Wireless communication methods, terminal devices, and network devices

Abstract

Provided are wireless communication methods, terminal devices, and network devices. The wireless communication method comprises: a terminal device initiating a random access process to a network device, wherein the random access process is initiated by the terminal device by using a first frame structure, the first frame structure comprises a periodically configured first resource and / or second resource, the first resource comprises a plurality of consecutive uplink time-domain units, and the second resource comprises a plurality of consecutive downlink time-domain units.

Description

Wireless communication methods, terminal devices, and network devices Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to a wireless communication method, terminal device, and network device. Background Technology

[0002] In some communication systems (such as narrowband IoT systems), terminal devices (such as narrowband IoT devices) can communicate via non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In this scenario, how the terminal devices access the network (such as the NTN network) is a problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a wireless communication method, terminal device, and network device. The various aspects covered by this application are described below.

[0004] In a first aspect, a wireless communication method is provided, comprising: a terminal device initiating a random access procedure to a network device; wherein the random access procedure is initiated by the terminal device using a first frame structure, the first frame structure including periodically configured first resources and / or second resources, the first resources including a plurality of consecutive uplink time domain units, and the second resources including a plurality of consecutive downlink time domain units.

[0005] In a second aspect, a wireless communication method is provided, comprising: a network device responding to a random access procedure initiated by a terminal device; wherein the random access procedure is responded to by the network device using a first frame structure, the first frame structure including periodically configured first resources and / or second resources, the first resources including a plurality of consecutive uplink time domain units, and the second resources including a plurality of consecutive downlink time domain units.

[0006] Thirdly, a terminal device is provided, comprising: a communication module for initiating a random access procedure to a network device; wherein the random access procedure is initiated by the terminal device using a first frame structure, the first frame structure including periodically configured first resources and / or second resources, the first resources including a plurality of consecutive uplink time domain units, and the second resources including a plurality of consecutive downlink time domain units.

[0007] Fourthly, a network device is provided, comprising: a communication module for responding to a random access procedure initiated by a terminal device; wherein the random access procedure is responded to by the network device using a first frame structure, the first frame structure including periodically configured first resources and / or second resources, the first resources including a plurality of consecutive uplink time domain units, and the second resources including a plurality of consecutive downlink time domain units.

[0008] Fifthly, a terminal device is provided, including a processor, a memory, and a communication interface, wherein the memory is used to store one or more computer programs, and the processor is used to invoke the computer programs in the memory to cause the terminal device to perform some or all of the steps in the method of the first aspect.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, a network device is provided, including a processor, a memory, and a communication interface, wherein the memory is used to store one or more computer programs, and the processor is used to invoke the computer programs in the memory to cause the network device to perform some or all of the steps in the method of the second aspect.

[0010] Seventhly, embodiments of this application provide a communication system including the aforementioned terminal device and / or network device. In another possible design, the system may further include other devices that interact with the terminal device or network device as described in the embodiments of this application.

[0011] Eighthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that causes a computer to perform some or all of the steps in the methods described above.

[0012] Ninthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product, wherein the computer program product includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program operable to cause a computer to perform some or all of the steps of the methods described in the foregoing aspects. In some implementations, the computer program product may be a software installation package.

[0013] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a chip including a memory and a processor, the processor being able to call and run a computer program from the memory to implement some or all of the steps described in the methods of the foregoing aspects.

[0014] In this embodiment, the terminal device can initiate a random access procedure to the network device based on a first frame structure. The first frame structure includes a first resource and / or a second resource. The first resource includes multiple consecutive uplink time-domain units, and the second resource includes multiple consecutive downlink time-domain units. The first frame structure facilitates the coexistence of terminal device and low Earth orbit satellite services within the same frequency band. In other words, the terminal device's use of the first frame structure to communicate with the network facilitates the coexistence of terminal device and low Earth orbit satellite services within the same frequency band. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 is a system architecture example diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to embodiments of this application.

[0016] Figure 2 is an example diagram of the NTN network architecture with transparent forwarding.

[0017] Figure 3 is an example diagram of the NTN network architecture for regeneration and forwarding.

[0018] Figure 4 is an example diagram of the time division multiple access structure of the Iridium communication system.

[0019] Figure 5A is an example diagram of the duration of a symbol group in a narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH).

[0020] Figure 5B is another example diagram of the duration of a symbol group in NPRACH.

[0021] Figure 5C is another example of the duration of a symbol group in NPRACH.

[0022] Figure 6 is an example diagram of the first frame structure provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0023] Figure 7 is an example diagram of the first frame structure provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0024] Figure 8 is an example diagram of the first or second resource provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0025] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating the wireless communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0026] Figure 10 is an example diagram of NPRACH transmission provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0027] Figure 11 is an example diagram of NPRACH transmission provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0028] Figure 12 is an example diagram of NPRACH transmission provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0029] Figure 13 is an example diagram of a first search space provided by an embodiment of this application, which includes multiple discontinuous second resources.

[0030] Figure 14 is an example diagram of determining the start time of the first time window provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0031] Figure 15 is an example diagram of determining the time-domain start position of the narrowband physical uplink shared channel (NPUSCH) according to an embodiment of this application.

[0032] Figure 16 is an example diagram of NPUSCH transmission provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0033] Figure 17 is an example diagram of NPUSCH transmission provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0034] Figure 18 is an example diagram of determining the start time of the first timer provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0035] Figure 19 is an example diagram of the operation process of the first timer provided in this application in real time.

[0036] Figure 20 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the terminal device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0037] Figure 21 is a schematic diagram of the network device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0038] Figure 22 is a schematic structural diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0039] Communication system architecture

[0040] The technical solutions of this application embodiment can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) system, New Radio (NR) system, evolution of NR system, LTE-based access to unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) system, NTN system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), and Wireless Fidelity (WF). Fidelity (WiFi), 5th-generation (5G) communication systems or other communication systems, such as future communication systems, such as 6th-generation mobile communication systems, or satellite communication systems.

[0041] Traditional communication systems typically support a limited number of connections and are easy to implement. However, with the development of communication technology, mobile communication systems will not only support traditional communication but also, for example, device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication. The embodiments of this application can also be applied to these communication systems.

[0042] The communication system in this application embodiment can be applied to carrier aggregation (CA) scenarios, dual connectivity (DC) scenarios, and standalone (SA) network deployment scenarios.

[0043] The communication system in this application embodiment can be applied to unlicensed spectrum, which can also be considered as shared spectrum; or, the communication system in this application embodiment can also be applied to licensed spectrum, which can also be considered as dedicated spectrum.

[0044] The embodiments of this application can be applied to NTN systems as well as terrestrial network (TN) systems. By way of example and not limitation, NTN systems include NR-based NTN systems and Internet of Things (IoT)-based NTN systems. For example, in scenarios where narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) access NTN, the system composed of IoT terminal devices and the NTN network can be understood as an IoT-based NTN system.

[0045] This application describes various embodiments in conjunction with network devices and terminal devices. The terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user equipment, etc.

[0046] In the embodiments of this application, the terminal device may be a station (ST) in a WLAN, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a next-generation communication system such as an NR network, or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN) network, etc.

[0047] In the embodiments of this application, the terminal device can be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, and can be used to connect people, objects, and machines, such as handheld devices with wireless connectivity, in-vehicle devices, etc. The terminal device in the embodiments of this application can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, PDA, mobile internet device (MID), wearable device, virtual reality (VR) device, augmented reality (AR) device, wireless terminal in industrial control, wireless terminal in self-driving, wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal in smart grid, wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart city, wireless terminal in smart home, etc. Optionally, the terminal device can be used to act as a base station. For example, the terminal device can act as a scheduling entity, providing sidelink signals between terminal devices in V2X or D2D, etc. For example, cellular phones and cars communicate with each other using sidelink signals. Cellular phones and smart home devices can communicate without relaying communication signals through base stations.

[0048] The network device in this application embodiment can be a device for communicating with a terminal device. This network device can also be called an access network device or a wireless access network device, such as a base station. In this application embodiment, the network device can refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects the terminal device to the wireless network. A base station can broadly encompass, or be replaced by, various names including: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next-generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master MeNB, auxiliary SeNB, multi-mode radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, etc. A base station can be a macro base station, micro base station, relay node, donor node, or similar, or a combination thereof. A base station can also refer to a communication module, modem, or chip installed within the aforementioned equipment or apparatus. Base stations can also be mobile switching centers, devices that perform base station functions in D2D, V2X, and M2M communications, network-side devices in 6G networks, and devices that perform base station functions in future communication systems. Base stations can support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies or device forms used in the network equipment.

[0049] Base stations can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move depending on the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or drone can be configured as a device to communicate with another base station.

[0050] In some deployments, the network device in this application embodiment may refer to a CU or a DU, or the network device may include both a CU and a DU. The gNB may also include an AAU.

[0051] Network devices and terminal devices can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can also be deployed in the air on airplanes, balloons, and satellites. This application does not limit the scenario in which the network devices and terminal devices are located.

[0052] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of this application, the network device may have mobility characteristics; for example, the network device may be a mobile device. In some embodiments of this application, the network device may be a satellite or a balloon station. For example, the satellite may be a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite, etc. In some embodiments of this application, the network device may also be a base station located on land, water, or other similar locations.

[0053] In this embodiment, the network device can provide services to a cell. The terminal device communicates with the network device through the transmission resources (e.g., frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources) used by the cell. The cell can be the cell corresponding to the network device (e.g., a base station). The cell can belong to a macro base station or to a base station corresponding to a small cell. The small cell can include: metro cell, micro cell, pico cell, femto cell, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage area and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0054] For example, Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 may include a network device 110 and a terminal device 120. The network device 110 may be a device that communicates with the terminal device 120 (or a communication terminal, terminal). The network device 110 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area and may communicate with terminal devices located within that coverage area. For example, the network device may be a satellite.

[0055] Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary network device and two terminal devices. In some embodiments of this application, the communication system 100 may include multiple network devices and each network device may include other numbers of terminal devices within its coverage area. This application does not limit this aspect.

[0056] It should be noted that Figure 1 is only an example illustrating the system to which this application applies. Of course, the method shown in the embodiments of this application can also be applied to other systems, such as 5G communication systems, LTE communication systems, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this.

[0057] In some embodiments of this application, the wireless communication system shown in FIG1 may also include other network entities such as a mobility management entity (MME) and an access and mobility management function (AMF), but this application does not limit this.

[0058] As described above, the technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to NTN systems. For ease of understanding, some related technical knowledge (e.g., NTN network architecture) involved in the embodiments of this application will be introduced first. The following related technologies are optional solutions and can be arbitrarily combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, all of which fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of this application. The embodiments of this application include at least some of the following contents.

[0059] NTN

[0060] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is currently researching NTN technology. NTN typically uses satellite communication to provide communication services to terrestrial users. Compared to terrestrial communication networks (e.g., terrestrial cellular communication), satellite communication has many unique advantages.

[0061] First, satellite communication is not limited by the user's geographical location. For example, conventional terrestrial communication networks cannot cover areas such as oceans, mountains, and deserts where network equipment cannot be deployed. Alternatively, terrestrial communication networks cannot cover certain areas that are sparsely populated and therefore not covered. However, with satellite communication, since a single satellite can cover a large area of ​​the Earth, and satellites orbit the Earth, theoretically, every corner of the Earth can be covered by satellite communication networks.

[0062] Secondly, satellite communication has significant social value. It can reach remote mountainous areas and impoverished, underdeveloped countries or regions at a relatively low cost, enabling people in these areas to enjoy advanced voice communication and mobile internet technologies. From this perspective, satellite communication helps bridge the digital divide with developed regions and promotes development in these areas.

[0063] Secondly, satellite communication has a long range, and the communication cost does not increase significantly with the increase in communication distance.

[0064] Finally, satellite communication is highly stable and unaffected by natural disasters.

[0065] Communication satellites can be classified according to their orbital altitude, such as LEO satellites, MEO satellites, GEO satellites, and HEO satellites. Currently, research primarily focuses on LEO and GEO satellites.

[0066] LEO satellites typically operate at altitudes ranging from 500 km to 1500 km. Correspondingly, their orbital periods are approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. For LEO satellites, the signal propagation delay for single-hop communication between users is generally less than 20 ms. The maximum visible time for LEO satellites is approximately 20 minutes. LEO satellites offer advantages such as short signal propagation distances, low link loss, and low requirements for the transmission power of terminal equipment.

[0067] The GEO satellite orbits at an altitude of approximately 35,786 km. Its orbital period around the Earth is 24 hours. For GEO satellites, the signal propagation delay for single-hop communication between users is typically around 250 ms.

[0068] To ensure satellite coverage and enhance the overall capacity of the satellite communication system, satellites typically employ multi-beam coverage of ground areas. Therefore, a single satellite can generate dozens or even hundreds of beams to cover a ground area. One satellite beam can typically cover a ground area with a diameter of tens to hundreds of kilometers.

[0069] Currently, NTN systems can include NR NTN systems and IoT NTN systems.

[0070] NTN network architecture

[0071] The NTN network architecture can include the following network elements: gateway, feeder link, service link, and satellite.

[0072] An NTN network architecture may include one or more gateways, which can be used to connect satellite and terrestrial public networks.

[0073] A feeder link can refer to the communication link between a gateway and a satellite.

[0074] A service link can refer to the communication link between a terminal device and a satellite.

[0075] From the perspective of the functions provided by satellites, they can be divided into transparent payload satellites and regenerative payload satellites. Transparent payload satellites only provide radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification functions. In other words, transparent payload satellites only provide transparent signal forwarding without altering the waveform of the forwarded signal. Regenerative payload satellites, in addition to providing radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification functions, can also provide one or more of the following functions: demodulation, decoding, routing, conversion, encoding, modulation, etc. Regenerative payload satellites can have some or all of the functions of a base station. Based on the different functions provided by satellites in the NTN network, the NTN network architecture can be divided into transparent payload NTN network architecture and regenerative payload NTN network architecture. Figures 2 and 3 show example diagrams of transparent payload NTN network architecture and regenerative payload NTN network architecture, respectively.

[0076] In some embodiments, the NTN network architecture may also include inter-satellite links (ISLs). For example, inter-satellite links may exist in a regenerable forwarding NTN network architecture.

[0077] Iridium Satellite Communication System

[0078] The Iridium communication system can employ a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) architecture. Figure 4 illustrates the TDMA architecture of the Iridium communication system. As shown in Figure 4, the TDMA architecture of the Iridium communication system has a 90-millisecond (ms) period. Within a 90-ms period, the TDMA architecture includes time slots for simplex communication (i.e., simplex time slots), uplink time slots, and downlink time slots. Uplink time slots are used to schedule uplink transmissions. Uplink time slots include uplink time slot 1 to uplink time slot 4, and these four uplink time slots are consecutive in the time domain. Downlink time slots are used to perform downlink transmissions. Downlink time slots include downlink time slot 1 to downlink time slot 4, and these four downlink time slots are consecutive in the time domain. In the Iridium communication system, the duration of a time slot for simplex communication is 20.32 ms, and the duration of one uplink time slot and / or one downlink time slot is 8.28 ms.

[0079] Random access process in NB-IoT systems

[0080] In an NB-IoT system, the random access process involves four steps. These four steps are described below.

[0081] In step 1, the terminal device sends an NPRACH transmission to the network device.

[0082] In some embodiments, the NPRACH transmission may include one or more NPRACH repetitions, each NPRACH repetition comprising four symbol groups. These one or more NPRACH repetitions are transmitted consecutively in the time domain but not at the same frequency location. Each symbol group in the NPRACH transmission consists of a cyclic prefix (CP) and multiple symbols. The duration of a symbol group (including the duration of the CP and / or the duration of the symbols) is not fixed; for example, the duration of a symbol group depends on the NPRACH format. Figures 5A to 5C illustrate the durations of different symbol groups. In the example of Figure 5A, the NPRACH format is format 0, and the duration of a symbol group is 1.4 ms. In the example of Figure 5B, the NPRACH format is format 1, and the duration of a symbol group is 1.6 ms. In the example of Figure 5C, the NPRACH format is format 2, and the duration of a symbol group is 3.2 ms.

[0083] It should be noted that in Figures 5A to 5C, Tcp represents the duration of CP, and T_SEQ represents the duration of the symbol. It should also be noted that Ts in Figures 5A to 5C refers to the basic unit of time.

[0084] In some embodiments, the transmission period of NPRACH is configured by the network device, and each transmission period has a start time (or start position) for the terminal device to send NPRACH transmissions.

[0085] In step 2, the terminal device receives a random access response (RAR). The terminal device may receive the RAR after sending the NPRACH, where the RAR is a response to the NPRACH.

[0086] In some embodiments, the RAR includes an uplink grant, which can be used to further schedule the terminal device to perform NPUSCH transmissions. Once the terminal device receives the RAR, it can perform NPUSCH transmissions based on the uplink grant.

[0087] In step 3, the terminal device performs NPUSCH transmission according to the uplink authorization.

[0088] In step 4, the terminal device receives contention resolution information.

[0089] As can be seen from the description above, terminal devices (such as IoT devices) can communicate via NTN. In this scenario, how the terminal devices access the network is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0090] To address the aforementioned issues, this application proposes that a terminal device can initiate a random access procedure to a network device using a first-frame structure. The first-frame structure facilitates the coexistence of terminal device and low-Earth orbit satellite services (such as Iridium services) within the same frequency band. In other words, the terminal device's use of a first-frame structure to communicate with the network facilitates the coexistence of terminal device and low-Earth orbit satellite services within the same frequency band.

[0091] The structure of the first frame in this embodiment will be described below.

[0092] In this embodiment, the first frame structure includes periodically configured first resources and / or second resources. The first resource includes a plurality of consecutive uplink time-domain units. The second resource includes a plurality of consecutive downlink time-domain units.

[0093] For example, the first frame structure includes a periodically configured first resource, which comprises a plurality of consecutive uplink temporal units.

[0094] For example, the first frame structure includes a periodically configured second resource, which comprises a plurality of consecutive downlink temporal units.

[0095] For example, the first frame structure includes a periodically configured first resource and a second resource. The first resource includes multiple consecutive uplink time domain units, and the second resource includes multiple consecutive downlink time domain units.

[0096] This application does not limit the configuration period of the first resource and / or the second resource. As an example, the configuration period of the first resource and / or the second resource can be 90ms. As another example, the configuration period of the first resource and / or the second resource can be a multiple of 90ms (such as 180ms, 270ms, etc.).

[0097] In some embodiments, the configuration period for the first resource and the second resource can be the same. For example, the configuration period for both the first resource and the second resource can be 90ms. Another example is that the configuration period for both the first resource and the second resource can be 180ms.

[0098] In some embodiments, the configuration periods of the first resource and the second resource may be different. For example, the configuration period of the first resource may be 90ms, and the configuration period of the second resource may be 180ms. Or, for another example, the configuration period of the first resource may be 180ms, and the configuration period of the second resource may be 90ms.

[0099] In some embodiments, the configuration period of the first resource and / or the second resource may be the same as the period of the TDMA structure of the Iridium communication system. For example, the configuration period of the first resource and / or the second resource is 90ms, which is the same as the period of the TDMA structure of the Iridium communication system.

[0100] In some embodiments, the configuration period of the first resource and / or the second resource may differ from the period of the TDMA structure of the Iridium communication system. For example, the configuration period of the first resource and / or the second resource may be a multiple of the period of the TDMA structure of the Iridium communication system. As an example, the configuration period of the first resource and / or the second resource is 180 ms, and the period of the TDMA structure of the Iridium communication system is 90 ms. As another example, the configuration period of the first resource and / or the second resource is 270 ms, and the period of the TDMA structure of the Iridium communication system is 90 ms.

[0101] To facilitate understanding, several examples of the first frame structure are given below with reference to Figures 6 and 7. As shown in Figure 6, the first frame structure may include a periodically configured second resource. Of course, the second resource in the first frame structure shown in Figure 6 can also be replaced with the first resource, that is, the first frame structure may include a periodically configured first resource. As shown in Figure 7, the first frame structure may include a periodically configured first resource and a second resource.

[0102] In some embodiments, the first resource and the second resource can be time-division multiplexed on the network side (e.g., the satellite side). For example, similar to the TDMA architecture of Iridium, the uplink and downlink time slots in the Iridium communication system are time-division multiplexed on the network side (e.g., the satellite side), therefore, the first resource and the second resource can also be time-division multiplexed on the network side.

[0103] This application does not limit the plurality of consecutive uplink time-domain units included in the first resource. Exemplarily, the plurality of consecutive uplink time-domain units included in the first resource may include one or more of the following: subframes, time slots, and symbols. As an example, the plurality of consecutive uplink time-domain units included in the first resource may include a plurality of consecutive uplink subframes. As another example, the plurality of consecutive uplink time-domain units included in the first resource may include a plurality of consecutive uplink time slots.

[0104] This application does not limit the plurality of consecutive downlink time-domain units included in the second resource. Exemplarily, the plurality of consecutive downlink time-domain units included in the second resource may include one or more of the following: subframes, time slots, and symbols. As an example, the plurality of consecutive downlink time-domain units included in the second resource may include a plurality of consecutive downlink subframes. As another example, the plurality of consecutive downlink time-domain units included in the second resource may include a plurality of consecutive downlink time slots.

[0105] It should be noted that the time slots included in the first and / or second resources differ from the uplink or downlink time slots in the Iridium communication system. The duration of an uplink or downlink time slot in the Iridium communication system is 8.28 ms, while the duration of the time slots included in the first and / or second resources is related to the subcarrier spacing. For example, with a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, the duration of one time slot is 0.5 ms; with a subcarrier spacing of 30 kHz, the duration of one time slot is 0.25 ms; with a subcarrier spacing of 3.75 kHz, the duration of one time slot is 2 ms, and so on.

[0106] It should also be noted that the duration of a subframe contained in the first resource and / or the second resource is typically 1ms.

[0107] In some embodiments, the units of the plurality of consecutive uplink time-domain units included in the first resource are the same as the units of the plurality of consecutive downlink time-domain units included in the second resource. For example, the first resource includes a plurality of consecutive uplink subframes, and the second resource includes a plurality of consecutive downlink subframes.

[0108] In some embodiments, the number of consecutive uplink time domain units included in the first resource is the same as the number of consecutive downlink time domain units included in the second resource. For example, the first resource includes 8 consecutive uplink time domain units, and the second resource includes 8 consecutive downlink time domain units.

[0109] In some embodiments, the number of consecutive uplink time domain units included in the first resource differs from the number of consecutive downlink time domain units included in the second resource. For example, the first resource includes eight consecutive uplink time domain units, and the second resource includes six consecutive downlink time domain units.

[0110] In some embodiments, the first resource can be defined as one or more time-domain units within an uplink timeslot in an Iridium communication system. For example, the first resource can be defined as multiple uplink subframes within an uplink timeslot in an Iridium communication system.

[0111] In some embodiments, the second resource can be defined as one or more time-domain units within a downlink time slot in an Iridium communication system. For example, the second resource can be defined as multiple downlink subframes within a downlink time slot in an Iridium communication system.

[0112] In some embodiments, since an uplink subframe included in the first resource typically corresponds to a duration of 1 ms, the maximum number of uplink subframes included in the first resource can be 8 when it is to be included in one uplink time slot of the Iridium satellite. As shown in FIG8, the first resource can include 8 uplink subframes, or the first resource can include 7 uplink subframes. However, the embodiments of this application do not limit the first resource to be included in one uplink time slot of the Iridium satellite. For example, the first resource can be included in 2 or 3 uplink time slots of the Iridium satellite, in which case the maximum number of uplink subframes included in the first resource can be 16 or 24.

[0113] In some embodiments, since a downlink subframe included in the second resource typically corresponds to a duration of 1 ms, the maximum number of downlink subframes included in the second resource can be 8 when it is to be included in one downlink time slot of the Iridium satellite. As shown in Figure 8, the second resource can include 8 downlink subframes, or it can include 7 downlink subframes. However, the embodiments of this application do not limit the second resource to being included in one downlink time slot of the Iridium satellite. For example, the second resource can be included in 2 or 3 downlink time slots of the Iridium satellite, in which case the maximum number of downlink subframes included in the second resource can be 16 or 24.

[0114] In some embodiments, the multiple consecutive uplink time-domain resources included in the first resource can be understood as, or referred to as, the multiple IoT NTN uplink time-domain resources included in the first resource (such as multiple IoT NTN uplink subframes). Similarly, the multiple consecutive downlink time-domain resources included in the second resource can be understood as, or referred to as, the multiple IoT NTN downlink time-domain resources included in the second resource (such as multiple IoT NTN downlink subframes).

[0115] The structure of the first frame has been described above. The method embodiments of this application will be described below.

[0116] In some embodiments, the technical solutions of this application can be applied to NTN systems. For example, the technical solutions of this application can be applied to IoT NTN systems (such as NB-IoT NTN systems).

[0117] In some embodiments, the technical solution of this application can be applied to NTN TDD systems. For example, the technical solution of this application can be applied to IoT NTN TDD systems.

[0118] Figure 9 is a schematic flowchart of a wireless communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method shown in Figure 9 is described from the perspective of interaction between a terminal device and a network device. The terminal device and network device can be the terminal device and network device shown in Figures 1 to 3. The method shown in Figure 9 may include step S910, which will be described below.

[0119] In step S910, the terminal device initiates a random access procedure to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device responds to the random access procedure initiated by the terminal device.

[0120] In this embodiment, the random access procedure is initiated by the terminal device using a first frame structure. A description of the first frame structure can be found above and will not be repeated here.

[0121] In some embodiments, the random access procedure is performed on a first frequency band. This first frequency band is used by the terminal device to perform NTN TDD transmissions. That is, the random access procedure is performed within an NTN TDD system (such as an IoT NTN TDD system).

[0122] In some embodiments, the first frequency band can also be used for LEO satellite communication. For example, the first frequency band can be used for both NTN TDD transmission and LEO satellite communication. That is, the technical solutions of this application embodiment can be applied to scenarios where NTN TDD systems and LEO systems coexist. For example, the technical solutions of this application embodiment can be applied to scenarios where NTN TDD systems and Iridium communication systems coexist.

[0123] Taking the technical solution of this application embodiment as an example of a scenario where an IoT NTN TDD system and an Iridium communication system coexist, if the IoT NTN TDD system is to be deployed in the frequency band where the Iridium communication system is located, the IoT NTN TDD system can only perform downlink transmission in the downlink time slots of the Iridium communication system and uplink transmission in the uplink time slots of the Iridium communication system. In this case, based on the first frame structure of this application embodiment, the IoT NTN TDD system can achieve downlink transmission in the downlink time slots of the Iridium communication system and uplink transmission in the uplink time slots of the Iridium communication system.

[0124] This application does not limit the first frequency band, as long as it is used for NTN TDD transmission. Taking the use of the first frequency band for NTN TDD transmission and LEO satellite communication as an example, the first frequency band can include a frequency of approximately 1.6 GHz. For example, the first frequency band can include a frequency of 1.6 GHz. Or, for another example, the first frequency band can include a frequency of 1.62 GHz.

[0125] In some embodiments, the random access procedure initiated by the terminal device to the network device may include one or more of the following: the terminal device sends NPRACH to the network device (i.e., the network device receives NPRACH), the terminal device receives RAR sent by the network device (i.e., the network device sends RAR), the terminal device sends NPUSCH to the network device (i.e., the network device receives NPUSCH), and the terminal device receives contention resolution information sent by the network device (i.e., the network device sends contention resolution information).

[0126] In some embodiments, a random access procedure initiated by a terminal device to a network device may include one of the above-described procedures. As an example, initiating a random access procedure by a terminal device to a network device may include: the terminal device sending an NPRACH to the network device. As another example, initiating a random access procedure by a terminal device to a network device may include: the terminal device receiving a RAR sent by the network device. As yet another example, initiating a random access procedure by a terminal device to a network device may include: the terminal device sending an NPUSCH to the network device. As yet another example, initiating a random access procedure by a terminal device to a network device may include: the terminal device receiving contention resolution information sent by the network device.

[0127] In some embodiments, a random access procedure initiated by a terminal device to a network device may include multiple steps described above. As an example, initiating a random access procedure by a terminal device to a network device may include: the terminal device sending an NPRACH to the network device, and the terminal device receiving a RAR sent by the network device. As yet another example, initiating a random access procedure by a terminal device to a network device may include: the terminal device sending an NPUSCH to the network device, and the terminal device receiving contention resolution information sent by the network device. As yet another example, initiating a random access procedure by a terminal device to a network device may include: the terminal device sending an NPRACH to the network device, the terminal device receiving a RAR sent by the network device, the terminal device sending an NPUSCH to the network device, and the terminal device receiving contention resolution information sent by the network device.

[0128] The following describes the random access process initiated by the terminal device, using different embodiments.

[0129] Example 1: NPRACH transmission

[0130] In other words, in some embodiments, the process by which a terminal device initiates a random access procedure to a network device may include: the terminal device sending an NPRACH to the network device.

[0131] In some embodiments, the NPRACH sent by the terminal device to the network device can be transmitted on multiple discontinuous first resources. For example, when the NPRACH to be sent cannot be carried on a single first resource, the terminal device can transmit the NPRACH to be sent on multiple discontinuous first resources. That is, when the NPRACH transmission cannot be carried on a single first resource, the NPRACH transmission can be transmitted on different first resources.

[0132] In some embodiments, each of the plurality of discontinuous first resources contains one or more symbol groups of NPRACH. That is, each of the plurality of discontinuous first resources contains a partial symbol group of NPRACH.

[0133] In some embodiments, the one or more symbol groups of the NPRACH contained in each first resource are different. For example, if the NPRACH consists of one NPRACH repetition, each first resource contains one or more symbol groups from that NPRACH repetition. If the NPRACH consists of multiple NPRACH repetitions (e.g., 2 or 4 times), each first resource may contain one NPRACH repetition.

[0134] In some embodiments, a portion of the symbol groups in one or more symbol groups of the NPRACH contained in each first resource are identical. NPRACH may include multiple NPRACH repetitions (e.g., 2 or 4 times), and each first resource may contain one NPRACH repetition and a portion of the symbol groups within that NPRACH repetition.

[0135] In some embodiments, the plurality of discontinuous first resources may be located in different periods. For example, the plurality of discontinuous first resources may include first resources located in a first period and first resources located in a second period.

[0136] In some embodiments, NPRACH is transmitted on multiple discontinuous first resources, including: if the first NPRACH unit transmission contained in the NPRACH cannot be carried on the first resource within the first period, then the first NPRACH unit transmission is transmitted on the first resource in the next period of the first period. That is, if the first NPRACH unit transmission contained in the NPRACH cannot be carried on the first resource within the first period, then the first NPRACH unit transmission and the NPRACH unit transmission following the first NPRACH unit transmission are transmitted on other resources following the first resource of the first period.

[0137] In some embodiments, the first NPRACH unit transmission may include an NPRACH symbol group. That is, NPRACH transmissions can be split across multiple discontinuous first resources at the granularity of symbol groups. As shown in Figure 10, when a symbol group cannot be carried on a first resource within a first cycle, that symbol group and subsequent symbol groups will be delayed (or postponed) to be transmitted on the next first resource.

[0138] In some embodiments, a first NPRACH unit transmission may include multiple NPRACH symbol groups. That is, the NPRACH transmission can be split across multiple discontinuous first resources at a granularity of multiple symbol groups. For example, a first NPRACH unit transmission may include two NPRACH symbol groups. Another example is that a first NPRACH unit transmission may include four symbol groups.

[0139] In some embodiments, the first NPRACH unit transmission, comprising multiple NPRACH symbol groups, may include an NPRACH repetition. That is, the NPRACH transmission can be split across multiple discontinuous first resources at the granularity of a single NPRACH repetition. As shown in Figure 11, when an NPRACH repetition cannot be carried on a first resource within a first period, that NPRACH repetition and subsequent NPRACH repetitions will be delayed (or postponed) to be transmitted on the next first resource. Splitting the NPRACH transmission across multiple discontinuous first resources at the granularity of a single NPRACH repetition helps ensure that the entire repetition is transmitted on the first resource within the same period, thereby simplifying the receiver design for detecting NPRACH transmissions.

[0140] In some embodiments, a single NPRACH repetition may include four symbol groups. However, the embodiments of this application are not limited to this; for example, a single NPRACH repetition in a future communication system may include eight symbol groups, etc.

[0141] In some embodiments, the NPRACH sent by the terminal device to the network device is formed by the terminal device deleting symbol groups located outside the first resource from the NPRACH to be sent. For example, when the NPRACH to be sent cannot be carried on a first resource, the terminal device can delete the symbol groups located outside the first resource from the NPRACH to be sent and then send the deleted NPRACH to the network device. That is, when NPRACH transmission cannot be carried on a first resource, the terminal device can simply delete the symbol groups located outside the first resource.

[0142] In some embodiments, after the terminal device deletes symbol groups outside the first resource from the NPRACH to be sent, the resulting NPRACH can be located within a first resource. That is, after the terminal device deletes symbol groups outside the first resource from the NPRACH to be sent, the NPRACH sent to the network device is located within a first resource. As shown in Figure 12, if the NPRACH includes four symbol groups, and the third and fourth symbol groups cannot be carried within the first resource, the terminal device can delete the third and fourth symbol groups and send the resulting NPRACH to the network device. This NPRACH is located within a first resource.

[0143] In some embodiments, after the terminal device deletes symbol groups located outside the first resources in the NPRACH to be transmitted, the resulting NPRACH may be located within multiple discontinuous first resources. That is, after the terminal device deletes symbol groups located outside the first resources in the NPRACH to be transmitted, the NPRACH sent to the network device is located within multiple discontinuous first resources. For example, assuming that the duration of the multiple symbol groups contained in the NPRACH to be transmitted itself occupies two discontinuous first resources (i.e., first resources located within two periods), the terminal device can delete the symbol groups located outside these two discontinuous first resources and send the resulting NPRACH to the network device, which is located within the two discontinuous first resources.

[0144] In some embodiments, the terminal device may delete symbol groups located outside the first resource in the NPRACH to be transmitted at a granularity of one symbol group. That is, when a symbol group cannot be carried on the first resource in the first cycle, the symbol group will be deleted.

[0145] In some embodiments, the terminal device may delete symbol groups located outside the first resource in the NPRACH to be transmitted at a granularity of multiple symbol groups (such as one NPRACH repetition). This method of deleting symbol groups located outside the first resource in the NPRACH to be transmitted at the granularity of one NPRACH repetition means that if an NPRACH repetition cannot be carried on the first resource within the first cycle, that NPRACH repetition will be deleted.

[0146] In some embodiments, the transmission duration of the NPRACH described above may be less than or equal to the first duration. For example, when the NPRACH is transmitted on multiple non-contiguous first resources, the total transmission duration of the NPRACH is less than or equal to the first duration. In this way, the total transmission delay of the NPRACH will not be too long.

[0147] In some embodiments, if the first NPRACH unit transmission contained in the NPRACH is not within the first duration, the terminal device may delete the first NPRACH unit transmission. For a detailed description of the first NPRACH unit transmission, please refer to the above text; it will not be repeated here.

[0148] This application does not limit the configuration method of the first duration in its embodiments. In some embodiments, the value of the first duration may be predefined or preconfigured, such as that predefined by the protocol. In some embodiments, the value of the first duration may be configured by the network device.

[0149] In some embodiments, the starting point of the first duration can be the starting point of NPRACH.

[0150] This application does not limit the first duration in its embodiments. In some embodiments, the first duration can be defined as the duration from the start of NPRACH to the end of the current hyperframe number (H-SFN). In some embodiments, the first duration can be defined as a fixed value, such as 10ms, 2 subframes, 20 time slots, etc. That is, the first duration can be defined as a duration such as 10ms starting from the start of NPRACH.

[0151] Example 2: Detecting RAR

[0152] In other words, in some embodiments, the process by which a terminal device initiates a random access procedure to a network device may include: the terminal device detecting the RAR sent by the network device.

[0153] In some embodiments, the terminal device can detect the RAR sent by the network device in the first search space.

[0154] In some embodiments, the first search space can be a common search space (CSS). For example, the first search space can be a Type 2 physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) CSS.

[0155] In some embodiments, the first search space may include multiple time-domain units (e.g., multiple downlink time-domain units). For example, the first search space may include multiple consecutive downlink time-domain units. As another example, the first search space may include multiple discontinuous downlink time-domain units.

[0156] In some embodiments, if the number of time-domain units contained in the first search space is less than or equal to the number of downlink time-domain units contained in a second resource, then the first search space may be contained within a second resource. However, the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto. For example, if the number of time-domain units contained in the first search space is equal to or close to the number of downlink time-domain units contained in a second resource, then the first search space may be contained within multiple discontinuous second resources. This is because some time-domain units in a second resource may not be usable to carry the first search space.

[0157] In some embodiments, if the number of time-domain units contained in the first search space is greater than the number of downlink time-domain units contained in a second resource, the first search space may include multiple discontinuous second resources. That is, when the number of time-domain units contained in the first search space is large, the first search space may not be fully contained within a single second resource. In this case, the first search space can be contained within multiple discontinuous second resources.

[0158] In some embodiments, each of the plurality of discontinuous second resources may contain a portion of the temporal domain unit of the first search space.

[0159] In some embodiments, the temporal units of the first search space included in each second resource are different. Taking a first search space including 16 temporal units as an example, each second resource may include a portion of the 16 temporal units, and the temporal units included in each second resource are different.

[0160] In some embodiments, the plurality of discontinuous second resources may be located in different periods. For example, the plurality of discontinuous second resources may include second resources located in a first period and second resources located in a second period.

[0161] In some embodiments, a portion of the downlink time-domain units in the plurality of discontinuous second resources may be used to carry the first search space. For example, the plurality of discontinuous second resources may include a first downlink time-domain unit and a second downlink time-domain unit. The first downlink time-domain unit is used to carry the first search space. The second downlink time-domain unit is not used to carry the first search space. In some embodiments, the second downlink time-domain unit is used to carry system information and / or synchronization signals. In some embodiments, the second downlink time-domain unit may not be used for transmission (or, in other words, not for carrying information). For example, the second downlink time-domain unit may be used for guard band, and it is not used for transmission. That is, not all downlink time-domain units in the plurality of discontinuous second resources can be used to carry the first search space. For example, downlink time-domain units used to carry system information and / or synchronization signals cannot be used to carry the first search space, and downlink time-domain units used for guard band cannot be used to carry the first search space.

[0162] This application does not limit the starting position of the first search space in its embodiments. In some embodiments, the starting position of the first search space is configured by the network device. In some embodiments, the starting position of the first search space is predefined or preconfigured.

[0163] In some embodiments, the starting position of the first search space may be located within the first of the plurality of discontinuous second resources. For example, the starting position of the first search space may be located at the Kth downlink time domain unit in the first of the plurality of discontinuous second resources, where K is a positive integer. In some embodiments, K is less than or equal to the number of downlink time domain units contained in a second resource.

[0164] In some embodiments, the first search space may begin from the starting position of the first search space and be carried within one or more second resources.

[0165] For ease of understanding, the following section, in conjunction with Figure 13, provides an example of a first search space comprising multiple discontinuous second resources.

[0166] As shown in Figure 13, assume a second resource contains 8 downlink time-domain units (TDUs), and a first search space contains 16 TDUs. Furthermore, assume the starting position of the first search space configured by the network device is determined from downlink time-domain unit n. As can be seen from Figure 13, the terminal device determines m TDUs of the first second resource to carry the first search space (i.e., m TDUs of the first second resource are time-domain units of the first search space). The criterion for determining the value of m is that the time-domain unit is not used to carry system information and / or downlink synchronization signals (such as narrowband primary synchronization signals, narrowband secondary synchronization signals). In the example of Figure 13, m is determined to be 5. Then, for the remaining 11 (16-m) TDUs of the first search space, the terminal device will continue to determine q TDUs in a subsequent second resource using the same criteria. In the example of Figure 13, q is determined to be 6. For the remaining 5 (16-mq) time-domain units in the first search space, the terminal device will continue to determine t time-domain units in the subsequent second resource until the 16 time-domain units contained in the first search space are determined.

[0167] In some embodiments, if the number of time domain units contained in the first search space is greater than the number of downlink time domain units contained in a second resource, then the time domain units in the first search space that are located outside the second resource are invalidated or punctured. In this way, the terminal device will not detect the PDCCH in the invalidated time domain units. This approach is simpler to implement, but it reduces the scope of the first search space, leading to more constraints on network scheduling.

[0168] In some embodiments, the duration of the first search space may be less than or equal to the second duration. For example, if the first search space hosts multiple non-contiguous second resources, the total duration of the first search space may be less than or equal to the second duration. In this way, the total duration of the first search space will not be too long.

[0169] In some embodiments, when a portion of the temporal domain units in the first search space are in the second resource but not within the second duration, the terminal device may not search within the portion of the temporal domain units in the first search space that are not within the second duration. That is, the terminal device may not detect the portion of the temporal domain units in the first search space that are not within the second duration.

[0170] This application does not limit the configuration method of the second duration. In some embodiments, the value of the second duration may be predefined or preconfigured, such as that predefined by the protocol. In some embodiments, the value of the second duration may be configured by the network device.

[0171] This application does not limit the second duration in its embodiments. In some embodiments, the second duration can be defined as the duration from the start position of the first search space to the end of the current H-SFN. In some embodiments, the second duration can be defined as a fixed value, such as 10ms, 2 subframes, 20 time slots, etc. That is, the second duration can be defined as a duration such as 10ms starting from the start position of the first search space.

[0172] In some embodiments, the terminal device can detect the aforementioned RAR within a first time window. That is, after sending NPRACH, the terminal device needs to receive the RAR within a first time window. Therefore, in some embodiments, the terminal device needs to determine a first time window to detect the RAR within that first time window. In some embodiments, the first time window may also be referred to as or understood as the RAR time window.

[0173] In some embodiments, the start time of the first time window is determined by the terminal device based on a first reference time. As one implementation, if the first reference time is within the second resource, then the start time of the first time window is the first reference time; and / or, if the first reference time is outside the second resource, then the start time of the first time window is within the second resource after the first reference time.

[0174] This application does not limit which time domain unit within the second resource the start time of the first time window is located after the first reference time. For example, the start time of the first time window can be the start time of the second resource located after the first reference time, that is, the start time of the first time window can be the start point of the first time domain unit of the second resource after the first reference time. As another example, the start time of the first time window can be the start point of the second time domain unit of the second resource after the first reference time.

[0175] The embodiments of this application do not limit the first reference time. Exemplarily, the first reference time may be related to one or more of the following (or, the first reference time may be determined based on one or more of the following): round-trip time (RTT) between the terminal device and the network device, and the end time of NPRACH transmission.

[0176] As an example, the first reference time can be related to the RTT between the terminal device and the network device.

[0177] As another example, the first reference time can be related to the end time of NPRACH transmission.

[0178] As yet another example, the first reference time can be related to the end time of the RTT and NPRACH transmission between the terminal device and the network device.

[0179] In some embodiments, the end time of NPRACH transmission may include the time domain units occupied by the last NPRACH symbol group (or symbol).

[0180] As one implementation, referring to Figure 14, the first reference time can be equal to the NPRACH transmission end time delayed by X time-domain units, plus the RTT between the terminal device and the network device. For example, the first reference time can be equal to the NPRACH transmission end time delayed by X subframes, plus the RTT between the terminal device and the network device. In this case, if the calculated first reference time is within the second resource, the terminal device determines the start time of the first time window as the first reference time. If the calculated first reference time is outside the second resource, the terminal device determines the start time of the first time window is within the second resource after the first reference time.

[0181] Example 3: NPUSCH Transmission

[0182] In other words, in some embodiments, the process by which a terminal device initiates a random access procedure to a network device may include: the terminal device sending an NPUSCH to the network device.

[0183] In some embodiments, after receiving a RAR sent by a network device, the terminal device can send an NPUSCH to the network device based on the RAR.

[0184] In some embodiments, the RAR sent by the network device includes an uplink grant, which can be used to schedule NPUSCH transmissions. In this way, the terminal device can send NPUSCH to the network device based on the scheduling of the uplink grant.

[0185] In some embodiments, the terminal device can determine the time-domain start position for transmitting NPUSCH based on the RAR. Alternatively, the terminal device can determine the time-domain start position for transmitting NPUSCH based on the uplink grant in the RAR.

[0186] In some embodiments, if the time-domain start position for transmitting the NPUSCH determined by the terminal device according to the RAR is located within the first resource, then the NPUSCH is transmitted at the time-domain start position for transmitting the NPUSCH determined according to the RAR. That is, if the time-domain start position for transmitting the NPUSCH determined by the terminal device according to the RAR is located within the first resource, the terminal device may start transmitting the NPUSCH at that time-domain start position.

[0187] In some embodiments, if the time-domain start position for transmitting the NPUSCH determined by the terminal device according to the RAR is outside the first resource, then the NPUSCH is transmitted on the first resource after the time-domain start position for transmitting the NPUSCH determined by the RAR. That is, if the time-domain start position for transmitting the NPUSCH determined by the terminal device according to the RAR is outside the first resource, the terminal device may postpone transmitting the NPUSCH until the next available time-domain unit on the next first resource. For example, if the time-domain start position for transmitting the NPUSCH determined by the terminal device according to the RAR is outside the first resource, the terminal device may postpone transmitting the NPUSCH until the first available time-domain unit on the next first resource.

[0188] In some embodiments, determining the time-domain start position of NPUSCH transmission based on RAR means determining the time-domain start position of NPUSCH transmission based on one or more of the following: the end position of RAR transmission, a first parameter, and a second parameter.

[0189] In some embodiments, the end position of RAR transmission may include the time domain unit occupied by the last RAR symbol.

[0190] The first parameter described above can be used to indicate the number of time slots between the end of the PDCCH and the start of the NPUSCH. For example, the first parameter can be K0. In some embodiments, the first parameter is configured by the network device. For example, the first parameter is indicated by the network device in a RAR (such as an uplink grant).

[0191] The second parameter mentioned above can be an offset used to adjust the time-domain start position of the NPUSCH. For example, the second parameter can be K. Offset The second parameter typically has a small value and is used to fine-tune the time-domain start position of the NPUSCH. In some embodiments, the second parameter may be obtained by the terminal device from system information.

[0192] As shown in Figure 15, the time-domain start position for NPUSCH transmission determined by the RAR can be equal to the RAR transmission end position plus the values ​​of the first and second parameters. In this case, if the calculated time-domain start position for NPUSCH transmission is within the first resource, the terminal device starts transmitting NPUSCH at the time-domain start position determined by the RAR. If the calculated time-domain start position for NPUSCH transmission is outside the first resource, the terminal device postpones transmission until the first available time-domain unit on the next first resource.

[0193] In some embodiments, the NPUSCH described above can be transmitted on multiple discontinuous first resources. For example, when the NPUSCH to be transmitted cannot be carried on a single first resource, the terminal device can transmit the NPUSCH to be transmitted on multiple discontinuous first resources. That is, when NPUSCH transmission cannot be carried on a single first resource, NPUSCH transmission can be transmitted on different first resources.

[0194] In some embodiments, each of the plurality of discontinuous first resources contains partial information of NPUSCH.

[0195] In some embodiments, the NPUSCH information contained in each first resource is different.

[0196] In some embodiments, the plurality of discontinuous first resources may be located in different periods. For example, the plurality of discontinuous first resources may include first resources located in a first period and first resources located in a second period.

[0197] In some embodiments, NPUSCH is transmitted on multiple discontinuous first resources, including: if a first time unit of NPUSCH cannot be carried on a first resource within a first period, then the first time unit of NPUSCH is delayed to be transmitted on a first resource in the next period of the first period. That is, if the first time unit contained in NPUSCH cannot be carried on a first resource within a first period, then the first time unit and the time units of NPUSCH located after the first time unit are transmitted on other resources located after the first resource in the first period.

[0198] In some embodiments, the first time unit may include one or more uplink time slots. That is, NPUSCH transmissions can be split across multiple discontinuous first resources at the time slot granularity.

[0199] As an example, the first time unit may include one uplink slot. In this case, if an uplink slot cannot be carried on the first resource within the first period, then that uplink slot is delayed to be transmitted on the first resource in the next period. As shown in Figure 16, assuming the duration of the NPUSCH transmission is 5 uplink slots and a first resource contains 4 uplink slots, in this case, the last uplink slot of the NPUSCH transmission cannot be included in the first resource. Therefore, the last uplink slot of the NPUSCH transmission will be delayed to be transmitted on the next first resource.

[0200] As another example, the first time unit may include an even number of uplink slots (e.g., 2 or 4 uplink slots). In this case, if the first time unit cannot be carried on the first resource within the first period, it will be delayed for transmission on the first resource in the next period. As shown in Figure 17, assuming the duration of the NPUSCH transmission is 2 pairs of uplink slots (i.e., 4 uplink slots, where the first and second uplink slots are paired, and the third and fourth uplink slots are paired), and a first resource contains 1 pair (i.e., 2) of uplink slots, the second pair of uplink slots for the NPUSCH transmission (i.e., the third and fourth uplink slots) cannot be included in this first resource. Therefore, the second pair of uplink slots for the NPUSCH transmission will be delayed for transmission on the next first resource.

[0201] In some embodiments, the duration of the uplink slot included in the first time unit is related to the subcarrier spacing. Alternatively, the duration of the uplink slot included in the first time unit is determined based on the subcarrier spacing. For example, when the subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz, the duration of one uplink slot is 0.5 ms; in this case, one uplink subframe may include two uplink slots. As another example, when the subcarrier spacing is 3.75 kHz, the duration of one uplink slot is 2 ms; in this case, one uplink slot may occupy two uplink subframes.

[0202] In some embodiments, the transmission duration of the NPUSCH described above may be less than or equal to the third duration. For example, when the NPUSCH is transmitted on multiple non-contiguous first resources, the total transmission duration of the NPUSCH is less than or equal to the third duration. In this way, the total transmission delay of the NPUSCH will not be too long.

[0203] In some embodiments, if the first time unit of NPUSCH is not within the third time duration, the terminal device may not send the first time unit of NPUSCH. For a detailed explanation of the first time unit, please refer to the above text; it will not be repeated here.

[0204] This application does not limit the configuration method of the third duration. In some embodiments, the value of the third duration can be predefined or preconfigured, such as that predefined by the protocol. In some embodiments, the value of the third duration can be configured by the network device.

[0205] In some embodiments, the starting point of the third duration can be the starting point of NPUSCH.

[0206] This application does not limit the third duration in its embodiments. In some embodiments, the third duration can be defined as the duration between the start of the NPUSCH and the end of the current H-SFN. In some embodiments, the third duration can be defined as a fixed value, such as 10ms, 2 subframes, 20 time slots, etc. That is, the third duration can be defined as a duration such as 10ms starting from the start of the NPUSCH.

[0207] Example 4: Receiving Race Resolution Information

[0208] In other words, in some embodiments, the process by which a terminal device initiates a random access procedure to a network device may include: the terminal device receiving contention resolution information sent by the network device.

[0209] In some embodiments, after the terminal device sends NPUSCH to the network device, the terminal device can detect contention resolution information sent by the network device within the start time of a first timer. That is, after the terminal device sends NPUSCH to the network device, it needs to start a first timer so that it can detect contention resolution information sent by the network device within the start time of the first timer.

[0210] In some embodiments, the first timer can be used for contention resolution during random access procedures. Therefore, the first timer can also be called or understood as a contention resolution timer.

[0211] In some embodiments, the start time of the first timer is determined by the terminal device based on a second reference time. As one implementation, if the second reference time is within the second resource, the start time of the first timer is the second reference time; and / or, if the second reference time is outside the second resource, the start time of the first timer is within the second resource after the second reference time.

[0212] This application does not limit which time domain unit within the second resource the start time of the first timer is located after the second reference time. For example, the start time of the first timer can be the start time of the second resource located after the second reference time, that is, the start time of the first timer can be located at the beginning of the first time domain unit of the second resource after the second reference time. As another example, the start time of the first timer can be located at the beginning of the second time domain unit of the second resource after the second reference time.

[0213] This application does not limit the second reference time in its embodiments. Exemplarily, the second reference time may be related to one or more of the following (or, the second reference time may be determined based on one or more of the following): the RTT between the terminal device and the network device, and the end time of NPUSCH transmission.

[0214] As an example, the second reference time can be related to the RTT between the terminal device and the network device.

[0215] As another example, the second reference time can be related to the end time of NPUSCH transmission.

[0216] As yet another example, the second reference time can be related to the end time of the transmission of RTT and NPUSCH between the terminal device and the network device.

[0217] In some embodiments, the end time of NPUSCH transmission may include the time domain unit occupied by the last NPUSCH (such as the last repetition of NPUSCH).

[0218] As one implementation, referring to Figure 18, the second reference time can be equal to the NPUSCH transmission end time plus the RTT between the terminal device and the network device. In this case, if the calculated second reference time is within the second resource, the terminal device determines the start time of the first timer as the second reference time. If the calculated second reference time is outside the second resource, the terminal device determines that the start time of the first timer is within the second resource after the second reference time.

[0219] In some embodiments, the first timer can run within the second resource and be paused outside the second resource. As shown in Figure 19, after the first timer is started, it can run within the second resource (as shown in the following subframe) and be paused outside the second resource.

[0220] The method embodiments of this application have been described in detail above with reference to Figures 1 to 19. The apparatus embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 20 to 22. It should be understood that the descriptions of the method embodiments correspond to the descriptions of the apparatus embodiments; therefore, any parts not described in detail can be referred to the preceding method embodiments.

[0221] Figure 20 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of this application. The terminal device 2000 shown in Figure 20 includes a communication module 2010. The communication module 2010 can be used to initiate a random access procedure to a network device. The random access procedure is initiated by the terminal device using a first frame structure, the first frame structure including periodically configured first resources and / or second resources, the first resources including multiple consecutive uplink time-domain units, and the second resources including multiple consecutive downlink time-domain units.

[0222] In some embodiments, the communication module 2010 is configured to: send an NPRACH to the network device; wherein the NPRACH is transmitted on multiple non-contiguous first resources; or, the NPRACH is formed by the terminal device after deleting symbol groups located outside the first resources from the NPRACH to be sent.

[0223] In some embodiments, each of the plurality of discontinuous first resources contains one or more symbol groups of the NPRACH.

[0224] In some embodiments, the NPRACH is transmitted on multiple discontinuous first resources, including: if the first NPRACH unit transmission contained in the NPRACH cannot be carried on the first resource within the first period, then the first NPRACH unit transmission is transmitted on the first resource in the next period of the first period.

[0225] In some embodiments, the first NPRACH unit transmission includes an NPRACH symbol group or an NPRACH repetition.

[0226] In some embodiments, the transmission duration of the NPRACH is less than or equal to a first duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device, and the starting point of the first duration is the starting point of the NPRACH.

[0227] In some embodiments, the first duration is the duration between the start of the NPRACH and the end of the current H-SFN.

[0228] In some embodiments, the terminal device further includes: a first processing module 2020, configured to delete the first NPRACH unit transmission when the first NPRACH unit transmission contained in the NPRACH is not within the first duration.

[0229] In some embodiments, the first resource is configured periodically, and the plurality of discontinuous first resources are located in different periods.

[0230] In some embodiments, the communication module 2010 is configured to: detect RARs sent by the network device in a first search space; wherein, if the number of time domain units contained in the first search space is greater than the number of downlink time domain units contained in a second resource, then the first search space includes a plurality of discontinuous second resources; or, if the number of time domain units contained in the first search space is greater than the number of downlink time domain units contained in a second resource, then time domain units located outside the second resources in the time domain units contained in the first search space are invalid.

[0231] In some embodiments, each of the plurality of discontinuous second resources includes a portion of the temporal domain unit of the first search space.

[0232] In some embodiments, the plurality of discontinuous second resources include a first downlink time domain unit and a second downlink time domain unit, wherein the first downlink time domain unit is used to carry the first search space, and the second downlink time domain unit is used to carry system information and / or synchronization signals, or the second downlink time domain unit is not used for transmission.

[0233] In some embodiments, the starting position of the first search space is located in the Kth downlink time domain unit of the first of the plurality of discontinuous second resources, where K is a positive integer.

[0234] In some embodiments, the duration of the first search space is less than or equal to a second duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device.

[0235] In some embodiments, the terminal device further includes: a second processing module, configured to search within the portion of time domain units in the first search space that are in the second resource but not within the second duration when a portion of the time domain units in the first search space are in the second resource but not within the second duration.

[0236] In some embodiments, the second resource is configured periodically, and the plurality of discontinuous second resources are located in different periods.

[0237] In some embodiments, the terminal device further includes: a third processing module, configured to determine a first time window, the first time window being used by the terminal device to detect the RAR, wherein the start time of the first time window is determined by the terminal device based on a first reference time; wherein, if the first reference time is within the second resource, the start time of the first time window is the first reference time; and / or, if the first reference time is outside the second resource, the start time of the first time window is within the second resource after the first reference time.

[0238] In some embodiments, the start time of the first time window is the start time of the second resource located after the first reference time.

[0239] In some embodiments, the first reference time is related to the round-trip transmission delay between the terminal device and the network device and / or the end time of NPRACH transmission.

[0240] In some embodiments, the terminal device further includes: a fourth processing module, configured to start a first timer, the first timer being used for contention resolution during the random access process, the start time of the first timer being determined by the terminal device based on a second reference time; wherein, if the second reference time is within the second resource, the start time of the first timer is the second reference time, and / or, if the second reference time is outside the second resource, the start time of the first timer is within the second resource after the second reference time.

[0241] In some embodiments, the start time of the first timer is the start time of the second resource located after the second reference time.

[0242] In some embodiments, the second reference time is determined based on the round-trip transmission delay between the terminal device and the network device and / or the end time of transmission of the NPUSCH scheduled by RAR.

[0243] In some embodiments, the first timer runs within the second resource and is paused outside the second resource.

[0244] In some embodiments, the communication module is configured to: send an NPUSCH to the network device; wherein, if the time-domain start position for sending the NPUSCH determined by the terminal device according to the RAR is outside the first resource, then the NPUSCH is sent on the first resource after the time-domain start position for sending the NPUSCH determined according to the RAR.

[0245] In some embodiments, the NPUSCH is transmitted over multiple discontinuous first resources.

[0246] In some embodiments, if the first time unit of the NPUSCH cannot be carried within the first resource in the first period, the first time unit of the NPUSCH is delayed to be transmitted on the first resource in the next period of the first period.

[0247] In some embodiments, the first time unit includes one or more uplink time slots.

[0248] In some embodiments, the transmission duration of the NPUSCH is less than or equal to a third duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device, and the starting point of the third duration is the transmission start point of the NPUSCH.

[0249] In some embodiments, the terminal device further includes a fifth processing module, configured to not send the first time unit of the NPUSCH when the first time unit of the NPUSCH is not within the third duration.

[0250] In some embodiments, the random access procedure is performed on a first frequency band, which is used by the terminal device to perform NTN TDD transmission and LEO satellite communication.

[0251] In some embodiments, the first frequency band includes a frequency of 1.6 GHz.

[0252] In some embodiments, the plurality of consecutive uplink time domain units include a plurality of consecutive uplink subframes, and / or, the plurality of consecutive downlink time domain units include a plurality of consecutive downlink subframes.

[0253] In some embodiments, the communication module 2010 may be a transceiver 2230. The terminal device 2000 may also include a processor 2210 and a memory 2220, as shown in FIG22.

[0254] Figure 21 is a schematic diagram of the network device provided in an embodiment of this application. The network device 2100 shown in Figure 21 may include a communication module 2110. The communication module 2110 can be used to respond to a random access procedure initiated by a terminal device. The random access procedure is responded to by the network device using a first frame structure, the first frame structure including periodically configured first resources and / or second resources, the first resources including multiple consecutive uplink time-domain units, and the second resources including multiple consecutive downlink time-domain units.

[0255] In some embodiments, the communication module 2110 is configured to: receive an NPRACH sent by the terminal device; wherein the NPRACH is transmitted on multiple discontinuous first resources; or, the NPRACH is formed by the terminal device after deleting symbol groups located outside the first resources from the NPRACH to be sent.

[0256] In some embodiments, each of the plurality of discontinuous first resources contains one or more symbol groups of the NPRACH.

[0257] In some embodiments, the NPRACH is transmitted on multiple discontinuous first resources, including: if the first NPRACH unit transmission contained in the NPRACH cannot be carried on the first resource within the first period, then the first NPRACH unit transmission is transmitted on the first resource in the next period of the first period.

[0258] In some embodiments, the first NPRACH unit transmission includes an NPRACH symbol group or an NPRACH repetition.

[0259] In some embodiments, the transmission duration of the NPRACH is less than or equal to a first duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device, and the starting point of the first duration is the starting point of the NPRACH.

[0260] In some embodiments, the first duration is the duration between the start of the NPRACH and the end of the current H-SFN.

[0261] In some embodiments, when the first NPRACH unit transmission contained in the NPRACH is not within the first duration, the first NPRACH unit transmission is deleted.

[0262] In some embodiments, the first resource is configured periodically, and the plurality of discontinuous first resources are located in different periods.

[0263] In some embodiments, the communication module 2110 is configured to: send a RAR to the terminal device in a first search space; wherein, if the number of time domain units contained in the first search space is greater than the number of downlink time domain units contained in a second resource, then the first search space includes a plurality of discontinuous second resources; or, if the number of time domain units contained in the first search space is greater than the number of downlink time domain units contained in a second resource, then the time domain units located outside the second resources in the time domain units contained in the first search space are invalid.

[0264] In some embodiments, each of the plurality of discontinuous second resources includes a portion of the temporal domain unit of the first search space.

[0265] In some embodiments, the plurality of discontinuous second resources include a first downlink time domain unit and a second downlink time domain unit, wherein the first downlink time domain unit is used to carry the first search space, and the second downlink time domain unit is used to carry system information and / or synchronization signals, or the second downlink time domain unit is not used for transmission.

[0266] In some embodiments, the starting position of the first search space is located in the Kth downlink time domain unit of the first of the plurality of discontinuous second resources, where K is a positive integer.

[0267] In some embodiments, the duration of the first search space is less than or equal to a second duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device.

[0268] In some embodiments, the network device further includes: a first processing module 2120, configured to transmit when a portion of the time domain units in the first search space are in the second resource but not within the second duration, and the portion of the time domain units not in the first search space but not within the second duration.

[0269] In some embodiments, the second resource is configured periodically, and the plurality of discontinuous second resources are located in different periods.

[0270] In some embodiments, the communication module 2110 is configured to: receive an NPUSCH sent by the terminal device; wherein, if the time-domain start position for sending the NPUSCH determined by the terminal device according to the RAR is outside the first resource, then the NPUSCH is sent on the first resource after the time-domain start position for sending the NPUSCH determined according to the RAR.

[0271] In some embodiments, the NPUSCH is transmitted over multiple discontinuous first resources.

[0272] In some embodiments, if the first time unit of the NPUSCH cannot be carried within the first resource in the first period, the first time unit of the NPUSCH is delayed to be transmitted on the first resource in the next period of the first period.

[0273] In some embodiments, the first time unit includes one or more uplink time slots.

[0274] In some embodiments, the transmission duration of the NPUSCH is less than or equal to a third duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device, and the starting point of the third duration is the transmission start point of the NPUSCH.

[0275] In some embodiments, the random access procedure is performed on a first frequency band, which is used by the terminal device to perform NTN TDD transmission and LEO satellite communication.

[0276] In some embodiments, the first frequency band includes a frequency of 1.6 GHz.

[0277] In some embodiments, the plurality of consecutive uplink time domain units include a plurality of consecutive uplink subframes, and / or, the plurality of consecutive downlink time domain units include a plurality of consecutive downlink subframes.

[0278] In some embodiments, the communication module 2110 may be a transceiver 2230. The network device 2100 may also include a processor 2210 and a memory 2220, as shown in FIG22.

[0279] Figure 22 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. The dashed lines in Figure 22 indicate that the unit or module is optional. This device 2200 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. Device 2200 can be a chip, a terminal device, or a network device.

[0280] Apparatus 2200 may include one or more processors 2210. The processor 2210 may support apparatus 2200 in implementing the methods described in the preceding method embodiments. The processor 2210 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. For example, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU). Alternatively, the processor may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0281] The apparatus 2200 may further include one or more memories 2220. The memories 2220 store a program that can be executed by the processor 2210, causing the processor 2210 to perform the methods described in the preceding method embodiments. The memories 2220 may be independent of the processor 2210 or integrated within the processor 2210.

[0282] The device 2200 may also include a transceiver 2230. The processor 2210 can communicate with other devices or chips via the transceiver 2230. For example, the processor 2210 can send and receive data with other devices or chips via the transceiver 2230.

[0283] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. This computer-readable storage medium can be applied to a terminal device or network device provided in this application embodiment, and the program causes a computer to execute the methods performed by the terminal device or network device in the various embodiments of this application.

[0284] This application also provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a program. This computer program product can be applied to a terminal device or network device provided in the embodiments of this application, and the program causes a computer to execute the methods performed by the terminal device or network device in the various embodiments of this application.

[0285] This application also provides a computer program. This computer program can be applied to the terminal device or network device provided in this application, and the computer program causes the computer to execute the methods performed by the terminal device or network device in various embodiments of this application.

[0286] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" in this application can be used interchangeably. Furthermore, the terminology used in this application is only for explaining specific embodiments of the application and is not intended to limit the application. The terms "first," "second," "third," and "fourth," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0287] In the embodiments of this application, the term "instruction" can be a direct instruction, an indirect instruction, or an indication of a relationship. For example, A instructing B can mean that A directly instructs B, such as B being able to obtain information through A; it can also mean that A indirectly instructs B, such as A instructing C, so B can obtain information through C; or it can mean that there is a relationship between A and B.

[0288] In the embodiments of this application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A, and B can be determined based on A. However, it should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean that B is determined solely based on A; B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0289] In the embodiments of this application, the term "correspondence" can indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between two things, or an association between two things, or a relationship such as instruction and being instructed, configuration and being configured.

[0290] In the embodiments of this application, the term "comprising" can refer to direct inclusion or indirect inclusion. Optionally, "comprising" in the embodiments of this application can be replaced with "instructing" or "used to determine". For example, "A includes B" can be replaced with "A instructs B" or "A is used to determine B".

[0291] In this application embodiment, "predefined" or "preconfigured" can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other means that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device (e.g., including terminal devices and network devices). This application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, predefined can refer to what is defined in the protocol.

[0292] In this application embodiment, the "protocol" may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communication, such as the LTE protocol, the NR protocol, and related protocols applied to future communication systems. This application does not limit this.

[0293] In the embodiments of this application, the term "and / or" is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0294] In the various embodiments of this application, the order of the above-mentioned processes does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0295] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0296] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0297] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0298] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can read or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., digital video discs, DVDs) or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks, SSDs), etc.

[0299] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, characterized in that, include: The terminal device initiates a random access procedure to the network device; The random access procedure is initiated by the terminal device using a first frame structure. The first frame structure includes a periodically configured first resource and / or second resource. The first resource includes multiple consecutive uplink time domain units, and the second resource includes multiple consecutive downlink time domain units.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The process by which the terminal device initiates a random access procedure to the network device includes: The terminal device sends a narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH) to the network device. The NPRACH is transmitted on multiple discontinuous first resources; or, the NPRACH is formed by the terminal device after deleting symbol groups located outside the first resources from the NPRACH to be transmitted.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, Each of the plurality of discontinuous first resources contains one or more symbol groups of the NPRACH.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The NPRACH is transmitted over multiple discontinuous first resources, including: If the first NPRACH unit transmission contained in the NPRACH cannot be carried on the first resource within the first period, then the first NPRACH unit transmission is transmitted on the first resource in the next period of the first period.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first NPRACH unit transmission includes an NPRACH symbol group or an NPRACH repetition.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2-5, characterized in that, The transmission duration of the NPRACH is less than or equal to a first duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device, and the starting point of the first duration is the starting point of the NPRACH.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first duration is the duration between the start of the NPRACH and the end of the current system superframe number H-SFN.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the first NPRACH unit transmission contained in the NPRACH is not within the first duration, the terminal device deletes the first NPRACH unit transmission.

9. The method according to any one of claims 2-8, characterized in that, The first resource is configured periodically, and the plurality of discontinuous first resources are located in different periods.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The process by which the terminal device initiates a random access procedure to the network device includes: The terminal device detects the Random Access Response (RAR) sent by the network device in the first search space; Wherein, if the number of time-domain units contained in the first search space is greater than the number of downlink time-domain units contained in a second resource, then the first search space includes multiple non-contiguous second resources; or, If the number of time domain units contained in the first search space is greater than the number of downlink time domain units contained in a second resource, then the time domain units located outside the second resource in the first search space are invalid.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, Each of the plurality of discontinuous second resources contains a portion of the temporal domain unit of the first search space.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The plurality of discontinuous second resources include a first downlink time domain unit and a second downlink time domain unit, wherein the first downlink time domain unit is used to carry the first search space, and the second downlink time domain unit is used to carry system information and / or synchronization signals, or the second downlink time domain unit is not used for transmission.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10-12, characterized in that, The starting position of the first search space is located in the Kth downlink time domain unit of the first of the plurality of discontinuous second resources, where K is a positive integer.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10-13, characterized in that, The duration of the first search space is less than or equal to the second duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: When a portion of the time domain units in the first search space are in the second resource but not within the second duration, the terminal device does not search within the portion of the time domain units in the first search space that are not within the second duration.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10-15, characterized in that, The second resource is configured periodically, and the plurality of discontinuous second resources are located in different periods.

17. The method according to any one of claims 10-16, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal device determines a first time window, which is used by the terminal device to detect the RAR. The start time of the first time window is determined by the terminal device based on a first reference time. Wherein, if the first reference time is within the second resource, the start time of the first time window is the first reference time; and / or, if the first reference time is outside the second resource, the start time of the first time window is within the second resource after the first reference time.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The start time of the first time window is the start time of the second resource located after the first reference time.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, The first reference time is related to the round-trip transmission delay between the terminal device and the network device and / or the end time of NPRACH transmission.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1-19, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal device starts a first timer, which is used for contention resolution during the random access process. The start time of the first timer is determined by the terminal device based on a second reference time. Wherein, if the second reference time is within the second resource, the start time of the first timer is the second reference time, and / or, if the second reference time is outside the second resource, the start time of the first timer is within the second resource after the second reference time.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The start time of the first timer is the start time of the second resource, which is located after the second reference time.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that, The second reference time is determined based on the round-trip transmission delay between the terminal device and the network device and / or the end time of transmission of the narrowband physical uplink shared channel NPUSCH scheduled by RAR.

23. The method according to any one of claims 20-22, characterized in that, The first timer runs within the second resource and is paused outside the second resource.

24. The method according to any one of claims 1-23, characterized in that, The process by which the terminal device initiates a random access procedure to the network device includes: The terminal device sends NPUSCH to the network device; If the time-domain start position for transmitting the NPUSCH determined by the terminal device according to the RAR is outside the first resource, then the NPUSCH is transmitted on the first resource after the time-domain start position for transmitting the NPUSCH determined according to the RAR.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The NPUSCH is transmitted over multiple discontinuous first resources.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, If the first time unit of the NPUSCH cannot be carried within the first resource in the first period, the first time unit of the NPUSCH is delayed to be transmitted on the first resource in the next period of the first period.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that, The first time unit includes one or more uplink time slots.

28. The method according to any one of claims 24-27, characterized in that, The transmission duration of the NPUSCH is less than or equal to a third duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device, and the starting point of the third duration is the transmission starting point of the NPUSCH.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the first time unit of the NPUSCH is not within the third duration, the terminal device does not send the first time unit of the NPUSCH.

30. The method according to any one of claims 1-29, characterized in that, The random access process is performed on a first frequency band, which is used by the terminal device to perform non-terrestrial network NTN time-division duplex (TDD) transmission and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication.

31. The method according to claim 30, characterized in that, The first frequency band includes a frequency of 1.6 GHz.

32. The method according to any one of claims 1-31, characterized in that, The plurality of consecutive uplink time domain units include a plurality of consecutive uplink subframes, and / or the plurality of consecutive downlink time domain units include a plurality of consecutive downlink subframes.

33. A method for wireless communication, characterized in that, include: Network devices respond to random access procedures initiated by terminal devices; The random access procedure is initiated by the network device using a first frame structure. The first frame structure includes periodically configured first resources and / or second resources. The first resources include multiple consecutive uplink time domain units, and the second resources include multiple consecutive downlink time domain units.

34. The method according to claim 33, characterized in that, The network device's response to the random access procedure initiated by the terminal device includes: The network device receives the Narrowband Physical Random Access Channel (NPRACH) sent by the terminal device; The NPRACH is transmitted on multiple discontinuous first resources; or, the NPRACH is formed by the terminal device after deleting symbol groups located outside the first resources from the NPRACH to be transmitted.

35. The method according to claim 34, characterized in that, Each of the plurality of discontinuous first resources contains one or more symbol groups of the NPRACH.

36. The method according to claim 34 or 35, characterized in that, The NPRACH is transmitted over multiple discontinuous first resources, including: If the first NPRACH unit transmission contained in the NPRACH cannot be carried on the first resource within the first period, then the first NPRACH unit transmission is transmitted on the first resource in the next period of the first period.

37. The method according to claim 36, characterized in that, The first NPRACH unit transmission includes an NPRACH symbol group or an NPRACH repetition.

38. The method according to any one of claims 34-37, characterized in that, The transmission duration of the NPRACH is less than or equal to a first duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device, and the starting point of the first duration is the starting point of the NPRACH.

39. The method according to claim 38, characterized in that, The first duration is the duration between the start of the NPRACH and the end of the current system superframe number H-SFN.

40. The method according to claim 38 or 39, characterized in that, If the first NPRACH unit transmission contained in the NPRACH is not within the first duration, the first NPRACH unit transmission is deleted.

41. The method according to any one of claims 34-40, characterized in that, The first resource is configured periodically, and the plurality of discontinuous first resources are located in different periods.

42. The method according to any one of claims 33-41, characterized in that, The network device's response to the random access procedure initiated by the terminal device includes: The network device sends a Random Access Response (RAR) to the terminal device in the first search space; Wherein, if the number of time-domain units contained in the first search space is greater than the number of downlink time-domain units contained in a second resource, then the first search space includes multiple non-contiguous second resources; or, If the number of time domain units contained in the first search space is greater than the number of downlink time domain units contained in a second resource, then the time domain units located outside the second resource in the first search space are invalid.

43. The method according to claim 42, characterized in that, Each of the plurality of discontinuous second resources contains a portion of the temporal domain unit of the first search space.

44. The method according to claim 42 or 43, characterized in that, The plurality of discontinuous second resources include a first downlink time domain unit and a second downlink time domain unit, wherein the first downlink time domain unit is used to carry the first search space, and the second downlink time domain unit is used to carry system information and / or synchronization signals, or the second downlink time domain unit is not used for transmission.

45. The method according to any one of claims 42-44, characterized in that, The starting position of the first search space is located in the Kth downlink time domain unit of the first of the plurality of discontinuous second resources, where K is a positive integer.

46. ​​The method according to any one of claims 42-45, characterized in that, The duration of the first search space is less than or equal to the second duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device.

47. The method according to claim 46, characterized in that, The method further includes: When a portion of the time domain units in the first search space are in the second resource but not within the second duration, the network device will not transmit within the portion of the time domain units in the first search space that are not within the second duration.

48. The method according to any one of claims 42-47, characterized in that, The second resource is configured periodically, and the plurality of discontinuous second resources are located in different periods.

49. The method according to any one of claims 33-48, characterized in that, The network device's response to the random access procedure initiated by the terminal device includes: The network device receives the Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared Channel (NPUSCH) sent by the terminal device; If the time-domain start position for transmitting the NPUSCH determined by the terminal device according to the RAR is outside the first resource, then the NPUSCH is transmitted on the first resource after the time-domain start position for transmitting the NPUSCH determined according to the RAR.

50. The method according to claim 49, characterized in that, The NPUSCH is transmitted over multiple discontinuous first resources.

51. The method according to claim 50, characterized in that, If the first time unit of the NPUSCH cannot be carried within the first resource in the first period, the first time unit of the NPUSCH is delayed to be transmitted on the first resource in the next period of the first period.

52. The method according to claim 51, characterized in that, The first time unit includes one or more uplink time slots.

53. The method according to any one of claims 49-52, characterized in that, The transmission duration of the NPUSCH is less than or equal to a third duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device, and the starting point of the third duration is the transmission starting point of the NPUSCH.

54. The method according to any one of claims 33-53, characterized in that, The random access process is performed on a first frequency band, which is used by the terminal device to perform non-terrestrial network NTN time-division duplex (TDD) transmission and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication.

55. The method according to claim 54, characterized in that, The first frequency band includes a frequency of 1.6 GHz.

56. The method according to any one of claims 33-55, characterized in that, The plurality of consecutive uplink time domain units include a plurality of consecutive uplink subframes, and / or the plurality of consecutive downlink time domain units include a plurality of consecutive downlink subframes.

57. A terminal device, characterized in that, include: The communication module is used to initiate a random access procedure to network devices; The random access procedure is initiated by the terminal device using a first frame structure. The first frame structure includes a periodically configured first resource and / or second resource. The first resource includes multiple consecutive uplink time domain units, and the second resource includes multiple consecutive downlink time domain units.

58. The terminal device according to claim 57, characterized in that, The communication module is used for: Send the Narrowband Physical Random Access Channel (NPRACH) to the network device; The NPRACH is transmitted on multiple discontinuous first resources; or, the NPRACH is formed by the terminal device after deleting symbol groups located outside the first resources from the NPRACH to be transmitted.

59. The terminal device according to claim 58, characterized in that, Each of the plurality of discontinuous first resources contains one or more symbol groups of the NPRACH.

60. The terminal device according to claim 58 or 59, characterized in that, The NPRACH is transmitted over multiple discontinuous first resources, including: If the first NPRACH unit transmission contained in the NPRACH cannot be carried on the first resource within the first period, then the first NPRACH unit transmission is transmitted on the first resource in the next period of the first period.

61. The terminal device according to claim 60, characterized in that, The first NPRACH unit transmission includes an NPRACH symbol group or an NPRACH repetition.

62. The terminal device according to any one of claims 58-61, characterized in that, The transmission duration of the NPRACH is less than or equal to a first duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device, and the starting point of the first duration is the starting point of the NPRACH.

63. The terminal device according to claim 62, characterized in that, The first duration is the duration between the start of the NPRACH and the end of the current system superframe number H-SFN.

64. The terminal device according to claim 62 or 63, characterized in that, The terminal device also includes: The first processing module is configured to delete the first NPRACH unit transmission when the first NPRACH unit transmission contained in the NPRACH is not within the first duration.

65. The terminal device according to any one of claims 58-64, characterized in that, The first resource is configured periodically, and the plurality of discontinuous first resources are located in different periods.

66. The terminal device according to any one of claims 57-65, characterized in that, The communication module is used for: Detect the Random Access Response (RAR) sent by the network device in the first search space; Wherein, if the number of time-domain units contained in the first search space is greater than the number of downlink time-domain units contained in a second resource, then the first search space includes multiple non-contiguous second resources; or, If the number of time domain units contained in the first search space is greater than the number of downlink time domain units contained in a second resource, then the time domain units located outside the second resource in the first search space are invalid.

67. The terminal device according to claim 66, characterized in that, Each of the plurality of discontinuous second resources contains a portion of the temporal domain unit of the first search space.

68. The terminal device according to claim 66 or 67, characterized in that, The plurality of discontinuous second resources include a first downlink time domain unit and a second downlink time domain unit, wherein the first downlink time domain unit is used to carry the first search space, and the second downlink time domain unit is used to carry system information and / or synchronization signals, or the second downlink time domain unit is not used for transmission.

69. The terminal device according to any one of claims 66-68, characterized in that, The starting position of the first search space is located in the Kth downlink time domain unit of the first of the plurality of discontinuous second resources, where K is a positive integer.

70. The terminal device according to any one of claims 66-69, characterized in that, The duration of the first search space is less than or equal to the second duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device.

71. The terminal device according to claim 70, characterized in that, The terminal device also includes: The second processing module is used to search within the portion of time domain units that are not in the first search space but are not within the second time duration when some time domain units in the first search space are in the second resource but not within the second time duration.

72. The terminal device according to any one of claims 66-71, characterized in that, The second resource is configured periodically, and the plurality of discontinuous second resources are located in different periods.

73. The terminal device according to any one of claims 66-72, characterized in that, The terminal device also includes: The third processing module is used to determine a first time window, which is used for the terminal device to detect the RAR. The start time of the first time window is determined by the terminal device based on a first reference time. Wherein, if the first reference time is within the second resource, the start time of the first time window is the first reference time; and / or, if the first reference time is outside the second resource, the start time of the first time window is within the second resource after the first reference time.

74. The terminal device according to claim 73, characterized in that, The start time of the first time window is the start time of the second resource located after the first reference time.

75. The terminal device according to claim 73 or 74, characterized in that, The first reference time is related to the round-trip transmission delay between the terminal device and the network device and / or the end time of NPRACH transmission.

76. The terminal device according to any one of claims 57-75, characterized in that, The terminal device also includes: The fourth processing module is used to start a first timer, which is used for contention resolution during the random access process. The start time of the first timer is determined by the terminal device based on a second reference time. Wherein, if the second reference time is within the second resource, the start time of the first timer is the second reference time, and / or, if the second reference time is outside the second resource, the start time of the first timer is within the second resource after the second reference time.

77. The terminal device according to claim 76, characterized in that, The start time of the first timer is the start time of the second resource, which is located after the second reference time.

78. The terminal device according to claim 76 or 77, characterized in that, The second reference time is determined based on the round-trip transmission delay between the terminal device and the network device and / or the end time of transmission of the narrowband physical uplink shared channel NPUSCH scheduled by RAR.

79. The terminal device according to any one of claims 76-78, characterized in that, The first timer runs within the second resource and is paused outside the second resource.

80. The terminal device according to any one of claims 57-79, characterized in that, The communication module is used for: Send NPUSCH to the network device; If the time-domain start position for transmitting the NPUSCH determined by the terminal device according to the RAR is outside the first resource, then the NPUSCH is transmitted on the first resource after the time-domain start position for transmitting the NPUSCH determined according to the RAR.

81. The terminal device according to claim 80, characterized in that, The NPUSCH is transmitted over multiple discontinuous first resources.

82. The terminal device according to claim 81, characterized in that, If the first time unit of the NPUSCH cannot be carried within the first resource in the first period, the first time unit of the NPUSCH is delayed to be transmitted on the first resource in the next period of the first period.

83. The terminal device according to claim 82, characterized in that, The first time unit includes one or more uplink time slots.

84. The terminal device according to any one of claims 80-83, characterized in that, The transmission duration of the NPUSCH is less than or equal to a third duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device, and the starting point of the third duration is the transmission starting point of the NPUSCH.

85. The terminal device according to claim 84, characterized in that, The terminal device also includes: The fifth processing module is used to not send the first time unit of the NPUSCH when the first time unit of the NPUSCH is not within the third duration.

86. The terminal device according to any one of claims 57-85, characterized in that, The random access process is performed on a first frequency band, which is used by the terminal device to perform non-terrestrial network NTN time-division duplex (TDD) transmission and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication.

87. The terminal device according to claim 86, characterized in that, The first frequency band includes a frequency of 1.6 GHz.

88. The terminal device according to any one of claims 57-87, characterized in that, The plurality of consecutive uplink time domain units include a plurality of consecutive uplink subframes, and / or the plurality of consecutive downlink time domain units include a plurality of consecutive downlink subframes.

89. A network device, characterized in that, include: The communication module is used to respond to random access procedures initiated by terminal devices; The random access procedure is initiated by the network device using a first frame structure. The first frame structure includes periodically configured first resources and / or second resources. The first resources include multiple consecutive uplink time domain units, and the second resources include multiple consecutive downlink time domain units.

90. The network device according to claim 89, characterized in that, The communication module is used for: Receive the narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH) sent by the terminal device; The NPRACH is transmitted on multiple discontinuous first resources; or, the NPRACH is formed by the terminal device after deleting symbol groups located outside the first resources from the NPRACH to be transmitted.

91. The network device according to claim 90, characterized in that, Each of the plurality of discontinuous first resources contains one or more symbol groups of the NPRACH.

92. The network device according to claim 90 or 91, characterized in that, The NPRACH is transmitted over multiple discontinuous first resources, including: If the first NPRACH unit transmission contained in the NPRACH cannot be carried on the first resource within the first period, then the first NPRACH unit transmission is transmitted on the first resource in the next period of the first period.

93. The network device according to claim 92, characterized in that, The first NPRACH unit transmission includes an NPRACH symbol group or an NPRACH repetition.

94. The network device according to any one of claims 90-93, characterized in that, The transmission duration of the NPRACH is less than or equal to a first duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device, and the starting point of the first duration is the starting point of the NPRACH.

95. The network device according to claim 94, characterized in that, The first duration is the duration between the start of the NPRACH and the end of the current system superframe number H-SFN.

96. The network device according to claim 94 or 95, characterized in that, If the first NPRACH unit transmission contained in the NPRACH is not within the first duration, the first NPRACH unit transmission is deleted.

97. The network device according to any one of claims 90-96, characterized in that, The first resource is configured periodically, and the plurality of discontinuous first resources are located in different periods.

98. The network device according to any one of claims 89-97, characterized in that, The communication module is used for: Send a Random Access Response (RAR) to the terminal device in the first search space; Wherein, if the number of time-domain units contained in the first search space is greater than the number of downlink time-domain units contained in a second resource, then the first search space includes multiple non-contiguous second resources; or, If the number of time domain units contained in the first search space is greater than the number of downlink time domain units contained in a second resource, then the time domain units located outside the second resource in the first search space are invalid.

99. The network device according to claim 98, characterized in that, Each of the plurality of discontinuous second resources contains a portion of the temporal domain unit of the first search space.

100. The network device according to claim 98 or 99, characterized in that, The plurality of discontinuous second resources include a first downlink time domain unit and a second downlink time domain unit, wherein the first downlink time domain unit is used to carry the first search space, and the second downlink time domain unit is used to carry system information and / or synchronization signals, or the second downlink time domain unit is not used for transmission.

101. The network device according to any one of claims 98-100, characterized in that, The starting position of the first search space is located in the Kth downlink time domain unit of the first of the plurality of discontinuous second resources, where K is a positive integer.

102. The network device according to any one of claims 98-101, characterized in that, The duration of the first search space is less than or equal to the second duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device.

103. The network device according to claim 102, characterized in that, The network device also includes: The first processing module is configured to send data when a portion of the time domain units in the first search space are in the second resource but not within the second duration, and the data is not in the portion of the time domain units in the first search space but not within the second duration.

104. The network device according to any one of claims 98-103, characterized in that, The second resource is configured periodically, and the plurality of discontinuous second resources are located in different periods.

105. The network device according to any one of claims 89-104, characterized in that, The communication module is used for: Receive the Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared Channel (NPUSCH) sent by the terminal device; If the time-domain start position for transmitting the NPUSCH determined by the terminal device according to the RAR is outside the first resource, then the NPUSCH is transmitted on the first resource after the time-domain start position for transmitting the NPUSCH determined according to the RAR.

106. The network device according to claim 105, characterized in that, The NPUSCH is transmitted over multiple discontinuous first resources.

107. The network device according to claim 106, characterized in that, If the first time unit of the NPUSCH cannot be carried within the first resource in the first period, the first time unit of the NPUSCH is delayed to be transmitted on the first resource in the next period of the first period.

108. The network device according to claim 107, characterized in that, The first time unit includes one or more uplink time slots.

109. The network device according to any one of claims 105-108, characterized in that, The transmission duration of the NPUSCH is less than or equal to a third duration, the value of which is predefined or configured by the network device, and the starting point of the third duration is the transmission starting point of the NPUSCH.

110. The network device according to any one of claims 89-109, characterized in that, The random access process is performed on a first frequency band, which is used by the terminal device to perform non-terrestrial network NTN time-division duplex (TDD) transmission and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication.

111. The network device according to claim 110, characterized in that, The first frequency band includes a frequency of 1.6 GHz.

112. The network device according to any one of claims 89-111, characterized in that, The plurality of consecutive uplink time domain units include a plurality of consecutive uplink subframes, and / or the plurality of consecutive downlink time domain units include a plurality of consecutive downlink subframes.

113. A terminal device, characterized in that, The device includes a transceiver, a memory, and a processor. The memory stores a program, and the processor invokes the program in the memory and controls the transceiver to receive or send signals so that the terminal device performs the method as described in any one of claims 1-32.

114. A network device, characterized in that, The device includes a transceiver, a memory, and a processor. The memory stores a program, and the processor invokes the program in the memory and controls the transceiver to receive or transmit signals so that the network device performs the method as described in any one of claims 33-56.

115. An apparatus, characterized in that, Includes a processor for calling a program from memory to cause the device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-32 or 33-56.

116. A chip, characterized in that, Includes a processor for calling a program from memory, causing a device on which the chip is mounted to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-32 or 33-56.

117. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, It contains a program that causes a computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-32 or 33-56.

118. A computer program product, characterized in that, Includes a program that causes a computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-32 or 33-56.

119. A computer program, characterized in that, The computer program causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-32 or 33-56.

Images