Communication method and related device

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a related device. In the method, a second device receives, from a first device, downlink control information (DCI) used to indicate whether the second device sends a first signal to a third device, wherein the first signal is a carrier signal or a data signal, and is used by the third device to report data. Alternatively, it is understood that the DCI is used to trigger whether the second device sends the first signal to the third device. On the basis of the solution, the second device may determine, by means of the DCI sent by the first device, whether to send the first signal to the third device, wherein the first signal is used by the third device to report data to the first device, so that uplink scheduling of the third device is implemented by means of the DCI and the first signal.

Description

A communication method and related equipment

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411053239.5, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on July 31, 2024, entitled "A Communication Method and Related Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

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

[0003] With the widespread adoption of machine-type communication (MTC) and Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems, an increasing number of IoT devices have been deployed in people's lives. To further popularize IoT, it is necessary to use smaller batteries or even eliminate battery limitations altogether, or to design a method to reduce the power consumption of radio transceivers, thereby overcoming the limitations of cost, size, and power consumption in IoT devices.

[0004] Currently, low-power environment IoT (A-IoT) devices are mainly divided into active and passive types based on whether they can actively generate or transmit carrier signals. Active A-IoT devices can use the energy stored in their own energy storage modules to transmit wireless communication signals, while passive A-IoT devices mainly rely on obtaining energy from external radio frequency signals and communicating through backscattered radio frequency signals, ultimately achieving ultra-low power consumption or even zero power consumption.

[0005] Therefore, how to perform uplink scheduling and control of A-IoT devices is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and related equipment. The second device can determine whether to send a first signal to the third device by the downlink control information sent by the first device. The first signal is used by the third device to report data to the first device, thereby realizing the uplink scheduling of the third device through the downlink control information and the first signal.

[0007] This application provides a communication method in its first aspect. This method is executed by a second device, or by a component of the second device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second device. In this first aspect and its possible implementations, the method is described executed by a second device. In this method, the second device receives downlink control information (DCI) from a first device. The DCI indicates whether the second device should send a first signal to a third device. The first signal is either a carrier signal or a data signal, and the first signal is used by the third device to report data. Alternatively, the DCI can be understood as triggering whether the second device should send a first signal to the third device.

[0008] The first device may include core network equipment and / or access network equipment, the second device may be a terminal device, and the third device may be a low-power A-IoT device in an A-IoT scenario. The second device, acting as an intermediate device, can realize uplink scheduling of low-power A-IoT devices.

[0009] Based on the above scheme, the second device can determine whether to send a first signal to the third device by the downlink control information sent by the first device, and the first signal is used by the third device to report data to the first device, thereby realizing the uplink scheduling of the third device through the downlink control information and the first signal.

[0010] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the first aspect, before receiving downlink control information (DCI) from the first device, the second device sends capability information to the first device. The capability information describes the ability to generate carrier signals and / or the ability to act as an intermediate device for being scheduled by the first device to transmit a first signal. The capability information is related to the DCI.

[0011] In this possible implementation, the second device can report capability information so that the first device can understand the capabilities of each second device, thereby improving the flexibility of each scheduling scenario.

[0012] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the first aspect, the DCI described above is also used to indicate at least one of the following: the format of the DCI, the time-frequency resources used by the carrier signal, the power of the carrier signal, the time-frequency resources of the scheduling request SR, the time-frequency resources of the physical uplink shared channel PUSCH, and the power of the signal carried on the PUSCH; the time-frequency resources of the SR are different from the time-frequency resources of the PUSCH.

[0013] In this possible implementation, the second device can use DCI to clearly identify the resources and other requirements used by the first signal, thereby correctly cooperating with the first device to achieve the uplink scheduling process.

[0014] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the first aspect, the new data indicator (NDI) field in the aforementioned DCI is used to indicate whether the scheduled data is a new transmission or a retransmission, and the NDI field is also used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0015] In this possible implementation, by reusing the NDI field in the existing DCI, it is not only compatible with the existing DCI scheduling, but also enables uplink scheduling of low-power A-IoT devices in the A-IoT scenario.

[0016] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the first aspect, the second device receives configuration information from the first device, the configuration information being used to indicate the index value of the modulation and coding scheme (MCS), the index value and the NDI field jointly indicating whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0017] In this possible implementation, by reusing the MCS index and NDI field in the existing DCI, it is not only compatible with the existing DCI scheduling, but also enables uplink scheduling of low-power A-IoT devices in A-IoT scenarios.

[0018] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the first aspect, the aforementioned DCI includes an NDI field and a redundancy version field, wherein the NDI field and the redundancy version field jointly indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0019] In this possible implementation, by reusing the MCS index and redundant version field in the existing DCI, it is not only compatible with the existing DCI scheduling, but also enables uplink scheduling of low-power A-IoT devices in A-IoT scenarios.

[0020] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the first aspect, the downlink feedback indicator (DFI) field in the aforementioned DCI is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0021] In this possible implementation, by reusing the DFI field indication in the existing DCI, it is not only compatible with the existing DCI scheduling, but also enables uplink scheduling of low-power A-IoT devices in the A-IoT scenario.

[0022] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the first aspect, the carrier indication field in the aforementioned DCI is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device, and the carrier indication field takes effect after the second device switches back from the secondary cell to the primary cell.

[0023] In this possible implementation, by reusing the carrier indication field in the existing DCI, it is not only compatible with the existing DCI scheduling, but also enables uplink scheduling of low-power A-IoT devices in the A-IoT scenario.

[0024] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the first aspect, the DCI described above is scrambled using a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), the value of which ranges from FFF3 to FFFA.

[0025] In this possible implementation, by limiting the range of RNTI values ​​used in the scrambling DCI, the second device can be better positioned to determine whether the DCI is for existing DCI functions or for uplink scheduling of low-power A-IoT devices.

[0026] Alternatively, in one possible implementation of the first aspect, the aforementioned DCI is a unicast signal.

[0027] In this possible implementation, by limiting DCI to a unicast signal, the power consumption of non-intermediate devices can be reduced.

[0028] A second aspect of this application provides a communication method, which is executed by a first device, or by a component (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system) of the first device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first device. In this second aspect and its possible implementations, the method is described as being executed by a first device. In this method, the first device sends downlink control information (DCI) to a second device. The DCI indicates whether to send a first signal to a third device. The first signal is either a carrier signal or a data signal, and the first signal is used by the third device to report data.

[0029] Based on the above scheme, the first device can achieve uplink scheduling through downlink control information. Specifically, the downlink control information instructs the second device whether to send a first signal to the third device, and the first signal is used by the third device to report data to the first device, thereby achieving uplink scheduling of the third device through the downlink control information and the first signal.

[0030] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the second aspect, before the first device sends downlink control information (DCI) to the second device, the first device may also receive capability information sent by the second device. The capability information describes the carrier signal generation capability and / or the capability as an intermediate device, which is used to be scheduled by the first device to send the first signal. The capability information is related to the DCI.

[0031] In this possible implementation, by receiving the capability information of the second device, the first device can clearly understand the capabilities of each second device, thereby improving the flexibility of each scheduling scenario.

[0032] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the second aspect, the DCI described above is also used to indicate at least one of the following: the format of the DCI, the time-frequency resources used by the carrier signal, the power of the carrier signal, the time-frequency resources of the scheduling request SR, the time-frequency resources of the physical uplink shared channel PUSCH, and the power of the signal carried on the PUSCH; the time-frequency resources of the SR are different from the time-frequency resources of the PUSCH.

[0033] In this possible implementation, the first device can use DCI to enable the second device to clearly understand the resources and other requirements used by the first signal, thereby correctly implementing the uplink scheduling process.

[0034] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the second aspect, the New Transmission Indicator (NDI) field in the aforementioned DCI is used to indicate whether the scheduled data is a new transmission or a retransmission, and the NDI field is also used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0035] In this possible implementation, by reusing the NDI field in the existing DCI, it is not only compatible with the existing DCI scheduling, but also enables uplink scheduling of low-power A-IoT devices in the A-IoT scenario.

[0036] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the second aspect, the first device further sends configuration information to the second device. The configuration information is used to indicate the index value of the modulation and coding strategy (MCS). The index value, together with the NDI field, indicates whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0037] In this possible implementation, by reusing the MCS index and NDI field in the existing DCI, it is not only compatible with the existing DCI scheduling, but also enables uplink scheduling of low-power A-IoT devices in A-IoT scenarios.

[0038] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the second aspect, the aforementioned DCI includes an NDI field and a redundancy version field, wherein the NDI field and the redundancy version field jointly indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0039] In this possible implementation, by reusing the MCS index and redundant version field in the existing DCI, it is not only compatible with the existing DCI scheduling, but also enables uplink scheduling of low-power A-IoT devices in A-IoT scenarios.

[0040] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the second aspect, the downlink feedback indication (DFI) field in the aforementioned DCI is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0041] In this possible implementation, by reusing the DFI field indication in the existing DCI, it is not only compatible with the existing DCI scheduling, but also enables uplink scheduling of low-power A-IoT devices in the A-IoT scenario.

[0042] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the second aspect, the carrier indication field in the aforementioned DCI is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device, and the carrier indication field takes effect after the second device switches back from the secondary cell to the primary cell.

[0043] In this possible implementation, by reusing the carrier indication field in the existing DCI, it is not only compatible with the existing DCI scheduling, but also enables uplink scheduling of low-power A-IoT devices in the A-IoT scenario.

[0044] Alternatively, in one possible implementation of the second aspect, the DCI described above is scrambled using a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI), where the value of RNTI ranges from FFF3 to FFFA.

[0045] In this possible implementation, by limiting the range of RNTI values ​​used in the scrambling DCI, the second device can be better positioned to determine whether the DCI is for existing DCI functions or for uplink scheduling of low-power A-IoT devices.

[0046] Alternatively, in one possible implementation of the second aspect, the aforementioned DCI is a unicast signal.

[0047] In this possible implementation, by limiting DCI to a unicast signal, the power consumption of non-intermediate devices can be reduced.

[0048] A third aspect of this application provides a communication device, which is a second device, or a component of a second device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second device. The second device may refer to a terminal device, and the communication device includes a transceiver unit.

[0049] The transceiver unit is used to receive downlink control information (DCI) from the first device. The DCI is used to instruct the second device whether to send a first signal to the third device. The first signal is either a carrier signal or a data signal. The first signal is used by the third device to report data.

[0050] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the third aspect, the aforementioned transceiver unit is further configured to send capability information to the first device. The capability information describes the carrier signal generation capability and / or the capability as an intermediate device, which is used to be scheduled by the first device to transmit the first signal. The capability information is related to DCI.

[0051] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the third aspect, the aforementioned DCI is further used to indicate at least one of the following: the format of the DCI, the time-frequency resources used by the carrier signal, the power of the carrier signal, the time-frequency resources of the scheduling request SR, the time-frequency resources of the physical uplink shared channel PUSCH, and the power of the signal carried on the PUSCH; the time-frequency resources of the SR are different from the time-frequency resources of the PUSCH.

[0052] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the third aspect, the New Transmission Indicator (NDI) field in the aforementioned DCI is used to indicate whether the scheduled data is a new transmission or a retransmission, and the NDI field is also used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0053] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the third aspect, the aforementioned transceiver unit is further configured to receive configuration information from the first device, the configuration information being used to indicate the index value of the modulation and coding strategy (MCS), and the index value, together with the NDI field, indicating whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0054] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the third aspect, the aforementioned DCI includes an NDI field and a redundancy version field, wherein the NDI field and the redundancy version field jointly indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0055] Alternatively, in one possible implementation of the third aspect, the downlink feedback indication (DFI) field in the aforementioned DCI is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0056] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the third aspect, the carrier indication field in the aforementioned DCI is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device, and the carrier indication field takes effect after the second device switches back from the secondary cell to the primary cell.

[0057] Alternatively, in one possible implementation of the third aspect, the DCI mentioned above is scrambled using a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI), where the value of RNTI ranges from FFF3 to FFFA.

[0058] Alternatively, in one possible implementation of the third aspect, the aforementioned DCI is a unicast signal.

[0059] A fourth aspect of this application provides a communication device, which is a first device, or a component of the first device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first device. The first device may include core network equipment and / or access network equipment, and the communication device includes a transceiver unit.

[0060] The transceiver unit is used to send downlink control information (DCI) to the second device. The DCI is used to indicate whether to send a first signal to the third device. The first signal is either a carrier signal or a data signal. The first signal is used by the third device to report data.

[0061] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit described above is further configured to receive capability information sent by the second device. The capability information describes the carrier signal generation capability and / or the capability as an intermediate device, wherein the intermediate device is used to be scheduled by the first device to send the first signal, and the capability information is related to DCI.

[0062] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the aforementioned DCI is also used to indicate at least one of the following: the format of the DCI, the time-frequency resources used by the carrier signal, the power of the carrier signal, the time-frequency resources of the scheduling request SR, the time-frequency resources of the physical uplink shared channel PUSCH, and the power of the signal carried on the PUSCH; the time-frequency resources of the SR are different from the time-frequency resources of the PUSCH.

[0063] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the New Transmission Indicator (NDI) field in the aforementioned DCI is used to indicate whether the scheduled data is a new transmission or a retransmission, and the NDI field is also used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0064] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the aforementioned transceiver unit is further configured to send configuration information to the second device. The configuration information is used to indicate the index value of the modulation and coding strategy (MCS). The index value, together with the NDI field, indicates whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0065] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the aforementioned DCI includes an NDI field and a redundancy version field, wherein the NDI field and the redundancy version field jointly indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0066] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the downlink feedback indication (DFI) field in the aforementioned DCI is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0067] Optionally, in one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the carrier indication field in the aforementioned DCI is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device, and the carrier indication field takes effect after the second device switches back from the secondary cell to the primary cell.

[0068] Alternatively, in one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the DCI described above is scrambled using a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI), where the value of RNTI ranges from FFF3 to FFFA.

[0069] Alternatively, in one possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the aforementioned DCI is a unicast signal.

[0070] The fifth aspect of this application provides a communication device including at least one processor coupled to at least one memory; the at least one memory is used to store a program or instructions; the at least one processor is used to execute the program or instructions to enable the device to implement any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0071] The sixth aspect of this application provides a communication device including at least one processor coupled to at least one memory; the at least one memory is used to store a program or instructions; the at least one processor is used to execute the program or instructions to enable the device to implement any possible implementation of the second aspect described above.

[0072] The seventh aspect of this application provides a communication device including at least one logic circuit and at least one input / output interface; the logic circuit is used to perform the method as described in any of the possible implementations of the first aspect above.

[0073] The eighth aspect of this application provides a communication device including at least one logic circuit and at least one input / output interface; the logic circuit is used to perform a method as described in any of the possible implementations of the second aspect above.

[0074] The ninth aspect of this application provides a communication system, which includes a communication device that is an implementation of any of the possible embodiments of the fifth aspect and any of the possible embodiments of the sixth aspect, or includes a communication device that is an implementation of any of the possible embodiments of the seventh aspect and any of the possible embodiments of the eighth aspect.

[0075] The tenth aspect of this application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing one or more computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, perform the method as described in any possible implementation of either the first or second aspect described above.

[0076] The eleventh aspect of this application provides a computer program product (or computer program) that, when executed by a processor, performs the method described in any possible implementation of either the first or second aspect described above.

[0077] The twelfth aspect of this application provides a chip or chip system including at least one processor for supporting a communication device in implementing the method described in any possible implementation of the first or second aspect described above.

[0078] In one possible design, the chip system may further include at least one memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete components. Optionally, the chip system may also include interface circuitry that provides program instructions and / or data to at least one processor.

[0079] The technical effects of any of the design methods in aspects three through twelfth can be found in the technical effects of different design methods in aspects one or two above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0080] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the communication system provided in this application;

[0081] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating the communication method provided in this application;

[0082] Figures 3 to 6 are several schematic diagrams of the communication equipment provided in this application. Detailed Implementation

[0083] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, a brief introduction of the relevant terms in this application is given below.

[0084] 1. Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT)

[0085] A-IoT primarily focuses on low-power / ultra-low-power research for IoT. Currently, A-IoT scenarios mainly include active A-IoT devices and passive A-IoT devices.

[0086] Passive A-IoT devices, also known as passive tags, semi-passive tags, or passive terminals, cannot actively generate or transmit carrier signals. In other words, passive A-IoT devices primarily rely on obtaining energy from external radio frequency signals and communicate through backscattered radio frequency signals, ultimately achieving ultra-low power consumption or even zero power consumption.

[0087] Active A-IoT devices can actively generate or transmit carrier signals. In other words, active A-IoT devices can be called active tags or active terminals, and can use the energy stored in their own energy storage modules to complete the transmission of wireless communication signals.

[0088] Optionally, passive A-IoT devices may include the following first type of A-IoT devices and second type of A-IoT devices.

[0089] The first type of A-IoT device has at least one of the following characteristics: it does not support uplink and downlink amplification, and the uplink is transmitted in a backscattering manner based on an externally provided carrier.

[0090] The second type of A-IoT device has at least one of the following characteristics: it supports uplink or downlink amplification, and the uplink is transmitted in a backscattering manner based on an externally provided carrier.

[0091] Active A-IoT devices can also be called third-class A-IoT devices. Third-class A-IoT devices have at least one of the following characteristics: support for uplink or downlink amplification, and uplink transmission is based on an internally generated carrier.

[0092] For example, taking a passive A-IoT device as a passive tag, the energy for the passive tag's operation is provided by the reader. For instance, part of the energy of the continuous wave (CW) transmitted by the reader is used for internal processing such as encoding / decoding and modulation / demodulation of the passive tag. Furthermore, this continuous wave also serves as a carrier wave to carry uplink information from the passive tag. Taking a semi-passive A-IoT device as an example, it may include a battery internally. Internal processing such as encoding / decoding and modulation / demodulation can be powered by the battery, but it still requires the reader's continuous wave as a carrier wave. Unless otherwise specified, the tags in the following embodiments of this application refer to passive tags or semi-active tags.

[0093] The readers / writers mentioned above are devices with read and write capabilities; for example, they can be devices that read or write tag information. Alternatively, a reader / writer can be understood as a device that communicates with tags. Readers / writers can perform operations such as selecting, inventorying, and accessing tags. The selection operation is used to select one or a group of tags for inventorying and accessing. The inventory operation can be understood as the process of the reader / writer identifying tags. The access operation can be understood as the process of the reader / writer interacting with tags. Tags need to be identified by the reader / writer before they can be accessed.

[0094] For ease of description, in the following embodiments of this application, the second device refers to a reader / writer, and the third device refers to a passive tag or a semi-active tag.

[0095] 2. Configuration and Pre-configuration

[0096] This application uses both configuration and pre-configuration. Configuration refers to the network device / server sending configuration information or parameter values ​​to the terminal via messages or signaling, so that the terminal can determine communication parameters or resources for transmission based on these values ​​or information. Pre-configuration is similar to configuration; it can be parameter information or values ​​pre-negotiated between the network device / server and the terminal device, parameter information or values ​​specified by standard protocols for use by the base station / network device or terminal device, or parameter information or values ​​pre-stored in the base station / server or terminal device. This application does not limit this.

[0097] Furthermore, these values ​​and parameters can be changed or updated.

[0098] 3. In this application, "for indicating" can include both direct and indirect indication. When describing an indication information as indicating A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0099] In this application, the information indicated by the instruction information is called the information to be instructed. In specific implementation, there are many ways to instruct the information to be instructed. For example, it can be implemented through direct instruction, such as through the information to be instructed itself or its index. It can also be implemented indirectly by instructing other information, where there is a relationship between the other information and the information to be instructed. Alternatively, only a part of the information to be instructed can be indicated, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, the instruction of specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-defined) arrangement of various pieces of information, thereby reducing instruction overhead to some extent.

[0100] The information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information messages, and the sending period and / or timing of these sub-information messages can be the same or different. This application does not limit the specific sending method. The sending period and / or timing of these sub-information messages can be predefined, for example, according to a protocol, or configured by the transmitting device by sending configuration information to the receiving device. This configuration information can include, for example, but not limited to, one or a combination of at least two of RRC signaling, medium access control (MAC) layer signaling, and physical layer signaling. MAC layer signaling includes, for example, MAC CE; physical layer signaling includes, for example, downlink control information (DCI).

[0101] 4. In the embodiments of this application, "sending" and "receiving" indicate the direction of signal transmission. In this application, entity A sends information to entity B, either directly or indirectly through other entities. Similarly, entity B receives information from entity A, either directly or indirectly through other entities. Entities A and B can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules within RAN nodes or terminals. Information sending and receiving can be information interaction between RAN nodes and terminals, such as information interaction between a base station and a terminal; information sending and receiving can also be information interaction between two RAN nodes, such as information interaction between a CU and a DU; information sending and receiving can also be information interaction between different modules within a device, such as information interaction between a terminal chip and other modules of the terminal, or information interaction between a base station chip and other modules in the base station. "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of a chip interface, such as a baseband chip outputting information to a radio frequency chip, and "receiving" can be understood as the "input" of a chip interface.

[0102] 5. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of this application can be used interchangeably. "At least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, "at least one of A, B and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. And, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, sequence, priority or importance of multiple objects.

[0103] This application can be applied to long term evolution (LTE) systems, new radio (NR) systems, or new radio vehicle-to-everything (NR V2X) systems; it can also be applied to systems with hybrid LTE and 5G networks; or device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, or drone communication systems; or communication systems that support multiple wireless technologies, such as those supporting LTE and NR technologies; or non-terrestrial communication systems, such as satellite communication systems and high-altitude communication platforms. Alternatively, this communication system can also be applied to narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced data rate for GSM evolution (EDGE), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), code division multiple access 2000 (CDMA2000), time division-synchronization code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA), IoT, A-IoT, etc.

[0104] Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system used in the embodiments of this application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a first device 101, a second device 102, and a third device 103.

[0105] The first device 101 can communicate with the third device 103 through the second device 102.

[0106] The first device 101 can also be referred to as a network device, which may specifically include: core network device and / or access network device.

[0107] When the first device 101 is a core network device, the first device 101 includes at least one of the following: in a 4th generation (4G) network, a mobility management entity (MME), a home subscriber server (HSS), a serving gateway (S-GW), a policy and charging rules function (PCRF), a public data network gateway (PDN gateway, P-GW), etc.; in a 5G network, network elements such as an AMF, a user plane function (UPF), or a session management function (SMF). Furthermore, this core network device may also include other core network devices in 5G networks, next-generation networks of 5G networks, and future networks.

[0108] When the first device 101 is an access network device, the first device 101 can specifically be a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects terminal devices to a wireless network, also known as a base station. Currently, some examples of RAN devices include: next-generation base stations, transmission reception points (TRPs), evolved Node Bs (eNBs), radio network controllers (RNCs), Node Bs (NBs), base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), home base stations (e.g., home evolved Node Bs, or home Node Bs (HNBs)), base band units (BBUs), or wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access points (APs), etc. Additionally, in a network architecture, network devices can include centralized unit (CU) nodes, distributed unit (DU) nodes, or RAN devices that include both CU and DU nodes.

[0109] In some implementations, the first device 101 may also include satellites, aircraft, drones, and ground station equipment connected to satellites, aircraft, drones, etc.

[0110] Specifically, the first device 101 can send configuration information (e.g., carried in scheduling messages and / or indication messages) to the second device 102 / third device 103. The second device 102 / third device 103 further performs network configuration based on this configuration information, thereby aligning the network configurations of the second device 102 / third device 103 with those of the terminal device. Alternatively, the network configurations of the first device 101 and the second device 102 / third device 103 can be aligned through preset network configurations in both devices. In particular, "alignment" means that when there are interactive messages between the first device 101 and the second device 102 / third device 103, their understanding of the carrier frequency for transmitting and receiving interactive messages, the determination of the interactive message type, the meaning of the field information carried in the interactive message, or other configurations of the interactive message is consistent.

[0111] In this application embodiment, the device used to implement the function of the first device 101 can be a network device or a device capable of supporting the first device 101 in implementing the function, such as a chip system. This device can be installed in the first device 101. In the technical solutions provided in this application embodiment, the first device is used as an example to describe the technical solutions provided in this application embodiment. Furthermore, in other possible cases, the first device 101 can be other devices that provide wireless communication functions for terminal devices. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or specific device form adopted by the first device 101. For ease of description, the embodiments of this application are not limited.

[0112] The second device 102 refers to an intermediate device capable of enabling wireless communication between the first device 101 and the third device 103. The second device 102 may include at least one of the following: an NR legacy UE, a relay node for A-IoT, or a CW node, etc.

[0113] Optionally, the third device 103 refers to a device with read or storage capabilities, but without the ability to generate carrier signals (e.g., a passive A-IoT device). For example, the first device 101 and / or the second device 102 can be referred to as a reader / writer, and the third device 103 can be referred to as a tag. The reader / writer can perform operations such as select, inventory, and access on the tags. The select operation is used to select one or a group of tags for inventory and access. The inventory operation can be understood as the process of the reader / writer identifying the tag. The access operation can be understood as the process of the reader / writer interacting with the tag. The tag needs to be identified by the reader / writer before it can be accessed. The second device 102 can be used for at least one of the following: generating a CW signal, sending an R2D signal to the third device 103, and receiving a D2R signal from the third device 103.

[0114] The third device 103 may include at least one of the following: a user equipment for machine-type communications. The terminal device may be an NR terminal device or a terminal device supporting a wake-up receiver. The terminal device may include two receivers: a main receiver and a wake-up receiver (WUR). The main receiver may be turned off or set to deep sleep. When the main receiver is on, it can be used for data transmission and reception. The wake-up receiver (WUR) can also be understood as a secondary receiver, a low-power wake-up receiver, or an ultra-low-power wake-up receiver. The secondary receiver is capable of ultra-low-power listening for wake-up signals. Upon receiving a wake-up signal, the secondary receiver can trigger the main receiver to wake up. Furthermore, the third device 103 may be a low-power terminal device, containing only a low-power receiver or supporting only low-power transmission and / or reception functions.

[0115] It is understood that Figure 1 is merely an example with only one device. In practical applications, this communication system can include a larger number of first devices, second devices, and third devices. For example, one first device can communicate with one or more second devices. One second device can communicate with one or more third devices. One first device can communicate with multiple third devices through one or more second devices.

[0116] In this communication system, the first device communicates with the third device through the second device, or in other words, the second device assists the third device in communicating with the first device. The second device can also be called an intermediate device (e.g., an intermediate UE). The functions of the second device include, but are not limited to: transmitting data signals, receiving data signals, and transmitting carrier signals for the third device to use.

[0117] In the aforementioned communication system, how to perform uplink scheduling and control of A-IoT devices is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved.

[0118] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this application provides a communication method and related equipment. A second device can determine whether to send a first signal to a third device based on the downlink control information (DCI) sent by the first device. The first signal is used by the third device to report data to the first device, thereby enabling uplink scheduling of the third device through the DCI and the first signal. Alternatively, this application primarily targets uplink scheduling control of A-IoT devices, specifically using various methods indicated by the DCI to enable the second device, acting as an intermediary, to cooperate with the first device to achieve uplink scheduling of the third device.

[0119] Please refer to Figure 2, a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in this embodiment of the application. This method may include steps 201 to 205. Steps 201 to 205 can be executed by a communication device, or by some components of the communication device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the communication device. The following description uses execution by a communication device as an example. The processing performed by a single execution entity in steps 201 to 205 can also be divided into multiple execution entities, which can be logically and / or physically separated. For example, when the communication device is a first device, such as an access network device, the processing performed by the communication device can be divided into execution by at least one of CU, DU, and RU. As another example, when the first device is a core network device, the processing performed by the communication device can be divided into execution by at least one of AMF, UPF, and SMF.

[0120] For ease of description, steps 201 to 205 will be explained in detail below, taking the example that the first device is an access network device, the second device is a terminal device, and the third device is a passive A-IoT device.

[0121] Step 201: The second device sends capability information to the first device. This step is optional.

[0122] Optionally, the second device may send capability information to the first device. Correspondingly, the first device receives the capability information sent by the second device. This capability information describes the carrier signal generation capability and / or the capability as an intermediate device, which is a device that cooperates with the first device to implement uplink scheduling / downlink transmission for the third device.

[0123] The descriptions of the first device, the second device, and the third device can be found in the foregoing related terms and the descriptions in the embodiment shown in Figure 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0124] Furthermore, the capability information may specifically indicate at least one of the following: whether it supports generating carrier signals, whether it can act as an intermediate device, the capability level for generating carrier signals, the capability level for acting as an intermediate device, etc.

[0125] For example, taking capability information as an indication of whether carrier signal generation is supported, the capability information can be indicated using 1 bit or more bits. For instance, the capability information can be indicated using "0" or "1", where "0" indicates that carrier signal generation is not supported, and "1" indicates that carrier signal generation is supported. Of course, it is also possible that "0" indicates that carrier signal generation is supported, and "1" indicates that carrier signal generation is not supported; the specific meaning is not limited here.

[0126] Step 202: The first device sends downlink control information to the second device.

[0127] The first device can send downlink control information (DCI) to the second device. Correspondingly, the second device receives the DCI sent by the first device. This DCI indicates whether the second device should send a first signal to the third device. The first signal can be a carrier signal or a data signal, and it is used by the third device to report data.

[0128] Step 202 can also be understood as the first device implementing uplink scheduling for the third device by sending a DCI to the second device. That is, the DCI is used to indicate whether uplink scheduling should be performed in the A-IoT system (this description will be used as an example thereafter), or it can be understood as the DCI being used for uplink authorization of the relay node, or as the DCI configuring instructions for the relay node (intermediate node), etc.

[0129] Optionally, the DCI is also used to indicate at least one of the following: the format of the DCI, the time-frequency resources used by the carrier signal, the power of the carrier signal, the time-frequency resources of the scheduling request (SR), the time-frequency resources of the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and the power of the signal carried on the PUSCH.

[0130] Furthermore, DCI can also be a unicast signal, which can reduce the power consumption of other non-intermediate devices.

[0131] For example, the time-frequency resources of the SR are different from those of the PUSCH. Alternatively, the time-domain resources of the SR can be understood as independent time-domain resources. For instance, after receiving data from the third device, the second device can proactively send an SR to the first device to request time-domain resources.

[0132] In this application embodiment, there are several ways in which the DCI can be used to indicate whether the second device has sent a first signal to the third device, which are described below:

[0133] The first method indicates whether uplink scheduling should be performed in the A-IoT system by using the format of DCI or the value range of radio network temporary identifier (RNTI).

[0134] In this case, a new range of values ​​for the RNTI used in the scrambling DCI is added. Alternatively, this can be understood as the DCI using a new format to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger a first signal from a second device to a third device. For example, the new DCI format indicates whether the DCI is used to trigger a CW transmission to a passive A-IoT device.

[0135] The determination of whether to schedule uplink can be based on the new DCI format indicated by the indicator field, or on the new value range of RNTI, etc., and the specific method is not limited here.

[0136] Optionally, limiting the range of RNTI values ​​used in the scrambling DCI allows the second device to determine whether the DCI is used for uplink scheduling of the third device based on this range. That is, the second device can determine whether the DCI is a regular DCI or a DCI used to trigger the transmission of a first signal to the third device based on the RNTI value range.

[0137] For example, the value range of RNTI is FFF3 to FFFA. That is, FFF3 to FFFA correspond to a new DCI format. For example, the DCI formats are DCI_format0_2, DCI_format0_3, DCI_format0_A, DCI_format0_B, etc.

[0138] Furthermore, after receiving the DCI, the second device can determine whether to send the first signal to the third device based on the new DCI format indicated in the DCI. For example, when the second device scrambles the DCI, it can determine whether to send the first signal to the third device based on the range of values ​​for the RNTI used to scramble the DCI.

[0139] For example, when the DCI scrambling value is FFF3-FFFA, the current DCI is used for scheduling control of the intermediate UE; when the DCI scrambling value is not FFF3-FFFA, it indicates that the current DCI is not used for scheduling control of the intermediate UE.

[0140] The second method involves using a new data indicator (NDI) to indicate whether uplink scheduling should be performed in the A-IoT system.

[0141] In this case, the DCI includes at least the NDI field. This NDI field is used not only to indicate whether the scheduled data is a new transmission or a retransmission, but also to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. (Or, to understand it as, the NDI field is also used to indicate whether the second device sends a first signal to the third device).

[0142] Optionally, the NDI field can use one bit or more bits to indicate whether the scheduled data is a new transmission or a retransmission. For example, the NDI field can use one bit to indicate this: "0" indicates a retransmission, and "1" indicates a new transmission. Of course, it is also possible to use "0" to indicate a new transmission and "1" to indicate a retransmission; the specific choice is not limited here.

[0143] In this application embodiment, there are multiple ways to instruct the second device whether to send a first signal to the third device via NDI, which are described below:

[0144] 1. NDI is jointly indicated with modulation and coding scheme (MCS).

[0145] In this scenario, the first device sends configuration information to the second device. This configuration information indicates the index value of the MCS. The index value, together with the NDI field, indicates whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. Alternatively, it can be understood that the index value and the NDI field together indicate whether the second device sends a first signal to the third device.

[0146] In one possible implementation, when the NDI field indicates that the current uplink data is a new transmission and the MSC index value is X, the DCI is indicated to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device, where X is an integer greater than or equal to 0. Conversely, when the NDI field indicates that the current uplink data is a new transmission and the MSC index value is not X, the DCI is indicated not to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. Similarly, when the NDI field indicates that the current uplink data is a retransmission and the MSC index value is X, the DCI is indicated not to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. Finally, when the NDI field indicates that the current uplink data is a retransmission and the MSC index value is not X, the DCI is indicated not to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0147] In another possible implementation, when the NDI field indicates that the current uplink data is a retransmission and the MSC index value is X, the DCI is indicated to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. Conversely, when the NDI field indicates that the current uplink data is a retransmission and the MSC index value is not X, the DCI is indicated not to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. Similarly, when the NDI field indicates that the current uplink data is a new transmission and the MSC index value is X, the DCI is indicated not to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. Finally, when the NDI field indicates that the current uplink data is a new transmission and the MSC index value is not X, the DCI is indicated not to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0148] For example, assuming the DCI format is DCI_format0_1, when the NDI field indicates that the current uplink data is a new transmission, and the MSC index value is 28, 29, 30, or 31, it indicates that the current DCI_format0_1 is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. It is understood that the DCI format and MSC index value here are merely examples; in practical applications, other formats and values ​​are possible, and this is not limited here.

[0149] 2. NDI and redundant version (RV) joint instruction.

[0150] In this case, the DCI includes an NDI field and an RV field, where the RV field indicates the redundancy version number. The NDI and RV fields together indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. Alternatively, it can be understood that the NDI and RV fields together indicate whether the second device sends a first signal to the third device.

[0151] In one possible implementation, when the NDI field indicates that the current uplink data is a new transmission and RV is not 0, the DCI indicates that it is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. Conversely, when the NDI field indicates that the current uplink data is a new transmission and RV is 0, the DCI indicates that it is not used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. Similarly, when the NDI field indicates that the current uplink data is a retransmission and RV is not 0, the DCI indicates that it is not used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. Finally, when the NDI field indicates that the current uplink data is a retransmission and RV is 0, the DCI indicates that it is not used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0152] Of course, whether RV is 0 is just an example. Similar to the index value of MSC, the above methods can also be determined based on the specific value of RV. For example, when the NDI field indicates that the current uplink data is a new transmission and RV is a preset version number, it indicates that the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send the first signal to the third device.

[0153] For example, assuming the DCI format is DCI_format0_1, when the NDI field indicates that the current uplink data is a new transmission and RV is not 0, the current DCI_format0_1 is used to trigger the second device to send the first signal to the third device. It is understood that the DCI format and RV value here are just examples; in practical applications, other formats and values ​​are possible, but this is not limited here.

[0154] It is understandable that the above-mentioned combined indicators are just examples. In practical applications, NDI can also be combined with other fields to indicate whether to perform online scheduling. Specific details are not limited here.

[0155] The third method involves using a downlink feedback indicator (DFI) to indicate whether uplink scheduling should be performed in the A-IoT system.

[0156] In this scenario, the Downlink Feedback Indicator (DFI) field in the DCI specifically indicates whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. Alternatively, the DFI field can be understood as indicating whether the second device sends a first signal to the third device.

[0157] Alternatively, similar to the above, it can be determined whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send the first signal to the third device based on the specific bits indicated by the DFI field. Alternatively, it can be determined whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send the first signal to the third device based on the scrambling field of the DFI field.

[0158] For example, assuming the DCI format is DCI_format0_1, and the DCI is scrambled using Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) / Semi-Persistent Channel State Information Network Temporary Identifier (Semi-Persistent-CSI-RNTI, SP-CSI-RNTI) / MCS-C-RNTI, the DFI field is also used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0159] For example, a DFI field of "0" indicates not only the activation or release of a Type 2 Configured Grant (CG) transmission, but also that the second device should not send a first signal to the third device. Conversely, a DFI field of "1" indicates not only CG-DFI, but also that the second device should not send a first signal to the third device. Alternatively, a DFI field of "0" can indicate both activation or release of a Type 2 CG transmission and the sending of a first signal from the second device to the third device, while a DFI field of "1" indicates both CG-DFI and the sending of a first signal from the second device to the third device.

[0160] Furthermore, after receiving the DCI, the second device identifies the DCI format through RNTI blind detection and further determines whether the DCI is used to indicate and trigger the second device to send the first signal to the third device based on the DFI indicator bit.

[0161] The fourth method is to indicate whether uplink scheduling is being performed in the A-IoT system through the carrier indicator field.

[0162] In this scenario, the carrier indication field in the DCI specifically indicates whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. The carrier indication field takes effect after the second device switches back to the primary cell from the secondary cell. Alternatively, it can be understood as indicating whether the carrier indication field indicates whether the second device sends a first signal to the third device.

[0163] For example, when the DCI is scrambled by CS-RNTI / C-RNTI / SP-CSI-RNTI / MCS-C-RNTI (at this time, the DCI is used for HARQ-ACK feedback / dynamic scheduling of PUSCH transmission for CG-PUSCH), when the second device is configured with the signaling CrossCarrierSchedulingConfig, the carrier indicator field is 3 bits. This field can be used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0164] It is understandable that the above-mentioned methods of instruction are just examples. In practical applications, there may be other methods, which are not limited here.

[0165] Step 203: The second device sends a first signal to the third device. This step is optional.

[0166] Optionally, in step 202, if the DCI is used to trigger whether to send a first signal to the third device, and the DCI is used to indicate that a first signal should be sent to the third device, then the second device sends a first signal to the third device. Accordingly, the third device receives the first signal sent by the second device.

[0167] The specific indication method of the second device DCI and the judgment process of the second device can be referred to the description in step 202 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0168] Optionally, the second device sends a first signal to the third device according to the specific indication in the DCI. For example, if the DCI is used to indicate the time-frequency resources used by the carrier signal, the second device transmits the carrier signal on the corresponding time-domain resources. Or, if the DCI is used to indicate the power of the carrier signal, the carrier signal sent by the second device to the third device meets the requirements of the DCI indication, and so on. Specific details are not limited here.

[0169] Step 204: The third device sends a second signal to the second device. This step is optional.

[0170] Optionally, after receiving the first signal from the second device, the third device sends a second signal to the second device. Correspondingly, the second device receives the second signal sent by the first device. This second signal is related to the first signal.

[0171] There are several possibilities regarding the relationship between the second signal and the first signal. For example, if the first signal is a carrier signal, the second signal can be understood as the data to be reported by the third device modulating the first signal to obtain the second signal. Another example is if the first signal is a data signal, the second signal can be understood as a feedback signal responding to the data signal.

[0172] Step 205: The second device sends a third signal to the first device. This step is optional.

[0173] Optionally, after receiving the second signal from the third device, the second device sends a third signal to the first device. Correspondingly, the first device receives the third signal sent by the second device. This third signal is related to the second signal.

[0174] There are several scenarios where the third signal is related to the second signal. For example, the third signal may be the second signal, meaning the second device acts as an intermediate relay device. Another example is that the third signal is obtained by processing the second signal; this processing may include demodulating the signal, filtering data, and adding data, etc., but the specifics are not limited here.

[0175] It should be noted that the communication method provided in this application embodiment has multiple variations. For example, the communication method provided in this application embodiment includes step 202. Another example is that the communication method provided in this application embodiment includes steps 201 and 202. Yet another example is that the communication method provided in this application embodiment includes steps 202 and 203. Yet another example is that the communication method provided in this application embodiment includes steps 201 to 203. Yet another example is that the communication method provided in this application embodiment includes steps 202 to 204. Yet another example is that the communication method provided in this application embodiment includes steps 202 to 205. Yet another example is that the communication method provided in this application embodiment includes steps 201 to 204. Yet another example is that the communication method provided in this application embodiment includes steps 201 to 205.

[0176] Based on the above scheme, the second device can determine whether to send a first signal to the third device through the downlink control information (DCI) sent by the first device. The first signal is used by the third device to report data to the first device, thereby achieving uplink scheduling of the third device through the DCI and the first signal. Alternatively, this application mainly targets uplink scheduling control of A-IoT devices, specifically using various DCI indication methods to enable the second device, as an intermediate device, to cooperate with the first device to achieve uplink scheduling of the third device. One approach is to define a new DCI format. Another approach is to combine existing fields for joint indication.

[0177] The communication method in the embodiments of this application has been described above. The communication device in the embodiments of this application is described below. Please refer to Figure 3, which shows an embodiment of the communication device 300 in this application. This communication device 300 can implement the function of the second device in the above method embodiments, and therefore can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, the communication device 300 can be a communication device, or it can be an integrated circuit or component inside the communication device, such as a chip. The communication device 300 includes: a transceiver unit 301 and a processing unit 302. Alternatively, the communication device 300 includes: a transceiver unit 301.

[0178] In one possible implementation, the communication device 300 is the second device in the embodiments shown in Figures 1 and 2 above, and in this case, the functions of each unit are as follows:

[0179] The transceiver unit 301 is used to receive downlink control information (DCI) from the first device. The DCI is used to indicate whether the second device sends a first signal to the third device. The first signal is either a carrier signal or a data signal. The first signal is used by the third device to report data.

[0180] Optionally, the transceiver unit 301 described above is further configured to send capability information to the first device. The capability information describes the ability to generate carrier signals and / or the ability to act as an intermediate device. The intermediate device is used to be scheduled by the first device to transmit the first signal. The capability information is related to DCI.

[0181] Optionally, the aforementioned DCI is also used to indicate at least one of the following: the format of the DCI, the time-frequency resources used by the carrier signal, the power of the carrier signal, the time-frequency resources of the scheduling request SR, the time-frequency resources of the physical uplink shared channel PUSCH, and the power of the signal carried on the PUSCH; the time-frequency resources of the SR are different from the time-frequency resources of the PUSCH.

[0182] Optionally, the New Transmission Indication (NDI) field in the aforementioned DCI is used to indicate whether the scheduled data is a new transmission or a retransmission, and the NDI field is also used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0183] Optionally, the transceiver unit 301 described above is further configured to receive configuration information from the first device. The configuration information is used to indicate the index value of the modulation and coding strategy (MCS). The index value and the NDI field jointly indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0184] Optionally, the aforementioned DCI includes an NDI field and a redundancy version field, wherein the NDI field and the redundancy version field jointly indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0185] Optionally, the downlink feedback indication (DFI) field in the aforementioned DCI is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0186] Optionally, the carrier indication field in the aforementioned DCI is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. The carrier indication field takes effect after the second device switches back from the secondary cell to the primary cell.

[0187] Optionally, the DCI mentioned above uses the Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) for scrambling, and the value of RNTI ranges from FFF3 to FFFA.

[0188] Optionally, the DCI mentioned above is a unicast signal.

[0189] In this embodiment, the operations performed by each unit in the communication device are similar to those described in the second device in the embodiments shown in Figures 1 and 2 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0190] In this embodiment, the transceiver unit 301 can determine whether to send a first signal to the third device based on the downlink control information (DCI) sent by the first device. The first signal is used by the third device to report data to the first device, thereby achieving uplink scheduling of the third device through the DCI and the first signal. Alternatively, this application mainly targets uplink scheduling control of A-IoT devices, specifically using various methods of DCI indication to enable the second device, acting as an intermediate device, to cooperate with the first device to achieve uplink scheduling of the third device. One approach is to define a new DCI format. Another approach is to combine existing fields for joint indication.

[0191] In another possible implementation, the communication device 300 is the first device in the embodiments shown in Figures 1 and 2 above, in which case the functions of each unit are as follows:

[0192] The transceiver unit 301 is used to send downlink control information (DCI) to the second device. The DCI is used to indicate whether to send a first signal to the third device. The first signal is either a carrier signal or a data signal. The first signal is used by the third device to report data.

[0193] Optionally, the transceiver unit 301 described above is further configured to receive capability information sent by the second device. The capability information describes the ability to generate carrier signals and / or the ability to act as an intermediate device. The intermediate device is used to be scheduled by the first device to send the first signal. The capability information is related to DCI.

[0194] Optionally, the aforementioned DCI is also used to indicate at least one of the following: the format of the DCI, the time-frequency resources used by the carrier signal, the power of the carrier signal, the time-frequency resources of the scheduling request SR, the time-frequency resources of the physical uplink shared channel PUSCH, and the power of the signal carried on the PUSCH; the time-frequency resources of the SR are different from the time-frequency resources of the PUSCH.

[0195] Optionally, the New Transmission Indication (NDI) field in the aforementioned DCI is used to indicate whether the scheduled data is a new transmission or a retransmission, and the NDI field is also used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0196] Optionally, the transceiver unit 301 described above is further configured to send configuration information to the second device. The configuration information is used to indicate the index value of the modulation and coding strategy (MCS). The index value and the NDI field jointly indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0197] Optionally, the aforementioned DCI includes an NDI field and a redundancy version field, wherein the NDI field and the redundancy version field jointly indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0198] Optionally, the downlink feedback indication (DFI) field in the aforementioned DCI is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device.

[0199] Optionally, the carrier indication field in the aforementioned DCI is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send a first signal to the third device. The carrier indication field takes effect after the second device switches back from the secondary cell to the primary cell.

[0200] Optionally, the DCI mentioned above is scrambled using a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI), with the RNTI value ranging from FFF3 to FFFA.

[0201] Optionally, the DCI mentioned above is a unicast signal.

[0202] In this embodiment, the operations performed by each unit in the communication device are similar to those described in the second device in the embodiments shown in Figures 1 and 2 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0203] In this embodiment, the transceiver unit 301 can send downlink control information (DCI) to the second device, allowing the second device to determine whether to send a first signal to the third device based on the DCI. The first signal is used by the third device to report data to the first device, thereby achieving uplink scheduling of the third device through the DCI and the first signal. Alternatively, this application mainly targets uplink scheduling control of A-IoT devices, specifically using various DCI indication methods to enable the second device, as an intermediate device, to cooperate with the first device to achieve uplink scheduling of the third device. One approach is to define a new DCI format. Another approach is to combine existing fields for joint indication.

[0204] Please refer to Figure 4, which is another schematic structural diagram of the communication device 400 provided in this application. The communication device 400 includes logic circuit 401 and input / output interface 402. The communication device 400 can be a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0205] The transceiver unit 301 shown in Figure 3 can be a communication interface, which can be the input / output interface 402 in Figure 4, and the input / output interface 402 can include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the communication interface can also be a transceiver circuit, which can include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit. The processing unit 302 shown in Figure 3 can be the logic circuit 401 in Figure 4.

[0206] The logic circuit 401 and the input / output interface 402 can also perform other steps performed by the first or second device in any embodiment and achieve corresponding beneficial effects, which will not be elaborated here.

[0207] Optionally, the logic circuit 401 can be a processing device, the functions of which can be partially or entirely implemented in software.

[0208] Optionally, the processing apparatus may include a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor reads and executes the computer program stored in the memory to perform the corresponding processing and / or steps in any of the method embodiments.

[0209] Optionally, the processing device may consist of only a processor. A memory for storing computer programs is located outside the processing device, and the processor is connected to the memory via circuitry / wires to read and execute the computer programs stored in the memory. The memory and processor may be integrated together or physically independent of each other.

[0210] Optionally, the processing device may be one or more chips, or one or more integrated circuits. For example, the processing device may be one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), system-on-chips (SoCs), central processing units (CPUs), network processors (NPs), digital signal processors (DSPs), microcontroller units (MCUs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), or other integrated chips, or any group of the above chips or processors.

[0211] Please refer to Figure 5, which shows the communication device 500 involved in the above embodiments provided in the embodiments of this application. Specifically, the communication device 500 can be the communication device that serves as the second device in the above embodiments.

[0212] The present invention is a schematic diagram of a possible logical structure of the communication device 500, which may include, but is not limited to, at least one processor 501 and a communication port 502.

[0213] In Figure 3, the transceiver unit 301 can be a communication interface, which can be the communication port 502 in Figure 5. The communication port 502 can include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the communication port 502 can also be a transceiver circuit, which can include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0214] Further optionally, the device may also include at least one of a memory 503 and a bus. In embodiments of this application, the at least one processor 501 is used to control the operation of the communication device 500.

[0215] Furthermore, processor 501 can be a central processing unit, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of this application. The processor can also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, etc. Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0216] It is understood that this application does not limit the number of the various components shown in Figure 5. For example, the number of processors 501, the number of communication ports 502, and the number of memory 503 can each be one or more, and no specific limitation is made here.

[0217] It should be noted that the communication device 500 shown in Figure 5 can be used to implement the steps implemented by the second device in the aforementioned method embodiments and achieve the corresponding technical effects of the second device. The specific implementation of the communication device shown in Figure 5 can be referred to the description in the aforementioned method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0218] Please refer to Figure 6, which is a structural schematic diagram of the communication device 600 involved in the above embodiments provided in the embodiments of this application. Specifically, the communication device 600 can be the communication device that serves as the first device in the above embodiments. The structure of the communication device can be referred to the structure shown in Figure 6.

[0219] The communication device 600 includes at least one processor 611 and at least one network interface 614. Optionally, the communication device further includes at least one memory 612, at least one transceiver 613, and one or more antennas 615. The processor 611, memory 612, transceiver 613, and network interface 614 are connected, for example, via a bus. In this embodiment, the connection may include various interfaces, transmission lines, or buses, etc., and this embodiment is not limited thereto. The antenna 615 is connected to the transceiver 613. The network interface 614 enables the communication device to communicate with other communication devices through a communication link. For example, the network interface 614 may include a network interface between the communication device and a core network device, such as an S1 interface, or a network interface between the communication device and other communication devices (e.g., other network devices or core network devices), such as an X2 or Xn interface.

[0220] In Figure 3, the transceiver unit 301 can be a communication interface, which can be the network interface 614 in Figure 6. The network interface 614 can include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the network interface 614 can also be a transceiver circuit, which can include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0221] The processor 611 is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process data from these programs, for example, to support the actions described in the embodiments of the communication device. The communication device may include a baseband processor and a central processing unit (CPU). The baseband processor is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the CPU is primarily used to control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process data from these programs. The processor 611 in Figure 6 can integrate the functions of both a baseband processor and a CPU. Those skilled in the art will understand that the baseband processor and CPU can also be independent processors interconnected via technologies such as buses. Those skilled in the art will understand that the communication device can include multiple baseband processors to adapt to different network standards, and multiple CPUs to enhance its processing capabilities. The various components of the communication device can be connected via various buses. The baseband processor can also be described as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The CPU can also be described as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing communication protocols and communication data can be built into the processor or stored in memory as a software program, which is then executed by the processor to implement the baseband processing function.

[0222] The memory is primarily used to store software programs and data. The memory 612 can exist independently or be connected to the processor 611. Optionally, the memory 612 can be integrated with the processor 611, for example, integrated into a single chip. The memory 612 can store program code that executes the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and its execution is controlled by the processor 611. The various types of computer program code being executed can also be considered as drivers for the processor 611.

[0223] Figure 6 shows only one memory and one processor. In actual communication devices, there can be multiple processors and multiple memories. Memory can also be called storage medium or storage device, etc. Memory can be a storage element on the same chip as the processor, i.e., an on-chip storage element, or it can be a separate storage element; this application does not limit this.

[0224] Transceiver 613 can be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency (RF) signals between communication devices and terminals. Transceiver 613 can be connected to antenna 615. Transceiver 613 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 615 can receive RF signals. The receiver Rx of transceiver 613 is used to receive the RF signals from the antennas, convert the RF signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency (IF) signals, and provide the digital baseband signals or IF signals to processor 611 so that processor 611 can perform further processing on the digital baseband signals or IF signals, such as demodulation and decoding. In addition, the transmitter Tx in transceiver 613 is also used to receive modulated digital baseband signals or IF signals from processor 611, convert the modulated digital baseband signals or IF signals into RF signals, and transmit the RF signals through one or more antennas 615. Specifically, the receiver Rx can selectively perform one or more stages of downmixing and analog-to-digital conversion on the radio frequency signal to obtain a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency (IF) signal. The order of these downmixing and IF conversion processes is adjustable. The transmitter Tx can selectively perform one or more stages of upmixing and digital-to-analog conversion on the modulated digital baseband signal or digital IF signal to obtain a radio frequency signal. The order of these upmixing and IF conversion processes is also adjustable. The digital baseband signal and the digital IF signal can be collectively referred to as digital signals.

[0225] The transceiver 613 can also be called a transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver device, etc. Optionally, the device in the transceiver unit that performs the receiving function can be regarded as the receiving unit, and the device in the transceiver unit that performs the transmitting function can be regarded as the transmitting unit. That is, the transceiver unit includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The receiving unit can also be called a receiver, input port, receiving circuit, etc., and the transmitting unit can be called a transmitter, transmitter, or transmitting circuit, etc.

[0226] It should be noted that the communication device 600 shown in Figure 6 can be used to implement the steps implemented by the first device in the aforementioned method embodiments and to achieve the technical effects corresponding to the first device. The specific implementation of the communication device 600 shown in Figure 6 can be referred to the description in the aforementioned method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0227] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip applied to a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) in the terminal, information sent to the terminal by the base station; or, the terminal chip sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) in the terminal, information sent to the base station by the terminal. For example, when the first device is a terminal, the terminal sending indication information can be understood as the process of the terminal's chip outputting indication information.

[0228] When the aforementioned communication device is a module applied to a base station, the base station module implements the functions of the base station in the above method embodiments. The base station module receives information from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the base station, information sent by the terminal to the base station; or, the base station module sends information to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the base station, information sent by the base station to the terminal. Here, the base station module can be the baseband chip of the base station, or a DU (Distributed Unit) or other modules. The DU can be a DU under an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architecture. For example, when the first device is a base station, the base station sending indication information can be understood as the process of the base station's chip outputting indication information.

[0229] Furthermore, embodiments of this application also provide a terminal chip that specifically performs the steps described above as a second device. The terminal chip includes: a higher-layer protocol processor, a physical layer protocol processor, and a baseband hardware processor.

[0230] The high-level protocol processor is used to implement at least one of the following: implement high-level protocol (L2 / L3) processing, support ASN.1 and other encoding and decoding functions, support standard air interface encryption and decryption, integrity protection algorithms, etc.

[0231] The physical layer protocol processor is used to implement at least one of the following: implement physical layer processing, complete downlink network search, time-frequency tracking, measurement, channel estimation, demodulation and decoding, and uplink coding, modulation and time-frequency offset adjustment.

[0232] The baseband hardware processor is used to perform at least one of the following: complete the secure boot and secure startup of the baseband system, and complete protocol layer processing (L1 / L2 / L3), etc.

[0233] The above description of the terminal chip was from the processor's perspective; the following description will offer another perspective from the subsystem's viewpoint. A terminal communication chip may consist of a baseband subsystem, a radio frequency (RF) subsystem, a power supply subsystem, and peripherals (storage, external interfaces). The baseband subsystem is responsible for at least one of the following: application layer processing, external interface functions, and L3 / L2 / L1 communication protocol processing. The RF subsystem is responsible for at least one of the following: the RF front-end and antenna convert spatial electromagnetic waves into electrical signals, and perform the necessary amplification and filtering functions to achieve excellent coverage; it connects with the baseband to perform frequency conversion and nonlinear distortion correction of analog signals. The power supply subsystem is responsible for at least one of the following: providing power management functions for the communication baseband chip.

[0234] The method steps in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can consist of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Alternatively, the ASIC can reside in a base station or terminal. The processor and storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a base station or terminal.

[0235] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are performed entirely or partially. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video optical disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both types of storage media.

[0236] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: receiving downlink control information (DCI) from a first device, the DCI being used to indicate whether the second device transmits a first signal to a third device, the first signal being a carrier signal or a data signal, the first signal being used for the third device to report data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, Before the receiving downlink control information (DCI) from a first device, the method further comprises: sending capability information to the first device, the capability information being used to describe the generation capability of the carrier signal and / or the capability of being an intermediate device, the intermediate device being used for being scheduled by the first device to transmit the first signal, the capability information being related to the DCI.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The DCI is further used to indicate at least one of the following: the format of the DCI, the time-frequency resource used by the carrier signal, the power size of the carrier signal, the time-frequency resource of a scheduling request (SR), the time-frequency resource of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the power size of a signal carried on the PUSCH; the time-frequency resource of the SR is different from the time-frequency resource of the PUSCH.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, A new transmission indication (NDI) field in the DCI is used to indicate that the scheduled data is a new transmission or a retransmission, and the NDI field is further used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to transmit the first signal to the third device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving configuration information from the first device, the configuration information being used to indicate an index value of a modulation and coding strategy (MCS), the index value being used in combination with the NDI field to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to transmit the first signal to the third device.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein, The DCI comprises the NDI field and a redundancy version field, the NDI field and the redundancy version field being used in combination to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to transmit the first signal to the third device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, A downlink feedback indication (DFI) field in the DCI is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to transmit the first signal to the third device.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, A carrier indication field in the DCI is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to transmit the first signal to the third device, the carrier indication field taking effect after the second device switches back from a secondary cell to a primary cell.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The DCI is scrambled using a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), the RNTI having a value range of FFF3 to FFFA.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The DCI is a unicast signal.

11. A communication method, comprising: The method comprises: sending downlink control information (DCI) to a second device, the DCI being used to indicate whether a first signal is transmitted to a third device, the first signal being a carrier signal or a data signal, the first signal being used for the third device to report data.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, Before the sending downlink control information (DCI) to a second device, the method further comprises: receiving capability information sent by the second device, the capability information being used to describe the generation capability of the carrier signal and / or the capability of being an intermediate device, the intermediate device being used for being scheduled by the first device to transmit the first signal, the capability information being related to the DCI.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, The DCI is also used to indicate at least one of the following: a format of the DCI, time-frequency resources used by the carrier signal, a power size of the carrier signal, time-frequency resources of a scheduling request (SR), time-frequency resources of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and a power size of a signal carried on the PUSCH; and the time-frequency resources of the SR are different from the time-frequency resources of the PUSCH.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that, The new data indicator (NDI) field in the DCI is used to indicate that the scheduled data is new transmission or retransmission, and the NDI field is also used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send the first signal to the third device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The method further includes: sending configuration information to the second device, the configuration information being used to indicate an index value of a modulation and coding strategy (MCS), and the index value being used in combination with the NDI field to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send the first signal to the third device.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein, The DCI includes the NDI field and a redundancy version field, and the NDI field and the redundancy version field are used in combination to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send the first signal to the third device.

17. The method of any one of claims 11-13, wherein, The DCI includes a downlink feedback indicator (DFI) field, which is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send the first signal to the third device.

18. The method of any one of claims 11-13, wherein, The DCI includes a carrier indicator field, which is specifically used to indicate whether the DCI is used to trigger the second device to send the first signal to the third device, and the carrier indicator field takes effect after the second device switches back from a secondary cell to a primary cell.

19. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 18, characterized in that, The DCI is scrambled using a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), and the RNTI has a value range of FFF3 to FFFA.

20. The method of any one of claims 11 to 19, wherein, The DCI is a unicast signal.

21. A communications device, characterized by A module for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 20.

22. A communications device, characterized by At least one processor for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 20.

23. The communication device of claim 22, wherein, The communication device is a chip or a chip system.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by the communication device, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 20.

25. A computer program product, characterised in that, A computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a computer, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 20. A computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a computer, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 20.

Images