CN114079891A

CN114079891A - Signal transmission method, communication device, and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN114079891A
Application number: CN202010851848.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 罗之虎; 金哲
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-08-21
Filing date: 2020-08-21
Publication date: 2022-02-22
Also published as: WO2022037462A1

Abstract

The application discloses a signal transmission method, a communication device and a storage medium, and relates to the field of communication. The method comprises the following steps: the network equipment generates first information and carries out coding modulation on the first information; the network equipment sends the first information after n times of coded modulation to the first terminal equipment in at least one beam direction in a first period, wherein n is an integer larger than 1. In each transmission in each beam direction, the first information after coded modulation occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols, and any two groups of OFDM symbols in the at least two groups of OFDM symbols bear different parts of the first information after coded modulation. According to the method, the wireless network signal coverage of the network equipment to the first terminal equipment can be expanded on the time domain, so that the wireless network signal coverage of the network equipment to the first terminal equipment is enhanced.

Description

Signal transmission method, communication device, and storage medium

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of communications, and in particular, to a signal transmission method, a communication apparatus, and a storage medium.

Background

The internet of things (IoT) is "internet with connected objects", and can extend a user end of the internet to any object for information exchange and communication. For example, IoT technology may be applied to smart grids, smart farming, smart transportation, smart home, and environmental detection, among other aspects. The communication mode between devices of any two nodes in the IoT (e.g., various sensors in environment detection, smart meters in a smart grid, etc.) may be referred to as Machine Type Communications (MTC), and the communicating devices may be referred to as MTC terminals.

In practical application of IoT, MTC terminals such as an electric meter and a water meter may be installed in a room or a basement where wireless network signals are poor, so that coverage of the base station on the wireless network signals of the MTC terminals is poor, and communication between the MTC terminals and the base station is seriously affected. Alternatively, the MTC terminal generally reduces the cost of the MTC terminal by reducing the operating bandwidth of the MTC terminal, considering that the MTC terminal has lower baseband processing requirements on an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), a buffer (buffer), and a DL/UL processing module. The mode of reducing the working bandwidth can reduce the frequency domain available resources of the MTC terminal, thereby reducing the coverage of the MTC terminal and causing coverage loss to a certain extent.

As can be seen from the above, in the actual application of IoT, the wireless network signal coverage to the MTC terminal needs to be enhanced.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a signal transmission method, a communication device and a storage medium, which can enhance wireless network signal coverage of terminal equipment.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a signal transmission method, where the method includes: the network equipment generates first information and carries out coding modulation on the first information; the network equipment sends the first information after n times of coded modulation to the first terminal equipment in at least one beam direction in a first period, wherein n is an integer larger than 1.

In each transmission in each beam direction, the first information after code modulation occupies at least two groups of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, and any two groups of OFDM symbols in the at least two groups of OFDM symbols bear different parts of the first information after code modulation.

In the method, when the network device sends the first information after n times of coded modulation to the first terminal device in at least one beam direction in a first period, the first information after coded modulation occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols in each sending in each beam direction, and compared with SSB transmission in a 5G NR system, the embodiment of the application finishes each sending of the first information after coded modulation through at least two groups of OFDM symbols, and can improve the wireless network signal coverage strength of the network device to the first terminal device through time domain expansion.

For example, in an IOT scenario, performance loss caused by bandwidth reduction can be compensated through time domain expansion, and it is ensured that the low-cost terminal device of the internet of things and NR achieve the same coverage.

In one possible design, the coded modulated first information includes M parts, where M is an integer greater than 1; the network device sends the first information after n times of code modulation to the first terminal device, and the method comprises the following steps: the network device sends a first part of the M parts to the first terminal device for n times, and then sends a second part of the M parts to the first terminal device for n times until all the M parts are sent.

In one possible design, the first information includes Master Information Block (MIB) information; each group of OFDM symbols in at least two groups of OFDM symbols comprises 4Z OFDM symbols, and Z is a positive integer; any two adjacent groups of OFDM symbols in the at least two groups of OFDM symbols are separated by a first time length on a time domain; the first duration and the first period satisfy: the first period is equal to 288/(K × Z) times the first duration, where K is the number of subcarriers occupied by each group of OFDM symbols.

For example, when Z is equal to 1, in each transmission in each beam direction, the coded modulated first information occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols, each group of OFDM symbols including 4 OFDM symbols. That is, the number of OFDM symbols in each group of OFDM symbols is equal to 4. At this time, the first duration and the first period satisfy: the first period is equal to 288/K times the first duration.

For another example, when Z is equal to 2, in each transmission in each beam direction, the number of OFDM symbols included in each group of OFDM symbols in at least two groups of OFDM symbols occupied by the coded and modulated first information is 8. At this time, the first duration and the first period satisfy: the first period is equal to 288/(K × 2) times the first duration.

It can be seen that when Z is greater than 1, the OFDM symbol (e.g., which may be referred to as a first SSB) occupied by the coded and modulated first information and the NR SSB have different time domain structures. The number of OFDM symbols occupied by the first SSB in the time domain is greater than 4, the number of symbols is a multiple of 4, and the number of OFDM symbols occupied by the NR SSB in the time domain is equal to 4.

For the embodiment in which each group of OFDM symbols includes multiple OFDM symbols of 4 (greater than 4), the number of the first candidate SSBs included in one half frame is smaller than the number of the candidate SSBs included in one half frame in the NR, which may also reduce the access delay of the low-cost internet-of-things terminal device, and may even achieve the same access delay between the low-cost internet-of-things terminal device and the NR terminal device.

In one possible design, the coded modulated first information occupies at least 2 OFDM symbols in each of the at least two groups of OFDM symbols.

For example, the coded and modulated first information may occupy 2 OFDM symbols in each of at least two groups of OFDM symbols; or, occupy 3 OFDM symbols; or, occupy 4 OFDM symbols.

In one possible design, the signal transmission method further includes: the network equipment generates second information and carries out coding modulation on the second information; and the network equipment sends the coded and modulated second information to the second terminal equipment. The time domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the second information after code modulation is the same as the time domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the first information after code modulation, and the frequency domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the second information after code modulation is different from the frequency domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the first information after code modulation.

In the design, the time domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the second information after code modulation is the same as the time domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the first information after code modulation, and the frequency domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the second information after code modulation is different from the frequency domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the first information after code modulation, so that the second information after code modulation and the first information after code modulation can be FDM, therefore, when the first terminal device, the second terminal device and the network device do not have service data transmission, the network device can be turned off uniformly, and network energy consumption is reduced.

Alternatively, the network device may be turned off in a symbol-level or slot-level manner. Symbol level turn-off refers to the network device turning off in units of OFDM symbols. Alternatively, symbol-level shutdown may also refer to a network device shutting down in units of time slots. And are not intended to be limiting herein.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus having a function of implementing the method according to the first aspect. The functions may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software comprises one or more units or modules, e.g. processing units, transmitting units, etc., corresponding to the functions of the method according to the first aspect described above.

The processing unit is used for generating first information and carrying out coding modulation on the first information; a sending unit, configured to send the first information after n times of code modulation to the first terminal device in at least one beam direction in a first period, where n is an integer greater than 1.

In each transmission in each beam direction, the first information after coded modulation occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols, and any two groups of OFDM symbols in the at least two groups of OFDM symbols bear different parts of the first information after coded modulation.

In one possible design, the coded modulated first information includes M parts, where M is an integer greater than 1; and the sending unit is specifically configured to send a first part of the M parts n times to the first terminal device, and then send a second part of the M parts n times to the first terminal device until all the M parts complete sending.

In one possible design, the first information includes MIB information; each group of OFDM symbols in at least two groups of OFDM symbols comprises 4Z OFDM symbols, and Z is a positive integer; any two adjacent groups of OFDM symbols in the at least two groups of OFDM symbols are separated by a first time length on a time domain; the first duration and the first period satisfy: the first period is equal to 288/(K × Z) times the first duration, where K is the number of subcarriers occupied by each group of OFDM symbols.

In one possible design, the processing unit is further configured to generate second information and perform code modulation on the second information; and the sending unit is also used for sending the second information after code modulation to the second terminal equipment. The time domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the second information after code modulation is the same as the time domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the first information after code modulation, and the frequency domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the second information after code modulation is different from the frequency domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the first information after code modulation.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, including: a processor configured to execute computer instructions stored in a memory, the computer instructions, when executed, causing the apparatus to perform the method of the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, including: a processor and interface circuitry, the processor being configured to communicate with other devices via the interface circuitry and to perform the method of the first aspect or any of the possible designs of the first aspect.

The communication apparatus according to the second to fourth aspects may be applied to a network device.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, including: computer software instructions; the computer software instructions, when executed in a network device or a chip built into a network device, cause the network device to perform the method according to the first aspect.

It will be appreciated that the advantages achieved by the second to fifth aspects presented above may be seen from the advantages of the first aspect and any of its possible designs, and will not be described in detail here.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a signal transmission method, where the method includes: the method comprises the steps that a first terminal device receives at least one time of first information which is sent by a network device in a first period after n times of coded modulation in at least one wave beam direction, wherein n is an integer larger than 1; the received first information after each coding modulation occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols, and any two groups of OFDM symbols in the at least two groups of OFDM symbols bear different parts of the first information after coding modulation; and the first terminal equipment obtains the first information according to the first information after code modulation.

In the method, the first terminal device receives the first information sent by the network device and modulated by the coding in at least one beam direction each time, and occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols, and for SSB transmission in a 5G NR system, the embodiment of the present application completes each sending of the first information after modulation by at least two groups of OFDM symbols, and can improve the wireless network signal coverage strength of the first terminal device by the network device through time domain expansion.

In one possible design, the coded modulated first information includes M parts, where M is an integer greater than 1; the first terminal equipment receives at least one time of the first information which is sent by the network equipment in the first period after n times of code modulation, and the method comprises the following steps: the first terminal device receives at least one part of at least one M part of the M parts transmitted by the network device within the first period.

For example, the first terminal device may receive a first part of at least one M part of the n M parts transmitted by the network device within the first period, and then receive a second part of the at least one M part until the at least one M part is completely received.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus having a function of implementing the method according to the sixth aspect. The functions may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software comprises one or more units or modules, e.g. receiving units, processing units, etc., corresponding to the functions of the method according to the first aspect described above.

A receiving unit, configured to receive at least one time of n times of coded and modulated first information sent by a network device in a first period in at least one beam direction, where n is an integer greater than 1; the received first information after each coding modulation occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols, and any two groups of OFDM symbols in the at least two groups of OFDM symbols bear different parts of the first information after coding modulation; and the processing unit is used for obtaining the first information according to the first information after code modulation.

In one possible design, the coded modulated first information includes M parts, where M is an integer greater than 1; the receiving unit is specifically configured to receive at least one part of at least one M part of the M parts sent by the network device in n times in the first period.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, including: a processor configured to execute computer instructions stored in the memory, the computer instructions, when executed, causing the apparatus to perform the method of the sixth aspect or any of the possible designs of the sixth aspect.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, including: a processor and interface circuitry, the processor being configured to communicate with other devices via the interface circuitry and to perform the method recited in the sixth aspect or any possible design of the sixth aspect.

The communication apparatus according to the seventh to ninth aspects may be applied to a first terminal device.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, including: computer software instructions; when the computer software instructions are run in the first terminal device or a chip built in the first terminal device, the first terminal device is caused to perform the method according to the sixth aspect.

It is to be understood that the advantageous effects achieved by the seventh aspect to the tenth aspect provided above can be referred to the advantageous effects of the sixth aspect and any possible design thereof, and are not repeated herein.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, including: a transceiving unit and a processing unit. The transceiving unit may be used for transceiving information or for communicating with other network elements. The processing unit may be adapted to process data. Such as: the apparatus may implement the method according to the first aspect or the sixth aspect by means of a transceiver unit and a processing unit.

In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, which when executed, can implement the method according to the first aspect or the sixth aspect.

In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, where the chip system is applied to a network device; the chip system includes one or more interface circuits and one or more processors; the interface circuit and the processor are interconnected through a line; the processor receives and executes computer instructions from the memory of the electronic device via the interface circuit to implement the method according to the first aspect.

In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, where the chip system is applied to a first terminal device; the chip system includes one or more interface circuits and one or more processors; the interface circuit and the processor are interconnected through a line; the processor receives and executes computer instructions from the memory of the electronic device via the interface circuit to implement the method according to the sixth aspect.

In a fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including: a network device and a first terminal device; the network device performing the method as set forth in the first aspect or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect; the first terminal device performs the method as set forth in the sixth aspect or any one of the possible designs of the sixth aspect.

It should be understood that the advantageous effects achieved by the eleventh to fifteenth aspects provided above can refer to the advantageous effects described in the first aspect, the sixth aspect, and so on, and are not described herein again.

Drawings

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an SSB;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of SSB location at subcarrier spacing of 15kHz and carrier frequency less than 3 GHz;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a signal transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of transmitting MIB information after coding modulation provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a first SSB provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 shows another schematic diagram of a first SSB provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 shows a further schematic diagram of a first SSB provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 shows a further schematic diagram of a first SSB provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 11 shows a further schematic diagram of a first SSB provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the time domain position of a candidate SSB in a half frame when case A has a carrier frequency less than or equal to 3 GHz;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a comparison of the first SSB candidate and the SSB candidate in the NR for case A at a carrier frequency less than or equal to 3 GHz;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 16 shows a further schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Taking an IoT based on a New Radio (NR) technology of the fifth generation mobile communication system (5G) as an example, any two MTC terminals in the IoT may exchange information and communicate with each other through a base station. Before information exchange and communication are performed, a base station needs to transmit a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) to an MTC terminal. The SSB includes a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), and a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH). The MTC terminal can realize the synchronization with the base station according to the received SSB.

When the base station sends the SSB to the MTC terminal, the SSB is mapped to a time-frequency resource with a specific size to be sent. The time-frequency resources refer to time domain (hereinafter referred to as time domain) resources and frequency domain (hereinafter referred to as frequency domain) resources in the 5G NR system. In a communication system based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) technology (hereinafter referred to as OFDM system), frequency resources are divided into a plurality of sub-resources, and the sub-resources in each frequency domain may be referred to as a sub-carrier. The subcarriers may also be understood as the smallest granularity of frequency domain resources. The value of the interval between the center positions or peak positions of two subcarriers adjacent in the frequency domain is called subcarrier interval. For example, the subcarrier spacing in the LTE system is 15 kilohertz (kHz), and the subcarrier spacing in the 5G NR system may be 15kHz, or 30kHz, or 60kHz, or 120kHz, or 240kHz, etc. In addition, the time unit that is the smallest in the time domain in the OFDM system is referred to as an OFDM symbol. In a 5G NR system, one slot (slot) includes 14 OFDM symbols for a normal cyclic prefix (normal cyclic prefix). Whereas in the 5G NR system, the length of the slot is related to the subcarrier spacing. The length of one time slot corresponding to the 15kHz subcarrier interval is 1ms, the length of a time slot corresponding to the 30kHz subcarrier interval is 1/2-0.5 ms, the length of one time slot corresponding to the 60kHz subcarrier interval is 1/4-0.25 ms, the length of one time slot corresponding to the 120kHz subcarrier interval is 1/8-0.125 ms, and the length of one time slot corresponding to the 240kHz subcarrier interval is 1/16-0.0625 ms.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic of an SSB. As shown in fig. 1, one SSB occupies 4 consecutive OFDM symbols in the time domain. In the frequency domain, a SSB occupies 240 consecutive subcarriers, and the 240 subcarriers are numbered from 0 to 239.

In 4 OFDM symbols occupied by one SSB, the first OFDM symbol carries the PSS, the subcarriers numbered 0 to 55 and 183 to 239 are set to 0, and the subcarriers numbered 56 to 182 are the subcarriers occupied by the PSS. The 2 nd and 4 th OFDM symbols carry PBCH, and each 4 consecutive subcarriers have a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) corresponding to the PBCH. The 3 rd OFDM symbol carries SSS and PBCH, with SSS for subcarriers numbered 56 to 182, PBCH for subcarriers numbered 0 to 47 and 192 to 239, and 0 for the remaining subcarriers (i.e., subcarriers numbered 48 to 55 and 183 to 191).

In the 5G NR system, the time length of one frame (frame) is 10 milliseconds (ms). Each frame may be divided into two half-frames (half frames), one half-frame being 5ms in length. Each field contains 5 subframes (subframes), one subframe being 1ms in length. For example, field 0 includes subframe 0 to subframe 4, field 1 includes subframe 5 to subframe 9, and so on. Accordingly, each frame includes 10 subframes. According to different SSB subcarrier intervals, there are 5 different cases of SSB location within a half frame, including: case (case) a, case B, case C, case D, and case E. Where, case a refers to the case where the subcarrier spacing is 15kHz, case B refers to the case where the subcarrier spacing is 30kHz, case C refers to the case where the subcarrier spacing is 60kHz, case D refers to the case where the subcarrier spacing is 120kHz, and case E refers to the case where the subcarrier spacing is 240 kHz.

Taking case a as an example, fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the SSB position when the subcarrier spacing is 15kHz and the carrier frequency is less than 3 GHz. As shown in fig. 2, when the subcarrier spacing of the SSB is 15kHz and the carrier frequency is less than 3GHz, 4 groups of OFDM symbols in one SSB subframe can be used for transmitting the SSB, and the number of OFDM symbols in each group of OFDM symbols is 4, which is consistent with the number of OFDM symbols included in one SSB. These 4 groups of OFDM symbols may be referred to as candidate ssbs (candidate ssbs).

Each candidate SSB typically corresponds to a beam (beam) in a particular direction. In 5G NR systems, one key feature of SSB transmission is the support of beam scanning (beam scanning), i.e., SSBs are transmitted on different beams in a time-multiplexed manner. Within a half frame of 5ms, the base station may use different beams to transmit a plurality of SSBs pointing in different directions to the MTC terminal on a corresponding plurality of candidate SSBs to support beam scanning.

However, in the actual application of IoT, MTC terminals such as an electric meter and a water meter may be installed in a room or a basement where wireless network signals are poor, so that coverage of the base station on the wireless network signals of the MTC terminals is poor, and communication between the MTC terminals and the base station is seriously affected. Alternatively, the MTC terminal generally reduces the cost of the MTC terminal by reducing the operating bandwidth of the MTC terminal, considering that the MTC terminal has lower baseband processing requirements on an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), a buffer (buffer), and a DL/UL processing module. The mode of reducing the working bandwidth can reduce the frequency domain available resources of the MTC terminal, thereby reducing the coverage of the wireless network signal of the MTC terminal and causing coverage loss to a certain extent.

Therefore, in the actual application of IoT, the wireless network signal coverage of the base station to the MTC terminal needs to be enhanced.

Based on this, the embodiment of the present application provides a signal transmission method, including: the network equipment generates first information and carries out coding modulation on the first information; the network equipment sends the first information after n times of coded modulation to the first terminal equipment in at least one beam direction in a first period, wherein n is an integer larger than 1. In each transmission in each beam direction, the first information after coded modulation occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols, and any two groups of OFDM symbols in the at least two groups of OFDM symbols bear different parts of the first information after coded modulation.

In the method, when the network device sends the coded and modulated first information to the first terminal device, in each sending in each beam direction, the coded and modulated first information occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols, and any two groups of OFDM symbols in the at least two groups of OFDM symbols bear different parts of the coded and modulated first information, so that the coverage of the network device on the wireless network signal of the first terminal device can be expanded in the time domain, and the coverage of the network device on the wireless network signal of the first terminal device is enhanced.

For example, when the network device is a base station and the first terminal device is an MTC terminal, in the method, when the base station sends the first information after code modulation to the MTC terminal, in each sending in each beam direction, the first information after code modulation occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols, and any two groups of OFDM symbols in the at least two groups of OFDM symbols carry different parts of the first information after code modulation, so that the coverage of the base station on the wireless network signal of the MTC terminal can be extended in the time domain, thereby enhancing the coverage of the base station on the wireless network signal of the MTC terminal.

The signal transmission method provided by the embodiment of the present application is exemplarily described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It should be noted that, in the description of the present application, the words "first", "second", and the like are merely used for distinguishing between descriptions, and are not intended to limit a certain feature. In the description of the embodiment of the present application, "and/or" describes an association relationship of associated objects, which means that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. At least one referred to in this application means one or more; plural means two or more.

The signal transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application can be applied to a communication system consisting of network equipment and terminal equipment. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 3, the communication system may include: at least one terminal device 310 (one terminal device 310 is shown in fig. 3 by way of example), at least one network device 320.

Network device 320 may also be referred to as a radio access network device or a next generation radio access network device, among other things. Terminal device 310 may communicate with network device 320. Network device 320 may provide terminal device 310 with functional services for radio resource management, quality of service management, data encryption and compression, and so on. Different network devices 320 may communicate with each other via an Xn interface. Different terminal devices 310 may exchange information and communicate with each other via network device 320.

Terminal device 310 is located within the coverage of one or more cells (carriers) provided by network device 320, which may be one or more cells serving terminal device 310. When there are multiple serving cells for the terminal device 310, the terminal device 310 may operate in a CA, or Dual Connectivity (DC), or coordinated multipoint transmission manner.

Alternatively, the communication system may be a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, an LTE-advanced (LTE-advanced) system, an LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a 5G NR system, and other wireless communication systems using OFDM technology, and the like, and the specific type of the communication system is not limited in the present application.

For example, when the communication system is a 5G NR system, the communication system may further include a core network device (not shown in the figure), and the core network device and the network device 320 may communicate with each other through a Next Generation (NG) interface.

Alternatively, the terminal device 310 in the communication system may also be referred to as a User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Terminal (MT), and so on. Terminal device 310 may refer to a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user, and may be, for example, a mobile telephone ("cellular" telephone), a handset, a computer, a cordless telephone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) telephone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a laptop, a handheld communication device, a handheld computing device, a satellite radio, a wireless modem card, a Set Top Box (STB), a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, a smart bracelet, a pedometer, etc.), a vehicular device (e.g., an automobile, a bicycle, an electric vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a train, a high-speed rail, etc.), a Virtual Reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (augmented reality), AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control (industrial control), smart home devices (e.g., refrigerator, television, air conditioner, electric meter, etc.), smart robots, plant equipment, wireless terminals in self driving (self driving), wireless terminals in remote medical supply (tele-operation), wireless terminals in smart grid (smart grid), wireless terminals in transportation safety (transportation safety), wireless terminals in smart city (smart city), or wireless terminals in smart home (smart home), flying devices (e.g., smart robots, hot air balloons, drones, airplanes), and other devices for communicating over a wireless system, such as: other MTC terminals in IoT, etc., the present application does not limit the specific representation form of the terminal device 310.

The network device 320 may be an access network device of the communication system, such as: and a base station. Optionally, in this embodiment of the present application, the network device 320 may include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also referred to as small stations), and the like. For example, network device 320 may include: the base station in WCDMA or LTE includes a next generation base station (gNB), a next generation evolved base station (Ng-eNB), a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), an evolved Node B (eNB), a Radio Network Controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a Base Station Controller (BSC), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home Node B or home Node B, HNB), a Base Band Unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wifi) Access Point (AP).

It should be understood that the communication system shown in fig. 3 is only for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. For example, other devices may also be included in the communication system, such as: a network control device. The network control device may be an Operation Administration and Maintenance (OAM) system, which is also called a network management system. The network control device may manage the aforementioned network device 320.

In addition, as can be known by those skilled in the art, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic composition diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. The network device may be the network device 320 in the communication system shown in fig. 3 described above. As shown in fig. 4, the network device may include: at least one processor 41, a memory 42, a communication interface 43, a bus 44.

The respective constituent elements of the network device will be specifically described below with reference to fig. 4.

The processor 41 is a control center of the network device, and may be a single processor or a collective term for a plurality of processing elements. For example, the processor 41 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present application, such as: one or more microprocessors (digital signal processors, DSPs), or one or more Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), etc.

Processor 41 may perform various functions of the network device by running or executing software programs stored in memory 42, and by invoking data stored in memory 42, among other things. For example, the steps performed by the network device in the signal transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application may be performed.

In particular implementations, processor 41 may include one or more CPUs such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in fig. 4 as one example.

In particular implementations, network device may include multiple processors, such as processor 41 and processor 45 shown in FIG. 4, for example, as an example. Each of these processors may be a single-Core Processor (CPU) or a multi-Core Processor (CPU). A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

The memory 42 is used for storing software programs for executing the steps of the method executed by the network device of the present application, and is controlled by the processor 41. The memory 42 may be, but is not limited to, a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that may store static information and instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that may store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, optical disk storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, blu-ray disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

The memory 42 may be self-contained and coupled to the processor 41 via a bus 44. Alternatively, the memory 42 may be integrated with the processor 41, and is not limited herein.

The communication interface 43, using any transceiver or like device, is used for communicating with other devices or communication networks. The communication interface 43 may be an ethernet interface, a Radio Access Network (RAN) interface, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) interface, or the like. The communication interface 43 may include a receiving unit implementing a receiving function and a transmitting unit implementing a transmitting function.

The bus 44 may be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an extended ISA (enhanced industry standard architecture) bus, or the like. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 4, but this does not indicate only one bus or one type of bus.

Although a bus 44 is shown in fig. 4, it should be understood that the bus could be replaced by other types of connections, and is not limited to the bus itself.

Optionally, the structure of the terminal device 310 in the communication system shown in fig. 3 may also include some structures similar to the network device shown in fig. 4, such as a processor, a memory, a communication interface, a bus, and the like, so as to implement various functions of the terminal device 310, which is not described herein again.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic flow chart of a signal transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 5, the signal transmission method may include S501-S504.

S501, the network equipment generates first information.

For example, the network device may refer to a base station, and the first information may refer to a system message on the base station side. Such as: the first information may include: main Information Block (MIB) information, Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI) information, other system message information, and the like. The RMSI is also a System Information Block (SIB) 1. The parameter set used for SIB1 transmission and the distribution of scheduling control resources are carried in MIB information.

Other system message information may refer to SIB2, SIB3, SIB4, etc. other SIBs in addition to SIB 1.

S502, the network equipment carries out coding modulation on the first information.

For example, the first information may be coded and modulated by using a Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) scheme.

S503, the network device sends the first information after n times of code modulation to the first terminal device in at least one beam direction in the first period, where n is an integer greater than 1, and for example, n may be 2, 3, 4, and the like. In each transmission in each beam direction, the first information after coded modulation occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols, and any two groups of OFDM symbols in the at least two groups of OFDM symbols bear different parts of the first information after coded modulation.

Accordingly, the first terminal device may receive the code modulated first information.

The first terminal device may be the terminal device 310 in the communication system shown in fig. 3 described above.

Taking the first information as the MIB information, the first period may refer to a transmission period of the MIB information, which is referred to as an MIB period for short. The network device sends n times of coded and modulated first information to a first terminal device in at least one beam direction in a first period, where the first information refers to: and the network equipment transmits the first information after n times of coded modulation to the first terminal equipment in each beam direction in a first period.

For example, if transmission is performed along the beam direction P1 and the beam direction P2, the network device transmits n times of code-modulated first information to the first terminal device in the beam direction P1 and also transmits n times of code-modulated first information to the first terminal device in the beam direction P2 in the first period.

It should be noted that the number of beam directions is not limited in the present application.

In each transmission in each beam direction, the first information after coded modulation occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols, and any two groups of OFDM symbols in the at least two groups of OFDM symbols carry different parts of the first information after coded modulation, which is specifically described below.

In one possible design, the coded modulated first information includes M parts, where M is an integer greater than 1, such as: m may be 2, 3, 4, etc.; the method for sending the first information after n times of code modulation to the first terminal equipment by the network equipment comprises the following steps: the network device sends a first part of the M parts to the first terminal device for n times, and then sends a second part of the M parts to the first terminal device for n times until all the M parts are sent. Correspondingly, the first terminal equipment receives the coded and modulated first information, and comprises the following steps: the first terminal device receives the first part of the M parts and then receives the second part of the M parts until the M parts are all received.

In each transmission in each beam direction, each of the M parts occupies 1 group of OFDM symbols, and therefore, the coded and modulated first information of each transmission occupies M groups of OFDM symbols (M is an integer greater than 1, and therefore occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols). Any two groups of the M groups of OFDM symbols carry different parts of the first information after code modulation.

For example, assuming that M is equal to 4, the coded and modulated first information is composed of 4 parts A, B, C, D, and in each transmission in each beam direction, the coded and modulated first information occupies 4 groups of OFDM symbols, then the 1 st group of OFDM symbols may be used to carry the part a, the 2 nd group of OFDM symbols may be used to carry the part B, the 3 rd group of OFDM symbols may be used to carry the part C, and the 4 th group of OFDM symbols may be used to carry the part D. Any two groups of the 4 groups of OFDM symbols carry different parts of the first information after code modulation.

In this design, in each transmission in each beam direction, in at least two groups of OFDM symbols occupied by the first information after coded modulation, each group of OFDM symbols includes 4Z OFDM symbols, where Z is a positive integer, for example: z can be 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. That is, the number of OFDM symbols in each group of OFDM symbols is greater than or equal to 4. In addition, any two adjacent groups of OFDM symbols in at least two groups of OFDM symbols occupied by the first information after the coded modulation are separated by a first time length in a time domain; the first duration and the first period satisfy: the first period is equal to 288/(K × Z) times the first duration, where K is the number of subcarriers occupied by each group of OFDM symbols.

For example, when Z is equal to 1, in each transmission in each beam direction, the coded and modulated first information occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols, where each group of OFDM symbols includes 4 OFDM symbols. That is, the number of OFDM symbols in each group of OFDM symbols is equal to 4. At this time, the first duration and the first period satisfy: the first period is equal to 288/K times the first duration.

Taking the first information as MIB information as an example, the MIB information is carried in PBCH. The information bits of the MIB information are encoded, scrambled and modulated to obtain a plurality of complex symbols, i.e. MIB information after encoding and modulation can be obtained. The plurality of complex symbols may be divided into a plurality of portions and mapped to a plurality of groups of OFDM symbols for transmission.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of transmitting MIB information after coding modulation provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 6, assuming that the plurality of complex symbols can be divided into a first part, a second part, a third part, and a fourth part, the 4 parts can be mapped onto 4 groups of OFDM symbols for transmission. In beam direction 1, the first part may be transmitted n times first, then the second part n times, then the third part n times, and finally the fourth part n times (only the 1 st transmission of each part in beam direction 1 is shown in fig. 6, and the 2 nd to nth transmissions are not shown). Similarly, in beam direction 2, beam direction 3, beam direction 4, transmission may also be in the same manner as beam direction 1.

Optionally, when the first information is MIB information, the first duration may be 80ms, and the first period is equal to (288 × 80/K) ms. If the number of subcarriers occupied by each group of OFDM symbols is 144, the first period is equal to 160 ms; if the number of subcarriers occupied by each group of OFDM symbols is 72, the first period is equal to 320 ms. It can be understood that the number of subcarriers occupied by each group of OFDM symbols may also be 36, 18, etc., and is not described in detail.

Optionally, when the first information is the SIB1, the first duration may be 160ms, and the first period is equal to (288 × 160/K) ms.

Similar to NR, in the embodiment of the present application, when the first information is MIB information, each group of OFDM symbols carrying the coded and modulated first information may be defined as a first SSB. The first SSB may also be referred to as a narrowband SSB (NSSB), a MTC SSB (MSSB), or a low power wide area SSB (LPWA SSB), which is merely exemplary and not limiting.

It can be seen that, in the embodiment of the present application, when Z is equal to 1, time domain structures of the first SSB and the NR SSB are the same, that is, the first SSB is composed of 4 OFDM symbols in a time domain, and these four symbols may be used to carry one or more of PSS, SSS, and PBCH, where the OFDM symbol where the PBCH is located may transmit the DMRS or may not transmit the DMRS. For the condition that the PBCH does not send the DMRS on the OFDM symbol, the PBCH can complete channel estimation by means of the PSS and/or the SSS, and the PBCH performance can be improved by reducing the overhead of the DMRS.

For example, fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a first SSB provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 7, in the first SSB, the first OFDM symbol of the 4 OFDM symbols is used to carry PSS, the second and fourth OFDM symbols are used to carry PBCH, and the third OFDM symbol is used to carry SSS.

Alternatively, fig. 8 shows another schematic diagram of the first SSB provided in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 8, in the first SSB, the first OFDM symbol of the 4 OFDM symbols is used for carrying PSS, the second OFDM symbol is used for carrying SSS, and the third and fourth OFDM symbols are used for carrying PBCH.

Still alternatively, fig. 9 shows another schematic diagram of the first SSB provided in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 9, in the first SSB, the first OFDM symbol of the 4 OFDM symbols is used to carry the PSS, and the second, third, and fourth OFDM symbols are used to carry the PBCH.

Still alternatively, fig. 10 shows another schematic diagram of the first SSB provided in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 10, in the first SSB, the first OFDM symbol of the 4 OFDM symbols is used to carry SSS, and the second, third, and fourth OFDM symbols are used to carry PBCH.

Still alternatively, fig. 11 shows another schematic diagram of the first SSB provided in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 11, in the first SSB, 4 OFDM symbols are used to carry PBCH.

As can be seen from the above, in the embodiment of the present application, the coded and modulated first information occupies at least 2 OFDM symbols in each of at least two groups of OFDM symbols. For example, the coded and modulated first information may occupy 2 OFDM symbols in each of at least two groups of OFDM symbols; or, occupy 3 OFDM symbols; or, occupy 4 OFDM symbols.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present application, the time domain positions and the number of OFDM symbol groups (for example, which may be referred to as candidate first SSBs) included in one half frame for mapping the first SSBs are the same as those of the candidate SSBs included in one half frame in the 5G NR system.

For NR SSB, the time domain location of the candidate SSB is determined in the following manner.

Within a field containing the NR SSB, the first symbol index of the candidate SSB is determined according to the subcarrier spacing of the NR SSB. Assuming that the number of candidate SSBs is denoted by Lmax, the index values of the candidate SSBs are denoted by 0, 1, …, Lmax-1 in this order. The time domain positions of the candidate SSBs for five cases, case a, case B, case C, case D, and case E, are as follows.

1) case A-15kHz subcarrier spacing: the first symbol index of the candidate SSB satisfies {2, 8} +14 x n. When the carrier frequency is less than or equal to 3GHz, n is {0, 1}, and Lmax is 4. When the carrier frequency is in FR1 (the frequency range 410 MHz-7125 MHz in 5G NR is defined as FR1) and the carrier frequency is greater than 3GHz, n is {0, 1, 2, 3}, and Lmax is 8.

2) case B-30kHz subcarrier spacing: the first symbol index of the candidate SSB satisfies {4, 8, 16, 20} +28 x n. When the carrier frequency is less than or equal to 3GHz, n is 0, and Lmax is 4. If the carrier frequency is within FR1 and the carrier frequency is greater than 3GHz, n is {0, 1}, and Lmax is 8.

3) case C-30kHz subcarrier spacing: the first symbol index of the candidate SSB satisfies {2, 8} +14 x n.

For paired spectrum deployment (paired spectrum operation), when the carrier frequency is less than or equal to 3GHz, n is {0, 1}, and when Lmax is 4. If the carrier frequency is within FR1 and the carrier frequency is greater than 3GHz, n is {0, 1, 2, 3}, and Lmax is 8.

For unpaired spectrum deployment, when the carrier frequency is less than or equal to 2.4GHz, n is {0, 1}, and when Lmax is 4. If the carrier frequency is within FR1 (frequency range 24250 MHz-52600 MHz in 5G NR is FR2) and the carrier frequency is greater than 2.4GHz, n is {0, 1, 2, 3}, and Lmax is 8.

4) case D-120kHz subcarrier spacing: the first symbol index of the candidate SSB satisfies {4, 8, 16, 20} +28 x n. When the carrier frequency is within FR2, n is {0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18}, where Lmax is 64.

5) case E-240kHz subcarrier spacing: the first symbol index of the candidate SSB satisfies {8, 12, 16, 20, 32, 36, 40, 44} +56 x n. When the carrier frequency is within FR2, n is {0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8}, and Lmax is 64.

For the terminal device, which of the above cases the SSB is applied to may be determined according to the frequency band, as shown in table 1, the SSB subcarrier spacing and the SSB pattern applied to each frequency band are agreed in the protocol, and the SSB pattern is to determine which of the above 5 cases is applied. Note that section 1 of Table 1 is selected from Table 5.4.3.3-1 in 3GPP TS 38.101-1. For example, the terminal device determines that the NR deployment band is n1, and the terminal may determine that the SSB pattern is case a according to table 1.

TABLE 1

NR deployed bands	SSB subcarrier spacing	SSB pattern
			n1	15kHz	case A
n2	15kHz	case A

Fig. 12 shows a schematic diagram of the time domain position of a candidate SSB in a half frame when case a has a carrier frequency less than or equal to 3 GHz.

As shown in fig. 12, the index 0 corresponds to the first OFDM symbol in the first slot of a field. At this time, the first symbol index of the candidate SSB satisfies {2, 8} +14 × n. When the carrier frequency is less than or equal to 3GHz, n is {0, 1 }. As shown in fig. 12, the index value corresponding to the first symbol of the candidate SSB is {2, 8, 16, 22}, and the number of candidate SSBs in one half frame is 4.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present application, the first SSB may support one or more of case a to case E. For example, the first SSB may support the above-mentioned case a to case E, and may also support one or more of them, which is not limited herein.

When Z is greater than 1, in each transmission in each beam direction, in at least two groups of OFDM symbols occupied by the coded and modulated first information, the number of OFDM symbols included in each group of OFDM symbols is a multiple of 4, such as 8, or 12, or 16. At this time, the first duration and the first period satisfy: the first period is equal to 288/(K × Z) times the first duration.

It can be seen that when Z is greater than 1, the time domain structure of the first SSB and NR SSB are different. The number of OFDM symbols occupied by the first SSB in the time domain is greater than 4, the number of symbols is a multiple of 4, and the number of OFDM symbols occupied by the NR SSB in the time domain is equal to 4.

Next, a comparison between the first candidate SSB for mapping the first SSB and the candidate SSB for carrying the NR SSB is described with reference to fig. 13.

Taking Z equal to 2 as an example, fig. 13 shows a comparison diagram of the SSB candidates in the first SSB candidate and the NR candidate when case a has a carrier frequency less than or equal to 3 GHz.

As shown in fig. 13, when Z is equal to 2, the number of symbols occupied by the first candidate SSB in the time domain is 8. The number of candidate SSBs in a half frame in NR is 4, while in the embodiment of the present application, the number of first candidate SSBs in a half frame is 2.

As described above, in each transmission in each beam direction, when the first information after code modulation occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols, and each group of OFDM symbols includes 4 or multiple of 4 OFDM symbols, compared with SSB transmission in a 5G NR system, each transmission of the first information after code modulation is completed by at least two groups of OFDM symbols in the embodiment of the present application, and it is possible to improve the wireless network signal coverage strength of the network device to the first terminal device through time domain expansion.

In addition, for the implementation mode that each group of OFDM symbols includes multiple OFDM symbols of 4, the number of the first candidate SSBs included in one half frame is smaller than the number of the candidate SSBs included in one half frame in the NR, so that the access delay of the low-cost internet-of-things terminal device can be reduced, and even the low-cost internet-of-things terminal device and the NR terminal device can achieve the same access delay.

S504, the first terminal device obtains first information according to the coded and modulated first information.

After receiving the first information after code modulation, the first terminal device may decode and demodulate the first information after code modulation to obtain the first information.

For example, after receiving the system message after the code modulation, the first terminal device may decode and demodulate the system message after the code modulation to obtain the system message, and then complete the synchronous access with the base station according to the system message.

Optionally, the first terminal device may receive the n times of coded and modulated first information sent by the network device at least once in at least one beam direction.

For example, the first terminal device may receive at least a portion of at least one of the M parts sent by the network device n times. Still alternatively, the first terminal device may receive a first part of the at least one M part of the M parts sent by the network device n times, and then receive a second part of the at least one M part until the at least one M part is completely received.

In some possible designs, for an embodiment where each group of OFDM symbols includes a multiple of 4 OFDM symbols, the coded and modulated first information may occupy only one group of OFDM symbols in each transmission in each beam direction. That is, in each transmission in each beam direction, the code-modulated first information may be transmitted in only one first SSB.

That is, in this design, the network device may send the first information after n times of code modulation to the first terminal device, and the method may further include: and the network equipment sends the first information after the first time of coding modulation to the first terminal equipment, and then sends the first information after the 2 nd time of coding modulation to the first terminal equipment until the sending is completed for n times. In each transmission in each beam direction, the complete coded and modulated first information occupies 1 group of OFDM symbols, and the number of OFDM symbols in the 1 group of OFDM symbols is greater than 4 and is a multiple of 4.

For example, assuming that the number of OFDM symbols in 1 group of OFDM symbols is 8, the first information after code modulation may be divided into two parts, where the first part is mapped to the 1 st to 4 th OFDM symbols for transmission, and the second part is mapped to the 5 th to 8 th OFDM symbols for transmission.

The main difference from the foregoing embodiment is that in this design, the 1 st complete coded and modulated first information is sent first, and then the 2 nd complete coded and modulated first information is sent again until the nth complete coded and modulated first information is sent, so that the n times of coded and modulated first information is sent to the first terminal device in at least one beam direction. In the foregoing embodiment, the first part of the first information after n times of code modulation is sent first, and then the second part of the first information after n times of code modulation is sent until the mth part of the first information after code modulation is sent, so that the first information after n times of code modulation is sent to the first terminal device in at least one beam direction. However, in both of these two designs, in each transmission in each beam direction, the number of OFDM symbols occupied by the first information after code modulation is greater than the number of OFDM symbols occupied by SSB in the 5G NR system. The spreading in the time domain can be realized relative to the SSB transmission in the 5G NR system.

The foregoing embodiments mainly describe a process in which, in the signal transmission method, the network device sends the first information after code modulation to the first terminal device. Optionally, on the basis of the foregoing embodiment, the signal transmission method may further include the step of sending, by the network device, the code-modulated second information to the second terminal device. For example, the network device may generate and code-modulate the second information, and then the network device may transmit the code-modulated second information to the second terminal device.

Compared with the foregoing embodiment in which the network device sends the first information after code modulation to the first terminal device, in this embodiment, a time domain position corresponding to an OFDM symbol occupied by the second information after code modulation sent by the network device to the second terminal device is the same as a time domain position corresponding to an OFDM symbol occupied by the first information after code modulation in the foregoing embodiment, and a frequency domain position corresponding to an OFDM symbol occupied by the second information after code modulation is different from a frequency domain position corresponding to an OFDM symbol occupied by the first information after code modulation in the foregoing embodiment.

The second information may also be system messages such as MIB information and SIB1 information, similar to the first information. The second terminal device may also be the terminal device 310 in the communication system shown in fig. 3, but the second terminal device and the first terminal device are two different terminal devices.

For example, taking the first information and the second information as MIB information as an example, the network device may send the second information after code modulation to the second terminal device in a mode of SSB transmission in the 5G NR system; and sending the coded and modulated first information to the first terminal device by using the first SSB transmission method according to the foregoing embodiment of the present application, but the frequency domain positions corresponding to the OFDM symbols occupied by the SSBs in the first SSB and 5G NR systems are different, and the time domain positions are the same. In other words, the first SSB has the same structure as the NR SSB, and the time domain position and the number of the first candidate SSB included in one half frame are the same as the time domain position and the number of the NR candidate SSB, but the frequency domain position is different. At this time, the first SSB and the NR SSB may be FDM, so when neither the first terminal device nor the second terminal device has service data transmission with the network device, the network device may be turned off in a unified manner, which is beneficial to reducing network energy consumption.

In still other examples, the first information and the second information may be a SIB 1. The network device may transmit the coded and modulated second information to the second terminal device in a mode of SIB1 transmission in the 5G NR system; and sending the coded and modulated first information to the first terminal device in the manner described in the foregoing embodiment of the present application, and in order to avoid confusion, marking SIB1 sent to the first terminal device as first SIB 1. However, the frequency domain positions corresponding to the OFDM symbols occupied by the SIB1 in the first SIB1 and 5G NR systems are different, and the time domain positions are the same. At this time, the first SIB1 and the NR SIB1 may be FDM, so when no service data is transmitted between the first terminal device and the network device, the network device may be turned off uniformly, which is beneficial to reducing network energy consumption.

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 to be understood that each network element, for example, the network device, the first terminal device, etc., contains a hardware structure and/or a software module for performing each function in order to realize the functions.

Such as: the embodiment of the application can also provide a communication device which can be applied to network equipment. Fig. 14 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 14, the communication apparatus may include: a processing unit 1401, configured to generate first information, and perform coding modulation on the first information; a sending unit 1402, configured to send the first information after n times of code modulation to the first terminal device in at least one beam direction in the first period, where n is an integer greater than 1.

In one possible design, the coded modulated first information includes M parts, where M is an integer greater than 1; the sending unit 1402 is specifically configured to send a first part of the M parts n times to the first terminal device, and then send a second part of the M parts n times to the first terminal device until all M parts complete sending.

In one possible design, the first information includes master information block, MIB, information; each group of OFDM symbols in at least two groups of OFDM symbols comprises 4Z OFDM symbols, and Z is a positive integer; any two adjacent groups of OFDM symbols in the at least two groups of OFDM symbols are separated by a first time length on a time domain; the first duration and the first period satisfy: the first period is equal to 288/(K × Z) times the first duration, where K is the number of subcarriers occupied by each group of OFDM symbols.

In one possible design, the processing unit 1401 is further configured to generate second information, and perform code modulation on the second information; the sending unit 1402 is further configured to send the coded and modulated second information to the second terminal device. The time domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the second information after code modulation is the same as the time domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the first information after code modulation, and the frequency domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the second information after code modulation is different from the frequency domain position corresponding to the OFDM symbol occupied by the first information after code modulation.

Correspondingly, the embodiment of the application also provides a communication device which can be applied to the first terminal equipment. Fig. 15 shows another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 15, the communication apparatus may include: a receiving unit 1501, configured to receive at least one time of the n times of coded and modulated first information sent by the network device in at least one beam direction, where n is an integer greater than 1; the received first information after each coding modulation occupies at least two groups of OFDM symbols, and any two groups of OFDM symbols in the at least two groups of OFDM symbols bear different parts of the first information after coding modulation; a processing unit 1502 is configured to obtain first information according to the coded and modulated first information.

In one possible design, the coded modulated first information includes M parts, where M is an integer greater than 1; the receiving unit 1501 is specifically configured to receive at least one part of at least one M part of the M parts sent by the network device n times.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the second terminal device may also include a communication device similar to that in the first terminal device, and be configured to receive the coded and modulated second information sent by the network device, and decode and demodulate the coded and modulated second information to obtain the second information. And will not be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus may be applied to the network device or the first terminal device. Fig. 16 shows a further schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 16, the communication apparatus may include: a transceiver unit 1601 and a processing unit 1602. The transceiving unit 1601 may be used for transceiving information or for communicating with other network elements. The processing unit 1602 may be used to process data.

When the communication apparatus is applied to a network device, the method performed by the network device according to the foregoing embodiments may be implemented by the transceiving unit 1601 and the processing unit 1602.

When the communication apparatus is applied to a first terminal device, the method performed by the first terminal device as described in the foregoing embodiments may be implemented by the transceiving unit 1601 and the processing unit 1602.

It should be understood that the division of the units in the above apparatus is only a division of logical functions, and the actual implementation may be wholly or partially integrated into one physical entity or may be physically separated. And the units in the device can be realized in the form of software called by the processing element; or may be implemented entirely in hardware; part of the units can also be realized in the form of software called by a processing element, and part of the units can be realized in the form of hardware.

For example, each unit may be a processing element separately set up, or may be implemented by being integrated into a chip of the apparatus, or may be stored in a memory in the form of a program, and a function of the unit may be called and executed by a processing element of the apparatus. In addition, all or part of the units can be integrated together or can be independently realized. The processing element described herein, which may also be referred to as a processor, may be an integrated circuit having signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, the steps of the method or the units above may be implemented by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor element or in a form called by software through the processor element.

In one example, the units in any of the above apparatuses may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more ASICs, or one or more DSPs, or one or more FPGAs, or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms.

As another example, when a unit in a device may be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element may be a general purpose processor, such as a CPU or other processor capable of invoking programs. As another example, these units may be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

The above means for receiving is an interface circuit or input circuit of the device for receiving signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the receiving unit is an interface circuit or an input circuit for the chip to receive signals from other chips or devices. When the communication device comprises means for transmitting, the means for transmitting is an interface circuit or an output circuit of the device for transmitting signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the transmitting unit is an interface circuit or an output circuit of the chip for transmitting a signal to other chips or devices.

For example, the embodiment of the present application may also provide a communication apparatus, which may be applied to the network device or the first terminal device. The communication apparatus may include: a processor and interface circuitry. The processor may include one or more.

When the communication device is applied to a network device, the processor is used for communicating with other devices through the interface circuit and executing each step executed by the network device in the above method.

When the communication apparatus is applied to a first terminal device, the processor is configured to communicate with other apparatuses through the interface circuit and perform the steps performed by the first terminal device in the above method.

In one implementation, the unit for the network device or the first terminal device to respectively implement the corresponding steps in the above method may be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler. For example, the apparatus for the network device or the first terminal device may include a processing element and a storage element, and the processing element calls a program stored in the storage element to execute the method executed by the corresponding network device or the first terminal device in the above method embodiments. The memory elements may be memory elements on the same chip as the processing elements, i.e. on-chip memory elements.

In another implementation, the program for performing the method performed by the network device or the first terminal device of the above methods may be in a memory element on a different chip than the processing element, i.e. an off-chip memory element. At this time, the processing element calls or loads a program from the off-chip storage element onto the on-chip storage element to call and execute the method executed by the corresponding network device or the first terminal device in the above method embodiment.

For example, embodiments of the present application may also provide a communication apparatus, which may include a processor for executing computer instructions stored in a memory, and when the computer instructions are executed, the apparatus is caused to perform the method performed by the above network device or the first terminal device. The memory may be located within the communication device or external to the communication device. And the processor includes one or more.

In yet another implementation, the network device or the first terminal device implementing the steps of the above method may be configured as one or more processing elements, which may be disposed on the corresponding network device or the first terminal device, where the processing elements may be integrated circuits, for example: one or more ASICs, or one or more DSPs, or one or more FPGAs, or a combination of these types of integrated circuits. These integrated circuits may be integrated together to form a chip.

Units of the network device or the first terminal device for realizing the steps of the method can be integrated together and realized in the form of an SOC, and the SOC chip is used for realizing the corresponding method. At least one processing element and a storage element can be integrated in the chip, and the processing element calls the form of a stored program of the storage element to realize a corresponding method; alternatively, at least one integrated circuit may be integrated within the chip for implementing a corresponding method; alternatively, the above implementation modes may be combined, the functions of the partial units are implemented in the form of a processing element calling program, and the functions of the partial units are implemented in the form of an integrated circuit.

The processing elements herein, like those described above, may be a general purpose processor, such as a CPU, or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more ASICs, or one or more microprocessors DSP, or one or more FPGAs, etc., or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms.

The storage element may be a memory or a combination of a plurality of storage elements.

For example, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, where the chip system may be applied to the network device or the first terminal device. The chip system includes one or more interface circuits and one or more processors; the interface circuit and the processor are interconnected through a line; the processor receives and executes computer instructions from the memory of the electronic device through the interface circuit to implement the method executed by the corresponding network device or the first terminal device in the above method embodiments.

Through the above description of the embodiments, it is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and simplicity of description, the foregoing division of the functional modules is merely used as an example, and in practical applications, the above function distribution may be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device may be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the above described functions.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the modules or units is only one logical functional division, and there may be other divisions when actually implemented, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or may be integrated into another device, 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 be one physical unit or a plurality of physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed in a plurality of different places. 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 integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit.

The integrated unit, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application may be embodied in the form of software products, such as: and (5) programming. The software product is stored in a program product, such as a computer readable storage medium, and includes several instructions for causing a device (which may be a single chip, a chip, or the like) or a processor (processor) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a U disk, a removable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

For example, embodiments of the present application may also provide a computer-readable storage medium, including: computer software instructions; when the computer software instructions are executed in the network device, or a chip built in the network device, the network device may be caused to execute the method executed by the network device according to the foregoing embodiment.

Alternatively, when the computer software instructions are run in the first terminal device or a chip built in the first terminal device, the first terminal device is caused to execute the method executed by the first terminal device as described in the foregoing embodiments.

The above description is only an embodiment of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present disclosure should 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

1. A method of signal transmission, the method comprising:

the network equipment generates first information and carries out coding modulation on the first information;

the network equipment sends the first information after the coded modulation to first terminal equipment for n times in at least one wave beam direction in a first period, wherein n is an integer larger than 1;

in each transmission in each beam direction, the coded and modulated first information occupies at least two groups of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols, and any two groups of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols in the at least two groups of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols bear different parts of the coded and modulated first information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the coded modulated first information comprises M parts, M being an integer greater than 1; the network device sends the first information after the code modulation to the first terminal device for n times, and the method comprises the following steps:

and the network equipment sends a first part in the M parts to the first terminal equipment for n times, and then sends a second part in the M parts to the first terminal equipment for n times until the M parts are all sent.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first information comprises master information block information;

each group of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols in the at least two groups of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols comprises 4Z orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols, and Z is a positive integer;

any two adjacent groups of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols in the at least two groups of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols are separated by a first time length on a time domain;

the first duration and the first period satisfy: the first period is equal to 288/(K × Z) times the first duration, where K is the number of subcarriers occupied by each group of the ofdm symbols.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the coded and modulated first information occupies at least 2 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols in each of the at least two groups of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, further comprising:

the network equipment generates second information and carries out coding modulation on the second information;

the network equipment sends the second information after the code modulation to second terminal equipment, the time domain position corresponding to the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol occupied by the second information after the code modulation is the same as the time domain position corresponding to the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol occupied by the first information after the code modulation, and the frequency domain position corresponding to the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol occupied by the second information after the code modulation is different from the frequency domain position corresponding to the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol occupied by the first information after the code modulation.

6. A method of signal transmission, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a first terminal device receives at least one time of first information which is sent by a network device in a first period after n times of coded modulation in at least one wave beam direction, wherein n is an integer larger than 1;

wherein, the received first information after each coding modulation occupies at least two groups of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols, and any two groups of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols in the at least two groups of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols bear different parts of the first information after coding modulation;

and the first terminal equipment obtains the first information according to the coded and modulated first information.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the coded modulated first information comprises M parts, M being an integer greater than 1; the first terminal equipment receives at least one time of the first information which is sent by the network equipment in the first period after n times of code modulation, and the method comprises the following steps:

the first terminal device receives at least one part of the M parts at least once in the M parts transmitted by the network device n times in a first period.

8. The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein the first information comprises master information block information;

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the coded and modulated first information occupies at least 2 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols in each of the at least two groups of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols.

10. A communications apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

the processing unit is used for generating first information and carrying out coding modulation on the first information;

a sending unit, configured to send the coded and modulated first information to a first terminal device n times in at least one beam direction in a first period, where n is an integer greater than 1;

11. The apparatus of claim 10, the code modulated first information comprises M parts, M being an integer greater than 1;

the sending unit is specifically configured to send a first part of the M parts to the first terminal device n times, and then send a second part of the M parts to the first terminal device n times until all the M parts complete sending.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the first information comprises master information block information;

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the code modulated first information occupies at least 2 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols in each of the at least two sets of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols.

14. The apparatus according to any of claims 10-13, wherein the processing unit is further configured to generate second information, and perform code modulation on the second information;

the sending unit is further configured to send the second information after code modulation to a second terminal device, where a time domain position corresponding to the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol occupied by the second information after code modulation is the same as a time domain position corresponding to the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol occupied by the first information after code modulation, and a frequency domain position corresponding to the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol occupied by the second information after code modulation is different from a frequency domain position corresponding to the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol occupied by the first information after code modulation.

15. A communications apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive at least one time of n times of coded and modulated first information sent by a network device in a first period in at least one beam direction, where n is an integer greater than 1;

and the processing unit is used for obtaining the first information according to the coded and modulated first information.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, the code modulated first information comprises M parts, M being an integer greater than 1;

the receiving unit is specifically configured to receive at least one part of the M part at least once in the M parts sent by the network device n times in the first period.

17. The apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the first information comprises master information block information;

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the code modulated first information occupies at least 2 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols in each of the at least two sets of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising: computer software instructions;

the computer software instructions, when executed in a network device or a chip built into a network device, cause the network device to perform the method of any of claims 1-5.

20. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising: computer software instructions;

the computer software instructions, when run in the first terminal device or in a chip built in the first terminal device, cause the first terminal device to perform the method of any of claims 6-9.