Communication methods and apparatuses

Abstract

Communication methods and apparatuses, which can effectively reduce uplink transmission interference and improve uplink data transmission performance. A method comprises: a second communication apparatus sending a first reference signal to a first communication apparatus, the first reference signal being used for updating the length of a guard period (GP) of the first communication apparatus to a first length, wherein the first length is the larger value between a GP length corresponding to the second communication apparatus and a GP length corresponding to a first network node, the first network node is connected to the second communication apparatus, and the first network node has an uplink radio signal receiving function but does not have a downlink radio signal sending function. In this way, after updating the length of the GP to the first length, the first communication apparatus can meet the requirements of both the second communication apparatus and the first network node for the length of the GP of the first communication apparatus.

Description

Communication methods and devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411219533.9, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on August 31, 2024, entitled "Communication Method and Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to communication methods and apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] In cellular mobile communication systems operating in time-division duplex (TDD) mode, base stations use time-division multiplexing to transmit uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) data. To improve the uplink data transmission capability for users at the cell edge, nodes with only uplink radio reception capabilities (UL-only nodes) can be deployed to enhance network coverage performance at the cell edge.

[0004] In the event of atmospheric ducting, the downlink signal of the remote base station may still have high strength after being transmitted over ultra-long distances of tens or hundreds of kilometers, and may fall into the uplink data window of the near-end base station and / or UL Only node, causing serious uplink transmission interference to the near-end base station and / or UL Only node.

[0005] In other words, in the current TDD system, there is significant uplink transmission interference between different base stations, and the uplink data transmission performance needs to be improved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and apparatus that can effectively reduce uplink transmission interference and improve uplink data transmission performance.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a second communication device, which may be a communication equipment (such as a network device), or the second communication device may be a component of a communication equipment (such as a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module). The method includes: sending a first reference signal to a first communication device, the first reference signal being used to update the length of the guard interval (GP) of the first communication device to a first length; wherein the first length is the maximum value of a second length and a third length, the second length is the GP length corresponding to the second communication device, the third length is the GP length corresponding to a first network node, the first network node is connected to the second communication device, and the first network node has uplink wireless signal receiving capabilities but does not have downlink wireless signal transmitting capabilities.

[0008] Based on this scheme, in the event of remote interference from the first communication device and / or remote interference from the first network node connected to the second communication device, the second communication device sends a first reference signal to the first communication device. This first reference signal updates the GP length of the first communication device to a first length, which is the maximum value between the GP length corresponding to the second communication device (second length) and the GP length corresponding to the first network node (third length). Since the first length is the maximum value between the second and third lengths, after updating the GP length, the first communication device's GP can simultaneously meet the requirements of both the second communication device and the first network node for its GP length. This effectively reduces the remote interference caused by the downlink data transmission of the first communication device to both the second communication device and the first network node, minimizes uplink interference from the first communication device to the second communication device, and improves the uplink data transmission performance of the second communication device. Furthermore, since the first network node only has uplink wireless signal reception capabilities and not downlink wireless signal transmission capabilities, it effectively enhances the uplink wireless signal reception capability of the second communication device.

[0009] Secondly, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a first communication device, which may be a communication equipment (such as a network device), or the first communication device may be a component of a communication equipment (such as a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module). The method includes: receiving a first reference signal from a second communication device, the first reference signal being used to update the length of the guard interval (GP) of the first communication device to a first length; wherein the first length is the maximum value of a second length and a third length, the second length is the GP length corresponding to the second communication device, the third length is the GP length corresponding to a first network node, the first network node is connected to the second communication device, and the first network node has uplink wireless signal receiving capabilities but no downlink wireless signal transmitting capabilities.

[0010] The technical effects brought about by the second aspect can be referred to the technical effects brought about by the first aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0011] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible design, the communication method further includes: sending a second signal to the terminal device, the second signal indicating that the updated length of the GP of the first communication device is the first length.

[0012] Based on this scheme, the first communication device can promptly send an instruction to the terminal device connected to the first communication device to indicate the updated length of the GP, which facilitates accurate data interaction between the first communication device and the terminal device connected to the first communication device.

[0013] Combining the first and second aspects, in one possible design, the first reference signal is generated based on a first sequence associated with a first length; or, the first reference signal is mapped to a first time-frequency resource associated with a first length.

[0014] Based on this scheme, the first communication device can obtain the first length associated with the first time-frequency resource or the first sequence by parsing the first reference signal and according to the first sequence used to generate the first reference signal or the first time-frequency resource mapped by the first reference signal. It can then directly use the first reference signal to realize the length update indication of the GP and the updated length of the GP. Without increasing the signaling overhead, it can realize the accurate indication of the length of the updated GP of the first communication device.

[0015] Combining the first and second aspects, in one possible design, the third length is the sum of the second length and the first offset.

[0016] Combining the first and second aspects, in one possible design, the first reference signal is generated based on a second sequence associated with a first offset; or, the first reference signal is mapped to a second time-frequency resource associated with the first offset.

[0017] Based on this scheme, the first communication device can obtain the first offset associated with the first time-frequency resource or the first sequence by parsing the first reference signal and according to the first sequence used to generate the first reference signal or the first time-frequency resource mapped by the first reference signal. Then, based on the second length, the third length is determined by combining the first offset. This is beneficial for the second communication device to determine the first length after the GP update. Without increasing the signaling overhead, the length of the GP updated by the first communication device can be accurately indicated.

[0018] Combining the first and second aspects, in one possible design, the first length is the third length when the first offset is greater than or equal to 0; and the first length is the second length when the first offset is less than 0.

[0019] Based on this scheme, the first communication device can directly determine whether it is necessary to calculate the third length and compare the second and third lengths based on the size of the first offset. If the first offset is less than 0, the second length can be directly used as the first length, reducing the complexity of the first communication device in determining the first length.

[0020] In conjunction with the first aspect, the communication method further includes: sending first information to a first communication device, the first information indicating a correlation between the sequence that generates the first reference signal and the length or offset of the GP; or, the first information indicating a correlation between the time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal and the length or offset of the GP. In conjunction with the second aspect, the communication method further includes: receiving first information from a second communication device, the first information indicating a correlation between the sequence that generates the first reference signal and the length or offset of the GP; or, the first information indicating a correlation between the time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal and the length or offset of the GP.

[0021] Based on this scheme, the first communication device can determine the first length or first offset corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first sequence of generating the first reference signal and the correlation between the sequence of generating the first reference signal and the length or offset of the GP; or, the first communication device can determine the first length or first offset corresponding to the first reference signal based on the first time-frequency resource mapped by the first reference signal and the correlation between the time-frequency resource mapped by the first reference signal and the length or offset of the GP, ensuring that the first communication device and the second communication device have the same understanding of the first length corresponding to the first reference signal, thereby achieving accurate updating of the GP length of the first communication device.

[0022] In conjunction with the first aspect, the communication method further includes receiving a first signal from a first communication device, the first signal indicating that the length of the GP has been updated. In conjunction with the second aspect, the communication method further includes sending a first signal to a second communication device, the first signal indicating that the length of the GP has been updated.

[0023] Based on this scheme, the second communication device can determine that the first communication device has completed the GP length update based on the first signal from the first communication device, thereby timely terminating the action of sending the first reference signal, which helps to reduce the power consumption and resource consumption of the second communication device.

[0024] Thirdly, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a terminal device, which may be a communication device (such as a terminal equipment), or the terminal device may be a component of a communication device (such as a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module). The method includes: receiving first indication information from a first communication device, the first indication information indicating that the updated length of the protection interval GP of the first communication device is a first length.

[0025] Based on this scheme, when the GP length of the first communication device changes, the terminal device can accurately determine the updated GP length (first length) of the first communication device according to the first indication information. Therefore, based on the updated GP length of the first communication device, signals received on a portion of the resources within the downlink data reception window are discarded, reducing interference in data interaction between the terminal device and the first communication device and improving the accuracy of downlink data reception. Furthermore, controlling downlink data reception by issuing the updated GP length can be performed during the process of the first communication device sending downlink data to the terminal device. Compared to the first communication device controlling downlink data reception by resource scheduling, downlink data transmission between the first communication device and the terminal device does not require waiting for the latency caused by resource scheduling, which is beneficial for meeting the data transmission requirements of low-latency services.

[0026] Fourthly, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a first communication device, which may be a communication equipment (such as a network device), or the first communication device may be a component of a communication equipment (such as a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module). The method includes: sending first indication information to a terminal device, the first indication information indicating that the updated length of the protection interval (GP) of the first communication device is a first length.

[0027] The technical effects of the fourth aspect can be referenced from those of the third aspect, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0028] Combining the third and fourth aspects, in one possible design, the first length is the maximum value between the second and third lengths, the second length is the GP length corresponding to the second communication device, the third length is the GP length corresponding to the first network node, the first network node is connected to the second communication device, and the first network node has the function of receiving uplink wireless signals but does not have the function of transmitting downlink wireless signals.

[0029] Based on this scheme, the terminal device can accurately receive downlink data from the first communication device according to the GP length adopted by the first communication device without causing remote interference to the second communication device and the first network node, thus ensuring the reliability of downlink data transmission between the first communication device and the terminal device.

[0030] In conjunction with the third and fourth aspects, in one possible design, the first indication information includes a first length; or, the first indication information includes a first offset, the first offset being the difference between the fourth length and the first length, the fourth length being the length of the first communication device before the GP update.

[0031] Based on this scheme, when the first information directly indicates the first length, the terminal device can accurately obtain the updated GP length of the first communication device, reducing the complexity of the terminal device obtaining the first length; since the fourth length is less than the first length, the field length required to indicate the fourth length is less than the field length required to indicate the first length, which helps to reduce the resource consumption of the first indication information when the first information indicates the first offset.

[0032] Fifthly, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a second communication device, which may be a communication equipment (such as a network device), or the second communication device may be a component of a communication equipment (such as a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module). The method includes: transmitting a first reference signal to a first communication device in a first time domain unit; wherein the first time domain unit is located after a second time domain unit, the interval between the first and second time domain units is a first interval, the second time domain unit is a preset time domain unit for carrying the reference signal, the first interval is the difference between the guard interval (GP) length corresponding to a first network node and the GP length corresponding to the second communication device, the first network node is connected to the second communication device, and the first network node has uplink wireless signal receiving function but no downlink wireless signal transmitting function.

[0033] Based on this scheme, the second communication device sends a first reference signal to the first communication device in the first time domain unit. The interval between the first time domain unit and the preset time domain unit (second time domain unit) used to carry the reference signal is the difference between the GP length corresponding to the first network node and the GP length corresponding to the second communication device. Therefore, in the process of determining the updated GP length based on the received first reference signal, the first communication device effectively considers both the remote interference experienced by the second communication device and the remote interference experienced by the first network node. This helps to reduce or eliminate the remote interference from the first communication device to the second communication device and the first network node, thereby improving the uplink wireless signal reception quality of the second communication device.

[0034] In one possible design, the first reference signal is used to update the length of the GP of the first communication device to a first length; the first length is the interval between the time domain unit where the first communication device detects the first reference signal and the second time domain unit.

[0035] In one possible design, the first interval is greater than or equal to 0.

[0036] Based on this scheme, the second communication device determines the time domain unit for transmitting the first reference signal based on the one of the two communication devices and the first network node that is more susceptible to remote interference from the first communication device. After the first communication device updates the GP length based on the first reference signal, the remote interference from the first communication device to the second communication device and the first network node is significantly reduced or even eliminated, thereby improving the uplink wireless signal reception quality of the second communication device.

[0037] In one possible design, the communication method further includes: receiving a first signal from a first communication device, the first signal indicating that the length of the GP has been updated.

[0038] Based on this scheme, the second communication device can determine that the first communication device has completed the GP length update based on the first signal from the first communication device, thereby timely terminating the action of sending the first reference signal, which helps to reduce the power consumption and resource consumption of the second communication device.

[0039] Sixthly, a communication device is provided for implementing various methods. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the implementation of the methods, which can be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions.

[0040] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module can be used to implement the processing functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module may include a receiving module and a transmitting module, respectively used to implement the receiving function and the transmitting function in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0041] In some possible designs, the transceiver module can consist of transceiver circuits, transceivers, transceivers, or communication interfaces.

[0042] A seventh aspect provides a communication device, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory being used to store computer instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method described in either aspect.

[0043] Eighthly, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface being used to communicate with a module outside the communication device; the processor being used to execute a computer program or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method described in any one of these aspects.

[0044] A ninth aspect provides a communication device comprising: at least one processor; said processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in a memory to cause the communication device to perform the method described in any of the aspects. The memory may be coupled to the processor, or may be independent of the processor.

[0045] In a tenth aspect, a communication device (e.g., the communication device may be a chip or a chip system) is provided, the communication device including a processor for implementing the functions involved in any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0046] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data.

[0047] In some possible designs, when the device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or contain chips and other discrete components.

[0048] It is understood that the communication device provided in the sixth to tenth aspects may be the second communication device in the first or fifth aspects; or, the communication device may be the first communication device in the second or fourth aspects; or, the communication device may be the terminal device in the third aspect.

[0049] It is understandable that when the communication device provided in any of the sixth to tenth aspects is a chip, the sending action / function of the communication device can be understood as outputting information, and the receiving action / function of the communication device can be understood as inputting information.

[0050] Eleventhly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a communication device, enable the communication device to perform the method described in any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0051] In a twelfth aspect, a computer program product containing instructions is provided, which, when run on a communication device, enables the communication device to perform the method described in any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0052] In a thirteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a first communication device and a second communication device. The second communication device is configured to perform the method described in the first or fifth aspect and any possible design thereof, while the first communication device is configured to perform the method described in the second aspect and any possible design thereof. Alternatively, the communication system comprises a first communication device, a second communication device, and a terminal device, wherein the second communication device is configured to perform the method described in the first or fifth aspect and any possible design thereof; the first communication device is configured to perform the method described in the second or fourth aspect and any possible design thereof; and the terminal device is configured to instruct the method described in the third aspect and any possible design thereof.

[0053] The technical effects of any of the design methods in aspects six through thirteen can be found in the technical effects of different design methods in aspects one through five, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0054] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of data transmission interference in a TDD system provided in this application;

[0055] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a TDD system provided in this application;

[0056] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in this application;

[0057] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in this application;

[0058] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the application flow of a communication method provided in this application;

[0059] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in this application;

[0060] Figures 7-9 are schematic diagrams of the communication device provided in this application. Detailed Implementation

[0061] In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " indicates that the objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this application is merely a description of the relationship between the 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, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural.

[0062] In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of a single item or a plurality of items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0063] Furthermore, to facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used in the embodiments of this application to distinguish identical or similar items with substantially the same function and effect. Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the terms "first" and "second" are not necessarily different.

[0064] In the embodiments of this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner to facilitate understanding.

[0065] It is understood that the term "embodiment" used throughout the specification means that a specific feature, structure, or characteristic related to an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this application. Therefore, various embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, these specific features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. It is understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the sequence number of each process does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0066] It is understood that in this application, "...when" and "if" both refer to the corresponding processing that will be carried out under certain objective circumstances, and are not limited to a specific time, nor do they require a judgment action to be performed during implementation, nor do they imply any other limitations.

[0067] In this application, "instruction" can include direct instruction, indirect instruction, explicit instruction, implicit instruction, and so on. When describing an instruction information as indicating A, it can be understood as the instruction information carrying A, carrying the identifier of A, carrying B which is associated with A, carrying the identifier of B which is associated with A, and so on. In other words, if the receiving side of an instruction information can determine A based on the instruction information, it can be described as the instruction information indicating A, and the specific method of determination is not limited. When it is understood that the instruction information carries A, "instruction" can be replaced with "includes". In this case, expressions such as "send / receive instruction information, the instruction information indicates A" can be replaced with "send / receive A".

[0068] In this application, the information indicated by the instruction information is called the information to be instructed. In specific implementations, there are many ways to indicate the information to be instructed, such as, but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be instructed, such as the information to be instructed itself or its index. It can also indirectly indicate the information to be instructed by indicating other information, where there is a relationship between the other information and the information to be instructed. It can also indicate only a part of the information to be instructed, 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. Furthermore, the information to be instructed can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information pieces, and the sending period and / or timing of these sub-information pieces can be the same or different.

[0069] It is understood that some optional features in the embodiments of this application can be implemented independently in certain scenarios without relying on other features, such as the current solution on which they are based, to solve the corresponding technical problems and achieve the corresponding effects. Alternatively, they can be combined with other features as needed in certain scenarios. Correspondingly, the apparatus given in the embodiments of this application can also implement these features or functions, which will not be elaborated here.

[0070] In this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other. In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referenced. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships. The following descriptions of the embodiments of this application do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0071] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, a brief introduction to the relevant technologies of this application is given below.

[0072] 1. Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology:

[0073] Since the evolution of wireless communication systems from the first generation of analog communication to the present, high throughput and massive connectivity have always been the core challenges of wireless communication networks. To meet the high-speed transmission requirements of communication systems, massive MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) technology, which can significantly improve system capacity, is usually adopted. MIMO technology mainly utilizes multiple antennas to transmit and receive signals simultaneously. By utilizing spatial resources, it enables signals to obtain array gain, multiplexing and diversity gain, and interference cancellation gain in space without increasing system bandwidth, thereby multiplying the capacity and spectral efficiency of the communication system.

[0074] In order to transmit and receive data, obtain system synchronization and feedback channel information, channel estimation is essential for the uplink (UL) and / or downlink (DL) in a MIMO system. The purpose of channel estimation is to obtain the channel response characteristics, thereby compensating for signal distortion caused by channel fading and noise fading, and reconstructing or recovering the received signal. Obtaining the channel response characteristics is mainly achieved by using reference signals known to the transmitter and receiver to track the time and frequency domain changes of the channel.

[0075] Among them, the reference signal, also known as the pilot signal or reference signal (RS), is distributed in different resource elements (REs) in the time-frequency two-dimensional space within the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, and has known amplitude and phase.

[0076] In a MIMO system, each transmit antenna (virtual or physical) has an independent channel. To achieve channel quality measurement in a multi-antenna system, various pilot symbols are predefined, such as the channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and sounding reference signal (SRS). DMRS assists in demodulating the physical downlink share channel (PDSCH). CSI-RS is used for downlink channel measurement corresponding to the physical antenna port. The receiver performs channel estimation for each antenna port transmitted by the base station and uses the estimation results for CSI feedback. CSI includes information such as channel quality indicator (CQI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), layer indicator (LI), and rank indicator (RI). During uplink channel measurement, the base station (BS) estimates the uplink channel using the received SRS and performs functions such as frequency selection resource scheduling, power control, timing estimation, modulation / coding scheme order selection, and downlink precoding generation based on this information.

[0077] 2. Time-division duplex (TDD) system:

[0078] A TDD system can be understood as a cellular mobile communication system operating in time-division duplex mode. In a TDD cellular mobile communication system, base stations use time-division multiplexing to transmit uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) data, and prevent downlink data transmission from interfering with uplink data transmission by setting a guard period (GP). In a TDD system, different base stations correspond to the same GP by default.

[0079] Referring to Figures 1(a) and 1(b), taking a TDD system containing base station 1 and base station 2, with base station 1 and base station 2 connected to different terminals via DL and UL respectively as an example, during the operation of base stations in a TDD system, under atmospheric waveguide conditions, the downlink signal of base station 1 (denoted as the remote base station) during downlink data transmission in the downlink data window (DL Symbols) still has a high signal strength after transmission over ultra-long distances of tens or even hundreds of kilometers. If the signal propagation delay between the remote base station (base station 1) and base station 2 (denoted as the near-end base station) exceeds the default GP length, the downlink signal of the remote base station will fall into the uplink data window (UL Symbols) of the near-end base station, causing severe uplink interference to the uplink data transmission of the near-end base station. In other words, base stations in a TDD system are susceptible to remote interference from other base stations in the system during uplink data transmission. In this case, base station 1 can be regarded as the instigator of remote interference, and base station 2 can be regarded as the victim of remote interference.

[0080] To address the issue of remote interference, a common approach is for the interfering end to implement interference avoidance, as shown in Figure 1(c). This typically involves transmitting a remote interference management reference signal (RIM-RS) over the air interface, enabling base station 1 and base station 2 to complete an interference handshake, and then implementing interference avoidance. Interference avoidance includes one of the following measures: 1. The interfering end dynamically adjusts its GP (GP length) based on the RIM-RS, increasing the GP length; 2. The interfering end adjusts its scheduling mode, updating to schedule low-power near-end user equipment (terminals) and abandoning scheduling high-power far-end user equipment; 3. After transmitting the RIM-RS, the affected end reduces the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of the high-interference uplink time slot to mitigate the impact of remote interference on the affected end.

[0081] The principle of the interference end dynamically adjusting its GP based on RIM-RS can be seen in Figure 1(d). Base station 1 and base station 2 use uplink time slots, downlink time slots, and free time slots for uplink and downlink data transmission. The signal propagation delay between the interference end (base station 1) and the interference recipient (base station 2) is 15 time-domain symbols. After detecting remote interference in the uplink data window, the interference recipient broadcasts RIM-RS on the last two downlink time-domain symbols (denoted as preset symbols) contained in the downlink data window. After the signal propagation delay between the interference end and the interference recipient, the RIM-RS broadcast by the interference recipient will fall into the uplink time-domain symbols contained in the uplink data window of the interference end. That is, the interference end detects RIM-RS on the time-domain symbols contained in the uplink data window. Then, the scrambling end determines the required increase in GP length (denoted as the first length) based on the interval between the detected uplink time-domain symbol of RIM-RS and the preset symbol. It then compresses the downlink data window of the scrambling end according to the first length, increasing the GP length of the scrambling end towards the downlink data window by the first length. During subsequent downlink data transmission by the scrambling end, because the new GP is sufficiently large, the interval between the last symbol of the downlink data window and the first symbol of the uplink data window is greater than or equal to the signal propagation delay between the scrambling end and the scrambled end. Therefore, the scrambled end will no longer be subject to remote interference from the scrambling end during uplink data transmission. The time-domain symbol for transmitting RIM-RS can be predefined by the protocol or pre-configured in the TDD system.

[0082] 3. Enhanced coverage at the edge of the residential area:

[0083] In cellular mobile communication systems, users at the cell edge suffer from significant pass loss during data transmission and are limited by the uplink transmission power limit, resulting in poor uplink coverage. Reducing the cell radius (i.e., dense base station deployment) is a direct and highly effective way to improve uplink coverage for cell edge users. However, dense base station deployment introduces two new problems: first, it increases interference between different base stations, requiring complex coordination and joint processing methods to mitigate this interference; second, it leads to a sharp increase in the overall power consumption and network cost of the communication system.

[0084] Referring to Figure 2(a), to effectively improve uplink coverage without increasing or even reducing interference and control costs between base stations, uplink coverage enhancement can be achieved by deploying multiple small network nodes (such as UL Only nodes). UL Only nodes can be understood as network nodes used to implement uplink radio reception functions, such as radio access network (RAN) nodes or radio frequency signal receiving nodes. UL Only nodes connect to terminals via an uplink link and are wired to base stations via fiber optic cables or network cables. UL Only nodes only have uplink radio reception capabilities and cannot actively transmit any radio signals, thus not increasing network interference in the system. Furthermore, since no radio frequency transmission link is required, the deployment cost of UL Only nodes is low.

[0085] Referring to Figure 2(b), since the UL Only node and the base station connected to it by wire are located in different places, in the TDD mode of the cellular mobile communication system, the UL Only node and the base station connected to the UL Only node may be subject to remote interference from the same or different remote base stations. Since the UL Only node cannot transmit any signals through the air interface, the UL Only node cannot transmit RIM-RS independently. Only the base station connected to the node can transmit RIM-RS, thereby reducing the remote interference from the remote base station to the UL Only node and the base station connected to the node.

[0086] Referring to Figure 2(c), consider the example of a UL Only node and a base station connected to the UL Only node being remotely interfered with by the same remote base station (denoted as the interfering end). The UL Only node and base station 2 connected to the UL Only node (denoted as the interfered end) are located in different positions. When subjected to remote interference from the same remote base station (base station 1), the propagation delay of the downlink radio signal transmitted by base station 1 in its downlink data window to base station 2 and the UL Only node is different. Therefore, the lengths of the time-domain symbols that detect remote interference in the uplink data window of base station 2 and the uplink data window of the UL Only node are also different. In other words, the degree of interference experienced by the UL Only node and the interfered end is different. The length of the time-domain symbol in the uplink data window of the UL Only node subjected to remote interference from the remote base station is usually different from the length of the time-domain symbol in the uplink data window of the interfered end subjected to remote interference from the remote base station. There is an offset between the remote interference experienced by the UL Only node and base station 2. The degree of interference can be understood as the total length of the time-domain symbols affected by remote interference in the uplink data window and / or the strength of the interference signal detected on the time-domain symbols affected by remote interference.

[0087] After the affected end performs remote interference management based on the existing RIM-RS mechanism, the adjusted GP length of the remote base station is obtained based on the remote interference experienced by the affected end. If the interference level of the UL Only node is stronger than that of the affected end, the UL Only node may still be subject to strong remote interference after the affected end sends RIM-RS for remote interference management.

[0088] In other words, in a communication system that enhances cell edge coverage by setting up UL Only nodes, there is significant uplink transmission interference between base stations during the uplink wireless signal reception process of the base station through the UL Only node. Furthermore, a UL Only node connected to one base station may be subject to significant uplink transmission interference from other base stations. Current remote interference management methods cannot effectively solve the remote interference problem in the communication system, and the uplink data transmission performance of the communication system needs to be improved.

[0089] Based on this, this application provides a communication method in which a second communication device is connected to a first network node that only has uplink wireless signal reception capabilities and no downlink wireless signal transmission capabilities. The first network node effectively enhances the uplink wireless signal reception capability of the second communication device. In the event of remote interference from the first communication device, and / or remote interference from the first network node connected to the second communication device, the second communication device sends a first reference signal to the first communication device. The first reference signal is used to update the GP length of the first communication device to a first length, which is the maximum value between the GP length corresponding to the second communication device (second length) and the GP length corresponding to the first network node (third length). Since the first length is the maximum value between the second and third lengths, after the first communication device updates its GP length to the first length, the GP length of the first communication device can simultaneously meet the requirements of both the second communication device and the first network node for the GP length of the first communication device. This effectively reduces the remote interference caused by the downlink data transmission of the first communication device to the second communication device and the first network node, minimizes the uplink transmission interference of the first communication device to the second communication device, and improves the uplink data transmission performance of the second communication device.

[0090] The technical solutions of this application embodiment can be used in various communication systems, including third-generation partnership project (3GPP) communication systems, such as fourth-generation (4G) systems like long-term evolution (LTE), 5G systems like new radio (NR), LTE and 5G hybrid networking systems, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication systems, machine-type communication (MTC) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, or other future communication systems. The communication system can also be a non-3GPP communication system; there is no limitation on this.

[0091] The communication systems described above are merely illustrative examples, and are not limited to those described herein. The communication systems provided in this application do not impose any limitations on the solutions described herein. This will be explained uniformly here and will not be repeated below.

[0092] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating one possible, non-limiting system. As shown in Figure 3, the communication system 30 includes a first communication device 301, a second communication device 302, and a first network node 303. The first network node 303 is used to implement the uplink wireless signal receiving function, and the first communication device 301 and the second communication device 302 are used to receive uplink wireless signals and transmit downlink wireless signals.

[0093] The number of the first communication device 301, the second communication device 302, and the first network node 303 in Figure 3 is only an example. The communication system may include more or fewer communication devices or network nodes than shown in Figure 3.

[0094] Optionally, the first communication device 301 and / or the second communication device 302 may be a network-side device with wireless transceiver capabilities, or a chip, chip system, or module disposed within the device. The network-side device is located in the wireless access network of the mobile communication system and is used to provide access services to the terminal.

[0095] For example, the first communication device 301 and / or the second communication device 302 can implement some or all of the functions of the base station.

[0096] In one possible scenario, the first communication device 301 and / or the second communication device 302 can be a base station (BS), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a future mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The first communication device 301 and / or the second communication device 302 can be a macro base station, a micro base station or indoor station, a relay node or donor node, or a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN).

[0097] Optionally, the first communication device 301 and / or the second communication device 302 can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an in-vehicle device. For example, the access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the first communication device 301 and / or the second communication device 302 in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0098] In another possible scenario, the first communication device 301 and / or the second communication device 302 in this application may also be a logical node, logical module or software capable of realizing all or part of the base station functions.

[0099] For example, the first communication device 301 and / or the second communication device 302 may be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and DU may be configured separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0100] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0101] For example, the first network node 303 is used only to implement the uplink wireless signal reception function.

[0102] Optionally, the first network node 303 only has uplink wireless signal reception capabilities and does not have downlink wireless signal transmission capabilities. That is, the first network node 303 only has a receiving radio frequency link and does not have a transmitting radio frequency link, and therefore does not have the ability to transmit any wireless signals. Alternatively, the first network node 303 has both uplink wireless signal reception and downlink wireless signal transmission capabilities, but the first network node is only used to implement the uplink wireless signal reception function. In other words, the first network node 303 has a complete radio frequency transceiver link, but the first network node 303 only enables the receiving radio frequency link and disables the transmitting radio frequency link.

[0103] Optionally, the communication system 30 may further include a terminal device 304. The terminal device 304 is connected to the first network node 303, the first communication device 301, or the second communication device 302 via an uplink, and to the first communication device 301 or the second communication device 302 via a downlink. The terminal device 304 may be a user-side device with wireless transceiver capabilities, or it may be a chip or chip system disposed in the device.

[0104] Terminal device 304 (also referred to as a terminal) is, in one possible scenario, a user-side device with wireless transceiver capabilities. Terminal device 304 can be user equipment (UE), terminal equipment, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile terminal (MT), user terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user equipment, etc. Terminals can be, for example, terminals in IoT, V2X, D2D, M2M, 5G networks, or future evolved public land mobile networks (PLMN). Terminals can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water (such as on ships); and they can also be deployed in the air (such as on airplanes, balloons, and satellites).

[0105] For example, terminal device 304 can be a drone, IoT device (e.g., sensor, electricity meter, water meter, etc.), V2X device, station (ST) in wireless local area networks (WLAN), cellular phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA) device, handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle device, wearable device (also known as wearable smart device), tablet computer or computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, virtual reality (VR) terminal, wireless terminal in industrial control, wireless terminal in self-driving, wireless terminal in remote medical care, wireless terminal in smart grid, wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart city, or wireless terminal in smart home. Wireless terminals (such as those in the home), vehicle-mounted terminals, vehicles with vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication capabilities, intelligent connected vehicles, and drones with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to UAV (U2U) communication capabilities, etc. Terminals can be mobile or fixed; this application does not specifically limit their location.

[0106] It should be noted that the communication system described in the embodiments of this application is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0107] The following description, using the communication system shown in Figure 3 as an example and taking the interaction between the first and second communication devices, illustrates a communication method provided in this application. It should be noted that in the following embodiments of this application, the message names, parameter names, or information names between the first and second communication devices are merely examples; other names may exist in other embodiments, and the method provided in this application does not specifically limit these.

[0108] It is understood that in the embodiments of this application, the first communication device or the second communication device may execute some or all of the steps in the embodiments of this application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of this application may also execute other operations or variations thereof. Furthermore, the various steps may be executed in different orders as presented in the embodiments of this application, and it is not necessarily necessary to execute all the operations in the embodiments of this application.

[0109] It is understood that this application uses the first communication device and the second communication device as examples to illustrate the interaction, but this application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction.

[0110] Furthermore, in this application, "sending information" can be understood as one device sending information to another device, or it can also be understood as one logic module within a device sending information to another logic module. For example, "the first communication device sending information" can be understood as the first communication device sending information to another device (such as the second communication device), or it can be understood as logic module 1 (such as the processing module) in the first communication device sending information to logic module 2 (such as the transceiver module) in the first communication device.

[0111] In this application, "receiving information" can be understood as one device receiving information from another device, or it can also be understood as a logic module within a device receiving information from another logic module. For example, "the second communication device receiving information" can be understood as the second communication device receiving information from another device (such as the first communication device), or it can be understood as logic module 1 (such as a processing module) in the second communication device receiving information from logic module 2 (such as a transceiver module) in the second communication device.

[0112] In this application, the phrase "sending information to... (e.g., a second communication device)" or the related illustrations in the accompanying drawings can be understood as the destination of the information being the second communication device. This can include sending information directly or indirectly to the second communication device. Similarly, the phrase "receiving information from... (e.g., a first communication device)," "receiving information from... (e.g., a first communication device)," or "receiving information sent (e.g., by the first communication device)," or the related illustrations in the accompanying drawings, can be understood as the source of the information being the first communication device. This can include receiving information directly or indirectly from the first communication device. Information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination, such as format changes, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be interpreted similarly, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0113] Referring to Figure 4, which is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application, the method may include the following steps:

[0114] S401, the second communication device sends a first reference signal to the first communication device. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the first reference signal from the second communication device. The first reference signal is used to update the GP of the first communication device to a first length, where the first length is the maximum of the second and third lengths, the second length is the GP length corresponding to the second communication device, and the third length is the GP length corresponding to the first network node.

[0115] The first network node has the function of receiving uplink wireless signals but not the function of transmitting downlink wireless signals.

[0116] For example, the first network node having uplink wireless signal receiving capability can be understood as the first network node being able to receive uplink wireless signals from other devices or communication devices, or it can also be understood as the first network node having a receiving radio frequency link, capable of receiving radio frequency signals from other devices or communication devices. The first network node not having downlink wireless signal transmitting capability can be understood as the first network node not transmitting downlink wireless signals to other devices or communication devices, or the first network node being unable to transmit downlink wireless signals to other devices or communication devices; that is, the first network node not having a transmitting radio frequency link and being unable to transmit radio frequency signals to other devices or communication devices.

[0117] In other words, the first network node may only have a receive radio frequency link and not a transmit radio frequency link, and can only realize the uplink wireless signal reception function. For example, the first network node is a UL Only node. Alternatively, the first network node may also have a complete radio frequency transceiver link, but only the receive radio frequency link is enabled during the operation of the first network node, while the transmit radio frequency link remains disabled, and is only used to realize the uplink wireless signal reception function.

[0118] Furthermore, uplink and downlink wireless signals are defined based on the propagation direction of the radio frequency signals. For example, an uplink wireless signal can be understood as a radio frequency signal sent by a terminal device (also called a terminal equipment) or other communication device to a first network node or a second communication device connected to the first network node; a downlink wireless signal can be understood as a radio frequency signal sent by a first network node or a second communication device connected to the first network node to a terminal device (also called a terminal equipment) or other communication device.

[0119] For example, the GP length (second length) corresponding to the second communication device can be understood as the target GP length of the first communication device when the second communication device is no longer subject to remote interference from the first communication device; or, it can also be understood as the minimum GP length of the first communication device when the downlink wireless signal of the first communication device will no longer fall into the uplink data window of the second communication device.

[0120] The length of a GP can be understood as the interval between the first and last time-domain units corresponding to the GP, or as the total number of time-domain units contained in the GP. A time-domain unit can be a time-domain symbol or a predefined new resource unit. Predefinition can be understood as being predefined by the protocol, pre-agreed upon by the first and second communication devices, or pre-configured by the communication system.

[0121] For example, taking time-domain units as time-domain symbols, the current GP length of the first communication device is 3 time-domain symbols, and the time-domain symbols affected by remote interference from the first communication device in the uplink data window of the second communication device are the first 5 time-domain symbols (denoted as the interfered time-domain length). The second length corresponding to the second communication device can be any value greater than or equal to the sum of the current GP length and the length of the interfered time-domain symbols. That is, the second length can be any length with a corresponding number of time-domain symbols greater than or equal to 8, such as the number of time-domain symbols corresponding to the second length being 8, 9, 11, or 13, etc.

[0122] In addition, in order to maximize resource utilization, the first length can be set as the sum of the current GP length of the first communication device and the length of the time-domain symbol of the second communication device that is interfered with.

[0123] Similarly, the GP length (third length) corresponding to the first network node can be understood as the target GP length of the first communication device when the first network node is no longer remotely interfered with by the first communication device; or, it can also be understood as the minimum GP length of the first communication device when the downlink wireless signal of the first communication device will no longer fall into the uplink data window of the first network node.

[0124] The method for determining the third length is similar to that for determining the second length. The difference is that the third length is determined based on the number / length of time-domain units in the uplink data window of the first network node that are affected by remote interference from the first communication device. The specific steps can be referred to the relevant descriptions in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0125] For ease of understanding and explanation, the following embodiments of this application use time-domain units as time-domain symbols as examples.

[0126] The first reference signal can be understood as a reference signal used to achieve remote interference management. Different reference signals may have the same or different first lengths, and the same reference signal may have the same or different first lengths in different scenarios. The specific application of the first reference signal will be described in subsequent embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0127] For example, the first reference signal may be a predefined remote interference management reference signal or a RIM-RS.

[0128] The first reference signal is a predefined remote interference management reference signal. This can be understood as the first reference signal being a new remote interference management reference signal pre-agreed upon by the first communication device and the second communication device; or it can be understood as the first reference signal being a new remote interference management reference signal pre-defined by the protocol; or it can be understood as the first reference signal being a remote interference management reference signal pre-configured by the communication system.

[0129] For example, the second communication device sending a first reference signal to the first communication device can be understood as the second communication device sending the first reference signal to the first communication device on a preset symbol, or it can also be understood as the first reference signal being carried on a preset symbol. The preset symbol can be a specified time-domain symbol predefined by the protocol, or it can be a specified time-domain symbol pre-configured by the communication system.

[0130] Based on the above scheme, in the event of remote interference from the first communication device and / or remote interference from the first network node connected to the second communication device, the second communication device sends a first reference signal to the first communication device. This first reference signal updates the GP length of the first communication device to a first length, which is the maximum value between the GP length corresponding to the second communication device (second length) and the GP length corresponding to the first network node (third length). Since the first length is the maximum value between the second and third lengths, after the first communication device updates its GP length to the first length, the updated GP can simultaneously meet the requirements of both the second communication device and the first network node for the GP length of the first communication device. This prevents the downlink wireless signal of the first communication device from falling into the uplink data window of the second communication device and the uplink data window of the first network node, thereby effectively reducing the remote interference caused by the downlink data transmission of the first communication device to the second communication device and the first network node, minimizing uplink transmission interference from the first communication device to the second communication device, and improving the uplink data transmission performance of the second communication device. Furthermore, the connection between the second communication device and the first network node, which only has uplink wireless signal reception capabilities and not downlink wireless signal transmission capabilities, effectively enhances the uplink wireless signal reception capability of the second communication device.

[0131] The overall process of the communication method provided in this application has been described above. The specific implementation of each step is described below.

[0132] The first reference signal is used to update the GP length of the first communication device to a first length, and includes the following two possible implementations:

[0133] Method 1: The first reference signal is used to indicate the first length.

[0134] In other words, the updated GP length (first length) of the first communication device is determined by the second communication device. The second communication device takes one of the GP length (second length) corresponding to the second communication device and the GP length corresponding to the first network node as the first length, and then directly indicates the first length to the first communication device through the first reference signal.

[0135] As one possible implementation, the first reference signal is generated based on a first sequence, which is associated with a first length.

[0136] The first reference signal is generated based on the first sequence. This can be understood as the encoding sequence used in the process of generating the first reference signal being the first sequence; or it can be understood as the first sequence being used to achieve correct decoding of the first reference signal in the process of decoding the first reference signal.

[0137] For example, the first sequence can be a Zadoff-Chu sequence (ZC sequence), or it can be the longest linear feedback shift register sequence (M sequence).

[0138] For example, the first sequence is the ZC sequence with index number 1 in the ZC sequence set, or the first sequence is the ZC sequence with index number 3 in the ZC sequence set. Here, the ZC sequence set can be understood as a collection of multiple ZC sequences, where ZC sequences with different index numbers are different ZC sequences (e.g., ZC sequences with different index numbers have different lengths). The ZC sequence set, or the multiple ZC sequences constituting the ZC sequence set, can be predefined by the protocol or pre-configured by the communication system, and different ZC sequences in the ZC sequence set can be associated with different GP lengths.

[0139] For example, the first sequence is the M-sequence with index number 2 in the M-sequence set, or the first sequence is the M-sequence with index number 6 in the M-sequence set. Here, the M-sequence set can be understood as a collection of multiple M-sequences, and M-sequences with different index numbers are different M-sequences (e.g., M-sequences with different index numbers have different lengths). The M-sequence set or the multiple M-sequences constituting the M-sequence set can be predefined by the protocol or pre-configured by the communication system, and different M-sequences in the M-sequence set can be associated with different GP lengths.

[0140] For example, the association of the first sequence with the first length can be understood as the first reference signal generated based on the first sequence corresponding to / indicating the GP length as the first length. That is, each sequence used to generate the first reference signal is associated with a GP length, and the first length corresponding to / indicating the first reference signal is the GP length associated with the sequence used to generate the first reference signal.

[0141] For example, taking the first sequence as the M sequence, and the M sequence set containing 8 M sequences with indices from 1 to 8, the GP length corresponding to M sequence 1 is GP1, the GP length corresponding to M sequence 2 is GP2, ..., the GP length corresponding to M sequence 8 is GP2. When the first sequence for generating the first reference signal is M sequence 2, the first length of the first reference signal indicator / corresponding to it is GP2; when the first sequence for generating the first reference signal is M sequence 8, the first length of the first reference signal indicator / corresponding to it is GP8.

[0142] Based on this scheme, after determining that the first communication device will not cause remote interference to the second communication device and the first network node, the first communication device, after adopting the length of the GP (first length), generates a first reference signal based on the first sequence associated with the first length, and sends the first reference signal to the first communication device to indicate the first length. This allows the first communication device to directly use the GP length associated with the first sequence that generated the first reference signal as the first length based on the parsing of the first reference signal. After updating the GP length to the first length, the remote interference of the first communication device to the second communication device and the first network node is significantly reduced or eliminated. Furthermore, since the first communication device directly uses the GP length associated with the first sequence as the first length, the first communication device does not need to compare the second and third lengths, which helps to reduce the difficulty of updating the GP length to the first length and improves the efficiency of the first communication device in updating the GP length.

[0143] As another possible implementation, the first reference signal is mapped to a first time-frequency resource, which is associated with a first length.

[0144] The mapping of the first reference signal to the first time-frequency resource can be understood as the first communication device being able to detect the first reference signal only on the first time-frequency resource during the process of receiving the first reference signal, or it can be understood as the second communication device carrying the first reference signal only through the first time-frequency resource during the process of sending the first reference signal.

[0145] For example, taking the second communication device transmitting a first reference signal on multiple REs corresponding to a preset symbol as an example, the first time-frequency resource can be understood as a set of time-frequency resources composed of multiple REs on which the first communication device receives the first reference signal, or the first time-frequency resource can also be understood as a set of time-frequency resources composed of multiple REs on which the second communication device transmits the first reference signal.

[0146] The multiple REs corresponding to the preset symbol can be understood as all or part of the REs among all REs corresponding to the preset symbol. The meaning of the preset symbol can be referred to the relevant description in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0147] The second communication device transmits a first reference signal on multiple REs corresponding to preset symbols, including the following two possible implementation methods:

[0148] Method 1: The second communication device sends a first reference signal once on each RE.

[0149] In other words, when the first reference signal occupies one RE, during the process of the second communication device transmitting the first reference signal on the preset symbol, it can select a portion of REs from all REs corresponding to the preset symbol and transmit the first reference signal once on each of the REs in that portion.

[0150] For example, the REs corresponding to the preset symbols include: RE1, RE2...RE12. The second communication device selects 6 REs, RE1, RE3, RE5...RE11, to carry the first reference signal. Then the second communication device can transmit the first reference signal once on each of the 6 REs, RE1, RE3, RE5...RE11. The first time-frequency resource can be understood as 6 REs with indices of 1, 3, 5...11.

[0151] Method 2: The second communication device completes the transmission of a first reference signal once through at least two REs.

[0152] In other words, when the first reference signal requires two or more REs, during the process of transmitting the first reference signal on the preset symbol, the second communication device can select some REs from all the REs corresponding to the preset symbol, and divide the selected REs into multiple RE groups carrying the first reference signal according to the number of REs required for the first reference signal, and complete the transmission of the first reference signal on the REs contained in each RE group.

[0153] For example, if the first reference signal needs to be carried by two consecutive REs, and the REs corresponding to the preset symbols include: RE1, RE2...RE12, then the second communication device can select 6 REs, namely RE1, RE2, RE5, RE6, RE9, and RE10, to carry the first reference signal. RE1 and RE2 are combined into one RE group, RE5 and RE6 into another RE group, and RE9 and RE10 into yet another RE group. The first reference signal is transmitted once on each RE group. The first time-frequency resource can be understood as 6 REs with indices of 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, and 10 respectively.

[0154] Furthermore, for ease of explanation and understanding, the above embodiments take the first reference signal being carried by two consecutive REs as an example. In the application process, the number of REs required to carry the first reference signal can also be multiple, and the relationship between the REs carrying the first reference signal can also be discontinuous or not completely continuous, without limitation.

[0155] It is worth mentioning that the RE received by the first communication device as the first reference signal is usually the same as the RE sent by the second communication device as the first reference signal. However, due to the transmission delay caused by the interval between the first and second communication devices, the time domain symbol of the first reference signal received by the first communication device is usually different from the time domain symbol of the first reference signal sent by the second communication device.

[0156] Optionally, the time-frequency resources mapped to the first reference signal can also be identified using a time-frequency pattern. For example, the time-frequency units mapped to the first reference signal can be sorted according to the time information corresponding to each time-frequency unit, and the resulting sequence of time-frequency units can be used as the time-frequency pattern corresponding to the first reference signal.

[0157] For example, associating the first time-frequency resource with the first length can be understood as the first length indicated by the first reference signal being the GP length associated with the first time-frequency resource. That is, the first time-frequency resource can be regarded as a set of time-frequency resources containing multiple REs. The GP lengths associated with time-frequency resource sets containing different REs can be the same or different. That is, the first length indicated by the first reference signal is the GP length associated with the time-frequency resource set mapped by the first reference signal. The first lengths indicated by the first reference signal mapping different time-frequency resource sets may be the same or different.

[0158] For example, consider a sequence of RE indices as a feature of a time-frequency resource set. The GP length for time-frequency resource set 1 is GP1, the GP length for time-frequency resource set 2 is GP2, and so on, with the GP length for time-frequency resource set 4 being GP4. The features (indices of the included REs) of time-frequency resource set 1 are 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11; the features of time-frequency resource set 2 are 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12; the features of time-frequency resource set 3 are 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, and 11; and the features of time-frequency resource set 4 are 2, 3, 10, and 11.

[0159] When the index of the RE used by the second communication device to send the first reference signal is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, the first time-frequency resource mapped by the first reference signal is time-frequency resource set 1. After receiving the first reference signal, the first communication device uses GP1 associated with time-frequency resource set 1 as the first length indicated / corresponding to the first reference signal. When the index of the RE used by the second communication device to send the first reference signal is 2, 3, 10 and 11, the first time-frequency resource mapped by the first reference signal is time-frequency resource set 4. After receiving the first reference signal, the first communication device uses GP4 associated with time-frequency resource set 4 as the first length indicated / corresponding to the first reference signal.

[0160] Furthermore, time-frequency resource sets containing REs with the same distribution pattern can have the same GP length.

[0161] In the above embodiments, among the multiple REs contained in time-frequency resource set 1 and time-frequency resource set 2, after sorting the REs contained in the two time-frequency resource sets according to the index corresponding to the RE, the interval between the indexes corresponding to adjacent REs in each time-frequency resource set is 1, that is, the REs contained in time-frequency resource set 1 and the REs contained in time-frequency resource set 2 have the same distribution pattern. The GP length corresponding to time-frequency resource set 1 and time-frequency resource set 2 can be set to the same length in advance. The second communication device sends a first reference signal based on time-frequency resource set 1 and time-frequency resource set 2 to indicate the same first length.

[0162] Based on this scheme, when the second communication device is transmitting a first reference signal indicating a specific first length, and the encoding of the first reference signal is difficult, it can use the time-frequency resource set with the larger index corresponding to the starting RE in the time-frequency resource set associated with the first length as the time-frequency resource set carrying the first reference signal. This allows the second communication device to have more encoding time, which is beneficial to improving the reliability of the encoding of the first reference signal.

[0163] For example, let's take the number of REs contained as a characteristic of a time-frequency resource set. The GP length corresponding to time-frequency resource set 1 is GP1, the GP length corresponding to time-frequency resource set 2 is GP2, and so on, the GP length corresponding to time-frequency resource set 12 is GP12; the characteristic of time-frequency resource set 1 (the number of REs contained) is 1, the characteristic of time-frequency resource set 2 is 2, the characteristic of time-frequency resource set 3 is 3, and so on, the characteristic of time-frequency resource set 12 is 12.

[0164] When the second communication device sends the first reference signal using 3 REs, the first time-frequency resource mapped by the first reference signal is time-frequency resource set 3. After receiving the first reference signal, the first communication device uses GP3 associated with time-frequency resource set 3 as the first reference signal indication / corresponding first length. When the second communication device sends the first reference signal using 9 REs, the first time-frequency resource mapped by the first reference signal is time-frequency resource set 9. After receiving the first reference signal, the first communication device uses GP9 associated with time-frequency resource set 9 as the first reference signal indication / corresponding first length.

[0165] Based on this scheme, after determining that the first communication device will not cause remote interference to the second communication device and the first network node, after the first communication device adopts the length of the GP (first length), the second communication device can send a first reference signal to the first communication device on a specific RE based on the REs contained in the time-frequency resource set associated with the first length. Then, the first communication device can use the first time-frequency resource of the RE that received the first reference signal as the first length, and update the GP length to the first length, significantly reducing or eliminating remote interference from the first communication device to the second communication device and the first network node. Furthermore, since the first communication device directly uses the GP length associated with the first time-frequency resource as the first length, it does not need to compare the second and third lengths, which helps reduce the difficulty of updating the GP length to the first length and improves the efficiency of updating the GP length.

[0166] Method 2: The first reference signal is used to indicate the first offset. The third length is the sum of the second length and the first offset.

[0167] In other words, the updated GP length (first length) of the first communication device is determined by the first communication device. After obtaining its corresponding GP length (second length) and the GP length (third length) of the first network node, the second communication device calculates the difference (first offset) between the third length and the second length, and then indicates the first offset to the first communication device through the first reference signal. After receiving the first reference signal, the first communication device determines the second length according to the time-domain symbol of the received first reference signal, and then takes the maximum value between the second length and the third length as the first length according to the first offset indicated by the first reference signal.

[0168] For example, the first offset can also be understood as the additional GP length that the first communication device rolls back for the first network node in order to eliminate or reduce the remote interference received by the first network node, after the first communication device updates the length of the GP based on the remote interference received by the second communication device, when both the first network node and the second communication device are subjected to remote interference from the first communication device. In other words, the first offset is the GP length that needs to be further increased after the first communication device increases the length of the GP based on the remote interference received by the second communication device, in order to eliminate the remote interference received by the first network node.

[0169] It is worth noting that the first offset can be a value greater than or equal to 0, or a value less than 0. Compared to the interval between the first network node and the first communication device (denoted as D1), and the interval between the second communication device and the first communication device (denoted as D2), D1 may be greater than or less than D2. The relationship between the length of the time-domain symbol in the downlink data window of the second communication device that is remotely interfered with by the first communication device (denoted as E1) and the length of the time-domain symbol in the uplink data window of the first network node that is remotely interfered with by the first communication device (denoted as E2) includes E1 greater than E2, E1 equal to E2, and E1 less than E2. Therefore, when the third length is the sum of the second length and the first offset, if E2 is less than E1, the first offset is less than 0; if E2 is greater than or equal to E1, the first offset is greater than 0.

[0170] For example, the first communication device determines the second length based on the time-domain symbol (denoted as time-domain symbol r) of the received first reference signal. This can be understood as the first communication device determining the second length based on the interval between the time-domain symbol r and a preset symbol. Furthermore, for the second communication device, the second length may be determined based on the interval between the last time-domain symbol (denoted as time-domain symbol t) of the detected remote interference in the uplink data window and the preset symbol. The meaning of the preset symbol can be referred to the relevant description in the foregoing embodiments.

[0171] For example, in the process of determining the second length, the first communication device may use the interval between the last time domain symbol in the time domain symbol r and the first time domain symbol in the preset symbol as the second length; or, the interval between the last time domain symbol in the time domain symbol r and the last time domain symbol in the preset symbol as the second length; or, the interval between the first time domain symbol in the time domain symbol r and the first time domain symbol in the preset symbol as the second length.

[0172] Similarly, the second communication device may use the interval between the time domain symbol t and the first time domain symbol in the preset symbols as the second length, or it may use the interval between the time domain symbol t and the last time domain symbol in the preset symbols as the second length, etc.

[0173] Optionally, the first communication device using the maximum value between the second length and the third length as the first length may include the following two possible implementations:

[0174] Method 1: First determine the third length, then compare the size of the second and third lengths.

[0175] In other words, after obtaining the first offset and the second length, the first communication device first sums the first offset and the second length, and uses the sum as the third length. Then, by comparing the size between the third length and the second length, the maximum value between the third length and the second length is determined as the first length.

[0176] Method 2: Determine the first length directly by the size of the first offset.

[0177] For example, if the first offset is greater than or equal to 0, the first length is the third length; if the first offset is less than 0, the first length is the second length.

[0178] In other words, after acquiring the first offset, the first communication device detects whether the first offset is greater than 0. If the first offset is greater than 0, the sum of the first offset and the second length is determined as the first length; if the first offset is equal to 0, the second length or the sum of the second length and the first offset is determined as the first length; if the first offset is less than 0, the second length is directly determined as the first length.

[0179] When the first length is determined directly based on the relationship between the first offset and 0, the first communication device may not need to perform summation operations in the process of determining the first length, which helps to reduce the computing power overhead of the first communication device in the process of determining the first length.

[0180] As one possible implementation, the first reference signal is generated based on a second sequence associated with the first offset.

[0181] The first reference signal is generated based on the second sequence. This can be understood as the encoding sequence used in the process of generating the first reference signal being the second sequence; or it can be understood as the use of the second sequence to achieve correct decoding of the first reference signal during the decoding process.

[0182] The indication of the first offset based on the second sequence that generates the first reference signal is similar to the indication of the first length based on the first sequence that generates the first reference signal in the previous embodiment. Refer to the relevant description in the previous embodiment. The difference is that the offset between the second length and the third length is associated with the second sequence, which will not be repeated here.

[0183] Based on this scheme, the first communication device can, by parsing the first reference signal, use the GP length associated with the second sequence that generated the first reference signal as the first offset, determine the second length based on the time-domain symbol of the received first reference signal, and then combine the first offset and the second length to determine the first length. After updating the GP length to the first length, the remote interference of the first communication device to the second communication device and the first network node is significantly reduced or eliminated. Furthermore, since the total number of sequences that can be used to generate the first reference signal is limited, the number of different GP lengths that the first reference signal can indicate is also limited. Compared to the scheme where the first reference signal indicates the first length, the scheme where the first reference signal indicates the first offset, where the third length is associated with the second length, allows for a much larger number of third lengths that can be indicated than the number of first lengths that the first reference signal can indicate. This improves the adaptability of the above method to different application scenarios.

[0184] As an alternative implementation, the first reference signal is mapped to a second time-frequency resource, which is associated with the first offset.

[0185] The mapping of the first reference signal to the second time-frequency resource can be understood as the first communication device being able to detect the first reference signal only on the second time-frequency resource during the process of receiving the first reference signal, or it can be understood as the second communication device carrying the first reference signal only through the second time-frequency resource during the process of sending the first reference signal.

[0186] The first offset indicated by the second time-frequency resource based on the generation of the first reference signal mapping is similar to the first length indicated by the first time-frequency resource based on the generation of the first reference signal mapping in the previous embodiment. Refer to the relevant description in the previous embodiment. The difference is that the offset between the second length and the third length is associated with the second time-frequency resource, which will not be repeated here.

[0187] Based on this scheme, the first communication device can use the GP length associated with the second time-frequency resource mapped to the first reference signal as the first offset based on the parsing of the first reference signal, determine the second length based on the time-domain symbol of the received first reference signal, and then combine the first offset and the second length to determine the first length. After updating the length of the GP to the first length, the remote interference of the first communication device to the second communication device and the first network node is significantly reduced or eliminated.

[0188] In one possible implementation, prior to step S401, the first communication device sends first information to the second communication device. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first information from the first communication device. The first information is used by the second communication device to send a first reference signal to the first communication device.

[0189] For example, the first information used by the second communication device to send a first reference signal to the first communication device can be understood as the first information used by the second communication device to generate the first reference signal to be sent to the first communication device, or it can also be understood as the first information used by the second communication device to determine the time and frequency resources used to send the first reference signal to the first communication device.

[0190] The first information includes the following four possible implementation methods:

[0191] Method 1: The first information indicates the correlation between the sequence of generating the first reference signal and the length of the GP.

[0192] Here, the length of GP can be understood as the first length of the sequence associated with generating the first reference signal.

[0193] As one possible implementation, the association between the sequence that generates the first reference signal and the length of the GP can be implemented in the form of key-value pairs. For example, the second information may include the following information elements: {identification information of sequence 1 that generates the first reference signal, length 1 of GP}, {identification information of sequence 2 that generates the first reference signal, length 2 of GP}, ..., {identification information of sequence N that generates the first reference signal, length N of GP}, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, such as 2, 3, 5, 7, or 9.

[0194] As another possible implementation, the first information can be presented in tabular form. For example, the correlation between the sequence that generates the first reference signal and the length of GP can be found in Table 1, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2:

[0195] Table 1

[0196] Based on this scheme, the first communication device can accurately obtain the first length corresponding to each sequence used to generate the first reference signal, so that after receiving the first reference signal from the second communication device, it can accurately determine the length of the updated GP of the first communication device according to the first sequence used to generate the first reference signal.

[0197] Method 2: The first information indicates the correlation between the sequence of generating the first reference signal and the offset of GP.

[0198] Here, the offset of GP can be understood as the first offset associated with the sequence that generates the first reference signal.

[0199] As one possible implementation, the association between the sequence of the first information indicating the generation of the first reference signal and the offset of the GP can be implemented in the form of key-value pairs.

[0200] As another possible implementation, the first information indicating the correlation between the sequence that generates the first reference signal and the offset of the GP can be implemented in tabular form.

[0201] The first information indicates the correlation between the sequence that generates the first reference signal and the offset of GP. This is similar to the first information indicating the length of the sequence that generates the first reference signal and GP in the previous embodiment. Please refer to the relevant description in the previous embodiment. The difference is that the first information indicates the correlation between the first offset and the sequence that generates the first reference signal, which will not be repeated here.

[0202] Based on this scheme, the first communication device can accurately obtain the first offset corresponding to each sequence used to generate the first reference signal, which facilitates the first communication device to accurately determine the first length based on the first offset and the second length.

[0203] Method 3: The first information indicates the correlation between the time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal and the length of the GP.

[0204] The meaning of the length of GP can be referred to the relevant description in the foregoing embodiments. The time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal can be understood as a set of time-frequency resources composed of multiple REs that can detect the first reference signal, or it can also be understood as a set of time-frequency resources composed of multiple REs that carry the first reference signal.

[0205] As one possible implementation, the association between the time-frequency resources of the first reference signal mapping and the length of the GP can be implemented in the form of key-value pairs. For example, the second information may include the following information elements: {identification information of the time-frequency resource set 1 of the first reference signal mapping, length 1 of the GP}, {identification information of the time-frequency resource set 2 of the first reference signal mapping, length 2 of the GP}, ..., {identification information of the time-frequency resource set N of the first reference signal mapping, length N of the GP}, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, such as 2, 3, 5, 7 or 9, etc.

[0206] As another possible implementation, the first information can be presented in tabular form. For example, the relationship between the time-frequency resource set mapped by the first reference signal and the length of the GP can be found in Table 2, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2:

[0207] Table 2

[0208] Based on this scheme, the first communication device can accurately obtain the first length associated with the first reference signal that maps different time-domain resources, which makes it easier to accurately determine the length of the updated GP of the first communication device according to the time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal after receiving the first reference signal from the second communication device.

[0209] Method 4: The first information indicates the correlation between the time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal and the offset of the GP.

[0210] The meaning of the GP offset and the time-frequency resources mapped to the first reference signal can be found in the relevant descriptions in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0211] As one possible implementation, the association between the time-frequency resources of the first reference signal mapping and the offset of the GP can be implemented in the form of key-value pairs.

[0212] As another possible implementation, the first information indicating the correlation between the time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal and the offset of the GP can be implemented in tabular form.

[0213] The first information indicates the relationship between the time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal and the offset of the GP. This is similar to the first information indicating the length of the time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal and the GP in the previous embodiment. Please refer to the relevant description in the previous embodiment. The difference is that the first information indicates the relationship between the first offset and the time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal, which will not be repeated here.

[0214] Based on this scheme, the first communication device can accurately obtain the first offset corresponding to different time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal, which facilitates the first communication device to accurately determine the first length based on the first offset and the second length.

[0215] Furthermore, in the above embodiments, the first information is sent from the second communication device to the first communication device as an example. The first information can also be predefined by the protocol, or the first information can be pre-configured by the communication system. That is, the protocol can predefine the length or offset of the GP associated with different sequences that generate the first reference signal, and / or the length or offset of the GP associated with different time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal.

[0216] In one possible implementation, after step S401, the first communication device sends a first signal to the second communication device. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first signal from the first communication device. The first signal indicates that the length of GP has been updated.

[0217] For example, the first signal may be a signal carrying indication information indicating that the length of the first communication device GP has been updated. Alternatively, the first signal may be a reference signal for implementing remote interference management, such as a predefined remote interference management reference signal or RIM-RS, the meaning of which can be found in the relevant descriptions in the foregoing embodiments.

[0218] As one possible implementation, the first signal is carried on a first preset symbol, which is determined based on a preset symbol carrying the first reference signal. For example, the first preset symbol is a preset symbol carrying the first reference signal, or the interval between the first preset symbol and the preset symbol carrying the first reference signal is less than the difference between the first length and the length of the GP before the first communication device update.

[0219] Based on this scheme, after the first communication device completes the GP length update, it can send a first signal on the first preset symbol, so that the second communication device can receive the first signal from the first communication device in the uplink data window, thereby obtaining the message that the first communication device has completed the GP length update, and timely terminating the broadcast or transmission of the first reference signal, which helps to reduce the power consumption of the second communication device.

[0220] In one possible implementation, in step S401, the second communication device transmits a first reference signal to the first communication device on the first time domain unit. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the first reference signal from the second communication device. The first time domain unit is located after the second time domain unit, and the interval between the first and second time domain units is a first interval.

[0221] For example, the second time-domain unit can be understood as a preset time-domain unit used to carry a reference signal for remote interference management. For instance, the second time-domain unit is the preset time-domain unit or preset symbol used to carry the first reference signal in the foregoing embodiments.

[0222] The first interval is determined based on the GP length (second length) corresponding to the second communication device and the GP length (third length) corresponding to the first network node.

[0223] For example, the first interval is greater than or equal to the difference between the third length and the second length. For instance, the first interval is equal to the difference between the third length and the second length (denoted as D3), or the first interval is equal to 1.1 times D3, which can be rounded up or down if 1.1 times D3 is not an integer.

[0224] It is worth mentioning that when the third length is less than or equal to the second length, or in other words, when the difference between the third length and the second length is less than or equal to 0, the first interval is set to 0. That is, the second time-domain unit is directly used as the first time-domain unit. This ensures that after the first communication device updates the GP length according to the first reference signal, the updated GP length can simultaneously meet the expectations of both the second communication device and the first network node regarding the GP length of the first communication device, thus significantly reducing or eliminating remote interference from the first communication device to the second communication device and the first network node.

[0225] Optionally, the first reference signal may be associated with the first length, or the first reference signal may not be associated with the first length.

[0226] The first reference signal associated with the first length can be understood as the first sequence being associated with the first length, or it can also be understood as the first time-frequency resource being associated with the first length.

[0227] When the first interval is equal to the difference between the third length and the second length, and the second communication device sends the first reference signal in the first time domain unit, since the second communication device moves the time domain unit that sends the first reference signal forward by the first interval, after the first communication device performs the determination of the second length according to the method of determining the second length in the above embodiment based on the received first reference signal, what is actually determined is the sum of the second length and the first interval. When the minimum value of the first interval is 0, it is equivalent to determining the maximum value between the second length and the third length.

[0228] As one possible implementation, the first reference signal is not associated with a first length, which can also be understood as the interval between the time-domain unit and the second time-domain unit where the first communication device receives the first reference signal. For example, the first reference signal is a RIM-RS generated based on an arbitrary sequence, or the first reference signal is a RIM-RS whose mapped time-frequency resource is an arbitrary time-frequency resource corresponding to the second time-domain unit.

[0229] When the first reference signal is not associated with the first length, the first communication device does not need to parse the first reference signal during the process of determining the first length. It can directly determine the first length based on the difference between the time domain unit and the second time domain unit of the received first reference signal, which helps to reduce the complexity of the first communication device in determining the first length.

[0230] As another possible implementation, the first reference signal is associated with a first length.

[0231] When the first reference signal is associated with the first length, after the first communication device determines the value of the first length (denoted as Q1) based on the difference between the time domain unit and the second time domain unit of the received first reference signal, it can parse the first reference signal to obtain the value of the first length associated with the first reference signal (denoted as Q2).

[0232] Then, Q2 is used as the check value of Q1. If Q2 and Q1 are consistent, the length of the GP of the first communication device is updated to the first length; if Q2 and Q1 are inconsistent, the length of the GP is not updated. Based on this scheme, it is possible to further confirm whether the first reference signal is a reference signal for the first communication device through verification, thereby avoiding the first communication device from erroneously updating the GP length based on the received first reference signal.

[0233] Alternatively, after determining Q1 and Q2, the average of Q2 and Q1 can be used as the first length. Based on this scheme, the accuracy of determining the first length can be further improved.

[0234] For example, one application flow of the method shown in Figure 4 can be shown in Figure 5. Referring to Figure 5, the flow may include the following steps:

[0235] S501, The first communication device causes remote interference to the second communication device and the first network node.

[0236] For example, the first communication device transmits downlink data to the terminal device according to the preset GP. When sending atmospheric waveguides, the downlink wireless signal of the first communication device reaches the second communication device and the first network node after different propagation delays. When the propagation delay of the downlink wireless signal of the first communication device is greater than the preset GP, the downlink wireless signal of the first communication device causes serious remote interference to the uplink wireless signal reception of the second communication device and / or the first network node.

[0237] For example, the preset GP can be understood as a GP predefined by the protocol, or a GP pre-configured in the communication system where the first communication device is located. Downlink data transmission with the terminal device according to the preset GP can be understood as the first communication device transmitting downlink data to the terminal device through a downlink data window and receiving uplink data through an uplink data window, with the interval between the downlink data window and the uplink data window being the preset GP.

[0238] For example, the terminal device may be a user-side device that resides in a cell managed by the first communication device and communicates with the first communication device via an air interface.

[0239] S502, the second communication device and the first network node respectively acquire the second length and the third length.

[0240] The meanings of the second length and the third length can be found in the relevant descriptions in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0241] For example, the second communication device and the first network node respectively perform remote interference detection on the uplink data window, measure the interference intensity on the time-frequency resources contained in the uplink data window, and obtain the total length of the time-frequency units (such as time domain symbols) in the uplink data window that are remotely interfered with by the first communication device.

[0242] For example, the second communication device and the first network node respectively detect whether the interference intensity between different time-frequency units in their uplink data window meets the ramp feature. If the interference intensity between different time-frequency units meets the ramp feature, it is determined that remote interference has occurred, and the total length of the time-frequency units whose interference intensity meets the ramp feature is taken as the total length of the time-frequency units affected by remote interference.

[0243] The second communication device can use any value greater than or equal to (L1+L2) as the second length, based on the total length of the time-frequency unit remotely interfered with by the first communication device in its uplink data window (denoted as L1) and the preset length of GP (denoted as L2). For example, it can use (L1+L2) as the second length, or (L1+L2+1) as the second length, etc.

[0244] Similarly, the first network node can also determine the third length based on the total length of the time-frequency units remotely interfered with by the first communication device in its uplink data window and the preset length of GP. The way the first network node determines the third length is similar to the way the second communication device determines the second length. Please refer to the relevant description in the foregoing embodiments, and it will not be repeated here.

[0245] S503, the first network node reports the third length.

[0246] For example, the first network node reports the third length determined by remote interference detection to the second communication device via a wired transmission through a connecting cable (such as an optical fiber, coaxial cable, or network cable) between the first network node and the second communication device.

[0247] S504, the second communication device sends a first reference signal to the first communication device. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the first reference signal from the second communication device.

[0248] Step S504 is similar to step S401 in the previous embodiments, and can be referred to the relevant descriptions in the previous embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0249] It is worth mentioning that if the first network node detects remote interference but the second communication device does not, the first network node can instruct / request the second communication device to enable remote interference management (by sending a remote interference management reference signal) via wired transmission. In this case, during the process of the second communication device determining the first length, it is equivalent to the second length determined by the second communication device being 0. The remote interference management reference signal (such as the first reference signal) sent by the second communication device is used to update the length of the GP of the first communication device to the third length.

[0250] S505, The first communication device updates the length of GP.

[0251] For example, the first communication device periodically detects reference signals on the time-frequency resources in the uplink data window. When a first reference signal is detected in the uplink data window, the updated GP length of the first communication device is determined based on the first length corresponding to the detected first reference signal. The method for determining the first length based on the first reference signal can be referred to the relevant description in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0252] Optionally, after acquiring the first length, the first communication device determines the updated GP length based on its downlink transmission status and / or rules predefined by the protocol.

[0253] For example, the first communication device detects the priority of its current service. If the priority of the service is higher than the preset priority, the length of the GP of the first communication device is not updated based on the rules predefined in the protocol. If the priority of the service is not higher than the preset priority, the length of the updated GP is set to any value greater than or equal to the first length (such as the first length). The preset priority can be predefined in the protocol or preconfigured in the communication system.

[0254] For example, the first communication device detects the load of its downlink data transmission. If the downlink data transmission load is higher than a preset threshold, the length of the GP of the first communication device is not updated; if the downlink data transmission load is not higher than the preset threshold, the length of the updated GP is set to any value greater than or equal to the first length (such as the first length). The preset threshold can be predefined by the protocol or preconfigured by the communication system.

[0255] Optionally, when the first communication device detects the first reference signal, it can also detect whether the signal strength of the first reference signal meets a preset threshold. If the signal strength of the first reference signal meets the preset threshold, the remote interference avoidance scheme is activated, that is, the length of the updated GP of the first communication device is determined according to the first length corresponding to the detected first reference signal; if the signal strength of the first reference signal does not meet the preset threshold, it is determined that the target communication device of the first reference signal is not the first communication device, and the remote interference avoidance is not performed.

[0256] S506, the first communication device indicates the updated GP length to the terminal device and performs downlink data transmission based on the new GP length.

[0257] As one possible implementation, the first communication device sends a second signal to the terminal device, the second signal indicating that the updated length of the GP of the first communication device is the first length.

[0258] Optionally, the second signal may explicitly indicate that the updated GP length of the first communication device is the first length; for example, the second signal may contain the first length. Alternatively, the second signal may implicitly indicate that the updated GP length of the first communication device is the first length; for example, the second signal may indicate the difference between the updated GP length and the current length. For example, the second signal may be downlink control information (DCI), or it may be a newly defined downlink signal in the protocol that includes GP length indication information.

[0259] After receiving the second signal, the terminal device selectively discards signals received on a portion of the time-frequency resources contained in the downlink data reception window, based on the updated GP length of the first communication device, thereby preventing external interference from interfering with downlink data transmission between the first communication device and the terminal device. The downlink data reception window can be composed of multiple time-frequency units from which the terminal device receives downlink data from the first communication device.

[0260] As another possible implementation, the first communication device implicitly indicates to the terminal device the location of valid time-frequency resources in the downlink data reception window, or the length of the updated GP, by scheduling and configuring downlink resources. The terminal device then receives downlink data from the first communication device on the specified time-frequency resources in the downlink data reception window, based on the downlink resource configuration of the first communication device.

[0261] S507. The first communication device sends a first signal to the second communication device. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first signal from the first communication device.

[0262] The interaction of the first signal in step S507 is similar to that in the previous embodiment, and can be referred to the relevant description in the previous embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0263] Furthermore, after updating the length of GP according to the first reference signal, the first communication device may choose not to transmit the first signal, and the second communication device may selectively terminate the transmission of the first reference signal according to the remote interference detection result.

[0264] In other words, after the second communication device transmits the first reference signal, both the second communication device and the first network node periodically perform remote interference detection on the time-frequency resources in their uplink data windows. Since the first communication device updates the GP length to the first length, the second communication device and the first network node can no longer detect remote interference from the first communication device. Therefore, after neither the first network node nor the second communication device detects remote interference from the first communication device, the second communication device terminates transmitting the first reference signal. This scheme helps reduce the power consumption of the first communication device during remote interference management.

[0265] Based on the above scheme, in the event of remote interference from the first communication device and / or remote interference from the first network node connected to the second communication device, the second communication device sends a first reference signal to the first communication device. This first reference signal updates the GP length of the first communication device to a first length, which is the maximum value between the GP length corresponding to the second communication device (second length) and the GP length corresponding to the first network node (third length). Since the first length is the maximum value between the second and third lengths, after the first communication device updates its GP length to the first length, the updated GP can simultaneously meet the requirements of both the second communication device and the first network node for the GP length of the first communication device. This prevents the downlink wireless signal of the first communication device from falling into the uplink data window of the second communication device and the uplink data window of the first network node, thereby effectively reducing the remote interference caused by the downlink data transmission of the first communication device to the second communication device and the first network node, minimizing uplink transmission interference from the first communication device to the second communication device, and improving the uplink data transmission performance of the second communication device. Furthermore, the connection between the second communication device and the first network node, which only has uplink wireless signal reception capabilities and not downlink wireless signal transmission capabilities, effectively enhances the uplink wireless signal reception capability of the second communication device.

[0266] The following description, using the communication system shown in Figure 3 as an example and taking the interaction between the first communication device and the terminal device as an example, illustrates another communication method provided in this application embodiment. Referring to Figure 6, which is a flowchart of a communication method provided in this application embodiment, the method may include the following steps:

[0267] S601, the first communication device sends first indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information from the first communication device. The first indication information indicates that the length of the GP updated by the first communication device is a first length.

[0268] For example, the first length is the maximum of the second and third lengths.

[0269] Wherein, the second length is the GP length corresponding to the second communication device, the third length is the GP length corresponding to the first network node, the first network node is connected to the second communication device, the first network node has the function of receiving uplink wireless signals, but does not have the function of transmitting downlink wireless signals.

[0270] Optionally, the second communication device is a communication device that sends a first reference signal to the first communication device, and the second communication device and / or the first network node are able to detect remote interference from the first communication device in the uplink data window.

[0271] The meanings of the first length, the second length, and the third length can be found in the relevant descriptions in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0272] For example, the first indication information may be downlink control information (DCI), or it may be predefined control information. The predefined control information can be understood as new downlink control information predefined by the protocol or new downlink control information pre-agreed between the first communication device and the terminal device.

[0273] Optionally, the first communication device may send the first instruction information to the terminal device during downlink data transmission, or it may send the first instruction information to the terminal device before downlink data transmission.

[0274] Sending a first indication message before downlink data transmission helps the terminal device determine in advance the time-frequency unit used in the downlink data transmission process of the first communication device, avoiding the need for the terminal device to decode all signals received in the downlink data reception window, thus reducing the power consumption of the terminal device during downlink data transmission. The downlink data reception window consists of multiple time-frequency units that the terminal device may use to receive downlink data from the first communication device.

[0275] When the first instruction information is sent during downlink data transmission, the first communication device can immediately start sending downlink data to the terminal device after completing the GP length change, without waiting for the first instruction information to be exchanged. This helps to reduce the downlink data transmission latency between the first communication device and the terminal device and has better adaptability to low-latency scenarios.

[0276] For ease of description and explanation, the embodiments of this application use DCI as an example for illustration. In the application process, the first indication information can also be other control information, which is not limited.

[0277] The first indication information, used to indicate the updated GP length of the first communication device, may include the following two possible implementations:

[0278] Method 1: The first instruction information includes the first length.

[0279] In other words, the first indication information directly and explicitly indicates the updated length of the GP of the first communication device.

[0280] Furthermore, after receiving the first instruction information, the terminal device determines the portion of time-frequency units actually needed in the downlink data reception window based on the updated GP length of the first communication device. During downlink data reception, signals received on other time-frequency units outside of this portion are discarded. Based on this scheme, after receiving the first instruction information, the terminal device selectively discards signals received on a portion of the time-frequency resources included in the downlink data reception window according to the updated GP length of the first communication device, thereby avoiding external interference from interfering with downlink data transmission between the first communication device and the terminal device.

[0281] For example, the first length can be carried in a first field in the DCI, which can be a bit sequence containing multiple bits in the DCI at a preset position, the bit sequence being used to indicate the number of time-domain units contained in the first length.

[0282] For example, in the case where the first length is 15 time-domain units, the first field can be a bit sequence set to 01111, or the first field can also be a bit sequence set to 001111, etc.

[0283] Method 2: The first indication information includes a first offset. The first offset is the difference between the fourth length and the first length.

[0284] For example, the fourth length can be understood as the length of the first communication device before the GP update, or it can be understood as the initial length of the first communication device's GP.

[0285] In other words, the first indication information implicitly indicates to the terminal device the updated length of the GP of the first communication device by indicating the first offset. After receiving the first offset, the terminal device can use the difference between the first length and the first offset as the first length.

[0286] Furthermore, in the process of determining the portion of time-frequency units actually needed in the downlink data receiving window based on the first instruction information, the terminal device can first determine the first length based on the first offset and the fourth length, and then determine the portion of time-frequency units actually needed in the downlink data receiving window when the GP length of the first communication device is the first length.

[0287] Alternatively, the terminal device can directly use the number of time-frequency units included in the first offset (denoted as L) as the portion of time-frequency units actually needed in the downlink data receiving window. Based on this scheme, the terminal device directly determines the time-frequency units that actually need to be monitored or used in the downlink data receiving window during downlink data transmission with the first communication device, which helps reduce the complexity of the terminal device updating the time-frequency units used in the downlink data transmission process according to the first indication information.

[0288] In one possible implementation, the first communication device can also implicitly indicate to the terminal device the location of the actual time-frequency unit used in the downlink data reception window, or the length of the updated GP (first length) of the first communication device, by scheduling and configuring downlink resources. The terminal device directly receives downlink data from the first communication device on a portion of the time-frequency units in the downlink data reception window according to the downlink resource configuration of the first communication device. This helps reduce the signaling overhead of updating the time-frequency units used by the terminal device during downlink data transmission with the first communication device.

[0289] Based on the above scheme, when the GP length of the first communication device changes, the terminal device can accurately determine the updated GP length (first length) of the first communication device according to the first indication information. Therefore, based on the updated GP length of the first communication device, signals received on a portion of the resources within the downlink data reception window are discarded, reducing interference in data interaction between the terminal device and the first communication device and improving the accuracy of downlink data reception. Furthermore, controlling downlink data reception by issuing the updated GP length can be performed during the process of the first communication device sending downlink data to the terminal device. Compared to the first communication device controlling downlink data reception by resource scheduling, downlink data transmission between the first communication device and the terminal device does not require waiting for the latency caused by resource scheduling, which is beneficial for meeting the data transmission requirements of low-latency services.

[0290] The method provided in this application has been described above. In addition, this application also provides a communication device for implementing the functions described in the above method embodiments.

[0291] It is understood that, in order to achieve the aforementioned functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0292] This application embodiment can divide the communication device into functional modules according to the above method embodiment. For example, each function can be divided into a separate functional module, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. It should be noted that the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0293] Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of a communication device 70. The communication device 70 includes a processing module 701 and a transceiver module 702. The communication device 70 can be used to implement the functions of the aforementioned terminal device (or terminal), the first communication device, or the second communication device.

[0294] In some embodiments, the communication device 70 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 7) for storing program instructions and data.

[0295] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 702, also referred to as a transceiver unit, is used to implement sending and / or receiving functions. The transceiver module 702 may consist of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver unit, or a communication interface.

[0296] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 702 may include a receiving module and a sending module, respectively configured to perform receiving and sending steps performed by the terminal device, the first communication device, or the second communication device in the above method embodiments, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein; the processing module 701 may be configured to perform processing steps performed by the terminal device, the first communication device, or the second communication device in the above method embodiments, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein.

[0297] When the communication device 70 is used to implement the function of the first communication device, in one possible implementation: the transceiver module 702 is used to receive first information from the second communication device, the first information indicating the correlation between the sequence that generates the first reference signal and the length or offset of the GP; or, the first information indicating the correlation between the time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal and the length or offset of the GP.

[0298] In one possible implementation, transceiver module 702 is used to send a first signal to a second communication device, the first signal indicating that the length of GP has been updated.

[0299] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 702 is used to send a second signal to the terminal device, the second signal being used to indicate that the GP updated length of the first communication device is the first length.

[0300] When the communication device 70 is used to implement the function of the second communication device, in one possible implementation: the transceiver module 702 is used to send first information to the first communication device, the first information indicating the correlation between the sequence that generates the first reference signal and the length or offset of the GP; or, the first information indicating the correlation between the time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal and the length or offset of the GP.

[0301] In one possible implementation, transceiver module 702 is used to receive a first signal from a first communication device, the first signal indicating that the length of GP has been updated.

[0302] All relevant content of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be referenced from the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0303] In this application, the communication device 70 can be presented in an integrated manner by dividing it into various functional modules. Here, "module" can refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuits, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0304] In some embodiments, when the communication device 70 in FIG7 is a chip or chip system, the function / implementation process of the transceiver module 702 can be implemented through the input / output interface (or communication interface) of the chip or chip system, and the function / implementation process of the processing module 701 can be implemented through the processor (or processing circuit) of the chip or chip system.

[0305] Since the communication device 70 provided in this embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects it can achieve can be referred to the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0306] As a possible product form, the terminal device, first communication device, or second communication device described in the embodiments of this application can be implemented using the following: one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuits, or any combination of circuits capable of performing the various functions described throughout this application.

[0307] As another possible product form, the terminal device, first communication device, or second communication device described in this application embodiment can be implemented using a general bus architecture. For ease of explanation, refer to FIG8, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 800 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 800 includes a processor 801 and a transceiver 802. The communication device 800 can be a terminal device (terminal equipment, or a chip or chip system therein); or, the communication device 800 can be a first communication device (network device, or a chip or module therein); or, the communication device 800 can be a second communication device (network device, or a chip or module therein). FIG8 only shows the main components of the communication device 800. In addition to the processor 801 and transceiver 802, the communication device may further include a memory 803 and input / output devices (not shown in the figure).

[0308] Optionally, the processor 801 is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process the data of the software programs, thereby implementing the methods provided in the above-described method embodiments. The memory 803 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The transceiver 802 may include a radio frequency (RF) circuit and an antenna. The RF circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals to RF signals and processing RF signals. The antenna is mainly used for transmitting and receiving RF signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices, such as touch screens, displays, and keyboards, are mainly used to receive user input data and output data to the user.

[0309] Optionally, the processor 801, transceiver 802, and memory 803 can be connected via a communication bus.

[0310] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 801 can read the software program in the memory 803, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 801 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency (RF) circuit. The RF circuit processes the baseband signal and transmits the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 801. The processor 801 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0311] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be set up independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be arranged remotely, independent of the communication device.

[0312] In some embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the above-described communication device 70 can take the form of the communication device 800 shown in FIG8 in terms of hardware implementation.

[0313] As an example, the function / implementation process of the processing module 701 in Figure 7 can be implemented by the processor 801 in the communication device 800 shown in Figure 8 calling computer execution instructions stored in the memory 803. The function / implementation process of the transceiver module 702 in Figure 7 can be implemented by the transceiver 802 in the communication device 800 shown in Figure 8.

[0314] As another possible product form, the terminal device, the first communication device, or the second communication device in this application may adopt the composition structure shown in FIG9, or include the components shown in FIG9. FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device 900 provided in this application. The communication device 900 may be a terminal device (terminal equipment, or a chip or system-on-a-chip in a terminal equipment); or, it may be a first communication device (network equipment, or a module, chip, or system-on-a-chip in a network equipment); or, it may be a second communication device (network equipment, or a module, chip, or system-on-a-chip in a network equipment).

[0315] As shown in Figure 9, the communication device 900 includes at least one processor 901 and at least one communication interface (Figure 9 is only an example illustrating the inclusion of a communication interface 904 and a processor 901). Optionally, the communication device 900 may also include a communication bus 902 and a memory 903.

[0316] Processor 901 can be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a PLD, or any combination thereof. Processor 901 can also be other devices with processing functions, such as circuits, devices, or software modules, without limitation.

[0317] The communication bus 902 is used to connect different components in the communication device 900, enabling communication between them. The communication bus 902 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. This bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is used in Figure 9, but this does not indicate that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0318] Communication interface 904 is used for communicating with other devices or communication networks. For example, communication interface 904 can be a module, circuit, transceiver, or any device capable of communication. Optionally, communication interface 904 can also be an input / output interface located within processor 901, used to implement signal input and signal output for the processor.

[0319] The memory 903 may be a device with storage function, used to store instructions and / or data. The instructions may be computer programs.

[0320] For example, the memory 903 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and / or instructions; it may also be a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and / or instructions; it may also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, etc., without limitation.

[0321] It should be noted that the memory 903 can exist independently of the processor 901, or it can be integrated with the processor 901. The memory 903 can be located inside or outside the communication device 900, without limitation. The processor 901 can be used to execute the instructions stored in the memory 903 to implement the methods provided in the following embodiments of this application.

[0322] As an optional implementation, the communication device 900 may also include an output device 905 and an input device 906. The output device 905 communicates with the processor 901 and can display information in various ways. For example, the output device 905 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector, etc. The input device 906 communicates with the processor 901 and can receive user input in various ways. For example, the input device 906 may be a mouse, keyboard, touchscreen device, or sensing device, etc.

[0323] In some embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the communication device 70 shown in FIG7 can take the form of the communication device 900 shown in FIG9 in terms of hardware implementation.

[0324] As an example, the function / implementation process of the processing module 701 in Figure 7 can be implemented by the processor 901 in the communication device 900 shown in Figure 9 calling computer execution instructions stored in the memory 903. The function / implementation process of the transceiver module 702 in Figure 7 can be implemented by the communication interface 904 in the communication device 900 shown in Figure 9.

[0325] It should be noted that the structure shown in Figure 9 does not constitute a specific limitation on the terminal device, the first communication device, or the second communication device. For example, in other embodiments of this application, the terminal device, the first communication device, or the second communication device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine some components, or split some components, or have different component arrangements. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0326] In some embodiments, this application also provides a communication device, which includes a processor for implementing the methods in any of the above method embodiments.

[0327] As one possible implementation, the communication device also includes a memory. This memory stores necessary computer programs and data. The computer program may include instructions, which a processor can invoke to instruct the communication device to execute the methods described in any of the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the memory may not be present in the communication device.

[0328] As another possible implementation, the communication device also includes an interface circuit, which is a code / data read / write interface circuit, used to receive computer execution instructions (which are stored in memory and may be read directly from memory or may be transmitted through other devices) and transmit them to the processor.

[0329] As another possible implementation, the communication device also includes a communication interface for communicating with modules outside the communication device.

[0330] It is understood that the communication device can be a chip or a chip system. When the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. This application does not specifically limit this.

[0331] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the above-described method embodiments.

[0332] This application also provides a computer program product that, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0333] Those skilled in the art will 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.

[0334] It is understood that the systems, apparatuses, and methods described in this application can also be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the couplings or direct couplings or communication connections shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; indirect couplings or communication connections between devices or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0335] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0336] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0337] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software programs, implementation can be, in whole or in part, in the form of a computer program product. This computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device containing one or more servers, data centers, etc., that can be integrated with the medium. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state drive (SSD)). In this embodiment, the computer may include the aforementioned apparatus.

[0338] Although this application has been described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, those skilled in the art, by reviewing the accompanying drawings, disclosure, and appended claims, will understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments in carrying out the claimed application. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. While different dependent claims may recite certain measures, this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0339] Although this application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the scope of this application. Accordingly, this specification and drawings are merely illustrative descriptions of the application as defined by the appended claims, and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of this application. Clearly, those skilled in the art can make various alterations and modifications to this application without departing from its scope. Thus, if such modifications and modifications fall within the scope of the claims and their equivalents, this application is also intended to include such modifications and modifications.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Send a first reference signal to the first communication device, the first reference signal being used to update the length of the protection interval GP of the first communication device to a first length; Wherein, the first length is the maximum value of the second length and the third length, the second length is the GP length corresponding to the second communication device, the third length is the GP length corresponding to the first network node, the first network node is connected to the second communication device, and the first network node has the function of receiving uplink wireless signals but does not have the function of transmitting downlink wireless signals.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first reference signal is generated based on a first sequence, which is associated with the first length; or, The first reference signal is mapped to a first time-frequency resource, which is associated with the first length.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The third length is the sum of the second length and the first offset.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first reference signal is generated based on a second sequence, which is associated with the first offset; or, The first reference signal is mapped to a second time-frequency resource, which is associated with the first offset.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, When the first offset is greater than or equal to 0, the first length is the third length; When the first offset is less than 0, the first length is the second length.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: sending first information to a first communication device, the first information indicating the correlation between the sequence that generates the first reference signal and the length or offset of the GP; or... The first information indicates the correlation between the time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal and the length or offset of the GP.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The method further includes receiving a first signal from the first communication device, the first signal indicating that the length of GP has been updated.

8. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive a first reference signal from the second communication device, the first reference signal being used to update the length of the protection interval GP of the first communication device to a first length; Wherein, the first length is the maximum value of the second length and the third length, the second length is the GP length corresponding to the second communication device, the third length is the GP length corresponding to the first network node, the first network node is connected to the second communication device, the first network node has uplink wireless signal receiving function, but does not have downlink wireless signal transmitting function.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The first reference signal is generated based on a first sequence, which is associated with the first length; or, The first reference signal is mapped to a first time-frequency resource, which is associated with the first length.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, The third length is the sum of the second length and the first offset.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The first reference signal is generated based on a second sequence, which is associated with the first offset; or, The first reference signal is mapped to a second time-frequency resource, which is associated with the first offset.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, When the first offset is greater than or equal to 0, the first length is the third length; When the first offset is less than 0, the first length is the second length.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving first information from the second communication device, the first information indicating the correlation between the sequence that generates the first reference signal and the length or offset of the GP; or, The first information indicates the correlation between the time-frequency resources mapped by the first reference signal and the length or offset of the GP.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that, The method further includes sending a first signal to the second communication device, the first signal indicating that the length of GP has been updated.

15. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 14, characterized in that, The method further includes sending a second signal to a terminal device, the second signal being used to indicate that the GP updated length of the first communication device is the first length.

16. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive first indication information from the first communication device, the first indication information being used to indicate that the length of the protection interval GP updated by the first communication device is a first length.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The first length is the maximum value between the second length and the third length. The second length is the GP length corresponding to the second communication device, and the third length is the GP length corresponding to the first network node. The first network node is connected to the second communication device. The first network node has uplink wireless signal receiving function but does not have downlink wireless signal transmitting function.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that, The first indication information includes the first length; or, The first indication information includes a first offset, which is the difference between a fourth length and a first length, wherein the fourth length is the length of the first communication device before the GP update.

19. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Send a first indication message to the terminal device, the first indication message being used to indicate that the length of the protection interval GP of the first communication device after the update is a first length.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The first length is the maximum value between the second length and the third length. The second length is the GP length corresponding to the second communication device, and the third length is the GP length corresponding to the first network node. The first network node is connected to the second communication device. The first network node has uplink wireless signal receiving function but does not have downlink wireless signal transmitting function.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that, The first indication information includes the first length; or, The first indication information includes a first offset, which is the difference between a fourth length and a first length, wherein the fourth length is the length of the first communication device before the GP update.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes modules or units for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 1-7, or the method as described in any one of claims 8-15, or the method as described in any one of claims 16-18, or the method as described in any one of claims 19-21.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a processor; the processor is configured to run a computer program or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-7, or to cause the communication device to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 8-15, or to cause the communication device to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 16-18, or to cause the communication device to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 19-21.

24. A chip or chip system, characterized in that, The chip or chip system includes a processor coupled to a memory for storing programs or instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the method of any one of claims 1-7 to be executed, or cause the method of any one of claims 8-15 to be executed, or cause the method of any one of claims 16-18 to be executed, or cause the method of any one of claims 19-21 to be executed.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs that, when executed on a computer, cause the method of any one of claims 1-7 to be performed, or cause the method of any one of claims 8-15 to be performed, or cause the method of any one of claims 16-18 to be performed, or cause the method of any one of claims 19-21 to be performed.

26. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer instructions; when some or all of the computer instructions are executed on a computer, they cause the method of any one of claims 1-7 to be performed, or the method of any one of claims 8-15 to be performed, or the method of any one of claims 16-18 to be performed, or the method of any one of claims 19-21 to be performed.

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