Communication method, and related apparatus
By selectively or delaying the execution of the timing advance instruction based on the effective time of the terminal device, the problem of time slot overlap caused by timing advance adjustment is solved, the phase continuity of uplink data is maintained, and the efficiency and flexibility of the communication system are improved.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-12-15
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-25
AI Technical Summary
Pre-adjustment of timing leads to time slot overlap, affecting the uplink data decoding performance of the base station and reducing communication efficiency. Especially in scenarios where phase continuity needs to be maintained, the existing technology will destroy phase continuity and further reduce communication efficiency.
Based on the effective time of the received timing advance command, the terminal device selectively executes or delays the timing advance under specific conditions to ensure the phase continuity of uplink data. By executing or delaying the timing advance on the corresponding uplink resources, phase destruction is avoided, and the command is delayed to take effect when appropriate to utilize the guard interval, thereby improving the flexibility and efficiency of timing advance.
By maintaining the phase continuity of uplink data, communication performance is improved, low-quality data transmission is reduced, resource waste is reduced, business data loss is avoided, and the overall efficiency of the communication system is improved.
Smart Images
Figure CN2025142346_25062026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
A communication method and related apparatus
[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411911924.7, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on December 20, 2024, entitled “A Communication Method and Related Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field
[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and related apparatus. Background Technology
[0003] Timing Advance (TA) commands are primarily used to compensate for signal propagation delays between terminal devices and base stations, ensuring that data from all terminal devices at different distances can be correctly synchronized at the base station. This process typically involves having more distant terminal devices send data in advance to make up for the time difference in signal arrival at the base station.
[0004] After the base station sends a TA adjustment command to the terminal device, the terminal device executes the command. However, the timing of the advance adjustment may cause time slot n and time slot n+1 to overlap. This overlap of uplink data between the two time slots will affect the base station's decoding performance for the uplink data in these two time slots. In this case, the terminal device will choose to transmit uplink data from time slot n instead of time slot n+1, resulting in reduced communication efficiency. Summary of the Invention
[0005] This application provides a communication method and related apparatus for improving communication performance.
[0006] Firstly, this application provides a communication method. This method can be applied to the terminal side, such as a terminal device or a communication module / processing module within the terminal device, or circuits or chips in the terminal device responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, or a system-in-package (SIP) chip), or circuits or chips in the terminal device responsible for processing functions (such as a graphics processing unit (GPU)). Taking the application of this method to a terminal device as an example, in this method, the terminal device receives a first instruction from a network device. The first instruction is used to indicate timing advance, or in other words, the first instruction is used to instruct the terminal device to execute timing advance. After receiving the first instruction, the terminal device can determine the effective time of the first instruction (i.e., the first effective time in this application).
[0007] In this application, the first instruction will take effect on the first uplink resource, wherein the first uplink resource includes uplink resources in N time units, where N is an integer greater than 1. Therefore, "the first instruction will take effect on the first uplink resource" can be replaced with other descriptions, such as the effective time of the first instruction (i.e., the first effective time) being located in the time domain resource corresponding to the first uplink resource, or the effective time of the first instruction (i.e., the first effective time) being located in one of the aforementioned N time units.
[0008] In this application, the first uplink resource is used to carry uplink data with continuous phase. In other words, the uplink data carried on the first uplink resource needs to maintain phase continuity.
[0009] When the uplink data carried on the first uplink resource needs to maintain phase continuity, the terminal device processes the first instruction based on its time domain position on the first uplink resource according to the first effective time of the first instruction. This improves the flexibility of the terminal device in timing advance and helps maintain the phase continuity of the uplink data carried on the first uplink resource.
[0010] Based on the first aspect, in an optional implementation, if the first effective time of the first instruction meets the first condition, the terminal device executes the first instruction at the first effective time; wherein the first condition includes one or more of the following:
[0011] The first effective time is located in the first time unit among N time units, or it can also be understood as the first effective time being located in the first time unit of the first uplink resource;
[0012] The first effective time is located at the beginning of the first time unit among N time units, or it can be understood as the first effective time being located at the beginning of the first time unit in the first uplink resource.
[0013] In this case, if the terminal device executes the first instruction at the first effective time, it will not disrupt the phase continuity of the uplink data carried on the first uplink resource, thus improving communication performance.
[0014] Based on the first aspect, in one optional implementation, if the first effective time of the first instruction meets the second condition, then the terminal device does not execute the first instruction at the first effective time; wherein the second condition includes one or more of the following:
[0015] The first effective time is located in any of the N time units other than the first time unit. For example, assume that the N time units include the first uplink subframe to the Nth uplink subframe. If the first effective time is located in the second uplink subframe, the terminal device will execute the first instruction (i.e., execute timing advance) in the second uplink subframe, which will disrupt the phase continuity between the first and second uplink subframes. If the first effective time is located in the fifth uplink subframe, the terminal device will execute the first instruction (i.e., execute timing advance) in the fifth uplink subframe, which will disrupt the phase continuity of the uplink data between the fifth and fourth uplink subframes.
[0016] The first effective time is located at a non-starting position in the first of N time units. For example, assume that the N time units include the first to the Nth time units, and that each time unit has a relatively long duration. If the first effective time is located at a non-starting position in the first time unit (e.g., in the middle or at the end of the first time unit), then the terminal device executing the first instruction at the non-starting position of the first time unit (i.e., executing timing advance) will disrupt the phase continuity of the uplink data within the first time unit.
[0017] Optionally, if the terminal device does not execute the first instruction at the first effective time, the terminal device may delay the effective time of the first instruction (i.e., the second effective time in this application), or it may not execute the first instruction.
[0018] Based on the first aspect, in one optional implementation, if the terminal device does not execute the first instruction at the first effective time, the terminal device may delay the effective time of the first instruction (i.e., the second effective time in this application), or it may not execute the first instruction.
[0019] Specifically, the terminal device executes the first instruction at the second effective time, where the second effective time falls within any of the following:
[0020] The first time unit in the second uplink resource, the second uplink resource is the next uplink resource after the first uplink resource, and the second uplink resource is used to carry uplink data with continuous phase.
[0021] The starting position of the first time unit in the second uplink resource. Since the uplink data carried by the next uplink resource (i.e., the second uplink resource) also needs to maintain phase continuity, in order not to disrupt the phase continuity of the uplink data carried by the second uplink resource, the terminal device executes the first instruction (i.e., timing advance) at the first time unit of the second uplink resource, or executes the first instruction (timing advance) at the beginning position of the first time unit in the second uplink resource. This maintains the phase continuity of the uplink data carried on the second uplink resource and improves communication performance.
[0022] In any time unit of the third uplink resource, which is the next uplink resource after the first uplink resource, and which carries uplink data that is not phase-continuous, the terminal device can execute the first instruction (i.e., timing advance) in any time unit of the third uplink resource, thus improving the flexibility and efficiency of timing advance.
[0023] Based on the first aspect, in one optional implementation, the second uplink resource is an uplink resource located after the next protection interval of the first uplink resource. That is, there is a protection interval between the second uplink resource and the first uplink resource. When the first effective time of the first instruction meets the aforementioned second condition, the terminal device delays the execution of the first instruction to the uplink resource after the next protection interval. In this application, the terminal device combines the protection interval between uplink resources to delay the effective time of the first instruction, thereby improving the success rate of the first instruction's execution.
[0024] Based on the first aspect, in an optional implementation, if the first effective time of the first instruction satisfies the third condition, then the first instruction is executed at the first effective time, and no data transmission is performed on the first uplink resource, wherein the third condition includes one or more of the following:
[0025] The first effective time is located in any of the N time units other than the first time unit;
[0026] The first effective time is located at the non-starting position of the first time unit in N time units; where N is less than or equal to a preset threshold.
[0027] If the terminal device executes the first instruction at the first effective time, it will disrupt the phase continuity of the uplink data carried by the first uplink resource, provided the third condition is met. Therefore, when the terminal device chooses to execute the first instruction at the first effective time, data transmission can be avoided on the first uplink resource. This reduces low-quality data transmission and minimizes resource waste.
[0028] On the other hand, this application configures a preset threshold for the length of the N time units. When the terminal device chooses not to transmit data on the first uplink resource, N should be less than or equal to the preset threshold to avoid the terminal device skipping too much data transmission, resulting in the loss of excessive service data. Correspondingly, if N is greater than the preset threshold, the terminal device maintains data transmission on the first uplink resource and does not execute the first instruction. In other words, if the first effective time is located in a time unit other than the first time unit among the N time units (N is greater than the preset threshold), or if the first effective time is located at a non-starting position of the first time unit among the N time units (N is greater than the preset threshold), the terminal device maintains data transmission on the first uplink resource and does not execute the first instruction.
[0029] Secondly, this application provides a communication device, which includes:
[0030] The transceiver unit is used to receive the first instruction, which is used to indicate that the timing TA should be advanced in advance.
[0031] The processing unit is used to process the first instruction according to the first effective time of the first instruction and its time domain position on the first uplink resource. The first uplink resource includes uplink resources in N time units and is used to carry uplink data with continuous phase, where N is an integer greater than 1.
[0032] Based on the second aspect, in one optional implementation, the processing unit is specifically used for:
[0033] When the first effective time of the first instruction meets the first condition, the first instruction is executed at the first effective time; wherein the first condition includes one or more of the following:
[0034] The first effective time is located in the first time unit out of N time units;
[0035] The first effective time is located at the beginning of the first time unit out of N time units.
[0036] Based on the second aspect, in one optional implementation, the processing unit is specifically used for:
[0037] When the first effective time of the first instruction meets the second condition, the first instruction is not executed at the first effective time; wherein the second condition includes one or more of the following:
[0038] The first effective time is located in any of the N time units other than the first time unit;
[0039] The first effective time is located at a non-starting position in the first time unit out of N time units.
[0040] Based on the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the processing unit is further configured to:
[0041] The first instruction is executed at the second effective time, wherein the second effective time falls within any of the following:
[0042] The first time unit in the second uplink resource, the second uplink resource is the next uplink resource after the first uplink resource, and the second uplink resource is used to carry uplink data with continuous phase.
[0043] The starting position of the first time unit in the second uplink resource;
[0044] Any time unit in the third uplink resource, the third uplink resource is the next uplink resource after the first uplink resource, and the third uplink resource is used to carry uplink data that is not phase continuous.
[0045] Based on the second aspect, in one optional implementation, the second uplink resource is an uplink resource located after the next guard interval of the first uplink resource.
[0046] Based on the second aspect, in one optional implementation, the processing unit is specifically used for:
[0047] When the first effective time of the first instruction meets the third condition, the first instruction is executed at the first effective time, and no data transmission is performed on the first uplink resource, wherein the third condition includes one or more of the following:
[0048] The first effective time is located in any of the N time units other than the first time unit;
[0049] The first effective time is located at the non-starting position of the first time unit in N time units; where N is less than or equal to a preset threshold.
[0050] A third aspect of this application provides a communication system that includes the aforementioned terminal equipment and network equipment.
[0051] A fourth aspect of this application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform the method as described in any possible implementation of any of the first aspects above.
[0052] The fifth aspect of this application provides a computer program product (or computer program) that, when executed by a processor, performs the method described in any possible implementation of any of the first aspects described above.
[0053] The sixth aspect of this application provides a chip system including at least one processor for supporting a communication device in implementing the method described in any possible implementation of any of the first aspects above.
[0054] In one possible design, the chip system may further include a memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. Optionally, the chip system may also include interface circuitry that provides program instructions and / or data to the at least one processor.
[0055] The technical effects of any of the design methods in aspects two through six can be found in the technical effects of the different design methods in aspect one above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description
[0056] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting system used in the communication method and related apparatus of this application;
[0057] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another possible, non-limiting system used in the communication method and related apparatus of this application;
[0058] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a possible implementation of the communication method in this application;
[0059] Figures 4 to 7 are schematic diagrams illustrating the processing of the first instruction in this application;
[0060] Figures 8 and 9 are schematic diagrams of the communication device provided in this application. Detailed Implementation
[0061] The present application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. The terminology used in the embodiments section of this application is for explaining specific embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of this application. Those skilled in the art will recognize that, with technological advancements and the emergence of new scenarios, the technical solutions provided in this application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.
[0062] First, some of the nouns or terms used in this application will be explained, and these nouns or terms are also part of the content of the invention.
[0063] (1) The terms “system” and “network” in this application are used interchangeably. “Multiple” refers to two or more. “And / or” describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character “ / ” generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an “or” relationship. “At least one of the following” or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, “at least one of A, B and C” includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. Unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as “first” and “second” mentioned in this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, sequence, priority or importance of multiple objects. Furthermore, the terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units that are explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not explicitly listed or that are inherent to such process, method, product, or apparatus.
[0064] (2) In this application, “sending information” can be understood as one device sending information to another device, or it can also be understood as one logical module within a device sending information to another logical module. For example, “terminal device sending information” can be understood as a terminal device sending information to another device (such as a network device), or it can be understood as logical module 1 in the terminal device sending information to logical module 2 in the network device.
[0065] In this application, "receiving information" can be understood as one device receiving information from another device, or it can also be understood as a logical module within a device receiving information from another logical module. For example, "terminal device receiving information" can be understood as a terminal device receiving information from another device (such as a network device), or it can be understood as logical module 1 in the terminal device receiving information from logical module 2 in the network device.
[0066] In this application, "sending information to... (e.g., a network device)" or the relevant illustrations in the accompanying drawings can be understood as the destination of the information being a network device. This can include sending information directly or indirectly to a network device. "Receiving information from... (e.g., a network device)" or "receiving information from... (e.g., a network device)" or "receiving information sent (e.g., by a network device)" or the relevant illustrations in the accompanying drawings can be understood as the source of the information being a network device. This can include receiving information directly or indirectly from a network device. Information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination, such as format changes, encoding, modulation, etc., but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood in a similar way, and will not be elaborated further here.
[0067] (3) Configuration and Pre-configuration: In this application, both configuration and pre-configuration are used. Configuration refers to the network device or server sending configuration information or parameter values to the terminal device via messages or signaling, so that the terminal device can determine the communication parameters or resources for transmission based on these values or information. Pre-configuration is similar to configuration; it can be parameter information or parameter values pre-negotiated between the network device / server and the terminal device, parameter information or parameter values specified by standard protocols for use by the base station / network device or terminal device, or parameter information or parameter values pre-stored in the base station / server or terminal device. This application does not limit this.
[0068] It should be understood that these values and parameters can change or be updated.
[0069] (4) In this application, “instruction” may include direct instruction and indirect instruction, and may also include explicit instruction and implicit instruction. When a certain instruction information is used to instruct A, it can be understood that the instruction information carries A, directly instructs A, or indirectly instructs A.
[0070] In this application, the information indicated by the instruction information is called the information to be instructed. In specific implementations, there are many ways to indicate the information to be instructed, such as, but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be instructed, such as the information to be instructed itself or its index. It can also indirectly indicate the information to be instructed by indicating other information, where there is a relationship between the other information and the information to be instructed; or it can indicate only a part of the information to be instructed, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed upon, for example, by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-predefined) arrangement of various information to indicate specific information, thereby reducing instruction overhead to some extent. This application does not limit the specific method of instruction. It is understood that for the sender of the instruction information, the instruction information can be used to indicate the information to be instructed, and for the receiver of the instruction information, the instruction information can be used to determine the information to be instructed.
[0071] Next, we will introduce the possible, non-limiting scenarios involved in this application.
[0072] Timing Advance (TA) commands are primarily used to compensate for signal propagation delays between terminal devices and base stations, ensuring that data from all terminal devices at different distances can be correctly synchronized at the base station. This process typically involves having more distant terminal devices send data in advance to make up for the time difference in signal arrival at the base station.
[0073] After the base station sends a TA adjustment command to the terminal device, the terminal device executes the TA command. However, the effective time of the timing adjustment may cause time slot n and time slot n+1 to overlap. After the uplink data of the two time slots overlaps, it will affect the decoding performance of the base station for the uplink data of these two time slots.
[0074] At this point, the terminal device can choose to transmit uplink data in time slot n but not in time slot n+1, or it can choose to remove some data transmission in time slot n+1, so that the uplink transmissions of the two time slots (time slot n and time slot n+1) do not overlap. However, both of these processing methods by the terminal device will lead to a reduction in communication efficiency.
[0075] On the other hand, during timing advance, whether the timing advance adjustment results in dropping uplink transmission from a time slot or removing a portion of uplink transmission from a time slot, it will lead to phase discontinuity between the two time slots. However, when terminal devices communicate with base stations, there are scenarios where uplink data needs to maintain phase continuity. For example, multiple terminal devices may share the same uplink resource, which includes time slot n and time slot n+1; another example is when the base station needs to combine reference signals from time slot n and time slot n+1 to jointly estimate the signal. In scenarios where uplink data needs to maintain phase continuity, the aforementioned TA adjustment mechanism will disrupt the phase continuity of uplink data, leading to reduced communication efficiency.
[0076] In view of this, this application provides a communication method and related apparatus for improving communication performance. The communication method and related apparatus provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems. For example, 5th generation (5G) mobile communication systems, new radio (NR) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, future communication systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication systems, device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems, industrial internet communication systems, or satellite communication systems, etc. The wireless communication systems involved in this application also include, but are not limited to, narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) systems.
[0077] For example, please refer to Figure 1, which is a possible, non-limiting system diagram of the communication method and related apparatus used in this application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 10 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. Optionally, the communication system 10 may also include an Internet 300. The 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). The RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1). The terminal device 120 is wirelessly connected to the RAN node 110. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 wirelessly or via a wired connection. The core network equipment 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. Terminal devices and RAN nodes can be interconnected via wired or wireless means.
[0078] RAN 100 can be a cellular system related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as a fourth-generation (4G) mobile communication system, a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, or a future communication system. RAN 100 can also be an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. RAN 100 can also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.
[0079] RAN node 110, sometimes also referred to as network equipment, access network equipment, RAN device, RAN entity, or access node, constitutes part of the communication system and is used to help terminal equipment achieve wireless access. Multiple RAN nodes 110 in communication system 10 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 110 and terminal equipment 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 equipment 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 equipment. RAN node 110 and terminal equipment 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 equipment functions.
[0080] In one possible scenario, RAN node 110 can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. Optionally, RAN node 110 can also 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, RAN node 110 can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of RAN node 110 in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). The RAN node 110 may also be equipped with communication modules, circuits, or chips that perform corresponding communication functions. The RAN node 110 may also be configured with program instructions for performing corresponding communication functions, as well as corresponding program instructions. The RAN node 110 in this application may also be a logic node, logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the RAN node 110.
[0081] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes each implementing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, RAN nodes can be central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), CU-control plane (CPs), CU-user plane (UPs), or radio units (RUs), etc. CUs and DUs can be set up separately 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).
[0082] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules.
[0083] Terminal equipment can be any device or module that connects to the communication system shown above and has corresponding communication functions. Terminal equipment can also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), fixed wireless access (FWA), or customer premises equipment (CPE), etc. Terminal equipment includes wireless communication functions (providing voice / data connectivity to users). Examples include handheld devices with wireless connectivity, in-vehicle devices, and machine-type communication (MTC) terminals. Currently, terminal devices can include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving (e.g., drones, vehicles), wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, and wireless terminals in smart homes. For example, wireless terminals in self-driving can be drones, helicopters, or airplanes. For example, wireless terminals in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) can be in-vehicle equipment, vehicle-mounted equipment, in-vehicle modules, vehicles, or ships. Wireless terminals in industrial control can be cameras, robots, or robotic arms. Wireless terminals in smart homes can be televisions, air conditioners, robot vacuums, speakers, or set-top boxes. Terminal devices typically contain communication modules, circuits, or chips that perform corresponding communication functions, and they also contain program instructions for performing those functions.
[0084] Please refer to Figure 2, which is another possible, non-limiting system schematic diagram of the communication method and related apparatus used in this application. In the scenario shown in Figure 2, the terminal device accesses the network through a 5G New Radio interface, the 5G base station is deployed on a satellite, and is connected to the ground core network via a wireless link. Simultaneously, a wireless link exists between the satellites to complete signaling interaction and user data transmission between base stations.
[0085] Additionally, the 5G base station shown in Figure 2 can also be a 4G base station; there is no limitation. Base stations can be deployed not only on satellites but also at ground stations, with the satellite acting as a transparent node. In this scenario, satellites cannot communicate with each other, and there is no XN interface (the Xn interface is the interface between base stations). Furthermore, the interface between the satellite and the ground base station is not the NG interface but belongs to the air interface portion. Specifically, the Xn interface is the interface between base stations, mainly used for signaling interaction such as handover; the NG interface is the interface between the base station and the core network, mainly exchanging core network signaling and user service data.
[0086] The communication method and related apparatus of this application will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0087] In this application, the RAN node shown in Figure 1 can be replaced with other terms, such as "network device". For ease of description, unless otherwise specified, "network device" will be used throughout this application. It should be understood that the technical solutions provided in this application are also applicable to other different expressions or types of "network devices" (e.g., base stations).
[0088] Please refer to Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram of a possible implementation of the communication method in this application. It should be understood that this application uses a terminal device and a network device as examples to illustrate the method, but this application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction. For example, the terminal device shown in Figure 3 can also be implemented as a chip, baseband chip, modem chip, system-on-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, system-in-package (SIP) chip, communication module, chip system, processor, logic module, or software within the terminal device; similarly, the network device shown in Figure 3 can also be implemented as a chip, baseband chip, modem chip, system-on-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, system-in-package (SIP) chip, communication module, chip system, processor, logic module, or software within the network device. In this application, when referring to a terminal device, it may refer to the terminal device itself, or to the chip, communication module, integrated circuit, processor, logic module, or software in the terminal device used to implement the communication method provided in this application, and this application does not make any specific limitation; when referring to a network device, it may refer to the network device itself, or to the chip, communication module, integrated circuit, processor, logic module, or software in the network device used to implement the communication method provided in this application, and this application does not make any specific limitation.
[0089] As shown in Figure 3, the communication method of this application includes, but is not limited to, steps 401 to 402.
[0090] 401. The network device sends a first instruction to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the first instruction from the network device accordingly.
[0091] The first instruction is used to instruct the timing to be advanced, or in other words, the first instruction is used to instruct the terminal device to execute the timing advancement. After receiving the first instruction, the terminal device can determine the effective time of the first instruction (i.e., the first effective time in this application).
[0092] Specifically, the first effective time of the first instruction refers to the default effective time of the first instruction. After receiving the first instruction, the terminal device can perform a timed advance based on the default effective time. Optionally, the network device can configure the first effective time of the first instruction in the first instruction. For example, the network device can configure the first effective time of the first instruction to be the fourth subframe after receiving the first instruction. After receiving the first instruction, the terminal device can perform a timed advance based on the next fourth subframe.
[0093] In this application, the first instruction will take effect on the first uplink resource, wherein the first uplink resource includes uplink resources in N time units, where N is an integer greater than 1. Therefore, "the first instruction will take effect on the first uplink resource" can be replaced with other descriptions, such as the effective time of the first instruction (i.e., the first effective time) being located in the time domain resource corresponding to the first uplink resource, or the effective time of the first instruction (i.e., the first effective time) being located in one of the aforementioned N time units.
[0094] In this application, the first uplink resource is used to carry uplink data with continuous phase. In other words, the uplink data carried on the first uplink resource needs to maintain phase continuity.
[0095] Optionally, the time unit can be an hour, minute, second, millisecond, microsecond, nanosecond, frame, subframe, slot, symbol, sampling time (Ts), or basic time unit (Tc), etc.
[0096] Optionally, the first instruction can be a timed adjustment command.
[0097] 402. The terminal device processes the first instruction based on the first effective time of the first instruction and its time domain position on the first uplink resource.
[0098] The terminal device can process the first instruction in a variety of ways, including but not limited to:
[0099] Implementation Method 1: The terminal device executes the first instruction at the first effective time (i.e., executes the timing ahead of time), that is, the terminal device executes the timing ahead of time according to the original effective time of the first instruction;
[0100] Implementation Method 2: Do not execute the first instruction at the first effective time (i.e., execute the timing ahead of time). Here, not executing the first instruction at the first effective time can be understood as the terminal device not executing the first instruction, or the terminal device delaying the execution of the first instruction.
[0101] Implementation method 3: The terminal device executes the first instruction at the first effective time (i.e., the execution time is advanced), and does not transmit data on the first uplink resource.
[0102] In this application, when the uplink data carried on the first uplink resource needs to maintain phase continuity, the terminal device needs to select one of the above-mentioned multiple methods to process the first instruction based on the time domain position of the first instruction on the first uplink resource according to the first effective time of the first instruction. This improves the flexibility of the terminal device in executing timing advances and helps maintain the phase continuity of the uplink data carried on the first uplink resource.
[0103] Next, we will introduce in detail the implementation methods (implementation method one to implementation method three) of the terminal device processing the first instruction.
[0104] Implementation Method 1: If the first effective time of the first instruction meets the first condition, the terminal device executes the first instruction at the first effective time (i.e., the execution timing is advanced); wherein, the first condition includes one or more of the following:
[0105] The first effective time is located in the first time unit among N time units, or it can also be understood as the first effective time being located in the first time unit of the first uplink resource;
[0106] The first effective time is located at the beginning of the first time unit among N time units, or it can be understood as the first effective time being located at the beginning of the first time unit in the first uplink resource.
[0107] In this case, if the terminal device executes the first instruction at the first effective time (i.e., the execution timing is advanced), it will not disrupt the phase continuity of the uplink data carried on the first uplink resource, thus improving communication performance.
[0108] Implementation Method Two: If the first effective time of the first instruction meets the second condition, the terminal device will not execute the first instruction at the first effective time (i.e., the execution timing is advanced); wherein, the second condition includes one or more of the following:
[0109] The first effective time A is located in any of the N time units other than the first time unit. For example, assume that the N time units include the first uplink subframe to the Nth uplink subframe. If the first effective time is located in the second uplink subframe, the terminal device will execute the first instruction (i.e., execute timing advance) on the second uplink subframe, which will disrupt the phase continuity between the first and second uplink subframes. If the first effective time is located in the fifth uplink subframe, the terminal device will execute the first instruction (i.e., execute timing advance) on the fifth uplink subframe, which will disrupt the phase continuity of the uplink data between the fifth and fourth uplink subframes.
[0110] The first effective time is located at a non-starting position in the first of N time units. For example, assume that the N time units include the first to the Nth time units, and that each time unit has a relatively long duration (e.g., 0.1 seconds). If the first effective time is located at a non-starting position in the first time unit (e.g., in the middle or at the end of the first time unit), then the terminal device executing the first instruction at the non-starting position of the first time unit (i.e., timing advance) will disrupt the phase continuity of the uplink data within the first time unit.
[0111] Optionally, the terminal device may not execute the first instruction at the first effective time (i.e., the execution time is advanced). Specifically, this can be understood as: the terminal device does not execute the first instruction (i.e., the execution time is advanced), or the terminal device delays the execution of the first instruction (i.e., the execution time is advanced).
[0112] Specifically, the terminal device executes the first instruction at the second effective time, where the second effective time falls within any of the following:
[0113] A: The first time unit in the second uplink resource, the second uplink resource is the next uplink resource after the first uplink resource, and the second uplink resource is used to carry uplink data with continuous phase;
[0114] B: The starting position of the first time unit in the second uplink resource. Since the uplink data carried by the next uplink resource (i.e., the second uplink resource) of the first uplink resource also needs to maintain phase continuity, in order not to disrupt the phase continuity of the uplink data carried by the second uplink resource, the terminal device executes the first instruction (i.e., timing advance) at the first time unit of the second uplink resource, or executes the first instruction (timing advance) at the beginning position of the first time unit in the second uplink resource. This maintains the phase continuity of the uplink data carried on the second uplink resource and improves communication performance. For example, please refer to Figure 4, which is a schematic diagram of the processing of the first instruction in this application. As shown in Figure 4, the first effective time is located in the second time unit of the first uplink resource; therefore, the terminal device delays the first instruction to take effect in the first time unit of the second uplink resource.
[0115] C: Any time unit in the third uplink resource, which is the next uplink resource after the first uplink resource, and is used to carry uplink data that is not phase-continuous. Since the uplink data carried by the next uplink resource after the first uplink resource (i.e., the third uplink resource) does not need to maintain phase continuity, the terminal device can execute the first instruction (i.e., timing advance) in any time unit of the third uplink resource, improving the flexibility and efficiency of timing advance.
[0116] Optionally, the second uplink resource is an uplink resource located after the next protection interval of the first uplink resource. That is, there is a protection interval between the second uplink resource and the first uplink resource. Please refer to Figure 5, which is a schematic diagram of the processing of the first instruction in this application. Figure 5 shows multiple uplink resources, each with a protection interval between it. When the first effective time of the first instruction meets the above-mentioned second condition, the terminal device delays the execution of the first instruction to the uplink resource after the next protection interval. In this application, the terminal device combines the protection interval between uplink resources to delay the effective time of the first instruction, thereby improving the success rate of the first instruction execution.
[0117] The protection interval can be configured by the network device to the terminal device before step 401. That is, when the network device configures uplink resources for the terminal device that require phase-continuous data transmission, a certain protection interval can be reserved between each uplink resource (e.g., between the first uplink resource and the second uplink resource), or a protection interval can be reserved between several consecutive uplink resources that require phase continuity.
[0118] Optionally, as shown in Figure 6, in existing protocols, network devices have pre-configured uplink protection intervals for a certain period of time. Therefore, the aforementioned protection interval can also be the uplink protection interval in the existing protocol.
[0119] Optionally, the first instruction has an expiration period, also known as an aging time. If the current time has exceeded this expiration period (aging time), the first instruction becomes invalid, and the terminal device can no longer execute it. Therefore, when the terminal device delays the effective time of the first instruction, it will not exceed the validity period of the first instruction. That is, the second effective time is within the validity period of the first instruction. Therefore, if the first time unit of the second uplink resource or the first time unit of the third uplink resource exceeds the validity period of the first instruction, the terminal device will not execute the first instruction. For example, the validity period of the first instruction can be configured by the network device in the first instruction. For instance, the network device configures the validity period of the first instruction to be within 20 subframes after the terminal device receives the first instruction.
[0120] In one possible implementation, if the first effective time of the first instruction satisfies the third condition, then the first instruction is executed at the first effective time, and no data transmission is performed on the first uplink resource, wherein the third condition includes one or more of the following:
[0121] The first effective time is located in any of the N time units other than the first time unit;
[0122] The first effective time is located at the non-starting position of the first time unit in N time units; where N is less than or equal to a preset threshold.
[0123] For example, as shown in Figure 7, if the terminal device executes the first instruction at the first effective time when the third condition is met, it will disrupt the phase continuity of the uplink data carried by the first uplink resource. Therefore, when the terminal device chooses to execute the first instruction at the first effective time, data transmission can be avoided on the first uplink resource. This reduces low-quality data transmission and resource waste.
[0124] On the other hand, this application configures a preset threshold for the length of the N time units. When the terminal device chooses not to transmit data on the first uplink resource, N should be less than or equal to the preset threshold to avoid the terminal device skipping too much data transmission, resulting in the loss of excessive service data. Correspondingly, if N is greater than the preset threshold, the terminal device maintains data transmission on the first uplink resource and does not execute the first instruction. In other words, if the first effective time is located in a time unit other than the first time unit among the N time units (N is greater than the preset threshold), or if the first effective time is located at a non-starting position of the first time unit among the N time units (N is greater than the preset threshold), the terminal device maintains data transmission on the first uplink resource and does not execute the first instruction.
[0125] In this application, "less than" can be replaced with "less than or equal to", and "greater than" can be replaced with "greater than or equal to", and this application does not impose any specific restrictions.
[0126] Accordingly, this application also provides related apparatus for implementing the above-described solutions. Please refer to Figure 8, which is a schematic diagram of a communication device 500 provided in an embodiment of this application. This communication device 500 can realize the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments, and therefore can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In this application embodiment, the communication device 500 can be a terminal device, or an integrated circuit or component inside the terminal device, such as a chip, baseband chip, modem chip, SoC chip containing a modem core, system-in-package (SIP) chip, communication module, chip system, processor, etc.
[0127] As shown in Figure 8, the communication device 500 includes a transceiver unit 501 and a processing unit 502. Optionally, the transceiver unit 501 may include a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, which are used to perform transmitting and receiving, respectively.
[0128] The transceiver unit 501 is used to receive a first instruction, which is used to indicate that the timing TA is advanced; the processing unit 502 is used to process the first instruction according to the first effective time of the first instruction and its time domain position on the first uplink resource. The first uplink resource includes uplink resources on N time units and is used to carry uplink data with continuous phase, where N is an integer greater than 1.
[0129] In one possible design, the processing unit 502 is specifically used for:
[0130] When the first effective time of the first instruction meets the first condition, the first instruction is executed at the first effective time; wherein the first condition includes one or more of the following:
[0131] The first effective time is located in the first time unit out of N time units;
[0132] The first effective time is located at the beginning of the first time unit out of N time units.
[0133] In one possible design, the processing unit 502 is specifically used for:
[0134] When the first effective time of the first instruction meets the second condition, the first instruction is not executed at the first effective time; wherein the second condition includes one or more of the following:
[0135] The first effective time is located in any of the N time units other than the first time unit;
[0136] The first effective time is located at a non-starting position in the first time unit out of N time units.
[0137] In one possible design, the processing unit 502 is also used for:
[0138] The first instruction is executed at the second effective time, wherein the second effective time falls within any of the following:
[0139] The first time unit in the second uplink resource, the second uplink resource is the next uplink resource after the first uplink resource, and the second uplink resource is used to carry uplink data with continuous phase.
[0140] The starting position of the first time unit in the second uplink resource;
[0141] Any time unit in the third uplink resource, the third uplink resource is the next uplink resource after the first uplink resource, and the third uplink resource is used to carry uplink data that is not phase continuous.
[0142] In one possible design, the second uplink resource is the uplink resource located after the next protection interval of the first uplink resource.
[0143] In one possible design, the processing unit 502 is specifically used for:
[0144] When the first effective time of the first instruction meets the third condition, the first instruction is executed at the first effective time, and no data transmission is performed on the first uplink resource, wherein the third condition includes one or more of the following:
[0145] The first effective time is located in any of the N time units other than the first time unit;
[0146] The first effective time is located at the non-starting position of the first time unit in N time units; where N is less than or equal to a preset threshold.
[0147] It should be noted that the information interaction and execution process between the modules / units in the communication device 500 are based on the same concept as the method embodiment corresponding to Figure 3 in this application. For details, please refer to the description in the method embodiment shown above in this application, which will not be repeated here.
[0148] Please refer to Figure 9, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device involved in the above embodiments provided in the embodiments of this application.
[0149] It is understood that the communication device 600 includes, for example, modules, units, elements, circuits, or interfaces, which are appropriately configured together to execute the technical solutions provided in this application. The communication device 600 may be the terminal device described above, or a component (e.g., a chip) within these devices, used to implement the methods described in the following method embodiments. The communication device 600 includes one or more processors 601. The processor 601 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (e.g., a RAN node, terminal, or chip), execute software programs, and process data from the software programs.
[0150] Optionally, in one design, processor 601 may include program 603 (sometimes also referred to as code or instructions), which may be executed on processor 601 to cause communication device 600 to perform the methods described in the embodiments below. In yet another possible design, communication device 600 includes circuitry (not shown in FIG9).
[0151] Optionally, the communication device 600 may include one or more memories 602 storing a program 604 (sometimes referred to as code or instructions), which can be run on the processor 601 to cause the communication device 600 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments.
[0152] Optionally, the processor 601 and / or memory 602 may include AI modules 607 and 608, which are used to implement AI-related functions. The AI modules can be implemented through software, hardware, or a combination of both. For example, the AI module may include a radio intelligence control (RIC) module. For instance, the AI module may be a near real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC.
[0153] Optionally, the processor 601 and / or memory 602 may also store data. The processor and memory may be configured separately or integrated together.
[0154] Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include a transceiver 605 and / or an antenna 606. The processor 601, sometimes referred to as a processing unit, controls the communication device (e.g., a RAN node or terminal). The transceiver 605, sometimes referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver circuit, or transceiver, is used to implement the transmission and reception functions of the communication device through the antenna 606.
[0155] In this context, the processing unit 502 shown in Figure 8 can be a processor 601. The transceiver unit 501 shown in Figure 8 can be a communication interface, which can be the transceiver 605 in Figure 9. The transceiver 605 can include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the transceiver 605 can also be a transceiver circuit, which can include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.
[0156] This application also provides a chip device, including a processor, for calling computer programs or computer instructions stored in the memory to cause the processor to execute the method provided in the embodiment shown in FIG3 above.
[0157] In one possible implementation, the input of the chip device corresponds to the receiving operation in any of the embodiments shown in FIG3 above, and the output of the chip device corresponds to the sending operation in any of the embodiments shown in FIG3 above.
[0158] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory via an interface.
[0159] Optionally, the chip device may also include a memory that stores computer programs or computer instructions.
[0160] The processor mentioned above can be a general-purpose central processing unit, a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits used to control the execution of a program for controlling the methods provided in any of the embodiments shown above and in Figure 3. The memory mentioned above can be read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices capable of storing static information and instructions, such as random access memory (RAM).
[0161] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.
[0162] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more blocks of the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.
[0163] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.
[0164] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.
[0165] In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units, and may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms. Whether a function is implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.
[0166] It should be understood that the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs. Furthermore, in the accompanying drawings of the device embodiments provided in this application, the connection relationships between modules indicate that they have communication connections, which can be specifically implemented as one or more communication buses or signal lines.
[0167] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.
[0168] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to it, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.
[0169] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.
[0170] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit it. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.
Claims
1. A communication method characterized by comprising: include: Receive a first instruction, which is used to instruct the timing to be advanced by TA; The first instruction is processed according to its first effective time and time domain position on the first uplink resource. The first uplink resource includes uplink resources in N time units and is used to carry phase-continuous uplink data, where N is an integer greater than 1.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein, Based on the first effective time of the first instruction and its time domain location on the first uplink resource, the first instruction is processed, including: If the first effective time of the first instruction meets the first condition, then the first instruction is executed at the first effective time; wherein the first condition includes one or more of the following: The first effective time is located in the first time unit among the N time units; The first effective time is located at the beginning of the first time unit among the N time units.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein, Based on the first effective time of the first instruction and its time domain location on the first uplink resource, the first instruction is processed, including: If the first effective time of the first instruction meets the second condition, then the first instruction will not be executed at the first effective time; wherein the second condition includes one or more of the following: The first effective time is located in any of the N time units other than the first time unit; The first effective time is located at a non-starting position in the first time unit among the N time units.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The method further includes: The first instruction is executed at a second effective time, wherein the second effective time falls within any of the following: The first time unit in the second uplink resource, the second uplink resource is the next uplink resource of the first uplink resource, and the second uplink resource is used to carry uplink data with continuous phase; The starting position of the first time unit in the second uplink resource; Any time unit in the third uplink resource, wherein the third uplink resource is the next uplink resource after the first uplink resource, and the third uplink resource is used to carry uplink data that is not phase continuous.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The second uplink resource is the uplink resource located after the next protection interval of the first uplink resource.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein, Based on the first effective time of the first instruction and its time domain location on the first uplink resource, the first instruction is processed, including: If the first effective time of the first instruction meets the third condition, then the first instruction is executed at the first effective time, and no data transmission is performed on the first uplink resource, wherein the third condition includes one or more of the following: The first effective time is located in any of the N time units other than the first time unit; The first effective time is located at a non-starting position in the first time unit among the N time units; wherein, N is less than or equal to a preset threshold.
7. A communication device, characterized by It includes at least one processor coupled to a memory; the at least one processor is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6.
8. The communication apparatus according to claim 7, wherein The communication device is a chip or chip system.
9. A readable storage medium, characterized by, The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 6.
10. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product, when running on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 6.