly. For example, GAP is coarsely determined by U-K2, and finely specified by K2, referring to FIG. 8, which shows an example of indication of GAP time duration of some embodiments of the present disclosure, K2 can be used to indicate a slot number, which is an example of a small granularity time duration. And U-K2 is used to indicate a block number of 32 slots, which is an example of a large granularity time duration. In this example, GAP = U-K2*32+K2, in which the first term is the slot block number of the scheduled block from the DCI slot, and the second term is the remaining slot number of the scheduled block. In other examples, K2 can be used to indicate a large granularity time duration, and U-K2 is used to indicate a small granularity time duration, GAP is coarsely determined by K2, and finely specified by U-K2, for example, GAP = K2*2^N+U-K2. In yet other examples, the large granularity time duration and the small granularity time duration can be added to obtain the GAP time duration, for example, GAP = K2+U-K2. Alternatively, UltraLongIntervalScheduling-K2 can indicate GAP in the form of enumeration, Pattern, and be corrected by K2, for example, U-K2 set of {10, 20, 50, 100} is defined in RRC, U-K2 = 3, 3 is the index corresponding to “50” in the U-K2 set, so that 50 is determined, then GAP = 50+K2.

[0111] In some examples, the time duration (or time interval) GAP experienced from the DCI is sent on the PDCCH to the next uplink synchronization signal is sent can be indicated based on U-K2 alone. Specifically, it can be indicated in the following way. In some examples, a set of time durations UltraLongIntervalScheduling-K2-List (abbreviated as U-K2-List) is configured by RRC, and U-K2 in the DCI can indicate the index of U-K2-List. For example, the set of time durations U-K2-List can be indicated in the unit of symbol, slot, frame, etc. As an example, the set of time durations U-K2-List is {10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000}, where the unit can be the number of symbols, slots, frames, etc. In some examples, the set of time durations U-K2-List can be in the form of enumeration, and can indicate time durations in any different unit. For example, {10T_s, 20slots, 50slots, 100frames, 200frames, …}. In some examples, the set of time durations U-K2-List can indicate exponential values or other mapping values. For example, U-K2-List {10, 20, 50, 100, …} corresponds to {2^10, 2^20, 2^50, 2^100}. In some examples, the set of time durations U-K2-List can indicate values in other sets configured by higher layers. For example, the set of slots U-K2-StateList is {5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 150, 200, 400}, and U-K2-List is {1, 3, 4, 5} indicates {5, 20, 50, 100} slots in the U-K2-StateList.

[0112] In some examples, when the set of time durations U-K2-List only takes a single value, U-K2 can send a value, for example 1 bit, to quickly trigger uplink scheduling. For example, the base station updates U-K2-List to {400} slots in advance, and U-K2 in DCI_0_a sends a value of 1, which quickly informs the UE that uplink scheduling will be performed after 400 slots.

[0113] Based on the above introduction of the process 200, in some examples of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first device 210 (for example, a UE, etc.) can use the ultra-long scheduling indication and the ultra-long uplink data to perform uplink synchronization, that is, use the ultra-long scheduling indication to schedule the uplink synchronization of the next cell transmission time block in the previous cell transmission time block. The specific implementation can be further referred to the introduction of FIG. 9 to FIG. 13 below.

[0114] Figure 9 shows a diagram of scheduling uplink synchronization based on a long scheduling indication in a coexistence scenario for some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 9, the base station sends a long scheduling indication (as shown in 901) in a cellular transmission time block K to schedule uplink synchronization signal transmission in the next cellular transmission time block K+1, i.e. in the cellular transmission time block K+1, the UE transmits an uplink synchronization signal (as shown in 902) to perform uplink synchronization. The long uplink data in this example is the uplink synchronization signal. In the cellular transmission time block K+1, the base station measures the timing advance (TA) according to the uplink synchronization signal, as shown in 903, and sends a timing advance command (TAC) to the UE.

[0115] FIG. 10 illustrates a communication flow diagram of scheduling indication (or long timeout scheduling indication) in coexistence scenario based on cellular system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 10, the flow 1000 involves a UE 1010 and a BS 1020. The UE 1010 can be an example of the first device 210 and the BS 1020 can be an example of the second device 220, and the BS 1020 can be a gNB specifically. At 1002, the BS 1020 obtains time-frequency resources of a next transmission opportunity. At 1004, at a cellular transmission time block K, cellular data transmission between the BS 1020 and the UE 1010 is performed. At the cellular transmission time block K, the BS 1020 transmits (1006) a long timeout scheduling indication 1005 to the UE 1010, specifically, DCI of the long timeout scheduling indication can be transmitted from PDCCH at the cellular transmission time block K to indicate when and at what frequency the UE 510 transmits an uplink synchronization signal 1015. The UE 1010 receives (1008) the long timeout scheduling indication 1005. During non-cellular communication system (e.g., WiFi) transmission, i.e., at a non-cellular transmission time block, the UE 1010 does not use the coexistence channel or enters a sleep state. At a next cellular transmission time block (i.e., cellular transmission time block K+1), the UE 1010 transmits (1012) the uplink synchronization signal 1015 on the corresponding indicated time-frequency resources, e.g., SRS, DMRS, etc. are transmitted through PUSCH or PUCCH or PRACH. The BS 1020 receives (1014) the uplink synchronization signal 1015. The BS 1020 calculates (1016) TA according to the received uplink synchronization signal and transmits (1018) a timing advance command (TAC) to the UE 1010 through MAC CE or DCI. The UE 1010 receives (1022) the timing advance command, calibrates time (as shown in 1024), performs time synchronization to complete synchronization. At the cellular transmission time block K+1, subsequent cellular data transmission between the UE 1010 and the BS 1020 is performed, as shown in 1026. In the above flow 1000, the UE 1010 can transmit the uplink synchronization signal on the corresponding indicated time-frequency resources according to the DCI 0_a. In some examples, the uplink synchronization signal can be PUSCH, PUCCH, SRS, DMRS, etc.

[0116] The above flow 1000 illustrates a communication flow of one UE and a base station taking UE 1010 as an example. In some examples, the number of UEs can be multiple. In the case of multiple UEs, the base station can stagger the uplink synchronization signals of multiple UEs in time and frequency using DCI 0_a. FIG. 11 shows a schematic diagram of scheduling uplink synchronization in the case of multiple UEs based on an ultra-long scheduling indication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 11, the time and frequency resources used by UE1, UE2, and UE3 to send uplink signals are staggered, for example, uplink synchronization signals are sent on different time domain resources at cell time block K+1.

[0117] The above mentioned that the base station can send a timing advance command to the UE through MAC CE after measuring the TA. Referring to FIG. 12A, a schematic diagram of sending a timing advance command through MAC CE according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown, which shows a scheme of multiplexing TAC MAC CE, where N_ta new=N_ta old+(TA-31)*16T_s. Unlike the above-mentioned scheme of multiplexing TAC MAC CE, FIG. 12B shows a new extended MAC CE and adds a corresponding LCID (logical channel ID), so that it can have a longer indication range of TA. For example, TAC_bit is 14 bits, N_ta new=N_ta old+(TA-2^13+1)*16T_s. TAC_bit is 12 bits, N_ta new=N_ta old+(TA-2^11+1)*16T_s. N_ta old is the TA used before receiving the TAC, and N_ta new is the updated TA after receiving the TAC. Determine TAC_bit in MAC CE, N_ta new=N_ta old+(TA-2^TAC_bit+1)*16T_s. The LCID or eLCID of the subheader in the MAC subPDU indicates the MAC CE carrying the extended TAC.

[0118] Based on the above introduction of the flow 200, in some examples of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first device 210 (e.g., UE, etc.) can also perform downlink synchronization before uplink synchronization. For example, the second device 220 (e.g., base station, etc.) can use the long timeout scheduling indication to indicate the time of downlink synchronization of the next cell transmission time block (e.g., cell transmission time block K+1) to the UE in the previous cell transmission time block (e.g., cell transmission time block K). FIG. 13 shows a schematic diagram of the indication of the time of downlink synchronization based on the scheduling indication (or long timeout scheduling indication) of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 13, at the cell transmission time block K, the base station sends the long timeout scheduling indication (as shown in 1301) to the UE, which indicates the time (as shown in 1303) of the UE sending the uplink synchronization signal at the cell transmission time block K+1, and also indicates the UE to receive the downlink synchronization signal before sending the uplink synchronization signal, and indicates the time (as shown in 1302) of the UE receiving the downlink synchronization signal. The downlink synchronization signal may, for example, be a broadcast signal such as PSS, SSS, etc., or a UE-specific unicast signal, OFDM, on-off keying (OOK), chirp signal, etc., and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not specifically limited.

[0119] FIG. 14 illustrates a communication flow diagram of scheduling indication (or long timeout scheduling indication) in coexistence scenario based on cellular system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 14, in flow 1400, the long timeout scheduling indication 1405 transmitted by the BS 1420 can indicate the UE 1410 to receive downlink synchronization before uplink synchronization and indicate the time of downlink synchronization. The UE 1410 can be an example of the first device 210, the BS 1420 can be an example of the second device 220, and the BS 1420 can be a gNB specifically. At a cellular transmission time block K, the BS 1420 transmits (1402) the long timeout scheduling indication 1405 to the UE 1410. The UE 1410 receives (1404) the long timeout scheduling indication 1405. During non-cellular communication system (e.g., Wi-Fi) transmission, i.e., at a non-cellular transmission time block, the UE 1410 does not use the coexistence channel or enters a sleep state. At the next cellular transmission time block (i.e., cellular transmission time block K+1), the BS 1420 transmits (1406) a downlink synchronization signal 1415 to the UE 1410. The UE 1410 receives (1408) the downlink synchronization signal 1415 and transmits (1412) an uplink synchronization signal 1425 to the BS 1420. The BS 1420 receives (1414) the uplink synchronization signal 1425. The BS 1420 calculates (1416) TA according to the received uplink synchronization signal and transmits (1418) a timing advance command (TAC) 1435 to the UE 1010 through a MAC CE or DCI. The UE 1010 receives (1422) the timing advance command 1435, performs time synchronization, and completes synchronization.

[0120] In some examples, the specific indication of downlink synchronization can be achieved by adding an indicator for UE to receive downlink synchronization in DCI 0_a, e.g., adding an indicator for DL Synchronization Gap. In some examples, when the upper layer parameter DL Synchronization GapDCI-0-a is configured, the DCI 0_a contains the indication of DL Synchronization Gap, otherwise, the DCI 0_a does not contain the indication of DL Synchronization Gap. In some examples, the DL Synchronization GapDCI-0-a is configured by RRC, indicating whether the gNB indication of downlink synchronization time is activated. When the gNB indication of downlink synchronization time is activated, the value of DL Synchronization Gap is 1, indicating that the DCI additionally indicates downlink synchronization, and the value of DL Synchronization Gap is 0, indicating normal PUSCH scheduling or long timeout uplink scheduling (i.e., no additional indication of downlink synchronization).

[0121] FIG. 15 shows an example of indicating the time of downlink synchronization according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 15, GAP1 can refer to the GAP duration shown in FIG. 6 above, i.e., the time elapsed between the DCI is sent in PDCCH and the next uplink synchronization signal is sent. GAP2 refers to the time elapsed between the DCI is sent in PDCCH and the downlink synchronization signal is sent by gNB. Referring to the description of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 above, the time elapsed between the DCI is sent in PDCCH and the next uplink synchronization signal is sent (GAP in FIG. 6) is composed of two parts: one part indicates how many slots are elapsed between the DCI is sent in PDCCH and the next uplink synchronization signal is sent (K2 in FIG. 6), and the other part indicates the specific starting symbol position and the number of symbols of the uplink synchronization signal (SLIV in FIG. 6). The number of slots elapsed between the DCI is sent in PDCCH and the next uplink synchronization signal is sent corresponds to the duration shown as UltraLongIntervalScheduling-K2 (abbreviated as U-K2) in the example shown in FIG. 15. The difference between GAP2 and U-K2 is the duration shown as DL-Sync-offset.

[0122] In some examples, the gNB can directly indicate the length of GAP2. In other examples, the gNB can indicate the difference between GAP2 and U-K2, DL-Sync-offset, so that the UE can calculate the number of slots GAP2 from the gNB sending the downlink synchronization signal based on DL-Sync-offset and U-K2.

[0123] In some examples, a DL-Sync-offset field can be added to indicate the duration corresponding to the DL-Sync-offset in FIG. 15. The difference between GAP2 and U-K2 can be indicated by the DL-Sync-offset, which can be indicated in various ways. For example, in some examples, the DL-Sync-offset can be set as an INTEGER(0..N) type variable. In other examples, multiple variables can be defined to jointly indicate the duration of the DL-Sync-offset, for example, one variable indicates the duration of a coarse granularity, and another variable indicates the duration of a fine granularity, similar to the indication method shown in FIG. 8, and the duration of the DL-Sync-offset is determined based on the durations of the coarse and fine granularities. In some examples, GAP1 uses U-K2 to indicate, specifically, GAP1 includes both U-K2 and SLIV, and the DL-Sync-offset can be indicated by two additional variables (or fields) U-K3 and U-K4, where U-K3 indicates the duration of a coarse granularity, for example, the number of slot blocks, to roughly specify the DL-Sync-offset, and U-K4 indicates the duration of a fine granularity, for example, the number of slots, to finely specify the DL-Sync-offset based on the rough specification of the DL-Sync-offset. Similar to the implementation of the combination of the coarse and fine granularities of the GAP above, the DL-Sync-offset can also be determined by adding U-K3 and U-K4. Alternatively, U-K3 can be an index of a slot in a set of slots, and U-K4 is used to correct the slot corresponding to the index, i.e., the DL-Sync-offset is equal to the sum of the slot corresponding to the index and U-K4. In this example, the set of slots can be replaced by a set of other time units, such as frames, symbols, etc.

[0124] As mentioned above, the time experienced from when the DCI is sent from the PDCCH to when the next uplink synchronization signal is sent can be indicated by U-K2, and in such examples, the DL-Sync-offset can reuse the K2 field in the original DCI 0_a, and K2 is set as INTEGER(0..32) to indicate the DL-Sync-offset.

[0125] The UE receives the long timeout indication, enters a sleep state or leaves the coexistence frequency band, and does not wake up until the slot for receiving the downlink synchronization signal arrives.

[0126] Some embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to data transmission of UE and gNB in coexistence scenario with time-frequency resource limited, a scheduling-based transmission method is proposed, for example, DCI can be sent to indicate UE to transmit ultra-long uplink data at which time and frequency, in some examples, an indicator of ultra-long scheduling can be added in DCI 0_a, for example, through UltraLongIntervalScheduling indicator to perform ultra-long scheduling. In some examples, based on the newly added time indicator UltraLongIntervalScheduling-K2, UE can obtain the position of ultra-long uplink data. UE can enter sleep mode or stop using coexistence frequency band according to the ultra-long scheduling signaling, which can effectively save resources. Compared with the periodic indication of some schemes, the scheme of the present disclosure can reduce the delay. And compared with the time domain indication of some schemes, the ultra-long scheduling indication has a larger range and supports more scenarios, which can be well applied to coexistence scenarios. In some examples of the present disclosure, based on the DCI sending the ultra-long scheduling indication, UE can be instructed to transmit uplink synchronization signals at which time and frequency. No additional RACH process is needed, which can save resources and reduce latency. Some examples can achieve an indication range with longer TA by adding a new extended MAC CE. In some examples, the base station can also inform the UE of the downlink synchronization time using the ultra-long scheduling indication, for example, in the DCI of the ultra-long scheduling indication, the time of downlink synchronization is also indicated. Indicating UE wake-up time or leaving coexistence frequency band and returning to normal cellular system can save UE resources, and compared with some DRX schemes, it can achieve more flexibility and smaller latency. The scheme of the present disclosure is not limited to the coexistence of cellular communication system and Wi-Fi, and can be used in the coexistence of any network technologies such as cellular, Wi-Fi, satellite, and fixed connection network. In addition, the scheme of the present disclosure can be used in future cellular standards and Wi-Fi standards, for example, applied to future cellular and Wi-Fi related products, such as mobile phones, tablets / watches / laptops accessing cellular / Wi-Fi, base stations / wireless routers, and other devices.

[0127] FIG. 16 illustrates a schematic flowchart implemented at a first device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 16, the flow 1600 can be performed by a first device, e.g., the terminal device 110 or a chip, module, or modular component in the terminal device 110, etc. At block 1610, the first device receives indication information from a second device of a first communication system in a first transmission time block of the first communication system. At block 1620, the first device transmits an uplink signal to the second device in a second transmission time block of the first communication system based on the indication information, where there is at least one transmission time block of a second communication system between the first transmission time block and the second transmission time block. The first communication system comprises a cellular communication system, and the second communication system comprises a non-cellular communication system. In some embodiments, the flow 1600 can further include other operations performed at the terminal device 110 or the UE as described in conjunction with FIGS. 2-15 according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0128] FIG. 17 illustrates a schematic flowchart implemented at a second device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 17, the flow 1700 can be performed by a communication apparatus, e.g., the network device 120 or a chip, module, or modular component in the network device 120, etc. At block 1710, the second device transmits indication information to a first device of a first communication system in a first transmission time block of the first communication system, the indication information being used by the first device to transmit an uplink signal. At block 1720, the second device receives the uplink signal from the first device in a second transmission time block of the first communication system, where there is at least one transmission time block of a second communication system between the first transmission time block and the second transmission time block. The first communication system comprises a cellular communication system, and the second communication system comprises a non-cellular communication system. In some embodiments, the flow 1700 can further include other operations performed at the network device 120 or the base station (BS) or gNB as described in conjunction with FIGS. 2-15 according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0129] Figure 18 is a block diagram that can be used to implement a device 1800 in accordance with some embodiments of the present application. In some embodiments, device 1800 can be an element of a communication network infrastructure, such as a base station (e.g., NodeB, Evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), Next Generation NodeB (sometimes referred to as gNodeB or gNB), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), gateway (GW) such as a packet gateway (PGW) or serving gateway (SGW), or various other nodes or functions within a core network (CN) or public land mobile network (PLMN). In other embodiments, device 1800 can be a device that connects to network infrastructure through a wireless interface, such as a mobile phone, smartphone, or other such device that can be classified as user equipment (UE). In some embodiments, device 1800 can be a machine-type communication (MTC) device (also known as a machine-to-machine (M2M) device), or another such device that can be classified as UE even though it does not provide direct service to a user. In some embodiments, device 1800 can be a road-side unit (RSU), vehicle UE (V-UE), pedestrian UE (P-UE), or infrastructure UE (I-UE). In some scenarios, device 1800 can also be referred to as a mobile device, a term intended to reflect a device that connects to a mobile network, regardless of whether the device itself is designed for or capable of mobility. Particular devices can utilize all or only a subset of the components shown, and levels of integration can vary from device to device. Furthermore, device 1800 can contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0130] Device 1800 generally includes a processor 1802, such as a central processing unit (CPU) and, in some embodiments, specialized processors such as a graphics processing unit (GPU) or other such processors, memory 1804, network interface 1806, and bus 1808 to connect the components of device 1800. Optionally, device 1800 can also include components such as mass storage device 1810, video adapter 1812, and I / O interface 1816 (shown in dashed lines).

[0131] The memory 1804 can include any type of non-transitory system memory such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), read-only memory (ROM), or a combination thereof. In an embodiment, the memory 1804 can include more than one type of memory, such as ROM for programs at boot-up, and DRAM for program and data storage for programs while in execution. The bus 1808 can be one or more of several types of bus architectures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, or a video bus. In some examples, the memory 1804 and the processor 1802 can be discrete devices. In other examples, the memory 1804 can be integrated with the processor 1802 as one device.

[0132] The device 1800 can also include one or more network interfaces 1806, which can include at least one of a wired network interface and a wireless network interface. As shown in FIG. 18, the network interface 1806 can include a wired network interface for connecting to a network 1822, and can also include a wireless access network interface 1820 for connecting to other devices over a wireless link. When the device 1800 is a network infrastructure element, the wireless access network interface 1820 can be omitted for nodes or functions that are elements of a PLMN and not elements at the wireless edge (e.g., eNB). When the device 1800 is infrastructure at the wireless edge of a network, both wired and wireless network interfaces can be included. When the device 1800 is a wirelessly connected device, such as a user equipment, the wireless access network interface 1820 can be present and can be supplemented by other wireless interfaces, such as a Wi-Fi network interface. The network interface 1806 allows the device 1800 to communicate with remote entities such as those connected to the network 1822.

[0133] The mass storage 1810 can include any type of non-transitory storage device configured to store data, programs, and other information and make the data, programs, and other information accessible via the bus 1808. The mass storage 1810 can include, for example, one or more of a solid state drive, a hard disk drive, a magnetic disk drive, or an optical disk drive. In some embodiments, the mass storage 1810 can be remote from the device 1800 and can be accessed through the use of a network interface such as the interface 1806. In the illustrated embodiment, the mass storage 1810 is distinct from the memory 1804 that includes it, and the mass storage 1810 can generally perform storage tasks compatible with higher latencies, but can generally provide less or no volatility. In some embodiments, the mass storage 1810 can be integrated with the heterogeneous memory 1804.

[0134] Optional video adapter 1812 and I / O interface 1816 (shown in dashed line) provide an interface to external input and output devices of device 1800. Examples of input and output devices include a display 1814 coupled to video adapter 1812, and an I / O device 1818, such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch screen coupled to I / O interface 1816. Other devices can be coupled to device 1800 and additional or fewer interfaces can be utilized. For example, a serial interface such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) (not shown) can be used to provide interface for external devices. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in embodiments in which device 1800 is part of a data center, I / O interface 1816 and video adapter 1812 can be virtualized and provided over network interface 1806.

[0135] FIG. 19 is a structural schematic diagram of an apparatus 1900 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 19, the apparatus 1900 includes a receiving unit 1902, and a sending unit 1904. The apparatus 1900 can be applied to the communication system as shown in FIG. 1A, and can implement the method provided by the foregoing embodiments, for example, the method 1600. Optionally, the physical form of the apparatus 1900 can be a communication device, for example, a UE. Alternatively, the apparatus 1900 can be other apparatus capable of implementing the functions of the communication device, for example, a processor or a chip inside the communication device, etc. Specifically, the apparatus 1900 can be a programmable chip, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a system on a chip (SOC), etc.

[0136] In some embodiments, the receiving unit 1902 can be configured to receive indication information from a second device of a first communication system in a first transmission time block of the first communication system. The sending unit 1904 can be configured to send an uplink signal to the second device in a second transmission time block of the first communication system based on the indication information, wherein there is at least one transmission time block of a second communication system between the first transmission time block and the second transmission time block. The first communication system includes a cellular communication system, and the second communication system includes a non-cellular communication system.

[0137] In some other embodiments, the apparatus 1900 can include various other units or modules that can be configured to perform various operations or functions described with regard to the foregoing method embodiments. Specific details can be obtained by referring to the detailed descriptions of the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0138] FIG. 20 is a structural schematic diagram of an apparatus 2000 according to some embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 20, the apparatus 2000 includes a sending unit 2002, and a receiving unit 2004. The apparatus 2000 can be applied in the communication system as shown in FIG. 1A, and can implement the method provided by the foregoing embodiments, for example, the method 1700. Optionally, the physical form of the apparatus 2000 can be a communication device, for example, a network device. Alternatively, the apparatus 2000 can be another apparatus capable of implementing the functions of the communication device, for example, a processor or a chip inside the communication device, etc. Specifically, the apparatus 2000 can be a programmable chip, such as FPGA, CPLD, ASIC, or SOC, etc.

[0139] In some embodiments, the sending unit 2002 can be configured to send indication information to a first device of a first communication system in a first transmission time block of the first communication system, the indication information being used by the first device to send an uplink signal. The receiving unit 2004 can be configured to receive the uplink signal from the first device in a second transmission time block of the first communication system, wherein there is at least one transmission time block of a second communication system between the first transmission time block and the second transmission time block. The first communication system includes a cellular communication system, and the second communication system includes a non-cellular communication system.

[0140] In some embodiments, the apparatus 2000 can include various other units or modules, which can be configured to perform various operations or functions described with regard to the foregoing method embodiments. The specific details can be obtained by referring to the detailed description of the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described herein.

[0141] It should be noted that the division of the modules in the above embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, another division manner can be used. In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or can be physically separated, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware, or in the form of a software functional unit.

[0142] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software function unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present application can be embodied in the form of a software product in essence or all or part of the technical solutions. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor to perform all or part of the steps of the methods of the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), a random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

[0143] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program, which, when running on a computer, causes the computer to execute any of the methods provided in the above embodiments.

[0144] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application also provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. The computer program is executed by a computer to cause the computer to execute any of the methods provided in the above embodiments. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, the computer readable medium can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0145] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application also provide a chip for reading a computer program stored in a memory, implementing any of the methods provided in the above embodiments.

[0146] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application provide a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a computer device to implement the functions involved in the communication devices in the above embodiments. In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory for saving the necessary programs and data of the computer device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0147] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present application can be readily used as a method, a system or a computer program product. Accordingly, the present application can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application can take the form of a computer program product on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, etc.) embodying computer readable program code.

[0148] The present application is described in reference to the flow diagrams and / or block diagrams of the methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to this application. It will be understood that each block of the flow diagrams and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flow diagrams and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flow diagrams and / or block diagrams block or blocks.

[0149] These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer- readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function specified in the flow diagrams and / or block diagrams block or blocks.

[0150] The computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flow diagrams and / or block diagrams block or blocks.

Claims

1. A method for communication, comprising: receiving, by a first device of a first communication system, indication information from a second device of the first communication system in a first transmission time block of the first communication system; and transmitting, by the first device, an uplink signal to the second device in a second transmission time block of the first communication system based on the indication information, wherein there is at least one transmission time block of a second communication system between the first transmission time block and the second transmission time block, the first communication system comprises a cellular communication system, and the second communication system comprises a non-cellular communication system. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the indication information comprises a scheduling indication for the uplink signal. 3.The method of claim 2, further comprising: based on receiving a first configuration parameter from the second device, the indication information comprises the scheduling indication; or based on not receiving the first configuration parameter from the second device, the indication information does not comprise the scheduling indication. 4.The method of claim 3, wherein the first configuration parameter is received via a radio resource control (RRC) message. 5.The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the indication information comprises a field for indicating a value of a first time interval, the first time interval being a time interval between a time corresponding to the indication information and a time corresponding to the uplink signal. 6.The method of claim 5, wherein the indication information comprises a first field and a second field, the first field indicating a first number of first time units in the first time interval, and the second field indicating a second number of second time units in the first time interval. 7.The method of claim 5, wherein the indication information comprises a first field and a second field, the first field indicating an index of a first number of first time units in the first time interval in a set of first time units, and the second field indicating a second number of second time units in the first time interval. 8.The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the indication information comprises a first field for indicating an index of a first time interval in a list of time intervals or for indicating a single time interval in the list of time intervals is configured as the first time interval, the first time interval being a time interval between a time corresponding to the indication information and a time corresponding to the uplink signal. 9.The method of claim 8, wherein the list of time intervals comprises one of: the single time interval; a first plurality of time intervals, the first plurality of time intervals respectively comprising different numbers of same time units; a second plurality of time intervals, the second plurality of time intervals being represented by different time units; or a plurality of first values, a plurality of second values obtained by mapping the plurality of first values representing numbers of time units. 10.The method of any one of claims 1-9, wherein transmitting the uplink signal comprises transmitting an uplink synchronization signal. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the uplink synchronization signal is one of: a sounding reference signal (SRS) or a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) transmitted in one of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or a physical random access channel (PRACH).

12. The method of any one of claims 1-11, wherein the indication information comprises a reception indication for a downlink signal used for downlink synchronization.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: based on receiving a second configuration parameter from the second device, the indication information comprises the reception indication; or based on not receiving the second configuration parameter from the second device, the indication information does not comprise the reception indication.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second configuration parameter is received via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

15. The method of any one of claims 12-14, wherein the indication information comprises a single field or multiple fields for indicating a value of a second time interval, the second time interval being a time interval from a time corresponding to the downlink signal used for downlink synchronization to a time corresponding to the uplink signal, wherein one of: the single field is used to indicate the value of the second time interval; the single field is used to indicate a value of a third time interval, the third time interval being a time interval from a time corresponding to the indication information to a time corresponding to the downlink signal used for downlink synchronization; or the multiple fields collectively indicate the value of the second time interval in different time units with a same or different number of different time units.

16. A communication method, comprising: transmitting, by a second device of a first communication system, indication information to a first device of the first communication system in a first transmission time block of the first communication system, the indication information being used for the first device to transmit an uplink signal; and receiving, in a second transmission time block of the first communication system, the uplink signal from the first device, wherein there is at least one transmission time block of a second communication system between the first transmission time block and the second transmission time block, the first communication system comprising a cellular communication system, and the second communication system comprising a non-cellular communication system.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the indication information comprises a scheduling indication for the uplink signal.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: transmitting, to the first device, a first configuration parameter, based on transmitting the first configuration parameter, the indication information comprises the scheduling indication.

19. The method of any one of claims 16-18, wherein the indication information comprises a field for indicating a value of a first time interval, the first time interval being a time interval from a time corresponding to the indication information to a time corresponding to the uplink signal. ​ ​ 20.The method of claim 19, wherein the indication information comprises a first field and a second field, the first field indicating a first number of first time units in the first time interval, and the second field indicating a second number of second time units in the first time interval. 21.The method of claim 19, wherein the indication information comprises a first field and a second field, the first field indicating an index of a first number of first time units in the first time interval in a first time unit set, and the second field indicating a second number of second time units in the first time interval. 22.The method of any one of claims 16-18, wherein the indication information comprises a first field, the first field being used to indicate an index of a first time interval in a time interval list, or being used to indicate a single time interval in the time interval list is configured as the first time interval, the first time interval being a time interval between a time instant corresponding to the indication information and a time instant corresponding to the uplink signal. 23.The method of any one of claims 16-22, wherein receiving the uplink signal comprises receiving an uplink synchronization signal. 24.The method of claim 23, wherein the uplink synchronization signal is one of: a sounding reference signal (SRS) or a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) transmitted in one of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or a physical random access channel (PRACH). 25.The method of any one of claims 16-24, wherein the indication information comprises a reception indication for a downlink signal used for downlink synchronization. 26.The method of claim 25, further comprising: sending, to the first device, a second configuration parameter, based on which the indication information comprises the reception indication. 27.The method of claim 25 or 26, wherein the indication information comprises a single field or multiple fields used to determine a value of a second time interval, the second time interval being a time interval between a time instant corresponding to the downlink signal used for downlink synchronization and a time instant corresponding to the uplink signal, wherein one of: the single field is used to indicate the value of the second time interval; the single field is used to indicate a value of a third time interval, the third time interval being a time interval between a time instant corresponding to the indication information and the time instant corresponding to the downlink signal used for downlink synchronization; or the multiple fields collectively indicate the value of the second time interval in different time units with a same or different number of different time units. a processor configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1-15, or claims 16-27. 29.A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause the method of any one of claims 1-15, or claims 16-27 to be performed. ​ ​ ​ 28. A communications device comprising: ​ ​ 30. A computer program product comprising instructions for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 15, or claims 16 to 27.

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