CN111865537B - Communication method and communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can effectively indicate the information of the channel occupation time and ensure the data transmission performance. The method may include: the terminal device receives indication information from the network device, the indication information is used to indicate the information of the time slot where the end position of the channel occupancy time COT is located; based on the information of the time slot where the end position of the COT is located, the terminal device is in the COT internal communication.

Description

Communication method and communication device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a communication method and a communication apparatus.

Background

Due to the rapid development of wireless communication technology, spectrum resources are increasingly in short supply, and the exploration of unauthorized frequency bands is promoted. The third Generation Partnership Project (3rd Generation Partnership Project, 3GPP) introduced Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) and enhanced licensed assisted access (eLAA) technologies in release 13(release-13, R-13) and release 14(release-14, R-14), respectively, i.e., non-independent (non-persistent) deployment LTE/LTE-a systems over unlicensed spectrum, maximizing the use of unlicensed spectrum resources with the assistance of licensed spectrum.

Communication systems deployed over unlicensed spectrum (unlicensed spectrum) typically use or share radio resources in a contention-based manner. Generally, a transmitting device first listens to an unlicensed channel (or unlicensed spectrum) for free before transmitting a signal. For example, the sending device confirms whether the channel is idle through a Listen Before Talk (LBT) mechanism.

If the LBT initiated by the sending end device is successful, the sending end device obtains the channel use right. The sending-end device occupies the channel within a Channel Occupancy Time (COT). Alternatively, the sending device may share the obtained channel usage right in the COT to other devices. For example, when the sending end device is a network device, the network device may share the channel usage right to the terminal device, that is, allow the terminal device to perform transmission within the COT.

Then, how the sending end device indicates the COT to the other device becomes an urgent problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can effectively indicate the information of the channel occupation time length and ensure the data transmission performance.

In a first aspect, a method of communication is provided. The method may be executed by the terminal device, or may also be executed by a chip or a circuit configured in the terminal device, which is not limited in this application.

The method can comprise the following steps: the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives indication information from network equipment, wherein the indication information is used for indicating information of channel occupation time COT in the last time slot; and based on the information of the COT in the last time slot, the terminal equipment communicates in the COT.

Based on the above technical solution, the terminal device may determine, through the received indication information, information of a Channel Occupancy Time (COT) in a last slot (slot), for example, including but not limited to: it may be determined which symbols in the last slot are within the COT or which symbols in the last slot are outside the COT, e.g., symbols in the last slot that are within the COT, or symbols in the last slot that are outside the COT, etc. By enabling the terminal device to determine the information of the last time slot, the terminal device can accurately determine the specific position of the COT, for example, determine which symbols of the last time slot can be used for uplink and downlink transmission, and the like, thereby avoiding the terminal device from performing unnecessary data transmission or analyzing data, and the like, further avoiding the waste of resources, and improving the data transmission performance.

The terminal device communicates in the COT based on the information of the COT in the last time slot, or may be understood as that the terminal device communicates in the COT based on the information of the time slot where the end position of the COT is located.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the indicating information is used to indicate information of the COT in a last timeslot, and the indicating information includes: the indication information is used for indicating the state of the symbol in the last time slot.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the indicating information is used to indicate information of the COT in a last timeslot, and the indicating information includes: the indication information is used for indicating: symbols within the last slot that are within the COT, and/or symbols within the last slot that are outside the COT.

Based on the above technical solution, the terminal device may determine, through the received indication information, which symbols are located in the COT and/or which symbols are located outside the COT in the last time slot, so that the terminal device may determine which symbols of the last time slot may be used for data transmission, avoid that the terminal device performs data transmission or analyzes data and the like on symbols located outside the COT, and avoid waste of resources.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the indication information includes a slot format indication, SFI, of the first slot; the method further comprises the following steps: and the terminal equipment determines the uplink and downlink configuration information of the symbol occupied by the COT in the last time slot according to the SFI of the first time slot.

Based on the above technical solution, the terminal device may determine, according to the SFI of another timeslot (for example, referred to as a first slot), the uplink and downlink configuration information of the symbol occupied by the COT in the last timeslot, so as to obtain corresponding uplink and downlink configurations and improve data transmission performance.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first time slot is adjacent to the last time slot.

Based on the above technical solution, the first timeslot referred to by the terminal device may be a timeslot adjacent to the last timeslot, and the first timeslot may be a timeslot located within the COT or a timeslot located outside the COT.

For example, the SFI received by the terminal device is (a1, a2, a3), and if a2 is the SFI corresponding to the last timeslot, the uplink and downlink configuration corresponding to a2 may refer to the uplink and downlink configuration corresponding to a1, or refer to the uplink and downlink configuration corresponding to a 3. Wherein a1, a2 and a3 are integers greater than 0 or equal to 0 and less than 255.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the information of the last timeslot occupied by the COT includes one or more of the following information: the number of symbols occupied by the COT in the last time slot, the number of time slots occupied by the COT, information of the time slot in which the start position of the COT is located, or the total number of symbols occupied by the COT.

In a second aspect, a method of communication is provided. The method may be performed by a network device, or may be performed by a chip or a circuit configured in the network device, which is not limited in this application.

The method can comprise the following steps: the network equipment determines the information of the channel occupation time COT in the last time slot; and the network equipment sends indication information to terminal equipment, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the information of the COT in the last time slot.

Based on the technical scheme, the network device can indicate the information of the Channel Occupancy Time (COT) in the last slot (slot) to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can determine the information of the last slot, and further the terminal device can accurately determine the specific position of the COT, thereby avoiding the terminal device from carrying out unnecessary data transmission or analyzing data and the like, further avoiding the waste of resources, and improving the data transmission performance.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the indicating information is used to indicate information of the COT in a last slot, and includes: the indication information is used for indicating the state of the symbol in the last time slot.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the indicating information is used to indicate information of the COT in a last slot, and includes: the indication information is used for indicating: symbols within the last slot that are within the COT, and/or symbols within the last slot that are outside the COT.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the indication information includes a slot format indication SFI of the first slot, where the SFI of the first slot is used by the terminal device to determine uplink and downlink configuration information of a symbol occupied by the COT in a last slot.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the first time slot is adjacent to the last time slot.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the information of the last timeslot occupied by the COT includes one or more of the following information: the number of symbols occupied by the COT in the last time slot, the number of time slots occupied by the COT, information of the time slot in which the start position of the COT is located, or the total number of symbols occupied by the COT.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: and the network equipment sends the indication information to the terminal equipment under the condition that the symbols occupied by the COT in the last time slot are partial symbols in the last time slot.

Based on the above technical solution, the network device may send the indication information to the terminal device when the last timeslot is an incomplete timeslot, that is, when a symbol occupied by the COT in the last timeslot is a partial symbol in the last timeslot.

In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, which is configured to perform the method provided in the first aspect. In particular, the communication device may comprise means for performing the method provided by the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, which is configured to perform the method provided by the second aspect. In particular, the communication device may comprise means for performing the method provided by the second aspect.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a memory for storing instructions and a processor for executing the instructions stored by the memory, so that the communication device performs the method provided in the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, which comprises a memory for storing instructions and a processor for executing the instructions stored by the memory, such that the communication device performs the method provided in the second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, a chip is provided, where the chip includes a processing module and a communication interface, where the processing module is configured to control the communication interface to communicate with the outside, and the processing module is further configured to implement the method provided in the first aspect.

In an eighth aspect, a chip is provided, where the chip includes a processing module and a communication interface, the processing module is configured to control the communication interface to communicate with the outside, and the processing module is further configured to implement the method provided in the second aspect.

A ninth aspect provides a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a communication apparatus, causes the communication apparatus to carry out the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

A tenth aspect provides a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a communication apparatus, causes the communication apparatus to carry out the second aspect, and the method in any possible implementation of the second aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause a communication apparatus to carry out the method provided in the first aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, a computer program product is provided comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause a communication device to carry out the method provided by the second aspect.

In a thirteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the terminal device and the network device.

Based on the embodiment of the present application, the network device sends, to the terminal device, information indicating that a Channel Occupancy Time (COT) is in a last slot (slot), in other words, information indicating a slot where an end position of the COT is located, which includes but is not limited to: it may be determined which symbols in the last slot are within the COT or which symbols in the last slot are outside the COT, e.g., it may be determined which symbols in the last slot are within the COT, it may be determined which symbols in the last slot are outside the COT, etc. The terminal device can determine the information of the last time slot, so that the terminal device can accurately determine the specific position of the COT, for example, determine which symbols of the last time slot can be used for uplink and downlink transmission, and the like, thereby avoiding the terminal device from performing unnecessary data transmission or analyzing data, and the like, further avoiding the waste of resources, and improving the data transmission performance.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system suitable for use in embodiments of the present application;

fig. 2 shows another schematic diagram of a communication system suitable for use in embodiments of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an LBT listening mechanism suitable for use in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating another LBT listening mechanism suitable for use in embodiments of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a proposed communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a COT suitable for use in embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 7 is yet another schematic illustration of a COT suitable for use with embodiments of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is yet another schematic block diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic block diagram of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solution in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a future fifth generation (5G) system or New Radio (NR), global system for mobile communications (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunications system (universal mobile telecommunications system, UMTS), universal mobile telecommunications system (WiMAX), etc. the system may be a New Radio (NR) system, a CDMA (CDMA) system, a WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access) system, a WCDMA (worldwide interoperability for microwave communication system, or the like. The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can also be applied to device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, Machine Type Communication (MTC), and communication in a vehicle networking system. The communication modes in the car networking system are collectively referred to as V2X (X represents anything), for example, the V2X communication includes: vehicle to vehicle (V2V), vehicle to roadside infrastructure (V2I), vehicle to pedestrian (V2P) or vehicle to network (V2N), etc.

For the understanding of the embodiments of the present application, a communication system suitable for the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to fig. 1 and 2.

Fig. 1 is a diagram of a wireless communication system 100 suitable for use in embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 1, the wireless communication system 100 may include at least one network device, such as the network device 111 shown in fig. 1, and the wireless communication system 100 may further include at least one terminal device, such as the terminal devices 121 to 123 shown in fig. 1. The network equipment and the terminal equipment can be both provided with a plurality of antennas, and the network equipment and the terminal equipment can communicate by using a multi-antenna technology.

When the network device communicates with the terminal device, the network device may manage one or more cells, and an integer number of terminal devices may be in one cell. Optionally, the network device 111 and the terminal devices 121 to 123 form a single-cell communication system, and without loss of generality, a cell is denoted as cell # 1. Network device 111 may be a network device in cell #1, or network device 111 may serve a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 121) in cell # 1.

It should be noted that a cell may be understood as an area within the wireless signal coverage of a network device.

Fig. 2 is another schematic diagram of a wireless communication system 200 suitable for use in embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 2, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application may also be applied to D2D communication. The wireless communication system 200 includes a plurality of terminal devices, such as terminal device 124 through terminal device 126 in fig. 2. Communication may be made directly between end device 124 to end device 126. For example, terminal device 124 and terminal device 125 may transmit data to terminal device 126 separately or simultaneously.

It should be understood that fig. 1 and 2 are simplified schematic diagrams that are merely examples for ease of understanding, and that other network devices or other terminal devices may also be included in the communication system 100 or the communication system 200, which are not shown.

It should also be understood that the network device in the wireless communication system may be any device having a wireless transceiving function. Such devices include, but are not limited to: evolved Node B (eNB), Radio Network Controller (RNC), Node B (Node B, NB), Base Station Controller (BSC), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), Home Base Station (e.g., Home evolved NodeB, or Home Node B, HNB), BaseBand Unit (Base band Unit, BBU), Access Point (AP) in Wireless Fidelity (WIFI) system, etc., and may also be 5G, such as NR, gbb in system, or TRP, transmission Point (TRP or TP), one or a group of antennas (including multiple antennas, NB, or a transmission panel) of a Base Station in 5G system, such as a baseband unit (BBU), or a Distributed Unit (DU), etc.

In some deployments, the gNB may include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a DU. The gNB may further include an Active Antenna Unit (AAU). The CU implements part of the function of the gNB and the DU implements part of the function of the gNB. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, and implementing functions of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer and a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU is responsible for processing a physical layer protocol and a real-time service, and implements functions of a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, and a Physical (PHY) layer. The AAU implements part of the physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing and active antenna related functions. Since the information of the RRC layer eventually becomes or is converted from the information of the PHY layer, the higher layer signaling, such as the RRC layer signaling, may also be considered to be transmitted by the DU or by the DU + AAU under this architecture. It is to be understood that the network device may be a device comprising one or more of a CU node, a DU node, an AAU node. In addition, the CU may be divided into network devices in an access network (RAN), or may be divided into network devices in a Core Network (CN), which is not limited in this application.

It should also be understood that terminal equipment in the wireless communication system may also be referred to as User Equipment (UE), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user equipment. The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with a wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an Augmented Reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote medical (remote medical), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), and the like. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios.

To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, a brief description of several terms referred to in the present application will be given below.

1. Symbol (symbol)

Minimum unit of time domain resource. The time length of one symbol is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The length of one symbol may be different for different subcarrier spacings. The symbols may include uplink symbols and downlink symbols, and the uplink symbols may be referred to as single carrier-frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbols or orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM) symbols, for example and without limitation; the downlink symbols may be referred to as OFDM symbols, for example. In the embodiment of the present application, the symbol may be another example of the resource unit.

2. Time slot

A slot is a period of time resource. For example, in NR, a slot may be the smallest scheduling unit of time. One slot format is to include 14 OFDM symbols, and the CP of each OFDM symbol is a normal CP (normal CP); one slot format is that 12 OFDM symbols are included, and the CP of each OFDM symbol is extended CP; one slot format is to contain 7 OFDM symbols, each of which has a normal CP. The OFDM symbols in one slot may be all used for uplink transmission; can be used for downlink transmission; or one part can be used for downlink transmission, one part can be used for uplink transmission, and one part is reserved for no transmission. It should be understood that the above examples are illustrative only and should not be construed as limiting the present application in any way. The slot format is not limited to the above example for system forward compatibility considerations.

3. Time frequency resource

In the embodiment of the present application, data or information may be carried by time-frequency resources, where the time-frequency resources may include resources in a time domain and resources in a frequency domain. In the time domain, the time-frequency resource may include one or more time-domain units (or may also be referred to as time units), and in the frequency domain, the time-frequency resource may include one or more frequency-domain units.

One time domain unit may be one symbol, or one mini-slot (mini-slot), or one slot (slot), or one subframe (subframe). Wherein the duration of one subframe in the time domain may be 1 millisecond (ms). A mini-slot may include at least one symbol (e.g., 2 symbols or 4 symbols or 7 symbols or 14 symbols, or any other number of symbols less than or equal to 14 symbols). The time domain unit size is only listed for convenience of understanding the scheme of the present application, and should not be understood to limit the present invention.

A frequency domain unit may be a Resource Block (RB), or a Resource Block Group (RBG), or a predefined subband (subband), or a precoding resource block group (PRG), or a bandwidth part (BWP), or a carrier, or a serving cell.

In the embodiments of the present application, "data" or "information" may be understood as bits generated after an information block is coded, or "data" or "information" may be understood as modulation symbols generated after the information block is coded and modulated.

It should be understood that the specific contents of the frequency domain resource, the time domain resource and the time frequency domain resource listed above are only exemplary and should not limit the present application in any way. For example, the RB is an example of a resource unit, and the size of the RB may be a resource defined in the NR protocol, may be a resource defined in a future protocol, or may be replaced with another name. For another example, the control resource set may also be one or more slots, radio frames, subframes, minislots (or sub-slots), or Transmission Time Intervals (TTIs) in the time domain, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment of the present application.

4. Licensed and unlicensed spectrum

The spectrum used by a wireless communication system may include two types, licensed spectrum (licensed spectrum) and unlicensed spectrum (unlicensed spectrum). Generally, carriers on the licensed spectrum are referred to as licensed carriers and carriers on the unlicensed spectrum are referred to as unlicensed carriers. With the development of wireless communication technology, the amount of information transmitted in a wireless communication network is increasing day by day, and the unauthorized spectrum transmission information is preempted, so that the data throughput in the wireless communication network can be improved, and the requirements of users can be better met. In a licensed-assisted access using long term evolution (LAA-LTE) system, a node of the LAA-LTE uses channel resources through a Listen Before Talk (LBT) principle, wherein the LBT is a Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) technique. In the LAA system, an LBT scheme is adopted to contend for access to a channel, but the starting time point of channel occupation in the LBT scheme is random, so the starting time point of LAA-LTE carrier signal occurrence is also random.

In current LAA systems, LBT is typically based on Energy Detection (ED) to support coexistence of different nodes and technologies. When the measured interference level exceeds a certain level, the node will simply back off (backoff). The preamble detection based mechanism in WiFi systems has further advantages. A transmission opportunity (TXOP) length is carried in a payload (payload) of the preamble, and backoff depends on preamble detection and demodulation/decoding of the payload.

Generally, after competing for a channel, a sending end device can send a channel occupation signal to other peripheral devices, and the channel occupation signal indicates the time length that the sending end device needs to occupy on the contended channel to the other devices, so that collision of the other devices is avoided, and communication efficiency is improved. Within which time duration transmission or reception may occur.

The sending device may be a network device, such as network device 111 in communication system 100. Alternatively, the sending end device may also be a terminal device, for example, the terminal device 121, the terminal device 122, or the terminal device 123 in the communication system 100. Specifically, if the LBT initiated by the network device is successful, it is determined that the communication with the terminal device can be performed, and if the data is sent in the communication process, the network device is the sending terminal device; if the data is received in the communication process, the network equipment is the receiving end equipment. If the LBT initiated by the terminal equipment is successful, determining that the communication can be carried out with the network equipment, and if the data is sent in the communication process, the terminal equipment is sending end equipment; if the data is received in the communication process, the network equipment is the receiving end equipment.

For clarity, the following describes a general procedure after the transmitting device obtains the channel usage right.

After the LBT is successful, the sending end device sends a channel occupying signal, where the channel occupying signal is used to indicate, to other devices, a duration that the sending end device is going to use a channel on a contended channel.

If the LBT initiated by the sending end device is successful, the sending end device obtains the channel use right. The sending-end device occupies the channel within a Channel Occupancy Time (COT). The COT may be configured for a network device, or specified by a standard, or pre-stored, and the like, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application. In other words, the sending device may transmit within the COT without being disturbed by other devices. The COT may be less than or equal to a Maximum Channel Occupancy Time (MCOT) or may be a TXOP.

Hereinafter, description will be made with "COT" as an example of the channel occupying time period.

In general, when the sending end device is a network device, the transmission performed in the corresponding COT is downlink transmission; when the sending end device is a terminal device, the transmission performed in the corresponding COT is uplink transmission. Alternatively, the sending device may share the obtained channel usage right in the COT to other devices. For example, when the sending end device is a network device, the network device may share the channel usage right to the terminal device, that is, allow the terminal device to perform transmission within the COT. That is, there may be a handover of uplink transmission and downlink transmission within a certain COT. This switching may be one or more times.

5. Listen before send LBT

In order to ensure coexistence with other devices operating in unlicensed frequency bands, the 5G system or the next generation system adopts the channel contention access mechanism of LBT. Fig. 3 and 4 show two types of LBT listening mechanisms.

One type of LBT sensing mechanism as shown in fig. 3, an LBT device may perform independent back-off on multiple carriers, e.g., Component Carriers (CCs). As in fig. 3, for example, when the contention node Wi-Fi is busy, that is, when there is a Wi-Fi protocol data unit on carrier 2, the LBT device independently backs off (i.e., self-backs off) on carriers 1, 3, and 4, and performs a busy extended clear channel assessment (e.g., a busy extended clear channel assessment slot (slot) in fig. 3) on carrier 2. The busy-extended clear channel assessment may be understood as estimating the channel duration occupied by the LBT device on carrier 2. As another example in fig. 3, the LBT device independently backs off on carrier 2 and carrier 3 and makes a busy-extension clear channel assessment on carrier 4. In fig. 3, the busy initial clear channel assessment may be understood as a clear channel assessment performed prior to WiFi node occupation. Idle initial channel estimation may be understood as idle channel estimation performed prior to base station occupation. The busy-extended clear channel assessment may be understood as a channel assessment made during WiFi node occupancy. Idle extended clear channel assessment may be understood as a channel assessment made prior to data transmission. In the LBT sensing mechanism shown in fig. 3, after backoff is completed on a certain carrier, transmission is delayed to wait for other component carriers that are still backoff. As in carrier 1 through carrier 4 of fig. 3, in particular, LBT does not transmit data on carrier 4 while it is self-backoff on carrier 1 and carrier 3 as in fig. 3. When all carriers performing LBT complete backoff, the device needs to make an additional one-shot channel assessment (one-shot CCA) for a time length to ensure that all carriers are idle. Such as the idle initial idle channel assessment duration in fig. 3. If all carriers are idle, the base station transmits simultaneously on the idle carriers. For example, one duration may be 25 microseconds (us).

Yet another type of LBT sensing mechanism is shown in fig. 4, where the LBT device performs back-off only on a selected component carrier, e.g. on a selected carrier in fig. 4. At the end of backoff, initial clear channel assessment (e.g., busy initial clear channel assessment time slots in fig. 4) is performed on carrier 1, carrier 2, and carrier 3 before data transmission begins. That is, when the backoff is finished, performing one-shot CCA on other member carriers, and if the member carriers are idle, performing data transmission; if the component carrier is not idle, the component carrier cannot be transmitted with data at this time. In fig. 4, the busy initial clear channel assessment may be understood as a clear channel assessment performed prior to WiFi node occupation. Idle initial channel estimation may be understood as idle channel estimation performed prior to base station occupation. The busy-extended clear channel assessment may be understood as a channel assessment made during WiFi node occupancy. Idle extended clear channel assessment may be understood as a channel assessment made prior to data transmission.

As shown in fig. 3 or fig. 4, the LBT device may be a communication device in a 5G system or a next generation system, such as LAA LTE, WiFi, NR-U or other communication devices operating in unlicensed (unlicensed) frequency band. In an actual scenario, the interference received by the device performing LBT in fig. 3 or fig. 4 comes from a WiFi system, and the interference received by the device performing LBT may also come from a 5G system or a next generation system, such as LAA LTE, NR-U or other communication systems operating in an unlicensed frequency band, which is not limited in this application.

It should be noted that the LBT listening mechanism adopted in the embodiment of the present application is not limited to the listening mechanism shown in fig. 3 or fig. 4.

As described above, the time domain may be divided into a plurality of radio frames, each of which may be 10 milliseconds (ms) long, for example, and one radio frame may include a plurality of slots. One slot may include, for example, 14 Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. For example, for the case where a subcarrier spacing (SCS) is 15KHz, the time domain length of one slot may be 1 ms.

The transmission direction of the OFDM symbols in a slot may be: downlink (DL), uplink (DL), or flexible (flexible), the transmission direction combination of symbols in a slot may be understood as the format of the slot.

In the embodiment of the present application, D represents a downlink, U represents an uplink, and F represents flexibility. Flexibly, the symbol can be used for downlink transmission and also can be used for uplink transmission.

The NR may support a dynamic Slot Format Indication (SFI) (alternatively referred to as a slot uplink and downlink indication). When performing dynamic slot format indication, in a possible implementation manner, the network device may indicate the terminal device to detect a group common physical downlink control channel (GC-PDCCH) in a first slot of each detection period, where DCI carried in the GC-PDCCH is used to indicate a slot format (slot format) of the slot in the detection period.

Illustratively, first, the network device configures the terminal device with high-level indication information, which may include, but is not limited to: serving cell identity (serving cell identity), DCI position (positiondci), and slot format combinations (slot format combinations). And after the terminal equipment detects the GC-PDCCH and obtains DCI for indicating SFI, determining the position of SFI indication information in the DCI according to servingCellId and positionInDCI, thereby determining the SFI indication information. Further, the terminal device may determine, according to the SFI indication information, a slot format of each slot in the slotFormatCombinations corresponding to the slotFormatCombinations id in the detection period.

In the above manner, the slot format in each slot can be indicated, but the COT format cannot be indicated.

In view of this, the present application provides a method, which can indicate the COT effectively and ensure the transmission performance.

Various embodiments provided herein will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 5 is a schematic interaction diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method 500 may include the following steps.

And 510, the terminal device receives indication information from the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate that the COT is in the last slot. Accordingly, the network device transmits the indication information to the terminal device.

The indication information may be carried in DCI, or the network device may also send the DCI or the DCI to the terminal device through a single signaling, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the network device LBT successfully obtains the channel usage right and shares the channel usage right to the terminal device as an example, which is not limited to this, for example, the terminal device LBT may successfully obtain the channel usage right and share the channel usage right to the network device or other terminal devices.

Optionally, when the symbol occupied by the COT in the last slot is a partial symbol in the last slot, the network device sends the indication information to the terminal device.

In other words, when the last slot occupied by the COT is an incomplete slot (partial slot), the network device sends the indication information to the terminal device. A partial slot is a symbol that indicates that the COT occupies a part of the partial slot, that is, the rest of the partial slot is located outside the COT. As shown in FIG. 6, slots (n) and (n +4) are partial slots.

The last slot is used to indicate the slot where the end position of the COT is located, such as slot (n +4) shown in fig. 6. Similarly, the first slot is used to indicate the slot where the start position of the COT is located, such as slot (n) shown in FIG. 6.

Alternatively, the indication information may be used to indicate the state of the symbol in the last slot.

Illustratively, the indication information may be used to indicate symbols within the last slot that are located within the COT and/or symbols within the last slot that are located outside the COT.

In other words, the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT according to the indication information, and accordingly, the terminal device may also determine which symbols are located outside the COT. The terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT according to the indication information, and accordingly, the terminal device may also determine which symbols are located in the COT.

Optionally, the information of the COT in the last slot includes one or more of the following items: the symbol occupied by COT in the last slot, the number of symbols occupied by COT in the last slot, the symbol occupied by COT in the first slot, the number of slots occupied by COT, or the total number of symbols occupied by COT.

The terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT according to any one or more of the above information, and correspondingly, the terminal device may also determine which symbols are located outside the COT; or, the terminal device may determine, according to any one or more of the above information, which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT, and correspondingly, the terminal device may also determine which symbols are located inside the COT.

The method for the terminal device to determine which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, or the method for the terminal device to determine which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT is described in detail below.

And 520, based on the information of the COT in the last slot, the terminal equipment communicates in the COT.

In other words, the terminal device communicates within the COT according to information of a slot where an end position of the COT is located, for example, which symbols in the last slot are located within the COT, and which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT, and the like.

The terminal device communicates in the COT, which means that the terminal device obtains the channel use right in the COT, and the terminal device can communicate in the COT according to the actual communication requirement. For example, the terminal device may perform communication within a partial time length occupied by the COT, or may also represent that the terminal device performs communication within the entire COT, which is not limited herein.

Based on the above scheme, the terminal device may perform communication based on the information of the COT in the last slot. That is to say, the terminal device may determine which symbols are located in the COT according to the information of the COT in the last slot, and then the terminal device may perform uplink and downlink transmission or data analysis on the symbols located in the COT, thereby avoiding processing such as uplink and downlink transmission or data analysis on the symbols located outside the COT, and avoiding resource waste.

The method for the terminal device to determine which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT or the method for the terminal device to determine which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT is described in detail below.

The terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT through any one of the following schemes, or the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT.

Scheme 1: the indication information is used to indicate the symbols occupied by the COT in the last slot.

Correspondingly, the terminal device determines which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT according to the symbols occupied by the COT in the last slot, or the terminal device determines which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT.

In a possible implementation manner, the indication information may indicate the number (number) of symbols in the last slot of the COT, such as symbol numbers 0 to 14 in one slot in table 1, and the terminal device may determine the symbols located in the COT according to the number of the symbols.

TABLE 1

For example, the indication information indicates that the symbols occupied by the COT in the last slot are: symbol 0, symbol 1, and symbol 2, then the terminal device may determine, according to the indication information, that symbol 0, symbol 1, and symbol 2 in the last slot are located in the COT, and correspondingly, the terminal device may also determine that other symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT. That is, the terminal device may determine that symbol 0, symbol 1, and symbol 2 in the last slot are located in the COT, that is, symbol 0, symbol 1, and symbol 2 in the last slot may be used for data transmission.

Alternatively, the uplink and downlink configuration of the symbol occupied by the COT in the last slot may be determined by the SFI of the slot. That is, the terminal device may determine the uplink and downlink configuration information of the symbol in the last slot according to the SFI of the last slot.

The SFI may be carried in DCI format 2_0(DCI format 2_0), and the uplink and downlink configuration of each slot may be indicated by 8 bits, which may indicate 256 different uplink and downlink configurations. For ease of understanding, the conventional slot format will be described first with reference to table 1.

In one possible implementation, the indication information indicates that the number of symbols occupied by the COT in the last slot is n1, and n1 is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1.

After receiving the indication information, the terminal device may determine that there are n1 symbols in the last slot according to the indication information, that is, the terminal device may determine that n1 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, and accordingly, the terminal device may determine that the remaining symbols are located outside the COT. In other words, the terminal device may determine that the first n1 symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission.

For example, if the indication information indicates that the number of symbols occupied by the COT in the last slot is 4, and the SFI of the slot received by the terminal device is (28,32,23,55), the terminal device may determine that the number of symbols occupied by the COT in the last slot is 4, and the uplink and the downlink are configured as "DDFF". Accordingly, the terminal device may also determine that the remaining symbols (e.g., the remaining 9 or 10 symbols) in the last slot are located outside the COT. That is to say, the terminal device may determine information of a slot where the end position of the COT is located, for example, the first 4 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, that is, the first 4 symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission. Further, the terminal device may determine that the first two symbols in the last slot are used for downlink transmission, and the 3rd symbol and the 4 th symbol are used for uplink transmission.

In another possible implementation manner, the indication information indicates a value corresponding to the slot format of the slot.

And the terminal equipment determines which symbols in the last slot are positioned in the COT according to the value indicated by the indication information, the table look-up 2 or the table 3. In other words, the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission.

As can be seen from table 1, the configuration with value 0 to 55, the configuration with value 255, and the configuration with value 56 to 254 reserved are currently used.

One way to apply a reserved configuration with value 56-254 is to add an indicator, e.g. denoted as E, in the SFI table to indicate that the symbol is located outside the COT. That is, the SFI can indicate four states: D. u, F, E are provided. Wherein, D represents a symbol for downlink transmission, U represents a symbol for uplink transmission, F represents a symbol for uplink transmission or downlink transmission, and E represents a symbol located outside the COT.

It should be understood that the added indicator labeled E is only an exemplary illustration, and the naming thereof does not limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

For example, when the SFI received by the terminal device is (28,32,23,56), the terminal device may determine that 1 symbol in the last slot is located in the COT, and the symbol is used for downlink transmission as known from table 2. That is, the terminal device may determine information of a slot where the end position of the COT is located, for example, the 1 st symbol in the last slot is located in the COT, that is, the 1 st symbol in the last slot may be used for data transmission. Further, the terminal device may determine the 1 st symbol in the last slot to be used for downlink transmission.

TABLE 2

56

D

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

57

D

D

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

…

…

67

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

E

E

68

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

E

It should be understood that table 2 is merely an exemplary illustration and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

In yet another way, a reserved configuration with value 56-254 is applied, such as adding an indication, for example, marked as X, in the SFI table, and indicating that the symbol is located in the COT with X. That is, the SFI can indicate four states: D. u, F, X, respectively; wherein, D represents a symbol for downlink transmission, U represents a symbol for uplink transmission, F represents a symbol for uplink transmission or downlink transmission, and X represents a symbol located in the COT.

It should be understood that the increased number of the indicator X is only an exemplary indication, and the naming thereof does not limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

For example, when the SFI received by the terminal device is (28,32,23,57), as can be seen from table 3, the terminal device may determine that 2 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT. That is to say, the terminal device may determine information of a slot where the end position of the COT is located, for example, the first 2 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, that is, the first 2 symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission. Whether the 2 symbols are used for uplink transmission or downlink transmission may be predefined, or may be indicated to the terminal device by the network device, or may refer to SFIs of other slots, which is not limited herein. This is illustrated below in connection with scheme 4.

TABLE 3

56

X

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

57

X

X

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

…

…

67

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

D

D

68

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

D

It should be understood that table 3 is merely an exemplary illustration and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. For example, "D" used to indicate downlink transmission in table 3 above may also be replaced with "U" used to indicate uplink transmission, or "F" used to indicate flexible transmission.

Based on the above scheme 2, the terminal device may determine information of a slot where the end position of the COT is located, for example, which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, so that the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission. Further, the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are used for uplink transmission, downlink transmission, or flexible transmission.

Scheme 3: the indication information is used to indicate the total number of slots occupied by the COT.

Correspondingly, the terminal device determines which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT according to the total number of slots occupied by the COT, or the terminal device determines which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT.

The indication information is used to indicate the number of complete slots occupied by the COT, or the indication information is used to indicate the number of all slots occupied by the COT. The following are described separately.

In implementation 1, the indication information is used to indicate the number of complete slots occupied by the COT.

That is, the total number of slots may represent the number of complete slots occupied by the COT. A slot is complete, meaning that all symbols included in the slot are within the COT. As shown in fig. 6, the number of complete slots occupied by the COT is 3, i.e. slot (n +1), slot (n +2), and slot (n + 3).

Illustratively, the terminal device determines the number of symbols in the last slot occupied by the COT by combining a preset rule and the number of complete slots.

As exemplified in connection with fig. 6.

As shown in FIG. 6, after LBT was successful, COT was obtained. The indication information indicates that the number of complete slots occupied by the COT is 3, namely slot (n +1), slot (n +2) and slot (n + 3). Then the terminal device may determine, in conjunction with the preset rule, that the terminal device is in the next slot (i.e., the last slot), i.e., slot (n +4), where n2 symbols are located in the COT, and n2 is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1. That is, the terminal device may determine that the first n2 symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission.

The preset rule is that the network device is preset according to historical communication conditions or network conditions, or the protocol is predefined, and there are n2 symbols in the last slot occupied by the COT. For example, it may be predefined that 1 or 2 symbols are located in the last slot occupied by the COT, so as to ensure that the terminal device does not transmit data on symbols outside the COT as much as possible.

Illustratively, the terminal device determines the number of symbols in the last slot occupied by the COT in combination with the SFI indication and the number of complete slots.

For example, the terminal device receives an SFI of (28,38,46,57), based on the indication information, the terminal device determines that the number of complete slots occupied by the COT is 3, the SFI of the 3 slots is (28,38,46), and with reference to table 2, the terminal device may determine that 2 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, and the 2 symbols are used for downlink transmission; or, with reference to table 3, the terminal device may determine that 2 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, where the 2 symbols are used for uplink transmission or downlink transmission, and the 2 symbols may be predefined, or may be indicated to the terminal device by the network device, or may refer to SFIs of other slots, which is not limited herein.

In implementation 2, the indication information is used to indicate the number of all slots occupied by the COT.

That is, the total number of slots may represent the number of all slots occupied by the COT. It is understood that partial slots may be included in all slots. A partial slot is a symbol representing that the COT occupies a part of the partial slot, that is, the rest of the slot of the partial slot is located outside the COT. As shown in fig. 6, the number of all slots occupied by the COT is 5, i.e., slot (n), slot (n +1), slot (n +2), slot (n +3), and slot (n + 4). As can be seen from FIG. 6, slots (n) and (n +4) are partial slots.

Illustratively, the terminal device determines the number of symbols in the last slot occupied by the COT according to a preset rule and the number of all slots.

As exemplified in connection with fig. 6.

As shown in fig. 6, the indication information indicates that the total number of slots occupied by the COT is 5, i.e., slot (n), slot (n +1), slot (n +2), slot (n +3), and slot (n + 4). Then the terminal device may determine, in conjunction with the preset specification, that the terminal device has n3 symbols in the last slot, i.e. slot (n +4), where n3 is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1. That is, the terminal device may determine that the first n3 symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission.

The preset rule is that the network device is preset according to historical communication conditions or network conditions, or the protocol is predefined, and n3 symbols are located in the COT in the last time slot occupied by the COT. For example, it may be specified that 1 or 2 symbols are located in the COT in the last timeslot occupied by the COT, so that it may be ensured as much as possible that the terminal device does not transmit data on symbols outside the COT.

Illustratively, the terminal device determines the number of symbols in the last slot occupied by the COT in combination with the SFI indication and the number of all slots.

For example, the terminal device receives SFI of (28,38,46,57), and based on the indication information and in combination with table 2, the terminal device may determine that 2 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, and the 2 symbols are used for downlink transmission; or, with reference to table 3, the terminal device may determine that 2 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, where the 2 symbols are used for uplink transmission or downlink transmission, and the 2 symbols may be predefined, or may be indicated to the terminal device by the network device, or may refer to SFIs of other slots, which is not limited herein.

It should be understood that the above two implementations are only exemplary, and any variations belonging to the two implementations thereof fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

Based on the above scheme 3, the terminal device may determine information of the slot where the end position of the COT is located, for example, which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, so that the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission. Further, the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are used for uplink transmission, downlink transmission, or flexible transmission.

Scheme 4: the indication information is used for indicating the state of the symbol in the last slot: the symbol is located within the COT and/or the symbol is located outside the COT.

Correspondingly, the terminal device determines which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT according to the state of the symbols in the last slot, or the terminal device determines which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT. That is, the terminal device may determine which symbols within the last slot may be used for data transmission.

Scheme 4 may be implemented by any of the following implementations.

Implementation 1, an indicator E may be added to the SFI table, where E indicates that the symbol is located outside the COT, i.e. as in table 2 above.

For example, when the SFI received by the terminal device is (32,23,67), the terminal device may determine that 12 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, and the last 2 symbols are located outside the COT, and as can be seen from table 2, the uplink and the downlink are configured to be "DDDDDDDDDDDD", that is, the 12 symbols are all used for downlink transmission.

Implementation 2, an indicator X may be added to the SFI table, where X indicates that the symbol is located in the COT, as in table 3 above.

For example, when the SFI received by the terminal device is (41,46,57), as can be seen from table 3, the terminal device may determine that 2 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT. Accordingly, the terminal device may determine that the remaining 12 symbols within the last slot are outside the COT. That is, the terminal device may determine that the first 2 symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission.

In this implementation, whether a symbol located in a COT is used for uplink transmission or downlink transmission or is used flexibly may be predefined, for example, uplink and downlink configuration of a symbol located in a last slot in the COT may be predefined, for example, downlink transmission; or, the network device may indicate the terminal device; alternatively, reference may be made to other SFIs of slots, which are not limited.

Illustratively, reference may be made to the SFI of a slot located within the COT.

Assuming that the SFI received by the terminal device is (38,46,57), the terminal device may determine that the last slot is a partial slot, and 2 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT.

For example, the terminal device may refer to the uplink and downlink configuration of the adjacent slot, that is, refer to the uplink and downlink configuration with SFI of 46. The terminal device may determine that the uplink and downlink configuration of 2 symbols in the last slot is "DD", that is, 2 symbols in the last slot are used for downlink transmission, according to the uplink and downlink configuration of the first 2 symbols with SFI of 46. That is, the terminal device may determine that the first 2 symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission, and the 2 symbols may be used for downlink transmission.

As another example, the terminal device may refer to the uplink and downlink configuration of the adjacent slot, that is, refer to the uplink and downlink configuration with SFI of 46. The terminal device may determine that the uplink and downlink configuration of the 2 symbols in the last slot is "FU" according to the uplink and downlink configuration of the last 2 symbols with SFI of 46, that is, the first symbol in the last slot may be used flexibly, and the second symbol may be used for uplink transmission. That is, the terminal device may determine that the first 2 symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission, and the 1 st symbol is used for flexible transmission, and the 2 nd symbol may be used for uplink transmission.

For another example, the terminal device may refer to the uplink and downlink configuration of the first slot, that is, refer to the uplink and downlink configuration with the SFI of 38, and for example, the terminal device determines that the uplink and downlink configuration of 2 symbols in the last slot is "DD" according to the uplink and downlink configuration of the first 2 symbols with the SFI of 38, that is, 2 symbols in the last slot are used for downlink transmission. That is, the terminal device may determine that the first 2 symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission, and the 2 symbols may be used for downlink transmission.

For another example, the terminal device may refer to the uplink and downlink configuration of the first slot, that is, refer to the uplink and downlink configuration with SFI of 38, and for example, the terminal device determines that the uplink and downlink configuration of 2 symbols in the last slot is "UU" according to the uplink and downlink configuration of the last 2 symbols with SFI of 38, that is, 2 symbols in the last slot are used for uplink transmission. That is, the terminal device may determine that the first 2 symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission, and the 2 symbols may be used for uplink transmission.

It should be understood that the above is only an exemplary illustration, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto, for example, reference may be made to an uplink and downlink configuration of any slot.

Illustratively, reference may be made to the SFI of a slot located outside the COT.

If the SFI received by the terminal device is (31,57,42), according to the sequence number 57, the terminal device may determine that the last slot occupied by the COT is a partial slot, and 2 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT. In addition, the terminal device may also determine that the slot with the sequence number 42 is located outside the COT.

For example, the terminal device may refer to the uplink and downlink configuration of the next slot to the last slot, that is, refer to the uplink and downlink configuration with SFI of 42. The terminal device may determine that the uplink and downlink configuration of 2 symbols in the last slot is "DD", that is, 2 symbols in the last slot are used for downlink transmission, according to the uplink and downlink configuration of the first 2 symbols with SFI of 42.

It should be understood that the above is only an exemplary illustration, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto, for example, reference may be made to an uplink and downlink configuration of any slot.

In implementation 3, indicators X and E may be added to the SFI table, and uplink and downlink configurations may be indicated by other SFIs. As shown in table 4.

TABLE 4

56

X

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

57

X

X

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

…

…

67

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

E

E

68

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

E

It should be understood that table 4 is merely an exemplary illustration, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

For example, when the SFI received by the terminal device is (41,46,67), as can be seen from table 4, the terminal device may determine that 12 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT and 2 symbols are located outside the COT. That is, the terminal device may determine that the first 2 symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission.

In this implementation, whether a symbol located in the COT is used for uplink transmission or downlink transmission or is flexibly used may be predefined; or the network equipment indicates the terminal equipment; alternatively, reference may be made to the SFI of other slots, for example, the SFI of a slot located inside the COT, or the SFI of a slot located outside the COT. This is not limitative. Specifically, reference may be made to the exemplary description in the foregoing implementation mode 2, and details are not described here.

Based on scheme 4, the terminal device can be helped to analyze whether a partial slot exists in the COT by adding a new indicator in an existing SFI table, and if the partial slot exists, a plurality of symbols in the partial slot are located in the COT or outside the COT. That is, the terminal device may determine which symbols within the last slot may be used for data transmission. Further, the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are used for uplink transmission, downlink transmission, or flexible transmission.

Optionally, in this scheme, the terminal device may not acquire relevant information such as the COT duration and/or the end time by using a GC-PDCCH or the like.

Scheme 5: the indication information includes SFI, which includes four states: D. u, F, X, or D, U, F, E.

Illustratively, an indicator E may be added to the SFI table, where E indicates that the symbol is located outside the COT, i.e., as in Table 2 above. The terminal device, in conjunction with table 2 above, may determine whether a partial slot exists in the COT, and if the partial slot exists, several symbols in the partial slot are located in the COT or outside the COT. In addition, the terminal device, in conjunction with table 2, may also determine the uplink and downlink configuration of the symbol located in the last slot. That is, the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, and further, the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are used for uplink transmission, downlink transmission, or flexible transmission.

Illustratively, an indicator X may be added to the SFI table, where X indicates that the symbol is located in COT, i.e., Table 3 above. The terminal device, in conjunction with table 3 above, may determine whether a partial slot exists in the COT, and if the partial slot exists, several symbols in the partial slot are located in the COT or outside the COT.

In addition, the terminal device, in conjunction with table 3, may also determine the uplink and downlink configuration of the symbol located in the last slot.

For example, the terminal device may determine that the uplink and downlink configuration of the last symbol in the slot in the COT is the same as the uplink and downlink configuration of the symbol in the previous slot.

For another example, the terminal device may determine that the uplink and downlink configuration of the last symbol in the slot in the COT is the same as the uplink and downlink configuration of the symbol in the first slot.

For another example, the uplink and downlink configuration of the symbol in the last slot in the COT may be predefined, for example, for downlink transmission.

Specifically, reference may be made to the description in scheme 4, which is not described herein again.

Based on the above scheme 5, the terminal device may determine information of the slot where the end position of the COT is located, for example, which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, so that the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission. Further, the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are used for uplink transmission, downlink transmission, or flexible transmission.

Scheme 6, the indication information is used to indicate the total number of symbols occupied by the COT.

Correspondingly, the terminal device determines which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT according to the total number of the symbols occupied by the COT, or the terminal device determines which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT.

In one possible implementation, the terminal device may determine the starting symbol of the COT and the total number of symbols occupied by the COT.

For example, the indication information is used to indicate that the total number of symbols occupied by the COT is 28, and the starting symbol is 1 (i.e., the symbol number is 1), then the terminal device may determine that 2 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT. That is, the terminal device may determine that the first 2 symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission.

It should be understood that, in scheme 6, the terminal device may also be determined according to the number of symbols located inside or outside the COT in the slot where the COT start position is located, and the total number of symbols occupied by the COT. Reference may be made to scheme 3 above, which is not described herein again.

The terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT through any of the above schemes, or the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT, so that the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission. Further, the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are used for uplink transmission, downlink transmission, or flexible transmission, so that the terminal device can better transmit data or process data.

In case 7, the indication information is used to indicate the slot where the start position of the COT is located.

When the symbols occupied by the COT form a complete slot, or the number of symbols occupied by the COT is equal to (or equal to) the number of symbols occupied by an integer number of slots, for example, the number of symbols occupied by W slots, where W is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1, the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT according to the indication information, or determine which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT.

The number of symbols occupied by COT is equal to (or equal to) the number of symbols occupied by an integer number of slots, as shown in fig. 7, the number of symbols occupied by COT is equal to the number of symbols occupied by an integer number of slots, and is equal to the number of symbols occupied by 2 slots, that is, W is 2. The number of symbols occupied by the COT is equivalent to (or equal to) the number of symbols occupied by an integer number of slots, and may be predetermined, or may be notified to the terminal device by the network device, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. For example, a field, such as an x-bit field, may be added on the basis of the PDCCH instruction, and the number of symbols occupied by the COT, which is equivalent to the number of symbols occupied by an integer number of slots, may be indicated by the added field. Alternatively, it can be understood that the value of W is indicated by the added field. Wherein x is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1.

For example, a 1-bit field is added to indicate whether the number of symbols occupied by COT is equivalent to the number of symbols occupied by an integer number of slots. The number of symbols occupied by COT corresponding to 0 is equal to the number of symbols occupied by the integer slots, and the number of symbols occupied by COT corresponding to 1 is not equal to the number of symbols occupied by the integer slots. Or, the number of symbols occupied by COT corresponding to 1 is equal to the number of symbols occupied by an integer number of slots, and the number of symbols occupied by COT corresponding to 0 is not equal to the number of symbols occupied by an integer number of slots. It should be understood how this is specifically indicated, and the examples of this application are not intended to be limiting.

The information of the slot where the COT start position is located may also be indicated to the terminal device through the indication information, or may also be notified to the terminal device through a separate signaling, which is not limited to this.

The information of the slot where the COT start position is located may include, for example, one or more of the following: the number of the symbols inside the COT in the slots where the COT starting position is located, or the number of the symbols outside the COT in the slots where the COT starting position is located.

In a scenario where the number of symbols occupied by the COT is equal to the number of symbols occupied by an integer number of slots, the terminal device may determine, in combination with information of slots where the start position of the COT is located, which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, or the terminal device determines which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT. The following are described separately.

For example, the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT in combination with the starting symbol of the COT, or the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT in combination with the starting symbol of the COT.

As exemplified below in connection with fig. 7.

As shown in fig. 7, assuming that the indication information indicates that the starting symbol of the COT is symbol 5 (i.e., symbol number is 5), the terminal device may determine that 5 symbols in the first slot are located outside the COT. Since the number of symbols occupied by the COT is equivalent to the number of symbols occupied by an integer number of slots, the terminal device may determine that 5 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT. That is, the terminal device may determine that the first 5 symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission. The network device may further send information to the terminal device to notify the uplink and downlink configuration of the symbol in the last slot within the COT. For example, the uplink and downlink configuration of the first 5 symbols in the last slot may refer to the uplink and downlink configuration of the first 5 symbols in the first slot. The terminal device may determine which symbols of the 5 symbols are used for uplink transmission, or which symbols are transmitted downlink, or which symbols are flexibly transmitted.

For example, the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, or determine which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT, according to the number of symbols located outside the COT in the slot where the start position of the COT is located.

As exemplified below in connection with fig. 7.

As shown in fig. 7, it is assumed that the indication information indicates that the number of symbols located outside the COT in the slot where the start position of the COT is located is 5, that is, the terminal device may determine that the start symbol of the COT is the 6 th symbol (i.e., symbol 5) in the first slot. Since the number of symbols occupied by the COT is equivalent to the number of symbols occupied by an integer number of slots, the terminal device may determine that 5 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT. That is, the terminal device may determine that the first 5 symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission. The network device may further send information to the terminal device to notify the uplink and downlink configuration of the symbol in the last slot within the COT. For example, the uplink and downlink configuration of the first 5 symbols in the last slot may refer to the uplink and downlink configuration of the first 5 symbols in the first slot, so that the terminal device may determine which symbols of the 5 symbols are used for uplink transmission, or which symbols are used for downlink transmission, or which symbols are flexibly transmitted.

For example, the terminal device may determine which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT, or determine which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT, according to the number of symbols in the slot where the start position of the COT is located in the COT.

As exemplified below in connection with fig. 7.

As shown in fig. 7, assuming that the indication information indicates that the number of symbols located in the COT in the slot where the start position of the COT is located is 9, that is, the terminal device may determine that the start symbol of the COT is the 6 th symbol (i.e., symbol 5) in the first slot, then the terminal device may determine that there are 9 symbols located outside the COT in the last slot. Since the number of symbols occupied by the COT is equivalent to the number of symbols occupied by an integer number of slots, the terminal device may determine that 5 symbols in the last slot are located in the COT. That is, the terminal device may determine that the first 5 symbols in the last slot may be used for data transmission. The network device may further send information to the terminal device to notify the uplink and downlink configuration of the symbol in the last slot within the COT. For example, the uplink and downlink configuration of the first 5 symbols in the last slot may refer to the uplink and downlink configuration of the first 5 symbols in the first slot, so that the terminal device may determine which symbols of the 5 symbols are used for uplink transmission, or which symbols are used for downlink transmission, or which symbols are flexibly transmitted.

It should be understood that the above is only an exemplary illustration, and any method that can enable the terminal device to determine which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT according to the information of the slot where the start position of the COT is located, or determine which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT, falls into the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

It should also be understood that, in the above scheme 7, the terminal device may determine, in combination with any one of tables 2 to 4, the uplink and downlink configurations of the symbols located in the COT in the last slot.

It should also be understood that the above describes seven schemes by way of example, the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto, and any modifications belonging to the above schemes fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present application. For example, scheme 1 and scheme 2 may be used in combination, or the above-described manner of determining the uplink and downlink configuration of the last slot through any one of tables 2 to 4 may be applied to any one of the above-described schemes.

It should also be understood that the above symbols may be replaced with OFDM symbols.

It should be further understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the last slot is taken as a partial slot for example, and the embodiment of the present application may also be applied to a scene in which the first slot is a partial slot. Wherein, the first slot represents the slot where the COT starting position is located. The following is uniformly represented by the first slot, which is a partial slot.

For example, the terminal device receives indication information from the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate information that the COT is in the first slot, and the terminal device may determine, according to the indication information, information that the start position of the COT is in the slot, such as which symbols in the first slot are located in the COT, or which symbols in the first slot are used by the terminal device for data transmission, and so on. For example, when the terminal device determines that n4 symbols in the first slot are located in the COT, where n4 is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1, it may determine that the last n4 symbols of the first slot are located in the COT, that is, the terminal device may use the n4 symbols to transmit data; for another example, the terminal device determines how many symbols of the first slot are located in the COT according to the indicated SFI (e.g., 57 or 58) of the first slot in combination with any one of tables 2 to 4 above. Further, the terminal device may also determine which symbols in the first slot are used for uplink transmission, downlink transmission, or flexible transmission.

For example, taking fig. 6 as an example, if the terminal device determines that the number of symbols occupied by the COT in the first slot (i.e., slot (n)) is 7 through any one of the six schemes, then the terminal device may determine that the last 7 symbols in the 14 symbols of the first slot are located in the COT, and the 7 symbols may be used for downlink transmission.

For another example, taking scheme 7 as an example, the terminal device may determine, by combining information of a slot where the COT end position is located, information of a slot where the COT start position is located, that is, determine which symbols are located in the COT in the slot where the COT start position is located, and further determine which symbols located in the COT are used for uplink transmission, downlink transmission, or flexible transmission.

Further, the terminal device may also determine which symbols in the first slot are used for uplink transmission, downlink transmission, or flexible transmission.

Optionally, the terminal device may determine which symbols in the first slot are used for uplink transmission, downlink transmission, or flexible transmission based on any one of the schemes 1 to 7. That is to say, regarding a scenario in which the first slot is a partial slot, the terminal device may determine, by any one of the seven schemes, which symbols in the first slot are located in the COT, and further, the terminal device may determine, by any one of the seven schemes, an uplink and downlink configuration of the symbols located in the COT. And will not be described in detail herein.

Alternatively, the terminal device may determine which symbols in the first slot are used for uplink transmission, downlink transmission, or flexible transmission based on scheme 8 described below.

Scheme 8

The terminal device receives indication information in a first slot (i.e. the slot where the COT start position is located), where the indication information is used to indicate uplink and downlink configuration information of the first slot.

Optionally, the indication information may support an uplink and downlink configuration indication (SFI) of one or more complete slots after the first slot, or may also support an uplink and downlink configuration indication of the first slot and one or more complete slots after the first slot.

For example, the network device may add an m-bit field in the configuration information (e.g., PDCCH), where the m-bit field is used to indicate whether the indication information supports SFI of the first slot or the first slot and then one or more complete slots. Wherein m is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1.

Take m as 1 for example. I.e. may be indicated by a 1-bit field. For example, "0" indicates that the indication information supports one or more complete SFI of the slot after the first slot, and "1" indicates that the indication information supports the SFI of the first slot and one or more complete slots after the first slot; for another example, "1" indicates that the indication information supports one or more complete SFI of the slot after the first slot, and "0" indicates that the indication information supports the SFI of the first slot and one or more complete slots after the first slot.

Alternatively, it may also be predefined, for example, a protocol specifies, and the indication information supports SFI of one or more complete slots after the first slot, or supports SFI of the first slot and one or more complete slots after the first slot.

In one possible implementation, the indication information supports SFI of one or more complete slots after the first slot.

The uplink and downlink configuration of the terminal device in the first slot may analyze the uplink and downlink configuration information in the partial slot according to the previously received RRC configuration. For example, reference may be made to any one of the above-described schemes 1 to 7.

In yet another possible implementation, the indication information supports SFI of the first slot and one or more complete slots after the first slot.

When the network device indicates starting from the 1 st slot, that is, the SFI may be used for the 1 st slot, or starting from the 1 st slot.

For example, the terminal device may determine the uplink and downlink configuration of the first slot remaining symbol jointly according to the 1 st item of uplink and downlink configuration information and the symbol position in the first slot where the indication information is currently detected.

For example, the SFI indicates that the first slot is "dddddddddddddduu", and when the terminal device detects the SFI in the 8 th symbol, the uplink and downlink of the remaining symbol of the first slot are configured as "DDDDDUU", that is, the uplink and downlink configuration of the last 8 symbols in the SFI indication information is selected.

If the SFI indicates that the first slot is "dddddddddddddduu", and the terminal device detects the SFI in the 8 th symbol, the uplink and downlink of the remaining symbol of the first slot are configured as "ddddddddd", that is, the uplink and downlink configuration of the first 8 symbols in the SFI indication information is selected.

It should be understood that the terminal device may also read the uplink and downlink configuration of the first X symbols (e.g. 8 symbols above) in the SFI, such as "DDDDDDD", or read the uplink and downlink configuration of the last X symbols (e.g. 8 symbols above) in the SFI, and the uplink and downlink configuration information used for parsing the first slot may be predefined, such as predefined by a protocol, or may be indicated by the network device. Wherein X is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1.

Take the indication from the network device to the terminal device as an example. The indication information may be a display indication or an implicit indication.

Display indication

For example, the network device may add an n-bit field in the configuration information (e.g., PDCCH), where the n-bit field is used to indicate whether to read the uplink and downlink configuration of the first X symbols in the SFI or to read the uplink and downlink configuration of the last X symbols in the SFI. Wherein n is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1. Take n as 1 for example. I.e. may be indicated by a 1-bit field. For example, "0" indicates an uplink and downlink configuration for reading the first X symbols in the SFI, and "1" indicates an uplink and downlink configuration for reading the last X symbols in the SFI; for another example, "1" indicates an uplink and downlink configuration for reading the first X symbols in the SFI, and "0" indicates an uplink and downlink configuration for reading the last X symbols in the SFI.

Implicit indication

The uplink and downlink configuration of the first slot can be implicitly obtained by the terminal device reading the SFI.

Suppose that the current uplink and downlink of the first slot is configured as "DDDDDDDDDDDDUU".

For example, when the terminal device obtains the indication information before the symbol 12 or the symbol 12, it considers that the uplink and downlink configuration of the remaining symbols is "d.. DUU", that is, the uplink and downlink configuration of the last several symbols is intercepted, that is, read, from the SFI. Alternatively, it can also be understood that "U" has a higher priority than "D", i.e. uplink transmission has a higher priority than downlink transmission, with the aim of scheduling subsequent uplink transmissions as many as possible by 1 or more downlink symbols.

For another example, when the terminal device obtains the indication information after the symbol 12 and the symbol 12, it considers that the uplink and downlink configuration of the remaining symbols is "d.. DD", that is, the uplink and downlink configuration of the last several symbols is intercepted from the front of the SFI. Alternatively, it can also be understood that "D" has a higher priority than "U", i.e. downlink transmission has a higher priority than uplink transmission, with the aim that subsequent uplink transmission cannot be scheduled without a preceding downlink symbol.

Based on the above description, when the SFI is transmitted at the COT start position, it can be prepared in advance in consideration of the time required to prepare SFI information. For the first slot, the indication information does not change no matter which symbol the terminal device detects it in. At this time, the terminal device may determine the first slot remaining symbol and the subsequent uplink and downlink configuration information of 1 or more complete slots that may exist jointly through the detected SFI information and the symbol position where the SFI information is detected. When the terminal device supports mini slot transmission, or the network device configures the terminal device to perform mini slot transmission, the terminal device may blindly detect the GC-PDCCH at multiple possible symbol positions (which may be the same as or a subset of the mini slot potential transmission positions) configured in each slot to hope to acquire SFI information, such as the SFI information carried by DCI 2_ 0.

It should be understood that the above description is only exemplary, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

Based on the above description, in the scheme provided in this embodiment of the present application, by indicating information of the COT in the last slot, for example, which symbols in the last slot are located in the COT or which symbols in the last slot are located outside the COT, the terminal device may determine a specific position of the COT, know which symbols may be used for data transmission, and may further determine corresponding uplink and downlink configurations, that is, whether the symbols are used for uplink transmission, downlink transmission, or flexible transmission, thereby avoiding that the terminal device performs data transmission or analyzes data on symbols located outside the COT, and further avoiding waste of resources and improving data transmission performance.

The various embodiments described herein may be implemented as stand-alone solutions or combined in accordance with inherent logic and are intended to fall within the scope of the present application.

It is to be understood that, in the above-described method embodiments, the method and the operation implemented by the terminal device may also be implemented by a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) available for the terminal device, and the method and the operation implemented by the network device may also be implemented by a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) available for the network device.

The above description mainly introduces the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application from various interaction perspectives. It is understood that each network element, for example, the transmitting end device or the receiving end device, includes a corresponding hardware structure and/or software module for performing each function in order to implement the above functions. Those of skill in the art would appreciate that the various illustrative components and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In the embodiment of the present application, the functional modules may be divided according to the above method example for the transmitting end device or the receiving end device, for example, each functional module may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in a form of hardware or a form of a software functional module. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the division of the module is schematic, and is only one logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation. The following description will be given by taking an example in which each functional module is divided by using a corresponding function.

The method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above with reference to fig. 5 to 7. Hereinafter, a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application will be described in detail with reference to fig. 8 to 11. It should be understood that the description of the apparatus embodiments corresponds to the description of the method embodiments, and therefore, for brevity, details are not repeated here, since the details that are not described in detail may be referred to the above method embodiments.

The above-mentioned scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced mainly from the perspective of interaction between network elements. It is understood that each network element, for example, the transmitting end device or the receiving end device, includes a corresponding hardware structure and/or software module for performing each function in order to implement the above functions. Those of skill in the art would appreciate that the various illustrative components and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In the embodiment of the present application, the functional modules may be divided according to the above method example for the transmitting end device or the receiving end device, for example, each functional module may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in a hardware mode, and can also be realized in a software functional module mode. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the division of the module is schematic, and is only one logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation. The following description will be given taking the example of dividing each functional module corresponding to each function.

Fig. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown, the communication device 800 may include a communication unit 810 and a processing unit 820. The communication unit 810 can communicate with the outside, and the processing unit 820 is used for data processing. The communication unit 810 may also be referred to as a communication interface or a transceiving unit.

In one possible design, the communication apparatus 800 may implement the steps or processes executed by the terminal device corresponding to the above method embodiment, for example, the steps or processes may be executed by the terminal device, or a chip or a circuit configured in the terminal device. At this time, the communication apparatus 800 may be referred to as a terminal device. The communication unit 810 is configured to perform transceiving related operations on the terminal device side in the above method embodiments, and the processing unit 820 is configured to perform processing related operations on the terminal device in the above method embodiments.

In one possible implementation, the communication unit 810 is configured to: receiving indication information from network equipment, wherein the indication information is used for indicating information of channel occupation time COT in the last time slot; the processing unit 820 is configured to: determining the information of the COT in the last time slot; the communication unit 810 is further configured to: communicating within the COT based on information of the COT at the last time slot.

Optionally, the indication information is used to indicate information of the COT in the last timeslot, and includes: the indication information is used for indicating: symbols within the last slot that are within the COT, and/or symbols within the last slot that are outside the COT.

Optionally, the indication information includes a slot format indication SFI of the first slot; the processing unit 820 is configured to: and determining the uplink and downlink configuration information of the symbol occupied by the COT in the last time slot according to the SFI of the first time slot.

Optionally, the first time slot is adjacent to the last time slot.

Optionally, the information of the last time slot occupied by the COT includes one or more of the following information: the symbol occupied by the COT in the last time slot, the number of symbols occupied by the COT in the last time slot, the number of time slots occupied by the COT, information of the time slot in which the start position of the COT is located, or the total number of symbols occupied by the COT.

The communication apparatus 800 may implement the steps or the flow corresponding to the steps or the flow performed by the terminal device in the method 500 according to the embodiment of the present application, and the communication apparatus 800 may include a unit for performing the method performed by the terminal device in the method 500 in fig. 5. Also, the units and other operations and/or functions described above in the communication apparatus 800 are respectively for implementing the corresponding flow of the method 500 in fig. 5.

Wherein, when the communication device 800 is configured to execute the method 500 in fig. 5, the communication unit 810 may be configured to execute steps 510 and 500 in the method 500, and the processing unit 820 may be configured to execute some steps of determining a COT, parsing data, and the like by a terminal device in the method 500.

It should be understood that the specific processes of the units for executing the corresponding steps are already described in detail in the above method embodiments, and therefore, for brevity, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

It is further understood that the communication unit 810 in the communication apparatus 800 may be implemented by the transceiver 1020 in the terminal device 1000 shown in fig. 10, and the processing unit 820 in the communication apparatus 800 may be implemented by the processor 1010 in the terminal device 1000 shown in fig. 10. Wherein the transceiver may comprise a transmitter and/or a receiver, respectively implementing the functions of the transmitting unit and the receiving unit.

It should also be understood that the communication unit 810 in the communication device 800 may also be an input/output interface.

In another possible design, the communication apparatus 800 may implement the steps or processes executed by the network device corresponding to the above method embodiment, for example, the steps or processes may be implemented by the network device or a chip or circuit configured in the network device. At this time, the communication apparatus 800 may be referred to as a network device. The communication unit 810 is configured to perform transceiving related operations on the network device side in the foregoing method embodiments, and the processing unit 820 is configured to perform processing related operations on the network device in the foregoing method embodiments.

In one possible implementation, the processing unit 820 is configured to: determining the information of the channel occupation time COT in the last time slot; the communication unit 810 is configured to: and sending indication information to terminal equipment, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the information of the COT in the last time slot.

Optionally, the indication information is used to indicate information of the COT in the last timeslot, and includes: the indication information is used for indicating: symbols within the last slot that are within the COT, and/or symbols within the last slot that are outside the COT.

Optionally, the indication information includes a slot format indication SFI of the first slot; the processing unit 820 is configured to: and determining the uplink and downlink configuration information of the symbol occupied by the COT in the last time slot according to the SFI of the first time slot.

Optionally, the first time slot is adjacent to the last time slot.

Optionally, the information of the last time slot occupied by the COT includes one or more of the following information: the symbol occupied by the COT in the last time slot, the number of symbols occupied by the COT in the last time slot, the number of time slots occupied by the COT, information of the time slot in which the start position of the COT is located, or the total number of symbols occupied by the COT.

Optionally, the communication unit 810 is specifically configured to: and the COT sends indication information to the terminal equipment under the condition that the occupied symbol in the last time slot is a part of the symbol in the last time slot.

The communication apparatus 800 may implement the steps or the flow corresponding to the steps or the flow performed by the network device in the method 500 according to the embodiment of the present application, and the communication apparatus 800 may include a unit for performing the method performed by the network device in the method 500 in fig. 5. Also, the units and other operations and/or functions described above in the communication apparatus 800 are respectively for implementing the corresponding flow of the method 500 in fig. 5.

When the communication apparatus 800 is configured to execute the method 500 in fig. 5, the communication unit 810 may be configured to execute steps 510 and 520 in the method 500, and the processing unit 820 may be configured to execute related processing in the method 500, such as information for determining that the COT is in the last slot.

It should be understood that the specific processes of the units for executing the corresponding steps are already described in detail in the above method embodiments, and therefore, for brevity, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

It is further understood that the communication unit in the communication apparatus 800 may be implemented by the transceiver 1120 in the network device 1100 shown in fig. 11, and the processing unit 820 in the communication apparatus 800 may be implemented by the processor 1110 in the network device 1100 shown in fig. 11.

It should also be understood that the communication unit 810 in the communication device 800 may also be an input/output interface. Wherein the transceiver may comprise a transmitter and/or a receiver, respectively implementing the functions of the transmitting unit and the receiving unit.

Fig. 9 is a further schematic block diagram of a communication device 900 provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown, the communication device 900 includes a processor 910, a memory 920 and a transceiver 930, wherein the memory 920 stores programs, the processor 910 is configured to execute the programs stored in the memory 920, the execution of the programs stored in the memory 920 enables the processor 910 to perform the relevant processing steps in the above method embodiments, and the execution of the programs stored in the memory 920 enables the processor 910 to control the transceiver 930 to perform the relevant transceiving steps in the above method embodiments.

As an implementation, the communication apparatus 900 is configured to perform the actions performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment, at this time, the execution of the program stored in the memory 920 causes the processor 910 to perform the processing steps on the terminal device side in the above method embodiment, and the execution of the program stored in the memory 920 causes the processor 910 to control the transceiver 930 to perform the receiving and transmitting steps on the terminal device side in the above method embodiment.

As another implementation, the communication apparatus 900 is configured to perform the actions performed by the network device in the foregoing method embodiments, in this case, the execution of the program stored in the memory 920 causes the processor 910 to perform the processing steps on the network device side in the foregoing method embodiments, and the execution of the program stored in the memory 920 causes the processor 910 to control the transceiver 930 to perform the receiving and transmitting steps on the network device side in the foregoing method embodiments.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus 1000, where the communication apparatus 1000 may be a terminal device or a chip. The communication apparatus 1000 may be used to perform the actions performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments.

When the communication apparatus 1000 is a terminal device, fig. 10 shows a simplified structural diagram of the terminal device. For ease of understanding and illustration, in fig. 10, the terminal device is exemplified by a mobile phone. As shown in fig. 10, the terminal device includes a processor, a memory, a radio frequency circuit, an antenna, and an input-output device. The processor is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, controlling the terminal equipment, executing software programs, processing data of the software programs and the like. The memory is used primarily for storing software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing the radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as touch screens, display screens, keyboards, etc., are used primarily for receiving data input by a user and for outputting data to the user. It should be noted that some kinds of terminal devices may not have input/output devices.

When data needs to be sent, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs baseband signals to the radio frequency circuit, and the radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signals and sends the radio frequency signals to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal equipment, the radio frequency circuit receives radio frequency signals through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signals into baseband signals and outputs the baseband signals to the processor, and the processor converts the baseband signals into the data and processes the data. For ease of illustration, only one memory and processor are shown in FIG. 10, and one or more processors and one or more memories may be present in an actual end device product. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. The memory may be provided independently of the processor, or may be integrated with the processor, which is not limited in this embodiment.

In the embodiment of the present application, the antenna and the radio frequency circuit having the transceiving function may be regarded as a transceiving unit of the terminal device, and the processor having the processing function may be regarded as a processing unit of the terminal device.

As shown in fig. 10, the terminal device includes a transceiving unit 1010 and a processing unit 1020. The transceiver unit 1010 may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiving device, etc. The processing unit 1020 may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, or the like. Alternatively, a device for implementing the receiving function in the transceiving unit 1010 may be regarded as a receiving unit, and a device for implementing the transmitting function in the transceiving unit 1010 may be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the transceiving unit 1010 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. A transceiver unit may also sometimes be referred to as a transceiver, transceiving circuitry, or the like. A receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving circuit, or the like. A transmitting unit may also sometimes be referred to as a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

For example, in an implementation manner, the processing unit 1020 is configured to execute other processing steps on the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application. The transceiving unit 1010 is further adapted to perform the steps 510 and 520 shown in fig. 5, and/or the transceiving unit 1010 is further adapted to perform other transceiving steps at the terminal device side.

It should be understood that fig. 10 is only an example and not a limitation, and the terminal device including the transceiving unit and the processing unit described above may not depend on the structure shown in fig. 10.

When the communication device 1000 is a chip, the chip includes a transceiving unit and a processing unit. The transceiving unit can be an input/output circuit or a communication interface; the processing unit may be a processor or a microprocessor or an integrated circuit integrated on the chip.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus 1100, where the communication apparatus 1100 may be a network device or a chip. The communications apparatus 1100 may be used to perform the actions performed by the network device in the method embodiments described above.

When the communication device 1100 is a network device, it is a base station, for example. Fig. 11 shows a simplified base station structure. The base station includes 1110 and 1120 portions. The 1110 part is mainly used for transceiving radio frequency signals and converting the radio frequency signals and baseband signals; the portion 1120 is mainly used for baseband processing, base station control, and the like. Portion 1110 may be generally referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiving circuitry, or transceiver, etc. Part 1120 is generally a control center of the base station, and may be generally referred to as a processing unit, configured to control the base station to perform the processing operation on the network device side in the above method embodiment.

The transceiver unit of the portion 1110, which may also be referred to as a transceiver or a transceiver, includes an antenna and a radio frequency unit, wherein the radio frequency unit is mainly used for radio frequency processing. Alternatively, the device for implementing the receiving function in the 1110 part may be regarded as a receiving unit, and the device for implementing the transmitting function may be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the 1110 part includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. A receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving circuit, or the like, and a transmitting unit may be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitting circuit, or the like.

Section 1120 may include one or more boards, each of which may include one or more processors and one or more memories. The processor is used to read and execute programs in the memory to implement baseband processing functions and control of the base station. If a plurality of single boards exist, the single boards can be interconnected to enhance the processing capacity. As an alternative implementation, multiple boards may share one or more processors, multiple boards may share one or more memories, or multiple boards may share one or more processors at the same time.

For example, in one implementation, the transceiver unit of the part 1110 is used to perform the receiving operation at the network device side in steps 510 and 520 shown in fig. 5, and/or the transceiver unit of the part 1110 is also used to perform other transceiving steps at the network device side in the embodiment of the present application. The processing unit of part 1120 is configured to execute processing steps of the network device side in the embodiment of the present application.

It should be understood that fig. 11 is only an example and not a limitation, and the network device including the transceiving unit and the processing unit may not depend on the structure shown in fig. 11.

When the communication device 1100 is a chip, the chip includes a transceiving unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit can be an input/output circuit and a communication interface; the processing unit is a processor or a microprocessor or an integrated circuit integrated on the chip.

The network device is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be in another embodiment: for example: the antenna comprises a BBU (baseband unit) and an Adaptive Radio Unit (ARU), or the BBU and an Active Antenna Unit (AAU); the CPE may be a Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) or another type, and the present application is not limited thereto.

The BBU described above may be used to perform actions implemented by the network device described in the foregoing method embodiments, and the RRU may be used to perform actions that the network device described in the foregoing method embodiments sends to or receives from the terminal device. Please refer to the description of the previous embodiment of the method, which is not repeated herein.

The embodiment of the application also provides a processing device which comprises a processor and an interface. The processor may be adapted to perform the method of the above-described method embodiments.

It should be understood that the processing means may be a chip. For example, the processing device may be a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a system on chip (SoC), a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), a digital signal processing circuit (DSP), a Microcontroller (MCU), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), or other integrated chips.

In implementation, the steps of the above method may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor. The software module may be located in ram, flash memory, rom, prom, or eprom, registers, etc. storage media as is well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and a processor reads information in the memory and completes the steps of the method in combination with hardware of the processor. To avoid repetition, it is not described in detail here.

It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capability. In implementation, the steps of the above method embodiments may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The processor described above may be a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components. The various methods, steps, and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented or performed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in ram, flash memory, rom, prom, or eprom, registers, etc. storage media as is well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and a processor reads information in the memory and completes the steps of the method in combination with hardware of the processor.

It will be appreciated that the memory in the embodiments of the subject application can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM, Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (synchlink DRAM,

SLDRAM) and direct memory bus random access memory (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of the embodiments shown in figures 5 to 7.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, a computer-readable medium is further provided, and the computer-readable medium stores program codes, and when the program codes are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method of any one of the embodiments shown in fig. 5 to 7.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the present application further provides a system, which includes the foregoing one or more terminal devices and one or more network devices.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, cause the processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the application to occur, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored on a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wire (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that incorporates one or more of the available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

The network device in the foregoing various apparatus embodiments corresponds to the terminal device or the network device in the terminal device and method embodiments, and the corresponding module or unit executes the corresponding steps, for example, the communication unit (transceiver) executes the steps of receiving or transmitting in the method embodiments, and other steps besides transmitting and receiving may be executed by the processing unit (processor). The functions of the specific elements may be referred to in the respective method embodiments. The number of the processors may be one or more.

As used in this specification, the terms "component," "module," "system," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the internet with other systems by way of the signal).

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application or portions thereof that substantially contribute to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium and including instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and shall be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (21)

1. A method of communication, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives indication information from network equipment, wherein the indication information is used for indicating information of channel occupation time COT in the last time slot;

based on the information of the COT in the last time slot, the terminal equipment communicates in the COT;

wherein the indication information is used to indicate information of the COT in a last timeslot, and includes:

the indication information is used for indicating: symbols within the last slot that are within the COT, and/or symbols within the last slot that are outside the COT.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication information comprises a Slot Format Indication (SFI) of the first slot;

the method further comprises the following steps:

and the terminal equipment determines the uplink and downlink configuration information of the symbol occupied by the COT in the last time slot according to the SFI of the first time slot.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first time slot is adjacent to the last time slot.

4. The method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information of the last timeslot occupied by the COT comprises one or more of the following information:

the number of symbols occupied by the COT in the last time slot, the number of time slots occupied by the COT, or the total number of symbols occupied by the COT.

5. A method of communication, comprising:

the network equipment determines the information of the channel occupation time COT in the last time slot;

the network equipment sends indication information to terminal equipment, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the information of the COT in the last time slot;

wherein the indication information is used to indicate information of the COT in a last timeslot, and includes:

the indication information is used for indicating: symbols within the last slot that are within the COT, and/or symbols within the last slot that are outside the COT.

6. The method of claim 5,

the indication information includes a time Slot Format Indication (SFI) of the first time slot, and the SFI of the first time slot is used for the terminal equipment to determine uplink and downlink configuration information of a symbol occupied by the COT in the last time slot.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first time slot is adjacent to the last time slot.

8. The method according to any of claims 5 to 7, wherein the information of the last timeslot occupied by the COT comprises one or more of the following information:

the number of symbols occupied by the COT in the last time slot, the number of time slots occupied by the COT, information of the time slot in which the start position of the COT is located, or the total number of symbols occupied by the COT.

9. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, further comprising:

and the network equipment sends the indication information to the terminal equipment under the condition that the symbols occupied by the COT in the last time slot are partial symbols in the last time slot.

10. A communications apparatus, comprising: a communication unit and a processing unit, wherein,

the communication unit is configured to: receiving indication information from network equipment, wherein the indication information is used for indicating information of a channel occupation time COT in a last time slot;

the processing unit is configured to: determining information of the COT in the last time slot;

the communication unit is further configured to: communicating within the COT based on information of the COT at a last time slot;

wherein the indication information is used to indicate information of the COT in a last timeslot, and includes:

the indication information is used for indicating: symbols within the last slot that are within the COT, and/or symbols within the last slot that are outside the COT.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the indication information comprises a Slot Format Indication (SFI) of the first slot;

the processing unit is further to: and determining the uplink and downlink configuration information of the symbol occupied by the COT in the last time slot according to the SFI of the first time slot.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first time slot is adjacent to the last time slot.

13. The apparatus according to any of claims 10 to 12, wherein the information of the last timeslot occupied by the COT comprises one or more of the following information:

the number of symbols occupied by the COT in the last time slot, the number of time slots occupied by the COT, information of the time slot in which the start position of the COT is located, or the total number of symbols occupied by the COT.

14. A communications apparatus, comprising: a processing unit and a communication unit, wherein,

the processing unit is configured to: determining the information of the channel occupation time COT at the last time slot;

the communication unit is configured to: sending indication information to terminal equipment, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the information of the COT in the last time slot;

wherein the indication information is used to indicate information of the COT in a last timeslot, and includes:

the indication information is used for indicating: symbols within the last slot that are within the COT, and/or symbols within the last slot that are outside the COT.

15. The apparatus of claim 14,

the indication information includes a time Slot Format Indication (SFI) of the first time slot, and the SFI of the first time slot is used for the terminal equipment to determine uplink and downlink configuration information of a symbol occupied by the COT in the last time slot.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first time slot is adjacent to the last time slot.

17. The apparatus of any of claims 14 to 16, wherein the information of the last timeslot occupied by the COT comprises one or more of the following information:

the number of symbols occupied by the COT in the last time slot, the number of time slots occupied by the COT, information of the time slot in which the start position of the COT is located, or the total number of symbols occupied by the COT.

18. The apparatus according to any of claims 14 to 16, wherein the communication unit is specifically configured to:

and sending the indication information to the terminal equipment under the condition that the symbols occupied by the COT in the last time slot are partial symbols in the last time slot.

19. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a processor, coupled to the memory, to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method of any of claims 1 to 9.

20. A communication system, comprising: communication device according to any of claims 10 to 13, and/or communication device according to any of claims 14 to 18.

21. A computer-readable medium, comprising a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 9.

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