Communication method and related product

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are a communication method and a related product. The method comprises: a network device transmitting first information, wherein the first information instructs whether to activate a tracking reference signal (TRS), and the first information is further used for executing at least one of the following: instructing whether to activate a periodic reference signal, instructing whether a terminal device receives a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), or instructing whether to activate cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or cell discontinuous reception (DRX); and the network device and the terminal device receiving or transmitting the TRS on the basis of the first information. The method associates TRS transmission with data transmission, so as to prevent a network device from generating extra power consumption due to unnecessary TRS scheduling, and also prevent a terminal device from increasing power consumption overheads due to unnecessary TRS processing.

Description

Communication methods and related products

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411985554.1, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on December 28, 2024, entitled "Communication Method and Related Products", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

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

[0003] In existing protocols, there are two main types of reference signals that can be used for time-frequency synchronization: the synchronization signal block (SSB) and the tracking reference signal (TRS). The SSB, in addition to synchronization, also serves as an initial access signal and a cell search signal. The SSB is a periodically transmitted common signal; the terminal receives the SSB signal and performs initial time-frequency offset correction. Besides the SSB, the terminal can also perform more refined time-frequency synchronization based on the TRS transmitted by the base station. Similarly, the TRS signal supports periodic, semi-static, or aperiodic transmission configurations. In actual networks, to ensure the time-frequency synchronization performance on the terminal side, periodic TRS transmission is generally configured for the terminal.

[0004] A potential problem during this process is that, regardless of whether data is being transmitted, the base station periodically sends a Transmission Scheduler (TRS) to the connected terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal periodically receives and processes the TRS to synchronize with the base station. This makes it difficult to reduce the power consumption of both the base station and the terminal. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and related products, and provides a method for associating the transmission of TRS with data transmission, so as to avoid the base station scheduling TRS when it is not necessary and generating additional power consumption, and also to avoid the terminal processing TRS when it is not necessary and increasing power consumption.

[0006] In a first aspect, this application provides a communication method, the method comprising: receiving first information, the first information being used to activate a tracking reference signal (TRS), and the first information further being used to perform at least one of the following: activating a periodic reference signal, instructing a terminal device to receive a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), activating cell connectionless transmission (DTX) or cell discontinuous reception (DRX); or the first information being used to deactivate the TRS, and the first information further being used to perform at least one of the following: deactivating the periodic reference signal, instructing the terminal device not to receive the PDSCH, deactivating cell DTX or cell DRX; and communicating based on the first information.

[0007] The above method can be applied to a second communication device, which can be a terminal device, or a module (such as a chip system) within the terminal device, or a logic node, logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal device. There are no limitations on this.

[0008] From a technical perspective, in this embodiment, the first information is used to activate the TRS, and the activation and deactivation of the TRS are associated with the activation or deactivation of the periodic reference signal, the transmission or non-transmission of the PDSCH, and the activation or deactivation of the cell DTX or cell DRX. This allows the second communication device to receive and process the TRS when transmitting data based on the first information, and not to receive and process the TRS when not transmitting data, thus avoiding redundant power consumption that may result from receiving and processing the TRS regardless of whether data transmission is performed.

[0009] In one feasible implementation, if the first information is used to activate the Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), and the first information is also used to perform at least one of the following: activating the periodic reference signal, instructing the terminal device to receive the PDSCH, activating the cell DTX or cell DRX, communication based on the first information includes: receiving the TRS based on the first information; and also performing at least one of the following based on the first information: receiving the periodic reference signal, receiving the PDSCH, or receiving a signal during the activation period of the cell DTX, or transmitting a signal during the activation period of the cell DRX.

[0010] In one feasible implementation, the first information also indicates at least one of the following: the time-frequency position of the TRS, the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal, the time-frequency position of the PDSCH, and the activation time of the cell DTX or cell DRX.

[0011] When the first information activates TRS, periodic reference signal, cell DTX / cell DRX, or scheduling PDSCH, the time-domain and frequency-domain locations of these signals, data, or mechanisms can be indicated so that the second communication device can receive the signal at the corresponding time-frequency location.

[0012] In one feasible implementation, the first information further indicates a first offset, which is an offset between the first information and the time-frequency position of the TRS; wherein the time-frequency position of the first information and the first offset are used to determine the time-frequency position of the TRS.

[0013] While the DCI is used to activate the TRS, a first offset between the TRS and the DCI can be indicated, so that the second communication device can determine the time-frequency position of the TRS based on the time-frequency position of the DCI and the first offset. The first offset occupies less space than directly indicating the time-frequency position of the TRS, which can reduce the resource overhead of the DCI.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the first information further indicates a second bias, which is an offset between the first information and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH, wherein the time-frequency position of the first information and the second bias are used to determine the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH.

[0015] While activating the periodic reference signal or scheduling the PDSCH, the DCI can indicate a second offset between the periodic reference signal or PDSCH and the DCI, so that the second communication device can determine the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH based on the time-frequency position of the DCI and the second offset. Similarly, the second offset occupies less space than the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH, which can reduce the resource overhead of the DCI.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the first information further indicates a third bias, which is an offset between the TRS and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH, wherein the time-frequency position of the TRS and the third bias are used to determine the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH; or the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH and the third bias are used to determine the time-frequency position of the TRS.

[0017] Similarly, because the DCI simultaneously activates both the TRS and the periodic reference signal / PDSCH, when determining the time-frequency position of one signal, the time-frequency position of the other signal can be determined based on a third offset between them. This also reduces the resource overhead of the DCI. Furthermore, it allows for the correlation of the scheduling of the two signals, improving the efficiency of the second communication device in processing both signals simultaneously.

[0018] In one feasible implementation, the first information further indicates a first time-domain interval, which is the time-domain interval between the activation time of cell DTX or cell DRX and the time-domain interval of TRS; wherein the activation time of cell DTX or cell DRX and the first time-domain interval are used to determine the time-domain location of TRS.

[0019] DCI simultaneously schedules TRS and cell DTX or cell DRX. Given the start time of cell DTX or cell DRX, the time-domain location of TRS can be determined by the time-domain interval between the start times of TRS and cell DTX or cell DRX. This also reduces the resource overhead of separately indicating the time-domain location of TRS.

[0020] In one possible implementation, before receiving the first information, the method further includes sending a second information, the second information instructing the terminal device to maintain synchronization.

[0021] This embodiment reports its synchronization capability via a second communication device. The first communication device determines whether to send the first information based on the second communication device's synchronization capability, further ensuring the accuracy of the first information. Because the first information is used to activate TRS, this operation can further reduce power consumption caused by activating TRS unnecessarily.

[0022] In one feasible implementation, the periodic reference signal is the downlink channel state information reference signal CSI-RS.

[0023] Secondly, this application provides a signal transmission method. The method includes: transmitting first information, the first information being used to activate a tracking reference signal (TRS), and the first information further being used to perform at least one of the following: activating a periodic reference signal, instructing a terminal device to receive a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), activating cell connectionless transmission (DTX) or cell discontinuous reception (DRX); or the first information being used to deactivate the TRS, and the first information further being used to perform at least one of the following: deactivating the periodic reference signal, instructing the terminal device not to receive the PDSCH, deactivating cell DTX or cell DRX; and communicating based on the first information.

[0024] The above method can be applied to a first communication device, which can be a network device, or a module (such as a chip system) within a network device, or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of a network device. There are no limitations on this.

[0025] In one feasible implementation, if the first information is used to activate the Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), and the first information is also used to perform at least one of the following: activating the Periodic Reference Signal, scheduling the PDSCH, activating the Cell DTX or Cell DRX, communication based on the first information includes: transmitting the TRS based on the first information; and also performing at least one of the following based on the first information: transmitting the Periodic Reference Signal, transmitting the PDSCH, or transmitting a signal during the activation period of the Cell DTX, or receiving a signal during the activation period of the Cell DRX.

[0026] In one possible implementation, before sending the first information, the method further includes receiving a second information, the second information indicating the terminal device's ability to maintain synchronization.

[0027] In one feasible implementation, sending the first information includes: determining whether to send the first information based on the terminal device's ability to maintain synchronization.

[0028] In one feasible implementation, determining whether to send the first information based on the terminal device's ability to maintain synchronization includes: if the terminal device's ability to maintain synchronization is lower than a preset threshold, sending the first information.

[0029] Thirdly, a communication device is provided, which includes units or modules for performing the possible methods in either the first or second aspect described above.

[0030] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, the communication device including at least one processor coupled to a memory; wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, such that the methods that may be implemented in either the first or second aspect described above are executed.

[0031] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication system, which includes a first communication device and a second communication device, wherein the first communication device is used to perform the method described in any one of the first aspects, and the second communication device is used to perform the method described in any one of the second aspects.

[0032] Sixthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions that, when executed, cause the computer to perform the method described in any of the above methods.

[0033] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product, the computer program product comprising: computer program code, which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method described in any of the above methods.

[0034] Eighthly, embodiments of this application provide a chip coupled to a memory for reading and executing program instructions in the memory, so that the device in which the chip is located implements the method described in any of the above methods. Attached Figure Description

[0035] The accompanying drawings used in the embodiments of this application are described below.

[0036] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system used in the embodiments of this application.

[0037] Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an access network device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0038] Figure 1C is a schematic diagram of information interaction between a CU and an RU according to an embodiment of this application.

[0039] Figure 1D is a schematic diagram of time-frequency synchronization between a base station and a terminal provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0040] Figure 1E is a schematic diagram of a cell DTX technology provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0041] Figure 2 is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0042] Figure 3A is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0043] Figure 3B is a schematic diagram of a first information indication content provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0044] Figure 4A is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0045] Figure 4B is a schematic diagram of another first information indication content provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0046] Figure 5A is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0047] Figure 5B is a schematic diagram of another first information indication content provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0048] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0049] Figure 7 is a simplified structural diagram of a network device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0050] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a RAN chip structure provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0051] Figure 9 is a simplified structural diagram of a UE provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0052] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of this application can be used interchangeably. Unless otherwise stated, " / " indicates that the objects before and after are in an "or" relationship; for example, A / B can represent A or B. "And / or" in this application 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 alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. Furthermore, in the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" refers to two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be one or multiple. Furthermore, to facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used in the embodiments of this application to distinguish between network elements and similar items with essentially the same function. Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and that the terms "first" and "second" are not necessarily different.

[0053] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" in the embodiments described in this application mean that one or more embodiments of this application include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," "in still other embodiments," etc., appearing in different parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more, but not all, embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0054] Furthermore, in the embodiments of this application, the words "exemplary," "for example," etc., are used to indicate that they are examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Specifically, the use of the term "exemplary" is intended to present the concept in a concrete manner.

[0055] In the embodiments of this application, the terms "information," "signal," "message," "channel," and "singaling" may sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that, without emphasizing their distinction, their intended meanings are consistent. Similarly, "of," "corresponding (relevant)," and "corresponding" may sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that, without emphasizing their distinction, their intended meanings are consistent. Furthermore, the " / " mentioned in this application can be used to indicate an "or" relationship.

[0056] The following detailed embodiments further illustrate the objectives, technical solutions, and beneficial effects of this application. It should be understood that the following are merely specific embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made based on the technical solutions of this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application.

[0057] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0058] The system architecture involved in the embodiments of this application is described below.

[0059] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system applied in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1A, the communication system includes a wireless access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300. The wireless access network 100 may include at least one wireless access network device (110a and 110b in Figure 1A) and at least one terminal (120a-120j in Figure 1A). The terminal is connected to the wireless access network device wirelessly, and the wireless access network device is connected to the core network wirelessly or via a wired connection. The core network device and the wireless access network device may be independent physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the wireless access network device may be integrated on the same physical device, or a single physical device may integrate some of the functions of the core network device and some of the functions of the wireless access network device. Terminals and wireless access network devices can be interconnected via wired or wireless connections. Figure 1A is just a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1A.

[0060] The terminal involved in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. A terminal device can be a user-side entity used to receive or transmit signals, such as a mobile phone. Terminal devices can be used to connect people, objects, and machines. Terminal devices can communicate with one or more core networks through network devices. Terminal devices include handheld devices with wireless connectivity, other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, or vehicle-mounted devices. Terminal devices can be portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as cellular communication, D2D, V2X, point-to-point (P2P), machine-to-machine (M2M), machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, drones, robots, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation, autonomous delivery and mobility, etc.Examples of terminal devices include: 3GPP standard user equipment (UE), fixed equipment, mobile equipment, handheld devices, wearable devices, cellular phones, smartphones, session initiated protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, personal computers, smart books, vehicles, satellites, global positioning system (GPS) devices, drones, helicopters, aircraft, ships, remote control devices, smart home devices, industrial equipment, personal communication service (PCS) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless network cameras, tablets, handheld computers, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices such as smartwatches, VR devices, AR devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, terminals in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, wireless terminals in self-driving vehicles, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, and smart city applications. Wireless terminals in cities include smart gas pumps, high-speed rail devices, and smart homes such as smart speakers, smart coffee machines, and smart printers. Terminal devices in 5G networks or future public land mobile networks (PLMNs) also include devices in Zigbee networks, LoRa networks, Bluetooth (BT) slaves, BLE slaves, and Wi-Fi stations (STAs). Terminal devices can also be part of IoT systems, also known as IoT nodes. IoT is a crucial component of future information technology development. Its main technical characteristic is connecting objects to networks via communication technologies, thereby achieving intelligent networks that enable human-machine and machine-to-machine interconnection. Connections can be made using broadband or narrowband technologies. IoT technology, for example, can achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and low power consumption through narrowband (NB) technology. IoT technologies include reflective communication, spread spectrum, and ultra-wideband (UWB), which will not be elaborated further.

[0061] The terminal can be a wireless device in the various scenarios described above, or a device for setting up a wireless device, such as a communication module, modem, or chip in the aforementioned devices. The terminal device can also be a terminal device in a future wireless communication system. The terminal device can be used in dedicated network equipment or general-purpose equipment. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form adopted by the terminal device.

[0062] The base station (BS) involved in the embodiments of this application can also be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) node, RAN equipment or network element, base station, access point (AP), network equipment, small tower, etc. Base stations can broadly encompass various names such as, or be interchangeable with, those listed below, including: RAN node, NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next-generation NodeB (gNB), access network equipment in an open radio access network (O-RAN), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master eNB (MeNB), secondary eNB (SeNB), multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, radio node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, building baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), centralized unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), and radio unit (CU). Units (RU), centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) nodes, centralized unit user plane (CU-UP) nodes, positioning nodes, etc. They can also be Zigbee base stations, Bluetooth master (BT master), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) master, LoRa base stations, Wi-Fi access points. Base stations can be macro base stations, micro base stations, relay nodes, donor nodes, or similar entities, or combinations thereof. Network equipment can also refer to communication modules, modems, or chips used in the aforementioned devices or apparatuses.Network equipment can also be mobile switching centers, devices that function as base stations in device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, and network-side equipment in future communication systems. Network equipment can support networks using the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies or device forms employed by the network equipment.

[0063] In some deployments, the RAN equipment mentioned in the embodiments of this application may be a device including a CU, or a DU, or a device including both CU and DU, or a device with a control plane CU node (central unit-control plane (CU-CP)) and a user plane CU node (central unit-user plane (CU-UP)) and a DU node. For example, network equipment may include gNB-CU-CP, gNB-CU-UP, and gNB-DU.

[0064] In some deployments, the RAN device can be an open radio access network (ORAN) architecture, etc. For example, when the RAN device is an ORAN architecture, the RAN device in this application embodiment can be an access network element in the ORAN, or a module of an access network element, etc. In the ORAN system, CU can also be called open (O)-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.

[0065] Access network devices and terminals can be fixed in location or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the access network devices and terminals.

[0066] The roles of access network devices and terminals can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1A can be configured as a mobile access network device. For terminals 120j that access the wireless access network 100 via 120i, terminal 120i is an access network device; however, for access network device 110a, 120i is a terminal, meaning that 110a and 120i communicate via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate via an interface protocol between access network devices. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also an access network device. Therefore, both access network devices and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1A can be called communication devices with access network device functions, and 120a-120j in Figure 1A can be called communication devices with terminal functions.

[0067] Communication between access network devices and terminals, between access network devices, and between terminals can be conducted using licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or both simultaneously. Communication can be conducted using spectrum below 6 GHz, spectrum above 6 GHz, or both simultaneously. The embodiments of this application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0068] Furthermore, the DU and RU in the access network device described above have an interface. Depending on the functions of the DU and RU, and / or the different switching methods, the interface between the DU and RU can be a common public radio interface (CPRI) or an enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI). Referring to Figure 1B, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an access network device provided in an embodiment of this application, as shown in Figure 1B, the access network device includes one or more functional modules for signal processing. As shown in Figure 1B, taking physical layer functions as an example, the access network device includes one or more of the following functions: coding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding, resource element (RE) mapping, digital beamforming (BF), inverse fast Fourier transformation (IFFT) / adding cyclic prefix (CP), decoding, rate matching de-matching, descrambling, demodulation, inverse discrete Fourier transformation (IDFT), channel equalization (or channel estimation), RE de-mapping, digital BF, fast Fourier transform (FFT) / CP removal, digital to analog (DA) conversion, analog BF, analog to digital (AD) conversion, or analog BF.

[0069] One or more of the above functional modules can be implemented through software, hardware, or a combination of both. Physically, they can be discrete or integrated. It is understood that the above functional modules are merely examples; the access network device may include more modules (e.g., scheduling module, power control module, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) module, flow control module, mobility management module, or artificial intelligence (AI) module, etc.) depending on the design, or may exclude a certain functional module shown in Figure 1B (e.g., excluding the digital BF module). The access network device also includes a fronthaul (FH) interface between the DU and RU for communication between them. This fronthaul interface includes, but is not limited to, CPRI or eCPRI. In one possible implementation, the DU is located in the BBU, and the RU is located in the RRU / AAU / RRH; the interface between the BBU and the RRU / AAU / RRH can also be called the fronthaul interface. To implement the fronthaul interface, the BBU and RRU / AAU / RRH can be connected via a fronthaul network, or the DU and RU can be connected via a fronthaul network. For example, fronthaul networks include, but are not limited to: direct fiber optic connections and wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) networks.

[0070] Access network equipment can support one or more types of fronthaul interfaces. Different fronthaul interfaces correspond to DUs and RUs with different functions. As shown in Figure 1B, if the fronthaul interface between the DU and RU is a CPRI, the DU is configured to implement one or more baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement one or more radio frequency functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and RU is an eCPRI, compared to the CPRI, some downlink and / or uplink baseband functions are moved from the DU to the RU. Different splitting methods between the DU and RU correspond to different types (Categories, abbreviated as Cat) of eCPRI. Figure 1B gives six examples of eCPRI, represented by Cat A, B, C, D, E, and F (which can also be represented as Option A to F, Option 1 to 6, or other methods). It can be understood that there may be other splitting methods between the DU and RU, that is, there may be other types of eCPRI.

[0071] Taking eCPRI Cat A as an example, for downlink transmission, layer mapping is used as the dividing line. DU is configured to implement one or more functions preceding layer mapping (i.e., coding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, and layer mapping), while other functions following layer mapping (e.g., RE mapping, digital BF, or IFFT / CP addition) are implemented in RU. For uplink transmission, de-RE mapping is used as the dividing line. DU is configured to implement one or more functions preceding de-mapping (i.e., decoding, rate matching de-matching, descrambling, demodulation, IDFT, channel equalization, and de-RE mapping), while other functions following de-mapping (e.g., digital BF or FFT / CP removal) are implemented in RU.

[0072] Similarly, for eCPRI Cat B, Cat C, Cat D, Cat E, and Cat F, they correspond to different DU and RU segmentation methods. The DU implements the functions before and after the segmentation point, while the RU implements the functions after the segmentation point. The segmentation points for each type of eCPRI are shown in Figure 1B and will not be detailed further. For example, for eCPRI Cat B, RE mapping is used for downlink transmission segmentation, and deRE mapping is used for uplink transmission segmentation. For uplink transmission, the DU implements the functions before and after RE mapping, while the RU implements the functions after RE mapping and RF functions. For downlink transmission, the DU implements the functions before and after deRE mapping, while the RU implements the functions after deRE mapping and RF functions.

[0073] The eCPRI segmentation method can be symmetrical for uplink and downlink, as shown in Figure 1B with eCPRI Cat B and Cat C; or, the eCPRI segmentation method can be asymmetrical for uplink and downlink, as shown in Figure 1B with eCPRI Cat A, Cat D, Cat E, and Cat F, without restriction. Optionally, different segmentation methods can be configured for different channels or different channel groups for uplink and / or downlink, i.e., different types of eCPRI can be configured. A channel group can include one or more channels.

[0074] In one possible design, the DU is located in the BBU, and the RU is located in the RRU / AAU / RRH. The processing unit in the BBU used to implement baseband functions is called the baseband high (BBH) unit, and the processing unit in the RRU / AAU / RRH used to implement baseband functions is called the baseband low (BBL) unit.

[0075] Further, please refer to Figure 1C, which is a schematic diagram of information interaction between a CU and an RU according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1C, the interaction process between the CU and the RU includes the following steps:

[0076] 1. During system startup or reconfiguration, the RU reports the channel processing capabilities and switching rules of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), and Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) to the DU via the eCPRI interface.

[0077] 2. The DU side calculates the RU processing capacity margin based on the scheduling results of the PUSCH / PDSCH / PDCCH / PUCCH channels in the current processing cycle, and allocates appropriate PDSCH / PDCCH channel processing in the next cycle according to the processing capacity margin, such as the DCI and paging messages to be sent.

[0078] 3. The DU notifies the RU of the PDSCH / PDCCH channel processing task allocated in step 2 via the eCPRI interface. The eCPRI interface signaling involved is newly added signaling, and the signaling definition contains information required for PDCCH / PDSCH channel processing, such as: PDCCH / PDSCH channel slot number, symbol position, DCI comb distribution information, frequency domain position, etc.

[0079] 4. After receiving the dynamic PDCCH / PDSCH channel processing signaling, the RU updates the channel configuration according to the signaling requirements. When the DCI or paging signal arrives, the RU completes the PDCCH / PDSCH channel processing according to the received channel configuration, including PDSCH channel estimation / weight calculation, etc.

[0080] 5. The RU sends the DCI or paging information processing results required by the DU under the current configuration to the DU through the eCPRI interface. The content of the processing results can vary depending on the current segmentation options and may include channel information or weighting information, etc.

[0081] In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the access network device can be executed by modules (such as chips) within the access network device, or by a control subsystem that includes access network device functions. This control subsystem, including access network device functions, 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 the terminal can be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within the terminal, or by a device that includes terminal functions.

[0082] It should be understood that the number and type of each device in the communication system shown in Figure 1A are for illustrative purposes only, and this application is not limited thereto. In actual applications, the communication system may include more terminal devices, more access network devices, and other network elements, such as network elements used to implement artificial intelligence functions.

[0083] It is understandable that all or part of the functions implemented by terminal devices and access network devices can be virtualized, that is, implemented through one or more dedicated processors or general-purpose processors and corresponding software modules. Since terminal devices and access network devices involve air interface transmission, the transmit and receive functions of this interface can be implemented in hardware. Optionally, one or more functions of the virtualized terminal devices, access network devices, or network elements used to implement artificial intelligence functions can be implemented by cloud devices, such as cloud devices in over-the-top (OTT) systems.

[0084] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to wireless communication / charging between communication devices. Wireless communication / charging between communication devices can include: wireless communication / charging between network devices and terminals, wireless communication / charging between network devices, and wireless communication / charging between terminals. In this application, the term "wireless communication" can also be abbreviated as "communication," and can also be described as "data transmission" or "information transmission." The term "wireless charging" can also be abbreviated as "charging," "energy transfer," or "charging," and can also be described as "wireless energy transfer," "wireless charging," "wireless energy transmission," "radio frequency energy transmission," "radio frequency energy transfer," "radio frequency charging," or "radio frequency charging." The term "wireless data and energy simultaneous transmission" can also be described as "data and energy simultaneous transmission," "energy-carrying energy transmission," "energy-carrying information transmission," "integrated data and energy transmission," "integrated energy and data transmission," or "wireless data and energy coordinated transmission."

[0085] The prior art of the embodiments of this application is described below.

[0086] 1. Time and frequency synchronization

[0087] In existing protocols, there are two main types of reference signals that can be used for time-domain and / or frequency-domain synchronization (also known as time / frequency synchronization): SSB and TRS (a special downlink channel state information-reference signal, CSI-RS). SSB, in addition to synchronization, also serves as an initial access and cell search function. SSB is a periodically transmitted common signal, typically configured with a period of 20ms in current networks. Referring to Figure 1D, which is a schematic diagram of time-frequency synchronization between a base station and a terminal according to an embodiment of this application, as shown in Figure 1D(a), the terminal receives the SSB signal and performs preliminary time / frequency offset correction independently. It is worth noting that in existing technologies, time / frequency offset correction only needs to be performed by the terminal itself; no information needs to be reported to the base station.

[0088] In addition to SSB, the terminal can also perform more precise time / frequency synchronization using TRS sent by the base station. As shown in Figure 1D(b), the terminal receives the TRS signal sent by the base station and performs precise time / frequency offset correction on its own.

[0089] Similarly, the TRS signal also supports periodic, semi-static, or non-periodic transmission configurations. In actual networks, to ensure time / frequency synchronization performance on the terminal side, the terminal is generally configured to transmit TRS periodically.

[0090] 2. Cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or cell discontinuous reception (DRX)

[0091] Cell DTX technology enables the network to perform downlink transmissions with terminals only during specified time periods, while refraining from downlink transmissions at other times. This allows for the implementation of corresponding shutdown techniques, thereby achieving network energy savings. Referring to Figure 1E, which is a schematic diagram of a cell DTX technology provided in an embodiment of this application, cell 1 adopts a periodic cell DTX configuration. During the cell DTX on period, the network performs downlink transmissions, including downlink service transmissions with terminals. During the cell DTX off period, the network at least stops downlink service transmissions with terminals (and may also stop certain periodic signals, such as at least one of the following: synchronization signal block (SSB), channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), and semi-persistent scheduling (SPS)). The longer the cell DTX off period, the longer and deeper the shutdown duration and shutdown depth that the network can implement, resulting in better energy savings. However, correspondingly, the service transmission latency and the impact on terminals will also increase. Similarly, there is cell discontinuous reception (DRX), where the network only transmits upstream to the terminal during specified time periods, and not during other time periods. This allows for energy saving through corresponding shutdown techniques. It's important to note that DRX and DTX configurations are independent; they can be configured simultaneously or only one can be configured.

[0092] 3. Configuration of community DTX or community DRX

[0093] Specifically, the UE obtains the RRC configuration information sent by the cell, and obtains the cell DTX cycle length (celldtxdrx-Cycle) and onduration duration (celldtxdrx-onDurationTimer). In the RRC configuration information, the cell DTX may be configured to be inactive.

[0094] When a cell decides to activate DTX, it sends downlink control information (DCI) 2-9 signaling. The UE obtains this indication signaling through blind detection and learns that the cell DTX of the cell has been activated. Therefore, based on the cell DTX cycle length and activation duration, it monitors the DCI from the network device to perform downlink data transmission.

[0095] Furthermore, the period during which cell DTX is enabled can be called the activation period, and the base station or cell during this period can be called the activated state; the period during which cell DTX is disabled can be called the deactivation period, and the base station or cell during this period can be called the deactivation state.

[0096] In the deactivated state (or inactive state), the signal transmission and reception state can be any of the following: no transmission or no reception; correspondingly, in the activated state (or inactive state), the signal transmission and reception state can be any of the following: transmission or reception.

[0097] Specifically, in the inactive state of cell DTX, the following downlink signals are not transmitted: SPS PDSCH, UE-specific physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), periodic / semi-static CSI-RS (used for CSI reporting), and group PDCCH (e.g., DCI2-0 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5). In the inactive state of cell DRX, the following uplink signals are not received: Grant PUSCH, scheduling request (SR), periodic / semi-static CSI reporting, and periodic / semi-static sounding reference symbol (SRS) (excluding SRS used for positioning). This does not preclude the possibility of other downlink signals not being transmitted or uplink signals not being received.

[0098] In summary, in existing technologies, cell DTX technology enables periodic CSI-RS to be stopped during DTX shutdown, but it cannot affect TRS. This means that TRS will still be periodically transmitted during DTX shutdown, with periods of 10, 20, 40, and 80 ms. This results in the base station still transmitting periodic reference signals, at least when there is no data transmission under the cell DTX / DRX mechanism, making it difficult to reduce base station power consumption.

[0099] Example 1: Based on this, this application provides a communication method. Referring to Figure 2, which is a flowchart of a communication method provided by this application, the method includes the following steps:

[0100] 201. A first communication device transmits first information, which is used to activate the Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) and further to perform at least one of the following: activating the Periodic Reference Signal, instructing the terminal device to receive the PDSCH, and activating Cell Connectionless Transmission (DTX) or Cell Discontinuous Reception (DRX). Alternatively, the first information is used to deactivate the TRS and further to perform at least one of the following: deactivating the Periodic Reference Signal, instructing the terminal device not to receive the PDSCH, and deactivating Cell DTX or Cell DRX. Correspondingly, a second communication device receives the first information.

[0101] The first communication device in this application embodiment can be a network device, or a module within a network device, such as a chip system. It can also be a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of a network device. The second communication device can be a terminal device, or a module within a terminal device, such as a chip system. It can also be a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of a terminal device. No limitation is made in this regard.

[0102] The first information transmitted by the first communication device can be carried in the DCI and used to perform the following:

[0103] (1) Activate TRS. Additionally, the first information is used to perform at least one of the following:

[0104] 1) Activate the periodic reference signal.

[0105] For example, in the DCI that activates the TRS, a periodic reference signal is also activated, such that the activation of the TRS is associated with the activation of the periodic reference signal. The periodic reference signal in this embodiment is a signal other than the TRS, specifically a CSI-RS, including a non-zero power CSI-RS, an interference management CSI-RS, a zero power CSI-RS, etc.

[0106] 2) Instruct the terminal equipment to receive PDSCH.

[0107] For example, in the DCI that activates TRS, the base station is also instructed to send PDSCH, or in other words, the UE is instructed to receive PDSCH, so that the transmission of TRS is associated with the scheduling of PDSCH.

[0108] 3) Activate cell DTX and / or cell DRX.

[0109] For example, the DCI that activates TRS is also used to activate at least one of cell DTX or cell DRX, such that the activation of TRS is associated with the cell DTX and / or cell DRX mechanism.

[0110] Alternatively, the first information may be used to perform the following:

[0111] (2) Deactivate TRS. Additionally, the first information is used to perform at least one of the following:

[0112] 1) Deactivate the periodic reference signal.

[0113] For example, in the DCI that deactivates TRS, it is also used to deactivate the periodic reference signal. Then, the base station neither transmits TRS nor the periodic reference signal during the corresponding time period. The periodic reference signal is used by the terminal for channel probing (preparing for data transmission). Associating the deactivation of TRS with the deactivation of the periodic reference signal ensures that TRS-based synchronization is not performed when the channel is not being probed, reducing the power consumption of unnecessary TRS-based synchronization processing.

[0114] 2) Instruct the terminal device not to receive PDSCH.

[0115] For example, in the DCI that deactivates TRS, the terminal device is also instructed not to receive PDSCH, or in other words, the base station is instructed not to send PDSCH. Then, during the corresponding time period, the base station neither sends TRS nor PDSCH. This reduces the redundant power consumption that might be caused by the base station sending TRS when not scheduling downlink transmissions.

[0116] 3) Deactivate cell DTX and / or cell DRX.

[0117] For example, in the DCI that deactivates TRS, it is also used to deactivate cell DTX and / or cell DRX. Then, the base station does not perform data transmission within the cell DTX / cell DRX during the corresponding time period. TRS-based synchronization is also not performed during this time period, which reduces power consumption when data transmission is not performed.

[0118] 202. The first communication device and the second communication device are based on the first information communication.

[0119] For the first information used to deactivate TRS, and in cases where at least one of the following is used: deactivating periodic reference signals, instructing the UE not to receive PDSCH, deactivating cell DTX, and / or cell DRX, the first and second communication devices communicate based on the first information. Specifically, the first communication device does not send TRS and performs at least one of the following: not sending periodic reference signals, not sending PDSCH, not sending data during the cell DTX activation time, or not receiving data during the cell DRX activation time. The validity period of the first information communication can be indicated by the first information or triggered by the next information. No limitation is made in this regard.

[0120] In cases where the first information is used to activate TRS, activate periodic reference signal, instruct terminal equipment to receive PDSCH, activate cell DTX, and / or cell DRX at least one of the following, the first communication device and the second communication device communicate based on the first information, including (not shown in the figure):

[0121] 2021. The first communication device and the second communication device transmit and receive TRS based on the first information, and also perform at least one of the following based on the first information: transmit and receive periodic reference signals, transmit and receive PDSCH, and transmit and receive data during the activation time of cell DTX and / or cell DRX.

[0122] The first and second communication devices transmit and receive TRS based on the first information, including the first communication device transmitting TRS based on the first information and the second communication device receiving TRS based on the first information. Similarly, the first and second communication devices transmit and receive periodic reference signals, transmit and receive PDSCH, and transmit and receive data during the activation time of cell DTX and / or cell DRX based on the first information, including the first communication device transmitting periodic reference signals, transmitting PDSCH, transmitting data during the activation time of cell DTX, or receiving data during the activation time of cell DRX; the second communication device receiving periodic reference signals, receiving PDSCH, receiving data during the activation time of cell DTX, or transmitting data during the activation time of cell DRX.

[0123] This application embodiment associates the activation of TRS with the activation of periodic reference signals, the transmission of PDSCH, or the data transmission of cell DTX and / or cell DRX, so that during channel detection or data transmission, the first communication device cooperates with the second communication device to transmit and process TRS, thereby achieving fast and accurate synchronization between the two and ensuring the reliability of their communication transmission process.

[0124] In summary, the embodiments of this application associate the activation of TRS with the activation of periodic reference signals, the transmission of PDSCH, or the data transmission of cell DTX and / or cell DRX through the first information. This enables the second communication device to simultaneously perform TRS-based synchronization and channel sensing or data transmission, allowing the first and second communication devices to achieve fast and accurate synchronization during communication, ensuring high-quality communication. Alternatively, the first information can be associated with the deactivation of TRS with the deactivation of periodic reference signals, the non-transmission of PDSCH, or the deactivation of cell DTX and / or cell DRX. This allows the first communication device to avoid sending TRS for synchronization with the second communication device when it is not scheduling resources for data transmission, reducing redundant power consumption caused by unnecessary TRS synchronization between the first and second communication devices.

[0125] Optionally, the first information may indicate the time-frequency location of the TRS, the time-frequency location of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH, or the activation time of cell DTX and / or cell DRX, so as to transmit and receive signals according to the corresponding time-frequency location information.

[0126] Optionally, before the first communication device sends the first information, the method further includes: the second communication device sending to the first communication device its ability to maintain synchronization. The first communication device determines whether to send the first information based on the second communication device's ability to maintain synchronization.

[0127] Specifically, the first communication device (or UE) can report its own synchronization capability. This capability can be expressed as the UE's frequency error, time error, or temperature frequency difference, all measured in parts per million (ppm). For example, a frequency error of 0.1 ppm means that after one second, the UE's frequency error is 260 Hz for a carrier frequency of 2.6 GHz. The smaller these parameters are, the stronger the UE's synchronization capability, and vice versa. If the UE's synchronization capability is strong, it means that when the UE needs data transmission, the resulting time and frequency offsets will not affect the UE's normal reception of high-speed data transmission. If the UE's synchronization capability is weak, it means that when the UE needs data transmission, the resulting time and frequency offsets will prevent the UE from performing high-speed data transmission. Therefore, the base station will determine whether to send a TRS to the UE based on the synchronization capability reported by the UE.

[0128] Optionally, the first communication device determines whether to send the first information based on whether the second communication device's ability to maintain synchronization is less than a preset threshold.

[0129] For example, the UE's ability to maintain synchronization is characterized by frequency error, with a preset threshold of 0.1. Assuming the UE reports its own synchronization capability to be less than 0.1 (frequency error greater than 0.1), the second communication device (or access network device) determines to send the first information to activate TRS.

[0130] As can be seen, this embodiment reports its own synchronization capability through the second communication device, and the first communication device determines whether to send the first information based on the synchronization capability of the second communication device, which can further ensure the accuracy of sending the first information. Because the first information is used to activate TRS, this operation can further reduce the power consumption caused by activating TRS unnecessarily.

[0131] Example 2: As described in the preceding examples, the first information may indicate the time-frequency position of the TRS, the periodic reference signal, or the PDSCH, or indicate the activation time of the cell DTX and / or cell DRX, so that the first communication device transmits signals according to the corresponding time-frequency position, and the second communication device receives signals according to the corresponding time-frequency position. This example specifically describes the case where the first information indicates the time-frequency position information of the TRS and / or the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal.

[0132] Referring to Figure 3A, which is a flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of this application, the method includes the following steps:

[0133] 301. The first communication device transmits first information, which is used to activate the tracking reference signal (TRS), to activate the periodic reference signal, and to indicate the time-frequency position of the TRS and / or the periodic reference signal. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first information.

[0134] The description of the first communication device and the second communication device in this application embodiment can be found in the aforementioned Embodiment 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0135] In this embodiment, the activation of the TRS is associated with the activation of the periodic reference signal through first information. For example, the periodic reference signal is CSI-RS. Activating the CSI-RS simultaneously with the activation of the TRS allows the second communication device to perform channel detection based on the CSI-RS while receiving and processing the TRS and synchronizing with the first communication device. Normally, data transmission between the first and second communication devices occurs after channel detection is completed; therefore, data transmission also occurs after synchronization between the first and second communication devices is completed. This enables the first and second communication devices to quickly and efficiently synchronize during data transmission, improving the reliability of data transmission.

[0136] In addition, the first information also indicates the time-frequency position of at least one of the TRS or periodic reference signals. Specifically, this includes the following cases:

[0137] (1) The first information indicates the time-frequency position of the TRS and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal, respectively.

[0138] In the embodiments of this application, the time-frequency location refers to at least one of a time-domain location and a frequency-domain location. That is, the first information may indicate only the time-domain location or the frequency-domain location, or indicate both the time-domain location and the frequency-domain location. The time-frequency location may also be expressed as a time / frequency location, and there is no limitation thereto.

[0139] The first information, indicating the time-frequency position of the TRS and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal, can include the following situations:

[0140] 1) The first information directly indicates the time-frequency position of the TRS and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal. For example, the time domain position of the TRS is X hours, Y minutes, and T seconds, and the frequency domain position is from the Nth resource element (RE) to the (N+3)th RE, etc.

[0141] 2) The first information indicates the first bias and the second bias respectively, wherein the first bias is the bias between the TRS and the time-frequency position of the first information, and the second bias is the bias between the periodic reference signal and the time-frequency position of the first information.

[0142] The time-frequency position of the first information has been specified when the first communication device configures the information to the second communication device. Therefore, the second communication device can determine the time-frequency position of the TRS based on the time-frequency position of the first information and the first offset. Specifically, the time-frequency position of the TRS = the time-frequency position of the first information + the first offset. Similarly, the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal can be determined based on the time-frequency position of the first information and the second offset.

[0143] 3) The first information indicates the first bias and the third bias, wherein the third bias is the bias between the periodic reference signal and the time-frequency position of the TRS; or the first information indicates the second bias and the third bias.

[0144] In cases where the first information indicates the first offset and the third offset, the time-frequency position of the TRS can be determined first based on the time-frequency position of the first information and the first offset, and then the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal can be determined based on the time-frequency position of the TRS and the third offset.

[0145] In cases where the first information indicates the second and third offsets, the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal can be determined first based on the time-frequency position of the first information and the second offset, and then the time-frequency position of the TRS can be determined based on the third offset and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal.

[0146] The time-frequency position of the TRS and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal do not overlap. Alternatively, there can be a certain interval between them so that the second communication device can receive both signals more accurately. The time-frequency position of the TRS indicated by the first information, offset from the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal, or the time-frequency position of the TRS offset from the first information, can be a maximum offset, a minimum offset, or an offset range consisting of a maximum offset and a minimum offset. For example, the maximum offset is two time slots, and the minimum offset is one time slot, etc.

[0147] (2) The first information only indicates the time and frequency position of the TRS.

[0148] The first information may simply indicate the time-frequency position of the TRS. For example, it may directly indicate the time-domain position and / or frequency-domain position of the TRS. Alternatively, it may indicate a first offset between the time-frequency position of the TRS and the time-frequency position of the first information. The second communication device can then determine the time-frequency position of the TRS based on the time-frequency position of the first information and the first offset.

[0149] (3) The first information only indicates the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal.

[0150] Similarly, the first information can directly indicate the time-domain and / or frequency-domain position of the periodic reference signal. Alternatively, it can indicate a second offset between the first information and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal, and the second communication device determines the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal based on the time-frequency position of the first information and the second offset.

[0151] For the content not indicated by the first information in the above process, including the time-frequency position of the TRS, the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal, the offset between the time-frequency position of the TRS and the first information, the offset between the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal and the first information, etc., it can be indicated by other information. Alternatively, it can be a default value. For example, the offset between the time-frequency position of the TRS and the first information is a value specified by the protocol or pre-configured by the first communication device. When the second communication device receives the first information to activate the TRS, it can obtain the time-frequency position of the TRS according to the corresponding time-frequency position offset and the time-frequency position of the first information.

[0152] Referring to Figure 3B, which is a schematic diagram of a first information indication content provided in an embodiment of this application, the first information is carried in the DCI and used to activate the TRS and CSI-RS. The time-frequency position b of the TRS can be determined based on the time-frequency offset r1 (first offset) between the DCI and the TRS, and the time-frequency position a of the DCI. The time-frequency position c of the CSI-RS can be determined based on the time-frequency position of the TRS and the time-frequency offset r2 (third offset) between the TRS and the CSI-RS.

[0153] During this process, after the second communication device receives the activation of TRS and CSI-RS indicated by the first information, it receives TRS and CSI-RS at the corresponding time and frequency position, processes the synchronization based on TRS, and performs the preparation work before data transmission based on CSI-RS, that is, the synchronization is completed, so as to achieve more reliable data transmission.

[0154] Optionally, as shown in the figure, an SSB can also be sent before the first communication device sends the first information for preliminary synchronization between the first communication device and the second communication device.

[0155] 302. The first communication device and the second communication device transmit and receive TRS and / or periodic reference signals based on the first information.

[0156] After receiving the first information, the second communication device determines the time-frequency position of the TRS and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal based on the time-frequency position of the first information and the time-frequency position indicated by the first information or the offset of the time-frequency position, and detects the received signal at the corresponding time-frequency position.

[0157] As can be seen, in this embodiment, by activating the TRS with the first information and simultaneously activating the periodic reference signal, the second communication device performs channel measurement based on the periodic reference signal when receiving and processing the TRS based on the first information. This allows synchronization and channel measurement to be completed before data transmission, thereby achieving more reliable data transmission. Furthermore, by indicating the time-frequency position of the TRS and / or the periodic reference signal with the first information, the resource consumption of individually indicating the time-frequency position can be reduced, improving the flexibility of transmitting and receiving the TRS and / or the periodic reference signal.

[0158] Example 3: This example specifically describes the time-frequency position of the first information indicator TRS and / or the time-frequency position of PDSCH.

[0159] Referring to Figure 4A, which is a flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of this application, the method includes the following steps:

[0160] 401. The first communication device sends first information, which is used to activate the Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), instruct the terminal device to receive the PDSCH, and also indicate the time-frequency position of the TRS and / or PDSCH. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first information.

[0161] The description of the first communication device and the second communication device in this application embodiment can be found in the aforementioned Embodiment 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0162] In this embodiment, the activation of TRS is associated with the transmission of PDSCH via first information. Exemplarily, the first information, while activating TRS, instructs the UE to receive PDSCH. The second communication device (UE) receives the TRS and performs synchronization based on it, while also receiving the PDSCH. This enables the second communication device to quickly achieve more accurate synchronization with the first communication device when receiving the PDSCH, thereby improving the reliability of PDSCH reception.

[0163] In addition, the first information also indicates the time-frequency position of at least one of the TRS or PDSCH, specifically including the following cases:

[0164] (1) The first information indicates the time-frequency position of TRS and the time-frequency position of PDSCH respectively.

[0165] For example, this situation specifically includes the following indication methods:

[0166] 1) The first information directly indicates the time-frequency position of the TRS and the time-frequency position of the PDSCH.

[0167] 2) The first information indicates the offset between the time and frequency position of the TRS and the first information (first offset), and the offset between the time and frequency position of the PDSCH and the first information (second offset).

[0168] 3) The first information indicates the offset of the time-frequency position of TRS and the first information (first offset), and the offset of the time-frequency position of PDSCH and TRS (third offset); or indicates the offset of the time-frequency position of PDSCH and the first information (second offset), and the offset of the time-frequency position of PDSCH and TRS (third offset).

[0169] Consistent with the foregoing embodiments, the time-frequency position of the TRS equals the time-frequency position of the first information plus the first offset; or the time-frequency position of the TRS equals the time-frequency position of the first information plus the second offset plus the third offset. The unit of the time-domain position can be a time slot or a symbol, and the unit of the frequency-domain position can be RE or RB, etc.

[0170] (2) The first information only indicates the time and frequency position of the TRS.

[0171] (3) The first information only indicates the time and frequency position of the PDSCH.

[0172] Other descriptions of the time-frequency position indicated by the first information can be found in the relevant descriptions of Embodiment 2 above; simply replace the description of the periodic reference signal with PDSCH. Further details will not be provided here.

[0173] Similarly, for the content not indicated by the first information in the above process, including the time-frequency position of TRS, the time-frequency position of PDSCH, the offset between the time-frequency positions of TRS and the first information, the offset between the time-frequency positions of PDSCH and the first information, and the offset between the time-frequency positions of TRS and PDSCH, other information can be used to indicate this. Alternatively, default values ​​can be used.

[0174] Additionally, the UE's ability to process the received TRS needs to be considered; for example, how many symbols' worth of time is required for the UE to process the TRS. Furthermore, the duration for which the TRS remains valid after synchronization also needs to be considered; for instance, after several time slots following TRS synchronization, the time and frequency offsets may increase, causing the UE to be unable to receive data normally. Considering these two points, the time-domain offset of TRS and PDSCH can be set to within one or two time slots.

[0175] Referring to Figure 4B, which is a schematic diagram of another first information indication content provided in an embodiment of this application, the first information is carried in the DCI and used to activate the TRS and schedule the PDSCH. Based on the time-frequency position offset r3 (first offset) between the DCI and the TRS, and the time-frequency position A of the DCI, the time-frequency position B of the TRS can be determined. Based on the time-frequency position of the TRS and the time-frequency position offset r4 (third offset) between the TRS and the PDSCH, the time-frequency position C of the CSI-RS can be determined. Because the scheduling of the TRS and PDSCH is correlated, the TRS can be transmitted only during the PDSCH scheduling period, reducing the corresponding power consumption and improving the reliability of data transmission.

[0176] 402. The first communication device and the second communication device are based on the first information transmission and reception TRS and / or PDSCH.

[0177] After receiving the first information, the second communication device determines the time-frequency position of the TRS and the time-frequency position of the PDSCH based on the time-frequency position of the first information and the time-frequency position indicated by the first information or the offset of the time-frequency position, and receives the TRS and data at the corresponding time-frequency positions.

[0178] As can be seen, in this embodiment, by activating the TRS with the first information and simultaneously instructing the transmission of the PDSCH, the second communication device can perform data transmission when synchronized with the first communication device based on the TRS. This avoids redundant power consumption that might result from receiving and processing the TRS regardless of whether data transmission is performed, and improves the reliability of data transmission. Furthermore, by indicating the time-frequency position of the TRS and / or PDSCH with the first information, the resource consumption of individually indicating the time-frequency position can be reduced, improving the flexibility of transmitting and receiving the TRS and / or PDSCH.

[0179] Example 4: This example specifically describes the time domain location of the first information indicator TRS and / or the time domain location of the cell DTX / cell.

[0180] Referring to Figure 5A, which is a flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of this application, the method includes the following steps:

[0181] 501. The first communication device sends first information, which is used to activate TRS, activate cell DTX / cell DRX, and also indicates the time domain location of TRS and / or cell DTX / cell. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first information.

[0182] The description of the first communication device and the second communication device in this application embodiment can be found in the aforementioned Embodiment 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0183] In this embodiment, the activation of TRS is associated with the activation of cell DTX or cell DRX through first information. For example, the first information activates cell DTX simultaneously with the activation of TRS. The second communication device receives the TRS and performs synchronization based on it, while also receiving PDSCH during the DTX activation time. This ensures more accurate synchronization between the second communication device and the first communication device when receiving PDSCH, thereby improving the reliability of PDSCH reception.

[0184] In addition, the first information also indicates the time-domain location of at least one of the TRS or cell DTX / cell DRX (the first information can also indicate the frequency-domain location of the TRS, which will not be discussed in detail in this example), specifically including the following cases:

[0185] (1) The first information indicates the time domain location of the TRS and the activation time of the cell DTX / cell DRX respectively.

[0186] For example, this situation specifically includes the following indication methods:

[0187] 1) The first information directly indicates the time domain location of the TRS and the activation time of the cell DTX / cell DRX.

[0188] The activation time of cell DTX / cell DRX refers to the time when data transmission or reception begins within the cell DTX / cell DRX cycle. Activation time is also known as start time, start-up time, etc.

[0189] 2) The first information indicates the time interval between the TRS and the first information (second time interval), and the time interval between the cell DTX / cell DRX activation time and the first information (third time interval).

[0190] The time-domain location of the first information has been specified when the first communication device configures the information to the second communication device. Therefore, the second communication device can determine the time-domain location of the TRS based on the time-domain location of the first information and the second time-domain interval. Specifically, the time-domain location of the TRS = the time-domain location of the first information + the second time-domain interval. Alternatively, the second communication device can determine the activation time of cell DTX / cell DRX based on the time-domain location of the first information and the third time-domain interval.

[0191] 3) The first information indicates the start time of cell DTX / cell DRX, and the time domain interval between cell DTX / cell DRX and TRS (first time domain interval).

[0192] Specifically, the time-domain position of the TRS = the time-domain position of the first information + the third time-domain interval + the first time-domain interval. The time-domain position of the first information can be X hours, Y minutes, and T seconds, and the time-domain interval can be a time slot or a symbol, etc.

[0193] (2) The first information only indicates the time domain location of the TRS.

[0194] The first information may only indicate the time-domain location of the TRS. Alternatively, it may indicate the time-domain location of the TRS and the second time-domain interval of the first information. Then, the second communication device can determine the time-domain location of the TRS based on the time-domain location of the first information and the second time-domain interval.

[0195] (3) The first information only indicates the start time of cell DTX / cell DRX.

[0196] The first information can directly indicate the time domain location of the cell DTX / cell DRX. Alternatively, it can indicate the third time domain interval between the first information and the cell DTX / cell DRX. The second communication device determines the time domain location of the cell DTX / cell DRX based on the time domain location of the first information and the third time domain interval.

[0197] For the information not indicated by the first information in the above process, including the time domain location of TRS, the activation time of cell DTX / cell DRX, the time domain interval between TRS and the first information, the time domain interval between the activation time of cell DTX / cell DRX and the first information, and the time domain interval between the activation time of TRS and cell DTX / cell DRX, etc., other information can be used to indicate these details. Alternatively, default values ​​can be used.

[0198] Referring to Figure 5B, which is a schematic diagram of another first information indication content provided in an embodiment of this application, as shown in Figure 5B, the first information is carried in the DCI and is used to activate the TRS and cell DTX. The first information also indicates the activation time of the cell DTX. The second communication device determines the time domain position P of the TRS based on the activation time T of the cell DTX and the first time domain interval t1 between the cell DTX and the TRS.

[0199] Optionally, if the first information indicates the third time-domain interval t2 between the cell DTX start time and the time-domain position M of the DCI, then the second communication device determines the cell DTX start time T based on M and t2, and then determines the time-domain position P of the TRS based on T and t1.

[0200] In this process, because the activation of cell DTX is related to the activation of TRS, TRS can be associated with the PDSCH scheduling within cell DTX, reducing the redundant power consumption caused by sending TRS regardless of whether cell DTX is enabled.

[0201] 502. The first communication device and the second communication device transmit and receive TRS based on the first information, and / or transmit and receive data during the activation time of cell DTX / cell DRX.

[0202] After receiving the first information, the second communication device determines the time domain location of the TRS and the activation time of the cell DTX / cell DRX based on the time domain location of the first information and the time domain location or time domain interval indicated by the first information, and detects and receives the TRS or PDSCH at the corresponding time domain location, or sends the PUSCH.

[0203] As can be seen, in this embodiment, by activating TRS with the first information, and simultaneously activating cell DTX / cell DRX, the second communication device can receive data during the cell DTX activation time or transmit data during the cell DRX activation time when synchronizing with the first communication device based on TRS. This avoids redundant power consumption that might occur during TRS-based synchronization when cell DTX / cell DRX is not activated. Furthermore, by indicating the time-domain location of TRS and / or cell DTX / cell DRX with the first information, the resource consumption of individually indicating the time-domain location can be reduced, improving the flexibility of transmitting and receiving TRS and / or data.

[0204] Example 5: Optionally, the first information can be used to deactivate the TRS, and the first information is also used to perform at least one of the following: deactivating the periodic reference signal, instructing the terminal device not to receive the PDSCH, deactivating cell connectionless transmission DTX or cell discontinuous reception DRX, and the first information also indicates the time-frequency position of the TRS, and / or the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal, PDSCH, cell DTX / cell DRX. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first information.

[0205] In this embodiment, the first information is used to deactivate the TRS, and the deactivation of the TRS is associated with deactivating the periodic reference signal, instructing the terminal device not to receive the PDSCH, or deactivating the cell DTX / cell DRX. This ensures that no data transmission occurs during the deactivation of the TRS, reducing the potential for low communication efficiency or low transmission reliability caused by data transmission when synchronization is poor. In other words, it avoids the additional power consumption that might result from different TRS-based actions when no data transmission is performed. Furthermore, although the first communication device uses the first information to deactivate the TRS, or deactivate the periodic reference signal, not transmit the PDSCH, or deactivate one of the cell DTX / cell DRX, the first information can also be used to indicate the time-frequency position of these signals to ensure the stability of the first information format.

[0206] Please refer to Figure 6, which is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. This communication device can be used to execute any of the methods in the foregoing embodiments.

[0207] As shown in Figure 6, the communication device includes a processing module 1501 and a transceiver module 1502. The processing module 1501 may be one or more processors, and the transceiver module 1502 may be a transceiver or a communication interface. This communication device can be used to implement the functions of devices such as the first communication device and the second communication device involved in any of the above method embodiments. These devices may be hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). Optionally, the communication device may also include a storage module 1503 for storing the program code and data of the communication device.

[0208] In a first example, the communication device can be used as the second communication device or a chip within the second communication device in the embodiments of Figures 2 to 5B, and execute the steps performed by the second communication device in the above method embodiments. The transceiver module 1502 is used to support communication with the first communication device. The processing module 1501 can be used to support the execution of actions performed by the second communication device in the above method embodiments, excluding sending and receiving.

[0209] Specifically, the transceiver module 1502 is used to receive first information, which is used to activate the tracking reference signal TRS, and the first information is also used to perform at least one of the following: activate the periodic reference signal, instruct the terminal device to receive the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH, and activate cell connectionless transmission DTX or cell discontinuous reception DRX; or the first information is used to deactivate the TRS, and the first information is also used to perform at least one of the following: deactivate the periodic reference signal, instruct the terminal device not to receive the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH, and deactivate cell connectionless transmission DTX or cell discontinuous reception DRX; the processing module 1501 is used to communicate based on the first information in conjunction with the transceiver module 1502.

[0210] In one feasible implementation, if the first information is used to activate the Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), and the first information is also used to perform at least one of the following: activating a periodic reference signal, scheduling a PDSCH, activating a cell DTX or a cell DRX, communication based on the first information includes: receiving the TRS based on the first information; and also performing at least one of the following based on the first information: receiving the periodic reference signal, receiving the PDSCH, or receiving a signal during the activation period of the cell DTX, or transmitting a signal during the activation period of the cell DRX.

[0211] In one feasible implementation, the first information also indicates at least one of the following: the time-frequency position of the TRS, the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal, the time-frequency position of the PDSCH, and the activation time of the cell DTX or cell DRX.

[0212] In one feasible implementation, the first information further indicates a first offset, which is an offset between the first information and the time-frequency position of the TRS; wherein the time-frequency position of the first information and the first offset are used to determine the time-frequency position of the TRS.

[0213] In one possible implementation, the first information further indicates a second bias, which is an offset between the first information and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH, wherein the time-frequency position of the first information and the second bias are used to determine the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH.

[0214] In one possible implementation, the first information further indicates a third bias, which is an offset between the TRS and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH, wherein the time-frequency position of the TRS and the third bias are used to determine the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH; or the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH and the third bias are used to determine the time-frequency position of the TRS.

[0215] In one feasible implementation, the first information further indicates a first time-domain interval, which is the time-domain interval between the activation time of cell DTX or cell DRX and the time-domain interval of TRS; wherein the activation time of cell DTX or cell DRX and the first time-domain interval are used to determine the time-domain location of TRS.

[0216] In one feasible implementation, before receiving the first information, the transceiver module 1502 is further configured to: send a second information, the second information indicating the terminal device's ability to maintain synchronization.

[0217] In one feasible implementation, the periodic reference signal is the downlink channel state information reference signal CSI-RS.

[0218] In a second example, the communication device can be the first communication device or a chip within the first communication device in the embodiments of Figures 2 to 5B, and execute the steps performed by the first communication device in the above method embodiments. The transceiver module 1502 is used to support communication with the second communication device. The processing module 1501 can be used to support the execution of actions other than sending and receiving performed by the first communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0219] Specifically, the transceiver module 1502 is used to send first information, which is used to activate the tracking reference signal TRS, and the first information is also used to perform at least one of the following: activate the periodic reference signal, instruct the terminal device to receive the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH, activate cell connectionless transmission DTX or cell discontinuous reception DRX, or the first information is used to deactivate the TRS, and the first information is also used to perform at least one of the following: deactivate the periodic reference signal, instruct the terminal device not to receive the PDSCH, deactivate cell DTX or cell DRX; the processing module 1501 is used to communicate based on the first information in conjunction with the transceiver module 1502.

[0220] In one feasible implementation, if the first information is used to activate the Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), and the first information is also used to perform at least one of the following: activating a periodic reference signal, instructing the terminal device to receive a PDSCH, activating a cell DTX or a cell DRX, communication based on the first information includes: sending a TRS based on the first information; and also performing at least one of the following based on the first information: sending a periodic reference signal, sending a PDSCH, or sending a signal during the activation period of a cell DTX, or receiving a signal during the activation period of a cell DRX.

[0221] In one feasible implementation, the first information also indicates at least one of the following: the time-frequency position of the TRS, the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal, the time-frequency position of the PDSCH, and the activation time of the cell DTX or cell DRX.

[0222] In one feasible implementation, the first information further indicates a first offset, which is an offset between the first information and the time-frequency position of the TRS; wherein the time-frequency position of the first information and the first offset are used to determine the time-frequency position of the TRS.

[0223] In one possible implementation, the first information further indicates a second bias, which is an offset between the first information and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH, wherein the time-frequency position of the first information and the second bias are used to determine the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH.

[0224] In one possible implementation, the first information further indicates a third bias, which is an offset between the TRS and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH, wherein the time-frequency position of the TRS and the third bias are used to determine the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH; or the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or PDSCH and the third bias are used to determine the time-frequency position of the TRS.

[0225] In one feasible implementation, the first information further indicates a first time-domain interval, which is the time-domain interval between the activation time of cell DTX or cell DRX and the time-domain interval of TRS; wherein the activation time of cell DTX or cell DRX and the first time-domain interval are used to determine the time-domain location of TRS.

[0226] In one feasible implementation, before sending the first information, the transceiver module 1502 is further configured to: receive second information, the second information indicating the terminal device's ability to maintain synchronization; and send the first information, including: sending the first information based on the terminal device's ability to maintain synchronization.

[0227] In one feasible implementation, sending the first information based on the terminal device's ability to maintain synchronization includes: if the terminal device's ability to maintain synchronization is lower than a preset threshold, sending the first information.

[0228] In one feasible implementation, the periodic reference signal includes a downlink channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0229] The processing module 1501 may be a processor that can execute computer execution instructions stored in the storage module to cause the chip to perform the methods involved in any of the above embodiments.

[0230] Please refer to Figure 7, which is a simplified structural diagram of a network device provided in an embodiment of this application, and can be used as an implementation of the first communication device of this application.

[0231] The network device includes a radio frequency (RF) signal transceiver and conversion section and a baseband section 42. The RF signal transceiver and conversion section further includes a receiving module 41 and a transmitting module 43 (which can also be collectively referred to as transceiver modules). The RF signal transceiver and conversion section is mainly used for transmitting and receiving RF signals and converting RF signals to baseband signals. The baseband section 42 is mainly used for baseband processing and controlling the network device. The receiving module 41 can also be called a receiver, receiver circuit, etc., and the transmitting module 43 can also be called a transmitter, transmitter, transmitter circuit, etc. The baseband section 42 is usually the control center of the network device, and can also be called a processing module, used to execute the steps performed by the network device in any of the above methods. See the description of the relevant sections above for details. The transmitting module 43 may include an antenna and RF circuitry. The RF circuitry is mainly used for converting baseband signals to RF signals and processing RF signals. The antenna is mainly used for transmitting and receiving RF signals in the form of electromagnetic waves.

[0232] The baseband section 42 may include one or more boards, each board may include one or more processors and one or more memories. The processors are used to read and execute programs in the memories to implement baseband processing functions and control network devices. If multiple boards exist, they can be interconnected to increase processing power. As an optional implementation, multiple boards may share one or more processors, multiple boards may share one or more memories, or multiple boards may simultaneously share one or more processors.

[0233] Please refer to Figure 8, which is a schematic diagram of a RAN chip structure provided in an embodiment of this application, and can be used as another implementation of the network device of this application.

[0234] The RAN chip is divided into CU, DU, and RU. The CU is a platform that performs upper-layer L2 (data link layer) and L3 (network layer) functions. The midhaul and backhaul interfaces are used to carry traffic between the CU and DU, as well as between the CU and the core network. The DU performs L1 and some L2 functions, while the RU performs L1 (physical layer) computation and RF digital functions. The fronthaul and backhaul interfaces are used to carry traffic between the RU and DU, as well as between the CU and DU. An integrated DU includes the functions of both the DU and RU.

[0235] 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.

[0236] 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 PCIe interfaces pointing to the CPU and external connections via GbE.

[0237] The RU comprises three parts: the OPU (O-RAN Processing Unit), which receives eCPRI frames from the O-RAN fronthaul and performs fronthaul interface, 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 ASIC. The DPU (O-RU Digital Processing Unit) performs synchronization, DDC (digital downconversion in UL), DUC (digital upconversion in DL), CFR, and DPD, improving power amplifier efficiency by reducing PAPR / ACLR at 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 (PA), low-noise amplifiers (LNA), and Tx / Rx filters. All conversions between the analog and digital domains (DAC and ADC) (e.g., RF sampling, frequency conversion using RF, IF, and LO mixing during up-conversion and down-conversion) are performed within the transceiver module. Note that physical and logical partitions within the RF processing unit do not require specific boundaries.

[0238] Please refer to Figure 9, which is a simplified structural diagram of a UE provided in an embodiment of this application, as an implementation of the second communication device in this application.

[0239] For ease of understanding and illustration, Figure 9 uses a mobile phone as an example of the UE. As shown in Figure 9, the UE includes at least one processor, and may also include radio frequency (RF) circuitry, an antenna, and input / output devices. The processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, as well as to control the UE, execute software programs, and process data from those programs. The UE may also include a memory, primarily used to store software programs and data. These programs can be loaded into the memory at the time of manufacture or added later when needed. The RF circuitry is mainly used for converting baseband signals to RF signals and processing RF signals. The antenna is mainly used for transmitting and receiving RF signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices, such as touchscreens, displays, and keyboards, are mainly used to receive user input data and output data to the user. It should be noted that some types of UEs may not have input / output devices.

[0240] When a signal needs to be transmitted, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency (RF) circuit. The RF circuit then processes the baseband signal and transmits it outward as an electromagnetic wave through the antenna. When data is sent to the UE, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts it into a baseband signal, and outputs it to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal back into data and processes it. For ease of explanation, Figure 9 only shows one memory and one processor. In actual UE products, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. Memory can also be called storage medium or storage device, etc. Memory can be set up independently of the processor or integrated with the processor; this embodiment does not limit this.

[0241] In this embodiment, the antenna and radio frequency circuit with transceiver functions can be regarded as the receiving unit and transmitting unit of the UE (or collectively referred to as the transceiver unit), and the processor with processing functions can be regarded as the processing unit of the UE. As shown in Figure 9, the UE includes a receiving module 31, a processing module 32, and a transmitting module 33. The receiving module 31 can also be referred to as a receiver, receiver circuit, etc., and the transmitting module 33 can also be referred to as a transmitter, transmitter, transmitter circuit, etc. The processing module 32 can also be referred to as a processor, processing board, processing device, etc.

[0242] It is understood that the processor 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, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0243] Optionally, the memory may also store data. The processor and memory may be configured separately or integrated together. The memory may be non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), or it may be volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM). In the embodiments of this application, the processor may also be flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art.

[0244] Optionally, the UE may include instructions (sometimes referred to as code or program) that can be executed on the processor.

[0245] Optionally, the UE may also include a transceiver and an antenna. The transceiver may be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver module, transceiver, transceiver circuit, transceiver, input / output interface, etc., and is used to realize the UE's transmission and reception functions through the antenna.

[0246] This application provides a communication system, which includes the first communication device and the second communication device described above.

[0247] This application provides a computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, which, when executed, cause the computer to perform the method described in any of the above methods.

[0248] This application provides a computer program product, which includes computer program code. When the computer program code is run, it causes the computer to perform the method described in any of the above methods.

[0249] This application provides a chip coupled to a memory for reading and executing program instructions in the memory, so that the device containing the chip implements the method described in any of the above methods.

[0250] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of each embodiment have their own emphasis. Parts not described in detail in a particular embodiment can be found in the relevant descriptions of other embodiments. It should be noted that, for the sake of simplicity, the foregoing method embodiments are all described as a series of actions. However, those skilled in the art should understand that this application is not limited to the described order of actions, as some steps may be performed in other orders or simultaneously according to this application. Furthermore, those skilled in the art should also understand that the embodiments described in the specification are preferred embodiments, and the actions and modules involved are not necessarily essential to this application.

[0251] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of the units described above 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 devices or units may be electrical or other forms.

[0252] The units described above 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.

[0253] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. 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 spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method, applied to a terminal device or a module within a terminal device, includes: The system receives first information, which is used to activate the Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) and further to perform at least one of the following: activating the Periodic Reference Signal, instructing the terminal device to receive the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), and activating Cell Connectionless Transmission (DTX) or Cell Discontinuous Reception (DRX); or the first information is used to deactivate the TRS and further to perform at least one of the following: deactivating the Periodic Reference Signal, instructing the terminal device not to receive the PDSCH, and deactivating Cell DTX or Cell DRX. Based on the first information communication.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, If the first information is used to activate the Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), and the first information is also used to perform at least one of the following: activating the Periodic Reference Signal, instructing the terminal device to receive the PDSCH, activating the Cell DTX or Cell DRX, The communication based on the first information includes: Receive TRS based on the first information; Based on the first information, at least one of the following is performed: receiving a periodic reference signal, receiving a PDSCH, receiving a signal during the activation period of the cell DTX, or transmitting a signal during the activation period of the cell DRX.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first information also indicates at least one of the following: the time-frequency position of the TRS, the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal, the time-frequency position of the PDSCH, and the activation time of the cell DTX or cell DRX.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first information also indicates a first offset, which is an offset between the first information and the time-frequency position of the TRS; wherein the time-frequency position of the first information and the first offset are used to determine the time-frequency position of the TRS.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first information also indicates a second bias, which is an offset between the first information and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or the PDSCH, wherein the time-frequency position of the first information and the second bias are used to determine the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or the PDSCH.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that, The first information also indicates a third bias, which is the bias between the TRS and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or the PDSCH, wherein, The time-frequency position of the TRS and the third offset are used to determine the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or the PDSCH; or the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or the PDSCH and the third offset are used to determine the time-frequency position of the TRS.

7. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first information also indicates a first time domain interval, which is the time domain interval between the activation time of the cell DTX or cell DRX and the TRS; wherein the activation time of the cell DTX or cell DRX and the first time domain interval are used to determine the time domain location of the TRS.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, Before receiving the first information, the method further includes: Send a second message, which instructs the terminal device to maintain synchronization.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The periodic reference signal is the downlink channel state information reference signal CSI-RS.

10. A method for transmitting a reference signal, characterized in that, The method, applied to a network device or a module within a network device, includes: Sending first information, the first information being used to activate the Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), and the first information being further used to perform at least one of the following: activating the Periodic Reference Signal, instructing the terminal device to receive the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), activating Cell Connectionless Transmission (DTX) or Cell Discontinuous Reception (DRX); or the first information being used to deactivate the TRS, and the first information being further used to perform at least one of the following: deactivating the Periodic Reference Signal, instructing the terminal device not to receive the PDSCH, deactivating Cell DTX or Cell DRX; Based on the first information communication.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, If the first information is used to activate the Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), and the first information is also used to perform at least one of the following: activating the Periodic Reference Signal, instructing the terminal device to receive the PDSCH, activating the Cell DTX or Cell DRX, The communication based on the first information includes: Send a TRS based on the first information; Based on the first information, at least one of the following is performed: sending a periodic reference signal, sending a PDSCH, or sending a signal during the activation period of the cell DTX, or receiving a signal during the activation period of the cell DRX.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The first information also indicates at least one of the following: the time-frequency position of the TRS, the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal, the time-frequency position of the PDSCH, and the activation time of the cell DTX or cell DRX.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first information also indicates a first offset, which is an offset between the first information and the time-frequency position of the TRS; wherein the time-frequency position of the first information and the first offset are used to determine the time-frequency position of the TRS.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first information also indicates a second bias, which is an offset between the first information and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or the PDSCH, wherein the time-frequency position of the first information and the second bias are used to determine the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or the PDSCH.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The first information also indicates a third bias, which is the bias between the TRS and the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or the PDSCH, wherein, The time-frequency position of the TRS and the third offset are used to determine the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or the PDSCH; or the time-frequency position of the periodic reference signal or the PDSCH and the third offset are used to determine the time-frequency position of the TRS.

16. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first information also indicates a first time domain interval, which is the time domain interval between the activation time of the cell DTX or cell DRX and the TRS; wherein the activation time of the cell DTX or cell DRX and the first time domain interval are used to determine the time domain location of the TRS.

17. The method according to any one of claims 10-16, characterized in that, Before sending the first information, the method further includes: Receive a second message, which indicates the terminal device's ability to maintain synchronization; The sending of the first information includes: The first information is sent based on the terminal device's ability to maintain synchronization.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, Sending the first information based on the terminal device's ability to maintain synchronization includes: If the terminal device's ability to maintain synchronization is lower than a preset threshold, the first information is sent.

19. The method according to any one of claims 10-15, characterized in that, The periodic reference signal includes the downlink channel state information reference signal CSI-RS.

20. A communication device, characterized in that, Used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

21. The apparatus according to claim 20, characterized in that, The device includes a terminal device or a chip.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, Used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 19.

23. The apparatus according to claim 22, characterized in that, The device includes network equipment or a chip.

24. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes at least one processor coupled to a memory; The at least one processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, such that the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9 is implemented, or the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 19 is implemented.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program that, when executed, causes the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9 to be implemented, or causes the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 19 to be implemented.

26. A computer program, characterized in that, When the computer program is run, it causes the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9 to be implemented, or causes the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 19 to be implemented.

27. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes instructions that, when executed, enable the method of any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method of any one of claims 10 to 19.

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