WO2025168013A1 - Communication method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application relates to a communication method and apparatus. In the communication method, a terminal can obtain a reference signal, wherein different parts in the reference signal are transmitted on the basis of the granularity of transmission rates respectively corresponding to the different parts and/or the granularity of frequency domain resources where the different parts are respectively located, so that a network can, on the basis of different scenarios, flexibly schedule resources used for sending the reference signal, and send these parts of the reference signal on fragmented resources, improving the resource utilization rate.

Description

Communication method and device

This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application with application number 202410177025.2 filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on February 8, 2024, and priority to the Chinese patent application with the invention name “A Communication Method and Device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device.

Background Art

In communication technology, a network device may send a reference signal to a terminal device so that the terminal device can synchronize with the network device based on the reference signal. However, the resources used for sending the reference signal are not flexible enough.

Summary of the Invention

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus that can provide more flexible resource usage for reference signal transmission, thereby facilitating improved resource utilization.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal side, and the terminal side can be an entire machine or a module in the entire machine (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.). The terminal side may include a first module for data transmission and a second module for waking up the first module. In this communication method, the terminal side can receive a reference signal from the network side through the second module and synchronize based on the reference signal on the second module. The reference signal includes at least multiple parts, and the multiple parts are transmitted according to the granularity of the transmission rate corresponding to each part and/or the granularity of the frequency domain resources in which each part is located.

As can be seen, in the above embodiment, the terminal side can obtain a reference signal, and different parts of the reference signal are transmitted according to the granularity of their corresponding transmission rates and/or the granularity of the frequency domain resources in which they are located, thereby matching the required resources and facilitating improved resource utilization. Optionally, the network side can flexibly schedule resources used to transmit the reference signal based on different situations, thereby facilitating improved resource utilization. For example, when the network side has a large number of time domain resources available for scheduling, a certain part of the reference signal can be transmitted at a relatively high transmission rate. When the network side has a small number of time domain resources available for scheduling, another part of the reference signal can be transmitted at a relatively low transmission rate. For example, if the network side has a large number of frequency domain resources available for scheduling before transmitting a certain part of the reference signal, but the network side has a small number of frequency domain resources available for scheduling before transmitting another part of the reference signal, the network side can cause the frequency domain resources of the two parts to partially or completely overlap. Furthermore, if the reference signal is not transmitted in multiple parts, the terminal side can only perform sliding synchronization detection at a fixed step size across the entire time axis, resulting in high power consumption on the terminal side. Therefore, by allowing multiple parts of the reference signal to be sent according to the corresponding transmission rate and/or frequency domain resources, the terminal side does not need to perform sliding synchronization detection with a fixed step size on the entire time axis to match the required transmission rate and/or frequency domain resources, thereby improving resource utilization.

In a possible implementation, the method may further include: after completing synchronization based on the reference signal on the second module, the terminal side receives a wake-up signal from the network side through the second module to determine whether to wake up the first module.

In one possible implementation, the multiple parts of the reference signal include at least a first part and a second part, and a transmission rate corresponding to the first part is different from a transmission rate corresponding to the second part. For example, the transmission rate corresponding to the first part is less than or greater than the transmission rate corresponding to the second part.

As can be seen, in the above embodiment, the transmission rate corresponding to the first part is different from the transmission rate corresponding to the second part. Transmitting each part of the reference signal at the required transmission rate is beneficial for improving resource utilization. For example, when the network has a large number of schedulable time-domain resources, a certain part of the reference signal can be transmitted at a relatively high transmission rate. When the network has a small number of schedulable time-domain resources, another part of the reference signal can be transmitted at a relatively low transmission rate.

In one possible implementation, there is a first time offset between the first part and the second part. For example, the first time offset is the offset between the start time of the first part and the start time of the second part, or the first time offset is the offset between the start time of the first part and the end time of the second part, or the first time offset is the offset between the end time of the first part and the start time of the second part, or the first time offset is the offset between the end time of the first part and the end time of the second part, or the first time offset is the offset between any time in the first part and the corresponding time of the second part, etc., and this application does not limit this. The first time offset is a predefined time offset, or the first time offset is indicated by the network side to the terminal side.

It can be seen that in the above embodiment, the time offset between the first part and the second part is set so that the resources for sending the reference signal can be flexibly scheduled based on different situations. For example, the first time offset is the offset between the start time of the first part and the start time of the second part, and the first time offset is 0, indicating that the first part and the second part can be sent at the same time, such as when time resources are limited, the first part and the second part are sent at the same time to save time resources. For example, the first time offset is the offset between the end time of the first part and the start time of the second part, and the first time offset is 0, indicating that the first part and the second part can be sent separately, such as when time resources are more, the first part and the second part are sent separately.

In one possible implementation, the modulation scheme of the first part and the modulation scheme of the second part can both be OOK modulation. In this case, at least two adjacent symbols in the first part are identical, such as both ON symbols or OFF symbols. At least two adjacent symbols in the second part are identical or different. For example, when the transmission rate corresponding to the first part is lower than the transmission rate corresponding to the second part, and the modulation scheme of the first part and the modulation scheme of the second part are both OOK modulation, in order to prevent the terminal from mistakenly receiving certain OOK symbols with a higher transmission rate as OOK symbols with a lower transmission rate, at least two adjacent symbols in the first part are identical.

In one possible implementation, the frequency domain resources where the first part is located partially overlap with or do not overlap with the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second part. In the case where the frequency domain resources where the first part is located partially overlap with the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second part, it can be considered that the frequency domain resources that can be scheduled on the network side are limited. In order to save frequency domain resources, the frequency domain resources where the first part is located can be made to partially overlap with the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second part. In the case where the frequency domain resources where the first part is located do not overlap with the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second part, it can be considered that the network side can schedule more frequency domain resources. This achieves flexible scheduling of resources for sending reference signals, and also avoids the terminal side mistakenly receiving certain OOK symbols with high transmission rates as OOK symbols with low transmission rates, reducing the false alarm problem.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a network side, which can be an entire device or a module within the entire device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system). In this communication method, a reference signal can be sent to a terminal side. The reference signal includes multiple parts, and the multiple parts are transmitted according to the granularity of the corresponding transmission rate and/or the granularity of the frequency domain resources in which they are located. The reference signal can be used for synchronization on the terminal side.

In a possible implementation, the method may further include: after completing synchronization based on the reference signal on the second module, the terminal side receives a wake-up signal from the network side through the second module to determine whether to wake up the first module.

In one possible implementation, the multiple parts of the reference signal include at least a first part and a second part, and a transmission rate corresponding to the first part is different from a transmission rate corresponding to the second part. For example, the transmission rate corresponding to the first part is less than or greater than the transmission rate corresponding to the second part.

In one possible implementation, there is a first time offset between the first part and the second part. For example, the first time offset is the offset between the start time of the first part and the start time of the second part, or the first time offset is the offset between the start time of the first part and the end time of the second part, or the first time offset is the offset between the end time of the first part and the start time of the second part, or the first time offset is the offset between the end time of the first part and the end time of the second part, or the first time offset is the offset between any time in the first part and the corresponding time of the second part, etc., and this application does not limit this. The first time offset is a predefined time offset, or the first time offset is indicated by the network side to the terminal side.

In a possible implementation, the modulation mode of the first part and the modulation mode of the second part may both be OOK modulation. In this case, at least two adjacent symbols in the first part are the same, and at least two adjacent symbols in the second part are the same or different.

In a possible implementation manner, the frequency domain resources where the first part is located partially overlap or do not overlap with the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second part.

In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a unit or module for implementing the method as described in any one of the first to second aspects. The communication device may be at a terminal side or a network side.

In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising at least one processor; wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute any of the methods described in any of the first to second aspects. The communication device may be on the terminal side or the network side. The at least one processor may execute a computer program or instructions in a memory to perform the method. The memory may be included in the communication device or may be located externally. The communication device may also include an interface.

In a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed, the computer executes any one of the methods described in any one of the first to second aspects.

In a sixth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: a computer program code, and when the computer program code is executed by a computer, the computer executes any one of the methods described in any one of the first to second aspects.

In the seventh aspect, a chip is provided, which includes at least one processor and an interface, the processor is used to read and execute instructions stored in a memory, and when the instructions are executed, the chip executes any method described in any one of the first to second aspects.

In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a terminal side and a network side, wherein the terminal side is used to execute the method as described in any one of the first aspects, and the network side is used to execute the method as described in any one of the second aspects.

Among them, the beneficial effects of the second to eighth aspects can refer to the beneficial effects of the first aspect and will not be repeated here.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a basic architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the working state of a first module and a second module;

FIG3 shows a signal sampling point included in a signal sampling time;

FIG4 is a schematic diagram of an OOK symbol mapping to an OFDM system;

FIG5 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a case where a portion of a high-rate OOK symbol is erroneously received as a portion of a low-rate OOK symbol according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a low-rate partial OOK symbol provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of envelope detection;

FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a sequence correlation detection;

FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application can be used interchangeably. Unless otherwise specified, "/" indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship. For example, A/B can represent A or B. "And/or" in this application is merely a description of the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and/or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural. Furthermore, in the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, and c can be one or more. In addition, to facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between network elements and identical or similar items with substantially the same functions. Those skilled in the art will understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and terms such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit differences.

References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" in the embodiments of the present application mean that one or more embodiments of the present application include specific features, structures or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in some other embodiments", "in some other embodiments", etc. that appear in different places in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "including", "comprising", "having" and their variations all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

The following specific implementation methods further describe in detail the objectives, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present application. It should be understood that the following are only specific implementation methods of the present application and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and/or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the long-term evolution (LTE) architecture, fifth-generation mobile networks (5G), wireless local area networks (WLAN) systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication systems, LTE-vehicle (LTE-V), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-vehicle, machine-type communications (MTC), and the like. The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to other future communication systems, such as the 6G communication system. In future communication systems, the functions may remain the same, but the names may change.

The following describes the infrastructure of the communication system provided by the embodiment of the present application. The communication system provided by the present application may include one or more network devices and one or more terminal devices.

The following is an exemplary explanation using the system architecture shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a network device 10 and one or more terminal devices (such as the terminal device 20 in Figure 1) that communicate with the network device 10.

It should be noted that the number of network devices and terminal devices in Figure 1 is only for illustration and should not be considered as a specific limitation of the present application.

1. Terminal Equipment

Terminal equipment is an entity on the user side that is used to receive signals, or send signals, or both receive and send signals. Terminal equipment is used to provide one or more of voice services and data connectivity services to users. Terminal equipment can be a device that includes wireless transceiver functions and can cooperate with network equipment to provide communication services to users. Specifically, terminal equipment can refer to user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, user device or road side unit (RSU). The terminal device can also be a drone, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a station (ST) in a wireless local area network (WLAN), a cellular phone, a smart phone, a cordless phone, a wireless data card, a tablet computer, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) device, or a wireless communication protocol. The terminal device may include a machine-to-machine communication (MTC) terminal, a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device (also referred to as a wearable smart device), a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. The terminal device may also be a terminal in a 5G system or a terminal in a next-generation communication system, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form factor of the terminal device. The device used to implement the functions of the terminal device can be a complete device; or a device that can support the terminal device to implement the functions, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal device or used in conjunction with the terminal device. In the embodiments of this application, the chip system can be composed of chips or include chips and other discrete devices.

In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device and the terminal side in the present application can be used interchangeably. The following description takes the terminal device as an example, which should not be regarded as a limitation of the present application.

2. Network Equipment

A network device is an entity on the network side that is used to send or receive signals, or both. A network device can be a device deployed in a radio access network (RAN) that provides wireless communication capabilities to terminal devices.

In one possible scenario, network devices can be devices with base station functions, such as evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs), transmitting and receiving points (TRPs), transmitting points (TPs), next-generation NodeBs (gNBs), next-generation base stations in 6G mobile communication systems, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, and non-terrestrial network devices in NTNs, i.e., devices that can be deployed on high-altitude platforms or satellites. Network devices can include transmission reception points (TRPs), base stations, and various types of control nodes, such as network controllers and wireless controllers. Specifically, network devices can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small cells) in heterogeneous network (HetNet) scenarios, relay stations, access points (APs), radio network controllers (RNCs), node Bs (NBs), base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), home base stations (e.g., home evolved node Bs or home node Bs, HNBs), baseband units (BBUs) and remote radio units (RRUs) in distributed base station scenarios, transmission points (TRPs), transmitting points (TPs), mobile switching centers, and other devices. They can also be base station antenna panels. Control nodes can connect to multiple base stations and allocate resources for multiple terminals within the coverage areas of these base stations. The names of devices with base station functionality may vary in systems using different wireless access technologies. For example, it could be a gNB in 5G, a network-side device in networks beyond 5G, a network device in a future public land mobile network (PLMN), or a device that performs base station functions in device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, or vehicle-to-vehicle communication. This application does not limit the specific name of the network device. The network device may also be a baseband pool (BBU pool) and RRU in an open access network (O-RAN or ORAN) or a cloud radio access network (CRAN).

All or part of the functions of the network device in this application may also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform). The network device in this application may also be a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions.

In another possible scenario, multiple network devices collaborate to assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access, with different network devices implementing portions of the base station's functionality. For example, network devices may include a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU may be separate or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or radio unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). It is understood that a network device may be a CU node, a DU node, or a device comprising both a CU and a DU node. Furthermore, the CU may be a network device in the access network (RAN) or a network device in the core network (CN), without limitation.

In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

In the embodiments of the present application, the form of the network device is not limited. The device used to implement the function of the network device can be a complete device; it can also be a device that supports the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the network device or used in conjunction with the network device.

In a possible implementation manner, the network device and the network side in the present application can be used interchangeably. The following description uses the network device as an example, which should not be regarded as a limitation of the present application.

In order to facilitate understanding of the contents of this solution, some of the terms involved in the embodiments of this application are explained below to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. This part is only for ease of understanding and cannot be regarded as a specific limitation of this application.

1. Wake-up receiver (WUR)

The concept of wake-up radio means that when the main receiver (MR) of the terminal device is in deep sleep, the low power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR) of the terminal device is turned on to receive the wake-up signal, and then the main receiver can be woken up based on the wake-up signal.

The main receiver can be used for data transmission, for example, receiving downlink signaling and/or downlink data from a network device. In this application, the main receiver can be referred to as the first module. It is understood that the first module is named for differentiation only and its specific naming does not limit the scope of protection of this application. For example, the first module can also be a communication main module, a main radio, or a main circuit. For ease of explanation, the main receiver is uniformly described as the first module below.

The low-power wake-up receiver can be used to wake up the first module. In this application, the low-power wake-up receiver can be referred to as the second module. It is understood that the second module is named only for differentiation and its specific naming does not limit the scope of protection of this application. For example, the second module can also be a low-power wake-up circuit, a wake-up circuit, a communication auxiliary module, an auxiliary link, or an auxiliary circuit. For ease of explanation, the low-power wake-up receiver is uniformly described as the second module below.

Generally, the first module may include a mid-RF module and a baseband processing module, while the second module may include a simple receiver composed of the mid-RF module, such as RF circuits and baseband circuits with lower power consumption. As an example, the second module may not include a phase-locked loop (PLL) ring oscillator and may instead utilize a low-noise amplifier (LNA) with a higher noise figure. As another example, the second module may be a submodule (i.e., a partial module) of the first module, or may share some circuits and components with the first module. Alternatively, compared to the first module, the second module may include fewer components during operation. For example, the second module may not include a fast Fourier transform module, a complex channel decoding module, a low-density parity check code (LDPC) decoding module, or a polarization decoding module. It may also have fewer registers and memory units and utilize a lower-bandwidth bus, resulting in lower power consumption than the first module. Alternatively, the first module can also be considered as the second module in a low-power working mode. For example, when the first module reduces the operating voltage, turns off some high-power functions, slows down the clock frequency, or reduces the sampling rate and bit width of analog-to-digital sampling, it is considered as the second module.

The wake-up signal may be a signal with a wake-up function, such as being used to wake up a single device or a group of devices and trigger the corresponding terminal device to perform certain operations, including but not limited to at least one of updating system information, receiving paging messages, initiating random access, and receiving disaster warning information. The wake-up signal may be a low power wake-up signal (LP-WUS) or other signal with a wake-up function, and this application does not limit this.

Optionally, the wake-up signal may include a terminal device identifier or a terminal device group identifier. The terminal device identifier is used to identify the terminal device being paged, and the terminal device group identifier is used to identify the terminal device group to which the terminal device belongs. After the second module of the terminal device detects the wake-up signal, it may detect whether the wake-up signal includes the terminal device identifier or the terminal device group identifier, thereby determining whether to wake up the first module of the terminal device. For example, in Figure 2, if the wake-up signal includes the terminal device identifier or the terminal device group identifier, the second module wakes up the first module, turning it on so that the first module can perform data transmission. After the second module wakes up the first module, it may continue to be on or off, without limitation. After completing data transmission, the first module may return to an idle state, i.e., enter an ultra-low power consumption state (ultra-deep sleep), also known as ultra-deep sleep mode, or even completely shut down to reduce power consumption. At this time, the second module may be in the on state. If the wake-up signal does not include the terminal device identifier or the terminal device group identifier, the second module does not wake up the first module, and the first module remains off or in deep sleep.

In one possible implementation, the modulation method of the wake-up signal may include on-off keying (OOK) modulation (or a modulation method with OOK modulation function), frequency-shift keying (FSK) modulation (or a modulation method with FSK modulation function), orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation (or a modulation method with OFDM modulation function) or other modulation methods. It should be understood that these are only examples of some modulation methods, and this application does not limit them. At the same time, OOK modulation can be used interchangeably with a modulation method with OOK modulation function, FSK modulation can be used interchangeably with a modulation method with FSK modulation function, and OFDM modulation can be used interchangeably with a modulation method with OFDM modulation function. Each modulation method is introduced in detail below.

1. OOK is the simplest form of amplitude-shift keying (ASK) modulation, which determines the value of a bit by whether a signal is sent. For example, when a signal is sent during the signal sampling time (such as when the signal power or signal amplitude is not 0 during the signal sampling time), the bit value corresponding to the signal is 1, that is, the ON symbol; when no signal is sent during the signal sampling time (such as when the signal power or signal amplitude is 0 during the signal sampling time), the bit value corresponding to the signal is 0, that is, the OFF symbol. Specifically, in Figure 3, a total of 24 sampling points are sent during the two signal sampling times, and each 12 sampling points corresponds to an OOK symbol. The first 12 sampling points have signals sent, such as in Figure 3, a signal with an amplitude of 1 is sent. No signals are sent for the last 12 sampling points, such as in Figure 3, a signal with an amplitude of 0 is sent. It should be understood that this is only one example of determining the value of a bit based on whether a signal is sent. Other implementations are possible. For example, when a signal is sent during the signal sampling time (e.g., the signal power or signal amplitude is not 0 during the signal sampling time), the bit value corresponding to the signal is 0; when no signal is sent during the signal sampling time (e.g., the signal power or signal amplitude is 0 during the signal sampling time), the bit value corresponding to the signal is 1. This application does not limit this.

The signal sampling time may be a system frame, half-frame, subframe, time slot, symbol (e.g., OFDM symbol), or other time domain granularity, and this application does not limit the length of the signal sampling time. Furthermore, the number of sampling points within the signal sampling time may be an integer greater than 0, and this application does not limit the number of sampling points within the signal sampling time.

Furthermore, for signals using OOK modulation, the terminal device can obtain the signal through energy detection. For example, for the first 12 sampling points in Figure 3, the signal energy detected by the terminal device exceeds a certain threshold, and it can be considered that the ON symbol has been received. For the last 12 sampling points in Figure 3, the signal energy detected by the terminal device does not exceed a certain threshold, and it can be considered that the OFF symbol has been received. The signal energy here can be understood as signal power or signal amplitude, etc. For example, when the terminal device performs signal detection based on envelope detection (ED), it generally detects the signal amplitude.

2. FSK modulation uses different frequencies to represent different information. For example, 2FSK uses two frequencies to carry one bit. Specifically, a network device sends a symbol with a bit value of 0 at frequency f1 and a symbol with a bit value of 1 at frequency f2. A terminal device can detect the signal frequency to determine the received symbol. For example, if the terminal device detects a signal frequency of f1, it has received a symbol with a bit value of 0; if it detects a signal frequency of f2, it has received a symbol with a bit value of 1.

3. The basic principle of OFDM modulation is to divide the channel into several orthogonal subcarriers, convert the high-speed data signal into parallel low-speed sub-data streams, and modulate them to transmit on each subcarrier. OFDM modulation actually divides the system's spectrum resources into a two-dimensional grid of time and frequency. That is, in the time domain dimension, the division is performed with OFDM symbols as the granularity; in the frequency domain dimension, the division is performed with subcarriers as the granularity. One symbol, such as an OOK symbol, can be transmitted on each subcarrier within each OFDM symbol. Optionally, the time domain can also be divided with other time domain granularities, such as frames, subframes, or time slots. Similarly, the frequency domain can also be divided with other frequency domain granularities, such as resource blocks (RBs), resource block groups (RBGs), sub-channels, bandwidth parts (BWPs), or carriers, etc. This application does not limit this.

A resource block is a collection of multiple subcarriers contiguous in the frequency domain. For example, a resource block can include 12 subcarriers. Multiple resource blocks constitute a resource block group. A carrier is a continuous frequency range that complies with system specifications. This frequency range is determined by the carrier's center frequency (denoted as the carrier frequency) and its bandwidth. A carrier can include a partial bandwidth. A partial bandwidth can include one or more subchannels, and a subchannel includes multiple resource blocks. A subchannel can also be called a subband.

In a possible implementation, the wake-up signal may also be Manchester-encoded, for example, the wake-up signal is a signal that is Manchester-encoded and OOK-modulated, etc., which is not limited in this application.

Among them, Manchester coding can use two (or more) consecutive different levels (or envelopes) to represent a bit. For example, in Table 1, 1/2 Manchester coding can encode a bit into two symbols (such as two OOK symbols). For example, in Table 1, the bit "1" is encoded as "01", which is equivalent to an OFF symbol and an ON symbol, and its envelope pattern is first low level and then high level. Among them, the OFF symbol is a low level and the ON symbol is a high level. For example, in Table 1, the bit "0" is encoded as "10", which is equivalent to an ON symbol and an OFF symbol, and its envelope pattern is first high level and then low level. In this case, when receiving the signal, the terminal device can compare the relative size of the levels in two adjacent OFDM symbols. If the level in the previous OFDM symbol is greater than the level in the subsequent OFDM symbol, the received bit is considered to be "0", otherwise it is considered to be "1".

Table 1

2. OFDM-based OOK system

Generally, REs on one OFDM symbol can carry M-bit OOK symbols, where M can be an integer greater than 1.

Exemplarily, M is 1, that is, the RE on an OFDM symbol carries an ON symbol or an OFF symbol. For example, in 4-1 of Figure 4, the OOK symbol (including the ON symbol or the OFF symbol) occupies 12 REs. Among them, signals are sent on OFDM symbol 0 and OFDM symbol 3, or it can be said that both OFDM symbol 0 and OFDM symbol 3 carry ON symbols. No signals are sent on OFDM symbol 1 and OFDM symbol 2, or it can be said that both OFDM symbol 1 and OFDM symbol 2 carry OFF symbols. When 1/2 Manchester coding is used, the OOK symbols on OFDM symbol 0 and OFDM symbol 1 can be combined into ON symbols and OFF symbols, corresponding to bit "0". The OOK symbols on OFDM symbol 2 and OFDM symbol 3 can be combined into OFF symbols and ON symbols, corresponding to bit "1". That is to say, when 1/2 Manchester coding is used, each OFDM symbol carries 0.5 bits of information.

Exemplarily, M is an integer greater than 1, such as 4, meaning that the REs on one OFDM symbol carry four OOK symbols. For example, in 4-2 of Figure 4 , the OOK symbols (including ON symbols or OFF symbols) occupy 12 REs. Each OFDM symbol is divided into four segments. For example, a signal is transmitted on segment 0 and segment 3 in OFDM symbol 0. In other words, both segments 0 and 3 in OFDM symbol 0 carry ON symbols. No signal is transmitted on segment 1 and segment 2 in OFDM symbol 0. In other words, both segments 1 and 2 in OFDM symbol 0 carry OFF symbols. When 1/2 Manchester coding is used, the OOK symbols on segments 0 and 1 in OFDM symbol 0 can be combined into an ON symbol and an OFF symbol, corresponding to a bit "0." The OOK symbols on segments 2 and 3 in OFDM symbol 0 can be combined into an OFF symbol and an ON symbol, corresponding to a bit "1." That is, when 1/2 Manchester coding is used, each OFDM symbol carries 2 bits of information.

Optionally, when M is an integer greater than 1, the OOK symbols carried by the same numbered segments in different OFDM symbols may be the same or different. For example, in 4-2 of Figure 4 , segment 0 in OFDM symbol 0 carries the ON symbol, and segment 0 in OFDM symbol 1 carries the OFF symbol. That is, the OOK symbol carried by segment 0 in OFDM symbol 0 is different from the OOK symbol carried by segment 0 in OFDM symbol 1.

3. Time Domain Resources and Frequency Domain Resources

The time domain resources may include, for example, at least one of the following: at least one frame, at least one subframe, at least one time slot, at least one symbol, and the like.

The frequency domain resources may include, for example, at least one of the following: at least one subcarrier, at least one RB, at least one RBG, at least one subchannel, at least one BWP, and at least one carrier.

4. Reference Signal

The reference signals mentioned in this application can be used for synchronization, including time synchronization and/or frequency synchronization. Time synchronization refers to adjusting the clock values of different devices (such as terminal devices and network devices) to a certain accuracy or a certain degree of compliance, etc. This application does not limit the definition of time synchronization. For example, the terminal device can obtain downlink timing based on the reference signal. Downlink timing can be understood as at least one of the following: the boundary of the system frame, half frame, time slot, subframe, symbol or other time domain granularity. Frequency synchronization means that the carrier frequency error of different devices (such as terminal devices and network devices) is kept within a certain range. The carrier frequency error can refer to the relative/absolute error of the actual frequency between different devices (such as terminal devices and network devices), etc. This application does not limit the definition of frequency synchronization.

Among them, the reference signal can be a synchronization signal (low power synchronization signal, LP-SS), a sounding reference signal (SRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), a channel information reference signal (CSI-RS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB), etc., and this application does not limit this.

Optionally, the reference signal may carry identification information of the cell, so that the terminal device can determine whether it is within the coverage area of the cell based on the reference signal. The cell may be a cell managed by the network device, a cell under the coverage of the network device, or a cell under the jurisdiction of the network device. In other words, the cell belongs to the network device. Optionally, the identification information of the cell may be a physical cell identifier (PCI) or a tracking area (TA) identifier. The tracking area identifier may be a tracking area identity (TAI) or a tracking area code (TAC).

In one possible implementation, reference signals can be sent periodically or aperiodically. Generally, network devices need to schedule corresponding resources when sending reference signals to terminal devices. However, how network devices can provide a more flexible resource allocation method for reference signal transmission remains a mystery. Based on this, the present application provides the embodiment shown in Figure 5 to address this issue.

The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below. Specifically, the terminal device mentioned later may be the terminal device involved in Figure 1, and the network device mentioned later may be the network device involved in Figure 1. It should be pointed out that the message names between the network elements or the names of the parameters in the message in the following embodiments are only an example, and other names may be used in the specific implementation. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this. The processing performed by the single execution subject (terminal device or network device) shown in the embodiments of the present application may also be divided into multiple execution subjects, and these execution subjects may be logically and/or physically separated. For example, the processing performed by the network device may be divided into at least one of the CU, DU and RU. In addition, the various embodiments of the present application are only illustrated by taking the execution of all the steps included therein as an example, and should not be regarded as a specific limitation of the present application. That is to say, the steps included in the embodiments of the present application (as shown in Figure 5) may be partially or fully executed in the absence of logical conflicts.

As shown in FIG5 , a communication method is provided in an embodiment of the present application, which includes but is not limited to the following steps:

501. A network device sends a reference signal to a terminal device. The reference signal includes multiple parts. The multiple parts are transmitted according to the granularity of their corresponding transmission rates and/or the granularity of their respective frequency domain resources.

Accordingly, the terminal device receives a reference signal from the network device. In one possible implementation, the terminal device may include a first module for data transmission and a second module for waking up the first module. In this case, the terminal device can receive the reference signal from the network device via the second module. The first and second modules herein can be referred to in the above description and are not further elaborated here.

The reference signal includes multiple parts. For example, it can be understood that the reference signal includes two parts (such as a first part and a second part) or more than two parts. It can also be described as the multiple parts including at least two parts. This application does not limit the specific number of parts that the reference signal is divided into.

502. The terminal device is synchronized based on the reference signal.

For example, the terminal device performs synchronization on the second module based on the reference signal. In one possible implementation, after the second module completes synchronization based on the reference signal, the terminal device may also receive a wake-up signal from the network device to determine whether to wake up the first module. Regarding the process of whether the terminal device wakes up the first module based on the wake-up signal, reference can be made to the above-mentioned related description and will not be repeated here.

The specific implementation of steps 501 to 502 is described below.

In one possible implementation, each component of the reference signal is modulated based on its corresponding modulation scheme, which may include OOK modulation, FSK modulation, OFDM modulation, or other modulation schemes. The modulation schemes of different components of the reference signal may be partially identical, completely identical, or completely different. This application does not limit the modulation scheme of each component of the reference signal.

In a possible implementation, at least one part of the reference signal may also be Manchester encoded, or not Manchester encoded. For example, the reference signal includes two parts, such as a first part and a second part. The first part is a signal that has been OOK modulated and Manchester encoded, and the second part is a signal that has been OOK modulated but not Manchester encoded, or vice versa. Or, both the first part and the second part are signals that have been OOK modulated and Manchester encoded. Or, both the first part and the second part are signals that have been OOK modulated but not Manchester encoded. The present application does not limit whether the various parts of the reference signal are Manchester encoded. Among them, whether the various parts of the reference signal are Manchester encoded can be predefined and/or indicated to the terminal device by the network device.

It should be noted that, in this application, predefined content generally refers to information defined by a standard that does not require additional device configuration and is pre-recorded/written in the hardware and/or software of the terminal device itself. Furthermore, in this application, when a certain content (e.g., the transmission rate corresponding to the first or second part) is "indicated to the terminal device by the network device," it can be understood that the content is indicated to the terminal device by the network device via signaling. This signaling can be, for example, system information blocks (SIBs).

In one possible implementation, the lengths of different parts of the reference signal may be partially identical, completely identical, or completely different. This application does not limit the lengths of the various parts of the reference signal. The lengths of the various parts of the reference signal may be determined using at least one of the following methods, specifically:

1. The length of each part in the reference signal can be determined based on the number of symbols included in each part.

For example, the first part and the second part of the reference signal are both OOK modulated, or the first part and the second part are both OOK modulated and Manchester encoded. The length of the first part can be determined based on the number of OOK symbols, and the length of the second part can be determined based on the number of OOK symbols.

2. The length of each part in the reference signal can be determined based on the number of time units occupied by each part.

Optionally, the time unit may include at least one of the following: at least one frame, at least one subframe, at least one time slot, at least one symbol (such as an OFDM symbol), at least one segment, or other time domain granularity. For example, if the time unit is an OFDM symbol, the length of the first part may be determined based on the number of OFDM symbols occupied by the symbol, and the length of the second part may be determined based on the number of OFDM symbols occupied by the symbol.

In one possible implementation, the lengths of various parts of the reference signal may be predefined and/or indicated to the terminal device by the network device. For example, the lengths of the first and second parts of the reference signal may both be predefined. Alternatively, the lengths of the first and second parts may both be indicated to the terminal device by the network device. Alternatively, the length of the first part may be predefined, and the length of the second part may be indicated to the terminal device by the network device. Alternatively, the length of the first part may be indicated to the terminal device by the network device, and the length of the second part may be predefined.

Among them, the transmission rate mentioned in this application refers to the number of bits of valid information transmitted per unit time, and the valid information is part of the bits in the reference signal. Unit time refers to a time period. For example, 1 second, etc., this application does not limit the length of the unit time and the unit of the unit time. For example, the subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz, each OFDM symbol carries 2 OOK symbols, and after 1/2 Manchester encoding, it represents 1 bit of information. At this time, the transmission rate can be 28 kilobits per second (kbps). If each OFDM symbol carries 1 OOK symbol, it represents 0.5 bit of information after 1/2 Manchester encoding, and the transmission rate can be 14kbps. If each OFDM symbol carries 4 OOK symbols, it represents 2 bit of information after 1/2 Manchester encoding, and the transmission rate can be 56kbps.

In one possible implementation, the transmission rates corresponding to different parts of the reference signal can be predefined and/or indicated to the terminal device by the network device. For example, the transmission rate corresponding to the first part and the transmission rate corresponding to the second part of the reference signal are both predefined. Alternatively, the transmission rate corresponding to the first part and the transmission rate corresponding to the second part are both indicated to the terminal device by the network device. Alternatively, the transmission rate corresponding to the first part is predefined, and the transmission rate corresponding to the second part is indicated to the terminal device by the network device. Alternatively, the transmission rate corresponding to the first part is indicated to the terminal device by the network device, and the transmission rate corresponding to the second part is predefined.

In a possible implementation manner, the transmission rates corresponding to different parts of the reference signal may be partially the same, completely the same, or completely different.

Exemplarily, the reference signal includes two parts, such as a first part and a second part. In one example, the transmission rate corresponding to the first part is different from the transmission rate corresponding to the second part. For example, if the network device has fewer time domain resources available for scheduling before sending the first part, the network device may select a lower transmission rate to transmit the first part. If the network device has more time domain resources available for scheduling before sending the second part, the network device may select a higher transmission rate to transmit the second part. In this case, the transmission rate corresponding to the first part may be lower than the transmission rate corresponding to the second part. Similarly, if the network device has more time domain resources available for scheduling before sending the first part, the network device may select a higher transmission rate to transmit the first part. If the network device has fewer time domain resources available for scheduling before sending the second part, the network device may select a lower transmission rate to transmit the second part. In this case, the transmission rate corresponding to the first part may be higher than the transmission rate corresponding to the second part. In another example, the transmission rate corresponding to the first part and the transmission rate corresponding to the second part are the same. It should be understood that the transmission rates corresponding to the first and second parts are used as examples for illustration only and should not be construed as limiting the present application. That is, when the reference signal also includes other parts, the transmission rate corresponding to the other parts may be the same as or different from the transmission rate corresponding to the first part (or the second part), which is not limited here.

In one possible implementation, when the modulation modes corresponding to the various parts of the reference signal are all OOK modulation, there may be a situation where the terminal device mistakenly receives certain OOK symbols with a high transmission rate as OOK symbols with a low transmission rate due to inaccurate time synchronization. For example, in Figure 6, for the part with a high transmission rate, the amplitudes of each OOK symbol on OFDM symbol 0 or OFDM symbol 1 (from left to right) are 1, 0, 1, 0, respectively. For the part with a low transmission rate, the amplitudes of each OOK symbol on OFDM symbol 0 or OFDM symbol 1 (from left to right) are 0 and 1, respectively. The terminal device may mistakenly receive the first two OOK symbols on OFDM symbol 0 in the part with a high transmission rate as the first OOK symbol on OFDM symbol 0 in the part with a low transmission rate, mistakenly receive the last two OOK symbols on OFDM symbol 0 in the part with a high transmission rate as the last OOK symbol on OFDM symbol 0 in the part with a low transmission rate, and so on, which causes a false alarm. In order to avoid this situation, it can be described in two cases, specifically:

1. All parts of the reference signal are OOK modulated, and at least two (such as two or more) adjacent symbols in the part with a low transmission rate in the reference signal are the same, that is, at least two adjacent modulation symbols are the same, such as both are ON symbols or OFF symbols. It should be understood that the part with a low transmission rate mentioned here refers to one or more parts of the reference signal other than the part with the highest transmission rate. At least two (such as two or more) adjacent symbols in the part with the highest transmission rate are different or the same, that is, at least two adjacent modulation symbols are the same or different, and this application does not limit this.

For ease of understanding, an example is given in which a reference signal includes two parts (eg, a first part and a second part).

For example, when the first condition is met, at least two (e.g., two or more) adjacent symbols in the first part are the same, that is, at least two adjacent modulation symbols are the same, such as both are ON symbols or OFF symbols. For example, reference can be made to Figure 7. In 7-1 of Figure 7, the OOK symbols on OFDM symbol 0 (from left to right) are: ON symbol, OFF symbol, OFF symbol, ON symbol, ON symbol, OFF symbol, OFF symbol, ON symbol. Or in 7-2 of Figure 7, the OOK symbols on OFDM symbol 0 (from left to right) are: OFF symbol, ON symbol, ON symbol, OFF symbol, OFF symbol, ON symbol, ON symbol, OFF symbol.

For example, when the first condition is met, at least two (such as two or more) adjacent symbols in the second part are the same or different, that is, at least two adjacent modulation symbols are the same or different, and this application does not limit this.

Among them, the first condition includes at least one of the following: the transmission rate corresponding to the first part is less than the transmission rate corresponding to the second part, and both the first part and the second part are OOK modulated. 2. Each part in the reference signal is OOK modulated, and the part with a low transmission rate in the reference signal is also Manchester encoded, and the bit values corresponding to at least two (such as two or more) adjacent symbols in the part that have been Manchester encoded are different, that is, the bit values corresponding to at least two adjacent coded symbols are different. It should be understood that the part with a low transmission rate mentioned here refers to one or more parts of the reference signal except the part with the highest transmission rate. The part with the highest transmission rate is also Manchester encoded, and the bit values corresponding to at least two (such as two or more) adjacent symbols in the part that have been Manchester encoded are the same or different, that is, the bit values corresponding to at least two adjacent coded symbols are the same or different, which is not limited here.

For ease of understanding, an example is given in which a reference signal includes two parts (eg, a first part and a second part).

For example, when the second condition is met, the bit values corresponding to at least two (such as two or more) adjacent symbols in the first part that are Manchester-encoded are different, that is, the bit values corresponding to at least two adjacent encoded symbols are different.

For example, when the second condition is met, the bit values corresponding to at least two (such as two or more) adjacent symbols in the second part that have been Manchester encoded are the same or different, that is, the bit values corresponding to at least two adjacent encoded symbols are the same or different, and this application does not limit this.

The second condition includes at least one of the following: the transmission rate corresponding to the first part is less than the transmission rate corresponding to the second part, and both the first part and the second part are OOK modulated and Manchester encoded.

In one possible implementation, the frequency domain resources where different parts of the reference signal are located can be predefined and/or indicated to the terminal device by the network device. For example, the frequency domain resources where the first part of the reference signal is located and the frequency domain resources where the second part is located are both predefined. Or, the frequency domain resources where the first part is located and the frequency domain resources where the second part is located are both indicated to the terminal device by the network device. Or, the frequency domain resources where the first part is located are predefined, and the frequency domain resources where the second part is located are indicated to the terminal device by the network device. Or, the frequency domain resources where the first part is located are indicated to the terminal device by the network device, and the frequency domain resources where the second part is located are predefined.

In one possible implementation, the frequency domain resources where different parts of the reference signal are located may partially overlap, completely overlap, or not overlap at all. Exemplarily, the frequency domain resources where the first part of the reference signal is located may partially overlap, completely overlap, or not overlap at all with the frequency domain resources where the second part is located. For example, before the network device sends the first part, there are more frequency domain resources that can be scheduled, but before the network device sends the second part, there are fewer frequency domain resources that can be scheduled, so that the frequency domain resources where the first part is located may partially overlap or completely overlap with the frequency domain resources where the second part is located. Similarly, before the network device sends the first part, there are fewer frequency domain resources that can be scheduled, but before the network device sends the second part, there are more frequency domain resources that can be scheduled, so that the frequency domain resources where the first part is located may partially overlap, completely overlap, or not overlap at all with the frequency domain resources where the second part is located. It should be understood that the frequency domain resources where the first part is located and the frequency domain resources where the second part are located are only used as examples for illustration, and should not be regarded as a limitation of the present application. That is to say, when the reference signal also includes other parts, the frequency domain resources where the other parts are located may partially overlap, completely overlap, or not overlap with the frequency domain resources where the first part (or the second part) is located, and there is no limitation here.

Optionally, when multiple parts of the reference signal are transmitted according to the granularity of the transmission rates corresponding to each part, the transmission rates corresponding to different parts of the reference signal may be partially the same, completely the same, or completely different. When multiple parts of the reference signal are transmitted according to the granularity of the frequency domain resources in which they are located, the frequency domain resources in which different parts of the reference signal are located may partially overlap, completely overlap, or not overlap at all. When multiple parts of the reference signal are transmitted according to the granularity of the transmission rates corresponding to each part and the granularity of the frequency domain resources in which they are located, the following combinations may be possible, specifically:

1. The transmission rates corresponding to different parts of the reference signal are partially the same, and the frequency domain resources where the different parts of the reference signal are located are partially overlapped, completely overlapped, or completely non-overlapped.

2. The transmission rates corresponding to different parts of the reference signal are exactly the same, and the frequency domain resources where the different parts of the reference signal are located partially overlap, completely overlap, or do not overlap at all.

3. The transmission rates corresponding to different parts of the reference signal are completely different, and the frequency domain resources where the different parts of the reference signal are located partially overlap, completely overlap, or completely do not overlap.

In a possible implementation, different parts of the reference signal may further have a time offset. For example, the time offset may be the offset between the start time of one part and the start time of another part, or the offset between the start time of one part and the end time of another part, or the offset between the end time of one part and the start time of another part, or the offset between the end time of one part and the end time of another part, or the offset between any time within one part and the corresponding time of another part, etc. This application does not limit this.

In one possible implementation, the time offset between different parts of the reference signal may be predefined and/or indicated to the terminal device by the network device. For example, a first time offset may be present between the first part and the second part of the reference signal, where the first time offset is a predefined time offset or the first time offset is indicated to the terminal device by the network device.

The time offset between different parts of the reference signal may be 0 and/or non-zero.

Exemplarily, there may be a first time offset between the first part and the second part of the reference signal. The first time offset may be 0 or not 0.

Exemplarily, the reference signal includes two or more parts, and this application does not limit which parts have a time offset of zero and/or which parts have a time offset that is not zero. For example, the reference signal includes three parts, namely a first part, a second part, and a third part, with a first time offset between the first part and the second part, and a second time offset between the second part and the third part. The first time offset is zero, and the second time offset is not zero, or vice versa. Alternatively, both the first time offset and the second time offset are zero. Alternatively, both the first time offset and the second time offset are not zero.

Furthermore, when the offset between the start time of one part and the start time of another part in the reference signal is 0, the two parts can be considered to be sent simultaneously. When the offset between the end time of one part and the start time of another part in the reference signal is 0, the two parts can be considered to be sent continuously, that is, the former is sent first and the latter is sent. For example, the first time offset is the offset between the start time of the first part and the start time of the second part, and the first time offset is 0, the first part and the second part can be sent simultaneously. For example, the first time offset is the offset between the end time of the first part and the start time of the second part, and the first time offset is 0, the first part can be sent first or, then the second part can be sent. The present application does not limit which parts of the reference signal are sent simultaneously and/or which parts are sent separately.

Optionally, the time offset can be measured in units of the number of symbols (such as OOK symbols, etc.), or the number of segments, the number of OFDM symbols, the number of time slots or the number of subframes, etc. This application does not limit this.

The following describes in detail the process of synchronizing a terminal device based on a reference signal. For ease of description, the following describes the process of synchronizing a terminal device using an example in which the reference signal includes two parts, namely, a first part and a second part (the transmission rate corresponding to the first part is lower than the transmission rate corresponding to the second part). Specifically, the process may include the following steps S1 to S3, wherein:

Step S1: The terminal device may perform a first synchronization process on the first part based on the first step length and the first sliding window to obtain a first synchronization time.

Among them, a certain step length (such as the first step length or the second step length, etc.) mentioned in this application can represent the time interval between two adjacent synchronization processes performed by the terminal device. For example, the time interval between the start time of two adjacent synchronization processes, or the time interval between the end time of two adjacent synchronization processes, etc., which is not limited in this application.

For example, assuming the first synchronization process is a coarse synchronization process, the terminal device begins performing a coarse synchronization process on the signal within the first sliding window in the first portion at time t1. The start time of the first sliding window is time t1, as shown in 8-1 of Figure 8 . After this coarse synchronization process is completed, the terminal device can slide the first sliding window according to the first step length. For example, based on the first step length, the terminal device can slide the first sliding window in the direction of the arrow in 8-1 of Figure 8 , so that the start time of the first sliding window is updated to time t1 + the first step length. The terminal device then begins performing the next coarse synchronization process on the signal within the first sliding window in the first portion at time t1 + the first step length. Therefore, it can be seen that the first step length can be the time interval between the start times of two adjacent synchronization processes.

The length of a sliding window (such as the first sliding window or the second sliding window, etc.) mentioned in this application is: the length of time occupied by the signal intercepted by the terminal device during a synchronization processing process.

For example, assuming that the first synchronization processing is coarse synchronization processing, such as envelope detection, the first sliding window is an OFDM symbol, and the terminal device intercepts the signal in the first part based on the first sliding window. The time length occupied by the signal intercepted by the terminal device is the same as the length of the first sliding window.

In a possible implementation, at least one of the first step length and the first sliding window can be determined based on the transmission rate corresponding to the first part. For example, the transmission rate corresponding to the first part is small, and the duration of a single OOK symbol in the first part is long, so a relatively large step length and sliding window can be set. For example, the first step length can be 1/2 segment, and the first sliding window can be 1/2 segment. In this way, no matter how large the time deviation between the terminal device and the network device is, when the terminal device continuously processes the received first part with the first step length, it can be guaranteed that there is a first sliding window that can fall into the segment occupied by the single OOK symbol, thereby ensuring the correctness of the first synchronization processing. Among them, this application does not limit the size of the first step length and the size of the first sliding window.

In a possible implementation, at least one of the first step size and the first sliding window may be preconfigured and/or indicated to the terminal device by the network device.

For example, the first step length and the first sliding window are preconfigured, or the first step length and the first sliding window are indicated by the network device to the terminal device.

For example, the first step length is preconfigured, and the first sliding window is indicated by the network device to the terminal device. Alternatively, the first step length is indicated by the network device to the terminal device, and the first sliding window is preconfigured.

The first synchronization process may be a coarse synchronization process, such as envelope detection. The following describes in detail how the terminal device performs the first synchronization process on the first part based on the first step length and the first sliding window to obtain the first synchronization time, taking envelope detection as the first synchronization process and OOK modulation as the first part as an example.

For example, the terminal device intercepts the signal in the first portion based on a first sliding window, accumulates the envelope values of all sampling points in the intercepted signal, and then slides the first sliding window in the direction of the arrow (horizontal arrow) in 8-1 of Figure 8 based on the first step length, performs the next interception and envelope value accumulation, and so on. Furthermore, the terminal device can accumulate the envelope values of all sampling points in the intercepted signal to obtain an accumulation result, and make a decision based on the accumulation result. For example, when the accumulation result is greater than a certain threshold, the intercepted signal is an ON symbol, otherwise it is an OFF symbol. When the accumulation result corresponding to the signal slid to a certain moment reaches a peak, it can be considered that the transmitter and receiver are aligned at that moment, thereby completing coarse synchronization of the terminal device on a single OOK symbol. On the waveform, the peak of the accumulation result is manifested as a significant envelope peak, such as shown in 8-2 of Figure 8. The time domain position of this envelope peak is the alignment position, or alignment moment. When the terminal device completes synchronization detection on all OOK symbols of the first part, the terminal device obtains the first synchronization time, that is, the terminal device believes that the network device starts sending the first part at the first synchronization time.

The first synchronization time may be at least one of the following: a boundary of a system frame, a half frame, a time slot, a subframe, a symbol, or other time domain granularity, etc. For example, the first synchronization time may be a symbol boundary.

Step S2: The terminal device determines a first time range based on the first synchronization time and the first time offset (i.e., the time offset between the first part and the second part), wherein the first time range is the time range when the network device starts to send the second part.

For example, the terminal device determines the second time range based on the first synchronization time, and determines the first time range based on the second time range and the first time offset, wherein the second time range is the time range when the network device starts to send the first part.

For example, after obtaining the first synchronization time t, the terminal device believes that the network device sends the first part at the first synchronization time t. However, due to the large first step length and the first sliding window, there is a certain error in the first synchronization time t. That is, the time when the network device actually starts sending the first part may be within the second time range [t-m, t+n]. Where m and n are the error ranges and are natural numbers greater than or equal to 0.

In a possible implementation, the first time range may satisfy the following conditions: [t+offset-m, t+offset], or [t+offset-m+n, t+offset], or [t+offset-m, t+offset+n], or [t+offset-m+n, t+offset+n]. Offset is the first time offset.

In one possible implementation, the value of m can be the first step length, and/or the value of n can be the first step length. In this case, the terminal device determining the second time range based on the first synchronization time can be understood as: the terminal device determining the second time range based on the first synchronization time and the first step length. Similarly, the terminal device determining the first time range based on the second time range and the first time offset can be understood as: the terminal device determining the first time range based on the second time range, the first time offset, and the first step length.

Step S3: The terminal device performs a second synchronization process on the second part within the first time range based on the second step size and the second sliding window to obtain a second synchronization time.

In one possible implementation, at least one of the second step size and the second sliding window can be determined based on the transmission rate corresponding to the second portion. For example, if the transmission rate corresponding to the second portion is high and the duration of a single OOK symbol in the first portion is short, a smaller step size and sliding window can be set. For example, the second step size can be one or more sampling points, and the second sliding window can be a single segment. This application does not impose any restrictions on the size of the second step size or the size of the second sliding window.

The first step length may be greater than or equal to the second step length. The first sliding window may be greater than or equal to the second sliding window.

For example, the first step length and the second step length are both determined based on the transmission rate corresponding to the second portion, and the first step length can be equal to the second step length. Similarly, the first sliding window and the second sliding window are both determined based on the transmission rate corresponding to the second portion, and the first sliding window can be equal to the second sliding window.

For example, the first step length is determined based on the transmission rate corresponding to the first portion, and the second step length is determined based on the transmission rate corresponding to the second portion. The first step length can be larger than the second step length. Similarly, the first sliding window is determined based on the transmission rate corresponding to the first portion, and the second sliding window is determined based on the transmission rate corresponding to the second portion. The first sliding window can be larger than the second sliding window.

In a possible implementation, at least one of the second step size and the second sliding window may be preconfigured and/or indicated to the terminal device by the network device.

For example, the second step length and the second sliding window are preconfigured, or the second step length and the second sliding window are indicated by the network device to the terminal device.

For example, the second step length is preconfigured, and the second sliding window is indicated by the network device to the terminal device. Alternatively, the second step length is indicated by the network device to the terminal device, and the second sliding window is preconfigured.

The second synchronization process may be a fine synchronization process, such as sequence correlation detection. In this case, the first portion may be used for the first synchronization process, such as coarse synchronization, and the second portion may be used for the second synchronization process, such as fine synchronization. It should be understood that to successfully implement sequence correlation detection, the terminal device may pre-exist a reference signal. For example, at least the second portion may be stored.

The following takes the second synchronization processing as sequence correlation detection, the second part undergoes OOK modulation, and the first time range satisfies the following conditions [t+offset-m, t+offset] as an example. The second synchronization processing is performed on the second part based on the second step size and the second sliding window within the first time range to obtain the second synchronization time. A detailed description is given below.

Starting at t+offset-m, the terminal device intercepts the signal in the second part based on the second sliding window, and performs a correlation operation (e.g., conjugate multiplication and accumulation) on the intercepted signal and the sequence used in the second part pre-stored by the terminal device. Then, based on the second step size, the second sliding window can be slid in the direction of the arrow (horizontal arrow) in 9-1 of Figure 9, and the next interception and correlation operation can be performed until the second sliding window is stopped at t+offset. Furthermore, the terminal device can perform a correlation operation on the intercepted signal and the sequence used in the second part pre-stored by the terminal device to obtain a correlation value to determine whether the correlation value is greater than a certain threshold. If so, it can be considered that the intercepted signal is an ON symbol and is time-aligned with the signal sent by the network device. Otherwise, it is an OFF symbol, or an ON symbol but not time-aligned, or the intercepted signal is different from the signal sent by the network device. When the correlation value corresponding to the signal slid to a certain moment within the first time range reaches a peak, it can be considered that the moment is the moment when the sender and receiver are aligned, thereby completing the fine synchronization of the second part. On the waveform, the peak value of the correlation value is manifested by the appearance of a significant correlation peak, as shown in Figure 9, 9-2. The time domain location of this correlation peak is the alignment position, or alignment moment. When the terminal device completes synchronization detection of all signals in the second portion within the first time range, the terminal device obtains the second synchronization time. The second synchronization time can be at least one of the following: a boundary of a system frame, half-frame, time slot, subframe, symbol, or other time-domain granularity. For example, the second synchronization time can be a symbol boundary.

It can be seen that during the synchronization process of the above-mentioned terminal device, the terminal device can first perform coarse synchronization based on a part of the reference signal, and calculate the time range (i.e., the first time range) for the network device to send another part of the reference signal based on the time of the coarse synchronization, so that the other part of the reference signal can be finely synchronized within the first time range. This can reduce the time for fine synchronization, improve the synchronization efficiency, and thus save the power consumption of the terminal device. At the same time, a larger step size and sliding window are set when performing coarse synchronization, reducing the number of coarse synchronizations, so that the terminal device can complete coarse synchronization faster, that is, reducing the time for coarse synchronization, thereby improving the synchronization efficiency, and further saving the power consumption of the terminal device.

It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, the above-mentioned devices include hardware structures and/or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device or network device can be divided into functional modules according to the above-mentioned method examples. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above-mentioned integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used.

Refer to Figure 10, which is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1000 can be applied to the method shown in the embodiment described in Figure 5 above. As shown in Figure 10, the communication device 1000 includes: a processing module 1001 and a transceiver module 1002. The processing module 1001 can be one or more processors, and the transceiver module 1002 can be a transceiver or a communication interface. The communication device can be used to implement the terminal device or network device involved in any of the above method embodiments, or to implement the functions of the network element involved in any of the above method embodiments. The network element or network function can be a network element in a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, or a virtualization function instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform). Optionally, the communication device 1000 can also include a storage module 1003 for storing the program code and data of the communication device 1000.

In one embodiment, when the communication device serves as a terminal device or a chip used in a terminal device, and executes the steps performed by the terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiment, the transceiver module 1002 is used to specifically perform the sending and/or receiving actions performed by the terminal device in the embodiment described in Figure 5, for example, supporting the terminal device to perform other processes of the technology described herein. The processing module 1001 can be used to support the communication device 1000 in performing the processing actions in the above-mentioned method embodiment, for example, supporting the terminal device to perform other processes of the technology described herein.

Exemplarily, the communication device may include a first module for data transmission and a second module for waking up the first module, a transceiver module 1002 for receiving a reference signal from a network device via the second module, and a processing module 1001 for performing synchronization on the second module based on the reference signal. The reference signal includes multiple parts, each of which is transmitted at a granularity corresponding to a corresponding transmission rate and/or a granularity corresponding to a frequency domain resource.

In a possible implementation, after synchronization is completed on the second module based on the reference signal, the transceiver module 1002 is further configured to receive a wake-up signal from the network device through the second module to determine whether to wake up the first module.

In one embodiment, when the communication device functions as a network device or a chip used in a network device, and executes the steps performed by the network device in the above-described method embodiment, the transceiver module 1002 is configured to specifically execute the sending and/or receiving actions performed by the network device in the embodiment described in FIG. 5 , for example, supporting the network device in executing other processes of the technology described herein. The processing module 1001 can be configured to support the communication device 1000 in executing the processing actions in the above-described method embodiment, for example, supporting the network device in executing other processes of the technology described herein.

Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1002 is configured to send a reference signal to a terminal device. The reference signal includes multiple parts, each of which is transmitted at a granularity corresponding to a corresponding transmission rate and/or a granularity corresponding to a frequency domain resource. The reference signal can be used for synchronization of the terminal device.

In one possible implementation, when the terminal device or network device is a chip, the transceiver module 1002 may be a communication interface, a pin, or a circuit. The communication interface may be used to input data to be processed into the processor and output the processing results of the processor. In a specific implementation, the communication interface may be a general-purpose input/output (GPIO) interface that can be connected to multiple peripheral devices (such as a display (LCD), a camera, a radio frequency (RF) module, an antenna, etc.). The communication interface is connected to the processor via a bus.

The processing module 1001 can be a processor that can execute computer-executable instructions stored in the storage module to enable the chip to perform the method described in the embodiment of FIG5 . Furthermore, the processor can include a controller, an arithmetic unit, and registers. For example, the controller is primarily responsible for decoding instructions and issuing control signals for operations corresponding to the instructions. The arithmetic unit is primarily responsible for performing fixed-point or floating-point arithmetic operations, shift operations, and logical operations, and can also perform address operations and conversions. The registers are primarily responsible for storing register operands and intermediate operation results temporarily stored during instruction execution. In a specific implementation, the processor's hardware architecture can be an ASIC architecture, a microprocessor without interlocked piped stages architecture (MIPS) architecture, an advanced RISC machine (ARM) architecture, or a network processor (NP) architecture, among others. The processor can be single-core or multi-core. The storage module can be a storage module within the chip, such as a register or cache. The storage module may also be a storage module located outside the chip, such as a ROM or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, RAM, etc.

It should be noted that the functions corresponding to the processor and the interface can be implemented through hardware design, software design, or a combination of hardware and software, and there is no limitation here.

Figure 11 is a structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. It is understandable that the communication device 1110 includes necessary means such as modules, units, elements, circuits, or interfaces, which are appropriately configured together to implement this solution. The communication device 1110 can be the above-mentioned terminal device or network device, or it can be a component (such as a chip) in these devices, used to implement the method described in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The communication device 1110 includes one or more processors 1111. The processor 1111 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, etc. For example, it can be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a terminal device, network device, or chip, etc.), execute software programs, and process data of software programs.

Optionally, in one design, the processor 1111 may include a program 1113 (sometimes also referred to as code or instruction), and the program 1113 may be run on the processor 1111, so that the communication device 1110 performs the method described in the above embodiment. In another possible design, the communication device 1110 includes a circuit (not shown in Figure 11), which is used to implement the functions of the terminal device, network device, etc. in the above embodiment. Optionally, the communication device 1110 may include one or more memories 1112, on which a program 1114 (sometimes also referred to as code or instruction) is stored, and the program 1114 can be run on the processor 1111, so that the communication device 1110 performs the method described in the above method embodiment.

Optionally, data may also be stored in the processor 1111 and/or the memory 1112. The processor and the memory may be provided separately or integrated together.

Optionally, the communication device 1110 may further include a transceiver 1115 and/or an antenna 1116. The processor 1111, sometimes also referred to as a processing unit, controls the communication device (e.g., a terminal device or a network device). The transceiver 1115, sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, is configured to implement the transceiver functions of the communication device via the antenna 1116.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, which includes at least one processor; wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the method described in any one of the embodiments described in FIG. 5 .

An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed, the computer executes any one of the methods described in the embodiment of FIG. 5 .

An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, and when the computer program code is executed by a computer, causes the computer to execute any of the methods described in the embodiments of FIG. 5 .

An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip, which includes at least one processor and an interface. The processor is used to read and execute instructions stored in a memory. When the instructions are executed, the chip executes any method described in any one of the embodiments described in Figure 5.

The units described above as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the embodiments of the present application. In addition, the network element units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software network element units.

If the above-mentioned integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software network element unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the part that essentially contributes to the technical solution of the present application, or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, terminal device, cloud server, or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the above-mentioned methods in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), magnetic disk or optical disk, etc. Various media that can store program code. The above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited to this. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of various equivalent modifications or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, and these modifications or replacements should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims (18)

A communication method, characterized in that the method is applied to a terminal side, the terminal side includes a first module for data transmission and a second module for waking up the first module, and the method includes: The terminal side receives a reference signal from the network side through the second module, where the reference signal includes multiple parts, and the multiple parts are transmitted according to the granularity of the transmission rate corresponding to each part and/or the granularity of the frequency domain resource in which each part is located; The terminal side performs synchronization on the second module based on the reference signal. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: After synchronization is completed on the second module based on the reference signal, the terminal side receives a wake-up signal from the network side through the second module to determine whether to wake up the first module. The method according to claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that the multiple parts include at least a first part and a second part, and the transmission rate corresponding to the first part is different from the transmission rate corresponding to the second part. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein there is a first time offset between the first part and the second part; The first time offset is a predefined time offset, or the first time offset is indicated by the network side to the terminal side. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is characterized in that the modulation mode of the first part and the modulation mode of the second part are both on-off keying OOK modulation. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the transmission rate corresponding to the first part is smaller than the transmission rate corresponding to the second part; At least two adjacent symbols in the first part are identical. The method according to any one of claims 1-6 is characterized in that the frequency domain resources where the first part is located partially overlap or do not overlap with the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second part. A communication method, comprising: Sending a reference signal to the terminal side; The reference signal includes multiple parts, and the multiple parts are transmitted according to the granularity of the transmission rate corresponding to each part and/or the granularity of the frequency domain resources in which each part is located. The reference signal is used for synchronization of the terminal side. The method according to claim 8 is characterized in that the multiple parts include at least a first part and a second part, and the transmission rate corresponding to the first part is different from the transmission rate corresponding to the second part. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that there is a first time offset between the first part and the second part; The first time offset is a predefined time offset, or the first time offset is indicated by the network side to the terminal side. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10 is characterized in that the modulation mode of the first part and the modulation mode of the second part are both on-off keying (OOK) modulation. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11 is characterized in that the transmission rate corresponding to the first part is less than the transmission rate corresponding to the second part, and at least two adjacent symbols in the first part are the same. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12 is characterized in that the frequency domain resources where the first part is located partially overlap or do not overlap with the frequency domain resources corresponding to the second part. A communication device, characterized by comprising a unit or module for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13. A communication device, characterized in that the communication device includes at least one processor; wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13. A computer program product, characterized in that the computer program product comprises: computer program code, and when the computer program code is executed by a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13. A chip, characterized in that the chip includes at least one processor and an interface, the processor is used to read and execute instructions stored in a memory, and when the instructions are executed, the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.