Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a related apparatus. In the communication method provided by the present application, first information is used for indicating to a terminal device that a first HARQ process has been preempted, and second information is used for indicating that the first HARQ process is associated with first data; on the basis of the first information and the second information, the terminal device and a network device can transmit the first data by means of the preempted first HARQ process, helping to improve the transmission efficiency of first data having high priority.

Description

Communication methods and related devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411765633.1, filed on November 29, 2024, entitled "Communication Method and Related 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 a communication method and related apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] In wireless communication systems, the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) mechanism supports multiple parallel stop-and-wait processes. When the first HARQ process is waiting for acknowledgment, the sender can use a second HARQ process to continue sending information. Correspondingly, while processing information received by the first HARQ process, the receiver can use the second HARQ process to continue receiving information, thus achieving data transmission and retransmission through multiple parallel HARQ processes. However, the efficiency of this parallel data transmission by the above HARQ processes needs further improvement. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method and related apparatus that, by preempting the HARQ process for high-priority data transmission, helps to improve the transmission efficiency of high-priority data.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method applied to a terminal side, such as a terminal device or a communication module in a terminal device, or a circuit or chip in a terminal device responsible for communication functions. Taking the application of this method to a terminal device as an example, the method includes: receiving first information, the first information being used to indicate that a first Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process is preempted; receiving second information, the second information being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with first data; and sending or receiving the first data based on the first information and the second information.

[0006] The terminal device determines that the first HARQ process has been preempted based on the first information. Based on the first information and the second information, the terminal device can use the preempted first HARQ process to send or receive first data, which helps to improve the transmission efficiency of the first data.

[0007] In some implementations, the second information is also used to instruct a second HARQ process to be associated with the second data.

[0008] Based on the first information and the second information, sending or receiving the first data includes: sending or receiving the first data on the first time unit of the first carrier.

[0009] The method further includes: transmitting or receiving second data on a first time unit of a first carrier, wherein the second data corresponds to different frequency domain resources and / or spatial domain resources than the first data.

[0010] The terminal device simultaneously transmits or receives first data and second data on the first time unit of the first carrier, realizing concurrent processing of the first HARQ process and the second HARQ process. Concurrent processing can improve the data transmission efficiency.

[0011] In some implementations, the first information includes a first indication field, which is used to indicate that the first HARQ process has been preempted.

[0012] The first indication field can quickly determine that the first HARQ process has been preempted, which is beneficial to improving the transmission efficiency of the first data.

[0013] In some implementations, the first information includes first downlink control information (DCI).

[0014] Before receiving the first message, the method also includes:

[0015] Receive third information, which is used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with third data. The third information includes the second DCI, and the new data indicator (NDI) in the first DCI is the toggle of the NDI in the second DCI. Send fourth information, which indicates that the third data reception is incorrect.

[0016] Sending or receiving first data based on the first and second information includes: determining that the first HARQ process has been preempted based on the fourth, first, second, and third information; and receiving the first data based on the first HARQ process.

[0017] In some implementations, the redundant version identifier in the first DCI is a non-zero first value.

[0018] By reusing the existing NDI and redundant version identifiers in the first DCI, the overhead of receiving the first information can be saved.

[0019] In some implementations, the first information includes the first DCI.

[0020] Before receiving the first information, the method further includes: receiving third information, the third information being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with third data, the third information including a second DCI, the NDI in the first DCI being a flip of the NDI in the second DCI, the first time being before the second time, the first time being the time when the first information is received, and the second time being a time in the time unit where the feedback resource corresponding to the third data is located.

[0021] Sending or receiving first data based on first information and second information includes: determining, before a second time interval, that a first HARQ process has been preempted based on the first information, second information, and third information; and receiving the first data based on the first HARQ process.

[0022] It is understood that the first moment and the second moment mentioned above are different time points, while the feedback resource corresponding to the third data lasts for a time unit. The second moment can specifically be the start time, the end time, or any moment in the time unit. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0023] In this implementation, before the second moment, the terminal device receives the first information, that is, before the moment when the feedback resource corresponding to the third data is located, the terminal device can determine that the first HARQ process has been preempted based on the first, second, and third information. After the terminal device receives the first information from the network device, the terminal device can continue to send feedback information to the network device, or it can choose not to send feedback information to the network device. The feedback information is used to indicate the reception status of the third data.

[0024] In some implementations, the redundant version identifier in the first DCI is a non-zero first value.

[0025] In some implementations, before receiving the first information, the method further includes receiving third information, which is used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with third data, and the third data is used for blind retransmission.

[0026] Sending or receiving first data based on first information and second information includes: determining that a first HARQ process is preempted based on the first information and second information when the number of blind retransmissions of third data is less than the preset maximum number of retransmissions; and sending or receiving first data based on the first HARQ process.

[0027] In this implementation, blind retransmission means that the network device sends third data to the terminal device according to the first HARQ process, while the terminal device does not send feedback information to the network device to indicate the reception status of the third data. The network device continuously retransmits the third data to the terminal device according to the first HARQ process until the preset maximum number of retransmissions is reached.

[0028] In some implementations, before receiving the first information, the method further includes receiving third information, which is used to instruct the first HARQ process to associate with third data.

[0029] The method also includes clearing the cache of third data in the first HARQ process.

[0030] In some implementations, the method also includes reporting a fifth message to a higher layer, which is used to indicate that the first HARQ process has been preempted.

[0031] Reporting to a higher level that the first HARQ process has been preempted is beneficial for retransmitting the third data through a higher level.

[0032] In some implementations, the method further includes the following steps before receiving the first information:

[0033] Receive the third message, which indicates that the first HARQ process is associated with the third data; send the sixth message, which indicates that the third data was received correctly.

[0034] Sending or receiving first data based on first information and second information includes: ignoring the first information according to the sixth information; and receiving the first data according to the first HARQ process.

[0035] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method applied to the network side, such as a network device or a component (e.g., a chip, a chip system, etc.) within the network device, or it can also be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device. Taking the application of this method to a network device as an example, the method includes: sending first information, the first information being used to indicate that a first HARQ process has been preempted; sending second information, the second information being used to indicate that the indicated first HARQ process is associated with first data; and receiving or sending the first data based on the first information and the second information.

[0036] In some implementations, the second information is also used to instruct a second HARQ process to be associated with the second data.

[0037] Based on the first information and the second information, sending or receiving the first data includes: sending or receiving the first data on the first time unit of the first carrier.

[0038] The method further includes: transmitting or receiving second data on a first time unit of a first carrier, wherein the second data corresponds to different frequency domain resources and / or spatial domain resources than the first data.

[0039] In some implementations, the first information includes a first indication field, which is used to indicate that the first HARQ process has been preempted.

[0040] In some implementations, the first information includes first downlink control information (DCI).

[0041] Before sending the first message, the method also includes:

[0042] Send a third message, which indicates that the first HARQ process is associated with the third data. The third message includes the second DCI, and the NDI in the first DCI is the inversion of the NDI in the second DCI. Send a fourth message, which indicates that the third data was received incorrectly.

[0043] Receiving or sending first data based on the first and second information includes: determining, based on the fourth, first, second, and third information, that the first HARQ process has been preempted; and sending the first data based on the first HARQ process.

[0044] In some implementations, the redundant version identifier in the first DCI is a non-zero first value.

[0045] In some implementations, the first information includes the first DCI.

[0046] Before sending the first information, the method further includes: sending a third information, the third information being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with the third data, the third information including a second DCI, the NDI in the first DCI being a flip of the NDI in the second DCI, the first time being before the second time, the first time being the time when the first information is received, and the second time being a time in the time unit where the feedback resource corresponding to the third data is located.

[0047] Receiving or sending first data based on first information and second information includes: determining, before a second time interval, that a first HARQ process has been preempted based on the first information, second information, and third information.

[0048] The first and second moments mentioned above are different time points, while the feedback resource corresponding to the third data lasts for a time unit. The second moment can be the start time, end time, or any moment in the time unit. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0049] In some implementations, the redundant version identifier in the first DCI is a non-zero first value.

[0050] In some implementations, before sending the first information, the method further includes sending a third information, which is used to instruct the first HARQ process to associate with third data, and the third data is used for blind retransmission.

[0051] Sending or receiving first data based on first information and second information includes: determining that a first HARQ process is preempted based on the first information and second information when the number of blind retransmissions of third data is less than the preset maximum number of retransmissions; and receiving or sending first data based on the first HARQ process.

[0052] In some implementations, the method further includes sending a third message before sending the first message, the third message being used to instruct the first HARQ process to associate with the third data.

[0053] The method also includes clearing the cache of third data in the first HARQ process.

[0054] In some implementations, the method also includes reporting a seventh message to a higher layer, which is used to indicate that the first HARQ process has been preempted.

[0055] In some implementations, the method further includes the following steps before sending the first message:

[0056] Send a third message, which indicates that the first HARQ process is associated with the third data; receive a sixth message, which indicates that the third data was received correctly.

[0057] Receiving or sending first data based on first information and second information includes: ignoring the first information according to sixth information; and sending the first data according to a first HARQ process.

[0058] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, including modules or units for implementing the methods of the first or second aspect and any possible implementation of the first or second aspect. Each module or unit can implement its corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0059] For example, the communication device in the third aspect is a terminal device or a component configured in a terminal device, such as a chip, chip system, processor, etc.; or, the communication device in the third aspect is a network device or a component configured in a network device, such as a chip, chip system, processor, etc.

[0060] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, including a processor, which is configured to execute the communication method in the first or second aspect and any possible implementation of the first or second aspect.

[0061] Optionally, the communication device includes a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to a processor, which, when executing the instructions stored in the memory, can implement the methods described in the foregoing aspects.

[0062] Optionally, the communication device includes a communication interface for communicating with other communication devices. For example, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, pin, or other type of communication interface.

[0063] For example, the communication device provided in the fourth aspect is a chip or chip system, or it may correspond to a terminal device or network device.

[0064] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium including a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to implement the methods of the first or second aspect and any possible implementation of the first or second aspect.

[0065] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product, which includes a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when run, causes a computer to perform the methods of the first or second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0066] In a seventh aspect, a communication system is provided, including the aforementioned terminal device and network device. The terminal device can be used to implement the methods of the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, and the network device can be used to implement the methods of the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0067] The third to eighth aspects of the embodiments of this application correspond to the technical solutions of the first aspect of the embodiments of this application. The beneficial effects achieved by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation are similar, and will not be described again. Attached Figure Description

[0068] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system used in the embodiments of this application;

[0069] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of data interaction between the sender and receiver under the stop-and-wait protocol;

[0070] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of multiple HARQ processes processing in parallel;

[0071] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of time slot allocation under time division duplex system;

[0072] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application;

[0073] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0074] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a first data arrival time in an embodiment of this application;

[0075] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in yet another embodiment of this application;

[0076] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of another first data arrival time in an embodiment of this application;

[0077] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0078] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of another first data arrival time in an embodiment of this application;

[0079] Figure 12 is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0080] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0081] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0082] Exemplary embodiments will now be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numerals in different drawings denote the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of the embodiments of this application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0083] It should be understood that in the embodiments of this application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more than one" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship, but it does not exclude the possibility of indicating that the preceding and following related objects are in an "and" relationship. The specific meaning can be understood in conjunction with the context. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Here, a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0084] In this embodiment of the application, the use of prefixes such as "first" and "second" is merely for the purpose of distinguishing and describing different things belonging to the same name category, and does not constrain the order, size, or quantity of things. For example, "first parameter" and "second parameter" are simply different parameters, and there is no temporal or quantitative relationship between them.

[0085] This application will present various aspects, embodiments, or features relating to systems that may include multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be understood and appreciated that individual systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, combinations of these approaches are also possible.

[0086] Furthermore, in the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplarily" and "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design scheme described as an "example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Specifically, the use of the term "example" is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner. In the embodiments of this application, "of," "corresponding, relevant," and "corresponding" may sometimes be used interchangeably, and it should be noted that their intended meanings are consistent unless their distinction is emphasized.

[0087] "Instruction" can include direct instruction, indirect instruction, explicit instruction, and implicit instruction. When describing a certain instruction information to indicate A, it can be understood that the instruction information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0088] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system applied in the embodiments of this application. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting system architecture. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (110a and 110b in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal device (120a-120j in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 120). RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1). Terminal device 120 is wirelessly connected to RAN node 110. RAN node 110 is wirelessly or wired connected to core network 200. The core network device in core network 200 and RAN node 110 in RAN 100 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device integrating core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0089] RAN 100 can be a cellular system related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 4G, 5G mobile communication systems, or future-oriented evolution systems. RAN 100 can also be an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN) or a cloud radio access network (CRAN). RAN 100 can also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0090] RAN node 110, sometimes also referred to as access network equipment, RAN entity, or access node, is part of the communication system used to help terminal devices achieve wireless access. Multiple RAN nodes 110 in the communication system can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 110 and terminal device 120 are relative. For example, network element 120i in Figure 1 can be a helicopter or drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal devices 120j accessing RAN 100 through network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; but for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal device. RAN node 110 and terminal device 120 are sometimes both referred to as communication devices. For example, network elements 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, and network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0091] In one possible scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), or a base station in a future mobile communication system. A RAN node can be a macro base station (as shown in Figure 1, 110a), a micro base station or indoor station (as shown in Figure 1, 110b), a relay node or donor node, or a radio controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, a RAN node can also be a server, wearable device, vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0092] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes each implementing some of the base station's functions. For example, RAN nodes can be central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), CU-control planes (CU-CPs), CU-user planes (CU-UPs), or radio units (RUs). CUs and DUs can be separate entities or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs).

[0093] 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 an open-CU (open-CU, O-CU), DU can also be called an open-DU (open-DU, O-DU), CU-CP can also be called an open-CU-CP (open-CU-CP, O-CU-CP), CU-UP can also be called an open-CU-UP (open-CU-UP, O-CU-UP), and RU can also be called an open-RU (open-RU, O-RU). For ease of description, the embodiments of this application use 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 the embodiments of this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules.

[0094] Terminal equipment can also be called terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminals, etc. Terminal equipment can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, point-of-sale (POS) machines, customer-premises equipment (CPE), light UE, reduced-capability UE (REDCAP UE), industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, etc. Terminals can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc.

[0095] To better understand the embodiments of this application, the technologies and terms involved in the embodiments of this application will be briefly explained below.

[0096] I. Stop-and-wait protocol

[0097] The stop-and-wait protocol means that the sender stops sending after sending each transport block (TB) and waits for the receiver's confirmation. The sender then sends the next TB after receiving the confirmation.

[0098] The stop-and-wait protocol has two key features: first, the receiver must send feedback to the sender, regardless of whether the reception was successful or not; second, the sender can only continue sending messages after receiving feedback from the receiver, and will not send the next message until the previous message has been acknowledged.

[0099] Figure 2 illustrates the data interaction between the sender and receiver under the stop-and-wait protocol. As shown in Figure 2, the sender first sends the first TB to the receiver. Correspondingly, the receiver receives the first TB from the sender and sends back the result of receiving the first TB. After receiving the result of receiving the first TB, the sender continues to send the second TB to the receiver. The receiver receives the second TB from the sender and sends back the result of receiving the second TB.

[0100] II. HARQ

[0101] HARQ is a hybrid technology mechanism that combines forward error correction (FEC) and automatic repeat request (ARQ).

[0102] FEC (Fault-Oriented Encoding) is an error control method that involves pre-encoding the signal according to a specific algorithm before it enters the transmission channel, adding redundant codes that reflect the signal's characteristics. The receiver then decodes the received signal using a corresponding algorithm to identify and correct any errors that occurred during transmission.

[0103] ARQ refers to the receiver using cyclic redundancy check (CRC) information to determine the correctness of received data and then sending the result back to the sender. If an error is received, the sender will retransmit the data after receiving the feedback until the receiver receives it correctly.

[0104] The HARQ mechanism originates from the stop-and-wait protocol mentioned above. First, it uses the FEC algorithm to encode the channel, adding redundant information with error detection and correction capabilities to the transmitted information. The receiver decodes the received signal using the corresponding reverse algorithm. If an error is detected, it attempts to correct it. If the error is corrected, the data transmission is successful, and the receiver sends an acknowledgment (ACK) message to the sender. If the error cannot be corrected, the receiver uses the ARQ mechanism to send a negative acknowledgment (NACK) message to the sender. After receiving the NACK message, the receiver retransmits the data. If the error persists, the receiver requests retransmission again until the data is received correctly or the maximum number of retransmissions is reached.

[0105] As discussed above regarding the stop-and-wait protocol, the sender needs to stop sending after each message and wait for feedback from the receiver. This characteristic of the stop-and-wait protocol leads to very low throughput during communication. Therefore, the HARQ mechanism can employ multiple stop-and-wait processes in parallel.

[0106] Figure 3 illustrates the parallel processing of multiple HARQ processes. While one HARQ process is waiting for feedback from the receiver, the sender can use another HARQ process to continue sending information. Similarly, while the receiver is processing information received by one HARQ process, it can use another HARQ process to continue receiving information. The parallel processing of multiple HARQ processes forms a single HARQ entity, which can be understood as the framework for managing multiple HARQ processes.

[0107] In Figure 3, solid lines correspond to HARQ process 0, dashed lines to HARQ process 1, and dotted lines to HARQ process 2. As shown in Figure 3, during the first round of parallel processing, the sender uses HARQ process 0 to send TB 1 to the receiver. While HARQ process 0 waits for feedback from the receiver, the sender continues to send TB 2 and TB 3 to the receiver using HARQ process 1 and HARQ process 2, respectively. Correspondingly, while processing TB 1 received by HARQ process 0, the receiver continues to receive data using HARQ process 1 and HARQ process 2.

[0108] As shown in Figure 3, during the first round of parallel processing, the receiver fails to receive TB 1 using HARQ process 0 and sends a NACK message to the sender. The receiver successfully receives TB 2 using HARQ process 1 and TB 3 using HARQ process 2, and sends an ACK message to the sender.

[0109] Since receiving TB 1 using HARQ process 0 failed, in the second round of parallel processing, the sender retransmitted TB 1 to the receiver using HARQ process 0, continued to send TB 4 to the receiver using HARQ process 1, and continued to send TB 5 to the receiver using HARQ process 2.

[0110] As shown in Figure 3, during the second round of parallel processing, the receiver successfully receives TB 1 using HARQ process 0 and sends an ACK message to the sender. The receiver fails to receive TB 4 using HARQ process 1 and sends a NACK message to the sender. The receiver successfully receives TB 5 using HARQ process 3 and sends an ACK message to the sender.

[0111] Since receiving TB 1 using HARQ process 0 was successful, but receiving TB 4 using HARQ process 1 failed, in the third round of parallel processing, the sender used HARQ process 0 to send TB 6 to the receiver, used HARQ process 1 to resend TB 4 to the receiver, and used HARQ process 2 to continue sending TB 7 to the receiver.

[0112] It should be noted that the number of HARQ processes supported by a terminal device is limited. According to the 3GPP protocol, in the downlink direction, network devices can configure the maximum number of HARQ processes supported by the terminal device through higher-layer signaling parameters, depending on the deployment. For example, the value range is {2, 4, 6, 10, 12, 16}. If the configuration in the higher-layer signaling parameters is empty, the maximum number of HARQ processes supported by the terminal device in the downlink direction defaults to 8. In the uplink direction, unless otherwise specified, the maximum number of HARQ processes supported by the terminal device is 16.

[0113] The communication system shown in Figure 1 mainly adopts frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) duplex systems. In this embodiment, "D" (downlink) indicates that it is configured for downlink transmission, "U" (uplink) indicates that it is configured for uplink transmission, and "S" indicates that it can be flexibly configured for uplink or downlink transmission. TDD divides different time slots for uplink or downlink transmission.

[0114] Figure 4 illustrates the time slot allocation in Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode. As an example, the starting time slot is configured as slot 0, and the ending time slot as slot 9. As shown in Figure 4, TDD allocates the seven time slots (slots 0-6) as the downlink bandwidth part (BWP), which can only be used for downlink transmission (downlink symbol). The two time slots (slots 8 and 9) are allocated as the uplink BWP, which can only be used for uplink transmission (uplink symbol). Slot 7 is a flexible time slot, which can be used for both uplink and downlink transmission (flexible symbol), but uplink and downlink transmission cannot occur simultaneously.

[0115] Figure 4 shows that flexible time slot 7 is divided into downlink BWPs, with 8 time slots used for downlink transmission and 2 time slots used for uplink transmission. Figure 4 illustrates a TDD time slot ratio of 8:2 in a dual-cycle configuration. Under the TDD time slot ratio shown in Figure 4, when the network device and the terminal device communicate, assuming the terminal device receives downlink data from the network device, at least two time slots are required before the terminal device can send uplink feedback to the network device.

[0116] Under the TDD time slot allocation shown in Figure 4, when transmitting downlink data between network devices and terminal devices, the network device can use a maximum of 8 downlink time slots. Each time slot corresponds to one HARQ process. That is, under this time slot allocation, the network device can use a maximum of 8 HARQ processes to process services in parallel. Each HARQ process can be used to schedule one TB in one transmission. For spatial division multiplexing scenarios, one HARQ process can be associated with a maximum of two TBs. That is, in spatial division multiplexing scenarios, each HARQ process can be used to schedule a maximum of two TBs in one transmission.

[0117] For high-bandwidth transmission services, since each HARQ process can schedule up to two TB in a time slot, a feasible way to improve transmission efficiency is to run multiple HARQ processes concurrently in a time slot.

[0118] For example, regarding the time slot allocation shown in Figure 4, if the terminal device supports a maximum of 16 HARQ processes, and assuming that each of the 8 time slots is divided into 16 HARQ processes, then when the network device and the terminal device transmit downlink data, 2 HARQ processes can be concurrently transmitted in each time slot, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of downlink data.

[0119] However, there is an upper limit to the maximum number of HARQ processes supported by the terminal device. If high-priority data packets need to be processed, and the HARQ processes are occupied for retransmission, high-priority data packets cannot receive a response, which may affect the transmission efficiency of high-priority data packets and make it difficult to meet the latency requirements of high-priority data packets.

[0120] It should be noted that the above high-priority data packets can specifically be data packets with urgent packet delay budget (PDB) or ultra-reliable low-latency communication (uRLLC) data packets. Alternatively, high-priority data packets can also be understood as data packets with higher priority than the data packets currently being processed. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0121] To address the aforementioned technical problems, embodiments of this application provide a communication method and related apparatus that preempts the HARQ process for high-priority data transmission, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of high-priority data.

[0122] In the embodiments described below, the interaction between a terminal device and a network device is used as an example. It should be understood that the terminal device described above can be replaced by components configured in the terminal device (such as chips, chip systems, processors, etc.), or logical modules or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal device; the network device described above can also be replaced by components configured in the network device (such as chips, chip systems, processors, etc.), or logical modules or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device.

[0123] Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. It is understood that Figure 5 is only an example, and the communication method provided in this embodiment may include more or similar steps.

[0124] In step S501, the network device sends a first message to the terminal device, indicating that the first HARQ process has been preempted. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first message from the network device.

[0125] The first HARQ process is one of the multiple HARQ processes used by the terminal device and the network device during communication. Before the network device sends the first information to the terminal device, the first HARQ process is used to transmit other data besides the first data.

[0126] For example, the first data can be a TB, a code block (CB), a code block group, or other data transmission unit format; this application embodiment does not limit this. The priority of the first data can be higher than the priority of other data; for example, the service corresponding to the first data can be a uRLLC service.

[0127] In this embodiment, the first HARQ process is associated with the first data. This can be understood as the HARQ entity associating the first data with the first HARQ process and managing / processing the first data through (using) the first HARQ process. The management / processing of the first data through (using) the first HARQ process can also be described as managing / processing the first data according to the first HARQ process; this embodiment does not limit this description.

[0128] As an example, for downlink transmission, the first HARQ process can determine whether the first data is newly transmitted data or retransmitted data based on the first data and the corresponding HARQ information, such as the new data indicator (NDI) and HARQ identifier.

[0129] For example, the first HARQ process can determine whether the first data is newly transmitted data based on the received new data indicator (NDI) flip. Alternatively, if the first HARQ process is equivalent to a broadcast process, it can determine whether the first data is newly transmitted or retransmitted data based on the system information schedule indicated by the radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0130] As an example, for uplink transmission, if it is determined that the first data is to be retransmitted, and if the HARQ entity requests the first HARQ process to retransmit the first data, then the first HARQ process may perform at least one of the following: store the Media Access Control (MAC) layer Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session in its associated buffer, store the uplink authorization issued by the HARQ entity, and generate the transmission (first data).

[0131] Alternatively, if the first data is determined to be retransmitted data, and the HARQ entity requests the first HARQ process to retransmit the first data, then the first HARQ process can be used to store the uplink authorization issued by the HARQ entity and / or generate the transmission (first data).

[0132] The following example illustrates that the first HARQ process is associated with the first data. This can be understood as the HARQ entity guiding the HARQ information and related data received on the downlink share channel (DL-SCH) to the first HARQ process.

[0133] In this step, the first information is used to indicate that the first HARQ process is preempted. This can be understood as other data besides the first data being instructed to interrupt the use of the first HARQ process while it is being used by the first data, and the first data then takes over the use of the first HARQ process.

[0134] In some implementations, the first information may include a first indication field, which is used to indicate that the first HARQ process has been preempted. As an example, the first information may include first downlink control information (DCI), and the first DCI may include additional signaling to indicate that the first HARQ process has been preempted.

[0135] For example, the first indicator field is a newly added bit in the first DCI. When this bit is 1, it indicates that the first HARQ process has been preempted; when it is 0, it indicates that the first HARQ process has not been preempted. Alternatively, when this bit is 0, it indicates that the first HARQ process has been preempted; when it is 1, it indicates that the first HARQ process has not been preempted.

[0136] In step S502, the network device sends second information to the terminal device, the second information indicating that the first HARQ process is associated with the first data. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the second information from the network device.

[0137] As an example, the second information may include a third DCI, which indicates that the first HARQ process is associated with the first data. For instance, a network device may number multiple HARQ processes, and the third DCI in the second information may use 4 bits to indicate the number corresponding to the first HARQ process, thus associating the first data with the number corresponding to the first HARQ process.

[0138] In this embodiment, the execution order of steps S501 and S502 is not limited.

[0139] It should be noted that in some implementations, the first information and the second information in the embodiments of this application can be the same information. That is, the network device can use the same information to indicate to the terminal device that the first HARQ process has been preempted and to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with the first data.

[0140] S503, terminal equipment and network equipment transmit first data based on first information and second information.

[0141] In this step, the terminal device and the network device can determine, based on the first information and the second information, that the first HARQ process is preempted by the first data, and thus transmit the first data according to the first HARQ process.

[0142] For example, when the first data is uplink data, as shown in optional step S503a in FIG5, the terminal device can send the first data to the network device according to the first HARQ process. Accordingly, the network device receives the first data from the terminal device according to the first HARQ process.

[0143] When the first data is downlink data, as shown in optional step S503b in Figure 5, the network device sends the first data to the terminal device using a first HARQ process. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first HARQ process from the network device using the first HARQ process.

[0144] In some implementations, the second information can also be used to indicate that a second HARQ process is associated with second data. Step S503a of the method shown in Figure 5 can correspond to the terminal device sending first data to the network device on the first time unit of the first carrier, or, corresponding to step S503b of the method shown in Figure 5, the terminal device receiving first data from the network device on the first time unit of the first carrier. Furthermore, the terminal device can also send second data to the network device on the first time unit of the first carrier, or the terminal device can also receive second data from the network device on the first time unit of the first carrier.

[0145] It should be noted that, in addition to instructing the second HARQ process to associate with the second data through the second information, other instruction information can also be used to instruct the second HARQ process to associate with the second data.

[0146] It is understandable that, for the first data and the second data, the terminal device can only transmit or receive simultaneously on the first time unit of the first carrier. Since the first data is associated with the first HARQ process and the second data is associated with the second HARQ process, the terminal device's simultaneous reception or transmission of the first data and the second data on the first time unit of the first carrier can be understood as the terminal device receiving or transmitting data on the same time slot of the same carrier according to the first HARQ process and the second HARQ process, that is, the first HARQ process and the second HARQ process are concurrent in the same time slot.

[0147] The first data and the second data are transmitted or received simultaneously on the first time unit of the first carrier, which is equivalent to the first data and the second data corresponding to the same time domain resources. However, during the process of the terminal device transmitting or receiving the first data and the second data simultaneously, the first data and the second data correspond to different frequency domain resources and / or spatial domain resources.

[0148] In this embodiment, the network device indicates to the terminal device that the first HARQ process has been preempted, and indicates the first data associated with the first HARQ process. The terminal device and the network device can transmit the first data according to the preempted first HARQ process, which helps to improve the transmission efficiency of the high-priority first data.

[0149] As described above, before the network device sends the first information to the terminal device, it transmits data other than the first data according to the first HARQ process. Assume that before sending the first information to the terminal device, the network device sends third data to the terminal device according to the first HARQ process. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the third data according to the first HARQ process and reports the reception status of the third data back to the network device.

[0150] In this context, the third data can be understood as any data other than the first data, and the priority of the third data is lower than that of the first data. The third data and the first data may correspond to the same business or different businesses, and this application embodiment does not limit this.

[0151] Based on the reception status of the third data and the order between the time when the network device sends the first information to the terminal device and the time when the third data is fed back, different scenarios can be identified. The implementation methods of the communication methods provided in the embodiments of this application under different scenarios are further described below.

[0152] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application. Exemplarily, the communication method may include the following steps:

[0153] S601, the network device sends third information to the terminal device, the third information being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with third data. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the third information from the network device.

[0154] When network devices communicate with terminal devices, higher layers in the network device can obtain the data associated with each of the multiple HARQ processes.

[0155] In this step, the network device instructs the first HARQ process among the multiple HARQ processes to associate with the third data via third information. This third information is similar to the second information in the method shown in Figure 5. As an example, the third information may include a second DCI, which instructs the first HARQ process to associate with the third data.

[0156] S602, the network device sends third data to the terminal device according to the first HARQ process. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the third data from the network device according to the first HARQ process.

[0157] S603, the terminal device sends a fourth message to the network device, indicating an error in receiving the third data. Accordingly, the network device receives the fourth message from the terminal device.

[0158] When HARQ feedback is enabled, after receiving third data from the network device, the terminal device can send feedback on the reception status of the third data to the network device through fourth information. The fourth information is equivalent to feedback information of the third data.

[0159] In this step, the fourth information indicates a third data reception error; for example, the fourth information can be a NACK message.

[0160] In step S604, the network device sends a first message to the terminal device, indicating that the first HARQ process has been preempted. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first message from the network device.

[0161] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the arrival time of first data in an embodiment of this application. The time on the left in Figure 7 is earlier than the time on the right. The time sequence shown in Figure 7 is consistent with the time sequence of the terminal device sending the fourth information in step S603 and the network device sending the first information in step S604.

[0162] As shown in Figure 7, the first data arrives after the terminal device sends the fourth information to the network device. As an example, upon the arrival of the first data, the higher layers of the aforementioned network device can determine, through internal decision-making, that the first HARQ process has been preempted from among multiple HARQ processes, and indicate this preemption to the terminal device via the first information.

[0163] S605, the network device sends second information to the terminal device, the second information being used to instruct the first HARQ process to be associated with the first data. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the second information from the network device.

[0164] This step is the same as step S502 in the embodiment shown in Figure 5, and will not be repeated here.

[0165] S606, the terminal device determines that the first HARQ process has been preempted based on the fourth information, the first information, the second information, and the third information.

[0166] S607, the network device sends first data to the terminal device according to the first HARQ process. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first data from the network device according to the first HARQ process.

[0167] Steps S606 and S607 above correspond to step S503 in the embodiment shown in FIG5. In some implementations, the first information in step S604 may include a first DCI, and the NDI in the first DCI is a flip of the NDI in the second DCI.

[0168] When network devices and terminal devices process communication services in parallel according to multiple HARQ processes, each HARQ process will save an NDI value. The NDI value is 0 or 1. The sender can use the NDI value to indicate to the receiver whether the data transmission is the first transmission or a retransmission.

[0169] For example, when a network device sends downlink data to a terminal device according to the first HARQ process, the NDI value stored in the first HARQ process is 1 in this transmission. Assuming the NDI value stored in the first HARQ process was 0 in the previous transmission, and the NDI value stored in the first HARQ process flips from 0 to 1, the terminal device can determine that the downlink data sent by the network device using the first HARQ process this time is new data different from the previous transmission based on this flip. Alternatively, assuming the NDI value stored in the first HARQ process was 1 in the previous transmission, then the NDI value stored in the first HARQ process in this transmission is the same as the NDI value stored in the previous transmission; that is, the NDI value stored in the first HARQ process has not flipped. The terminal device can then determine that the network device is retransmitting downlink data to the terminal device using the first HARQ process this time.

[0170] Understandably, if the first field in the first DCI is flipped compared to the first field in the second DCI, the terminal device can determine that this transmission is a new data transmission according to the 3GPP protocol. However, if the fourth information indicates an error in receiving the third data, and HARQ feedback is enabled, the network device should retransmit the third data to the terminal device according to the first HARQ process. At this time, the NDI in the first DCI should be consistent with the NDI in the second DCI, that is, the NDI should not be flipped.

[0171] Therefore, in step S605, the terminal device, based on the fourth information, the first information, the second information, and the third information, that is, under the condition of the third data error, combined with the fact that the NDI in the first DCI is flipped compared to the NDI in the second DCI, and that the first HARQ process is associated with the first data, can determine that the first HARQ process is preempted by the first data.

[0172] In some implementations, the redundant version identifier (RV id) in the first DCI can be a non-zero first value. Specifically, the first value can be a non-zero integer such as 1, 2, 3, ..., and the specific value of the first value is not limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0173] Based on whether the retransmitted bit information is the same as the initial transmission, soft combining schemes can be divided into chase combining (CC) and incremental redundancy (IR). In CC, the retransmitted bit information is the same as the initial transmission, while in IR, the retransmitted bit information does not need to be the same as the initial transmission. When using CC, the RV id in the DCI is fixed at 0; when using IR combining, different RV id values ​​represent different redundancy samples.

[0174] In this implementation, the terminal device can determine that the first HARQ process has been preempted by the first data based on the fourth information, the first information, the second information, and the third information, that is, under the condition of the third data error, combined with the fact that the NDI in the first DCI has been flipped compared to the NDI in the second DCI, the first HARQ process is associated with the first data, and the RV id is a non-zero first value.

[0175] It is understood that in this embodiment of the application, the first HARQ process being preempted by the first data can also be understood as the first HARQ process being preempted by the service corresponding to the first data.

[0176] Considering that the embodiment shown in Figure 6 corresponds to a scenario where a network device sends downlink data to a terminal device, in step S606, when the terminal device determines that the first HARQ process has been preempted, the network device sends first data to the terminal device according to the first HARQ process. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first data from the network device according to the first HARQ process.

[0177] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application. Exemplarily, the communication method may include the following steps:

[0178] In step S801, the network device sends third information to the terminal device, which instructs the first HARQ process to associate with third data. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the third information from the network device.

[0179] In step S802, the network device sends third data to the terminal device according to the first HARQ process. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the third data from the network device according to the first HARQ process.

[0180] The steps S801 and S802 above are the same as steps S601 and S602 in the embodiment shown in Figure 6, and will not be repeated here.

[0181] In step S803, the network device sends a first message to the terminal device, indicating that the first HARQ process has been preempted. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first message from the network device.

[0182] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of another first data arrival time in an embodiment of this application. The first moment is the moment when the terminal device receives the first information, and the second moment is a moment within the time unit where the feedback resource corresponding to the third data is located. It is understood that the first moment and the second moment are different points in time, while the feedback resource corresponding to the third data lasts for a continuous time unit. For example, the second moment can be the start time, the end time, or any moment within that time unit; this embodiment of the application does not limit this.

[0183] In Figure 9, the time on the left is earlier than the time on the right. As shown in Figure 9, the first time is to the left of the second time, meaning the first time precedes the second time, and the terminal device receives the first information before the second time. If the first data arrives before the time corresponding to the feedback resource for the third data has arrived, for example, the higher layers of the aforementioned network device can determine, through internal decision-making, that the first HARQ process has been preempted from multiple HARQ processes, and indicate to the terminal device that the first HARQ process has been preempted via the first information.

[0184] In step S804, the network device sends second information to the terminal device, the second information indicating that the first HARQ process is associated with the first data. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the second information from the network device.

[0185] This step is the same as step S502 in the embodiment shown in Figure 5, and will not be repeated here.

[0186] S805, the terminal device determines that the first HARQ process has been preempted based on the first information, the second information and the third information before the second moment.

[0187] In some implementations, the first information in step S604 may include a first DCI, where the NDI in the first DCI is a flip of the NDI in the second DCI.

[0188] Referring to the embodiment shown in Figure 6, in this step, before the second time, the terminal device, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, that is, when the terminal device receives the first information and the time has not reached the time of the feedback resource corresponding to the third data, combined with the fact that the NDI in the first DCI has flipped compared to the NDI in the second DCI, and that the first HARQ process is associated with the first data, can determine that the first HARQ process has been preempted by the first data.

[0189] In some implementations, the RV id in the first DCI can be a non-zero first value. In this implementation, the terminal device, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information—that is, when the terminal device receives the first information but the time has not yet reached the time of the feedback resource corresponding to the third data—combined with the fact that the NDI in the first DCI has flipped compared to the NDI in the second DCI, the first HARQ process is associated with the first data, and the RV id is a non-zero first value, can also determine that the first HARQ process has been preempted by the first data.

[0190] In some implementations, if the first moment is before the second moment and it is determined that the first HARQ process has been preempted, HARQ feedback may not be enabled, and the terminal device may not send feedback information to the network device.

[0191] In some implementations, as shown in optional step S806 of Figure 8, the terminal device sends feedback information to the network device, the feedback information indicating the reception status of the third data. Correspondingly, the network device receives the feedback information from the terminal device.

[0192] Understandably, if the first moment is before the second moment and it is determined that the first HARQ process has been preempted, HARQ feedback can be enabled, and the terminal device can continue to send feedback information to the network device to indicate the third data reception status.

[0193] S807, the network device sends first data to the terminal device according to the first HARQ process. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first data from the network device according to the first HARQ process.

[0194] This step is the same as step S607 in the method shown in Figure 6, and will not be repeated here.

[0195] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application. Exemplarily, the communication method may include the following steps:

[0196] S1001, the network device sends third information to the terminal device, the third information being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with third data. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the third information from the network device.

[0197] S1002, the network device sends third data to the terminal device according to the first HARQ process. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the third data from the network device according to the first HARQ process.

[0198] The steps S1001 and S1002 above are the same as steps S601 and S602 in the embodiment shown in Figure 6, and will not be repeated here.

[0199] S1003, the terminal device sends a sixth message to the network device, indicating that the third data was received correctly. Accordingly, the network device receives the sixth message from the terminal device.

[0200] The sixth information is feedback information used to indicate the reception status of the third data. As an example, the sixth information can be ACK information.

[0201] S1004, the network device sends first information to the terminal device, the first information indicating that the first HARQ process has been preempted. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the network device.

[0202] It should be noted that after receiving feedback information from the terminal device, the network device needs to decode the feedback information to determine whether the third-party data was received correctly or incorrectly, and decoding the feedback information takes a certain amount of time.

[0203] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of another first data arrival time in an embodiment of this application. The first moment is the moment when the terminal device receives the first information, and the third moment is the moment when the network device completes decoding the feedback information. It is understood that the first moment and the third moment are different time points.

[0204] In Figure 11, the time on the left is earlier than the time on the right. As shown in Figure 11, the first time is to the left of the third time, that is, the first time is before the third time. Before the network device completes decoding the feedback information, the terminal device has already received the first information indicating that the first HARQ process has been preempted.

[0205] S1005, the network device sends second information to the terminal device, the second information being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with the first data. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the second information from the network device.

[0206] In some implementations, the network device decodes the feedback information and can obtain the sixth information, as shown in step S1006 of Figure 10. Based on the sixth information, the network device ignores the first information.

[0207] As indicated in step S1003, the sixth information indicates that the third data was received correctly. Therefore, after the network device completes decoding, it can confirm that the third data was received correctly. If the third data is received correctly, the network device can ignore the first information. This ignoring can be understood as the network device not using the first information, or considering the first information ineffective, or regarding it as invalid information.

[0208] Optionally, the terminal device may also ignore the first information; that is, the terminal device may choose not to use the first information, consider the first information ineffective, or treat the first information as invalid. It is understandable that the network device needs to decode the feedback information to determine whether the third data was received correctly or incorrectly, while the terminal device can directly ignore the first information based on the sixth information.

[0209] If the network device determines that the third data reception is incorrect after decoding, the communication method provided in this application embodiment can correspond to the embodiment shown in Figure 6, and will not be described again here.

[0210] S1007, the network device sends first data to the terminal device according to the first HARQ process. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first data from the network device according to the first HARQ process.

[0211] Even if the terminal device and the network device ignore the first information, since the second information indicates that the first HARQ process is associated with the first data, the network device and the terminal device can transmit the first data based on the second information, which will not be elaborated here.

[0212] The embodiments shown in Figures 6, 8, and 10 above correspond to the scenario where the network device uses the first HARQ process to send downlink data. The following further describes the situation where the terminal device sends uplink data according to the first HARQ process.

[0213] Figure 12 is a flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. For example, referring to the foregoing embodiment, before the network device sends first information to the terminal device, the terminal device sends third data to the network device according to a first HARQ process. Considering that the network device can directly schedule the terminal device to provide feedback, the network device does not need to send feedback information to the terminal device; therefore, the actions prior to the network device sending the first information to the terminal device are omitted in Figure 12.

[0214] S1201, the network device sends first information to the terminal device, the first information indicating that the first HARQ process has been preempted. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the network device.

[0215] This step is similar to step S501 in the method shown in Figure 5. In some embodiments, the first information may include a first indication field, which is used to indicate that the first HARQ process has been preempted.

[0216] In some other implementations, the first information may include a first DCI, wherein the RV id in the first DCI is a non-zero first value.

[0217] S1202, the network device sends second information to the terminal device, the second information being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with the first data. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the second information from the network device.

[0218] Taking the above behavior as an example, the first HARQ process is associated with the first data, which can be understood as the HARQ entity associating the uplink authorization information and the corresponding data with the first HARQ process.

[0219] S1203, the terminal device and the network device transmit the first data based on the first information and the second information.

[0220] As one possible implementation, as shown in optional step S1203a in Figure 12, when the RV id of the first DCI included in the first information is a non-zero first value, the terminal device can determine that the first HARQ process has been preempted based on the non-zero RV id and the association between the first HARQ process and the first data.

[0221] As shown in optional step S1203b of Figure 12, the terminal device sends first data to the network device according to the first HARQ process. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first data from the terminal device according to the first HARQ process.

[0222] As one possible implementation, the third data in the above embodiments can be used for blind retransmission. Here, blind retransmission means that the network device sends the third data to the terminal device according to the first HARQ process, while the terminal device does not send feedback information to the network device to indicate the reception status of the third data. The network device continuously retransmits the third data to the terminal device according to the first HARQ process until the preset maximum number of retransmissions is reached.

[0223] In this implementation, if the number of blind retransmissions of the third data is less than the preset maximum number of retransmissions when the terminal device receives the first information, the terminal device can determine that the first HARQ process has been preempted based on the first information and the second information, thereby enabling the terminal device to send or receive the first data according to the first HARQ process.

[0224] In the above embodiments, as a possible implementation, if it is determined that the first HARQ process has been preempted, the terminal device and the network device can clear the cache of third data in the first HARQ process.

[0225] Understandably, when network devices and terminal devices transmit third data via the first HARQ process, the third data needs to be cached in the first HARQ process if HARQ feedback is enabled. If the first HARQ process is preempted, in order to enable data transmission between the network device and the terminal device based on the first HARQ process, the network device and the terminal device clear the cached third data in the first HARQ process.

[0226] In some implementations, if it is determined that the first HARQ process has been preempted, the terminal device can report a fifth message to a higher layer, which is used to indicate that the first HARQ process has been preempted.

[0227] Accordingly, if it is determined that the first HARQ process has been preempted, the network device can report the seventh information to a higher layer. The seventh information is used to indicate that the first HARQ process has been preempted.

[0228] It is understandable that the HARQ mechanism described above is the most commonly used retransmission mechanism in the MAC layer. In this implementation, higher layers may include the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, and the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer. In this implementation, the terminal device can report the fifth information to the higher-level RLC, PDCP, or SDAP layers.

[0229] The above implementation of network devices and terminal devices reporting the preemption of the first HARQ process to a higher layer allows subsequent network devices and terminal devices to retransmit the aforementioned received erroneous third data through a higher layer. As an example, the automatic repeat request mechanism of the RLC layer can supplement the HARQ mechanism in the MAC layer. Compared to the HARQ mechanism, the RLC layer transmits retransmission feedback status reports at a lower frequency, and the overhead required to achieve a lower feedback error rate through RLC layer retransmission is relatively small. After network devices and terminal devices report the preemption of the first HARQ process to the RLC layer, they can retransmit the third data through the RLC layer, thereby supporting the maintenance of the transmission efficiency of other low-priority data while improving the transmission efficiency of the first data.

[0230] It should be noted that, in the above embodiments, the interaction between the terminal device and the network device is used as an example for explanation. As can be seen from the communication system shown in Figure 1, the communication method provided in this application embodiment can also be extended to D2D communication. In D2D, the receiving device and the transmitting device can communicate directly through the PC5 (direct communication) interface without the aid of a network device. The link between the two is called a sidelink (SL).

[0231] In the above embodiments, when downlink data transmission occurs between the network device and the terminal device, the network device can be replaced by the transmitting device in D2D communication, and the terminal device can be replaced by the receiving device in D2D communication. Alternatively, when uplink data transmission occurs between the network device and the terminal device, the network device can be replaced by the receiving device in D2D communication, and the terminal device can be replaced by the transmitting device in D2D communication; further details will not be provided here.

[0232] Figures 13 and 14 are schematic diagrams of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of terminal devices or network devices in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, the communication device can be the terminal device or network device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 5, 6, 8, 10 or 12, or it can be a component (such as a chip, chip system, processor, etc.) configured in the terminal device or network device, or it can be a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the terminal device or network device.

[0233] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 13, the communication device 1300 includes a processing module 1310 and a transceiver module 1320.

[0234] The transceiver module 1320 can implement corresponding communication functions and can also be referred to as an input / output interface or communication unit. The processing module 1310 can be used to perform processing operations. It should be understood that if the device 1300 is a component configured in a network device or terminal device, such as a chip, the transceiver module 1320 can be an input / output interface.

[0235] Optionally, the transceiver module 1320 may include a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module is used to perform the sending operations of the network device or terminal device in Figures 5, 6, 8, 10, and 12, and the receiving module is used to perform the receiving operations of the network device or terminal device in Figures 5, 6, 8, 10, or 12.

[0236] It should be understood that when the device 1300 is a component configured in a network device or terminal device, such as a chip, the transmitting module can be an output interface, and the transmitting operation involved in the embodiments of this application can be performed by the output interface; the receiving module can be an input interface, and the receiving operation involved in the embodiments of this application can be performed by the input interface.

[0237] Optionally, the device 1300 may further include a storage module for storing instructions and / or data, and the processing module 1310 may read the instructions and / or data in the storage module to enable the device to implement the method embodiments shown in Figures 5, 6, 8, 10 or 12.

[0238] In one possible design, the device 1300 described above can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 5, 6, 8, 10 or 12. Alternatively, the device 1300 may include a unit for implementing any function or operation of the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 5, 6, 8, 10 or 12. This unit may be implemented wholly or partially by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof.

[0239] When device 1300 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in FIG5, FIG6, FIG8, FIG10 or FIG12, transceiver module 1320 (specifically, a receiving module) can be used to execute step S501 in FIG5 to receive first information from the network device, the first information being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is preempted; it can also be used to execute step S502 in FIG5 to receive second information from the network device, the second information being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with first data; transceiver module 1320 (specifically, a sending module) can also be used to execute step S503 in FIG5 to send first data to the network device according to the first HARQ process.

[0240] In another possible design, the device 1300 described above can be used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG5, FIG6, FIG8, FIG10 or FIG12. Alternatively, the device 1300 may include a unit for implementing any function or operation of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG5, FIG6, FIG8, FIG10 or FIG12. This unit may be implemented wholly or partially by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof.

[0241] When device 1300 is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG5, transceiver module 1320 (specifically, a sending module) can be used to execute step S501 in FIG5 to send first information to the terminal device. The first information is used to indicate that the first HARQ process has been preempted. It can also be used to execute step S502 in FIG5 to send second information to the terminal device. The second information is used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with the first data. Transceiver module 1320 (specifically, a receiving module) can be used to execute step S503 shown in FIG5 to receive the first data from the terminal device according to the first HARQ process.

[0242] A more detailed description of the above-mentioned processing module 1310 and transceiver module 1320 can be obtained directly from the relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown in Figures 5, 6, 8, 10 or 12, and will not be repeated here.

[0243] It should be noted that the transceiver module can also be called a transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver machine, or transceiver device, etc. The processing module can also be called a processor, processing board, processing unit, or processing device, etc. Optionally, the transceiver module is used to perform the sending and receiving operations on the terminal device or network device side in the above method. The device in the communication module used to implement the receiving function can be considered as the receiving module, and the device in the communication module used to implement the sending function can be considered as the sending module; that is, the transceiver module includes both a receiving module and a sending module.

[0244] In another possible design, the aforementioned transceiver module and / or processing module can be implemented using virtual modules. For example, the processing module can be implemented using software functional modules or virtual devices, and the transceiver module can also be implemented using software functional modules or virtual devices. In another possible design, the processing module or transceiver module can also be implemented using physical devices. For example, if the device is implemented using a chip / chip circuit, the transceiver module can be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface, performing input operations (corresponding to the aforementioned receiving operation) and output operations (corresponding to the aforementioned sending operation); the processing module is an integrated processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit.

[0245] It should be understood that the module division in the embodiments of this application is illustrative and only represents a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into a single processor, exist as separate physical entities, or be integrated into a single module. The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules.

[0246] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. The device 1400 shown in Figure 14 can be used to perform any of the methods described above that are executed by the communication device.

[0247] As shown in Figure 14, the communication device 1400 includes a processor 1410 and an interface circuit 1420. The processor 1410 and the interface circuit 1420 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1420 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1400 may further include a memory 1430 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1410, or storing input data required by the processor 1410 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 1410 executes instructions.

[0248] In one implementation, the memory 1430 may be integrated into the processor 1410 or independent of the processor 1410. The memory 1430 may include, but is not limited to, a cache, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), etc. Memory is any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code having an instruction or data structure form and accessible by a computer, but is not limited to this. The memory in the embodiments of this application may also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing storage functions for storing computer programs or instructions, and / or data.

[0249] When the communication device 1400 is used to implement the methods shown in Figures 5, 6, 8, 10, or 12, the processor 1410 implements the functions of the processing module 1410, and the interface circuit 1420 implements the functions of the transceiver module 1420. The processor 1430 can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), microprocessors (MPUs), microcontroller units (MCUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), artificial intelligence processors (AI processors), neural network processors (NPUs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0250] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the methods described above.

[0251] This application also provides a computer program product, including computer instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the various steps in the methods described above.

[0252] This application also provides a communication system, which includes the aforementioned terminal device and network device.

[0253] Other embodiments of this application will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this application that follow the general principles of this application and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and intent of this application are indicated by the following claims.

[0254] It should be understood that this application is not limited to the precise structure described above and shown in the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of this application is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive first information, the first information being used to indicate that the first Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process is preempted; Receive second information, which is used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with the first data; Based on the first information and the second information, send or receive the first data.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second information is also used to instruct the second HARQ process to be associated with the second data; The step of sending or receiving the first data based on the first information and the second information includes: The first data is transmitted or received on the first time unit of the first carrier. The method further includes: On the first time unit of the first carrier, the second data is transmitted or received, and the second data corresponds to different frequency domain resources and / or spatial domain resources than the first data.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first information includes a first indication field, which is used to indicate that the first HARQ process has been preempted.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first information includes first downlink control information (DCI); Before receiving the first information, the method further includes: Receive third information, the third information being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with third data, the third information including a second DCI, wherein the new data indication field NDI in the first DCI is a flip of the NDI in the second DCI; Send a fourth message indicating that the third data reception error occurred; The step of sending or receiving the first data based on the first information and the second information includes: Based on the fourth information, the first information, the second information, and the third information, it is determined that the first HARQ process has been preempted; The first data is received according to the first HARQ process.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The redundant version identifier in the first DCI is a non-zero first value.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first information includes the first DCI; Before receiving the first information, the method further includes: Receive third information, the third information being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with third data, the third information including a second DCI, the NDI in the first DCI being a flip of the NDI in the second DCI, the first time being before the second time, the first time being the time when the first information is received, and the second time being a time in the time unit where the feedback resource corresponding to the third data is located; The step of sending or receiving the first data based on the first information and the second information includes: Before the second moment, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, it is determined that the first HARQ process has been preempted; The first data is received according to the first HARQ process.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The redundant version identifier in the first DCI is a non-zero first value.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, Before receiving the first information, the method further includes: Receive third information, the third information being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with third data, the third data being used for blind retransmission; The step of sending or receiving the first data based on the first information and the second information includes: If the number of blind retransmissions of the third data is less than the preset maximum number of retransmissions, the first HARQ process is preempted based on the first information and the second information. The first data is sent or received according to the first HARQ process.

9. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first information includes a first DCI, wherein the redundant version identifier in the first DCI is a non-zero first value; The step of sending or receiving the first data based on the first information and the second information includes: Based on the redundant version identifier in the first DCI and the second information, it is determined that the first HARQ process has been preempted; The first data is sent according to the first HARQ process.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, Before receiving the first information, the method further includes: Receive third information, the third information being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with third data; The method further includes: Clear the cache of the third data in the first HARQ process.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: The fifth piece of information is reported to a higher level, which indicates that the first HARQ process has been preempted.

12. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, Before receiving the first information, the method further includes: Receive third information, the third information being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with third data; A sixth message is sent, indicating that the third data was received correctly; The step of sending or receiving the first data based on the first information and the second information includes: Based on the sixth piece of information, the first piece of information is ignored; The first data is received according to the first HARQ process.

13. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Send a first message, which indicates that the first HARQ process has been preempted; Send a second message, the second message being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with the first data; Based on the first information and the second information, receive or send the first data.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The second information is also used to instruct the second HARQ process to be associated with the second data; The step of receiving or sending the first data based on the first information and the second information includes: The first data is received or transmitted on the first time unit of the first carrier. The method further includes: On the first time unit of the first carrier, the second data is received or transmitted, wherein the second data corresponds to different frequency domain resources and / or spatial domain resources than the first data.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The first information includes a first indication field, which is used to indicate that the first HARQ process has been preempted.

16. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The first information includes the first DCI; Before sending the first information, the method further includes: Send a third message, the third message being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with third data, the third message including a second DCI, wherein the new data indication field NDI in the first DCI is a flip of the NDI in the second DCI; Receive a fourth message, which indicates that the third data reception was incorrect; The step of receiving or sending the first data based on the first information and the second information includes: Based on the fourth information, the first information, the second information, and the third information, it is determined that the first HARQ process has been preempted; The first data is sent according to the first HARQ process.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The redundant version identifier in the first DCI is a non-zero first value.

18. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The first information includes the first DCI; Before sending the first information, the method further includes: Send a third message, the third message being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with third data, the third message including a second DCI, the NDI in the first DCI being a flip of the NDI in the second DCI, the first time being before the second time, the first time being the time when the first message is received, and the second time being a time in the time unit where the feedback resource corresponding to the third data is located; The step of receiving or sending the first data based on the first information and the second information includes: Before the second moment, based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, it is determined that the first HARQ process has been preempted; The first data is sent according to the first HARQ process.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The redundant version identifier in the first DCI is a non-zero first value.

20. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, Before sending the first information, the method further includes: Send a third message, the third message being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with third data, the third data being used for blind retransmission; The step of receiving or sending the first data based on the first information and the second information includes: If the number of blind retransmissions of the third data is less than the preset maximum number of retransmissions, the first HARQ process is preempted based on the first information and the second information. The first data is received or sent according to the first HARQ process.

21. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The first information includes a first DCI, wherein the redundant version identifier in the first DCI is a non-zero first value; The step of receiving or sending the first data based on the first information and the second information includes: Based on the redundant version identifier in the first DCI and the second information, it is determined that the first HARQ process has been preempted; The first data is received according to the first HARQ process.

22. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 21, characterized in that, Before sending the first information, the method further includes: Send a third message, the third message being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with third data; The method further includes: Clear the cache of the third data in the first HARQ process.

23. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 22, characterized in that, The method further includes: A seventh message is reported to a higher level, which indicates that the first HARQ process has been preempted.

24. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, Before receiving the first information, the method further includes: Send a third message, the third message being used to indicate that the first HARQ process is associated with third data; Receive the sixth message, which indicates that the third data was received correctly; The step of receiving or sending the first data based on the first information and the second information includes: Based on the sixth piece of information, the first piece of information is ignored; The first data is sent according to the first HARQ process.

25. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a module for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 24.

26. A communication device, characterized in that, include: Processor, the processor being coupled to memory; The memory stores computer-executed instructions; The processor executes computer execution instructions stored in the memory, causing the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 24.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed, cause the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 24 to be implemented.

28. A computer program product, characterized in that, Includes a computer program that, when run, causes the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 24 to be implemented.

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