Communication method, system, and related device

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, a system, and a related device. The method is applied to a UE, and the method comprises: receiving configuration information, the configuration information being used for configuring a time-frequency resource of a target signal and a time-frequency resource of an OFDM signal, the target signal including an orthogonal time-frequency space (OTFS) signal, the time-frequency resource of the target signal being orthogonal to the time-frequency resource of the OFDM signal, the time-frequency resource of the target signal being indicated by a time domain resource unit and a frequency domain resource unit, the time domain resource unit being used for indicating the positions of OTFS symbols in a plurality of consecutive slots, and the frequency domain resource unit being used for indicating the positions of resource units in a plurality of consecutive resource blocks; and transmitting or receiving the target signal and the OFDM signal on the basis of the configuration information. In this way, the quality of the target signal and the OFDM signal in a hybrid transmission process can be improved.

Description

Communication methods, systems and related equipment

[0001] This invention claims priority to Chinese patent application filed on January 26, 2025, with application number 202510125871.4 and title "Communication Method, System and Related Equipment". Technical Field

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

[0003] Orthogonal time-frequency space (OTFS) modulation is a two-dimensional modulation technique that represents transmitted signals in the time-delay Doppler domain. Unlike orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation, which is difficult to adapt to high-speed mobile scenarios, OTFS modulation can adapt to high-speed mobile environments to solve communication problems in multipath and high-speed mobile environments.

[0004] In practical applications, OFDM-based and OTFS-based signals will share time and frequency resources in 6G systems. Therefore, it is necessary to further design corresponding resource configuration schemes for these two modulation technologies to allow high-quality mixed transmission of OFDM-based and OTFS-based signals in the system. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method, system, and related equipment, the purpose of which is to allow high-quality mixed transmission of OFDM-based and OTFS-based signals in the system without interference.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solution:

[0007] In a first aspect, this application provides a communication method applied to user equipment (UE). The method includes: first, the UE receives configuration information for configuring the time-frequency resources of a target signal and the time-frequency resources of an OFDM signal. The target signal may include an OTFS signal, such as an integrated OTFS-OFDM signal or a separate OTFS signal. The time-frequency resources of the target signal and the OFDM signal are orthogonal. The time-frequency resources of the target signal are indicated by time-domain resource units and frequency-domain resource units. The time-domain resource units are used to indicate the positions of OTFS symbols in multiple consecutive time slots, and the frequency-domain resource units are used to indicate the positions of resource units in multiple consecutive resource blocks. Then, the UE can send or receive the target signal and the OFDM signal based on the configuration information. It is evident that the time-frequency resources of the target signal and the OFDM signal are orthogonal, ensuring that the time-frequency resources of the target signal and the OFDM signal do not overlap, thus avoiding mutual interference during communication. Furthermore, configuring multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain and indicating the position of the OTFS symbol, and configuring multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain and indicating the position of the resource unit, enables the target signal to better resist Doppler spread and large delay spread, and provides a finer granularity of resource indication. This facilitates more accurate configuration of the time-frequency resources of the target signal, reduces interference and errors during signal transmission, and improves the quality of the target signal and OFDM signal during mixed transmission.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the configuration information may include a first-level bitmap and a second-level bitmap. The first-level bitmap indicates the OTFS symbols included in multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit and multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit. The second-level bitmap indicates the resource units included in multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit. In this way, the bitmap method can conveniently and flexibly indicate the time-frequency resource configuration of the target signal. Furthermore, the two-level bitmap method can accurately indicate the resource units, which helps to accurately configure the time-frequency resources of the target signal, reduce interference and errors during signal transmission, and improve the quality of the target signal and OFDM signal during mixed transmission.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the first-level bitmap includes a first bitmap, a second bitmap, and a third bitmap, and the second-level bitmap includes a fourth bitmap. The length of the first bitmap is the number of frequency domain resource units. The length of the second bitmap is related to the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit, the number of OTFS symbols included in the multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit, and the parameter μ corresponding to the subcarrier spacing. The length of the third bitmap is related to the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit and a preset transmission time interval. The length of the fourth bitmap is related to the number of multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit, the number of resource units included in each of the multiple consecutive resource blocks, and the number of intervals used when the target signal is equally spaced in the frequency domain.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the first-level bitmap includes a first bitmap, a second bitmap, and a third bitmap, and the second-level bitmap includes a fourth bitmap. The first bitmap indicates whether a frequency domain resource unit is available; the second bitmap indicates whether the OTFS symbols included in multiple consecutive time slots within a time domain resource unit are available; the third bitmap indicates whether the time domain resource unit and frequency domain resource unit corresponding to the first and second bitmaps are activated; and the fourth bitmap indicates whether the resource units included in multiple consecutive resource blocks within a frequency domain resource unit are available. In this way, the four bitmaps can specifically indicate the resource allocation of multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain and the location of OTFS symbols, and the resource allocation of multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain and the location of resource units. This enables the target signal to better resist Doppler spread and large delay spread, and provides finer resource indication granularity, thereby facilitating more accurate configuration of the target signal's time and frequency resources, reducing interference and errors during signal transmission, and improving the quality of the target signal and OFDM signal during mixed transmission.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the configuration information includes a first-level bitmap and a second-level bitmap. The first-level bitmap indicates multiple consecutive resource blocks in a frequency-domain resource unit and multiple consecutive time slots in a time-domain resource unit. The second-level bitmap indicates the OTFS symbols included in the multiple consecutive time slots in the time-domain resource unit and the resource units included in the multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency-domain resource unit. In this way, the bitmap method allows for convenient and flexible indication of the time-frequency resource configuration of the target signal. Furthermore, the two-level bitmap method can accurately indicate the resource units, which helps to accurately configure the time-frequency resources of the target signal, reduce interference and errors during signal transmission, and improve the quality of the target signal and OFDM signal during mixed transmission.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the first-level bitmap includes a fifth bitmap, a sixth bitmap, and a seventh bitmap, wherein the second-level bitmap includes an eighth bitmap and a ninth bitmap. The length of the fifth bitmap is the number of frequency domain resource units. The length of the sixth bitmap is related to the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the frequency domain resource unit and the parameter μ corresponding to the subcarrier spacing. The length of the seventh bitmap is related to the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit and the preset transmission time interval. The length of the eighth bitmap is related to the number of multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit, the number of resource units included in each resource block in the multiple consecutive resource blocks, and the number of intervals used when the target signal is equally spaced in the frequency domain. The length of the ninth bitmap is the number of OTFS symbols included in the multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the first-level bitmap includes a fifth bitmap, a sixth bitmap, and a seventh bitmap, and the second-level bitmap includes an eighth bitmap and a ninth bitmap. The fifth bitmap is used to indicate whether a frequency domain resource unit is available, the sixth bitmap is used to indicate whether multiple consecutive time slots in a time domain resource unit are available, the seventh bitmap is used to indicate whether the time domain resource unit and the frequency domain resource unit corresponding to the fifth and sixth bitmaps are activated, the eighth bitmap is used to indicate whether the resource units included in multiple consecutive resource blocks in a frequency domain resource unit are available, and the ninth bitmap is used to indicate whether the OTFS symbols included in multiple consecutive time slots in a time domain resource unit are available. In this way, five bitmaps can specifically indicate the location of multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain and the position of OTFS symbols, and the location of multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain and the position of resource cells. This enables the target signal to better resist Doppler spread and large time delay spread, and provides a finer granularity of resource indication, thereby helping to configure the time and frequency resources of the target signal more accurately, reduce interference and errors in the signal transmission process, and improve the quality of the target signal and OFDM signal in the mixed transmission process.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the configuration information includes a time-frequency domain pattern. This pattern indicates information about time-frequency units (TFUs), which correspond to frequency-domain resource units and time-domain resource units. The TFU is determined based on its time-domain and frequency-domain location. The time-domain location indicates the OTFS symbols included in multiple consecutive time slots within the TFU, and the frequency-domain location indicates the resource units included in multiple consecutive resource blocks within the TFU. Implementing the configuration information using a time-frequency domain pattern not only reduces the number of bits used, thus lowering overhead, but also, given a starting position for reference, the location of the time-frequency resources of the target signal can be easily determined through the TFU information indicated by the time-frequency domain pattern. This facilitates the UE's subsequent use of the target signal's time-frequency resources to transmit or receive the target signal.

[0015] In one possible implementation, there are multiple TFUs, and the first TFU is the first TFU among the multiple TFUs. The information of the first TFU includes the time domain location, time domain interval, time domain density, frequency domain location, frequency domain interval, and frequency domain density of the first TFU.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the first TFU includes multiple resource unit groups, each of which occupies multiple resource units in the frequency domain and multiple OTFS symbols in the time domain; the time domain location of the first TFU includes a start time slot, an OTFS symbol offset within the start time slot, and the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the first TFU; the time domain interval is the time domain interval of each resource unit group; the time domain density is the number of multiple consecutive OTFS symbols in the first TFU; the frequency domain location of the first TFU includes a start resource block, a resource unit offset included in the start resource block, and the number of multiple consecutive resource blocks in the first TFU; the frequency domain interval is the frequency domain interval of each resource unit group; and the frequency domain density is the number of multiple consecutive resource units in the first TFU. In this way, the information from the first TFU can specifically indicate the resource allocation of multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain and the position of the OTFS symbol, and the resource allocation of multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain and the position of the resource unit. This enables the target signal to better resist Doppler spread and large time delay spread, and provides a finer granularity of resource indication, thereby helping to configure the time and frequency resources of the target signal more accurately, reducing interference and errors in the signal transmission process, and improving the quality of the target signal and OFDM signal in the mixed transmission process.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the value of the starting time slot is related to the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the first TFU; the value of the OTFS symbol offset is related to the maximum number of OFDM symbols included in each of the multiple consecutive time slots and the temporal density; the value of the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the first TFU is related to the parameter μ corresponding to the preset maximum subframe and subcarrier spacing; the value of the temporal spacing is related to the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the first TFU and the number of OTFS symbols included in the time slots in the temporal resource unit; the maximum value of the temporal density is less than or equal to the temporal spacing; the value of the resource unit offset is related to the maximum number of subcarriers included in each of the multiple consecutive resource blocks and the frequency domain density; the value of the number of multiple consecutive resource blocks in the first TFU is related to the number of resource blocks occupied by the bandwidth part (BWP) and the maximum number of resource blocks supported; the value of the frequency domain spacing is related to the number of intervals used when the target signal is equally spaced in the frequency domain; and the maximum value of the frequency domain density is less than or equal to the frequency domain spacing.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the configuration information further includes the frequency domain position and time domain position of the target signal in the resource grid. The frequency domain position of the target signal in the resource grid is determined based on the starting resource block, frequency domain interval, frequency domain density, and the offset of the resource cells included in the starting resource block. The time domain position of the target signal in the resource grid is determined based on the starting time slot, time domain interval, time domain density, and the offset of the OTFS symbol within the starting time slot.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the UE may also receive indication information for deactivating a portion of the time-frequency resources of the target signal. This portion of the target signal resources is used to transmit or receive other signals, excluding the target signal. Considering that some configured time-frequency resources for the target signal may not actually be used by the network device and the UE, deactivation processing can be performed on these time-frequency resources, enabling other signals to use them and thus improving the utilization rate of the time-frequency resources.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the indication information includes first indication information, second indication information, and third indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate unused OTFS symbols in the time-frequency resources of the target signal, the second indication information is used to indicate unused resource blocks in the time-frequency resources of the target signal, and the third indication information is used to indicate the period during which the target signal was not transmitted. It is evident that by using the above three types of indication information, the unused portion of the time-frequency resources of the target signal can be accurately indicated, thereby facilitating the deactivation of these resources.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the target signal is an OTFS signal or an OTFS-OFDM integrated signal.

[0022] In one possible implementation, when the UE transmits or receives OFDM signals based on configuration information, it can specifically transmit or receive OFDM signals through the rate matching mechanism of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) or the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) based on the configuration information. Since the rate matching mechanism of PDSCH or PUSCH can adjust the data rate, it allows the network device and the UE to avoid the time-frequency resources of the target signal when transmitting OFDM signals, thus preventing interference with the transmission of the target signal.

[0023] In one possible implementation, when the UE transmits or receives a target signal based on configuration information, it may map the target signal to the time-frequency resources of the target signal for transmission or reception based on the configuration information; or, based on the configuration information, transmit or receive the target signal in the time-frequency resources of the target signal.

[0024] Secondly, this application provides a communication method applied to a network device. The method includes: the network device sending configuration information to a user equipment (UE), the configuration information being used to configure the time-frequency resources of a target signal and the time-frequency resources of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal, the target signal including an orthogonal time-frequency space (OTFS) signal, the time-frequency resources of the target signal and the time-frequency resources of the OFDM signal being orthogonal, the time-frequency resources of the target signal being indicated by time-domain resource units and frequency-domain resource units, the time-domain resource units being used to indicate the positions of OTFS symbols in multiple consecutive time slots, and the frequency-domain resource units being used to indicate the positions of resource units in multiple consecutive resource blocks; the network device sending or receiving the target signal and the OFDM signal based on the configuration information.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the configuration information includes a first-level bitmap and a second-level bitmap. The first-level bitmap is used to indicate the OTFS symbols included in a plurality of consecutive resource blocks in a frequency domain resource unit and a plurality of consecutive time slots in a time domain resource unit. The second-level bitmap is used to indicate the resource units included in a plurality of consecutive resource blocks in a frequency domain resource unit.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the configuration information includes a first-level bitmap and a second-level bitmap. The first-level bitmap is used to indicate multiple consecutive resource blocks in a frequency domain resource unit and multiple consecutive time slots in a time domain resource unit. The second-level bitmap is used to indicate the OTFS symbols included in the multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit and the resource units included in the multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the configuration information includes a time-frequency domain pattern used to indicate information about a TFU, which corresponds to a frequency-domain resource unit and a time-domain resource unit. The TFU is determined based on a time-domain location and a frequency-domain location, where the time-domain location indicates the OTFS symbols included in multiple consecutive time slots within the TFU, and the frequency-domain location indicates the resource units included in multiple consecutive resource blocks within the TFU.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the network device may also send indication information for deactivating a portion of the time-frequency resources of the target signal, wherein the target signal resources are used to send or receive other signals, and the other signals do not include the target signal.

[0029] Thirdly, this application provides a UE, which includes a transceiver and a processor; wherein the transceiver is used to perform the receiving operation and the transmitting operation in the method described in the first aspect or any embodiment of the first aspect; and the processor is used to perform other operations in the method described in the first aspect or any embodiment of the first aspect besides the receiving operation and the transmitting operation.

[0030] Fourthly, this application provides a network device including a transceiver and a processor; wherein the transceiver is configured to perform the receiving and transmitting operations in the method described in the second aspect or any embodiment of the second aspect; and the processor is configured to perform other operations in the method described in the second aspect or any embodiment of the second aspect besides the receiving and transmitting operations.

[0031] Fifthly, this application provides a communication system including a network device and a UE, wherein the UE is configured to perform the method described in the first aspect or any embodiment of the first aspect, and the network device is configured to perform the method described in the second aspect or any embodiment of the second aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0032] Figure 1 is a structural diagram of an exemplary communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0033] Figure 2a is a schematic diagram of an OTFS-OFDM integrated signal provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0034] Figure 2b is a schematic diagram of OTFS and OFDM multiplexing provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0035] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0036] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the time-frequency resources of an exemplary target signal provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0037] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the time-frequency resources of another exemplary target signal provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a UE provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0041] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The terminology used in the following embodiments is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to be a limitation of this application. As used in the specification and appended claims of this application, the singular expressions "a," "an," "the," "the," "the," and "this" are intended to also include expressions such as "one or more," unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that in the embodiments of this application, "one or more" refers to one, two, or more; "and / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships may exist; for example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0042] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" as described in this specification mean that one or more embodiments of this application include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," "in still other embodiments," etc., appearing in different parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more, but not all, embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0043] The "multiple" mentioned in the embodiments of this application refers to two or more. It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used only for the purpose of distinguishing descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, nor should they be construed as indicating or implying order.

[0044] As mentioned earlier, OTFS modulation is a two-dimensional modulation technique that represents the transmitted signal in the delay Doppler domain. Compared to OFDM, OTFS preprocesses the signal in the delay Doppler (DD) domain. Then, OTFS connects the DD domain and the time-frequency domain through a two-dimensional inverse symptotic Fourier transform / symptotic Fourier transform pair.

[0045] In practical applications, especially in high-speed mobile scenarios, the channel changes more rapidly over time. OFDM cannot reflect the impact of time-varying channels over multiple consecutive symbols, thus failing to adequately represent them. However, OTFS can process multiple consecutive symbols simultaneously and characterize time-varying channels in the DD domain. Since time-varying channels exhibit sparse, finite-number channel coefficients in the DD domain, and their delay and Doppler offset are quasi-static and change slowly over time, OTFS can achieve more accurate channel estimation performance through the DD domain.

[0046] Furthermore, Doppler offset is greater in high-speed mobile scenarios. OFDM cannot distinguish the Doppler offset of multipath propagation, while OTFS can distinguish the Doppler offset of different multipath propagation paths given sufficient continuous symbol time or a sufficient number of Doppler domain resource cells in the DD domain. Therefore, compared to OFDM, OTFS is suitable for high-speed mobile environments, thus solving communication problems in multipath and high-speed mobile environments.

[0047] In addition, demodulating OTFS can directly obtain the delay and Doppler information of the physical channel, which can then be used to sense the scene and achieve high-precision sensing.

[0048] Therefore, considering that OTFS is a potential waveform technology in 6G systems, OFDM and OTFS signals will share time-frequency resources in 6G systems. Thus, further design of resource allocation schemes for the two signals is needed to allow high-quality mixed transmission of OFDM and OTFS signals within the system.

[0049] Therefore, this application provides a communication system, which can be a fifth-generation (5G) communication system, a hybrid architecture of LTE and 5G, a 5G New Radio (5G NR) system, or a new communication system that will emerge in the future development of communication.

[0050] An example of a communication system is shown in Figure 1, which includes network device 1 and n UEs, specifically UE2, UE3 and UE4.

[0051] In the embodiments provided in this application, network device 1 can be any device located on the network side and having wireless transceiver capabilities, including but not limited to: base stations (gNodeB or gNB) or transmission receiving points / transmission reception points (TRPs) in new radio (NR). Network device 1 can be: macro base stations, micro base stations, pico base stations, small cells, relay stations, or balloon stations, etc. Network device 1 can include one or more co-located or non-co-located transmission reception points (TRPs). Network device 1 can also be a radio controller, centralized unit (CU), and / or distributed unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. Network device 1 can communicate with terminal devices or communicate with terminal devices through relay stations.

[0052] UE2, UE3, and UE4 can communicate with multiple base stations using different technologies. For example, UE2 can communicate with base stations that support LTE networks, base stations that support 5G networks, 3G or 2G networks, or base stations with higher standards such as 6G. It can also establish dual connections with both LTE and 5G base stations.

[0053] In the embodiments provided in this application, the UE can be of various forms, such as a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, virtual reality (VR) terminal device, augmented reality (AR) terminal device, wireless terminal in industrial control, vehicle-mounted terminal device, wireless terminal in self-driving, wireless terminal in remote medical care, wireless terminal in smart grid, wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart city, wireless terminal in smart home, wearable terminal device, etc. The UE may also be referred to as a terminal device, access terminal device, vehicle-mounted terminal, industrial control terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal device, mobile device, UE terminal device, terminal device, wireless communication device, UE agent, or UE device, etc. The terminal can also be a fixed terminal or a mobile terminal.

[0054] As mentioned earlier, OFDM and OTFS signals will share time-frequency resources in 6G systems. Therefore, OTFS and OFDM may coexist in two ways: One is an integrated frame structure of OTFS and OFDM (i.e., an integrated OTFS-OFDM signal). As shown in Figure 2a, under the integrated OTFS-OFDM signal, OTFS and OFDM can be transmitted and received simultaneously, meaning they use the same frequency band for transmission. Based on this, the integrated OTFS-OFDM signal can be used in communication-sensing joint scenarios, where OFDM is used for communication and OTFS for sensing; it can also be used in high-reliability and high-bandwidth service joint transmission scenarios, where OTFS is used for high-reliability services and OFDM for high-bandwidth services. The other way of coexisting is through OTFS and OFDM multiplexing. As shown in Figure 2b, in the multiplexing mode, OTFS and OFDM will be transmitted and received separately. For example, if they use different frequency bands for transmission, the receiving end will receive both OFDM and OTFS signals. In addition, Figures 2a and 2b also provide the modulation process of OTFS. For example, the modulation symbols of M×N are first mapped to the resource cells of the DD domain, then converted to the time-frequency domain through the two-dimensional inverse symptotic Fourier transform, and then transformed to the time delay domain through the Heisenberg transform, and then made continuous into a time-domain signal.

[0055] Based on this, in the communication system shown in Figure 1, network device 1 can simultaneously serve OTFS users, OFDM users, and OTFS-OFDM integrated signal users. Accordingly, UE2 can represent an OTFS user, UE3 can represent an OFDM user, and UE4 can represent an OTFS-OFDM integrated signal user.

[0056] It should be noted that the above description uses a communication system including network device 1 and UE2, UE3, and UE4 as an example. In other possible implementations, the communication system may include multiple other UEs or multiple network devices. Alternatively, in other possible implementations, network device 1 in the communication system may be replaced with other types of network devices, and this is not limited.

[0057] In the communication system shown in Figure 1, network device 1 can send configuration information to n UEs respectively. This configuration information is used to configure the time-frequency resources of a first signal and a second signal. The first signal may include an OTFS signal, such as the aforementioned OTFS-OFDM integrated signal or an independent OTFS signal. The second signal can be an independent OFDM signal. The time-frequency resources of the first signal and the second signal are orthogonal. The time-frequency resources of the target signal are indicated by time-domain resource units and frequency-domain resource units. The time-domain resource units indicate the positions of OTFS symbols in multiple consecutive time slots, and the frequency-domain resource units indicate the positions of resource elements (REs) in multiple consecutive resource blocks (RBs). Then, the n UEs can transmit the first signal and the second signal respectively based on the above configuration information. It is evident that the time-frequency resources of the target signal and the OFDM signal are orthogonal, ensuring that the time-frequency resources of the target signal and the OFDM signal do not overlap, thus avoiding mutual interference during communication. Furthermore, configuring multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain and indicating the position of the OTFS symbol, and configuring multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain and indicating the position of the resource unit, enables the target signal to better resist Doppler spread and large delay spread, and provides a finer granularity of resource indication. This facilitates more accurate configuration of the time-frequency resources of the target signal, reduces interference and errors during signal transmission, and improves the quality of the target signal and OFDM signal during mixed transmission.

[0058] Furthermore, since network device 1 can simultaneously serve OTFS users, OFDM users, and OTFS-OFDM integrated signal users (i.e., UE2, UE3, and UE4), network device 1 and UE3 can adjust the data rate during OFDM signal transmission through the rate matching mechanism of the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), thereby avoiding the time-frequency resources of the target signal when transmitting OFDM signals.

[0059] In this way, in the communication system shown in Figure 1, network device 1, through the above configuration information, can notify n UEs to use corresponding time-frequency resources to send or receive target signals and OFDM signals, thus avoiding mutual interference between target signals and OFDM signals during communication. For example, network device 1 can use the above configuration information to inform OTFS users which time-frequency resources are used for OTFS signals, to inform OFDM users which time-frequency resources used for OTFS signals need to be avoided, and to inform OTFS-OFDM integrated signal users in which time-frequency resources to detect OTFS signals.

[0060] Referring to Figure 3, a communication method provided by an embodiment of this application is illustrated. The communication method shown in Figure 3 can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 1, or it can be applied to other possible communication systems. For ease of understanding and explanation, the following description uses the interaction between network device 1 and n UEs in the communication system shown in Figure 1 as an example, where the n UEs include UE2, UE3, and UE4. As shown in Figure 3, the flow of this communication method includes the following steps:

[0061] S301: Network device 1 sends configuration information to n UEs. The configuration information is used to configure the time-frequency resources of the target signal and the OFDM signal. The target signal includes the OTFS signal, and the time-frequency resources of the target signal and the OFDM signal are orthogonal. The time-frequency resources of the target signal are indicated by time-domain resource units and frequency-domain resource units. The time-domain resource units are used to indicate the position of the OTFS symbol in multiple consecutive time slots, and the frequency-domain resource units are used to indicate the position of the resource unit in multiple consecutive resource blocks.

[0062] Since the network device 1 in the embodiment shown in Figure 1 can simultaneously serve OTFS users, OFDM users and OTFS-OFDM integrated signal users, the target signal in this embodiment can be an independent OTFS signal or an OTFS-OFDM integrated signal.

[0063] The orthogonality of the time-frequency resources of the target signal and the time-frequency resources of the OFDM signal means that the target signal and the OFDM signal are transmitted using at least one of the following: space-division resources, time-division resources, code-division resources, and frequency-division resources.

[0064] In a specific implementation, after configuring the above configuration information, network device 1 can send the configuration information to n UEs through at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) signaling at the higher layer, media access control-control element (MAC CE) signaling at the media access control layer, and downlink control information (DCI) signaling at the physical layer.

[0065] In practical applications, while current rate matching mechanisms support both RB-level and RE-level rate matching schemes, both have shortcomings. Specifically, the bitmap configured in existing PDSCH rate matching mechanisms only indicates the reservation status of each RB, not its specific location within the RB. Therefore, this leads to significant resource waste when used for sparse frequency domain distributions of target signals. Furthermore, the bitmap only indicates the availability of symbols within one or two time slots, failing to indicate the continuous scheduling of target signals with a time interval of three symbols. Similarly, existing RE-level rate matching schemes can be implemented by configuring the channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS). However, CSI-RS is based on configuring the time domain within a single time slot and requires continuous time-frequency resources, making it unsuitable for sparse, multi-time-slot frame structures of target signals. This means that when configuring time-frequency resources for target signals, a larger time-domain resource unit needs to be considered. Simultaneously, the target signal may employ a larger subcarrier spacing; therefore, the current bitmap, indicating only the RB level, is not precise enough.

[0066] Based on this, in this embodiment, the aforementioned time-domain resource unit indicates the position of OTFS symbols in multiple consecutive time slots, and the aforementioned frequency-domain resource unit indicates the position of REs in multiple consecutive RBs. This can better resist Doppler spread and large time delay spread. Furthermore, the frequency-domain resource unit indicates the RE level, which can more accurately configure the time-frequency resources of the target signal, reduce interference and errors in the signal transmission process, help improve communication performance, and ensure the quality of the target signal and OFDM signal in the mixed transmission process.

[0067] Furthermore, for ease of understanding, the time-frequency resources of the target signal in the configuration information will be described below by way of two possible implementation methods.

[0068] As one possible implementation, the time-frequency resources of the target signal in the above configuration information can be implemented using a bitmap.

[0069] To indicate time-domain resources to the more granular RE level, this embodiment can utilize a two-level bitmap. The configuration information can include a first-level bitmap and a second-level bitmap, where the first-level bitmap indicates the RB level and the second-level bitmap indicates the RE level. For ease of understanding, two examples are provided below to illustrate the specific content of these two levels of bitmaps.

[0070] In the first example, the first-level bitmap is used to indicate the OTFS symbols included in multiple consecutive RBs in the frequency domain resource unit and multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit.

[0071] The first-level bitmap can include bitmap1, bitmap2, and bitmap3.

[0072] The length of bitmap1 is the number of frequency domain resource units N_f, where N_f × N_RB^f ≤ 273, where 273 represents the maximum number of RBs supported by the OFDM signal or the number of RBs in the bandwidth used by the OTFS-ODFM integrated signal. Alternatively, N_f × N_RB^f can be less than or equal to the number of RBs configured for transmission of the target signal B_RB or the number of RBs configured in the BWP of the UE [BWP]_RB. N_RB^f represents the number of RBs in each frequency domain resource unit. The value of this number can be related to the number of grids in the delay domain of the DD RB in the DD domain, such as N_RB^f ∈ {1, 2, 3}, where 3 is the maximum number of RBs in each frequency domain resource unit.

[0073] Accordingly, bitmap1 can be used to indicate whether each frequency domain resource unit is available. In a specific implementation, each bit in bitmap1 can represent whether the corresponding frequency domain resource unit is available by taking different values. For example, if the first bit in bitmap1 is 1, then bitmap1 can indicate that the frequency domain resource unit corresponding to the first bit is available; if the first bit in bitmap1 is 0, then bitmap1 can indicate that the frequency domain resource unit corresponding to the first bit is unavailable.

[0074] The length of bitmap2 is related to the number of consecutive time slots N_slot^t in each time-domain resource unit, the number of OTFS symbols N_sym^slot in each consecutive time slot, and the parameter μ corresponding to the subcarrier spacing. For example, the length of bitmap2 is N_slot^t × N_sym^slot × 2^μ, where N_slot^t ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}. Based on this, when N_slot^t takes the maximum value of 5, it can support a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz (μ = 0) with a spacing of 4 OTFS symbols per time slot.

[0075] Accordingly, bitmap2 can be used to indicate whether the OTFS symbols included in each of multiple consecutive time slots are available. In specific implementations, each bit in bitmap2 can represent whether the corresponding OTFS symbol is available by taking different values. For example, if the first bit in bitmap2 is 1, then bitmap2 can indicate that the OTFS symbol corresponding to the first bit is available; if the first bit in bitmap2 is 0, then bitmap2 can indicate that the OTFS symbol corresponding to the first bit is unavailable.

[0076] The length of bitmap3 is related to the number of consecutive time slots N_slot^t in each time-domain resource unit and the preset transmission time interval (TTI). For example, the length of bitmap3 is [TTI / N]_slot^t, where TTI can be 1ms, 2.5ms, 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, or 80ms, etc. The value of TTI is not specifically limited here; in practice, the value of TTI is aligned with the period of PDSCH. Therefore, when the value of N_slot^t is the maximum value of 5, the maximum length of bitmap3 is 16.

[0077] Accordingly, bitmap3 can be used to indicate whether the time-domain and frequency-domain resource units corresponding to bitmap1 and bitmap2 are activated. In specific implementations, each bit in bitmap3 can represent whether the corresponding time-domain and frequency-domain resource units are activated by taking different values. For example, if the first bit in bitmap3 is 1, then bitmap3 can indicate that the time-domain and frequency-domain resource units corresponding to the first bit are activated; if the first bit in bitmap3 is 0, then bitmap3 can indicate that the time-domain and frequency-domain resource units corresponding to the first bit are not activated.

[0078] In this example, the second-level bitmap is used to indicate the REs included in the RB within the frequency domain resource unit. This second-level bitmap may include bitmap4.

[0079] The length of bitmap4 is the number of REs in each frequency domain resource unit. Therefore, the length of bitmap4 is related to the number of consecutive RBs (N_RB^f) in the frequency domain resource unit, the number of REs (N_RE^RB) in each consecutive RB, and the number of intervals used when the target signal is equally spaced in the frequency domain. For example, the length of bitmap4 is N_RB^f × N_RE^RB, where N_RB^f ∈ {1,2,3}, N_RE^RB ∈ {12,24,48}, and the number of intervals used when the target signal is equally spaced in the frequency domain is ∈ {1,2,3,5,7,11,15,23,47}. It should be noted that N_RE^RB ∈ {12,24,48} ​​is only an example. Here, N_RE^RB can be defined as an integer multiple of the value of N_RE^RB defined in the LTE or NR system, so that the number of REs in the time-frequency resources of the target signal is an integer multiple of the number of REs in the time-frequency resources of the OFDM signal.

[0080] Accordingly, bitmap4 can be used to indicate whether the REs included in each RB are available. In a specific implementation, each bit in bitmap4 can represent whether the corresponding RE is available by taking different values. For example, if the first bit in bitmap4 is 1, then bitmap4 can indicate that the RE corresponding to the first bit is available; if the first bit in bitmap4 is 0, then bitmap4 can indicate that the RE corresponding to the first bit is unavailable.

[0081] For ease of understanding, for example, the configuration information indicated by the first-level bitmap and the second-level bitmap can be shown in Figure 4. It can be represented as follows: when the subcarrier spacing is 15kHz, each frequency domain resource unit includes 3 RBs, each time domain resource unit includes 3 time slots, and the value of bitmap4 is 110011001100110011001100110011001100110011.

[0082] In the second example, the first-level bitmap is used to indicate multiple consecutive RBs in the frequency domain resource unit and multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit.

[0083] The first-level bitmap may include bitmap5, bitmap6 and bitmap7.

[0084] The length of bitmap5 is the number of frequency domain resource units N_f, where N_f × N_RB^f ≤ 273, where 273 represents the maximum number of RBs supported by the OFDM signal or the number of RBs in the bandwidth used by the OTFS-ODFM integrated signal. Alternatively, N_f × N_RB^f can also be less than or equal to the number of RBs configured for transmission of the target signal B_RB or the number of RBs configured in the UE's BWP [BWP]_RB. N_RB^f represents the number of RBs in each frequency domain resource unit. The value of this number can be related to the number of grids in the delay domain of the DD RB in the DD domain, such as N_RB^f ∈ {1, 2, 3}, where 3 is the maximum number of RBs in each frequency domain resource unit.

[0085] Accordingly, bitmap5 can be used to indicate whether each frequency domain resource unit is available. In a specific implementation, each bit in bitmap5 can represent whether the corresponding frequency domain resource unit is available by taking different values. For example, if the first bit in bitmap5 is 1, then bitmap5 can indicate that the frequency domain resource unit corresponding to the first bit is available; if the first bit in bitmap5 is 0, then bitmap5 can indicate that the frequency domain resource unit corresponding to the first bit is unavailable.

[0086] The length of bitmap6 is related to the number of consecutive time slots N_slot^t in each time-domain resource unit and the parameter μ corresponding to the subcarrier spacing. For example, the length of bitmap6 is N_slot^t × 2^μ, where N_slot^t ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}. Based on this, when N_slot^t takes the maximum value of 5, it can support 4 OTFS symbol intervals in each time slot with a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz (μ = 0).

[0087] Accordingly, bitmap6 can be used to indicate whether multiple consecutive time slots in each time domain unit are available. In specific implementations, each bit in bitmap6 can represent whether the corresponding time slot is available by taking different values. For example, if the first bit in bitmap6 is 1, then bitmap6 can indicate that the time slot corresponding to the first bit is available; if the first bit in bitmap6 is 0, then bitmap6 can indicate that the time slot corresponding to the first bit is unavailable.

[0088] The length of bitmap7 is related to the number of consecutive time slots N_slot^t in each time-domain resource unit and the Time Interval (TTI). For example, the length of bitmap7 is [TTI / N]_slot^t, where TTI can be 1ms, 2.5ms, 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, or 80ms. The specific value of TTI is not limited here; in practice, the TTI value is aligned with the period of PDSCH. Therefore, when N_slot^t is the maximum value of 5, the maximum length of bitmap7 is 16.

[0089] Accordingly, bitmap7 can be used to indicate whether the time-domain and frequency-domain resource units corresponding to bitmap5 and bitmap6 are activated. In specific implementations, each bit in bitmap7 can represent whether the corresponding time-domain and frequency-domain resource units are activated by taking different values. For example, if the first bit in bitmap7 is 1, then bitmap7 can indicate that the time-domain and frequency-domain resource units corresponding to the first bit are activated; if the first bit in bitmap7 is 0, then bitmap7 can indicate that the time-domain and frequency-domain resource units corresponding to the first bit are not activated.

[0090] In this example, the second-level bitmap is used to indicate the OTFS symbols included in multiple consecutive time slots in the time-domain resource unit and the REs included in multiple consecutive RBs in the frequency-domain resource unit.

[0091] The first-level bitmap can include bitmap8 and bitmap9.

[0092] The length of bitmap8 is the number of REs in each frequency domain resource unit. Therefore, the length of bitmap8 is related to the number of consecutive RBs (N_RB^f) in the frequency domain resource unit, the number of REs (N_RE^RB) included in each consecutive RB, and the number of intervals used when the target signal is equally spaced in the frequency domain. For example, the length of bitmap8 is N_RB^f × N_RE^RB, where N_RB^f ∈ {1,2,3}, N_RE^RB ∈ {12,24,48}, and the number of intervals used when the target signal is equally spaced in the frequency domain is ∈ {1,2,3,5,7,11,15,23,47}. It should be noted that N_RE^RB ∈ {12,24,48} ​​is only an example. Here, N_RE^RB can be defined as an integer multiple of the value of N_RE^RB defined in the LTE or NR system, so that the number of REs in the time-frequency resources of the target signal is an integer multiple of the number of REs in the time-frequency resources of the OFDM signal.

[0093] Accordingly, bitmap8 can be used to indicate whether the REs included in each RB are available. In specific implementations, each bit in bitmap8 can represent whether the corresponding RE is available by taking different values. For example, if the first bit in bitmap8 is 1, then bitmap8 can indicate that the RE corresponding to the first bit is available; if the first bit in bitmap8 is 0, then bitmap8 can indicate that the RE corresponding to the first bit is unavailable.

[0094] The length of Bitmap9 is the number of OTFS symbols N_sym^slot included in multiple consecutive time slots, where N_sym^slot∈{12,14}. This is because the extended cyclic prefix occupies 12 OTFS symbols, while the regular cyclic prefix occupies 14 OTFS symbols. Furthermore, the number of intervals used when the target signal is mapped equally in the time domain is ∈{1,2,3,5,6}.

[0095] Accordingly, bitmap9 can be used to indicate whether the OTFS symbols included in each of multiple consecutive time slots are available. In specific implementations, each bit in bitmap9 can represent whether the corresponding OTFS symbol is available by taking different values. For example, if the first bit in bitmap9 is 1, then bitmap9 can indicate that the OTFS symbol corresponding to the first bit is available; if the first bit in bitmap9 is 0, then bitmap9 can indicate that the OTFS symbol corresponding to the first bit is unavailable.

[0096] As can be seen, both of the above two different bitmap configuration methods can be used to obtain configuration information, and the time and frequency resources of the target signal can be configured very flexibly. Thus, UE2 and UE4 can subsequently use the corresponding time and frequency resources to send or receive the target signal based on the configuration information.

[0097] It should be noted that the values ​​mentioned in the above description of bitmap are for illustrative purposes only, and this embodiment does not limit the specific values ​​to be used in actual applications.

[0098] Furthermore, when network device 1 indicates the time-frequency resources of the target signal through any of the bitmap configuration methods mentioned above, and sends the corresponding configuration information to n UEs using the control signaling mentioned above, as an example, system information block 1 (SIB1) can be used as the carrier method for the control signaling at the cell level, wherein SIB1 may include configuration information ServingCellConfig. As another example, PDSCH-Config (for configuring PDSCH parameters) or PUSCH-Config (for configuring PUSCH parameters) can be used as the carrier method for control signaling at the UE level.

[0099] It should be noted that in this embodiment, time-domain resource units are used to refer to time-domain resources in units of OTFS symbols across multiple consecutive time slots, and frequency-domain resource units are used to refer to frequency-domain resources in units of REs across multiple consecutive RBs. In other embodiments, other names can be used to refer to time-domain resource units and frequency-domain resource units, such as using time-domain resource units to refer to time-domain resources in units of OTFS symbols across multiple consecutive time slots, and using frequency-domain resource units to refer to frequency-domain resources in units of REs across multiple consecutive RBs, etc.

[0100] Additionally, it should be noted that this embodiment does not specifically limit the specific value of each bit in the bitmap; the values ​​of 0 or 1 mentioned above are merely illustrative.

[0101] As another possible implementation, considering that the method of implementing the time-frequency resources of the target signal using bitmaps described above would consume a large number of bits and incur significant overhead, the time-frequency resources of the target signal in the above configuration information can also be implemented using time-frequency domain patterns. This would reduce the number of bits required, thereby lowering the overhead.

[0102] Therefore, in this embodiment, the configuration information may specifically include a time-frequency domain pattern, which is used to indicate the information of the TFU. The TFU corresponds to the aforementioned frequency domain resource unit and time domain resource unit; that is, the information of the TFU corresponds to the information indicated by the frequency domain resource unit and the information indicated by the time domain resource unit.

[0103] Accordingly, the aforementioned TFU unit is determined based on its time-domain and frequency-domain locations. The time-domain location indicates the OTFS symbols included in multiple consecutive time slots within the TFU, while the frequency-domain location indicates the REs included in multiple consecutive RBs within the TFU. In this way, the TFU can allocate resources for multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain and multiple consecutive RBs in the frequency domain for the target signal, thereby better resisting Doppler spread and large delay spread, and improving the quality of the target signal and OFDM signal during mixed transmission.

[0104] In practical applications, there can be multiple TFUs, where the first TFU is the first time-frequency domain unit among multiple time-frequency domain units. Accordingly, the information of the first TFU includes its time-domain location, time-domain interval, time-domain density, frequency-domain location, frequency-domain interval, and frequency-domain density.

[0105] Furthermore, the first TFU can include multiple RE groups, each of which occupies multiple OTFS symbols and multiple subcarriers. As shown in Figure 5, each RE group can occupy 2 OTFS symbols in the time domain and 2 subcarriers in the frequency domain (1 subcarrier corresponds to 1 RE).

[0106] Therefore, for ease of understanding, the information of the first TFU will be described below as an example.

[0107] The temporal location of the first TFU includes the starting time slot S_0, the OTFS symbol offset Δ_t within the starting time slot, and the number of multiple consecutive time slots N_s^μ in the first TFU.

[0108] The value of the initial time slot S_0 is related to the number of consecutive time slots N_s^μ in the first TFU. For example, S_0∈{0,1,2,…,N_s^μ-1}.

[0109] The value of N_s^μ, the number of consecutive time slots in the first TFU, is related to the parameter μ corresponding to the preset maximum subframe and subcarrier spacing. For example, N_s^μ∈{1,2,…,N_S^max}, where N_S^max represents the preset maximum subframe. For instance, if the maximum subframe is 5, then N_S^max=5×2^μ.

[0110] The value of the OTFS symbol offset Δ_t within the initial time slot is related to the maximum number of OFDM symbols and the temporal density ρ_t included in each of the multiple consecutive time slots. For example, in, The number 13 was chosen because one time slot includes 14 OFDM symbols, numbered from 0 to 13.

[0111] The time-domain interval D_t^μ refers to the time-domain interval of each RE group. The value of the time-domain interval D_t^μ is the number of intervals used when the target signal is mapped equally in the time domain. Correspondingly, the value of the time-domain interval D_t^μ is related to the number of consecutive time slots N_s^μ in the first TFU, the number of OTFS symbols N_sym^slot included in each consecutive time slot in the aforementioned time-domain resource unit, and so on. For example, D_t^μ∈{0,1,…,N_s^μ×N_sym^slot-1}.

[0112] The time-domain density ρ_t refers to the number of consecutive OTFS symbols in the first TFU. The value of the time-domain density ρ_t is related to the number of intervals used when the target signal is mapped equally in the time domain. This is because the time-domain density ρ_t should be less than or equal to the number of intervals used when the target signal is mapped equally in the time domain to avoid mutual interference between OTFS symbols. In other words, the maximum value of the time-domain density ρ_t is less than or equal to the time-domain interval D_t^μ. For example, ρ_t∈{0,2^0,…,ρ_t^max}, where ρ_t^max≤D_t^μ, and ρ_t^max represents the maximum value of the time-domain density ρ_t.

[0113] The frequency domain location of the first TFU includes the starting RB K_0, the RE offset Δ_f included in the starting RB, and the number L_1 of multiple consecutive RBs in the first TFU.

[0114] The value of the RE offset Δ_f included in the initial RB is related to the maximum number of subcarriers and the frequency domain density ρ_f included in each of the multiple consecutive RBs. For example, in, The number 11 was chosen because one RB includes 12 subcarriers, numbered from 0 to 11.

[0115] The value of L_1, representing the number of consecutive RBs in the first TFU, is related to the number of RBs occupied by the BWP and the maximum number of RBs supported. For example, L_1∈{1,2,…,N_RB^size}, where N_RB^size represents the number of RBs occupied by the carrier bandwidth, and N_RB^size∈1,…,273 / BWP_RB^size, where BWP_RB^size represents the number of RBs occupied by the bandwidth portion, and 273 represents the maximum number of RBs supported by the OFDM signal or the number of RBs in the bandwidth used by the OTFS-ODFM integrated signal.

[0116] The frequency domain interval D_f^μ refers to the interval of each RE group in the frequency domain. The value of the frequency domain interval D_f^μ is the number of intervals used when the target signal is mapped equally in the frequency domain. For example, D_f^μ∈{0,1,…,2^(4-μ)}.

[0117] The frequency domain density ρ_f refers to the number of consecutive REs in the first TFU. The value of the frequency domain density ρ_f is related to the number of intervals used when the target signal is mapped equally in the frequency domain. This is because the frequency domain density ρ_f should be less than or equal to the number of intervals used when the target signal is mapped equally in the frequency domain to avoid interference between REs. In other words, the maximum value of the frequency domain density ρ_f is less than or equal to the frequency domain interval D_f^μ. For example, ρ_f∈{0,2^0,,..,ρ_f^max}, where ρ_f^max≤D_f^μ, and ρ_f^max represents the maximum value of the frequency domain density ρ_f.

[0118] For ease of understanding, for example, the information of the TFU can be shown in Figure 5, which can be represented as follows: when the subcarrier spacing is 15kHz, S_0=0, K_0=3, Δ_t=0, Δ_f=1, D_t^μ=4, D_f^μ=4, ρ_t=2, ρ_f=2, N_s=3, N_RB^size=3 and τ_1=0.

[0119] In addition, in this embodiment, when determining the TFU information, the following conditions must be met: the product of the frequency domain interval D_f^μ and the number of OTFS symbols N_T in the first TFU, plus the OTFS symbol offset Δ_t within the starting time slot, must be less than or equal to the product of the number of multiple consecutive time slots N_s^μ in the first TFU and the number of OTFS symbols N_sym^slot included in multiple consecutive time slots in each time domain resource unit, i.e., D_f^μ×N_T+Δ_t≤N_s^μ×N_sym^slot, and the frequency domain interval D_f^μ and the number of REs in the first TFU must be less than or equal to the product of the number of consecutive time slots N_s^μ in the first TFU and the number of OTFS symbols N_sym^slot included in each consecutive time slot, i.e., D_f^μ×N_T+Δ_t≤N_s^μ×N_sym^slot. The product of the quantities N_T and the OTFS symbol offset Δ_t within the initial time slot is less than or equal to the product of the number of RBs occupied by the carrier bandwidth N_RB^size and the number of REs included in each of the multiple consecutive RBs N]_RE^RB, i.e., D_f^μ×N_F+Δ_f≤[N_RB^size×N]_RE^RB, where the values ​​of ρ_t^μ, ρ_f^μ, N_T and N_F are all integer powers of 2, 3 or 4, and [(ρ]_t^max×N_T, ρ_f^max×N_F) has the same dimension as the DD domain of the target signal.

[0120] In this way, in this embodiment, the number of values ​​and corresponding combinations of the TFU information is limited, and the time and frequency resources of the target signal can be configured quickly by selecting the corresponding values ​​and combinations.

[0121] Furthermore, the above configuration information may also include the periodic configuration of the TFU, the offset of the TFU, the resource type corresponding to the TFU, and the location information of the target signal in the resource grid.

[0122] The periodic configuration status of TFUs refers to whether multiple configured TFUs are available. In practical applications, a bitmap can be used to indicate the periodic configuration status of TFUs.

[0123] For example, referring to Figure 5, bitmap10 indicates whether each TFU is available, representing the TFU's periodic configuration. In the specific implementation, each bit in bitmap10 can use different values ​​to indicate whether the corresponding TFU is available. For example, if the first bit in bitmap10 is 1, then bitmap10 can indicate that the TFU corresponding to the first bit is available; if the first bit in bitmap10 is 0, then bitmap10 can indicate that the TFU corresponding to the first bit is unavailable.

[0124] Accordingly, the length of bitmap10 is related to the number of consecutive time slots N_s^μ in the first TFU. For example, the length of bitmap10 is 80 / N_s^μ.

[0125] The offset of a TFU refers to the relative offset between the starting positions of two consecutive TFUs. By setting this TFU offset, the flexibility of time-frequency resources for the target signal can be improved, thereby helping to increase resource utilization.

[0126] For example, taking the relative offset τ_1 between the starting positions of two consecutive TFUs in the frequency domain, i.e., the relative offset τ_1 between the starting RBs of the two consecutive TFUs, after setting this relative offset τ_1, for the i-th TFU among multiple TFUs, the starting RB K_i of the i-th TFU is the sum of this relative offset τ_1 and the starting RB K_(i-1) of the (i-1)-th TFU, i.e., K_i = τ_1 + K_(i-1), where 0 <K_i<L_1。

[0127] The resource type corresponding to TFU can be any of periodic, aperiodic, or semi-persistent. Accordingly, periodic resources refer to resources that are repeatedly sent within fixed time intervals; aperiodic resources refer to resources that are not sent within a fixed time interval; and semi-persistent resources refer to resources that are periodically sent within a set activation period.

[0128] The location information P_(k,l)^μ of the target signal in the resource grid can be calculated using the frequency domain location w_f(k^') and time domain location w_t(l^') of the target signal in the resource grid, where P_(k,l)^μ = w_f(k') × w_t(l'). In practical applications, the resource grid is a structure in existing standards used to describe the positions of RBs with different parameter sets in the frequency domain and the positions of OFDM symbols with different parameter sets in the time domain. Based on this, after determining the TFU information, the time domain and frequency domain locations of the target signal in the resource grid can be determined accordingly.

[0129] In one possible approach, the frequency domain position w_f(k^') of the target signal in the resource grid is determined based on the starting RBK_0, the frequency domain spacing D_f^μ, the frequency domain density ρ_f, and the RE offset Δ_f included in the starting RB. For ease of understanding, the following example illustrates how w_f(k^') is determined using formula (1).

[0130]

[0131] Where k^' represents the frequency domain index, and mod represents the modulo operation.

[0132] The temporal position w_t(l') of the target signal in the resource grid is determined based on the initial time slot S_0, the temporal interval D_t^μ, the temporal density ρ_t, and the OTFS symbol offset Δ_t within the initial time slot. For ease of understanding, the following example, using formula (2), illustrates how w_t(l^') is determined.

[0133] Here, l^' represents the index in the time domain, and mod represents the modulo operation.

[0134] As can be seen, in this embodiment, the method of implementing configuration information through time-frequency domain patterns can not only reduce the number of bits occupied and achieve the result of reducing overhead, but also, given the starting position for reference (i.e., the starting RB K_0 and the starting time slot S_0), the location of the time-frequency resources of the target signal can be easily determined through the TFU information indicated by the time-frequency domain pattern, thereby facilitating UE2 and UE4 to subsequently use the time-frequency resources of the target signal to send or receive the target signal.

[0135] It should be noted that in this embodiment, time-frequency domain units are used to refer to time-domain resources in units of OTFS symbols in multiple consecutive time slots and frequency-domain resources in units of REs in multiple consecutive RBs. In other embodiments, other names may also be used to refer to time-domain resources in units of OTFS symbols in multiple consecutive time slots and frequency-domain resources in units of REs in multiple consecutive RBs.

[0136] Accordingly, when network device 1 indicates the time-frequency resources of the target signal through the configuration method of the aforementioned time-frequency domain pattern, and sends the corresponding configuration information to n UEs using the aforementioned control signaling, as an example, SIB1 or DCI can be used as the bearer of the aforementioned control signaling at the cell level, wherein SIB1 may include the configuration information ServingCellConfig. As another example, PDSCH-Config or PUSCH-Config can be used as the bearer of control signaling at the UE level.

[0137] In this implementation, network device 1 and the n UEs will use OFDM or OTFS waveforms for initial access. For example, network device 1 uses OFDM or OTFS waveforms to send downlink synchronization signals, so that the n UEs can achieve time and frequency synchronization by detecting this signal. Similarly, UE2 uses OFDM or OTFS waveforms to send uplink random access signals, so that network device 1 can allocate resources and establish connections for the n UEs by detecting this signal.

[0138] Furthermore, network device 1 and n UEs can switch the waveform of the signal used for sensing to the OTFS waveform based on the perceived Doppler offset and delay offset, or based on the transmission quality requirements of the service, thereby improving communication performance by utilizing the OTFS waveform.

[0139] As an example, firstly, n UEs can send channel state information (CSI) or historical hybrid auto-requests (HARQs) to network device 1. Based on this information, network device 1 can then send waveform switching instructions to the UEs via control signaling. These instructions can be used to instruct the n UEs to switch the waveform of their currently used signal to the OTFS waveform. Alternatively, network device 1 can also send the aforementioned waveform switching instructions to the n UEs via control signaling based on its own sensing results.

[0140] S302: n UEs send or receive target signals and OFDM signals based on this configuration information.

[0141] In this embodiment, after obtaining the configuration information, n UEs can send or receive target signals based on the time-frequency resources of the target signal in the configuration information, and send or receive OFDM signals based on the time-frequency resources of the OFDM signal. For ease of understanding, UE2 will be used as an example below to illustrate the implementation process of UE2 sending or receiving target signals in conjunction with two possible implementation methods.

[0142] As one possible implementation, when UE2 transmits or receives a target signal based on configuration information, it can specifically map the target signal to the time-frequency resources of the target signal for transmission or reception based on the configuration information. In this embodiment, the implementation method for mapping the target signal to the time-frequency resources of the target signal is not specifically limited, and any existing or future mapping method can be used.

[0143] As another possible implementation, before UE2 transmits or receives the target signal based on the configuration information, network device 1 can pre-configure the time-frequency resources of the target signal. Accordingly, UE2 can determine the time-frequency resources of the target signal based on the configuration information, and transmit or receive the target signal in the time-frequency resources of the target signal accordingly.

[0144] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the implementation process of UE3 transmitting or receiving OFDM signals can be exemplarily described using UE3 as an example in conjunction with a possible implementation method.

[0145] As one possible implementation, when UE3 transmits or receives OFDM signals based on configuration information, it can specifically transmit or receive OFDM signals through a rate matching mechanism of PDSCH or PUSCH based on the configuration information. Specifically, UE3 can use the time-frequency resources of the OFDM signal in the configuration information to transmit or receive OFDM signals, but during transmission or reception, it needs to avoid the time-frequency resources of the target signal through a rate matching mechanism of PDSCH or PUSCH. Since the rate matching mechanism of PDSCH or PUSCH can adjust the data rate, it can allow network device 1 and UE3 to avoid the time-frequency resources of the target signal when transmitting OFDM signals, thus avoiding interference with the transmission of the target signal.

[0146] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG3, network device 1 can also send or receive target signals and OFDM signals based on the above configuration information. For specific implementation methods, please refer to the similar implementation process described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0147] Furthermore, as mentioned in the embodiment shown in Figure 3 above, network device 1 can send configuration information to n UEs. This configuration information can indicate the time-frequency resources of the target signal and the time-frequency resources of the OFDM signal, so that the n UEs can send or receive the target signal and the OFDM signal based on the configuration information. Accordingly, in practical applications, considering that the configured time-frequency resources of the target signal may not actually be used by network device 1 and the n UEs, this part of the time-frequency resources can be deactivated, so that other signals can use this part of the time-frequency resources, thereby improving the utilization rate of time-frequency resources. Based on this, for ease of understanding, the deactivation process of this part of the time-frequency resources can be described in detail below with reference to Figure 6. Here, for ease of understanding and explanation, the example applied to the communication system shown in Figure 1 is still used for illustration.

[0148] Referring to Figure 6, a flowchart of another communication method is shown. As shown in Figure 6, the flow of this communication method includes the following steps.

[0149] S601: Network device 1 sends configuration information to n UEs. The configuration information is used to configure the time-frequency resources of the target signal and the OFDM signal. The target signal includes the OTFS signal, and the time-frequency resources of the target signal and the OFDM signal are orthogonal. The time-frequency resources of the target signal are indicated by time-domain resource units and frequency-domain resource units. The time-domain resource units are used to indicate the position of the OTFS symbol in multiple consecutive time slots, and the frequency-domain resource units are used to indicate the position of the resource unit in multiple consecutive resource blocks.

[0150] In this embodiment, the method by which network device 1 sends configuration information to n UEs can be found in the description of the relevant parts of the embodiment shown in Figure 3 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0151] S602: n UEs send or receive target signals and OFDM signals based on this configuration information.

[0152] In this embodiment, the method by which n UEs send or receive target signals and OFDM signals based on the configuration information can be found in the description of the relevant parts of the embodiment shown in Figure 3 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0153] S603: Network device 1 sends indication information to n UEs. The indication information is used to deactivate a portion of the time-frequency resources in the time-frequency resources of the target signal. This portion of the time-frequency resources is used to transmit or receive other signals.

[0154] Among them, the aforementioned time-frequency resources are the time-frequency resources of the target signal that are not used by network device 1 and n UEs.

[0155] Based on this, in a specific implementation, network device 1 can send the indication information to n UEs through control signaling, such as at least one of RRC, MAC CE, and DCI. For example, the transmission of the above configuration information and indication information can be implemented using different signaling methods. For instance, network device 1 can send configuration information to n UEs via RRC signaling to configure the time-frequency resources of the target signal, and then send indication information via MAC signaling or DCI signaling to select and activate the time-frequency resources of the target signal. Accordingly, for ease of understanding, the content of the indication information will be explained exemplarily below.

[0156] As an example, the aforementioned indication information may include first indication information, second indication information, and third indication information. Specifically, the first indication information indicates unused OTFS symbols in the time-frequency resources of the target signal; the second indication information indicates unused REs in the time-frequency resources of the target signal; and the third indication information indicates the period during which the target signal was not transmitted. Therefore, by using these three types of indication information, the unused portion of the time-frequency resources of the target signal can be accurately indicated, thus facilitating the deactivation of these resources.

[0157] For example, the first, second, and third indication information mentioned above can all be implemented using bitmaps. Based on this, the first indication information could be bitmap11, the second indication information could be bitmap12, and the third indication information could be bitmap13. Correspondingly, taking the two-level bitmaps mentioned in the above embodiment as an example, bitmap11 can correspond to bitmap2, indicating which OTFS symbols indicated by bitmap2 are unused, and the length of bitmap11 is N_slot^t × N_sym^slot × 2^μ. Bitmap12 can correspond to bitmap4, indicating which REs indicated by bitmap4 are unused, and the length of bitmap11 is N_RB^f × N_RE^RB. Bitmap13 can correspond to bitmap3, indicating which time-domain resource units and frequency-domain resource units in the periods indicated by bitmap3 are unused, and the length of bitmap13 is TTI / N_slot^t.

[0158] Additionally, it should be noted that in this embodiment, the above three types of indication information are only illustrative examples. In practice, other indication information can also be used to indicate that the time-frequency resources indicated by the corresponding bitmap in the above embodiment are not used, which is not limited here.

[0159] S604: n UEs, based on the indication information, use this portion of time-frequency resources to send or receive other signals, which do not include the target signal mentioned above.

[0160] Here, this embodiment does not specifically limit the implementation method of n UEs using this part of the time and frequency resources to send or receive other signals. It can be implemented by any existing or future method of sending or receiving other signals.

[0161] In addition, in this embodiment, network device 1 may also send or receive other signals based on the above-mentioned indication information. For specific implementation methods, please refer to the similar implementation process described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0162] In this way, in this embodiment, by deactivating the time-frequency resources of the pre-configured but unused target signals, network devices 1 and n UEs can use these surplus time-frequency resources to send or receive other signals, thereby improving the utilization rate of time-frequency resources.

[0163] The hardware implementation of network devices and UEs will be further described below with reference to Figures 7 and 8.

[0164] Referring to Figure 7, a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a network device is shown. The network device shown in Figure 7 includes at least one processor 111, at least one memory 112, at least one transceiver 113, at least one network interface 114, and one or more antennas 115. The processor 111, memory 112, transceiver 113, and network interface 114 are connected, for example, via a bus. In this embodiment, the connection may include various interfaces, transmission lines, or buses, etc., and this embodiment is not limited thereto. The antenna 115 is connected to the transceiver 113. The network interface 114 is used to enable the network device to connect to other communication devices through a communication link. For example, the network interface 114 may include a network interface between the network device and network devices in the core network, such as an S1 interface; the network interface may also include a network interface between the network device and other network devices, such as an X2 or Xn interface.

[0165] Specifically, the processor 111 shown in Figure 7 can perform the network device processing actions in the above method, the memory 112 can perform the storage actions in the above method, the transceiver 113 and the antenna 115 can perform the air interface transmission and reception actions in the above method, and the network interface 114 can perform the interaction actions with the network device or other network devices in the above method.

[0166] The processor in this application embodiment, such as processor 111, may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), or an artificial intelligence processor, etc., which are various computing devices that run software. Each computing device may include one or more cores for executing software instructions to perform calculations or processing. The processor may be a separate semiconductor chip or integrated with other circuits into a single semiconductor chip. For example, it may be integrated with other circuits (such as encoding / decoding circuits, hardware acceleration circuits, or various bus and interface circuits) to form a SoC (System-on-a-Chip), or it may be integrated as a built-in processor in an ASIC. The ASIC with the integrated processor may be packaged separately or packaged together with other circuits. In addition to including cores for executing software instructions to perform calculations or processing, the processor may further include necessary hardware accelerators, such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), PLDs (programmable logic devices), or logic circuits that implement dedicated logic operations.

[0167] The memory in the embodiments of this application may include at least one of the following types: read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices capable of storing static information and instructions; random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices capable of storing information and instructions; or electrically erasable programmable-only memory (EEPROM). In some scenarios, the memory may also be a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

[0168] The memory 112 can exist independently and be connected to the processor 111. Optionally, the memory 112 can be integrated with the processor 111, for example, integrated into a single chip. The memory 112 can store program code that executes the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and its execution is controlled by the processor 111. The various types of computer program code being executed can also be considered as drivers for the processor 111. For example, the processor 111 executes the computer program code stored in the memory 112 to implement the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

[0169] Transceiver 113 can be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency (RF) signals between network devices and other devices. Transceiver 113 can be connected to antenna 115. Transceiver 113 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 115 can receive RF signals. The receiver Rx of transceiver 113 is used to receive the RF signals from the antennas, convert the RF signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency (IF) signals, and provide the digital baseband signals or IF signals to the processor 111 so that the processor 111 can perform further processing on the digital baseband signals or IF signals, such as demodulation and decoding. In addition, the transmitter Tx in transceiver 113 is also used to receive modulated digital baseband signals or IF signals from processor 111, convert the modulated digital baseband signals or IF signals into RF signals, and transmit the RF signals through one or more antennas 115. Specifically, the receiver Rx can selectively perform one or more stages of downmixing and analog-to-digital conversion on the radio frequency signal to obtain a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency (IF) signal. The order of the downmixing and IF conversion processes is adjustable. The transmitter Tx can selectively perform one or more stages of upmixing and digital-to-analog conversion on the modulated digital baseband signal or digital IF signal to obtain a radio frequency signal. The order of the upmixing and IF conversion processes is also adjustable. The digital baseband signal and the digital IF signal can be collectively referred to as digital signals.

[0170] Figure 8 shows an example of the composition of a UE provided in an embodiment of this application. The UE may be, for example, a mobile phone, a smart wearable device (such as a smartwatch), etc. Taking a mobile phone as an example, the UE may include a processor 310, an external memory interface 320, an internal memory 321, a display screen 330, a camera 340, an antenna 1, an antenna 2, a mobile communication module 350, and a wireless communication module 360, etc.

[0171] It is understood that the structure illustrated in this embodiment does not constitute a specific limitation on the UE. In other embodiments, the UE may include more or fewer components than illustrated, or combine some components, or split some components, or have different component arrangements. The illustrated components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0172] Processor 310 may include one or more processing units, such as: application processor (AP), modem processor, graphics processing unit (GPU), image signal processor (ISP), controller, time-frequency codec, digital signal processor (DSP), baseband processor, and / or neural network processing unit (NPU), etc. The different processing units may be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors.

[0173] It is understood that the interface connection relationships between the modules illustrated in this embodiment are merely illustrative and do not constitute a limitation on the structure of the UE. In other embodiments of this application, the UE may also adopt different interface connection methods or a combination of multiple interface connection methods as described in the above embodiments.

[0174] The external memory interface 320 can be used to connect an external memory card, such as a Micro SD card, to expand the UE's storage capacity. The external memory card communicates with the processor 310 through the external memory interface 320 to perform data storage functions. For example, music, time and frequency files can be saved on the external memory card.

[0175] Internal memory 321 can be used to store computer executable program code, including instructions. Processor 310 executes various functional applications and data processing of the UE by running the instructions stored in internal memory 321. Internal memory 321 may include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store the operating system, at least one application program required for a function (such as sound playback function, image playback function, etc.), etc. The data storage area may store data created by the UE during use (such as time-frequency stream data), etc. In addition, internal memory 321 may include high-speed random access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, flash memory device, universal flash storage (UFS), etc. Processor 310 executes various functions and data processing of the UE by running instructions stored in internal memory 321 and / or instructions stored in memory disposed in the processor.

[0176] The UE's wireless communication function can be implemented through antenna 1, antenna 2, mobile communication module 350, wireless communication module 360, modem processor, and baseband processor.

[0177] Antenna 1 and antenna 2 are used to transmit and receive electromagnetic wave signals. Each antenna in the UE can be used to cover one or more communication frequency bands. Different antennas can also be multiplexed to improve antenna utilization. For example, antenna 1 can be multiplexed as a diversity antenna for a wireless local area network. In some other embodiments, the antennas can be used in conjunction with tuning switches.

[0178] The mobile communication module 350 can provide solutions for wireless communication applications including 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G on the UE. The mobile communication module 350 may include at least one filter, switch, power amplifier, low noise amplifier (LNA), etc. The mobile communication module 350 can receive electromagnetic waves via antenna 1, and perform filtering, amplification, and other processing on the received electromagnetic waves before transmitting them to a modem processor for demodulation. The mobile communication module 350 can also amplify the signal modulated by the modem processor and convert it into electromagnetic waves for radiation via antenna 1. In some embodiments, at least some functional modules of the mobile communication module 350 may be housed in the processor 310. In some embodiments, at least some functional modules of the mobile communication module 350 and at least some modules of the processor 310 may be housed in the same device.

[0179] In some embodiments, the UE initiates or receives call requests through the mobile communication module 350 and the antenna 1.

[0180] Furthermore, an operating system runs on top of the aforementioned components. Examples include iOS, Android, and Windows operating systems. Applications can be installed and run on this operating system. Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, explanations and beneficial effects of any of the UE components described above can be found in the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0181] Furthermore, embodiments of this application also provide a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on one or more computing devices, cause the one or more computing devices to perform the communication method described in the above embodiments.

[0182] Furthermore, this application also provides a computer program product, which, when executed by one or more computing devices, allows the computing devices to execute any of the aforementioned communication methods. The computer program product can be a software installation package; when any of the aforementioned communication methods is required, the computer program product can be downloaded and executed on a computer.

[0183] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that this application can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware, or it can be implemented by special-purpose hardware including application-specific integrated circuits, special-purpose CPUs, special-purpose memory, special-purpose components, etc. Generally, any function performed by a computer program can be easily implemented by corresponding hardware, and the specific hardware structure used to implement the same function can also be diverse, such as analog circuits, digital circuits, or special-purpose circuits. However, for this application, software program implementation is more often the preferred implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a readable storage medium, such as a computer floppy disk, USB flash drive, mobile hard disk, ROM, RAM, magnetic disk, or optical disk, etc., and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, training equipment, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of this application.

[0184] In the above embodiments, the implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, in the form of a computer program product.

[0185] 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 may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, training device, or data center to another website, computer, training device, 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 may be any available medium that a computer can store or a data storage device such as a training device 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., DVDs), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state drives (SSDs)).

[0186] The system architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a user equipment (UE), the method includes: The system receives configuration information, which is used to configure the time-frequency resources of the target signal and the time-frequency resources of the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal. The target signal includes an orthogonal time-frequency space (OTFS) signal. The time-frequency resources of the target signal and the time-frequency resources of the OFDM signal are orthogonal. The time-frequency resources of the target signal are indicated by time-domain resource units and frequency-domain resource units. The time-domain resource units are used to indicate the position of OTFS symbols in multiple consecutive time slots, and the frequency-domain resource units are used to indicate the position of resource units in multiple consecutive resource blocks. Based on the configuration information, the target signal and the OFDM signal are sent or received.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The configuration information includes a first-level bitmap and a second-level bitmap. The first-level bitmap is used to indicate the OTFS symbols included in multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit and multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit. The second-level bitmap is used to indicate the resource units included in multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first-level bitmap includes a first bitmap, a second bitmap, and a third bitmap. The second-level bitmap includes a fourth bitmap. The length of the first bitmap is the number of frequency domain resource units. The length of the second bitmap is related to the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit, the number of OTFS symbols included in the multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit, and the parameter μ corresponding to the subcarrier spacing. The length of the third bitmap is related to the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit and a preset transmission time interval. The length of the fourth bitmap is related to the number of multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit, the number of resource units included in each resource block in the multiple consecutive resource blocks, and the number of intervals used when the target signal is equally spaced in the frequency domain.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first-level bitmap includes a first bitmap, a second bitmap, and a third bitmap, and the second-level bitmap includes a fourth bitmap. The first bitmap is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resource unit is available, the second bitmap is used to indicate whether the OTFS symbols included in multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit are available, the third bitmap is used to indicate whether the time domain resource unit and the frequency domain resource unit corresponding to the first bitmap and the second bitmap are activated, and the fourth bitmap is used to indicate whether the resource units included in multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit are available.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The configuration information includes a first-level bitmap and a second-level bitmap. The first-level bitmap is used to indicate multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit and multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit. The second-level bitmap is used to indicate the OTFS symbols included in the multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit and the resource units included in the multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The first-level bitmap includes a fifth bitmap, a sixth bitmap, and a seventh bitmap. The second-level bitmap includes an eighth bitmap and a ninth bitmap. The length of the fifth bitmap is the number of frequency domain resource units. The length of the sixth bitmap is related to the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the frequency domain resource unit and the parameter μ corresponding to the subcarrier spacing. The length of the seventh bitmap is related to the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit and a preset transmission time interval. The length of the eighth bitmap is related to the number of multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit, the number of resource units included in each resource block in the multiple consecutive resource blocks, and the number of intervals used when the target signal is equally spaced in the frequency domain. The length of the ninth bitmap is the number of OTFS symbols included in the multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The first-level bitmap includes a fifth bitmap, a sixth bitmap, and a seventh bitmap, and the second-level bitmap includes an eighth bitmap and a ninth bitmap. The fifth bitmap is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resource unit is available. The sixth bitmap is used to indicate whether multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit are available. The seventh bitmap is used to indicate whether the time domain resource unit and the frequency domain resource unit corresponding to the fifth bitmap and the sixth bitmap are activated. The eighth bitmap is used to indicate whether the resource units included in multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit are available. The ninth bitmap is used to indicate whether the OTFS symbols included in multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit are available.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The configuration information includes a time-frequency domain pattern, which is used to indicate the information of a Time-Frequency Unit (TFU). The TFU corresponds to the frequency-domain resource unit and the time-domain resource unit. The TFU is determined based on the time-domain location and the frequency-domain location. The time-domain location is used to indicate the OTFS symbols included in multiple consecutive time slots in the TFU, and the frequency-domain location is used to indicate the resource units included in multiple consecutive resource blocks in the TFU.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The number of TFUs is multiple, and the first TFU is the first TFU among the multiple TFUs. The information of the first TFU includes the time domain position, time domain interval, time domain density, frequency domain position, frequency domain interval, and frequency domain density of the first TFU.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The first TFU includes multiple resource unit groups, each of which occupies multiple resource units in the frequency domain and multiple OTFS symbols in the time domain; The time-domain location of the first TFU includes the starting time slot, the OTFS symbol offset within the starting time slot, and the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the first TFU. The time-domain interval is the time-domain interval of each resource unit group, and the time-domain density is the number of multiple consecutive OTFS symbols in the first TFU. The frequency-domain location of the first TFU includes the starting resource block, the resource unit offset included in the starting resource block, and the number of multiple consecutive resource blocks in the first TFU. The frequency-domain interval is the frequency-domain interval of each resource unit group, and the frequency-domain density is the number of multiple consecutive resource units in the first TFU.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The value of the starting time slot is related to the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the first TFU. The value of the OTFS symbol offset is related to the maximum number of OFDM symbols included in each of the multiple consecutive time slots and the time domain density. The value of the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the first TFU is related to the parameter μ corresponding to the preset maximum subframe and subcarrier spacing. The value of the time domain spacing is related to the number of multiple consecutive time slots in the first TFU and the number of OTFS symbols included in the time slots in the time domain resource unit. The maximum value of the time domain density is less than or equal to the time domain spacing. The value of the resource unit offset is related to the maximum number of subcarriers included in each of the multiple consecutive resource blocks and the frequency domain density. The value of the number of multiple consecutive resource blocks in the first TFU is related to the number of resource blocks occupied by the bandwidth portion BWP and the maximum number of supported resource blocks. The value of the frequency domain spacing is related to the number of intervals used when the target signal is equally spaced in the frequency domain. The maximum value of the frequency domain density is less than or equal to the frequency domain spacing.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The configuration information also includes the frequency domain position and time domain position of the target signal in the resource grid. The frequency domain position of the target signal in the resource grid is determined based on the starting resource block, the frequency domain interval, the frequency domain density, and the offset of the resource cells included in the starting resource block. The time domain position of the target signal in the resource grid is determined based on the starting time slot, the time domain interval, the time domain density, and the OTFS symbol offset within the starting time slot.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: The system receives instruction information, which is used to deactivate a portion of the time-frequency resources of the target signal. The portion of the target signal resources is used to transmit or receive other signals, and the other signals do not include the target signal.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The indication information includes a first indication information, a second indication information, and a third indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate unused OTFS symbols in the time-frequency resources of the target signal. The second indication information is used to indicate unused resource blocks in the time-frequency resources of the target signal. The third indication information is used to indicate the period during which the target signal was not transmitted.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, The target signal is an OTFS signal or an OTFS-OFDM integrated signal.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, Sending or receiving the OFDM signal based on the configuration information includes: Based on the configuration information, the OFDM signal is transmitted or received through the rate matching mechanism of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) or the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, The step of sending or receiving the target signal based on the configuration information includes: Based on the configuration information, the target signal is mapped to the time-frequency resources of the target signal for transmission or reception; or, Based on the configuration information, the target signal is transmitted or received in the time-frequency resources of the target signal.

18. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to network devices, the method includes: Configuration information is sent to the User Equipment (UE). The configuration information is used to configure the time-frequency resources of the target signal and the time-frequency resources of the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signal. The target signal includes an Orthogonal Time-Frequency Space (OTFS) signal. The time-frequency resources of the target signal and the time-frequency resources of the OFDM signal are orthogonal. The time-frequency resources of the target signal are indicated by time-domain resource units and frequency-domain resource units. The time-domain resource units are used to indicate the position of OTFS symbols in multiple consecutive time slots, and the frequency-domain resource units are used to indicate the position of resource units in multiple consecutive resource blocks. Based on the configuration information, the target signal and the OFDM signal are sent or received.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The configuration information includes a first-level bitmap and a second-level bitmap. The first-level bitmap is used to indicate the OTFS symbols included in multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit and multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit. The second-level bitmap is used to indicate the resource units included in multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit.

20. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The configuration information includes a first-level bitmap and a second-level bitmap. The first-level bitmap is used to indicate multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit and multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit. The second-level bitmap is used to indicate the OTFS symbols included in the multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain resource unit and the resource units included in the multiple consecutive resource blocks in the frequency domain resource unit.

21. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The configuration information includes a time-frequency domain pattern, which is used to indicate the information of a Time-Frequency Unit (TFU). The TFU corresponds to the frequency-domain resource unit and the time-domain resource unit. The TFU is determined based on the time-domain location and the frequency-domain location. The time-domain location is used to indicate the OTFS symbols included in multiple consecutive time slots in the TFU, and the frequency-domain location is used to indicate the resource units included in multiple consecutive resource blocks in the TFU.

22. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 21, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending instruction information, the instruction information being used to deactivate a portion of the time-frequency resources of the target signal, the portion of the target signal resources being used to send or receive other signals, the other signals not including the target signal.

23. A user equipment (UE), characterized in that, include: A transceiver for performing the receiving and transmitting operations in the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17; A processor for performing operations other than the receiving operation and the sending operation in the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

24. A network device, characterized in that, include: A transceiver for performing the receiving and transmitting operations in the method of any one of claims 18 to 22; A processor for performing operations other than the receiving operation and the sending operation in the method of any one of claims 18 to 22.

25. A communication system, characterized in that, The method includes a network device and a user equipment (UE), wherein the network device is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, and the UE is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 18 to 22.

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