Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of communications. Provided are a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal device sends a first reference signal to a network device, the first reference signal being used for indicating that the terminal device has data to be transmitted; and then, the terminal device receives downlink control information from the network device and, on the basis of an uplink shared channel resource in the downlink control information, transmits uplink data on the uplink shared channel. As the first reference signal can indicate that the terminal device has data to be transmitted, the terminal device does not need to separately send a scheduling request and a channel sounding signal to the network device, thus reducing overheads of a plurality of interactions between the network device and the terminal device, and accordingly reducing the energy consumption of the network device and the terminal device.

Description

A communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411923270.X, filed on December 23, 2024, entitled “A Communication Method and Communication 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 communication device. Background Technology

[0003] With the development of communication systems, reducing energy consumption, especially the energy consumption of network equipment such as base stations, has become an important research direction. Currently, reducing the energy consumption of network equipment mainly considers minimizing unnecessary signal transmissions. For example, ideally, network equipment should be shut down to reduce energy consumption when it has no data to transmit. However, since network equipment cannot predict when data will arrive, a large number of redundant operations occur during data transmission and detection. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method and communication device. This scheme reduces unnecessary overhead and latency of network devices by using a single signal to simultaneously complete the functions of data request and channel measurement.

[0005] The technical solution is as follows:

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, the method comprising: a terminal device sending a first reference signal to a network device. The first reference signal is used to indicate that the terminal device has data to be transmitted. The terminal device receives downlink control information from the network device. The downlink control information is used to indicate uplink shared channel resources. The terminal device sends an uplink shared channel to the network device according to the uplink shared channel resources.

[0007] In this application, the terminal device sends a first reference signal to the network device. Since the first reference signal can indicate that the terminal device has data to be transmitted, it is not necessary for the terminal device to send a scheduling request and a channel sounding signal to the network device separately. This reduces the overhead of multiple interactions between the network device and the terminal device, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the network device and the terminal device.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the first reference signal is also used to measure the channel.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the first reference signal includes information from one or more communication ports of the terminal device. Multi-port signal transmission is equivalent to the terminal device transmitting the first reference signal using multiple antennas. This allows the network device to obtain channels from multiple terminal device transmit antennas, resulting in better performance during subsequent scheduling.

[0010] In one possible implementation, before the terminal device sends the first reference signal to the network device, the method provided in this application embodiment further includes: the terminal device determining the bandwidth occupied by the first reference signal. The terminal device sending the first reference signal to the network device includes: the terminal device sending the first reference signal based on the bandwidth.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the terminal device determines the bandwidth of the first reference signal by: the terminal device receiving first configuration information from the network device. The first configuration information includes information about the first bandwidth. The terminal device determines the bandwidth of the first reference signal based on the first bandwidth information.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the terminal device determines the bandwidth of the first reference signal by selecting one bandwidth from one or more bandwidths as the bandwidth of the first reference signal.

[0013] As an example, one or more bandwidths can be configured by network devices.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the method provided in this application further includes: a terminal device receiving a first factor from a network device; the terminal device sending first information to the network device; the first information indicating the size of the uplink data; and the first information being determined by the bandwidth of a first reference signal and the first factor.

[0015] Since the terminal device knows the size of the uplink data, it can select a bandwidth from the candidate bandwidth set based on the data size. The bandwidth and a first factor determine the first piece of information, which the network device can then use to determine the data size. This helps the network device schedule the uplink data from the terminal device.

[0016] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, the method comprising: a network device receiving a first reference signal from a terminal device. The first reference signal is used to indicate that the terminal device has data to be transmitted. The network device determines the uplink shared channel resources of the terminal device based on the first reference signal. The network device sends downlink control information to the terminal device. The downlink control information is used to indicate the uplink shared channel resources. The network device receives the uplink shared channel from the terminal device.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the method provided in this application further includes: a network device sending first configuration information to a terminal device. The first configuration information includes first bandwidth information, which is used by the terminal device to determine the bandwidth of the first reference signal.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the method provided in this application further includes: a network device sending one or more bandwidths to a terminal device. The one or more bandwidths include the bandwidth of a first reference signal.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the method provided in this application further includes: a network device sending a first factor to a terminal device. The network device receives first information from the terminal device. The first information is used to indicate the data size, and the first information is determined by the first factor and the bandwidth of the first reference signal.

[0020] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device that can implement the methods in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, and therefore can also achieve the beneficial effects of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The communication device can be a terminal device, or an apparatus that supports the terminal device in implementing the methods in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, such as a chip applied in the terminal device. This device can implement the above methods through software, hardware, or hardware executing corresponding software.

[0021] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device that can implement the methods in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, and therefore can also achieve the beneficial effects of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. This communication device can be a network device, or an apparatus that supports the network device in implementing the methods in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, such as a chip applied in a network device. This device can implement the above methods through software, hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software.

[0022] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform a communication method as described in any of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0023] Sixthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform a communication method as described in any of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

[0024] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product including instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform a communication method described in the first aspect or various possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0025] Eighthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product including instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform a communication method described in the second aspect or various possible implementations of the second aspect.

[0026] Ninthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device for implementing various methods in various possible designs of any of the first or second aspects described above. The communication device may be the aforementioned terminal device, or an apparatus containing the aforementioned terminal device, or a component (e.g., a chip) applied in the terminal device. Alternatively, the communication device may be the aforementioned network device, or an apparatus containing the aforementioned network device, or the communication device may be a component (e.g., a chip) applied in the network device. The communication device includes modules and units corresponding to the aforementioned methods; these modules and units may be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the aforementioned functions.

[0027] It should be understood that the communication device described in aspect nine above may further include a bus and a memory, the memory being used to store code and data. Optionally, at least one processor communication interface and the memory are coupled to each other.

[0028] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication device comprising: at least one processor. The at least one processor is coupled to a memory, and when the communication device is in operation, the processor executes computer execution instructions or programs stored in the memory to cause the communication device to perform any of the methods described in the first aspect or any of the various possible designs of the first aspect. For example, the communication device may be a terminal device or a chip applied in a terminal device.

[0029] Eleventhly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device comprising: at least one processor. The at least one processor is coupled to a memory, and when the communication device is in operation, the processor executes computer execution instructions or programs stored in the memory to cause the communication device to perform any of the methods described in the second aspect or any of the various possible designs of the second aspect. For example, the communication device may be a network device or a chip applied in a network device.

[0030] It should be understood that the memory described in any of the tenth to eleventh aspects can also be replaced by a storage medium, and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the memory described in any one of aspects ten to eleven can be a memory inside the communication device. Of course, the memory can also be located outside the communication device, but at least one processor can still execute computer execution instructions or programs stored in the memory.

[0032] In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication device comprising one or more modules for implementing the method of any one of the first and second aspects described above. The one or more modules may correspond to the various steps in the method of any one of the first and second aspects described above.

[0033] In a thirteenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a chip system including a processor. The processor reads and executes a computer program stored in a memory to perform the methods in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Optionally, the chip system may be a single chip or a chip module composed of multiple chips. Optionally, the chip system further includes a memory, which is connected to the processor via circuitry or wires. Further optionally, the chip system includes a communication interface. The communication interface is used to communicate with other modules outside the chip.

[0034] In a fourteenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a chip system including a processor. The processor reads and executes a computer program stored in a memory to perform the methods of the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Optionally, the chip system may be a single chip or a chip module composed of multiple chips. Optionally, the chip system further includes a memory, which is connected to the processor via circuitry or wiring. Further optionally, the chip system includes a communication interface. The communication interface is used to communicate with other modules outside the chip.

[0035] In a fifteenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication system comprising a terminal device and a network device. The terminal device implements the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof. The network device implements the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0036] Any of the devices, computer storage media, computer program products, chips, or communication systems provided above are used to execute the corresponding methods provided above. Therefore, the beneficial effects they can achieve can be referred to the beneficial effects of the corresponding solutions in the corresponding methods provided above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0037] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of uplink data transmission provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of another uplink data transmission provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0041] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a specific implementation of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating another specific implementation of the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0043] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a baseband chip for a terminal device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0044] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of signal reception and processing in a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0045] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a RAN chip in a network device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0046] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of a chip structure provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0048] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " means "or," for example, A / B can mean A or B; "and / or" in this text is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, and B existing alone. Furthermore, in the description of the embodiments of this application, "multiple" refers to two or more than two.

[0049] Hereinafter, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this embodiment, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0050] Furthermore, the terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the steps or units listed, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to such process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0051] In the embodiments of this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner to facilitate understanding.

[0052] It should be understood that in this application, "at least one (item)" means one or more. "More than one" means two or more. "At least two (items)" means two or three or more. "And / or" is used to describe the relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and both A and B exist simultaneously, where A and B can be singular or plural.

[0053] The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any single or multiple items. For example, "at least one of a, b, or c" can be expressed as: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0054] Both "...when" and "if" indicate that a corresponding action will be taken under certain objective circumstances. They are not time limits, nor do they require a judgment action to be taken when the action is taken, nor do they imply any other limitations.

[0055] The steps involved in the communication method provided in this application embodiment are merely examples. Not all steps are mandatory, nor are all contents of each piece of information or message mandatory. They can be added or removed as needed during use.

[0056] In this application, the same step or a step or message with the same function can be referenced and learned from each other in different embodiments.

[0057] The system architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0058] As shown in Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the application, the communication system includes a network device 110 and a terminal device 120. The terminal device 120 and the network device 110 can communicate wirelessly using air interface resources. These air interface resources may include, but are not limited to, time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, code resources, and spatial resources.

[0059] The communication system shown in Figure 1 can be applied to future network architectures, or to fifth-generation (5G) network architectures, etc., and is not limited in this application.

[0060] In this embodiment, network device 110 is a network-side device with wireless transceiver capabilities. The network device can be a device in a RAN that provides wireless communication functions for terminal devices, referred to as RAN equipment. For example, network device 110 can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system; it can also be a module or unit that performs some of the functions of a base station, for example, it can be a central unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The CU here performs the functions of the radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also perform the functions of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP). The DU performs the functions of the radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also perform some or all of the physical layer functions. For specific descriptions of the above-mentioned protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Network device 110 can be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, a relay node, or a donor node, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific equipment form adopted by network device 110.

[0061] In this embodiment, the terminal device 120 is a user-side device with wireless transceiver capabilities. It can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted, and can also be a sensor-type device. It can also be deployed on water (such as on ships). Furthermore, it can be deployed in the air (e.g., on airplanes, balloons, and satellites). The terminal device 120 can also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile equipment, user terminal, wireless telecom equipment, user agent, user equipment, or user device. Terminals can be stations (STAs) in wireless local area networks (WLANs), cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistant (PDA) devices, handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, and terminal devices in next-generation communication systems (e.g., fifth-generation (5G) communication networks) or future public land mobile networks (PLMNs). 5G can also be referred to as New Radio (NR).

[0062] Furthermore, terminal device 120 can also be a wearable device, which is a portable device worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not merely hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly defined, wearable smart devices include those with comprehensive functions, large size, and the ability to perform complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smartwatches or smart glasses; as well as those focused on a specific application function that require the use of other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring. Examples include smartwatches, smart bracelets, and pedometers. Wireless terminals in vehicles (e.g., automobiles, bicycles, electric vehicles, airplanes, ships, trains, high-speed trains, etc.), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, smart home devices (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, electricity meters, etc.), intelligent robots, workshop equipment, wireless terminals in self-driving vehicles, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, or wireless terminals in smart homes, and flying devices (e.g., intelligent robots, hot air balloons, drones, airplanes), etc. In this application, for ease of description, the chip deployed in the above-mentioned devices, such as a system-on-a-chip (SOC), baseband chip, or other chip with communication functions, may also be referred to as terminal device 120.

[0063] In the embodiments of this application, the functions of network device 110 can also be executed by modules (such as chips) within network device 110, or by a control subsystem that includes the functions of network device 110. This control subsystem, including the functions of network device 110, can be a control center in the aforementioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. Similarly, the functions of terminal device 120 can also be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within terminal device 120, or by a device that includes the functions of terminal device 120.

[0064] In this embodiment, the communication process between network device 110 and terminal device 120 is divided into two parts: uplink processing and downlink processing.

[0065] During the downlink processing, network device 110 sends downlink control information (DCI) to terminal device 120. DCI is used to indicate information such as time and frequency resources of the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and information about the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) where the feedback information corresponding to the PDSCH is located.

[0066] During the uplink processing, network device 110 sends DCI to terminal device 120. DCI is used to indicate video resources and other related information of the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0067] In one possible implementation, as shown in Figure 2, when data arrives at terminal device 120, terminal device 120 first sends a scheduling request (SR) to network device 110. Since data transmission requires channel state information, terminal device 120 also needs to send a sounding reference signal (SRS) to network device 110 to measure the channel. After network device 110 obtains the channel state information, it sends a DCI to terminal device 120 to schedule terminal device 120 to send a PUSCH, facilitating data transmission within the PUSCH.

[0068] In the above implementation, since the SR is sent first after the data arrives, followed by the SRS, there is a relatively large waiting time. To reduce the waiting time, as shown in Figure 3, the SRS is sent periodically. In other words, regardless of whether data arrives, the terminal device 120 will continuously send SRS to the network device 110 so that the network device 110 can measure the channel. After data arrives, the terminal device 120 then sends an SR request data to the network device 110.

[0069] However, before uplink data transmission, terminal device 120 needs to have a relatively long interaction process with network device 110, resulting in excessive power consumption for both network device 110 and terminal device 120. Moreover, in another approach, terminal device 120 also needs to periodically send SRS, which means that even without uplink data transmission, terminal device 120 still needs to send SRS, and the corresponding network device 110 also needs to detect SRS, thus increasing the power consumption of both network device 110 and terminal device 120.

[0070] Based on this, embodiments of this application provide a communication method and a communication device. This method integrates the functions of scheduling requests and channel sounding signals from a terminal device into one unit. Specifically, the terminal device 120 can complete both scheduling requests and channel measurements by sending a first reference signal. This reduces unnecessary signal transmission between network devices and terminal devices while ensuring a good user experience, thereby reducing the energy consumption of both.

[0071] In this application embodiment, the specific structure of the execution subject of a communication method is not particularly limited, as long as communication can be performed according to the communication method of this application by running a program that records the code of a communication method of this application embodiment. For example, the execution subject of a communication method provided in this application embodiment can be a functional module in a terminal device that can call and execute a program, or a communication unit applied in a terminal device, such as a chip, chip system, integrated circuit, etc. These chips, chip systems, and integrated circuits can be located inside the terminal device or can be independent of the terminal device, and this application embodiment does not impose any restrictions. Alternatively, the execution subject of a communication method provided in this application embodiment can be a functional module in a network device that can call and execute a program, or a communication unit applied in a network device, such as a chip, chip system, integrated circuit, etc. These chips, chip systems, and integrated circuits can be located inside the network device or can be independent of the network device, and this application embodiment does not impose any restrictions.

[0072] As shown in Figure 4, Figure 4 illustrates a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes:

[0073] Step 401: The terminal device sends a first reference signal to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first reference signal from the terminal device.

[0074] The first reference signal is used to request that the terminal device has data to be transmitted.

[0075] The first reference signal is also used to measure the uplink shared channel between the terminal device and the network device.

[0076] Understandably, the first reference signal is used to implement the functions of the scheduling request (SR) and the sounding reference signal (SRS) mentioned above. Specifically, the SR is used by the terminal device to request uplink shared channel resources from the network device to facilitate uplink data transmission. The SRS is used by the network device to measure the uplink shared channel.

[0077] In one possible implementation, the network device sends configuration information of a first reference signal to the terminal device via an RRC connection. The configuration information may include, but is not limited to, the bandwidth, frequency position, and transmission period of the first reference signal. The terminal device then sends the first reference signal to the network device based on the configuration information.

[0078] Step 402: The network device sends downlink control information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the downlink control information from the network device.

[0079] Downlink control information is used to indicate the resources of the uplink shared channel.

[0080] For example, downlink control information instructs terminal devices on the time and frequency resources for uplink transmission, such as specific time slots, time-domain locations (e.g., OFDM symbols), and frequency-domain resources (e.g., PRBs).

[0081] In one possible embodiment, the network device sends downlink control information via the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

[0082] As an example, the network device performs channel estimation based on a first reference signal to assess the state of the uplink shared channel. Based on the assessment of the uplink shared channel state, the network device configures uplink shared channel resources for the terminal device. In other words, the uplink shared channel resources indicated by the network device for the terminal device are determined by the channel state after the network device performs channel measurements based on the first reference signal.

[0083] For example, downlink control information can indicate the resource blocks in which the terminal device receives data on the downlink shared channel; it can also indicate the modulation scheme and coding rate used by the terminal device; it can also include information on hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ); and it can also include scheduling information to notify the terminal device when and how to send data.

[0084] Step 403: The terminal device sends the uplink shared channel to the network device based on the uplink shared channel resources. Correspondingly, the network device receives the uplink shared channel from the terminal device.

[0085] The uplink shared channel can be used to transmit data to be transmitted by the terminal device.

[0086] In one possible implementation, the receiver of the terminal device decodes downlink control information on the downlink control channel to obtain resources of the uplink shared channel. The terminal device modulates and encodes the uplink data to be transmitted. Then, the terminal device transmits the uplink data through the uplink shared channel.

[0087] Transmitting uplink data on the uplink shared channel includes mapping the encoded uplink data to a specified frequency domain resource and transmitting it at a specified time domain location.

[0088] Optionally, if the HARQ mechanism is enabled, the terminal device also needs to perform HARQ encoding on the uplink data so that error correction and data retransmission can be performed when a denial message is received.

[0089] Optionally, after receiving uplink data from the terminal device, the network device begins attempting to decode it. If the uplink data is successfully decoded, the network device sends an acknowledgment (ACK) message to the terminal device via the downlink control channel. If the uplink data fails to be decoded, the network device sends a negative acknowledgment (NACK) message to the terminal device via the downlink control channel.

[0090] In this application, the terminal device sends a first reference signal to the network device. Since the first reference signal can indicate that the terminal device has data to be transmitted, it is not necessary for the terminal device to send a scheduling request and a channel sounding signal to the network device separately. This reduces the overhead of multiple interactions between the network device and the terminal device, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the network device and the terminal device.

[0091] In this embodiment of the application, the first reference signal includes information about one or more communication ports of the terminal device.

[0092] The communication port can be understood as the port corresponding to the transmitting antenna of the terminal device, which is used to transmit the first reference signal.

[0093] In one embodiment of this application, the terminal device includes multiple communication ports, each corresponding to a transmitting antenna, and each of the multiple transmitting antennas can transmit a first reference signal. In this way, the network device can obtain the uplink shared channel of the transmitting antennas of the multiple terminal devices.

[0094] In this embodiment of the application, before the terminal device sends the first reference signal to the network device, the method provided in this embodiment of the application further includes: the terminal device determining the bandwidth occupied by the first reference signal.

[0095] Bandwidth refers to the total range of frequency components contained in the first reference signal, and is usually used to describe the data transmission rate, that is, the amount of data that can be transmitted per unit time. For example, the larger the bandwidth, the more data can be transmitted in the same amount of time.

[0096] In one possible implementation, the terminal device sends a first reference signal to the network device, including: the terminal device sending the first reference signal according to the bandwidth.

[0097] In one possible implementation of this application, the bandwidth of the first reference signal is configured by the network device. Specifically, the terminal device determines the bandwidth of the first reference signal by:

[0098] Step 1: The network device sends the first configuration information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first configuration information from the network device.

[0099] Understandably, network devices perform channel measurements based on the first reference signal. The purpose of measuring the channel is to schedule data. Therefore, network devices will configure the bandwidth of the first reference signal according to the bandwidth of the data they schedule.

[0100] The first configuration information includes information about the first bandwidth.

[0101] In one possible embodiment, the information of the first bandwidth may include: total bandwidth, available bandwidth, signal-to-noise ratio, channel capacity, data transmission rate, and modulation scheme, etc.

[0102] Total bandwidth refers to the total frequency range that the channel or system can transmit. Available bandwidth refers to the bandwidth actually available for data transmission after considering noise, interference, and other limiting factors in the channel. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) refers to the ratio of signal power to noise power. Channel capacity refers to the maximum data rate that the channel can transmit without errors under a given bandwidth and SNR. Data transmission rate refers to the actual data transmission rate. Modulation methods include quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), sixteen-state quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM), and sixty-four-state quadrature amplitude modulation (64-QAM), etc.

[0103] Step 2: The terminal device determines the bandwidth of the first reference signal based on the first configuration information.

[0104] In another possible implementation of this application, the bandwidth of the first reference signal is determined by the terminal device. Specifically, determining the bandwidth of the first reference signal by the terminal device includes selecting one bandwidth from one or more bandwidths as the bandwidth of the first reference signal.

[0105] One or more bandwidths can be in the form of a bandwidth set.

[0106] In one possible implementation, one or more bandwidths are configured by the network device to the terminal device.

[0107] As an example, the configuration information of the first reference signal sent by the network device to the terminal device includes a bandwidth set, which includes one or more bandwidths.

[0108] In one possible embodiment of this application, the terminal device may randomly select a bandwidth from one or more bandwidths, or it may select a bandwidth based on the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal device.

[0109] For example, a network device configures a bandwidth set for a terminal device, including bandwidth A, bandwidth B, bandwidth C, and bandwidth D. The terminal device determines that the amount of uplink data to be transmitted is X. Since the bandwidth required for data of amount X is in the range of B1 to B2, and bandwidth B in the bandwidth set is within the range of B1 to B2, bandwidth B is selected as the bandwidth of the first reference signal.

[0110] Optionally, in the method provided in this application embodiment, the network device may further configure a first factor for the terminal device to indicate the bandwidth size that the network device will schedule for the terminal device in the future. Here, the bandwidth for scheduling the terminal device by the network device refers to the wireless spectrum resources that the network device determines and allocates to the terminal device for data transmission according to a resource allocation strategy. Specific methods include:

[0111] Step 1: The network device sends the first factor to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first factor from the network device.

[0112] Understandably, the first factor is a scaling factor that indicates the ratio of the bandwidth used by the terminal device when operating on the bandwidth part (BWP) to the bandwidth of the first reference signal.

[0113] For example, if the first reference signal bandwidth is 100MHz and the first factor is 2, then the bandwidth on which the terminal device operates on this BWP will be 200MHz.

[0114] Step 2: The terminal device determines the bandwidth of the first reference signal based on the amount of data to be transmitted.

[0115] It is understandable that since the terminal device itself knows the size of the data to be transmitted, the terminal device can select the bandwidth of the first reference signal according to the size of the data to be transmitted.

[0116] Step 3: The terminal device sends the first information to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first information from the terminal device.

[0117] The first information is determined by the first factor and the bandwidth of the first reference signal, and the first information is used to indicate the size of the data to be transmitted.

[0118] As an example, if the network device configures a first factor A for the terminal device, and the terminal device determines the bandwidth of the first reference signal to be B, then the first information is A*B. Based on this first information, the network device can determine the size of the data to be transmitted by the terminal device, which helps the network device schedule the data to be transmitted.

[0119] The specific implementation of the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application is described below.

[0120] As shown in Figure 5, Figure 5 illustrates a specific implementation of a communication method provided in this application embodiment, wherein the bandwidth of the first reference signal is determined by the network device based on the bandwidth of the scheduling data. The method includes:

[0121] Step 501: The network device sends resource configuration information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the resource configuration information from the network device.

[0122] The resource configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device on the parameters for sending the first reference signal, including the bandwidth of the network device scheduling data and the probe reference signal resource set.

[0123] In one possible embodiment, the bandwidth of the network device scheduling data is used to determine the bandwidth of the first reference signal; while the probe reference signal resource set is used for the first reference signal to perform channel measurement functions.

[0124] For example, the terminal device determines the bandwidth of the first reference signal to be B based on the bandwidth B of the network device scheduling data in the resource configuration information. The first reference signal can indicate to the terminal device that there is data to be transmitted, or it can enable the network device to measure the state of the channel.

[0125] Step 502: The terminal device sends a first reference signal to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first reference signal from the terminal device.

[0126] The first reference signal is used to indicate that the terminal device has data to be transmitted, and to measure the channel status of the network device.

[0127] In one possible embodiment, the first reference signal includes multiple ports. That is, the terminal device transmits the first reference signal through multiple ports. In other words, the network device can obtain the channels of the transmit antennas of multiple terminal devices.

[0128] For example, a terminal device has N transmitting antennas, each transmitting antenna sends a first reference signal to the network device, and each first reference signal corresponds to a channel.

[0129] In one possible implementation, the terminal device sends a first reference signal on the time-domain resources specified in the resource configuration information, and the bandwidth of the first reference signal is the bandwidth of the network device scheduling data.

[0130] Step 503: The network device performs channel measurement based on the first reference signal.

[0131] In one possible implementation, the network device estimates the channel's impact, such as path loss and multipath effects, based on a first reference signal. The network device then calculates a channel matrix by comparing resource configuration information with the first reference signal. This matrix includes the channel's response characteristics, such as signal attenuation and phase changes.

[0132] Step 504: The network device sends downlink control information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the downlink control information from the network device.

[0133] Downlink control information is used to instruct terminal devices on the resource blocks and time slots that should be used for data transmission on the physical downlink shared channel. For example, downlink control information includes key information for scheduling data transmission, including but not limited to time-domain and frequency-domain location, modulation scheme, coding scheme, and HARQ-related parameters.

[0134] In one possible implementation, the network device sends downlink control information to the terminal device via a physical downlink control channel.

[0135] Step 505: The terminal device sends a Physical Uplink Shared Channel to the network device based on the downlink control information. Correspondingly, the network device receives the Physical Uplink Shared Channel from the terminal device.

[0136] The physical uplink shared channel is used to transmit data to be transmitted on the terminal device side.

[0137] In one possible implementation, the terminal device determines the transmission parameters of the physical uplink shared channel based on downlink control information. The terminal device then sends the physical uplink shared channel transmission parameters to the network device.

[0138] For example, the parameters of physical uplink shared channel transmission include, but are not limited to: bandwidth, modulation scheme, time domain resource allocation, frequency domain resource allocation, transmission scheme, number of antenna ports, power control parameters, etc.

[0139] As shown in Figure 6, Figure 6 illustrates another specific implementation of the communication method provided in this application embodiment. The bandwidth of the first reference signal is determined by the terminal device selecting from a set of candidate bandwidths. The specific method includes:

[0140] Step 601: The network device sends instruction information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the instruction information from the network device.

[0141] The indication information includes a candidate bandwidth set, which contains bandwidths of different sizes, used by the terminal device to select the bandwidth of the first reference signal.

[0142] It is understood that the candidate bandwidth set can be configured by the network device for the terminal device, or it can be configured in other ways, which is not limited in this application embodiment.

[0143] Optionally, in step 602, the network device sends the first factor to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first factor from the network device.

[0144] The first factor indicates the bandwidth allocated by the network device to the terminal device. The bandwidth allocated by the network device to the terminal device refers to the wireless spectrum resources that the network device determines and allocates to the terminal device for data transmission based on its resource allocation strategy.

[0145] Step 603: The terminal device determines the bandwidth of the first reference signal according to the instruction information.

[0146] In one possible implementation, the terminal device can determine the size of the data to be transmitted based on the data volume.

[0147] For example, the candidate bandwidth set includes four bandwidths: A, B, C, and D. The amount of data to be transmitted in the terminal device is N. Based on the data size, bandwidth B is determined to be suitable for data transmission of size N. Therefore, the terminal device selects bandwidth B from the candidate bandwidth set as the bandwidth for the first reference signal.

[0148] Step 604: The terminal device sends a first reference signal to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first reference signal from the terminal device.

[0149] The first reference signal is used to indicate that the terminal device has data to be transmitted, and to measure the channel status of the network device.

[0150] As an example, the first reference signal includes multiple ports. That is, the terminal device transmits the first reference signal through multiple ports. In other words, the network device can obtain channels from the transmit antennas of multiple terminal devices.

[0151] Optionally, in step 605, the terminal device sends first information to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first information from the terminal device.

[0152] The first information is determined by the bandwidth of the first factor and the first reference signal.

[0153] As an example, if the network device determines that the first factor is A and the bandwidth of the first reference signal is B, then the bandwidth of the network device scheduling the terminal device is A*B.

[0154] Steps 606 to 608 are the same as steps 503 to 505 in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0155] Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of a terminal device baseband chip provided in an embodiment of this application, including one or more processors.

[0156] Processors include microprocessors (e.g., x86, ARM), microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), graphics processing units (GPUs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functions.

[0157] A processing system can be implemented using a bus architecture, typically represented by a bus. A bus can include any number of interconnect buses and bridges, depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system. The bus communicatively couples various circuits together, including one or more processors (typically represented by a processor), memory, and computer-readable media (typically represented by a computer-readable media). The bus can also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further. The bus interface provides the interface between the bus and transceivers, and between the bus and the interface.

[0158] A transceiver provides a communication interface or means for communicating with various other devices via a wireless transmission medium. The transceiver may be coupled to an antenna array, and the transceiver and antenna array may be used together for communication with a corresponding network type. At least one interface (e.g., a network interface and / or a user interface) provides a communication interface or means for communication via an internal bus or via an external transmission medium.

[0159] The processor is responsible for managing the bus and general processing, including executing software stored on a computer-readable medium. When the processor executes the software, the software causes the processing system to perform the various functions described below for any particular device.

[0160] The functions that can be implemented by the processor, memory, and computer-readable medium include: encoding, decoding, rate matching, rate dematching, scrambling, descrambling, modulation, demodulation, layer mapping, fast fourier transform (FFT), inverse fast fourier transform (IFFT), inverse discrete fourier transform (IDFT), precoding, resource element (RE) mapping, channel equalization, RE demapping, digital floating-point numbers (Bfloat), adding cyclic prefix (CP), removing CP, etc.

[0161] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of signal reception and processing in a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application. The terminal device includes a receiving circuit, a RE demapping unit, and a detection circuit.

[0162] The receiving circuit is used to receive signals.

[0163] For example, the receiving circuit may include a low-noise amplifier, a filter, a downconverter, etc., to facilitate preliminary processing of the received signal.

[0164] The RE demapper is used to convert the received signal from the frequency domain to the time domain to obtain the sequence or modulation symbol, and to demap the signal onto the RE grid.

[0165] The detection circuit is used to detect and process the demapped signal in order to obtain information from the signal.

[0166] For example, detection circuits can perform channel estimation, equalization, and data decoding.

[0167] Figure 9 illustrates the architecture of a RAN chip in a network device according to an embodiment of this application. The RAN chip is a core component of the radio access network, responsible for handling the digitization, demodulation, and various radio resource management functions of radio signals. The RAN chip includes a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), and a remote radio unit (RU).

[0168] The CU is connected to the core network (CN), and the RU is connected to the antenna.

[0169] The midhaul is used to carry traffic between the CU and DU. The backhaul is used to carry traffic between the CU and the core network (CN). The fronthaul is used to carry traffic between the RU and DU.

[0170] The CU / DU hardware includes a chassis platform, motherboard, peripherals, and cooling system. The motherboard contains processing units, memory, internal I / O interfaces, and external connection ports. Its hardware accelerator is designed with interfaces, and hardware functional components include: storage for software, hardware, and system debugging interfaces, and a single-board management controller.

[0171] DU systems are typically implemented using multi-core processors and one or more hardware accelerators. Parts of the DU protocol stack can be implemented in software running on the multi-core processor, while computationally intensive L1 and L2 functions can be offloaded to FPGA / GPU-based hardware accelerators; alternatively, all L1 functions can be offloaded to FPGA / GPU-based hardware accelerators, while other protocol stack components are implemented in software running on the processor; or the entire protocol stack can be implemented in software running on the processor. Hardware accelerators support interconnection with x86 or non-x86 processors. Similarly, accelerators have multi-channel peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) interfaces pointing to the central processing unit (CPU) and external connections via GbE.

[0172] The RU comprises three parts: the O-RAN Processing Unit (OPU), which receives enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI) frames from the O-RAN fronthaul and performs fronthaul interface operations, the lowest level L1 (coding, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding), synchronization, beamforming, and resource unit mapping. The OPU can be implemented as a CPU, FPGA, or application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The O-RU's digital processing unit (DPU) performs synchronization, digital downconverter (DDC), digital upconverter (DUC), clip flatness reduction (CFR), and digital predistortion (DPD). It improves power amplifier efficiency by reducing the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) / adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) of the RF front-end; the DPU can be implemented as an FPGA or ASIC. The O-RU's RF processing unit includes a transceiver module, up / down converters, power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers, and Tx / Rx filters. All conversions between the analog and digital domains (digital-to-analog converters and analog-to-digital converters) are performed within the transceiver module. The physical and logical partitions within the RF processing unit do not require specific boundaries.

[0173] In one possible embodiment of this application, the DU and RU in the network device communicate and cooperate to achieve signal reception and processing, as follows:

[0174] Step 1: The network device DU transmits relevant rules to the RU through the eCPRI interface.

[0175] Among them, eCPRI signaling is a newly added signaling system that defines channel switching rules and is used to achieve interconnection between DU and RU radio frequency units from different manufacturers. Products from the same manufacturer also facilitate decoupling between the design of DU and RU.

[0176] Step 2: DU determines to perform the detection of the first reference signal.

[0177] Step 3: The DU sends time-frequency resources to the RU via eCPRI. Correspondingly, the RU receives the time-frequency resources from the DU.

[0178] Among them, the time-frequency resources are used to detect the first reference signal.

[0179] Step 4: The RU receives the first reference signal based on the time and frequency resources.

[0180] Figure 10 shows a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. The hardware structure of the terminal device and network device in this embodiment can be referred to the structure shown in Figure 10. The communication device includes a processor 1001, a communication line 1004, and at least one transceiver (Figure 10 is only an example illustrating the inclusion of transceiver 1003).

[0181] The processor 1001 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits used to control the execution of the program of the present application.

[0182] The communication line 1004 may include a path for transmitting information between the aforementioned components.

[0183] Transceiver 1003 is a device that uses any transceiver-like device to communicate with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), etc.

[0184] Optionally, the communication device may also include a memory 1002.

[0185] The memory 1002 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and instructions, or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer, but not limited thereto. The memory 1002 may exist independently and be connected to the processor 1001 via communication line 1004. The memory 1002 may also be integrated with the processor 1001.

[0186] The memory 1002 stores computer execution instructions for implementing the scheme of this application, and its execution is controlled by the processor 1001. The processor 1001 executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1002, thereby implementing the communication method provided in the following embodiments of this application.

[0187] Optionally, the computer execution instructions in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as application code, and the embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this.

[0188] In a specific implementation, as one embodiment, the processor 1001 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG10.

[0189] In a specific implementation, as one example, the communication device may include multiple processors, such as processor 1001 and processor 1002 in FIG. 10. Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. Here, a processor may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0190] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of chip 110 provided in an embodiment of this application. Chip 110 includes one or more (including two) processors 1110 and communication interfaces 1130.

[0191] Optionally, the chip 110 also includes a memory 1140, which may include read-only memory and random access memory, and provides operation instructions and data to the processor 1110. A portion of the memory 1140 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).

[0192] In some implementations, memory 1140 stores elements such as execution modules or data structures, or subsets thereof, or extended sets thereof.

[0193] In this embodiment of the application, the corresponding operation is executed by calling the operation instructions stored in the memory 1140 (the operation instructions can be stored in the operating system).

[0194] One possible implementation is that the terminal and network devices have similar structures, and different devices can use different chips to achieve their respective functions.

[0195] The processor 1110 controls the processing operations of any of the terminals or network devices. The processor 1110 can also be referred to as a central processing unit (CPU).

[0196] Memory 1140 may include read-only memory and random access memory, and provides instructions and data to processor 1110. A portion of memory 1140 may also include NVRAM. For example, in an application, memory 1140, communication interface 1130, and memory 1140 are coupled together via bus system 1120, which may include, in addition to data buses, power buses, control buses, and status signal buses, etc. However, for clarity, all buses are labeled as bus system 1120 in Figure 11.

[0197] In this embodiment, the terminal device or network device includes a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on top of the hardware layer, and an application layer running on top of the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also called main memory). The operating system can be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes, such as Linux, Unix, Android, iOS, or Windows. The application layer includes applications such as browsers, address books, word processing software, and instant messaging software. Furthermore, this embodiment does not specifically limit the specific structure of the execution entity of the method provided in this embodiment, as long as it can communicate according to the method provided in this embodiment by running a program that records the code of the method provided in this embodiment. For example, the execution entity of the method provided in this embodiment can be a terminal device or a network device, or a functional module in the terminal device or network device that can call and execute a program.

[0198] Furthermore, various aspects or features of this application can be implemented as methods, apparatus, or articles of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein encompasses a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or medium. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, or magnetic tapes), optical discs (e.g., compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMs), cards, sticks, or key drives, etc.). Additionally, the various storage media described herein may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and / or carrying instructions and / or data.

[0199] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of this application 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), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0200] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static RAM (SRAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced Synchronous DRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and Direct Rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0201] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) is integrated into the processor.

[0202] It should be noted that the memories described herein are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

[0203] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are 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.

[0204] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0205] In the several 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; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0206] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. 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 units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0207] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0208] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they 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 the prior art, or a portion 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.

[0209] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Send a first reference signal to the network device, the first reference signal being used to indicate that the terminal device has data to be transmitted; Receive downlink control information from the network device, the downlink control information being used to indicate the resources of the uplink shared channel; The uplink shared channel is sent to the network device according to the resources of the uplink shared channel.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first reference signal includes information about one or more communication ports of the terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, Before sending the first reference signal to the network device, the method further includes: Determine the bandwidth occupied by the first reference signal; Sending a first reference signal to the network device, including: The first reference signal is transmitted according to the bandwidth.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, Determining the bandwidth of the first reference signal includes: Receive first configuration information from the network device, the first configuration information including first bandwidth information; The bandwidth of the first reference signal is determined based on the information of the first bandwidth.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, Determining the bandwidth of the first reference signal includes: Select one bandwidth from one or more bandwidths as the bandwidth of the first reference signal.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive the first factor from the network device; Send first information to the network device, the first information being used to indicate the amount of data to be transmitted, the first information being determined by the bandwidth of the first reference signal and the first factor.

7. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive a first reference signal from the terminal device, the first reference signal being used to indicate that the terminal device has data to be transmitted; Based on the first reference signal, determine the uplink shared channel resources of the terminal device; Send downlink control information to the terminal device, the downlink control information being used to indicate the resources of the uplink shared channel; Receive the uplink shared channel from the terminal device.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send first configuration information to the terminal device, the first configuration information including first bandwidth information, the first bandwidth information being used by the terminal device to determine the bandwidth of the first reference signal.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: One or more bandwidths are transmitted to the terminal device, and one or more of the bandwidths include the bandwidth of the first reference signal.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send the first factor to the terminal device; The system receives first information from the terminal device, the first information indicating the data volume, the first information being determined by the first factor and the bandwidth of the first reference signal.

11. A communication device, characterized in that, The apparatus includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6; or, a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 7 to 10.

12. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a memory and a processor. The memory is used to store instructions, and the processor is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory. Execution of the instructions stored in the memory causes the processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 6; or, to perform the method of any one of claims 7 to 10.

13. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when executed, implement the method described in any one of claims 1 to 6; or, implement the method described in any one of claims 7 to 10.

14. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer program code that, when executed, causes the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6 to be performed; or causes the method as described in any one of claims 7 to 10 to be performed.

15. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes at least one processor and a communication interface coupled to the at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to run a computer program or instructions to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6; or to implement the method as described in any one of claims 7 to 10. The communication interface is configured to communicate with other modules outside the chip.

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