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

Abstract

Provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure are a communication method and apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium and a computer program product. The method comprises: a first device receiving, in a first transmission time block of a first communication system, first indication information from a second device of the first communication system; and on the basis of the first indication information, the first device receiving, in a second transmission time block of the first communication system and from the second device, a downlink signal used for downlink synchronization, 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. In some example, the first communication system may comprise a cellular communication system, and the second communication system may comprise a non-cellular communication system. In this way, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, prolonged synchronization indication can be realized, the stability of connection between devices can be enhanced, the response speed can be increased, the delay can be reduced, interference between different communication systems can be avoided, and the efficiency and robustness of coexisting systems can be enhanced.

Description

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

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410712364.6, filed on June 3, 2024, and entitled "Communication method, apparatus, computer-readable storage medium and program product", the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 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 networks (e.g., WiFi) is not only 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, system, computer-readable storage medium and computer program product, which can realize synchronization indication, enhance the stability of inter-device connection, improve response speed, reduce delay, avoid interference between different communication systems, and enhance the efficiency and robustness of coexisting systems.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The 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 equipment, which can be a terminal equipment 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 of the first equipment. In the method, the first equipment of a first communication system receives first indication information from a second equipment of the first communication system in a first transmission time block of the first communication system. The first equipment receives a downlink signal for downlink synchronization from the second equipment in a second transmission time block of the first communication system based on the first 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 synchronization indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario is realized, the stability of the connection between devices is enhanced, the response speed is improved, the delay is reduced, the interference between different communication systems is avoided, and the efficiency and robustness of the coexistence system are enhanced.

[0006] In some implementations, the first indication information indicates a time of receiving the downlink signal. In this way, the stability of the connection between a user equipment (UE) and a gNB (next generation node B) can be enhanced.

[0007] In some implementations, the first indication information is included in downlink control information (DCI) of a first format. In this way, the response speed is improved and the delay is further reduced.

[0008] In some implementations, the first equipment enables the reception of the DCI of the first format based on receiving a first configuration parameter from the second equipment, or disables the reception of the DCI of the first format based on not receiving the first configuration parameter from the second equipment. 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.

[0009] In some implementations, the first configuration parameter is received via a radio resource control (RRC) message, and / or the first configuration parameter is configured specifically for the first equipment or specifically for a cell. In this way, whether to enable the synchronization indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be flexibly configured for the UE or for the cell.

[0010] In some implementations, the first indication information includes a first field, and the first field indicates a value of a first time interval between a time corresponding to the first indication information and a time corresponding to the downlink signal. In this way, the time at which the second device transmits the downlink signal or the first device receives the downlink signal is indicated, thereby enhancing the stability of the inter-device connection, improving the response speed, reducing the delay, avoiding interference between different communication systems, and enhancing the efficiency and robustness of coexisting systems.

[0011] In some implementations, the value of the first field or a mapping of the value to a value indicates a number of time units included in the first time interval. In this way, the time at which the second device transmits the downlink signal or the first device receives the downlink signal is indicated in a flexible manner, with fast response speed and reduced delay.

[0012] In some implementations, the first field includes a first part, a second part, and a third part; the first part indicates a first number of first time units included in the first time interval; the second part indicates a second number of second time units included in the first time interval; and the third part indicates a third number of third time units included in the first time interval. In this way, different parts of the first field can be used to indicate time units of different granularities, respectively, and the time corresponding to the downlink signal can be indicated in a fine manner, thereby avoiding interference between different communication systems, enhancing the efficiency and robustness of coexisting systems.

[0013] In some implementations, the first indication information includes a first field, and the first field indicates an index of the first time interval in a time interval list or indicates that 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 corresponding to the first indication information and a time corresponding to the downlink signal. In this way, long-time synchronization indication can be implemented, and the downlink synchronization indication can be triggered quickly, thereby enhancing the stability of the inter-device connection, improving the response speed, reducing the delay, avoiding interference between different communication systems, and reducing the number of bits transmitted.

[0014] In some implementations, the time interval list includes one of: a single time interval; a first plurality of time intervals, the first plurality of time intervals respectively including 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 the number of time units. In this way, various time interval lists can be used to implement long-time synchronization indication in different situations, and the indication manner is flexible.

[0015] In some implementations, the list of time intervals is a subset of a set of time intervals; the set of time intervals is predefined, configured via a RRC message, or updated with a first periodicity; and the list of time intervals is updated via a RRC message or a medium access control control element (MAC CE) with a second periodicity or aperiodically, where the second periodicity is shorter than the first periodicity. In this way, a dynamic indication of a subset of time intervals in the set of time intervals is achieved while reducing the number of bits transmitted.

[0016] In some implementations, the downlink signal is at least one of: a synchronization signal block (SSB), a system information block (SIB), a unicast signal specific to the first device, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal, an on-off keying (OOK) signal, or a chirp signal. In this way, the long timeout synchronization indication can be achieved for various downlink signals.

[0017] In some implementations, in the first transmission time block, the first device receives second indication information from the second device, where the second indication information indicates a time when the channel of the first communication system becomes unavailable. In this way, the second device can indicate to the first device a time period when the coexistence channel is occupied by the non-cellular transmission time block or the channel is unavailable, thereby avoiding interference between different communication systems and enhancing the efficiency and robustness of coexisting systems.

[0018] In some implementations, after the time when the channel becomes unavailable indicated by the second indication information and before the time of receiving the downlink signal indicated by the first indication information, the first device avoids using the coexistence channel of the first communication system and the second communication system or enters a sleep state. In this way, interference between different communication systems is avoided, and the efficiency and robustness of coexisting systems are enhanced.

[0019] In some implementations, the first indication information is included in a DCI of a first format, and the second indication information is included in a DCI of a second format; or the first indication information and the second indication information are included in a DCI of the first format. In this way, the response speed can be improved, the latency can be further reduced, and the indication manner is flexible.

[0020] In some implementations, the second indication information includes a second field, and the second field indicates a value of a second time interval between the time instance corresponding to the second indication information and the time instance corresponding to the beginning of the unavailability of the channel. In this way, the time instance corresponding to the beginning of the unavailability of the channel can be directly indicated, interference between different communication systems can be avoided, and efficiency and robustness of coexisting systems can be enhanced.

[0021] In some implementations, the second indication information includes a second field, and the second field indicates an index of the second time interval in a time interval list, and the second time interval is a time interval between the time instance corresponding to the second indication information and the time instance corresponding to the beginning of the unavailability of the channel. In this way, how many slots are experienced between the time when the DCI is sent and the time when the channel is unavailable can be directly indicated, response speed can be improved, and latency can be reduced.

[0022] In some implementations, the second indication information includes a second field, and the second field indicates that a single time interval in the time interval list is configured as the second time interval between the time instance corresponding to the second indication information and the time instance corresponding to the beginning of the unavailability of the channel. In this way, response speed can be improved, latency can be reduced, interference between different communication systems can be avoided, and the number of bits transmitted can be reduced.

[0023] In some implementations, the second indication information includes a second field, and the second field indicates a third time interval between the time instance corresponding to the beginning of the unavailability of the channel and the time instance corresponding to the downlink signal. In this way, how many slots are experienced between the time when the DCI is sent and the time when the channel is unavailable can be indirectly indicated, and the length of time when the channel is unavailable can be indicated.

[0024] In some implementations, based on receiving the second configuration parameter from the second device, the first device determines that the second field is included in the DCI in the first format; and based on not receiving the second configuration parameter from the second device, determines that the second field is not included in the DCI in the first format. In this way, whether to enable the synchronization indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be flexibly configured, and efficiency and robustness of coexisting systems can be enhanced.

[0025] In some implementations, the second configuration parameter is received via a radio resource control (RRC) message; and / or the second configuration parameter is configured specifically for the first device or specifically for a cell. In this way, whether to enable the indication of the unavailability of the channel for the UE or for the cell can be flexibly configured.

[0026] In some implementations, the non-cellular communication system includes a Wi-Fi communication system. Thus, the indication of the downlink synchronization signal of the block of the UE receiving the cellular transmission in the coexistence scenario of the cellular system and the Wi-Fi communication system can be implemented.

[0027] 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 case of the second device being the second device is taken as an example. In the method, the second device of a first communication system sends first indication information to a first device of the first communication system in a first transmission time block of the first communication system; and the second device sends a downlink signal for downlink synchronization to the first device in a second transmission time block of the first communication system based on the first 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, long-time synchronization indication is realized, the stability of the connection between devices is enhanced, the response speed is improved, the delay is reduced, interference between different communication systems is avoided, and the efficiency and robustness of coexisting systems are enhanced.

[0028] In some implementations, the first indication information indicates a time at which the downlink signal is sent. In this way, the stability of the connection between the UE and the gNB can be enhanced.

[0029] In some implementations, the first indication information is included in a downlink control information (DCI) of a first format. In this way, the response speed is improved and the delay is further reduced.

[0030] In some implementations, the second device sends a first configuration parameter to the first device, and the first configuration parameter is used to enable sending of the DCI of the first format. In this way, whether to enable synchronization indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be flexibly configured, and the efficiency and robustness of the coexisting systems are enhanced.

[0031] In some implementations, the first configuration parameter is sent via a radio resource control (RRC) message; and / or the first configuration parameter is configured specifically for the first device or specifically for a cell. In this way, whether to enable synchronization indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario can be flexibly configured for the UE or for the cell.

[0032] In some implementations, the first indication information includes a first field indicating a value of a first time interval between a time corresponding to the first indication information and a time corresponding to the downlink signal. In this way, the time at which the second device sends the downlink signal or the first device receives the downlink signal is indicated, the stability of the connection between devices is enhanced, the response speed is improved, the delay is reduced, interference between different communication systems is avoided, and the efficiency and robustness of coexisting systems are enhanced.

[0033] In some implementations, the value of the first field or a mapping of the value transforms the value to indicate a number of time units included in the first time interval. In this way, the manner of indicating the time at which the second device transmits the downlink signal or the first device receives the downlink signal is flexible, fast in response, and reduces latency.

[0034] In some implementations, the first field includes a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion; the first portion indicates a first number of first time units included in the first time interval; the second portion indicates a second number of second time units included in the first time interval; and the third portion indicates a third number of third time units included in the first time interval. In this way, different portions of the first field can be made to indicate time units of different granularities, respectively, to finely indicate the time corresponding to the downlink signal, avoid interference between different communication systems, and enhance efficiency and robustness of coexisting systems.

[0035] In some implementations, the first indication information includes a first field, the first field indicates an index of the first time interval in a list of time intervals or indicates a single time interval in the list of time intervals is configured as the first time interval, the first time interval is a time interval between a time corresponding to the first indication information and a time corresponding to the downlink signal. In this way, long-time synchronization indication can be implemented, stability of connection between devices is enhanced, response speed is improved, latency is reduced, interference between different communication systems is avoided, and a number of bits transmitted is reduced.

[0036] In some implementations, the list of time intervals includes one of: 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 the plurality of first values represent numbers of time units. In this way, various lists of time intervals can be utilized to implement long-time synchronization indication in different situations, and the manner of indication is flexible.

[0037] In some implementations, the list of time intervals is a subset of a set of time intervals; the set of time intervals is predefined, configured via a RRC message, or updated at a first periodicity; and the list of time intervals is updated at a second periodicity or aperiodically via a RRC message or a medium access control control element (MAC CE), the second periodicity being shorter than the first periodicity. In this way, dynamically indicating part of the set of time intervals is implemented while reducing a number of bits transmitted.

[0038] In some implementations, the downlink signal is at least one of: a synchronization signal block (SSB), a system information block (SIB), a unicast signal specific to the first device, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal, an on-off keying (OOK) signal, or a chirp signal. Thus, the long timeout indication can be implemented for various downlink signals.

[0039] In some implementations, in the first transmission time block, the second device sends second indication information to the first device, where the second indication information indicates a time when the channel of the first communication system starts to be unavailable. In this way, the second device can indicate to the first device what time period the coexistence channel is occupied by the non-cellular transmission time block or the time when the channel is unavailable, thereby avoiding interference between different communication systems and enhancing the efficiency and robustness of coexistence systems.

[0040] In some implementations, the first indication information is included in DCI of a first format, and the second indication information is included in DCI of a second format; or the first indication information and the second indication information are included in DCI of the first format. In this way, the response speed can be improved, the delay can be further reduced, and the indication method is flexible.

[0041] In some implementations, the second indication information includes a second field, and the second field indicates a value of a second time interval between a time corresponding to the second indication information and a time corresponding to when the channel starts to be unavailable. In this way, the time corresponding to when the channel starts to be unavailable can be directly indicated, interference between different communication systems can be avoided, and the efficiency and robustness of coexistence systems can be enhanced.

[0042] In some implementations, the second indication information includes a second field, and the second field indicates an index of a second time interval in a time interval list, and the second time interval is a time interval between a time corresponding to the second indication information and a time corresponding to when the channel starts to be unavailable. In this way, it can be directly indicated how many slots are experienced between when the DCI is sent and when the channel is unavailable, the response speed can be improved, and the delay can be reduced.

[0043] In some implementations, the second indication information includes a second field, and the second field indicates that a single time interval in the time interval list is configured as a second time interval between a time corresponding to the second indication information and a time corresponding to when the channel starts to be unavailable. In this way, the response speed can be improved, the delay can be reduced, interference between different communication systems can be avoided, and the number of bits transmitted can be reduced.

[0044] In some implementations, the second indication information includes a second field, and the second field indicates a third time interval between the time corresponding to when the channel starts to be unavailable and a time corresponding to the downlink signal. In this way, it can be indirectly indicated how many slots are experienced between when the DCI is sent and when the channel is unavailable, and the length of time when the channel is unavailable can be indicated.

[0045] In some implementations, the second device sends, to the first device, a second configuration parameter, the second configuration parameter being used to determine that the second field is included in the DCI of the first format. In this way, it can be flexibly configured whether to enable the synchronization indication of the cellular system in the coexistence scenario, and the efficiency and robustness of the coexistence system are enhanced.

[0046] In some implementations, the second configuration parameter is sent via a radio resource control (RRC) message; and / or the second configuration parameter is configured specifically for the first device or specifically for a cell. In this way, it can be flexibly configured whether to enable the indication of the unavailable channel for the UE or for the cell.

[0047] In some implementations, the non-cellular communication system includes a Wi-Fi communication system. Thus, the indication of the downlink synchronization signal of the block for the UE to receive the cellular transmission in the coexistence scenario of the cellular system and the Wi-Fi communication system is implemented.

[0048] In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, and the advantages can be referred to the description of the first aspect or the second aspect, which will not be described herein. The communication apparatus has the function of implementing the behaviors in the method examples of the first aspect or the second aspect. The function can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. The above description of 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, i.e., the communication apparatus of the third aspect can refer to the communication apparatus itself, or a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) 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 a unit for executing the method of the first aspect or the second aspect or the implementation manners thereof.

[0049] In a fourth aspect, a device is provided, which includes a processor and a memory storing computer programs or instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to perform any method according to the first aspect or the second aspect and the implementation manners thereof.

[0050] In a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores computer programs or instructions, which, when executed by an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method performed by the device in the above aspects.

[0051] In a sixth aspect, a computer program (product) is provided, which includes computer programs or instructions, which, when executed by an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method performed by the device in the above aspects.

[0052] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a chip system, which comprises a processor for implementing the functions of the apparatus in the methods of the above aspects. In a possible design, the chip system further comprises a memory for storing computer programs or instructions and / or data. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can comprise a chip and other discrete devices.

[0053] In an eighth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a communication system, which comprises a first apparatus for performing the method of the first aspect or a second apparatus for performing the method of the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0054] FIG. 1A shows a schematic diagram of a communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0055] FIG. 1B shows a comparison between a normal 3GPP frame structure and a 3GPP frame structure in a coexistence scenario.

[0056] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a communication flow according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0057] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of time-frequency resources for synchronization indication of a cellular system in a coexistence scenario according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0058] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of implementation of synchronization indication of a cellular system in a coexistence scenario according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0059] FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a communication flow for synchronization indication of a cellular system in a coexistence scenario according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0060] FIG. 6 shows a design example of synchronization indication of a cellular system in a coexistence scenario according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0061] FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a MAC CE for configuring UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0062] FIG. 8A shows a schematic diagram of an indication channel unavailable indication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0063] FIG. 8B shows a schematic diagram of an indication channel unavailable indication according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0064] FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram of a communication flow for an indication channel unavailable indication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0065] FIG. 10 shows a design example of an indication channel unavailable indication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0066] FIG. 11 shows a design example of channel unavailability indication of some other embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0067] FIG. 12 shows a schematic flowchart implemented at a first device of some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0068] FIG. 13 shows a schematic flowchart implemented at a second device of some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0069] FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an apparatus that can be used to implement a device according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0070] FIG. 15 is a structural schematic diagram of an apparatus according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0071] FIG. 16 is a structural schematic diagram of an apparatus according to some other embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0072] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. Although 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 the embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure can be more thoroughly and completely understood. It is understood that the drawings of the present disclosure and the embodiments are for exemplary purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0073] In the description of embodiments of the present disclosure, the term "comprising" and its conjugations should be understood to encompass the meanings of "consisting of" and "consisting essentially of". The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on". The term "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc. can refer to different or identical objects. Other explicit and implicit definitions can also be included below.

[0074] 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 that is currently 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.

[0075] 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. A 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 downlink transmission from the network device 120 to the terminal device 110, for example, transmission of a downlink signal for downlink synchronization. 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.

[0076] 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).

[0077] 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.

[0078] 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.

[0079] 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 indoors or outdoors, 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 treatment, 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. Alternatively, 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. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the device for implementing the function of the terminal device can be the terminal device, or can be a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the function, such as 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 a chip and other discrete devices.

[0080] The access network device can be any device with wireless transceiver function and capable of communicating with the terminal device, for example, a radio access network (RAN) node that accesses the terminal device to the wireless network. Currently, some examples of RAN nodes include: macro base station, micro base station (also known as small station), relay station, access point, gNB, transmission reception point (TRP), evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), home base station (for example, home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), baseband unit (BBU), WiFi access point (AP), integrated access and backhaul (IAB), satellite, unmanned aerial vehicle, etc.

[0081] In addition, the network device such as the access network device can be connected to the core network (CN) device, and the core network device can be used to provide core network services for the access network device and the terminal device. The core network device can correspond to different devices under different systems. For example, in 3G, the core network device can correspond to the serving GPRS support node (SGSN) and / or the gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) of the general packet radio system (GPRS). In 4G, the core network device can correspond to the mobility management entity (MME) and / or the serving gateway (S-GW). In 5G, the core network device can correspond to the access and mobility management function (AMF), the session management function (SMF), or the user plane function (UPF).

[0082] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatus for implementing the function of the network device can be a network device, or an apparatus capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, such as 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 a chip and other discrete devices.

[0083] One uplink data transmission manner is dynamic grant (DG) 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 DCI issued by the base station through the downlink physical control channel (PDCCH). The DCI carries the uplink grant (UL grant), which can be used to authorize the terminal to send uplink data on the specified time-frequency resources using the specified parameters, such as the 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 buffer state, and facilitate the base station to perform uplink grant and resource scheduling according to the demand.

[0084] Among them, the terminal device can listen to the PDCCH according to the PDCCH configuration to obtain the DCI. The PDCCH configuration can include control resource set (CORESET) configuration, search space (search space) configuration, radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) configuration for scrambling / descrambling the PDCCH, signaling format (format) configuration, or other configurations for PDCCH detection.

[0085] The time-frequency resources used to transmit the DCI belong to the configured control resource set (CORESET), and the terminal device can detect the candidate time-frequency resource position in the CORESET to receive the DCI.

[0086] It can be understood that the uplink data transmission manner provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can also include data transmission in the random access (RA) process or grant-free (GF) based data transmission, without specific requirements.

[0087] 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 downlink data sent by the base station to the UE. The UE receives the downlink data from the network device according to the scheduling of the PDCCH.

[0088] 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.

[0089] 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.

[0090] In unlicensed spectrum, especially in the frequency band of 6425-7125 MHz, the coexistence strategy of cellular networks and WiFi 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., WiFi) 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 non-cellular networks (e.g., WiFi) not only can provide higher data transmission rates, but also can intelligently select 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.

[0091] 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 QoS of the cellular system, and the spectrum management server is mainly applied to the WiFi 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.

[0092] In the coexistence scenario, the time resources allocated to the cellular communication system by the spectrum management server are not continuous, and the UE needs to be instructed to receive the downlink synchronization signal from the cellular communication system during the transmission time block of the cellular communication system. 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 WiFi communication system, or it can be determined by the spectrum manager. The interval between two cellular services may be long, leaving a long time interval for WiFi communication, causing the UE to enter a sleep state or leave the coexistence frequency band of the cellular communication system and the WiFi communication system and return to the normal cellular communication system. The corresponding connection of the UE in the last transmission time block of the cellular communication system may change after switching to the next transmission time block, and the system information needs to be updated, so that the downlink synchronization is needed.

[0093] FIG. IB shows a comparison diagram of a common 3GPP frame structure and a 3GPP frame structure in a coexistence scenario. As shown in FIG. IB, when switching to a non-cellular transmission time block (e.g., a WiFi transmission time block, etc.), the UE does not occupy the coexistence channel. When switching back to a cellular transmission time block from a non-cellular transmission time block, the transmission between the network device in the cellular communication system and the UE needs to be synchronized again.

[0094] 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 recover the transmission. Using DRX (Discontinuous Reception) and Wake-Up Signal (Wakeup Signal), periodically receiving PDCCH, resulting in long latency. Periodically broadcast downlink signals (e.g., SSB) to maintain downlink synchronization, since the time-frequency resources are not continuous, such downlink signals cannot be periodically transmitted. In view of this, the embodiments of the present disclosure propose a synchronization scheme based on an ultra-long timeout indication for the data transmission between the UE and the gNB in the coexistence scenario, such as the coexistence scenario of cellular and WiFi, under the condition of limited time-frequency resources. This will be further introduced in the embodiments of FIGS. 2-16.

[0095] FIG. 2 shows a communication flow diagram of some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, flow 200 involves a first device 210 and a second device 220 in 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.

[0096] In the procedure 200, the second device 220 of the first communication system sends (202) the first 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 first device 210 receives (204) the first indication information 205 from the second device 220 in the first transmission time block. In some examples, the first indication information 205 indicates a time for the first device 210 to receive the downlink signal 215 or indicates a time for the second device 220 to send the downlink signal 215. The first indication information 205 can be referred to as an ultra-long synchronization indication in some examples. The second device 220 can schedule a transmission of a next transmission time block (a second transmission time block) in the first communication system by sending the ultra-long synchronization indication. 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. 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 (e.g., a cellular communication system) and the second communication system (e.g., a non-cellular communication system), the synchronization indication in the coexistence scenario has a longer time length than the synchronization indication in a non-coexistence scenario of the first communication system, and thus can be referred to as an ultra-long synchronization indication, or a synchronization indication of a cellular system in a coexistence scenario in some examples. There is no transmission time block of another communication system between two transmission time blocks of the first communication system in the non-coexistence scenario.

[0097] In some examples, the first indication information 205 is included in a downlink control information DCI of a first format. In some examples, the second device 220 sends a first configuration parameter to the first device 210, e.g., via a radio resource control RRC message. In some examples, the first configuration parameter can be a higher layer parameter UltraLongIntervalDLSyncDCI-2-a. Accordingly, at the side of the first device 210, the first device 210 receives the first configuration parameter, e.g., via the RRC message. Based on receiving the first configuration parameter from the second device, the first device 210 enables the reception of the DCI of the first format. Otherwise, based on not receiving the first configuration parameter from the second device, the first device 210 disables the reception of the DCI of the first format. For example, if the higher layer parameter UltraLongIntervalDLSyncDCI-2-a is configured, the UE enables the reception of DCI 2_a, otherwise disables the reception of DCI 2_a, i.e., the UE does not start the reception of DCI 2_a. In some examples, the first configuration parameter is configured specifically for the first device or specifically for a cell.

[0098] In some examples, the first indication information includes a first field, the first field indicating a value of a first time interval between a time instant corresponding to the first indication information and a time instant corresponding to the downlink signal. For example, the first field U-K is 20 frames, indicating that the downlink synchronization signal is received after 20 frames after the DCI. In some examples, the value of the first field or a mapping of the value indicates a number of time units included in the first time interval. For example, the first field is represented as U-K, and the first time interval GAP = 2^U-K indicates a value * 1 T_symbol / slot / frame. 2^n represents 2 raised to the power of n, where n is the value of U-K in this example. The ^ operator is the same below, and is not repeated here. In other examples, the first field includes a first part, a second part, and a third part; the first part indicates a first number of first time units included in the first time interval; the second part indicates a second number of second time units included in the first time interval; and the third part indicates a third number of third time units included in the first time interval. For example, the first field is a group of bits composed of the first part, the second part, and the third part, such as 10 01 110, which can indicate that the downlink synchronization signal is received after 6 frames, 1 slot, and 2 symbols. That is, the first time interval is a time length composed of 6 frames, 1 slot, and 2 symbols.

[0099] In some examples, the first indication information includes a first field, the first field indicating an index of the first time interval in a time interval list. For example, the time interval list is a configured UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List (abbreviated as U-K-List), such as {10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000}, and the first field can indicate the index of the time interval in it. In other examples, the first field indicates that a single time interval in the time interval list is configured as the first time interval. For example, the UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List is {50}, and the first field UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K is 1 bit, which can indicate that the single time interval 50 is configured as the first time interval. In other examples, the UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List is the index of 50, such as {10}, and the corresponding single time interval 50 is determined to be configured as the first time interval by the index 10. See the above, the first time interval is the time interval between the time instant corresponding to the first indication information and the time instant corresponding to the downlink signal.

[0100] In some examples, the time interval list includes a single time interval. For example, for the example where the first field indicates that the single time interval in the time interval list is configured as the first time interval, the time interval list can include a single time interval. In some examples, the time interval list includes multiple time intervals. In some examples, the multiple time intervals included in the time interval list can be referred to as a first plurality of time intervals, and the first plurality of time intervals respectively include different numbers of the same time unit. For example, one example of the time interval list, UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List, is {10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000}, where the unit can be one of symbol duration, slot length, or frame length, etc. In other examples, the multiple time intervals included in the time interval list can be referred to as a second plurality of time intervals, and the second plurality of time intervals are expressed in different time units. For example, one example of the time interval list, UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List, can take the form of enumeration to indicate in any different units, e.g., {10T_s, 20slots, 50slots, 100frames, 200frames,...}. In some examples, the time interval list includes a plurality of first values, and a plurality of second values obtained by mapping the plurality of first values represent the number of time units. For example, {10, 20, 50, 100,...} corresponds to {2^10, 2^20, 2^50, 2^100}, and the values after mapping represent symbol duration, slot length, or frame length, etc.

[0101] In some examples, the time interval list is a subset of a time interval set. The time interval set can be predefined, or configured via RRC message, or updated with a first periodicity. The time interval set is referred to as configured UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-State in some examples below. The time interval list can be updated with a second periodicity or aperiodically via RRC message or medium access control control element (MAC CE), and the second periodicity (short periodicity) is shorter than the first periodicity (long periodicity).

[0102] Based on the first indication information 205, the second device 220 transmits (206) a downlink signal 215 for downlink synchronization to the first device 210 in a second transmission time block of the first communication system. Correspondingly, the first device 210 receives the downlink signal 215 for downlink synchronization from the second device 220 in the second transmission time block of the first communication system based on the first indication information 205. As mentioned above, 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 Wi-Fi transmission time block (an example of at least one transmission time block of the second communication system) between the cellular transmission time block K (an example of the first transmission time block) and the cellular transmission time block K+1 (an example of the second transmission time block).

[0103] In some examples, the downlink signal is at least one of: a synchronization signal block SSB, a system information block SIB, a unicast signal specific to the first device, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM signal, an on-off keying OOK signal, or a chirp signal.

[0104] In some examples, the first indication information 205 can not include the time length, and a fixed time length is predefined by a standard. In such examples, the first indication information 205 can only indicate the action of the first device 210 to perform receiving the downlink synchronization signal 215.

[0105] In some examples, in the first transmission time block, the second device 220 transmits second indication information to the first device 210, where the second indication information indicates a time when the channel of the first communication system starts to be unavailable. Then, on the side of the first device 210, in the first transmission time block, the first device 210 receives the second indication information from the second device 220. In some examples, the second indication information and the first indication information 205 mentioned above can be transmitted or received in the same message. For example, the first indication information and the second indication information are both included in the DCI of the first format. In other examples, the second indication information and the first indication information 205 can be transmitted or received in different messages. For example, the first indication information is included in the DCI of the first format, and the second indication information is included in the DCI of the second format. In some examples, the second indication information can be referred to as an indication of channel unavailability, for example, the second device 220 can transmit the indication of channel unavailability to the first device 210 to indicate to the UE what time period is occupied by the non-cellular transmission time block for the coexistence channel, or the time when the channel is unavailable.

[0106] In some examples, after the time when the channel starts to be unavailable indicated by the second indication information, and before the time of receiving the downlink signal 215 indicated by the first indication information 205, the coexistence channel of the first communication system and the second communication system is avoided to be used or a sleep state is entered.

[0107] In some examples, the second indication information includes a second field. Specifically, in some examples, the second field indicates a value of a second time interval between the time instance corresponding to the second indication information and the time instance corresponding to the channel start unavailable. In some examples, the second time interval is denoted as CCU-Starttime. In other examples, the second field indicates an index of the second time interval in a time interval list. In yet other examples, the second field indicates a single time interval in the time interval list is configured as the second time interval between the time instance corresponding to the second indication information and the time instance corresponding to the channel start unavailable. The above-mentioned second time interval is the time interval between the time instance corresponding to the second indication information and the time instance corresponding to the channel start unavailable. In yet other examples, the second field indicates a third time interval between the time instance corresponding to the channel start unavailable and the time instance corresponding to the downlink signal. In some examples, the third time interval is denoted as CCU-offset.

[0108] In some examples, the second device 220 sends a second configuration parameter to the first device 210, the second configuration parameter being used to determine whether the second field is included in the DCI of the first format. At the side of the first device 210, based on receiving the second configuration parameter from the second device 220, it is determined that the second field is included in the DCI of the first format, otherwise, based on not receiving the second configuration parameter from the second device 220, it is determined that the second field is not included in the DCI of the first format. The second configuration parameter can be a higher layer parameter CoexistenceChannelUnavailableDCI-2-a. For example, if the higher layer parameter CoexistenceChannelUnavailableDCI-2-a is configured, the CoexistenceChannelUnavailable-StartTime (CCU-Starttime) field or the CoexistenceChannelUnavailable-Offset (CCU-offset) field is included in the DCI 2_a, otherwise, the above-mentioned fields are not included in the DCI 2_a. In some examples, the second configuration parameter is sent or received via a radio resource control (RRC) message, additionally or alternatively, the second configuration parameter is configured specifically for the first device or specifically for a cell.

[0109] 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 transmission of the next cellular transmission block by sending the long timeout synchronization indication. The specific implementation can be further referred to the introduction of FIG. 3 to FIG. 7 below.

[0110] FIG. 3 illustrates a time-frequency resource diagram of synchronization indication (or long timeout synchronization indication) by a cellular system in a coexistence scenario, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, a non-cellular transmission time block precedes and follows a cellular transmission time block. In some examples, the non-cellular transmission time block is, for example, a Wi-Fi transmission time block. With the long timeout synchronization indication (as shown in 301), the network can indicate to the UE a time slot (as shown in 302) in which the UE receives a downlink synchronization signal, such as an SSB, to receive system information.

[0111] FIG. 4 illustrates a diagram of implementing synchronization indication (or long timeout synchronization indication) by a cellular system in a coexistence scenario, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, when the UE receives a downlink synchronization signal (as shown in 402), the time of the downlink synchronization needs to be indicated, which is indicated to the UE by the long timeout synchronization indication (as shown in 401) sent by the network device (e.g., a base station, etc.) in the previous cellular time block. The downlink synchronization signal that is specifically sent can be a PSS, an SSS, or other broadcast signals, or a UE-specific unicast signal, an OFDM, an OOK, a chirp signal, etc., and embodiments of the present disclosure do not make limitations.

[0112] FIG. 5 illustrates a communication flow diagram of synchronization indication (or long timeout synchronization indication) by a cellular system in a coexistence scenario, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the UE 510 can be an example of the first device 210, and the BS 520 can be an example of the second device 220, which can be a gNB in some examples. At 502, the BS 520 indicates a time-frequency resource for acquiring a next transmission opportunity. At 504, cellular data transmission between the BS 520 and the UE 510 is performed in a cellular transmission time block K. The BS 520 sends (506) a long timeout synchronization indication 505 to the UE 510 in the cellular transmission time block K, specifically, DCI of the long timeout synchronization indication can be sent from a PDCCH in the cellular transmission time block K, to indicate to the UE 510 when the BS 520 sends a downlink synchronization signal 515. The UE 510 receives (508) the long timeout synchronization indication 505. During the non-cellular system (e.g., WIFI) transmission, the UE 510 can not use the coexistence channel or enter a sleep state. At the time corresponding to the indication of sending the downlink synchronization signal 515, the BS 520 sends (512) the downlink synchronization signal 515, such as an SSB, an SIB, a UE-specific unicast signal, an OFDM, an OOK, a chirp signal, etc. The UE 510 receives (514) the downlink synchronization signal 515.

[0113] Ultra-long synchronization indication is information that a base station (e.g., gNB) indicates to a terminal device (e.g., UE) about when to receive downlink synchronization. The design of the ultra-long synchronization indication of the embodiments of the present disclosure can adopt multiple ways. In some examples, the ultra-long synchronization indication can be multiplexed in the manner of the 3GPP system and carried by DCI, and the time-frequency resource thereof is defined by CORESET.

[0114] In some examples, the specific indication manner of the ultra-long synchronization indication can add an indicator of the ultra-long synchronization in the DCI 2_a (a new DCI format: DCI 2_a can be added).

[0115] In some examples, if the higher layer parameter (Higher layer parameter) UltraLongIntervalDLSyncDCI-2-a is configured, the UE enables the reception of DCI 2_a, otherwise disables the reception of DCI 2_a, that is, the UE does not start the reception of DCI 2_a. In some examples, the above parameter UltraLongIntervalDLSyncDCI-2-a can be configured by RRC, indicating whether to start the ultra-long synchronization indication, specifically, it can be UE-specific configuration, or it can be configured by cell.

[0116] In some examples, the DCI 2_a contains one field: UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K (short for U-K). Referring to the design example of synchronization indication (or ultra-long synchronization indication) in a coexistence scenario of the cellular system shown in FIG. 6, in FIG. 6, the base station can directly indicate to the terminal device a time interval (GAP) from the DCI sending (as shown in 601) to the downlink synchronization slot (as shown in 602), i.e., the GAP is directly determined by the value of UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K. In some examples, U-K is INTEGER(0..32) indicating U-K slots (similar to the time indication K0\K1\K2 in the DCI of some schemes). For example, U-K is 15, indicating that the downlink synchronization signal is received after 15 slots. In some examples, GAP = U-K indicated value * 1T_symbol / slot / frame, for example, U-K is 20 frames, indicating that the downlink synchronization signal is received after 20 frames. Where the symbol “*” represents multiplication. In some examples, GAP = 2^U-K indicated value * 1T_symbol / slot / frame. In some examples, different bits of U-K respectively indicate symbol / slot / frame, for example, U-K 10 01 110 indicates: the downlink synchronization signal is received after 6 frames, 1 slot, and 2 symbols.

[0117] In other examples, instead of directly indicating the aforementioned time interval (GAP), the duration set UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List (abbreviated as UK-List) can be configured via RRC. The UK in DCI can be used to indicate the index of the UK-List. In some examples, the duration set UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List can be indicated with symbols, slots, frames, etc., as the smallest unit, for example {10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000}, where the unit can be symbol duration, slot length, or frame length, etc. In some examples, the duration set UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List can be in the form of an enumeration, indicating any different units, for example {10T_s, 20slots, 50slots, 100frames, 200frames, ...}, where any different units of duration can be indicated. In some examples, such as C: UK-List, the index value or other mapped values ​​can be indicated. For example, {10,20,50,100,…} corresponds to {2^10,2^20,2^50,2^100}. The mapped values ​​represent the symbol duration, slot length, or frame length, etc.

[0118] In some examples, the indication space design of the time length set UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List can be in multiple ways. For example, UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-State can be configured first, which can be specified by a standard, or configured by RRC fixedly, or updated in a long period. UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List can be dynamically selected from the UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-State, and UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K (U-K) is used to indicate the value in UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List. UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List can be updated by RRC, or MAC CE in a periodic, semi-periodic, or aperiodic manner. Specifically, in some examples, UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List is selected from UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-State configured in RRC first. For example, UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-State is {5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, …, 100, …, 1000}, and UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List is {1, 2, 4, 10}, that is, the specific trigger time is {5, 10, 20, 50}. In another example, UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List is configured in MAC CE, and MAC CE can indicate which values in the RRC configured UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-State are selected. Referring to FIG. 7, in the MAC CE shown in FIG. 7, which values in UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-State are selected are indicated, and the number of bits of the MAC CE should be the same as the number of elements in the UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-State set. The base station sends UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K indication to the UE in DCI 2_a, and according to the value in UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List indicated by UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K, the time of sending the downlink synchronization signal after the DCI is sent can be calculated.The UE receives the downlink synchronization signal at a corresponding time according to an indication of the base station.

[0119] In some examples, a trigger mode can be employed to indicate the time for the UE to receive the downlink signal. For example, UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K is 1 bit, assuming a long period or fixed UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-State is {5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, …, 100, …, 1000}, and UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List is {10} corresponding to 50 slots, when UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K is 1, it indicates that the base station sends the downlink synchronization signal after 50 slots after the DCI is sent, and then the UE listens to the channel at this time to receive the system information. The advantage of this implementation is that after the dynamic configuration of UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K-List, a very short UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K can be used to quickly trigger the indication of the time to receive the downlink signal.

[0120] 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 also send an indication of unavailability of the channel to the first device 210 (such as a UE). The specific implementation can be further referred to the introduction of FIG. 8A to FIG. 11 below.

[0121] In some examples, the base station sends an indication of unavailability of the channel to the UE, which can be used to indicate to the UE that at what time period the coexistence channel is occupied by the non-cellular transmission time block or the channel is unavailable. FIG. 8A shows a schematic diagram of an indication of the channel unavailability indication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 8A, the base station sends the DCI of the channel unavailability (as shown by 801) from the PDCCH in the last cell transmission time block (i.e., cell transmission time block K) to indicate to the UE when the channel is unavailable. After the time indicated in the channel unavailability indication (as shown by 803), the UE does not use the coexistence channel or enters the dormant state. 802 also shows that the base station sends the ultra-long synchronization indication in the cell transmission time block K, and at the corresponding indicated time, the base station sends the downlink synchronization signal (as shown by 804), such as SSB, SIB, UE-specific unicast signal OFDM, OOK, chirp signal, etc., and accordingly, the UE receives the downlink synchronization signal.

[0122] FIG. 8B shows a diagram of an indication of channel unavailability according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, which is different from FIG. 8A in that in the example of FIG. 8B, there can be a guard period 805 between the block K of cellular transmission time and the block of non-cellular transmission time, which is a time interval during which neither the cellular communication system nor the Wi-Fi communication system is using.

[0123] It is additionally noted that in the examples shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B above, the start time of the channel unavailability is later than the start time of the block of non-cellular transmission time. In some other examples, the start time of the channel unavailability can be the same as the start time of the block of non-cellular transmission time.

[0124] The design of the indication of channel unavailability can be implemented by referring to the design of the indication of the super-long synchronization in the embodiments above, or by extending the DCI 2_a above. In some examples, a new DCI 2_b can be added, which contains a CoexistenceChannelUnavailable-StartTime field for indicating the time of channel unavailability. Specifically, the CoexistenceChannelUnavailable-StartTime (abbreviated as CCU-Starttime) indicates how many slots are experienced between the time when the DCI is sent by the PDCCH and the time when the channel is unavailable. The specific indication manner is similar to the DCI 2_a, and can be specifically referred to the flow of FIG. 9.

[0125] FIG. 9 illustrates a communication flow diagram for indicating channel unavailability according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9, UE 910 can be an example of first device 210, and BS 920 can be an example of second device 220, which can be a gNB in some examples. At 902, BS 920 indicates the time-frequency resources for acquiring the next transmission opportunity. At 904, cellular data transmission between BS 920 and UE 910 is performed in cellular transmission time block K. BS 920 transmits (906) channel unavailability indication 905 to UE 910 in cellular transmission time block K. UE 910 receives (908) channel unavailability indication 905. BS 920 can also transmit (912) long timeout synchronization indication 915 to UE 910 in cellular transmission time block K to indicate to UE 910 when BS 920 transmits downlink synchronization signal 925. UE 910 receives (914) long timeout synchronization indication 915. During non-cellular system (e.g., WIFI) transmission, UE 910 can not use the coexistence channel or enter a sleep state. At the time corresponding to the indicated transmission of downlink synchronization signal 925, BS 920 transmits (916) downlink synchronization signal 925. Accordingly, UE 910 receives (918) downlink synchronization signal 925. At 922, UE 910 can perform cellular data transmission with BS 920, e.g., transmit uplink data to BS 920, etc.

[0126] Unlike the implementation of adding DCI_2_b, in some other examples, the indication of channel unavailability can be implemented by extending DCI_2_a, as shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of the design of channel unavailability indication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In DCI 2_a in the above embodiment, a CoexistenceChannelUnavailable-Offset (abbreviated as CCU-offset) field can be added to indicate the time of channel unavailability. CoexistenceChannelUnavailable-Offset indicates how many slots are experienced from the start time of channel unavailability to the time when BS transmits downlink synchronization signal. As shown in FIG. 10, BS transmits long timeout synchronization indication to UE (as shown in 1001), and in the DCI_2_a for transmitting the long timeout synchronization indication, a field (e.g., CoexistenceChannelUnavailable-Offset field) is added to further indicate the start time of channel unavailability to UE (as shown in 1002). After the time corresponding to the indicated start time of channel unavailability, UE does not use the coexistence channel or enters a sleep state. At the time corresponding to the indicated reception of downlink synchronization signal in the long timeout synchronization indication (as shown in 1003), UE receives downlink synchronization signal.

[0127] FIG. 11 shows a design example of channel unavailability indication of some other embodiments of the present disclosure, in which CCU-Starttime, CCU-offset and UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K2 (short for U-K2) are shown. As shown in FIG. 11, CCU-Starttime + CCU-offset = the length of UltraLongIntervalDLSync-K2. The base station can send a DCI (as shown in 1101) indicating the start time of channel unavailability (as shown in 1103), and the DCI also indicates the time of sending downlink synchronization signal (as shown in 1102). The third time interval between the time corresponding to the start of channel unavailability and the time corresponding to the downlink signal corresponds to CCU-offset. The second time interval between the time corresponding to the channel unavailability indication and the time corresponding to the start of channel unavailability corresponds to CCU-Starttime.

[0128] In the example of indicating channel unavailability through DCI_2_a, an indicator indicating UE channel unavailability can be added in DCI 2_a. If the Higher layer parameter CoexistenceChannelUnavailableDCI-2-a is configured, the CoexistenceChannelUnavailable-StartTime field or the CoexistenceChannelUnavailable-Offset field is contained in DCI 2_a, otherwise the above-mentioned fields are not contained in DCI 2_a. In some examples, CoexistenceChannelUnavailableDCI-2-a can be configured by RRC, indicating whether to enable the indication of “coexistence channel unavailability”, which can be UE-specific configuration or cell-specific configuration.

[0129] In the example of containing the CoexistenceChannelUnavailable-StartTime field in DCI 2_a, the BS directly indicates the length of CCU-Starttime, and the specific indication method can refer to the implementation of the ultra-long synchronization indication. For example, the length of CCU-Starttime is directly indicated through the field.

[0130] For the example of DCI 2_a containing CoexistenceChannelUnavailable-Offset field, the BS indicates the difference between CCU-Starttime and U-K2, which is CCU-offset. U-K2 indicates the time interval from the DCI sending to the downlink synchronization slot (see GAP in FIG. 6). The UE can calculate the CCU-Starttime based on CCU-offset and U-K2. A new CCU-offset field can be added to correspond to INTEGER(0..N). For example, assuming U-K2 indicates 100 slots and CCU-offset indicates 75 slots, the CCU-Starttime can be obtained as 25 slots. After receiving the DCI, the UE will not use the coexistence channel for 25 slots and will continue to use the coexistence channel for 75 slots, and will re-use the coexistence channel after 100 slots to receive the downlink synchronization signal. In this example, CCU-offset actually indicates the length of time when the channel is unavailable.

[0131] The embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to data transmission of the UE and the base station in the case of limited time-frequency resources in coexistence, and propose a synchronization method based on timeout indication. Through the timeout synchronization indication, the UE is indicated the time slot of the downlink synchronization signal, and the UE receives the downlink synchronization signal and system information such as SSB in the time slot. In the scheme of some embodiments of the present disclosure, the DCI for sending the timeout synchronization indication indicates to the UE when the base station sends the downlink synchronization signal. The mechanism of the above timeout synchronization indication can enhance the stability of the connection between the UE and the gNB, enable the UE to respond faster, further reduce the delay, avoid interference with WIFI before the time slot of the timeout synchronization indication, enhance the efficiency and robustness of the coexistence system. In some embodiments, the base station can also send DCI indicating that the channel is unavailable, to indicate to the UE when the channel is unavailable. By indicating the channel unavailable time and the downlink synchronization time of the UE, the UE can more flexibly use the coexistence channel, avoid WIFI interference while reducing the corresponding delay, and save energy. The scheme of some embodiments of the present disclosure can be used in cellular standards, WiFi standards, such as related products of cellular, WiFi, such as mobile phones, tablets / watches / laptops accessing cellular / WiFi, base stations / wireless routers and other devices. It can also be used in coexistence scenarios between cellular, Wi-Fi, satellite, fixed connection networks and other network technologies.

[0132] FIG. 12 illustrates a schematic flowchart implemented at a first device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 12, flow 1200 can be performed by a first device, such as terminal device 110 or a chip, module, or modular component in terminal device 110, etc. At block 1210, the first device receives first indication information from a second device of a first communication system in a first transmission time block of the first communication system. At block 1220, the first device receives, based on the first indication information, a downlink signal for downlink synchronization from the second 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 comprising a cellular communication system, and the second communication system comprising a non-cellular communication system. In some embodiments, flow 1200 can further include other operations performed at a terminal device or UE as described in embodiments of the present disclosure in connection with FIGS. 2-11.

[0133] FIG. 13 illustrates a schematic flowchart implemented at a second device according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 13, flow 1300 can be performed by a second device, such as network device 120 or a chip, module, or modular component in network device 120, etc. At block 1310, the second device sends first indication information to a first device of a first communication system in a first transmission time block of the first communication system. At block 1320, the second device sends, based on the first indication information, a downlink signal for downlink synchronization to the first device in a second transmission time block of the first communication system. 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. In some embodiments, flow 1300 can further include other operations performed at a network device 120 or base station or BS as described in embodiments of the present disclosure in connection with FIGS. 2-13.

[0134] Figure 14 is a block diagram that can be used to implement a device 1400 in accordance with some embodiments of the present application. In some embodiments, device 1400 can be an element of a communication network infrastructure, such as a base station (e.g., a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a next generation NodeB (sometimes referred to as a gNodeB or gNB), a home subscriber server (HSS), a gateway (GW) such as a packet gateway (PGW) or a serving gateway (SGW), or various other nodes or functions within a core network (CN) or public land mobile network (PLMN). In other embodiments, device 1400 can be a device that connects to network infrastructure through a wireless interface, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, or other such device that can be classified as user equipment (UE). In some embodiments, device 1400 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 1400 can be a road side unit (RSU), a vehicle UE (V-UE), a pedestrian UE (P-UE), or an infrastructure UE (I-UE). In some scenarios, device 1400 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 1400 can contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0135] Device 1400 generally includes a processor 1402, such as a central processing unit (CPU) and, in some embodiments, specialized processors such as a graphics processing unit (GPU) or other such processors, a memory 1404, a network interface 1406, and a bus 1408 to connect the components of device 1400. Optionally, device 1400 can also include components such as mass storage devices 1410, video adapters 1412, and I / O interfaces 1416 (shown in dashed lines).

[0136] The memory 1404 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 1404 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 1408 can be one or more of multiple bus architectures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, or a video bus. In some examples, the memory 1404 and the processor 1402 can be discrete devices. In other examples, the memory 1404 can be integrated with the processor 1402 as one device.

[0137] The device 1400 can also include one or more network interfaces 1406, which can include at least one of a wired network interface and a wireless network interface. As shown in FIG. 14, the network interface 1406 can include a wired network interface for connecting to a network 1422, and can also include a wireless access network interface 1420 for connecting to other devices through a wireless link. When the device 1400 is a network infrastructure element, the wireless access network interface 1420 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 1400 is infrastructure at the wireless edge of a network, both wired and wireless network interfaces can be included. When the device 1400 is a wirelessly connected device, such as a user equipment, the wireless access network interface 1420 can be present and can be supplemented by other wireless interfaces, such as a WiFi network interface. The network interface 1406 allows the device 1400 to communicate with remote entities such as those connected to the network 1422.

[0138] The mass storage 1410 can include any type of non-transitory storage device configured for storing data, programs, and other information and making the data, programs, and other information accessible via the bus 1408. The mass storage 1410 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 1410 can be remote from the device 1400 and can be accessed through the use of a network interface such as the interface 1406. In the illustrated embodiment, the mass storage 1410 is distinct from the memory 1404 that includes it, and the mass storage 1410 can generally perform storage tasks compatible with higher latencies, but can generally provide less or no volatility. In some embodiments, the mass storage 1410 can be integrated with the heterogeneous memory 1404.

[0139] Optional video adapter 1412 and I / O interface 1416 (shown in dashed line) provide an interface to external input and output devices of device 1400. Examples of input and output devices include a display 1414 coupled to video adapter 1412 and an I / O device 1418, such as a keyboard, a printer, and a scanner, coupled to I / O interface 1416. Other devices can be coupled to device 1400 and additional or fewer interface cards can be utilized. For example, a serial interface such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) (not shown) can be used to provide interface to external devices. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, I / O interface 1416 and video adapter 1412 can be virtualized and provided over network interface 1406 in embodiments where device 1400 is part of a data center.

[0140] FIG. 15 is a structural schematic diagram of an apparatus 1500 according to some embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 15, the apparatus 1500 includes a first receiving unit 1502, and a second receiving unit 1504. The apparatus 1500 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 1200. Optionally, the physical form of the apparatus 1500 can be a communication device, for example, a UE. Alternatively, the apparatus 1500 can be other apparatuses capable of implementing the functions of the communication device, for example, a processor or a chip inside the communication device, etc. Specifically, the apparatus 1500 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.

[0141] In some embodiments, the first receiving unit 1502 can be configured to receive, from a second device of a first communication system, first indication information in a first transmission time block of the first communication system. The second receiving unit 1504 can be configured to receive, from the second device, a downlink signal for downlink synchronization in a second transmission time block of the first communication system based on the first indication information. 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.

[0142] In some other embodiments, the apparatus 1500 can include various other means or modules for performing the various operations or functions of the corresponding method embodiments described above. Specific details can be obtained by referring to the above description of the corresponding method embodiments, which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0143] FIG. 16 is a structural schematic diagram of an apparatus 1600 according to some embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 16, the apparatus 1600 includes a first sending unit 1602, and a second sending unit 1604. The apparatus 1600 can be applied to the communication system as shown in FIG. 1A, and can implement the method provided by the above embodiments, such as the method 1300. Optionally, the physical form of the apparatus 1600 can be a communication device, such as a network device. Alternatively, the apparatus 1600 can be other apparatus capable of implementing the functions of the communication device, such as a processor or a chip inside the communication device, etc. Specifically, the apparatus 1600 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.

[0144] In some embodiments, the first sending unit 1602 can be configured to send, to a first device of a first communication system, first indication information in a first transmission time block of the first communication system. The second sending unit 1604 can be configured to send, to the first device, a downlink signal for downlink synchronization in a second transmission time block of the first communication system based on the first indication information. 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.

[0145] In some embodiments, the apparatus 1600 can include various other means or modules for performing the various operations or functions of the corresponding method embodiments described above. Specific details can be obtained by referring to the above description of the corresponding method embodiments, which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0146] 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 function 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 realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software function unit.

[0147] When the integrated unit is realized 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 this 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 execute all or part of the steps of the method of each embodiment of the present application. The storage medium described above includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various storage program codes.

[0148] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program, when the computer program is run on a computer, so that the computer executes any of the methods provided in the above embodiments.

[0149] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a computer, so that the computer executes 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.

[0150] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application further provide a chip, the chip is used to read a computer program stored in a memory, and realizes any of the methods provided in the above embodiments.

[0151] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application provide a chip system, which comprises a processor for supporting a computer device to implement the functions related to the communication devices in the above embodiments. In a possible design, the chip system further comprises a memory for storing 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.

[0152] Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Therefore, the present application can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. In addition, the present application can take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROMs, optical storage media, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0153] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the method, device (system), and computer program product according to the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and the combination of flows and / or blocks in the flowcharts 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, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus generate means for implementing the functions specified in one or more flows in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0154] These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to work in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a manufactured product including instruction means, which implements the functions specified in one or more flows in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0155] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, so that a series of operation steps are performed on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to generate a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flows in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising: receiving, by a first device of a first communication system, first indication information from a second device of the first communication system in a first transmission time block of the first communication system; and receiving, based on the first indication information, a downlink signal for downlink synchronization from the second 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 comprises a cellular communication system, and the second communication system comprises a non-cellular communication system. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication information indicates a time of receiving the downlink signal. 3.The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first indication information is comprised in a downlink control information (DCI) of a first format. 4.The method of claim 3, further comprising: enabling reception of the DCI of the first format based on receiving a first configuration parameter from the second device; or disabling reception of the DCI of the first format based on not receiving the first configuration parameter from the second device. 5.The method of claim 4, wherein at least one of: the first configuration parameter is received via a radio resource control (RRC) message; or the first configuration parameter is configured specific to the first device or specific to a cell. 6.The method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein: the first indication information comprises a first field indicating a value of a first time interval between a time corresponding to the first indication information and a time corresponding to the downlink signal. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein: the value of the first field or a mapped value of the value indicates a number of time units included in the first time interval. 8.The method of claim 6, wherein: the first field comprises a first part, a second part, and a third part; the first part indicates a first number of first time units included in the first time interval; the second part indicates a second number of second time units included in the first time interval; and the third part indicates a third number of third time units included in the first time interval. 9.The method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein: the first indication information comprises a first field indicating an index of a first time interval in a list of time intervals or indicating a single time interval in a list of time intervals configured as the first time interval, the first time interval being a time interval between a time corresponding to the first indication information and a time corresponding to the downlink signal. 10.The method of claim 9, 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 represented in different time units; or a third plurality of time intervals, the third plurality of time intervals respectively comprising different numbers of different time units. ​ a plurality of first values, the plurality of second values being obtained by mapping transforming the plurality of first values, the plurality of second values representing a number of time units.

11. The method of claim 9 or 10, wherein: the list of time intervals is a subset of a set of time intervals; the set of time intervals is predefined, configured via a RRC message, or updated with a first periodicity; and the list of time intervals is updated with a second periodicity or aperiodically via a RRC message or a medium access control control element (MAC CE), wherein the second periodicity is shorter than the first periodicity.

12. The method of any one of claims 1-11, wherein the downlink signal is at least one of: a synchronization signal block (SSB), a system information block (SIB), a unicast signal specific to the first device, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal, an on-off keying (OOK) signal, or a chirp signal.

13. The method of any one of claims 1-12, further comprising: receiving, from the second device, second indication information in the first transmission time block, wherein the second indication information indicates a time at which a channel of the first communication system starts to be unavailable.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: avoiding using a coexistence channel of the first communication system and the second communication system or entering a sleep state after the time at which the channel of the first communication system starts to be unavailable indicated by the second indication information and before the time at which the downlink signal is received indicated by the first indication information.

15. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein: the first indication information is included in a DCI of a first format and the second indication information is included in a DCI of a second format; or the first indication information and the second indication information are included in the DCI of the first format.

16. The method of any one of claims 13-15, wherein: the second indication information includes a second field indicating a value of a second time interval between a time corresponding to the second indication information and a time corresponding to when the channel starts to be unavailable.

17. The method of any one of claims 15 or 16, further comprising: determining that the second field is included in the DCI of the first format based on receiving a second configuration parameter from the second device; and determining that the second field is not included in the DCI of the first format based on not receiving the second configuration parameter from the second device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein at least one of: the second configuration parameter is received via a radio resource control (RRC) message; or the second configuration parameter is configured specific to the first device or specific to a cell.

19. The method of any one of claims 1-18, wherein the non-cellular communication system comprises a Wi-Fi communication system.

20. A communication method, comprising: a second device of a first communication system sending, to a first device of the first communication system, first indication information in a first transmission time block of the first communication system; and ​ ​ ​ transmit, to the first device, a downlink signal for downlink synchronization in a second transmission time block of the first communication system based on the first 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.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the first indication information indicates a time at which the downlink signal is transmitted.

22. The method of claim 20 or 21, wherein the first indication information is comprised in a downlink control information (DCI) of a first format.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising: transmitting, to the first device, a first configuration parameter for enabling transmission of the DCI of the first format.

24. The method of any of claims 20-23, wherein: the first indication information comprises a first field indicating a value of a first time interval between a time corresponding to the first indication information and a time corresponding to the downlink signal.

25. The method of any of claims 20-23, wherein: the first indication information comprises a first field indicating an index of a first time interval in a list of time intervals or 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 first indication information and a time corresponding to the downlink signal.

26. The method of any of claims 20-25, further comprising: transmitting, to the first device, second indication information in the first transmission time block, wherein the second indication information indicates a time at which a channel of the first communication system becomes unavailable.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein: the first indication information is comprised in a DCI of a first format and the second indication information is comprised in a DCI of a second format; or the first indication information and the second indication information are comprised in the DCI of the first format.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising: transmitting, to the first device, a second configuration parameter for determining that the second field is comprised in the DCI of the first format.

29. The method of any of claims 20-28, wherein the non-cellular communication system comprises a Wi-Fi communication system.

30. A communications device comprising: a processor configured to perform the method of any of claims 1-19 or 20-29.

31. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause the method of any of claims 1-19 or 20-29 to be performed.

32. A computer program product comprising instructions for causing the method of any of claims 1-19 or 20-29 to be implemented.

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