CN111385076B

CN111385076B - Communication method, network equipment and terminal equipment

Info

Publication number: CN111385076B
Application number: CN201811640673.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈磊; 刘凤威
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-12-29
Filing date: 2018-12-29
Publication date: 2021-08-13
Anticipated expiration: 2038-12-29
Also published as: WO2020135098A1; CN111385076A

Abstract

The application provides a communication method, network equipment and terminal equipment, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the network equipment determines a protection time unit and a single-carrier symbol, wherein the protection time unit is positioned in front of the single-carrier symbol and adjacent to the single-carrier symbol, the N control information units comprise the target control information unit, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; the network device sends the guard time unit and the single-carrier symbol to the target terminal device. The technical scheme is characterized in that the protection time unit is arranged before the single carrier symbol, so that the intersymbol interference generated by a multipath channel and the harmful influence on useful data caused by the switching of a radio frequency switch when the wave beam is switched can be reduced.

Description

Communication method, network equipment and terminal equipment

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communication method, a network device, and a terminal device.

Background

To reduce propagation loss, beam-based communication may be employed between the network device and the terminal device. In other words, the network device may communicate with different terminal devices using different beams. For the downlink, the network device can only serve multiple terminal devices located within the same beam at the same time. In the case of a narrower beam and a smaller number of terminals, one beam of the network device may be able to serve only one terminal device. In case a beam is exclusively occupied by a terminal device, the entire bandwidth should be allocated to the terminal device in order to avoid resource waste. However, since the terminal device occupies all frequency domain resources, the time domain resources exclusive to the terminal device are generally limited. Therefore, the method is suitable for scheduling the terminal equipment by adopting a time division scheduling mode.

The network device may transmit the control information to different terminal devices by transmitting different single carrier symbols. As described above, the beams of different terminal devices may be different. Thus, a network device may transmit two adjacent single-carrier symbols using different beams. However, the stability of the transmitted information during the beam switching process is not good. Therefore, how to reduce the influence of beam switching on the stability of useful information is an urgent problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method, network equipment and terminal equipment, which can reduce the harmful influence on useful data caused by switching of a radio frequency switch when beam switching occurs. In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where the method includes: the network equipment determines a protection time unit and a single-carrier symbol, wherein the single-carrier symbol comprises a target control information unit, the target control information unit comprises target control information of target terminal equipment, the single-carrier symbol comprises N control information units, the protection time unit is positioned in front of the single-carrier symbol and adjacent to the single-carrier symbol, the N control information units comprise the target control information unit, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; the network device sends the guard time unit and the single-carrier symbol to the target terminal device. The technical scheme is characterized in that the protection time unit is arranged before the single carrier symbol, so that the intersymbol interference generated by a multipath channel and the harmful influence on useful data caused by the switching of a radio frequency switch when the wave beam is switched can be reduced.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a case that N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, each of M control information units of the N control information units includes the first protection information and the first control information, where M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N; the first protection information is adjacent to the first control information, and the first protection information is located after the first control information. In the above technical solution, by setting the protection information in two adjacent control information units, the influence on useful data caused by switching of the radio frequency switch can be reduced when the adjacent control information units are transmitted using different beams.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the length of the guard time unit is the same as the length of the first guard information. The technical scheme is convenient for aligning the single carrier symbols with different control information unit numbers, and is convenient for the terminal equipment to carry out blind detection on the single carrier symbols.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first protection information included in any two of the M control information units is the same. Since the first protection information in different control information units is the same, the number of times that the network device determines the protection information can be reduced, and the burden of the network device can be reduced.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, a length of an nth control information unit of the N control information units is 1/K of a length of the single carrier symbol_nWhere N is 1, …, N, K_n＝2^mAnd m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. The technical scheme is convenient for aligning the single carrier symbols with different control information unit numbers, and is convenient for the terminal equipment to carry out blind detection on the single carrier symbols.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, two beams respectively used for transmitting two adjacent control information units of the M control information units are different. The technical scheme can enable the network equipment to transmit two continuous single-carrier symbols by using different beams.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes: the network device sends first protection information indication information to the target terminal device, wherein the first protection information indication information is used for indicating that the single-carrier symbol comprises the first protection information. Through the technical scheme, the target terminal equipment can conveniently carry out blind detection on the single carrier symbol.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes: the network device sends second protection information indication information to the target terminal device, wherein the second protection information indication information is used for indicating that the single-carrier symbol does not include the first protection information. Through the technical scheme, the target terminal equipment can conveniently carry out blind detection on the single carrier symbol.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a case that N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, the determining, by the network device, a guard time unit and a single carrier symbol includes: the network equipment acquires N pieces of initial control data, wherein the N pieces of initial control data correspond to the N pieces of control information units one by one; the network equipment arranges the N initial control data in sequence, and carries out Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) processing and inverse discrete Fourier transform (IFFT) processing on the arranged data in sequence to obtain the single carrier symbol; the network device determines the guard time unit and adds the guard time unit before the single carrier symbol.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a case that N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, the determining, by the network device, a guard time unit and a single carrier symbol includes: the network equipment acquires N pieces of initial control data, wherein the N pieces of initial control data correspond to the N pieces of control information units one by one; the network equipment respectively and sequentially carries out Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) processing and inverse discrete Fourier transform (IFFT) processing on the N pieces of initial control data to obtain the single carrier symbol; the network device determines the guard time unit and adds the guard time unit before the single carrier symbol.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where the method includes: the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives a protection time unit and a single-carrier symbol sent by network equipment, wherein the single-carrier symbol comprises a target control information unit, the target control information unit comprises target control information, the single-carrier symbol comprises N control information units, the protection time unit is located before the single-carrier symbol and adjacent to the single-carrier symbol, the N control information units comprise the target control information unit, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; and the terminal equipment performs blind detection on the single carrier symbol to obtain the target control information. The technical scheme is characterized in that the protection time unit is arranged before the single carrier symbol, so that the intersymbol interference generated by a multipath channel and the harmful influence on useful data caused by the switching of a radio frequency switch when the wave beam is switched can be reduced.

In one possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a case that N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, each of M control information units of the N control information units includes the first protection information and the first control information, where M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N; the first protection information is adjacent to the first control information, and the first protection information is located after the first control information. In the above technical solution, by setting the protection information in two adjacent control information units, the influence on useful data caused by switching of the radio frequency switch can be reduced when the adjacent control information units are transmitted using different beams.

In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the length of the guard time is the same as the length of the first guard information. The technical scheme is convenient for aligning the single carrier symbols with different control information unit numbers, and is convenient for the terminal equipment to carry out blind detection on the single carrier symbols.

In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first protection information included in any two of the control information units in the M control information units is the same.

In one possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the length of the nth control information unit of the N control information units is 1/K of the length of the single carrier symbol_nWhere N is 1, …, N, K_n＝2^mAnd m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. The technical scheme is convenient for aligning the single carrier symbols with different control information unit numbers, and is convenient for the terminal equipment to carry out blind detection on the single carrier symbols.

In one possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further includes: the terminal device receives first protection information indication information sent by the network device, wherein the first protection information indication information is used for indicating that the target control information unit comprises first protection information; the blind detection of the single carrier symbol by the terminal equipment to obtain the target control information comprises: and the terminal equipment performs blind detection on the single carrier symbol according to the first protection information indication information to obtain the target control information. According to the first protection information indication information, the terminal device may perform blind detection on the single carrier symbol on the assumption that the target control information unit includes the first protection information. Therefore, the blind detection efficiency of the terminal equipment can be improved.

In one possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further includes: the terminal device receives second protection information indication information sent by the network device, wherein the second protection information indication information is used for indicating that the target control information unit does not include first protection information; the blind detection of the single carrier symbol by the terminal equipment to obtain the target control information comprises: and the terminal equipment performs blind detection on the single carrier symbol according to the second protection information indication information to obtain the target control information. According to the second protection information indication information, the terminal device may perform blind detection on the single carrier symbol on the assumption that the target control information unit does not include the first protection information. Therefore, the blind detection efficiency of the terminal equipment can be improved.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network device, where the network device includes a module configured to implement the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a terminal device including means for implementing the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes means for performing the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

Alternatively, the communication apparatus of the fifth aspect may be a network device, or may be a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit, etc.) usable for a network device.

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication apparatus, which includes means for performing the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

Alternatively, the communication apparatus of the sixth aspect may be a terminal device, or may be a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit, etc.) usable for a terminal device.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a storage medium, where the storage medium stores instructions for implementing the method according to the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a storage medium storing instructions for implementing the method according to the second aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the second aspect.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of the second aspect or any of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system 100 to which a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

Fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a guard information unit and a single carrier symbol.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of another guard information unit and single carrier symbols.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a single carrier symbol.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a single carrier symbol.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of five single-carrier symbols.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram of a network device provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

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

In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of the singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c, may represent: a. b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c can be single or multiple. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first", "second", and the like do not limit the number and the execution order.

It is noted that, in the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean exemplary, illustrative, or descriptive. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "e.g.," is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, use of the word "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present concepts related in a concrete fashion.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: global system for mobile communications (GSM) systems, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) systems, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunications system (universal mobile telecommunications system, UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication systems, future fifth generation (5G) or new radio NR systems, etc.

A terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a user equipment, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a relay station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user equipment. The terminal device may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a future 5G network or a terminal device in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), and the like, which are not limited in this embodiment.

The network device in this embodiment may be a device for communicating with a terminal device, where the network device may be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system or a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, may also be a base station (NodeB, NB) in a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, may also be an evolved node b (eNB, or eNodeB) in an LTE system, may also be a wireless controller in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN) scenario, or may be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a network device in a future 5G network, or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network, and the like, and the present embodiment is not limited.

In the embodiment of the application, the terminal device or the network device includes a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Memory Management Unit (MMU), and a memory (also referred to as a main memory). The operating system may be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes (processes), such as a Linux operating system, a Unix operating system, an Android operating system, an iOS operating system, or a windows operating system. The application layer comprises applications such as a browser, an address list, word processing software, instant messaging software and the like. Furthermore, the embodiment of the present application does not particularly limit the specific structure of the execution main body of the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, as long as the communication can be performed according to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application by running the program recorded with the code of the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, for example, the execution main body of the method provided by the embodiment of the present application may be a terminal device or a network device, or a functional module capable of calling the program and executing the program in the terminal device or the network device.

In addition, various aspects or features of the present application may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, or magnetic tape), optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk (CD), Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), card, stick, or key drive, etc.). In addition, various storage media described herein can represent one or more devices and/or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable storage medium" can include, without being limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and/or carrying instruction(s) and/or data.

As shown in fig. 1, the system 100 includes a network device 102, and the network device 102 may include 1 antenna or multiple antennas. Such as

antennas

104, 106, 108, 110, 112, and 114. Additionally, network device 102 may additionally include: a transmitter chain and a receiver chain.

It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the transmitter and receiver chains can each comprise a plurality of components associated with signal transmission and reception (e.g., processors, modulators, multiplexers, demodulators, demultiplexers, antennas, etc.).

Network device 102 may communicate with terminal devices, such as terminal device 116 and terminal device 122 shown in fig. 1. However, it is understood that network device 102 may communicate with any number of terminal devices similar to terminal device 116 or terminal device 122.

End devices

116 and 122 may be various devices that communicate with network device 102, for example, end device 116 may be a cellular phone, a smart phone, a laptop, a handheld communication device, a handheld computing device, a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a PDA, and/or any other suitable device for communicating over wireless communication system 100.

As shown in fig. 1, terminal device 116 is in communication with

antennas

112 and 114. Where

antennas

112 and 114 transmit information to terminal device 116 over a forward link (also called a downlink) 118 and receive information from terminal device 116 over a reverse link (also called an uplink) 120.

In addition, terminal device 122 is in communication with

antennas

104 and 106. Where

antennas

104 and 106 transmit information to terminal device 122 over forward link 124 and receive information from terminal device 122 over reverse link 126.

For example, in a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system. For example, forward link 118 may use a different frequency band than reverse link 120, and forward link 124 may use a different frequency band than reverse link 126.

As another example, in Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems and full duplex (full duplex) systems, forward link 118 and reverse link 120 may utilize a common frequency band and forward link 124 and reverse link 126 may utilize a common frequency band.

Each antenna (or group of antennas consisting of multiple antennas) and/or area designed for communication is referred to as a sector of network device 102.

For example, antenna groups may be designed to communicate to terminal devices in a sector of the areas covered by network device 102. A network device may transmit signals to all terminal devices in its corresponding sector through single-antenna or multi-antenna transmit diversity. During communication by network device 102 with

terminal devices

116 and 122 over

forward links

118 and 124, respectively, the transmitting antennas of network device 102 may also utilize beamforming to improve signal-to-noise ratio of

forward links

118 and 124.

Moreover, mobile devices in neighboring cells can experience less interference when network device 102 utilizes beamforming to transmit to

terminal devices

116 and 122 scattered randomly through an associated coverage area, as compared to a manner in which the network device transmits signals to all of its terminal devices through single-antenna or multi-antenna transmit diversity.

At a given time, network device 102, terminal device 116, or terminal device 122 may be a wireless communication transmitting apparatus and/or a wireless communication receiving apparatus. When sending data, the wireless communication sending device may encode the data for transmission. Specifically, the wireless communication transmitting device may obtain (e.g., generate, receive from other communication devices, or save in memory, etc.) a number of data bits to be transmitted over the channel to the wireless communication receiving device. Such data bits may be contained in a transport block (or transport blocks) of data, which may be segmented to produce multiple code blocks.

In addition, the communication system 100 may be a PLMN network, a D2D network, an M2M network, an IoT network, or other networks, and fig. 1 is a simplified schematic diagram for example, and other network devices may be included in the network, which are not shown in fig. 1.

It should be understood that fig. 1 is a simple schematic diagram, which is used to illustrate a scenario in which the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applicable, and does not constitute any limitation to the present application.

In the following, to facilitate understanding of the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application, several basic concepts are first introduced.

1. Waveform and time division scheduling:

in the New Radio (NR), an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) waveform is used for a Downlink (DL) in a frequency band of 52.6GHz or less; the Uplink (UL) employs two waveforms of OFDM and discrete fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT spread OFDM, DFT-s-OFDM), where DFT refers to Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT).

The OFDM waveform has the advantages of flexibility in frequency division multiplexing, good compatibility with Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology, good link performance under a frequency selective channel and the like. However, the OFDM waveform has a large peak to average power ratio (PAPR), and needs to operate in the linear region of the power amplifier.

Wherein a frequency selective channel refers to a frequency selective channel.

In particular, a frequency selective channel refers to a multipath channel, and the inverse of its delay spread is not much larger than the desired signal bandwidth. The frequency response of such a channel is not flat in the frequency band used.

Specifically, the reason why the OFDM waveform needs to operate in the linear region of the power amplifier is as follows:

the OFDM symbol is formed by superimposing a plurality of independently modulated subcarrier signals, resulting in a large PAPR.

For high peak-to-average ratio signals, a transmitter needs to adopt a larger power amplifier backspacing value so that the signals are positioned in a linear working area of a power amplifier, and overlarge signal distortion is avoided.

The DFT-s-OFDM waveform has good compatibility with the OFDM waveform, and the PAPR of the DFT-s-OFDM waveform is significantly lower than that of the OFDM waveform.

The DFT-s-OFDM waveform can achieve a greater output power than the OFDM waveform under the same power amplifier. The DFT-s-OFDM waveform can be used to improve the uplink coverage. However, the DFT-s-OFDM waveform performs worse than OFDM under frequency selective channels.

The design and selection principle of the waveform for uplink or downlink transmission in the NR, the frequency band below 52.6GHz is briefly introduced above.

The design and selection principle of the waveform for uplink or downlink transmission in the NR, the frequency band above 52.6GHz is briefly described below.

In the frequency band above 52.6GHz, the performance of the power amplifier is worse and the output power is lower. The necessity of selecting a low PAPR waveform is stronger. In this application, the frequency band above 52.6GHz can also be referred to as a high frequency band.

In addition, in the frequency band above 52.6GHz, the frequency selectivity of the channel is weaker due to the use of narrower beams. Resulting in a reduction in the performance advantage of the OFDM waveform.

In summary, in the frequency band above 52.6GHz, DFT-s-OFDM waveform may be more widely applied.

In addition, the rest of the single-carrier waveform may be applied to the frequency band above 52.6 GHz.

For example, a unique word discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (UW-DFT-s-OFDM) waveform, and a zero-tail discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (zero tail-DFT-s-OFDM, ZT-DFT-s-OFDM) waveform.

It should be understood that in frequency bands above 52.6GHz, it is also possible to employ a single carrier waveform that includes time-domain shaping.

For example, a Single carrier-QAM (SC-QAM) waveform, etc., where QAM refers to a Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM).

It should be understood that when the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described below, the single-carrier waveforms involved may be one or more of the single-carrier waveforms described above, and may also be other types of single-carrier waveforms. This is not limited by the present application.

Further, to combat severe propagation losses, beam-based communication is typically employed between high-band network devices and terminal devices.

For the downlink, the network device can only serve multiple terminal devices located within the same beam coverage simultaneously. When the beam is narrow and the number of terminal devices is small, a single beam of the network device may only be able to serve one terminal device. When a terminal device monopolizes a beam, the network device should allocate the full bandwidth to the terminal device in order to avoid resource waste. However, since the terminal device occupies all frequency domain resources, the occupied time domain resources are generally limited. That is, the terminal device is adapted to employ time division scheduling.

2. Beam (beam):

a beam is a communication resource. The beam may be a wide beam, or a narrow beam, or other type of beam.

The technique of forming the beam may be a beamforming technique, or other technical means. The beamforming technique may be embodied as a digital beamforming technique, an analog beamforming technique, a hybrid digital/analog beamforming technique. Different beams may be considered different resources. The same information or different information may be transmitted through different beams.

Alternatively, a plurality of beams having the same or similar communication characteristics may be regarded as one beam. One or more antenna ports may be included in a beam for transmitting data channels, control channels, sounding signals, and the like.

For example, a transmit beam may refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space after a signal is transmitted through an antenna.

A receive beam may refer to a distribution of reception that is emphasized or attenuated by the antenna array in spatially different directions for the wireless signal.

It is to be understood that the one or more antenna ports forming one beam may also be seen as one set of antenna ports. In the current NR protocol, beams can be represented by an antenna port quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship, where the QCL refers to a quasi-co-location (QCL).

Specifically, the two co-beamformed signals have a QCL relationship with respect to spatial Rx parameters (spatial Rx parameters). Namely, QCL-Type D: { Spatial Rx parameter } in the existing protocol.

The identification of the beam in the protocol may be the identification of various signals.

For example, the beam identification may be a resource Identification (ID) of a channel state indication-reference signal (CSI-RS); the beam identification may also be a time domain index of a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH); the beam ID may also be a resource ID of a sounding signal (SRS), or the beam ID may be a resource ID of a tracking signal (TRS), etc.

The number of beams used for transmitting the PDCCH is smaller than the number of beams used for transmitting the PDSCH, and there is a problem in that the network device transmits control information to a plurality of terminal devices located on different beams.

In order to solve the above problem, the present application provides a communication method, where a network device can flexibly select a length of a symbol carrying control information of a terminal device, so as to implement more flexible beam switching.

Further, under the condition of high-frequency communication, the method can improve the number of beams for the network equipment to send the control information, so that the network equipment can schedule a plurality of terminal equipment located in different beams in a time division multiplexing mode.

It should be understood that the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application is applicable to the wireless communication scenario shown in fig. 1. In particular, it is applicable to a high-band wireless communication system in which the high band is not limited to the above-described band of 52.6GHz or more, but may be all bands employing beam-based communication.

An embodiment of the present application will be described with reference to fig. 2.

The network device determines a guard time unit and a single carrier symbol 201.

The single-carrier symbol may include a target control information unit, and the target control information unit includes target control information of a target terminal device. The single-carrier symbol comprises N control information units, the guard time unit is positioned in front of the single-carrier symbol and adjacent to the single-carrier symbol, the N control information units comprise the target control information unit, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

Single carrier here refers to a waveform technique with only one carrier over the operating band, as opposed to a multi-carrier waveform technique, such as OFDM. Common single carriers include DFT-s-OFDM (i.e., DFT-spread OFDM technology), SC-QAM (i.e., single carrier QAM modulation technology), and so on. It should be noted that, in general, a single carrier performs processing of a signal in units of a single carrier symbol. A single carrier symbol contains several modulation symbols to be transmitted. However, in the application, the single-carrier symbol contains only a part of the effective modulation symbol, and does not contain the guard interval.

For example, fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a guard information unit and a single carrier symbol. As shown in fig. 3, the single-carrier symbol includes one control information unit. The guard time unit precedes the single carrier symbol.

As another example, fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of another guard information unit and a single carrier symbol. As shown in fig. 4, the single-carrier symbol includes two control information units. The guard time unit precedes the single carrier symbol.

The Guard time unit may also be referred to as a Guard Period (GP). The guard time unit may include guard data, such as a cyclic prefix, a zero guard interval, or any known sequence. By setting the guard time unit before the control information unit, the impact of beam switching on the information included in the control information unit can be avoided. When the wave beam switching occurs, the radio frequency switch needs a certain stabilization time, and the unstable time of the radio frequency switch is caused in the protection time unit, so that the harmful influence of the instability of the radio frequency switch on the information in the control information unit can be avoided. The quality of the transmitted signal during the unstable time of the rf switch is not good, which may cause some signal loss. The terminal device may not acquire the correct signal if a useful signal is transmitted during this time. Therefore, by setting a guard time unit before a control information unit for including a useful signal so that an unstable time occurs in a period of transmission of the guard time unit, an influence on the useful signal due to beam switching can be avoided. In addition, the guard time unit can be arranged to avoid intersymbol interference generated by a multipath channel.

The length of the protection data can be obtained according to historical statistics or simulation experiments, and how to determine the length of the protection data is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

As mentioned above, the control information unit comprises the useful signal. The useful signal may be control information determined by the network device for the terminal device. For example, the target terminal device may be one of a plurality of terminal devices. The control information determined by the network device for the target terminal device is target control information. The target control information may include downlink scheduling information, uplink scheduling information, power control information, frame structure format information, and the like.

Optionally, in some embodiments, each of the N control information units may include one control information. For example, assuming that N is equal to 4, each of the 4 control information units may include one control information. Assume that the four control information elements are control information element 1, control information element 2, control information element 3, and control information element 4, respectively. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the content in different control information units may correspond to different terminal devices. In other words, the control information included in different control information units is determined by the network device for different terminal devices. Also taking control information unit 1 to control information unit 4 as an example, control information 1 in control information unit 1 may be determined by the network device for terminal device 1, control information 2 in control information unit 2 may be determined by the network device for terminal device 2, control information 3 in control information unit 3 may be determined by the network device for terminal device 3, and control information 4 in control information unit 4 may be determined by the network device for terminal device 4. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the control information included in different control information units may correspond to the same terminal device. In other words, the control information determined by the network device for the same device may be included in different control information units. Taking control information unit 1 to control information unit 4 as examples, control information unit 1 may include control information 1 determined by the network device as terminal device 1, control information unit 2 may also include control information 1, control information unit 3 may include control information 2 determined by the network device as terminal device 2, and control information unit 4 may also include control information 2.

Optionally, in some embodiments, some of the N control information units may include control information, and the remaining control information units may not include useful information. For example, assuming that N is equal to 4, 2 control information units of 4 control information units may include control information, and each of the two control information units includes one information. Similarly, the control information included in different control information units may correspond to different terminal devices, or may correspond to the same terminal device, and the correspondence between the control information included in the control information unit and the terminal device may refer to the foregoing embodiment, which is not described herein again.

In summary, if N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, each control unit of M control information units of the N control information units may include one control information, where M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N. For convenience of description, the control information included in each of the M control information units may be referred to as first control information. The target control information unit may be included in the M control information units.

Optionally, in some embodiments, each of the M control information units may further include first protection information. In other words, each of the M control information units may include the first protection information and the first control information. The first protection information is adjacent to the first control information, and the first protection information is located after the first control information.

For example, fig. 5 shows a schematic of one single carrier symbol. As shown in fig. 5, the single-carrier symbol includes two control information units, i.e., a control information unit 1 and a control information unit 2. Each of the

control information units

1 and 2 includes first control information and first protection information. As can be seen from fig. 5, the first control information in each control information unit precedes the first protection information in the control information unit.

As another example, fig. 6 shows a schematic of one single carrier symbol. As shown in fig. 6, the single-carrier symbol includes 4 control information units, i.e., a control information unit 1, a control information unit 2, a control information unit 3, and a control information unit 4. Each of the control information units 1 to 4 includes first control information and first protection information. As can be seen from fig. 6, the first control information in each control information unit precedes the first protection information in the control information unit.

Each control information unit in the two single-carrier symbols of fig. 5 and 6 includes first protection information and first control information. Alternatively, in some embodiments, M may be a positive integer less than or equal to N. In this case, M1 control information elements may be further included in the N control information elements, and each of the M1 control information elements may include only one control information. For convenience of description, the control information included in the M1 control information elements will be hereinafter referred to as second control information. Further, for convenience of description, a control information unit including the first control information and the first protection information will be hereinafter referred to as a first type of control information unit, and a control information unit including only the second control information will be hereinafter referred to as a second type of control information unit. As described above, in some cases, control information may not be included in a control information unit, and such a control information unit that does not include any control information will be referred to as a third type of control information unit hereinafter.

Optionally, in some embodiments, M first-class control information elements, M1 second-class control information elements, and M2 third-class control information elements may be included in a single-carrier symbol. In the case where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; m1 may be 0 or a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N; m2 may be 0 or a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N, and M, M1 and M2 need satisfy the sum of M, M1 and M2 to be N. In other words, if N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, the N control information units may be any of the following: the N control information units are all the first type of control information units; the N control information units are all the second type control information units; the N control information units are all the third type control information units; the N control information units are composed of the first type control information unit and the second type control information unit, in other words, the third type control information unit is not included in the N control information units; the N control information units are composed of the first type of control information unit and the third type of control information unit, in other words, the second type of control information unit is not included in the N control information units; the N control information units are composed of the second type control information unit and the third type control information unit, in other words, the first type control information unit is not included in the N control information units.

The single-carrier symbol determined by the network device in step 201 includes target control information corresponding to the target terminal device determined by the network device. Therefore, the single-carrier symbol at least comprises one first type control information unit or one second type control information unit.

The first guard information functions similarly to the guard time unit. All to reduce interference with useful information caused by beam switching. Therefore, it can be understood that the network device may add the first protection information in the beam switch occurrence control information element in case that it is determined that the beam switch is required. In other words, if the network device determines that the beams used to transmit two consecutive control information units are different, the first protection information may be added in the two consecutive control information units.

As described above, the first guard information functions similarly to the guard time unit. Therefore, the content included in the first protection information may be a sequence, such as an all-0 sequence, a ZC sequence, and a pi/2BPSK sequence, or a Gold sequence, an m-sequence, or the like.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the length of the guard time unit is the same as the length of the first guard information. This may facilitate the alignment of control information units in single carrier symbols with different numbers of control information units.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the first protection information included in any two of the M control information units is the same. Thus, the network device can determine the first protection information only once and apply the first protection information to the M control information units. This can reduce the workload of the network device.

Optionally, in some embodiments, if the target control information unit includes the first protection information, the network device may send, to the target terminal device, first protection information indication information, where the first protection information indication information is used to indicate that the first protection information is included in the target control information unit. The target terminal device may determine that the first protection information is included in the target control information unit after receiving the first protection information indication information. This may facilitate blind detection of the single carrier symbol by the target terminal device. The target terminal device may perform blind detection on the single carrier symbol on the assumption that the target control information unit includes the first protection information when receiving the first protection information indication information.

Optionally, in other embodiments, if the target control information unit does not include the first protection information, the network device may send second protection information indication information to the target terminal device, where the second protection information indication information is used to indicate that the target control information unit does not include the first protection information. The target terminal device may determine that the first protection information is not included in the target control information unit after receiving the second protection information indication information. This may facilitate detection of the single carrier symbol by the target terminal device. After receiving the second protection information indication information, the target terminal device may perform blind detection on the single carrier symbol on the assumption that the target control information unit does not include the second protection information.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the network device may add the first protection information in each of the N control information units whenever a beam switch occurs in the single-carrier symbol. In other words, the first protection information is included in each of the N control information units. This can facilitate blind detection of single carrier symbols by the terminal device. Specifically, when the terminal device performs blind detection on the single-carrier symbol, it may be assumed that all control information units include the first protection information, so that the terminal device does not need to perform blind detection on the single-carrier symbol on the assumption that the control information units do not include the first protection information.

Optionally, in some embodiments, when N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, the length of the nth control information unit of the N control information units is 1/K of the length of the single-carrier symbol_nWhere N is 1, …, N, K_n＝2^mAnd m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

For example, fig. 7 shows five single-carrier symbols, single-carrier symbol 1, single-carrier symbol 2, single-carrier symbol 3, single-carrier symbol 4, and single-carrier symbol 5. The single-carrier symbol 1 includes 8 control information units, the single-carrier symbol 2 includes four control information units, the single-carrier symbol 3 includes five control information units, the single-carrier symbol 4 includes two control information units, and the single-carrier symbol 5 includes one control information unit.

As can be seen from fig. 7, the boundaries of different control information elements in different single carrier symbols are always aligned. For example, control information element 5 in single carrier symbol 1 is aligned with control information element 2 in single carrier symbol 2, is also aligned with control information element 3 in single carrier symbol 3, and is also aligned with control information element 2 in single carrier symbol 4. As another example, control information element 3 in single carrier symbol 1 is aligned with control information element 2 in single carrier symbol 3. As another example, control information unit 7 in single-carrier symbol 1 is aligned with control information unit 4 in single-carrier symbol 2 and control information unit 2 in single-carrier symbol 3. In this way, blind detection of single carrier symbols by the terminal device can be facilitated.

The N control information units are obtained by performing DFT processing and Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) on the N initial control data units.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the network device may sequentially perform DFT processing and IFFT processing on the N pieces of initial control data together to obtain the single-carrier symbol, and then add the guard time unit to a front of the single-carrier symbol to obtain a guard time unit and a single-carrier symbol that need to be sent. For convenience of description, this processing manner will be referred to as a first processing manner hereinafter.

Optionally, in other embodiments, the network device may perform DFT processing and IFFT processing on the N initial control data, respectively, to obtain the single-carrier symbol. In other words, the network device performs DFT processing and IFFT processing on the nth initial control data of the N initial control data units in sequence to obtain the nth control information unit of the N control information units, where N is 1, …, N. After the DFT processing and the IFFT processing are completed N times, the single carrier symbol is obtained. And then adding the guard time unit to the front of the single-carrier symbol to obtain the guard time unit and the single-carrier symbol which need to be sent. For convenience of description, this processing manner will be referred to as a second processing manner hereinafter.

Assuming that the single carrier waveform is DFT-s-OFDM, the corresponding DFT processing and IFFT processing includes the following steps in sequence: DFT transform, subcarrier mapping, and Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) transform. If the processing mode is the first processing mode, the single-carrier symbol can be obtained only by performing DFT conversion, subcarrier mapping and IFFT conversion once. If the processing method is the second processing method, N DFT, N subcarrier mappings, and N IFFT transformations need to be performed. As can be seen, the first processing method can reduce the number of DFT, subcarrier mapping and IFFT processing. The second processing method needs more processing times of DFT, subcarrier mapping and IFFT, but different control information units can be processed in parallel, which is beneficial to reducing the overall processing delay.

Assuming that the single carrier waveform is SC-QAM, the corresponding processing includes the steps of: the N control data are sequentially arranged and then subjected to a pulse shaping operation, wherein the pulse shaping generally comprises two steps of upsampling and filtering.

202, the network device sends the guard time unit and the single-carrier symbol to a target terminal device. Accordingly, the target terminal device receives the guard time unit and the single carrier symbol.

And 203, the target terminal device performs blind detection on the received single-carrier symbol to acquire target control information of the target terminal device.

As described above, in the case where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, the length of the nth control information unit of the N control information units is 1/K of the length of the single-carrier symbol_nWhere N is 1, …, N, K_n＝2^mAnd m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. For example, K has a maximum value of 8. The length of the control information element may be 1/2 single carrier symbols, 1/4 single carrier symbols, and 1/8 single carrier symbols.

The target terminal device may perform blind detection on the single carrier symbol according to a possible length including a target control information unit corresponding to the target terminal device to obtain the target control information.

For example, the terminal device may acquire the target control information by: the terminal equipment can acquire data to be detected from the single-carrier symbol, wherein the length of the data to be detected is the length of any control information unit in the N control information units; and the terminal equipment obtains the target control information according to the data to be detected.

Below with K_nThe maximum value of 4 is an example to introduce how the target terminal device obtains the target control information in a blind detection manner. At K_nWhen the maximum value of (2) is 4, if two or more control information elements can be included in the single-carrier symbol, the length of the control information elements may be 1/2 single-carrier symbol lengths or 1/4 single-carrier symbol lengths. In addition, the single-carrier symbol may further include a control information unit. In this case, the length of the control information unit may be equal to the single carrier symbol length. In summary, the length of the control information element may be the length of a single-carrier symbol, 1/2 the length of a single-carrier symbol, or 1/4 the length of a single-carrier symbol. For convenience of description, it is assumed hereinafter that the length of a single carrier symbol is L. Based on this assumption, the length of the control information element may be L, L/2 and L/4. For convenience of description, all possible lengths of the control information unit will be hereinafter referred to as an optional length of the control information unit. In other words, if K_nIs 4, the selectable length of the control information unit includes: l, L/2 and L/4, where L represents the length of the single carrier symbol. The target terminal device may obtain the data to be detected from the single-carrier symbol, where a length of the data to be detected may be one of selectable lengths of a control information unit.

Assuming that the length of the data to be detected determined by the target terminal device is L, the target terminal device may determine that the data to be analyzed is all data of the single-carrier symbol. In this case, the target terminal device may parse the single-carrier symbol to obtain a parsing result, and determine whether the parsed data is the target control information of the target terminal device according to the parsing result. For example, if the decoded result after the analysis passes a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) Check, it indicates that the data to be analyzed includes the target control information of the target terminal device.

If the target terminal device determines that the analyzed data includes the target control information, the target terminal device does not need to acquire the data to be detected with other lengths.

If the length of the data to be detected is L, the target control information is not included in the analysis result, and the target terminal device may continue to obtain the data to be detected with other lengths from the single-carrier symbol.

Suppose that the length of the data to be detected acquired by the target terminal device is L/2. Since the length of the data to be detected is smaller than the length of the single-carrier symbol, it can be inferred that the number of control information units included in one single-carrier symbol is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

In the case where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, the target control information unit may be the first type of control information unit (i.e., the control information unit may include both control information and first protection information) or the second type of control information unit (i.e., the control information unit may include only control information). In this case, the target terminal device may determine whether the target control information is included in the data to be detected, on the assumption that the target control information and the first protection information are included in the target control information unit (for convenience of description, such an assumed manner is hereinafter referred to as a first assumed manner). The target terminal device may further determine whether the target control information is included in the data to be detected, assuming that only the target control information is included in the target control information unit (for convenience of description, this assumed manner is hereinafter referred to as a second assumed manner).

Optionally, in some embodiments, the network device may send, to the target terminal device, first protection information indication information or second protection information indication information, where the first protection information indication information is used to indicate that the target control information unit includes the first protection information, and the second protection information indication information is used to indicate that the target control information unit does not include the first protection information. The target terminal device may determine whether the data to be detected includes the target control information in a first assumed manner when receiving the first protection information indication information. The target terminal device may determine whether the to-be-detected data includes the target control information in a second assumed manner, when receiving the second protection information indication information.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the network device may not send the first protection information indication information or the second protection information indication information to the target terminal device. In this case, the terminal device may determine whether the target control information is included in the data to be detected in one of the first and second hypothetical manners. For example, the target terminal device may first determine whether the target control information is included in the data to be detected in a first hypothetical manner. And if the target control information is not included in the data to be detected in the first hypothesis mode, determining whether the target control information is included in the data to be detected in the second hypothesis mode.

In the case that N is greater than or equal to 2, the selectable lengths of the control information unit include L/2 and L/4, and therefore the combination manner of the lengths that may occur in sequence in the single-carrier symbol may be any one of the following: the first combination mode is two control information units with the length of L/2; the second combination mode is that the control information units with the lengths of L/4, L/2 and L/4 are arranged in sequence; the third combination mode is that the control information units with the lengths of L/4, L/4 and L/2 are arranged in sequence; the fourth combination mode is that the lengths are L/2, L/4 and L/4 in sequence; a fifth combination is four control information units of length L/4.

It is assumed that the target terminal device determines whether the target control information is included in the data to be detected in a first assumed manner. In the first combination mode and the fourth combination mode, the data of the first L/2 length of the single carrier symbol may include the target control information corresponding to the target terminal device. Therefore, the target terminal device may first assume that the data to be detected is data of the first L/2 length in the single carrier symbol. In this case, the target terminal device may determine the first to-be-analyzed data from the to-be-detected data according to the length of the first protection information. The data to be detected is the data of the first L/2 length in the single carrier symbol. The first to-be-analyzed data is the data to be detected except the first protection information. The length of the first protection information and the length of the first to-be-analyzed data are equal to the length of the to-be-detected data, namely L/2. In other words, the data to be detected is divided into two parts, namely, a first part and a second part. The length of the first part of data is the same as that of the first to-be-analyzed data, and the length of the second part of data is the same as that of the first protection information. The first portion of data is the first data to be parsed. And if the first detection result corresponding to the determined first to-be-analyzed data is the target control information corresponding to the target terminal equipment, the second part of data is the first protection information.

The target terminal device may parse the first to-be-parsed data to obtain a first detection result, and determine whether the first to-be-parsed data is target control information corresponding to the target terminal device according to the first detection result. The specific implementation manner of how the target terminal device determines whether the first detection result is the target control information may refer to the above description, and thus, is not described herein again.

If the target terminal device determines that the first detection result is the target control information, the target terminal device does not need to continue to analyze other data in the single-carrier symbol.

If the target terminal device determines that the first detection result is not the target control information, the target terminal device may continue to perform blind detection on other data in the single-carrier symbol.

Optionally, in a case that the target control information is not included in the first L/2 data of the single-carrier symbol, the target terminal device may assume that the combination manner in the single-carrier symbol may be the second combination manner described above. In this case, the target terminal device may assume that the data to be detected is data of length L/2 in the middle of the single-carrier symbol. Assuming that the target terminal device also performs blind detection on the single-carrier symbol in a first assumed manner, the terminal device may determine first to-be-analyzed data from the to-be-detected data according to the length of the first protection information. The sum of the length of the first protection information and the length of the first to-be-analyzed data is the length of the to-be-detected data, namely L/2. The data to be detected is divided into two parts of data, namely a first part of data and a second part of data in sequence. The length of the first part of data is the same as that of the first to-be-analyzed data, and the length of the second part of data is the same as that of the first protection information. In other words, the first to-be-analyzed data is the first part of the to-be-detected data, i.e. the previous part of the to-be-detected data. If the first detection result corresponding to the first to-be-analyzed data is the target control information, the first part of data is the target control information, and the second part of data is the first protection information. The target terminal device may parse the first to-be-parsed data to obtain a first detection result, and determine whether the first to-be-parsed data is target control information corresponding to the target terminal device according to the first detection result. The specific implementation manner of how the target terminal device determines whether the first detection result is the target control information may refer to the above description, and thus, is not described herein again.

In the first and third combinations, the last L/2 data of the single carrier symbol may also include the target control information element. Therefore, the target terminal device can assume that the data to be detected is the last data of length L/2 of the single-carrier symbol. The specific detection mode of the target terminal device assuming that the data to be detected is the last L/2 data of the single-carrier symbol is the same as the specific detection mode of the target terminal device assuming that the data to be detected is the first L/2 data and the middle L/2 data of the single-carrier symbol. And need not be described in detail herein.

If the target terminal device determines that the last L/2 data includes the target control information unit which is the target control information, the target terminal device does not need to continue to analyze other data in the single-carrier symbol.

If the target terminal device determines that the last L/2 data does not include the target control information unit that is the target control information, the target terminal device may continue to assume that the length of the data to be detected is L/4, acquire corresponding data to be detected, and determine whether the data to be detected includes the target control information. The specific implementation manner of the target terminal device determining whether the data to be detected with the length of L/4 includes the target control information is similar to the specific implementation manner of the target terminal device determining whether the data to be detected with the length of L/2 includes the target control information, and thus, the detailed description is omitted here.

In the above, the implementation of blind detection on the single-carrier symbol in the first assumed manner is described, and how to perform blind detection on the single-carrier symbol in the second assumed manner is described below.

It is assumed that the data to be detected is data of the first L/2 length in the single-carrier symbol. In this case, the target terminal device may analyze the data to be detected to obtain a second detection result, and determine whether the data is the target control information corresponding to the target terminal device according to the second detection result. The specific implementation manner of how the target terminal device determines whether the second detection result is the target control information may refer to the above description, and thus, is not described herein again.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be a network device or may be a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) that may be used in a network device. As shown in fig. 8, the communication apparatus 800 may include a processing module 801 and a transmitting module 802.

A processing module 801, configured to determine a guard time unit and a single-carrier symbol, where the single-carrier symbol includes a target control information unit, the target control information unit includes target control information of a target terminal device, the single-carrier symbol includes N control information units, the guard time unit is located before the single-carrier symbol and is adjacent to the single-carrier symbol, the N control information units include the target control information unit, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

A sending module 802, configured to send the guard time unit and the single-carrier symbol to the target terminal device.

In a possible manner, the processing module 801 may be implemented by a processor, and the transmitting module 802 may be implemented by a transceiver. The specific functions and advantages of the processing module 801 and the sending module 802 may refer to the method shown in fig. 2, and are not described herein again.

In one possible embodiment, a communication device is also provided, which may also be a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) that may be used in a network device. The communication device may include a processor and, optionally, a transceiver and a memory. Wherein the processor may be configured to implement the corresponding functions and operations of the processing module 801 described above, and the transceiver may be configured to implement the corresponding functions and operations of the transmitting module 802 described above. The memory can be used for storing execution instructions or application program codes, and is controlled by the processor to execute, so as to implement the communication method provided by the above embodiment of the application; and/or may be used to temporarily store some data and instruction information, etc. The memory may exist independently of the processor, in which case the memory may be coupled to the processor via a communication line. In yet another possible design, the memory may be integrated with the processor, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be a terminal device, or may be a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) that can be used in a terminal device. As shown in fig. 9, the communication apparatus 900 may include a receiving module 901 and a processing module 902.

A receiving module 901, configured to receive a guard time unit and a single-carrier symbol sent by a network device, where the single-carrier symbol includes a target control information unit, the target control information unit includes target control information, the single-carrier symbol includes N control information units, the guard time unit is located before the single-carrier symbol and is adjacent to the single-carrier symbol, the N control information units include the target control information unit, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

A processing module 902, configured to perform blind detection on the single carrier symbol to obtain the target control information.

In a possible manner, the receiving module 901 may be implemented by a transceiver, the processing module 902 may be implemented by a processor, and specific functions and beneficial effects of the receiving module 901 and the processing module 902 may refer to the method shown in fig. 2, which is not described herein again.

In a possible embodiment, a communication device is also provided, which may be a terminal device or a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) that can be used for a terminal device. The communication device may include a processor and, optionally, a transceiver and a memory. Wherein the processor may be configured to implement the corresponding functions and operations of the processing module 902, and the transceiver may be configured to implement the corresponding functions and operations of the receiving module 901. The memory can be used for storing execution instructions or application program codes, and is controlled by the processor to execute, so as to implement the communication method provided by the above embodiment of the application; and/or may be used to temporarily store some data and instruction information, etc. The memory may exist independently of the processor, in which case the memory may be coupled to the processor via a communication line. In yet another possible design, the memory may be integrated with the processor, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram of a network device provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 10, the network device 1000 terminal includes a processor 1001, a memory 1002, and a transceiver 1003. The processor 1001 may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the terminal, execute software programs, process data of the software programs, and the like. The memory 1002 is primarily used to store software programs and data.

For ease of illustration, only one memory and processor are shown in FIG. 10. In an actual end product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. The memory may be provided independently of the processor, or may be integrated with the processor, which is not limited in this embodiment.

In the embodiment of the present application, a processor having a processing function may be regarded as a processing unit of a terminal. A transceiver may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiving means, etc. A processing unit may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, or the like. Alternatively, a device for implementing a receiving function in the transceiver 1003 may be regarded as a receiving unit, and a device for implementing a transmitting function in the transceiver 1003 may be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the transceiver 1003 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. A receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving circuit, or the like. A transmitting unit may also sometimes be referred to as a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

The processor 1001, the memory 1002 and the transceiver 1003 communicate with each other via internal connection paths to transfer control and/or data signals

The method disclosed by the embodiment of the invention can be applied to the processor 1001 or can be implemented by the processor 1001. The processor 1001 may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. In implementation, the steps of the above method may be implemented by integrated logic circuits of hardware or instructions in the form of software in the processor 1001.

The processor described in the embodiments of the present application may be a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an off-the-shelf programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The various methods, steps and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented or performed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present invention may be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules may be located in a Random Access Memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM, an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, or other storage media that are well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and a processor reads instructions in the memory and combines hardware thereof to complete the steps of the method.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the memory 1002 may store instructions for performing a method performed by a network device, such as the method illustrated in fig. 2. The processor 1001 may execute the instructions stored in the memory 1002 to perform the steps performed by the network device in the method shown in fig. 2 in combination with other hardware (e.g., the transceiver 1003), and specific working procedures and beneficial effects may refer to the description in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

The embodiment of the application also provides a chip, which comprises a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit can be an input/output circuit and a communication interface; the processing unit is a processor or a microprocessor or an integrated circuit integrated on the chip. The chip can execute the method of the network device in the method embodiment.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, on which instructions are stored, and when executed, the instructions perform the method of the network device in the foregoing method embodiments.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product containing instructions, where the instructions, when executed, perform the method of the network device in the foregoing method embodiments.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 11, the terminal device 1100 includes a processor 1101, a memory 1102, and a transceiver 1103. The processor 1101 may be used for processing communication protocols and communication data, controlling the terminal, executing software programs, processing data of the software programs, and the like. The memory 1102 is primarily used to store software programs and data.

For ease of illustration, only one memory and processor are shown in FIG. 11. In an actual end product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. The memory may be provided independently of the processor, or may be integrated with the processor, which is not limited in this embodiment.

In the embodiment of the present application, a processor having a processing function may be regarded as a processing unit of a terminal. A transceiver may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiving means, etc. A processing unit may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, or the like. Alternatively, a device for implementing a receiving function in the transceiver 1103 may be regarded as a receiving unit, and a device for implementing a sending function in the transceiver 1103 may be regarded as a sending unit, that is, the transceiver 1103 includes a receiving unit and a sending unit. A receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving circuit, or the like. A transmitting unit may also sometimes be referred to as a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

The processor 1101, memory 1102 and transceiver 1103 communicate with each other, passing control and/or data signals, via internal connection paths

The methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention described above may be implemented in the processor 1101 or by the processor 1101. The processor 1101 may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. In implementation, the steps of the above method may be performed by instructions in the form of hardware, integrated logic circuits, or software in the processor 1101.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the memory 1102 may store instructions for performing the method performed by the terminal device in the method illustrated in fig. 2. The processor 1101 may execute the instructions stored in the memory 1102 to complete the steps performed by the terminal device in the method shown in fig. 2 in combination with other hardware (e.g., the transceiver 1103), and specific working procedures and beneficial effects may refer to the description in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

The embodiment of the application also provides a chip, which comprises a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit can be an input/output circuit and a communication interface; the processing unit is a processor or a microprocessor or an integrated circuit integrated on the chip. The chip can execute the method of the terminal device in the method embodiment.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which instructions are stored, and when executed, the instructions perform the method of the terminal device in the above method embodiment.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product containing instructions, where the instructions, when executed, perform the method of the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Claims

1. A method of communication, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that network equipment determines a protection time unit and a single-carrier symbol, wherein the single-carrier symbol comprises a target control information unit, the target control information unit comprises target control information of target terminal equipment, the single-carrier symbol comprises N control information units, the protection time unit is located before the single-carrier symbol and adjacent to the single-carrier symbol, the N control information units comprise the target control information unit, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1;

and the network equipment sends the protection time unit and the single-carrier symbol to the target terminal equipment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of M control information units of the N control information units includes first protection information and first control information in a case where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, where M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N;

the first protection information is adjacent to the first control information, and the first protection information is located after the first control information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a length of the guard time unit is the same as a length of the first guard information.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first protection information included in any two of the control information units of the M control information units is the same.

5. The method of claim 2 or 3, wherein a length of an nth control information unit of the N control information units is 1/K of a length of the single-carrier symbol_nWhere N is 1, …, N, K_n＝2^mAnd m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

6. A method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the two beams used for transmitting two adjacent ones of the M control information units, respectively, are different.

7. The method of claim 2 or 3, wherein the method further comprises: and the network equipment sends first protection information indication information to the target terminal equipment, wherein the first protection information indication information is used for indicating that the single-carrier symbol comprises the first protection information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: and the network equipment sends second protection information indication information to the target terminal equipment, wherein the second protection information indication information is used for indicating that the single-carrier symbol does not include the first protection information.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the network device determining a guard time unit and a single carrier symbol where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, comprises:

the network equipment acquires N pieces of initial control data, wherein the N pieces of initial control data correspond to the N pieces of control information units one by one;

the network equipment arranges the N initial control data in sequence, and carries out Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) processing and inverse discrete Fourier transform (IFFT) processing on the arranged data in sequence to obtain the single carrier symbol;

the network device determines the guard time unit and adds the guard time unit to the front of the single carrier symbol.

10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the network device determining a guard time unit and a single carrier symbol where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, comprises:

the network equipment respectively and sequentially carries out Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) processing and inverse discrete Fourier transform (IFFT) processing on the N pieces of initial control data to obtain a single carrier symbol;

11. A method of communication, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives a protection time unit and a single-carrier symbol sent by network equipment, wherein the single-carrier symbol comprises a target control information unit, the target control information unit comprises target control information, the single-carrier symbol comprises N control information units, the protection time unit is located before the single-carrier symbol and adjacent to the single-carrier symbol, the N control information units comprise the target control information unit, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1;

and the terminal equipment performs blind detection on the single carrier symbols to obtain the target control information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein each of M control information units of the N control information units includes the first protection information and the first control information in a case where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, where M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to N;

13. The method of claim 12, wherein a length of the guard time is the same as a length of the first guard information.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the first protection information included in any two of the control information units of the M control information units is the same.

15. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein a length of an nth control information unit of the N control information units is 1/K of a length of the single carrier symbol_nWhere N is 1, …, N, K_n＝2^mAnd m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

16. The method of any of claims 11 to 13, further comprising:

the terminal equipment receives first protection information indication information sent by the network equipment, wherein the first protection information indication information is used for indicating that the target control information unit comprises first protection information;

the blind detection of the single carrier symbol by the terminal equipment to obtain the target control information comprises:

and the terminal equipment performs blind detection on the single carrier symbols according to the first protection information indication information to obtain the target control information.

17. The method of any of claims 11 to 13, further comprising:

the terminal equipment receives second protection information indication information sent by the network equipment, wherein the second protection information indication information is used for indicating that the target control information unit does not include first protection information;

and the terminal equipment performs blind detection on the single carrier symbols according to the second protection information indication information to obtain the target control information.

18. A network device, characterized in that the network device comprises means for performing the method according to any of claims 1 to 10.

19. A terminal device, characterized in that it comprises means for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 11 to 17.