CN111757455A

CN111757455A - Method and communication device for adjusting downlink transmission timing

Info

Publication number: CN111757455A
Application number: CN201910245779.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 卓义斌; 刘凤威; 戴明增; 刘菁; 朱元萍
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-03-28
Filing date: 2019-03-28
Publication date: 2020-10-09
Anticipated expiration: 2039-03-28
Also published as: CN111757455B; WO2020192653A1

Abstract

The application provides a method for adjusting downlink sending timing, which comprises the following steps: a first node maintains a timer, wherein the timer is used for controlling the time interval between two times of adjusting downlink sending timing, and the downlink sending timing is the time when the first node sends a downlink signal to a second node; if the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing and restarts the timer; the first node is a relay node in a wireless relay system, and the second node is a child node of the first node in the wireless relay system. The method for adjusting the downlink sending timing can avoid the IAB from adjusting the downlink sending timing too frequently, and improve the accuracy and precision of the IAB for adjusting the downlink sending timing.

Description

Method and communication device for adjusting downlink transmission timing

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a method and a communications apparatus for adjusting downlink transmission timing.

Background

In an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) network, an IAB node (IAB node) may provide a wireless access service for a terminal device. The service data of the terminal device is connected to a host node (donor node) or a host base station by the IAB node through a wireless backhaul link. IAB networks support multi-hop and multi-connection forms of networking, so there may be multiple transmission paths between the terminal device and the hosting base station. On a transmission path, there is a certain hierarchical relationship between IAB nodes, and between the IAB nodes and the host base station serving the IAB nodes, each IAB node regards the node providing backhaul service as a parent node, and accordingly, each IAB node can be regarded as a child node of its parent node.

The whole network synchronization error between IAB devices needs to be guaranteed within the range defined by the standard, however, how to perform downlink transmission timing by the IAB node is an urgent problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a method and a communication device for adjusting downlink sending timing, which can avoid that an IAB node adjusts the downlink sending timing too frequently, and improve the accuracy and precision of the IAB node adjusting the downlink sending timing.

In a first aspect, a method for adjusting downlink transmission timing is provided, where the method includes: a first node maintains a timer, wherein the timer is used for controlling the time interval between two times of adjusting downlink sending timing, and the downlink sending timing is the time when the first node sends a downlink signal to a second node; if the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing and restarts the timer; the first node is a relay node in a wireless relay system, and the second node is a child node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

In the method for adjusting downlink transmission timing provided in the first aspect, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing only when the timer is out of time according to the limit of the timer. The downlink transmission timing is not adjusted during the timer run or when it is not timed out. Therefore, the first node can be prevented from adjusting the downlink sending timing too frequently. For example, even if the timing adjustment information is received, the downlink transmission timing may not be adjusted. The first node can be prevented from adjusting the downlink transmission timing each time the timing adjustment information is acquired. Thereby improving the reception performance of all terminal devices and sub-nodes served by the first node. The accuracy and precision of the first node in adjusting the downlink sending timing are improved, and therefore the efficiency of the downlink sending timing in the IAB scene is improved. And, the time or opportunity of the first node for adjusting the downlink transmission timing is limited by using the mode of the timer as a condition, so that the method is easy to realize and has high accuracy.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first node receiving configuration information from a third node, the configuration information for configuring the timer; the third node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system or a host node in the wireless relay system.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the timer is configured to control a time interval between two adjacent times of adjusting the downlink transmission timing.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the adjusting the downlink transmission timing twice includes adjusting the downlink transmission timing for the first time and adjusting the downlink transmission timing for the second time; the method further comprises the following steps: after the downlink sending timing is adjusted for the first time, the first node starts or restarts the timer; if the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing and restarts the timer, including: if the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing for the second time and restarts the timer.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes: before the timer is overtime, the first node receives first indication information from a fourth node, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating to adjust the downlink sending timing; before the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing according to the first indication information and restarts the timer; the fourth node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes: before the timer is overtime, the first node receives first indication information from a fourth node, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating to adjust the downlink sending timing; if the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing and restarts the timer, including: after the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing according to the first indication information and restarts the timer; the fourth node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes: after the timer is overtime, the first node receives first indication information from a fourth node, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating and adjusting the downlink sending timing; if the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing and restarts the timer, including: after the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing according to the first indication information and restarts the timer; the fourth node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first node receives timing adjustment information from the fourth node, and the first indication information is used for indicating that the downlink transmission timing is adjusted according to the timing adjustment information.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes: after the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing, the first node transmits second indication information to the second node, where the second indication information is used to indicate one or more of the following: the first node has adjusted the downlink transmission timing, the adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing, the effective time of the downlink transmission timing, and the time when the second node adjusts the downlink signal transmitted from the second node to the child node of the second node.

In a second aspect, a method for adjusting downlink transmission timing is provided, including: a Mobile Terminal (MT) unit of a first node maintains a timer, wherein the timer is used for controlling a time interval between timing adjustment amounts of downlink sending timing determined twice; if the timer is overtime, the MT unit determines the timing adjustment amount and restarts the timer; the MT unit sends the timing adjustment information to the distributed unit DU of the first node; the DU adjusts the downlink sending timing according to the timing adjustment quantity; the downlink transmission timing is a time when the first node transmits a downlink signal to a second node, the first node is a relay node in a wireless relay system, and the second node is a child node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

The second aspect provides a method, wherein the MT unit of the first node determines the timing adjustment and starts the timer only when the timer times out according to the limit of the timer. The timing adjustment is not determined during timer operation or when the timer has not timed out. Therefore, the timing adjustment amount which is too frequent for the MT unit can be avoided, the determined timing adjustment amount is sent to the DU, and the downlink sending timing can be prevented from being adjusted according to the timing adjustment amount which is too frequent for the DU. The determination of the timing adjustment amount by the MT unit each time the MT unit acquires the timing adjustment information can be avoided. Thereby improving the reception performance of all terminal devices and sub-nodes served by the first node. The accuracy and precision of DU downlink sending timing adjustment are improved, and therefore the efficiency of downlink sending timing in an IAB scene is improved. The MT unit is limited in time or timing for determining the timing adjustment amount by using a timer method as a condition, which is easy to implement and has high accuracy.

In one possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further includes: the MT unit receiving configuration information from a third node, the configuration information being used to configure the timer; the third node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system or a host node in the wireless relay system.

In a possible implementation form of the second aspect, the timer is configured to control a time interval between two adjacent determinations of the timing adjustment amount by the MT unit.

In one possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the determining the timing adjustment amount twice includes determining a first timing adjustment amount and determining a second timing adjustment amount, and the method further includes: the MT unit determining the first timing adjustment amount; the MT unit sends the first timing adjustment amount to the DU unit, and starts or restarts the device; if the timer is overtime, the MT unit determines the timing adjustment and restarts the timer, including: if the timer is overtime, the MT unit determines the second timing adjustment amount and restarts the timer; the adjusting, by the DU, the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount includes: the DU unit adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to the second timing adjustment amount.

In one possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method includes: before the timer is overtime, the MT unit receives third indication information from a fourth node, where the third indication information is used to instruct the MT unit to determine the timing adjustment amount; before the timer is overtime, the MT unit determines the timing adjustment amount according to the first indication information and restarts the timer; the fourth node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

In one possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further includes: after the DU unit adjusts the downlink transmission timing, the DU unit transmits fourth indication information to the second node, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate one or more of the following: the DU unit has adjusted the downlink transmission timing, the adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing, the effective time of the downlink transmission timing, and the time when the second node adjusts the downlink signal transmitted from the second node to the child node of the second node

In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes means for performing each step in the above first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a communication device comprising means for performing the steps of the second aspect above or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which comprises a processor coupled with a memory for storing a computer program or instructions, which is executed by the processor such that the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect is performed, and the communication device may further comprise the memory.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a communication device comprising a processor coupled with a memory for storing a computer program or instructions, the processor executing the computer program or instructions such that the method in any possible implementation of the second aspect or the second aspect is performed, the communication device further comprising the memory.

In a seventh aspect, a relay node is provided, where the relay node includes the communication device provided in the third aspect, or the relay node includes the communication device provided in the fifth aspect.

In an eighth aspect, a relay node is provided, which comprises the communication device of the fourth aspect, or comprises the communication device of the sixth aspect.

In a ninth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a chip, where the chip includes a processor and an interface circuit, where the interface circuit is coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions to implement the method according to any one of the first aspect to the second aspect, and the interface circuit is configured to communicate with other modules outside the chip.

A tenth aspect provides a computer program product comprising a computer program for performing the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or for performing the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, when the computer program is executed by a processor.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program for performing the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation form of the first aspect, or for performing the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation form of the second aspect, when the computer program is executed.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a mobile communication system suitable for use in the embodiments of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of uplink synchronization timing and downlink synchronization timing between a base station and a UE.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of synchronization timing in an IAB scenario.

Fig. 4 is a schematic interaction diagram of a method for adjusting downlink transmission timing according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a schematic interaction diagram of another method for adjusting downlink transmission timing according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 6 is a schematic interaction diagram of another method for adjusting downlink transmission timing according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 7 is a schematic interaction diagram of another method for adjusting downlink transmission timing according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 8 is a schematic interaction diagram of another method for adjusting downlink transmission timing according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 9 is a schematic interaction diagram of another method for adjusting downlink transmission timing according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 10 is a schematic interaction diagram of another method for adjusting downlink transmission timing according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 11 is a schematic interaction diagram of another method for adjusting downlink transmission timing according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 12 is a schematic interaction diagram of another method for adjusting downlink transmission timing according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 16 is a schematic diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 17 is a schematic diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

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

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system, a LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, a LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, a future fifth generation (5G) or New Radio (NR) system, and the like.

Terminal equipment in the embodiments of the present application may refer to user equipment, access terminals, subscriber units, subscriber stations, mobile stations, remote terminals, mobile devices, user terminals, wireless communication devices, user agents, or user devices. The terminal device may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capability, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a future 5G network or a terminal device in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), etc. The terminal device may be a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an Augmented Reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote medical supply (remote), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), and the like. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

The access network device in the embodiment of the present application may be a device for communicating with a terminal device, the access network device may be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system or a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, may be a base station (NodeB) in a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, may be an evolved NodeB (eNB) or eNodeB) in an LTE system, may be a wireless controller in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN) scenario, may be a next generation base station (next generation NodeB, gbb) in a 5G access technology communication system, or may be a relay station, a vehicle-mounted device, a PLMN in-vehicle device, a PLMN device, and a future network device in a 5G network, or may be a future network device in a future network, and the like, the embodiments of the present application are not limited.

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

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

The 5G communication system provides more severe requirements for all-round network performance indexes. For example, the capacity index is improved by 1000 times, the coverage requirement is wider, the time delay is ultrahigh and reliable, and the time delay is ultralow. On one hand, in consideration of rich high-frequency carrier frequency resources, in a hot spot area, in order to meet the requirement of 5G ultrahigh capacity, networking by using high-frequency small stations is more popular. The high-frequency carrier wave has poor propagation characteristics, is seriously attenuated by shielding and has a small coverage range, so a large number of densely deployed small stations are needed, and accordingly, the cost of providing optical fiber return for the densely deployed small stations is high, the construction difficulty is high, and an economic and convenient return scheme is needed; on the other hand, from the perspective of wide coverage requirements, network coverage is provided in some remote areas, the deployment difficulty of optical fibers is high, the cost is high, and a flexible and convenient access and return scheme also needs to be designed. An Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) technology provides an idea for solving the two problems. For the IAB scheme, both an Access Link (Access Link) and a Backhaul Link (Backhaul Link) adopt a wireless transmission scheme, thereby avoiding optical fiber deployment.

In an IAB network, a Relay Node (RN), which may also be referred to as an IAB node (IAB node), may provide a radio access service for a User Equipment (UE). Specifically, the service data of the UE is connected to a donor node (donor node) by the IAB node through a wireless backhaul link, and the donor node may also be referred to as a donor (donor) base station. In a new Radio (RN) system, a donor base station may be a donor next generation base station (donor gdnodeb, DgNB), and in an LTE system (or referred to as a 4G system), the donor base station may be a donor eNodeB, DeNB, and of course, the donor base station may also be referred to as: a gNB or an eNB. The DgNB may be an access network element having a complete base station function, or may be an access network device in a form of a Central Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) which are separated, and the host base station is connected to a core network (for example, a 5G core network) element serving the UE and provides a wireless backhaul function for the IAB node. The centralized unit of the hosting node may be referred to as a "donor CU" for short, and the distributed unit of the hosting node may be referred to as a "donor DU" for short. Alternatively, the donor CU may be in the form of a Control Plane (CP) and User Plane (UP) split, e.g. a CU may consist of one CU-CP and one (or more) CU-UPs.

In the current 5G standard, in consideration of the requirement of service transmission reliability, the IAB node may support Dual Connectivity (DC) or multi-connectivity (multi-connectivity) to cope with abnormal situations that may occur in the backhaul link, such as an interruption or blocking (block) of the link and load fluctuation, and improve the reliability guarantee of transmission.

IAB networks support multi-hop and multi-connection forms of networking, so there may be multiple transmission paths between the terminal device and the hosting base station. On a transmission path, there is a certain hierarchical relationship between IAB nodes, and between the IAB nodes and the host base station serving the IAB nodes, each IAB node regards the node providing backhaul service as a parent node, and accordingly, each IAB node can be regarded as a child node of its parent node.

Taking the example shown in fig. 1 as an example, fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of wireless relay system networking. As shown in fig. 1, the parent node of IAB node (node)1 is DgNB, IAB node1 is the parent node of IAB node2 and IAB node3, IAB node2 and IAB node3 are both the parent node of IAB node4, and the parent node of IAB node5 is IAB node 3. Links between the terminal device and the IAB node are access links (access links), and links between the IAB nodes and between the IAB node and the host base station are backhaul links (backhaul links). An uplink data packet of the terminal device may be transmitted to the host base station DgNB through one or more IAB nodes, and then sent to the mobile gateway device (e.g., a User Plane Function (UPF) unit in a 5G core network) by the DgNB. And after being received from the mobile gateway equipment by the DgNB, the downlink data packet is sent to the terminal equipment through the IAB node. There are two available paths for data transmission between terminal device 1 and the DgNB, path 1: terminal device 1 ← → IAB node4 ← → IAB node3 ← → IAB node1 ← → DgNB. Route 2: terminal device 1 ← → IAB node4 ← → IAB node2 ← → IAB node1 ← → DgNB. There are three available paths for data transmission between terminal device 2 and the DgNB, these three paths being: route 3: terminal device 2 ← → IAB node4 ← → IAB node3 ← → IAB node1 ← → DgNB; path 4: terminal device 2 ← → IAB node4 ← → IAB node2 ← → IAB node1 ← → DgNB; path 5: terminal device 2 ← → IAB node5 ← → IAB node2 ← → IAB node1 ← → DgNB.

It should be understood that fig. 1 is merely exemplary and is merely intended to facilitate an understanding of the multi-hop and multi-connection forms of networking supported by the IAB network. And should not impose any limitations on the networking architecture of the IAB network. For example, the IAB network may further include more relay nodes, the DgNB and an IAB node under another DgNB may form a dual connection to serve the terminal device, and the like.

Currently, in LTE or NR, synchronization timing between a network device (described by taking a base station as an example) and a terminal device (described by taking a UE as an example) mainly includes downlink reception timing and uplink transmission timing. As shown in fig. 2, fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of uplink synchronization timing and downlink synchronization timing between a base station and a UE.

As shown in fig. 2, for the downlink synchronization timing, the UE acquires the downlink reception timing of the UE by detecting the downlink synchronization signal transmitted by the base station, and the operation of synchronizing the downlink reception timing is performed on the UE side. As shown in fig. 2, the difference between the downlink reception timing of the UE side and the downlink transmission timing of the base station side is about the propagation delay T between the base station and the UE_P。

For uplink synchronization timing, in order to ensure the time alignment of the signals of different UEs reaching the base station, different leads are required for the UEs with different distances from the base station to transmit uplink signals. The uplink transmission timing can be adjusted in two ways:

the first mode is as follows: the UE initiates a random access process to the base station, the base station determines a Timing Advance (TA) value by measuring a preamble pilot signal received in the random access process, and sends the TA value to the UE by a media access control random access response (MAC RAR) signal carrying a Timing Advance Command (TAC) field, and the UE adjusts an uplink sending timing according to the received TA value. As shown in fig. 2, the uplink transmission timing of the UE is TA with respect to the downlink reception timing advance.

The second mode is as follows: in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection state, the base station also needs to maintain TA information for continuously updating uplink synchronization timing of the UE, for example, uplink synchronization offset caused by UE movement, crystal oscillator offset, and the like. If the uplink synchronization timing of the UE needs to be adjusted, the base station sends a MAC control element (MAC CE) carrying a TA adjustment value to the UE, where the field carrying the TA adjustment value may be a TAC field in the MAC CE. And the UE finely adjusts the original uplink synchronous timing according to the received TA adjusting value. The base station may send a plurality of MAC CEs to the UE, that is, the base station may send a plurality of TAs to the UE, and the UE may continuously perform uplink transmission timing according to the received MAC CEs (TAs included in the MAC CEs).

The above-mentioned scheme is directed to the uplink and downlink synchronization process between the terminal device and the network device, and does not relate to the IAB node (relay node) in the IAB scenario. Similarly, the above-described scheme can also determine the downlink reception timing and the uplink transmission timing between the IAB node and the parent node, between the terminal device and the IAB node, and between the terminal device and the donor base station, but this scheme cannot determine the downlink transmission timing between the IAB node and the child node. The downlink transmission timing between the IAB node and the child node can be understood as the time or time when the IAB node transmits a signal to its child node

In the IAB scenario, the synchronization timing of the IAB node is achieved by performing uplink and downlink synchronization with its parent node. Meanwhile, in order to ensure that the overall network synchronization error between IAB devices is within the range defined by the standard (e.g. 3 microseconds), in the standard discussion of IAB, one downlink synchronization scheme of an IAB node is to align the downlink transmission timing of the donor base station with that of all the IAB nodes served by the donor base station.

As shown in fig. 3, fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating synchronization timing in an IAB scenario. Wherein, the node1 is a father node of the node2, and the node2 is a father node of the node 3. For example, node1 may be the base station shown in fig. 2, and node2 may be the UE shown in fig. 2. The method for determining the downlink reception timing and the uplink transmission timing of the node2 is the same as the method for determining the downlink reception timing and the uplink transmission timing of the UE shown in fig. 2. For the downlink transmission timing of the node2, the downlink transmission timing of the node2 may be understood as a time or a duration when the node2 transmits a signal to the node3, and the node2 may determine the adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing according to the received TA information included in the TAC field in the RAR signaling and the MAC CE signaling transmitted by the node 1. A simple implementation is to advance the TA/2+ offset based on the downlink reception timing of node2, the offset value offset being configurable by node 1. The downlink transmission timing of the node2 can now be determined in this way. However, the node2 may continuously receive the MAC CE, or may receive the MAC RAR when the node2 performs cell handover. Therefore, the node2 may adjust the downlink transmission timing too frequently by using the TA included in the TAC field in the RAR signaling and the MAC CE signaling received each time, which affects the reception performance of all the terminal devices and the sub-nodes served by the node 2. For example, assuming that the node2 adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to the received TA each time, since the downlink transmission timings of all the child nodes (including the node 3) of the node2 need to be aligned, the child nodes of the node2 also need to continuously adjust the downlink transmission timing. In addition, considering that the TA acquired at the initial access may not be accurate enough, if the node2 adjusts the downlink transmission timing adjustment according to the received TA information at this time, the synchronization error may be large.

Based on the above problem, the present application provides a method for adjusting downlink transmission timing, where an IAB node may determine whether to adjust downlink transmission timing according to a preset condition (e.g., a time threshold and/or indication information) after receiving timing adjustment information sent by a parent node, and adjust downlink transmission timing only when the preset condition is met. Therefore, the method can avoid the IAB node from adjusting the downlink sending timing too frequently, and improve the accuracy and precision of the IAB node in adjusting the downlink sending timing, thereby improving the efficiency of the downlink sending timing in an IAB scene and improving the receiving performance of all terminal equipment and sub-nodes served by the IAB node.

The scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application is described below with reference to the first node, the second node, the third node, and the fourth node. The first node is a relay node in a wireless relay system, the second node is a child node of the first node in the wireless relay system, and the third node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system or a host node of the wireless relay system. The fourth node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system. The third node and the fourth node may be the same node. The wireless relay system may include a wireless relay system as shown in fig. 1. For example, when the first node is IAB node1 shown in fig. 1, the second node may be IAB node2 or IAB node3, and the third node may be DgNB shown in fig. 1, and the fourth node may also be DgNB shown in fig. 1. Alternatively, when the first node is IABnode 3 shown in fig. 1, the second node may be IAB node4, and the third node may be IAB node1 or DgNB shown in fig. 1. The fourth node may be the IAB node1 shown in fig. 1.

In the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, a child node may determine whether to adjust downlink transmission timing according to a time threshold. For example, after receiving the timing adjustment information (e.g., TA) sent by its parent node, the child node determines whether to adjust the downlink transmission timing according to a time threshold. The time threshold may be a length of one time period, or may be one expiration time or an expiration time stamp, and for example, the time threshold is one expiration time before which the first node does not adjust the downlink transmission timing even if it receives the timing adjustment information transmitted by the parent node, and only after the expiration time, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing. By the time threshold, the frequency of the downlink sending timing can be controlled by the sub-node, or the time interval between downlink sending timings can be controlled by the sub-node for multiple times, so that the situation that the IAB node frequently adjusts the downlink sending timing is avoided, and the efficiency of the downlink sending timing in an IAB scene is improved.

The time threshold may be implemented by a timer, which is described in detail below with reference to fig. 4, where fig. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a method 200 for adjusting downlink transmission timing according to an embodiment of the present application, and the method 200 may be applied to the scenario shown in fig. 1, and of course, may also be applied to other communication scenarios, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited herein.

It should be understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, the method of each embodiment is described by taking a node as an example of an execution subject of the execution method of each embodiment. By way of example and not limitation, the execution body of the execution method may also be a chip applied to the node. As shown in fig. 4, the method 200 shown in fig. 4 may include S210 to S220, and optionally, the method 200 may further include S208 and S209. The various steps in method 200 are described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 4. The method 200 comprises:

s210, the first node maintains a timer, and the timer is used to control the first node to adjust a time interval between downlink sending timings twice.

The downlink transmission timing is a time or a time when the first node transmits a downlink signal to the second node.

S220, if the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing and restarts the timer.

Specifically, in the wireless relay system, the first node may continuously obtain timing adjustment information, where the timing adjustment information is used for the first node to adjust downlink transmission timing. For example, a parent node of the first node (e.g., a third node or a fourth node) may send timing adjustment information to the first node. The timing adjustment information may carry a timing adjustment amount, and the timing adjustment amount may be a timing advance amount or a timing retard amount. For example. The timing adjustment information may be a MAC RAR or a MAC CE transmitted by a parent node of a first node to the first node in the wireless relay system. Further, the timing adjustment amount may be TA carried in the MAC RAR or the MAC CE. Adjusting the downlink transmission timing by the first node may be understood as adjusting the time or moment when the first node transmits the downlink signal to the second node.

In S210, the first node may maintain a timer, where the timer is used to control the first node to adjust a time interval between downlink transmission timings twice. The first node maintains the timer, and the maintenance may be understood as starting, restarting, resetting, and other operations related to the timer, and may be referred to as a maintenance timer. The first node determines a time period by using the starting time and the overtime time of the timer, if the timer is used for controlling the time interval between two adjacent times of downlink sending timing adjustment of the first node, the first node cannot adjust the downlink sending timing in the time period, and the downlink sending timing is adjusted only after the timer is overtime. The timer may be started after the first downlink transmission timing is adjusted in the two downlink transmission timing adjustments. For example, after the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing for the nth time, the first node starts a timer, and the timer is configured to control a time interval between the nth time and the (N + 1) th time adjustment of the next timing of the first node, that is, to control the time for the (N + 1) th time adjustment of the next timing of the first node, and after the timer expires, the first node performs the (N + 1) th time adjustment of the next timing. If the timer is used to control the first node not to adjust the time interval between the downlink transmission timings twice, the first node may adjust the downlink transmission timing equal to or less than the preset number of times within the time period. For example, assuming that the preset number of times is 1, the downlink transmission timing may be adjusted at most once in the time period in which the timer runs, for example, after the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing for the nth time, the timer is started, and the timer is configured to control a time interval between the nth time and the (N + 2) th time adjustment of the next timing of the first node, that is, control the first node to adjust the time of the next timing for the (N + 2) th time, and in the time period in which the timer runs, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing at most once. The adjustment performed at most does not include the adjustment that the timer times out, i.e., does not include the (N + 2) th adjustment for the next timing. In the following description, the following description will be given taking an example of controlling the first node to adjust the time interval between two adjacent downlink transmission timings.

In S220, when the timer times out, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing and restarts the timer. That is, while the timer is running, even if the first node receives the timing adjustment information transmitted by the parent node, the downlink transmission timing is not adjusted (performed). The first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing only after the timer is in a non-operating period or is overtime. It should be understood that the timing timeout may be understood as a time when the timer is overtime, that is, at the time when the timing is overtime, the first node immediately adjusts the downlink transmission timing; or, the timing timeout may be understood as a time or a time after the time when the timer times out, and after the timing timeout, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing.

If the timer automatically resets after the timeout, namely the value of the timer automatically returns to the initial value after the timeout, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing and starts the timer. If the timer is just stopped (stop list) when the timer is overtime and is not automatically returned to the initial value, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing and restarts the timer.

According to the method for adjusting the downlink sending timing, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing when the timer is overtime according to the limit of the timer. The downlink transmission timing is not adjusted during the timer run or when it is not timed out. Therefore, the first node can be prevented from adjusting the downlink sending timing too frequently. For example, even if the timing adjustment information is received, the downlink transmission timing may not be adjusted. The first node can be prevented from adjusting the downlink transmission timing each time the timing adjustment information is acquired. Thereby improving the reception performance of all terminal devices and sub-nodes served by the first node. The accuracy and precision of the first node in adjusting the downlink sending timing are improved, and therefore the efficiency of the downlink sending timing in the IAB scene is improved. And, the time or opportunity of the first node for adjusting the downlink transmission timing is limited by using the mode of the timer as a condition, so that the method is easy to realize and has high accuracy.

Optionally, the duration (initial value) of the timer may be greater than the duration of an interval between two consecutive transmissions of the MAC CE to the first node by the parent node of the first node, or the duration of the timer may be greater than the duration of an interval between transmissions of the MAC RAR and the MAC CE to the first node by the parent node of the first node. The MAC RAR and the MAC CE both carry adjustment amount information for adjusting downlink transmission timing by the first node, for example, the MAC RAR and the MAC CE both carry TA amounts.

It should be understood that, in a specific implementation process of the present application, in addition to implementing the time threshold by using a timer, other ways may also be used to implement controlling the first node to adjust the downlink transmission timing twice. For example, the first node may be controlled to adjust the downlink transmission timing twice through the displayed indication information. The first node is instructed to adjust the downlink sending timing by the indication information, and if the indication information is not received, the downlink sending timing is not adjusted, for example, the first node may be predefined or configured to adjust the downlink sending timing time or moment, and the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing only at the predefined or configured time or moment, which is not limited herein.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, as shown in fig. 4, the method S200 may further include S208.

S208, the first node receives configuration information from the third node, wherein the configuration information is used for configuring the timer; the third node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system or a host node in the wireless relay system.

Specifically, the descriptions of S210 and S220 may refer to the above descriptions of S210 and S220, and are not repeated here for brevity. The following mainly introduces S208:

in S208, the first node may receive configuration information from the third node, the configuration information being used to configure the timer. The timer is used for controlling the first node to adjust the time interval between the downlink sending timings twice. For example, the configuration information may include a duration of a timer, a start time or a turn-on condition of the timer, and the like. The first node may maintain a timer according to the configuration information. For example, the start condition, restart or reset condition of the timer is determined according to the configuration information, and the start, restart or reset of the timer is performed.

It will be appreciated that in addition to configuring the timer for the first node by the third node, the timing may also be implemented in a predefined manner, e.g. the third node may not send the configuration information to the first node, the configuration information for configuring the timer may also be protocol predefined. The first node itself stores the configuration information.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, as shown in fig. 4, the method S200 may further include S209.

S209, the first node receives the timing adjustment information from the fourth node.

Specifically, the descriptions of S208, S210, and S220 may refer to the above descriptions of S208, S210, and S220, and are not repeated here for brevity. S209 is mainly described below.

In S209, the first node may receive timing adjustment amount information from the fourth node, where the timing adjustment amount information may carry a timing adjustment amount, and the timing adjustment amount may be a timing advance amount or a timing retard amount. The timing adjustment amount information may be MAC RAR or MAC CE transmitted by the fourth node to the first node. Further, the timing adjustment amount may be TA carried in the MAC RAR or the MAC CE. For example. The TA may be carried in the TAC field in the MAC RAR or MAC CE. In S220, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing, and may adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount information.

In a specific implementation manner of the present application, adjusting the downlink transmission timing twice in adjacent includes adjusting the downlink transmission timing for the first time and adjusting the downlink transmission timing for the second time by the first node. Wherein the first time and the second time are adjacent two times to adjust the downlink transmission timing. In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in fig. 5, fig. 5 is a schematic interaction diagram of a method for adjusting downlink transmission timing in some embodiments of the present application: the method 300 shown in FIG. 5 includes: s310 and S320, optionally, the method 300 further includes S308 and S309.

S310, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing for the first time, and starts or restarts the timer. It should be understood that the first adjustment of the downlink transmission timing here is the previous adjustment of the downlink transmission timing with respect to the second adjustment of the downlink transmission timing. For example, if the second adjustment of the downlink transmission timing is performed at the 4 th second adjustment of the downlink transmission timing, the first adjustment of the downlink transmission timing is performed at the 3 rd second adjustment of the downlink transmission timing.

S320, if the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing for the second time, and restarts the timer.

Specifically, in the case where the timer controls the first node to adjust the downlink transmission timing twice adjacently, adjusting the downlink transmission timing twice adjacently may include adjusting the downlink transmission timing for the first time and adjusting the downlink transmission timing for the second time by the first node. For example, the first downlink transmission timing adjustment may be that the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to a TA in the MAC RAR when initially accessing the network, and the second downlink transmission timing adjustment may be that the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to a TA in the received MAC CE after the MAC RAR when accessing the network.

In S310, after the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing for the first time, the first node starts or restarts the timer. The first node may adjust downlink transmission timing according to a TA in the MAC RAR, and start a timer after adjusting the downlink transmission timing. In S320, in the time period after the timer is started, even if the first node receives the timing adjustment amount information (for example, MAC CE) transmitted by the third node, the downlink transmission timing is not adjusted according to the TA in the MAC CE. If the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing for the second time, and restarts or starts the timer. The first node does not adjust the downlink transmission timing during the first adjustment of the downlink transmission timing and the second adjustment of the downlink transmission timing (during the operation of the timer).

Optionally, the steps shown in fig. 5 may further include S308: the first node receives configuration information from the third node, the configuration information being used to configure the timer, the first node being able to maintain the timer according to the configuration information. For the description of S308, reference may be made to the description of S208 above, which is not repeated here.

Optionally, the step shown in fig. 5 may further include S309, where the first node receives the timing adjustment amount information from the fourth node. For the description of S309, reference may be made to the above description of S209, which is not repeated here. In S320, if the timer expires, the first node may adjust the downlink transmission timing for a second time according to the timing adjustment amount information.

In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in fig. 6, fig. 6 is a schematic interaction diagram of a method for adjusting downlink transmission timing in some embodiments of the present application, and in some embodiments, the method 400 shown in fig. 6 includes: s410 and S420, and optionally, the method 400 further includes S408-S409.

S410, before the timer expires, if the first node receives first indication information from the fourth node, the first indication information is used to indicate to adjust the downlink transmission timing. Wherein the fourth node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

S420, before the timer expires, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to the first indication information, and restarts the timer.

Specifically, in S410, before the timer expires or during the running period, the first node receives the first indication information sent by the fourth node, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first node to adjust the transmission synchronization timing. The fourth node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system. In S420, before the timer expires, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to the first indication information, and restarts or starts the timer. That is, if the first node receives first instruction information for instructing the first node to adjust the downlink transmission timing, which is transmitted by the parent node, during the timer running period, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing during the timer running period. And restart or start the timer. After performing S420, the first node may continue to maintain the timer. For example, if the timer expires, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing and restarts the timer. Or, before the timer expires, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to the first indication information and restarts the timer.

And the method of combining the timer and the first indication information is used as a condition to limit whether the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing, so that the accuracy is further improved. For example, when the first node is required to adjust the downlink transmission timing, the first node may be notified to adjust the downlink transmission timing in a manner of indication information, so that the first node is not limited by a timer, and the first node can adjust the downlink transmission timing more flexibly. The accuracy and precision of the relay node for adjusting the downlink sending timing are improved, and therefore the efficiency of the relay node for adjusting the downlink sending timing is improved.

Optionally, the step shown in fig. 6 may further include S408: the first node receives configuration information from the third node, the configuration information being used to configure the timer, the first node being able to maintain the timer according to the configuration information. For the description of S408, reference may be made to the description of S208 above, which is not repeated here.

Optionally, the step shown in fig. 6 may further include S409, where the first node receives the timing adjustment amount information from the fourth node. For the description of S409, reference may be made to the above description of S409, which is not repeated here. In S420, the first node may adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment information while the timer is advanced.

Optionally, the first indication information may also be used to indicate that the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount included in the timing adjustment amount information. That is, in S420, before the timer expires, the first node may adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount information indicated by the first indication information.

Optionally, the first indication information may further include a timing adjustment amount used by the first node to adjust the downlink transmission timing, and in S420, before the timer expires, the first node may adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount carried by the first indication information. Or, the first indication may not carry the timing adjustment amount, and the first indication information may also indicate the first node to adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment information received before or after the timeout of the timer.

In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in fig. 7, fig. 7 is a schematic interaction diagram of a method for adjusting downlink transmission timing in some embodiments of the present application, and in some embodiments, the method 500 shown in fig. 7 includes: s510 and S520, optionally, the method 500 further includes S508 and S509.

S510, before the timer expires, the first node receives first indication information from a fourth node, where the first indication information is used to indicate to adjust the downlink transmission timing;

s520, after the timer expires, the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to the first indication information, and restarts the timer.

Specifically, before the timer times out or during the running period, the first node receives first indication information sent by the fourth node, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first node to adjust downlink transmission timing. In S510, after the timer expires, the first node adjusts downlink transmission timing according to the first indication information, and restarts or starts the timer. That is, during the running period of the timer, if the first node receives first indication information sent by the parent node to instruct the first node to adjust the downlink transmission timing, after the timer expires, the first node may adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the first indication information and restart or start the timer.

Optionally, the first indication information may further include a timing adjustment amount used by the first node to adjust downlink transmission timing. The first indication information may also be used to instruct the first node to adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount. Or, the first indication may not carry the timing adjustment amount, and the first indication information may also indicate the first node to adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment information received before or after the timeout of the timer.

It should be understood that the first node may also receive the first indication information from the fourth node after the timer expires, that is, the first node does not receive the first indication information sent by the fourth node before the timer expires, and the first node receives the first indication information from the fourth node after the timer expires. Then, the step S520 is executed: after the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing according to the first indication information, and restarts or starts the timer.

It should also be understood that the steps shown in fig. 7 may further include S508: the first node receives configuration information from the third node, the configuration information being used to configure the timer, the first node being able to maintain the timer according to the configuration information. The description of S508 may refer to the description of S208 above, and is not repeated here.

Optionally, the step shown in fig. 7 may further include S509, where the first node receives the timing adjustment amount information from the fourth node. For the description of S509, reference may be made to the description of S209 above, and details are not repeated here. In S520, after the timer expires, the first node may adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount information.

Optionally, the first indication information may also be used to indicate that the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount included in the timing adjustment amount information. That is, in S520, after the timer expires, the first node may adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount information indicated by the first indication information.

Optionally, the first indication information may further include a timing adjustment amount used by the first node to adjust the downlink transmission timing, and in S520, after the timer is overtime, the first node may adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount carried by the first indication information. Or, the first indication may not carry the timing adjustment amount, and the first indication information may also indicate the first node to adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment information received before or after the timeout of the timer.

In the method 400 and the method 500, for the first node, the timing adjustment amount information may be received first, and the first indication information may be received after the timing adjustment amount information is received. Alternatively, the first indication information may be received first, and then the timing adjustment amount information may be received. The present application does not limit the order of the first indication information and the timing adjustment amount information.

It should be understood that the timing adjustment amount information may be a MAC RAR or a MAC CE that the fourth node transmits to the first node. The timing adjustment information may also be the timing adjustment of the first node calculated for the fourth node.

It should also be understood that the first indication information may also carry a timing adjustment amount.

When the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing, the downlink transmission timing may be adjusted according to the time adjustment amount carried in the timing adjustment amount information. Alternatively, the downlink transmission timing may be adjusted based on the first indication information including the timing adjustment amount. For example, when the first downlink transmission timing is performed after the first indication information sent by the fourth node is received before the timer expires or during the running period, the first node may adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the time adjustment amount carried in the received timing adjustment amount information. Alternatively, the downlink transmission timing may be adjusted according to the first indication information including the timing adjustment amount. One possible implementation manner is that, if the timing adjustment amount carried in the timing adjustment information is TA, the first node determines TA/2+ offset as the adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing, and adjusts the time for transmitting the downlink signal to the third node according to TA/2+ offset, where the offset value offset may be configured by the fourth node.

It should be understood that the timing adjustment amount carried by the first indication information may be an adjustment amount calculated by the fourth node according to the timing adjustment amount carried in the timing adjustment information, or may also be a TA sent by the fourth node to the first node last time, or may also be a timing adjustment amount determined by the fourth node according to the TA sent to the first node last time, and so on.

Optionally, the first node may receive a lot of timing adjustment amount information, and only when the downlink transmission timing adjustment needs to be performed, the first node determines how much downlink transmission timing needs to be adjusted according to the timing adjustment amount and performs the adjustment.

It should be understood that, in various embodiments of the present application, the first indication information may be carried in any one of MAC RAR, MAC CE, adaptation layer information, Downlink Control Information (DCI), and broadcast information that is sent by the fourth node to the first node. Of course, in addition to these information, the first indication information may also be carried in other possible signaling sent by the fourth node to the first node. The application is not limited herein.

It should also be understood that the first indication information and the timing adjustment information may be sent in the same signaling. For example, the MAC rar or the MAC CE may carry the first indication information and the timing adjustment amount information. Specifically, a first indication information may be carried on a bit (bit) reserved in the MAC RAR, and the timing adjustment amount information may be carried in a TAC field in the MAC RAR. Optionally, the first indication information and the timing adjustment amount information may be sent in different signaling. Namely, the fourth node sends the first indication information and the timing adjustment amount information to the first node respectively.

For the above-mentioned methods 200 to 500, after the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing, the first node may further send second indication information to the second node, where the second indication information is used to indicate one or more of the following: the first node has adjusted the downlink transmission timing, the adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing, the effective time of the downlink transmission timing, and the time when the second node adjusts the downlink signal transmitted from the second node to the child node of the second node.

After the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing, it may also transmit indication information (second indication information) to its child node (second node). The second indication information is used to indicate to the second node that the first node has completed at least one of the adjustment of the first downlink transmission timing, the adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing performed by the first node, the effective time of the first downlink transmission timing, and the adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing adjusted by the second node. The second node can determine the time when the second node adjusts the downlink transmission timing with the child node of the second node, or can determine the adjustment amount of the second node for adjusting the downlink transmission timing. The second node can accurately adjust the downlink sending timing according to the second indication information, and can avoid that the second node adjusts the downlink sending timing every time the second node receives the timing adjustment information sent by the first node. Thereby improving the reception performance of all terminal devices and sub-nodes served by the second node. The accuracy and precision of the second node in adjusting the downlink sending timing are improved.

It should also be understood that, for the first node to adjust the downlink receiving timing and the uplink transmitting timing, the timer may also control the first node to adjust the downlink receiving timing twice, or the timer may also control the first node to adjust the uplink transmitting timing twice, in a manner similar to the manner of controlling the first node to adjust the downlink transmitting timing twice. Of course, the timer may not be used to control the first node to adjust the downlink receiving timing twice and adjust the uplink sending timing twice, and the specific process of the first node to adjust the downlink receiving timing and the uplink sending timing may refer to the specific description of the process of adjusting the downlink receiving timing and the uplink sending timing between the UE and the base station shown in fig. 2, and is not described herein again for brevity. The first node adjusting the downlink receiving timing may be understood as the first node adjusting the time of receiving the downlink signal sent by its parent node. The first node adjusting the upstream transmission timing may be understood as a time at which the first node adjusts the upstream signal transmitted to its parent node.

In some embodiments of the present application, the first node includes a Mobile Terminal (MT) unit and a Distributed Unit (DU). The MT unit mainly performs functions or steps similar to those of the terminal equipment, and the DU unit mainly performs functions or steps similar to those of the base station. Fig. 8 is a schematic flowchart of a method 600 for adjusting downlink transmission timing according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 8, the method 600 shown in fig. 8 may include S610 to S640. The various steps in method 600 are described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 8. The method 600 comprises:

s610, the MT unit of the first node maintains a timer, which is used to control the MT unit to determine the time interval between timing adjustments of the downlink transmission timing twice.

S620, if the timer times out, the MT unit determines the timing adjustment and restarts the timer.

S630, the MT unit sends the timing adjustment information to the distributed unit DU of the first node.

The timing adjustment amount information includes the timing adjustment amount determined by the MT unit in S620.

S640, the DU adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount.

The downlink transmission timing is a time when the first node transmits a downlink signal to a second node, the first node is a relay node in a wireless relay system, and the second node is a child node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

Specifically, the first node may include an MT unit configured to determine a timing adjustment amount of downlink transmission timing of the first node and transmit the timing adjustment amount to the DU, and a DU configured to adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount. The downlink transmission timing is a time or a time when the first node transmits a downlink signal to a second node, the first node is a relay node in a wireless relay system, and the second node is a child node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

In S610, the MT unit of the first node maintains a timer, and the maintenance can be understood as operations related to the timer, such as starting, restarting, resetting, and the like, and can be referred to as a maintenance timer. The timer is used for controlling the MT unit to determine the time interval between timing adjustment amounts of the downlink transmission timing twice. The time interval can be understood as a time threshold, and the MT unit determines whether to determine the timing adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing. The timing adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing is time information for the DU to adjust the downlink transmission timing. The time threshold may be a time period or a time stamp, or may be an expiration of a time. The MT unit may determine whether to determine the timing adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing according to the first time threshold. For example, the time threshold is an expiration time of one time, and the MT unit does not determine the timing adjustment amount until the expiration time. The MT unit determines the timing adjustment amount only after the time-off instant. I.e., the time threshold is a preset determination condition for the MT unit to determine whether to determine the timing adjustment amount. The time threshold may be implemented by means of a timer. That is, in S610, the MT unit may maintain a timer for controlling a time interval between the timing adjustment amounts for controlling the MT unit to determine the downlink transmission timing twice. During this time period in which the timer runs, the MT unit does not determine the timing adjustment amount. The MT unit determines the timing adjustment amount after the timer expires.

In S620, the MT unit determines the timing adjustment amount and restarts the timer when the timer times out. That is, even if the MT unit receives the timing adjustment information transmitted by the parent node while the timer is running, the timing adjustment amount is not determined. The MT unit determines the timing adjustment amount only after waiting for the timer to be in a non-operating period or to time out. It is to be understood that the timing timeout may be understood as the time at which the timer times out, or the timing timeout may be understood as the time after the timer times out.

In S630, after determining the timing adjustment amount, the MT unit transmits the timing adjustment amount information to the DU, that is, the MT unit transmits the timing adjustment amount information to the DU of the first node.

In S640, the DU adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount, and specifically, the DU adjusts the time or the time for transmitting the downlink signal to the second node according to the timing adjustment amount.

According to the method for adjusting the downlink sending timing, the MT unit of the first node determines the timing adjustment amount and restarts the timer when the timer is over time according to the limit of the timer. The timing adjustment is not determined during timer operation or when the timer has not timed out. Therefore, the timing adjustment amount which is too frequent for the MT unit can be avoided, the determined timing adjustment amount is sent to the DU, and the downlink sending timing can be prevented from being adjusted according to the timing adjustment amount which is too frequent for the DU. The determination of the timing adjustment amount by the MT unit each time the MT unit acquires the timing adjustment information can be avoided. Thereby improving the reception performance of all terminal devices and sub-nodes served by the first node. The accuracy and precision of DU downlink sending timing adjustment are improved, and therefore the efficiency of downlink sending timing in an IAB scene is improved. The MT unit is limited in time or timing for determining the timing adjustment amount by using a timer method as a condition, which is easy to implement and has high accuracy.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, as shown in fig. 8, the method S600 may further include S608.

S608, the MT unit receives configuration information from the third node, the configuration information being used to configure the timer.

Specifically, the descriptions of S610 to S640 may refer to the above descriptions of S610 to S640, and are not repeated herein for brevity. The following mainly describes S608.

In S608, the MT unit may receive configuration information from the third node, the configuration information being used to configure the timer. The third node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system or a host node in the wireless relay system. The MT unit can maintain a timer according to the configuration information. For example, the start condition, restart or reset condition of the timer is determined according to the configuration information, and the start, restart or reset of the timer is performed.

It will be appreciated that in addition to configuring the timer for the MT unit by the third node, the timing may also be implemented in a predefined manner, e.g. the third node may not send the configuration information to the MT unit, the configuration information for configuring the timer may also be protocol predefined. The MT unit itself stores this configuration information.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, as shown in fig. 8, the method 600 may further include S609.

S609, the MT unit receives timing adjustment amount information from the fourth node.

In S609, the MT unit may receive timing adjustment amount information from a fourth node, which is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system. The timing adjustment amount information may carry a timing adjustment amount, which may be a timing advance amount or a timing retard amount. The timing adjustment information may be MAC rar or MAC CE sent by the fourth node to the MT unit. Further, the timing adjustment amount may be TA carried in the MAC RAR or the MAC CE. For example. The TA may be carried in the TAC field in the MAC RAR or MAC CE. In S620, when the MT unit determines the timing adjustment amount, the timing adjustment amount may be determined according to the timing adjustment amount information.

In a specific implementation of the present application, if the timer is used to control the time interval between two adjacent determinations of the timing adjustment amount by the MT unit, the MT unit is unable to determine the timing adjustment amount during this time period. The MT unit determines the timing adjustment amount after the timer expires. The timer may be started after the timing adjustment is determined for the first time, which is two times the timing adjustment. If the timer is used to control the MT unit not to determine the time interval between timing adjustments twice, the MT unit may determine the timing adjustment equal to or less than the preset number of times during this time period.

As a specific implementation, the MT unit determining the timing adjustment amount two times adjacently includes determining a first timing adjustment amount and determining a second timing adjustment amount. Wherein the first timing adjustment amount and the second timing adjustment amount are timing adjustment amounts determined twice by the MT unit being adjacent to each other. As shown in fig. 9, fig. 9 is a schematic interaction diagram of a method for adjusting downlink transmission timing in some embodiments of the present application, and in some embodiments, the method 700 shown in fig. 9 includes: s710 to S740, optionally, the method 700 further includes S708 and S709.

S710, the MT unit determines a first timing adjustment amount and sends the first timing adjustment amount to the DU unit, and the MT unit starts or restarts the device;

s720, if the timer is overtime, the MT unit determines the second timing adjustment amount and restarts the timer;

s730: the MT unit transmits the second timing adjustment amount information to the distributed unit DU.

S740: the DU unit adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to the second timing adjustment amount.

In S710, in the case where the timer controls the time interval between the MT unit determining the timing adjustment amount twice adjacently, the MT unit determining the timing adjustment amount twice adjacently includes determining a first timing adjustment amount and determining a second timing adjustment amount. In S710, the MT unit determines a first timing adjustment amount and transmits the first timing adjustment amount to the DU unit. The MT unit starts or restarts the device. In S720, the MT unit does not determine the timing adjustment amount during the time period running after the timer starts. If the timer times out, the MT unit determines the second timing adjustment and restarts or starts the timer. In S730, the MT unit transmits the second timing adjustment amount information to the distributed unit DU. In S740: the DU unit adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to the second timing adjustment amount.

Optionally, the step shown in fig. 9 may further include S708: the first node receives configuration information from the third node, the configuration information being used to configure the timer, according to which the MT unit can maintain the timer. The description of S708 may refer to the description of S608 above, and is not repeated here.

Optionally, the step shown in fig. 5 may further include S709 where the MT unit receives timing adjustment amount information from the fourth node. The description of S709 may refer to the description of S609 above, and is not repeated here. In S720, if the timer expires, the first node may determine a second timing adjustment amount according to the timing adjustment amount information.

In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in fig. 10, fig. 10 is a schematic interaction diagram of a method 800 for adjusting downlink transmission timing in some embodiments of the present application, and in some embodiments, the method 800 shown in fig. 10 includes: s810 to S840, optionally, the method 800 further includes S808 and S809.

S810, before the timer expires, the MT unit receives third indication information from the fourth node, where the third indication information is used to instruct the MT unit to determine the timing adjustment amount;

s820, before the timer expires, the MT unit determines the timing adjustment according to the third indication information, and restarts the timer; the fourth node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

S830, the MT unit sends the timing adjustment information to the distributed unit DU of the first node.

S840, the DU adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount.

Specifically, the descriptions of S830 to S840 shown in fig. 10 may refer to the above descriptions of S630 to S640, and are not repeated here for brevity.

In S810, before the timer expires or during the running period, the MT unit receives the third indication information sent by the fourth node, where the third indication information is used to instruct the MT unit to determine the timing adjustment amount. In S820, before the timer times out, the MT unit determines the timing adjustment amount according to the third indication information, and restarts or starts the timer. Then, the determined timing adjustment amount is sent to the DU, and the DU adjusts the downlink sending timing according to the timing adjustment amount. That is, during the timer running period, if the MT unit receives the third instruction information for instructing the MT unit to determine the timing adjustment amount, which is transmitted by the parent node, the MT unit determines the timing adjustment amount during the timer running period. And restart or start the timer.

Optionally, the steps shown in fig. 10 may further include S808: the MT unit receives configuration information from the third node, the configuration information being used to configure the timer, according to which the MT unit can maintain the timer. For the description of S808, reference may be made to the description of S608 above, and the description is not repeated here.

Optionally, the step shown in fig. 10 may further include S809, where the MT unit receives the timing adjustment amount information from the fourth node. For the description of S809, reference may be made to the description of S609 above, which is not repeated here. In S820, the MT unit may determine a timing adjustment amount from the timing adjustment amount information before the timer times out.

Optionally, the third indication information may be further used to instruct the MT unit to determine the timing adjustment amount according to the timing adjustment amount information. That is, in S820, before the timer times out, the MT unit may determine the timing adjustment amount based on the timing adjustment amount information indicated by the first indication information.

Optionally, the first indication information may further include a reference timing adjustment amount, and in S820, before the timer expires, the MT unit may determine the timing adjustment amount according to the reference timing adjustment amount carried by the third indication information. Alternatively, the third indication may not carry the reference timing adjustment amount, and the third indication information may further indicate the MT unit to determine the timing adjustment amount according to the timing adjustment information received before or after the timeout of the timer.

In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in fig. 11, fig. 11 is a schematic interaction diagram of a method 900 for adjusting downlink transmission timing in some embodiments of the present application, where the method 900 may further include: s910 to S940, optionally, the method 900 further includes S908 and S909.

S910, before the timer expires, the MT unit receives third indication information from the fourth node, where the third indication information is used to instruct the MT unit to determine the timing adjustment amount.

S920, after the timer expires, the MT unit determines the timing adjustment amount according to the first indication information, and restarts the timer; the fourth node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

S930, the MT unit sends the timing adjustment information to the distributed unit DU of the first node.

S940, the DU adjusts the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount.

Specifically, the descriptions of S930 to S940 shown in fig. 11 may refer to the descriptions of S630 to S640 above, and are not repeated here for brevity.

In S910, before the timer times out or during the running period, the MT unit receives third indication information sent by the fourth node, where the third indication information is used to instruct the MT unit to determine the timing adjustment amount. The fourth node is a father node of the first node in the wireless relay system. In S920, after the timer expires, the MT unit determines a timing adjustment amount according to the third indication information, and restarts or starts the timer. That is, if the MT unit receives the third instruction information indicating that the timing adjustment amount is determined, which is transmitted by the parent node, during the timer running period, the MT unit may receive the third instruction information after the timer has timed out. The timing adjustment is determined and the timer is restarted or started.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the MT unit may receive the third indication information from the fourth node after the timer expires, that is, before the timer expires, the MT unit does not receive the third indication information sent by the fourth node, after the timer expires, the MT unit receives the third indication information from the fourth node, after the timer expires, the MT unit determines the timing adjustment amount according to the third indication information, and restarts or starts the timer.

It should also be understood that the steps shown in fig. 11 may also include S908: the first node receives configuration information from the third node, the configuration information being used to configure the timer, according to which the MT unit can maintain the timer. The description of S908 may refer to the description of S708 above, and will not be repeated here.

Optionally, the step shown in fig. 11 may further include S909, where the first node receives the timing adjustment amount information from the fourth node. For the description of S909, reference may be made to the above description of S209, which is not repeated here. In S920, after the timer expires, the first node may determine the timing adjustment amount according to the timing adjustment amount information.

Optionally, the third indication information may be further used to instruct the MT unit to determine the timing adjustment amount according to the timing adjustment amount information. That is, in S920, after the timer expires, the MT unit may determine the timing adjustment amount according to the timing adjustment amount information indicated by the first indication information.

Optionally, the third indication information may further include a reference timing adjustment amount, and in S920, after the timer expires, the MT unit may determine the timing adjustment amount according to the reference timing adjustment amount carried by the first indication information. Alternatively, the first indication may not carry the reference timing adjustment amount, and the first indication information may further indicate the MT unit to determine the timing adjustment amount according to the timing adjustment information received before or after the timeout of the timer.

In the method 800 and the method 900, the MT unit may receive the timing adjustment amount information first, and receive the third indication information after receiving the timing adjustment amount information. Alternatively, the third indication information may be received first, and then the timing adjustment amount information may be received. The present application does not limit the order of the third indication information and the timing adjustment amount information.

It should also be understood that the timing adjustment amount information may be a MAC RAR or a MAC CE that the fourth node transmits to the MT unit. The timing adjustment amount information may further include the timing adjustment amount that the MT unit needs to determine, which is calculated by the fourth node.

When the MT unit determines the timing adjustment amount, the timing adjustment amount may be determined from the timing adjustment amount information, or may be determined from the third indication information including the reference timing adjustment amount.

Optionally, the MT unit may receive a lot of timing adjustment amount information, and only when the timing adjustment amount needs to be determined, it determines how much downlink transmission timing needs to be adjusted according to the timing adjustment amount information.

It should be understood that the reference timing adjustment amount carried by the third indication information may be an adjustment amount calculated by the fourth node according to the timing adjustment amount carried in the timing adjustment information, or may also be a TA last sent by the fourth node to the MT unit, or may also be a timing adjustment amount determined by the fourth node according to the TA last sent to the MT unit, and so on.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the third indication information may be carried in any one of MAC RAR, MAC CE, adaptation layer information, DCI, and broadcast information that is sent by the fourth node to the MT unit. Of course, in addition to these information, the third indication information may also be carried in other possible signalling sent by the fourth node to the MT unit. The application is not limited herein.

It should also be understood that the third indication information and the timing adjustment information may be sent in the same signaling. Optionally, the third indication information and the timing adjustment amount information may be sent in different signaling. That is, the fourth node transmits the third indication information and the timing adjustment information to the MT unit, respectively.

In some embodiments of the present application, as for the method 600 to the method 900, after the DU adjusts the downlink transmission timing, the DU unit sends fourth indication information to the second node, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate one or more of the following: the DU unit has adjusted the downlink transmission timing, the adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing, the effective time of the downlink transmission timing, and the time at which the second node adjusts the downlink signal transmitted from the second node to the child node of the second node. The second node may determine, according to the fourth instruction information, a time at which the second node adjusts the downlink transmission timing with the child node of the second node, or may determine an adjustment amount by which the second node adjusts the downlink transmission timing. Thereby improving the reception performance of all terminal devices and sub-nodes served by the second node. The accuracy and precision of the second node in adjusting the downlink sending timing are improved.

In some embodiments of the present application. The first node comprises an MT unit and a DU. Fig. 12 is a schematic flowchart of a method 1000 for adjusting downlink transmission timing according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 12, the method 1000 shown in fig. 12 may include S1010 to S1020. The various steps in method 1000 are described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 12. The method 1000 includes:

s1010, the MT unit transmits the timing adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing to the DU.

S1020, the DU determines whether to adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount. Wherein the downlink transmission timing is a time when the first node transmits a downlink signal to a second node, the first node is a relay node in a wireless relay system, and the second node is a child node of the first node in the wireless relay system

Specifically, in S1010, the MT unit may transmit the timing adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing to the DU. For example, the MT unit may receive timing adjustment amount information or indication information transmitted by a parent node of the first node, the timing adjustment amount information or indication information including a timing adjustment amount. The timing adjustment amount information may be MAC RAR or MAC CE, and the timing adjustment amount may be TA carried in the MAC RAR or MAC CE. The MT unit may transmit the timing adjustment amount to the DU, and in S1020, the DU may or may not perform the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount. Specifically, when the DU determines whether to adjust the downlink transmission timing, it may be determined whether to adjust the downlink transmission timing by, for example, a time threshold (timer), indication information displayed, or the like. The specific determination process is similar to the process of determining to adjust the downlink transmission timing by the first node in the methods 200 to 500, and the specific description may refer to the description of adjusting the downlink transmission timing by the first node in the methods 200 to 500, and for brevity, the description is omitted here.

In the method for adjusting downlink transmission timing provided by the present application, the MT unit of the first node sends the acquired timing adjustment amount information to the DU of the first node, and the DU automatically determines whether to adjust downlink transmission timing. For example, the DU determines whether to adjust the downlink transmission timing according to the manner of the timer and/or the indication information. It is possible to avoid that the DU adjusts the downlink transmission timing every time it receives the timing adjustment information. Thereby improving the reception performance of all terminal devices and sub-nodes served by the first node. The accuracy and precision of DU regulation downlink sending timing are improved.

It should be understood that, after the DU adjusts the downlink transmission timing, the DU may transmit fourth indication information to the second node, where the fourth indication information indicates one or more of the following: the DU has adjusted the downlink transmission timing, the adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing, the effective time of the downlink transmission timing, and the time when the second node adjusts the downlink signal transmitted from the second node to the child node of the second node. The second node may determine, according to the fourth instruction information, a time at which the second node adjusts the downlink transmission timing with the child node of the second node, or may determine an adjustment amount by which the second node adjusts the downlink transmission timing. Thereby improving the reception performance of all terminal devices and sub-nodes served by the second node. The accuracy and precision of the second node in adjusting the downlink sending timing are improved.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, for example, in the above-mentioned method 200 to method 500 or method 1000, the first node or DU may determine whether to adjust the downlink transmission timing by using a timing adjustment amount threshold in addition to determining whether to adjust the downlink transmission timing by using a timer and indication information. For example,

one possible implementation is:

when the sum of the timing adjustment amounts received between the time before the downlink transmission timing is adjusted this time and the time when the downlink transmission timing is adjusted last time by the first node is greater than or equal to a first threshold, the first node or a DU in the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing this time;

and when the sum of the timing adjustment amount received between the time before the downlink sending timing is adjusted this time and the last time the downlink sending timing is adjusted by the first node is smaller than the first threshold, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing this time.

Specifically, the first threshold corresponds to a timing adjustment threshold. For example, after the first node adjusts the downlink transmission timing for the nth time, the first node receives the multiple timing adjustment amounts sent by the third node, and when the sum (or the sum of absolute values) of the multiple timing adjustment amounts is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the first node performs the (N + 1) th adjustment of the downlink transmission timing. Otherwise, the (N + 1) th adjustment of the downlink transmission timing is not performed.

It should be understood that, in various embodiments of the present application, first, second, etc. are merely intended to indicate that a plurality of objects are different. For example, the first node and the second node are merely to illustrate different nodes. And should not have any influence on the node itself, and the above-mentioned first, second, etc. should not impose any limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

It should also be understood that the above description is only for the purpose of facilitating a better understanding of the embodiments of the present application by those skilled in the art, and is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. Various equivalent modifications or changes will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above examples given, for example, some steps may not be necessary or some steps may be newly added in various embodiments of the above methods, etc. Or a combination of any two or more of the above embodiments. Such modifications, variations, or combinations are also within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

It should also be understood that the foregoing descriptions of the embodiments of the present application focus on highlighting differences between the various embodiments, and that the same or similar elements that are not mentioned may be referred to one another and, for brevity, are not repeated herein.

It should also be understood that the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by the function and the inherent logic thereof, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

It should also be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, "preset" or "predefined" may be implemented by saving a corresponding code, table, or other means that can be used to indicate related information in advance in a device (for example, including a terminal device and an access network device), and the present application is not limited to a specific implementation manner thereof.

It should also be understood that the manner, the case, the category, and the division of the embodiments are only for convenience of description and should not be construed as a particular limitation, and features in various manners, the category, the case, and the embodiments may be combined without contradiction.

It is also to be understood that the terminology and/or the description of the various embodiments herein is consistent and mutually inconsistent if no specific statement or logic conflicts exists, and that the technical features of the various embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

The method-side embodiment provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above with reference to fig. 1 to 12, and the apparatus embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to fig. 13 to 17. It is to be understood that the description of the method embodiments corresponds to the description of the apparatus embodiments, and therefore reference may be made to the preceding method embodiments for parts not described in detail.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus 1200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The apparatus 1200 may correspond to the first node described in the methods 200 to 500, or may be a chip or a component applied to the first node, and each module or unit in the apparatus 1200 is respectively configured to execute each action or processing procedure executed by the first node in the methods 200 to 500, as shown in fig. 13, the apparatus 1200 may include: the processing unit 1210 and the communication unit 1220 are optional, and the communication device 1200 further includes a storage unit 1230. The processing unit 1210, the communication unit 1220 and the storage unit 1230 are connected by a communication bus.

A processing unit 1210 configured to maintain a timer, where the timer is configured to control a time interval between two times of adjusting downlink transmission timing, where the downlink transmission timing is a time when the communication apparatus transmits a downlink signal to a second node;

the processing unit 1210 is further configured to: if the timer is overtime, the downlink sending timing is adjusted and the timer is restarted; the communication device is a relay node in a wireless relay system, and the second node is a child node of the communication device in the wireless relay system.

According to the communication device provided by the application, the communication device adjusts the downlink sending timing when the timer is overtime according to the limit of the timer. The downlink transmission timing is not adjusted during the timer run or when it is not timed out. Thus, it is possible to prevent the communication device from adjusting the downlink transmission timing too frequently. Thereby improving the reception performance of all terminal devices and sub-nodes served by the communication apparatus. The accuracy and precision of the communication device for adjusting the downlink sending timing are improved.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit 1220 is configured to: receiving configuration information from a third node, the configuration information for configuring the timer; the third node is a parent node of the communication device in the wireless relay system or a host node in the wireless relay system.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the timer is configured to control the communication apparatus to adjust a time interval between two adjacent times of the downlink transmission timing.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the adjusting the downlink transmission timing twice includes adjusting the downlink transmission timing for the first time and adjusting the downlink transmission timing for the second time; the processing unit 1210 is further configured to: after the downlink sending timing is adjusted for the first time, the timer is started or restarted; if the timer is overtime, the downlink sending timing is adjusted for the second time, and the timer is restarted.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit 1220 is further configured to: before the timer is overtime, receiving first indication information from a fourth node, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating and adjusting the downlink sending timing;

the processing unit 1210 is specifically configured to: before the timer is overtime, the downlink sending timing is adjusted according to the first indication information, and the timer is restarted; the fourth node is a parent node of the communication device in the wireless relay system.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit 1220 is further configured to: before the timer is overtime, receiving first indication information from a fourth node, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating and adjusting the downlink sending timing; the processing unit 1210 is specifically configured to: after the timer is overtime, the downlink sending timing is adjusted according to the first indication information, and the timer is restarted; the fourth node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit 1220 is further configured to: the communication unit 1220 is further configured to: after the timer is overtime, receiving first indication information from a fourth node, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating and adjusting the downlink sending timing; the processing unit 1210 is specifically configured to: after the timer is overtime, the downlink sending timing is adjusted according to the first indication information, and the timer is restarted; the fourth node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit 1220 is further configured to: receiving timing adjustment amount information from the fourth node, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the downlink sending timing is adjusted according to the timing adjustment amount information.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit 1220 is further configured to: after the communication device adjusts the downlink transmission timing, sending second indication information to the second node, where the second indication information is used to indicate one or more of the following: the communication device has adjusted the downlink transmission timing, the adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing, the effective time of the downlink transmission timing, and the time at which the second node adjusts the downlink signal transmitted from the second node to the child node of the second node.

It should be understood that for the sake of brevity, the detailed process of the units of the communication apparatus 1200 to execute the corresponding steps described above is referred to the description related to the first node in the embodiments shown in fig. 4 to fig. 7 and the related embodiments of the methods 200 to the methods 500, and is not repeated herein.

The communication apparatus 1200 may be a first node in the embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the communication unit 1220 of the apparatus 1200 may comprise an antenna and a transceiver of the first node, e.g. an antenna and a transceiver. The communication unit 1220 may further include a network interface of the first node device.

The communication apparatus 1200 may be a chip in the first node in the embodiment of the present application. The communication unit 1220 may be an input or output interface, a pin or a circuit, or the like. Alternatively, the storage unit 1230 may store computer-executable instructions of the method of the first node side, so that the processing unit 1210 executes the method of the first node side in the above-described embodiment. The storage unit 1230 may be a register, a cache, or a RAM, etc., and the storage unit 1230 may be integrated with the processing unit 1210; the storage unit 1230 may be a ROM or other type of static storage device that may store static information and instructions, and the storage unit 1230 may be separate from the processing unit 1210. Alternatively, as wireless communication technology advances, a transceiver may be integrated on the communication device 1200, for example, the communication unit 1220 integrates a transceiver and a network interface.

It should be understood that the communication unit 1220 may be a transceiver, an input/output interface, or an interface circuit. The storage unit 1230 may be a memory. The processing unit 1210 may be implemented by a processor. As shown in fig. 14, the communications apparatus 1300 may include a processor 1310, a memory 1320, and a transceiver 1330.

The communication apparatus 1200 shown in fig. 13 or the communication apparatus 1300 shown in fig. 14 are capable of implementing the steps performed by the first node in the embodiments of the aforementioned methods 200 to 500 and in the embodiments shown in fig. 4 to 7. Similar descriptions may refer to the description in the corresponding method previously described. To avoid repetition, further description is omitted here.

The communication apparatus 1200 shown in fig. 13 or the communication apparatus 1300 shown in fig. 14 may be a relay node.

Fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus 1400 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The apparatus 1400 may correspond to the first node described in the methods 600-1000 above. Or, the MT unit or DU described in methods 600 to 1000. Alternatively, the communication device includes an MT unit and a DU. But also to the chip or component of the first node or to the MT unit or to the DU. Also, each module or unit in the apparatus 1400 is configured to perform each action or process performed by the MT unit and the DU in the methods 600 to 1000, respectively, as shown in fig. 14, the communication apparatus 1400 may include: a processing unit 1410 and a communication unit 1420. Optionally, the communication device 1400 further includes a storage unit 1430. The processing unit 1410, the communication unit 1420 and the memory unit 1430 are connected by a communication bus.

The processing unit 1410: a timer for maintaining, the timer for controlling a time interval between two determinations of timing adjustment amount of downlink transmission timing;

processing unit 1410 is further configured to: if the timer is overtime, determining the timing adjustment amount and restarting the timer;

the communication unit 1420 is configured to: sending the timing adjustment information to the DU;

processing unit 1410 is further configured to: adjusting the downlink sending timing according to the timing adjustment quantity;

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit 1420 is further configured to: receiving configuration information from a third node, the configuration information for configuring the timer; the third node is a parent node of the communication device in the wireless relay system or a host node in the wireless relay system.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application. The timer is used for controlling the time interval between two adjacent determinations of the timing adjustment amount by the MT unit.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the determining the timing adjustment amount twice includes determining a first timing adjustment amount and determining a second timing adjustment amount, and the processing unit 1410 is specifically configured to: determining the first timing adjustment;

the communication unit 1420 is specifically configured for. Sending the first timing adjustment amount to the DU unit, and starting or restarting the device; processing unit 1410 is specifically configured to determine the second timing adjustment if the timer is over time, and restart the timer; the processing unit 1410 is specifically configured to: and adjusting the downlink sending timing according to the second timing adjustment amount.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit 1420 is further configured to: before the timer is overtime, receiving third indication information from a fourth node, wherein the third indication information is used for indicating that the timing adjustment amount is determined; the processing unit 1410 is specifically configured to: before the timer is overtime, the timing adjustment amount is determined according to the first indication information, and the timer is restarted; the fourth node is a parent node of the communication device in the wireless relay system.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit 1420 is further configured to: after the downlink sending timing is adjusted, sending fourth indication information to the second node, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate one or more of the following: the downlink sending timing, the adjustment amount of the downlink sending timing, the effective time of the downlink sending timing and the time when the second node adjusts the downlink signal sent by the second node to the child node of the second node are adjusted.

It should be understood that for the specific processes of the units of the communication apparatus 1400 to execute the corresponding steps described above, please refer to the description related to the MT unit and the DU in the embodiments shown in fig. 8 to fig. 12 and the related embodiments of the methods 600 to methods 1000, and for brevity, the description is omitted here.

The communication device 1400 may be a first node in the embodiments of the present application. Optionally, the communication unit 1420 of the apparatus 1400 may comprise an antenna and a transceiver, e.g. of the first node. The communication unit 1420 may further include a network interface of the first node device.

The communication device 1400 may be a chip in the first node in the embodiment of the present application, and may also be a chip or a component applied to an MT unit or a DU. The communication unit 1420 may be an input or output interface, a pin or a circuit, or the like. Optionally, the memory unit 1430 may store computer-executable instructions for the methods of the MT unit and the DU to cause the processing unit 1410 to perform the methods of the MT unit and the DU in the above-described embodiments. The storage unit 1430 may be a register, a cache, or a RAM, etc., and the storage unit 1430 may be integrated with the processing unit 1410; storage unit 1430 may be ROM or another type of static storage device that may store static information and instructions, and storage unit 1430 may be separate from processing unit 1410. Alternatively, as wireless communication technology evolves, a transceiver may be integrated on the communication device 1400, e.g., the communication unit 1420 integrates a transceiver and a network interface.

It should be understood that the communication unit 1420 may be a transceiver, an input/output interface, or an interface circuit. The storage unit 1430 may be a memory. The processing unit 1410 may be implemented by a processor. As shown in fig. 16, the communications apparatus 1500 can include a processor 1510, a memory 1520, and a transceiver 1530.

The communication device 1400 shown in fig. 15 or the communication device 1500 shown in fig. 16 are capable of implementing the steps performed by the MT unit and the DU in the various embodiments of the aforementioned methods 600 to 1000 and in the embodiments shown in fig. 8 to 12. Similar descriptions may refer to the description in the corresponding method previously described. To avoid repetition, further description is omitted here.

Fig. 17 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 1600. The communication device may be the first node described above. Alternatively, the communication device is the MT unit or DU described above. Alternatively, the MT unit or DU includes the communication device.

The communications apparatus 1600 includes at least one processor 1611, at least one memory 1612, at least one transceiver 1613, at least one network interface 1614, and one or more antennas 1615. The processor 1611, memory 1612, transceiver 1613, and network interface 1614 are coupled, such as by a bus. The antenna 1616 is connected to the transceiver 1613. The network interface 1614 is used to enable the communication device to connect with other communication devices through a communication link, and in this embodiment, the connection may include various interfaces, transmission lines, buses, and the like, which are not limited in this embodiment.

The memory 1612 may be separate and coupled to the processor 1611. Optionally, the memory 1612 may be integrated with the processor 1611, for example, within a single chip. The memory 1612 can store program codes for executing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and is controlled by the processor 1611 to execute, and various executed computer program codes can also be regarded as drivers of the processor 1611. For example, the processor 1611 is configured to execute the computer program code stored in the memory 1612, thereby implementing the technical solution in the embodiment of the present application.

The transceiver 1613 may be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between the communication device and its child or parent node, and the transceiver 1613 may be connected to an antenna 1616. The transceiver 1613 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 1616 may receive rf signals, and a receiver Rx of the transceiver 1613 is configured to receive the rf signals from the antennas, convert the rf signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and provide the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals to the processor 1611, so that the processor 1611 performs further processing on the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, such as demodulation processing and decoding processing. In addition, the transmitter Tx in the transceiver 1613 is also used to receive a modulated digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal from the processor 1611, convert the modulated digital baseband signal or the digital intermediate frequency signal into a radio frequency signal, and transmit the radio frequency signal through the one or more antennas 1616. Specifically, the receiver Rx may selectively perform one or more stages of down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion processes on the rf signal to obtain a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal, and the sequence of the down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion processes is adjustable. The transmitter Tx may selectively perform one or more stages of up-mixing and digital-to-analog conversion processes on the modulated digital baseband signal or the modulated digital intermediate frequency signal to obtain the rf signal, and the sequence of the up-mixing and digital-to-analog conversion processes is adjustable. The digital baseband signal and the digital intermediate frequency signal may be collectively referred to as a digital signal.

It should also be understood that the division of the units in the above apparatus is only a division of logical functions, and the actual implementation may be wholly or partially integrated into one physical entity, or may be physically separated. And the units in the device can be realized in the form of software called by the processing element; or may be implemented entirely in hardware; part of the units can also be realized in the form of software called by a processing element, and part of the units can be realized in the form of hardware. For example, each unit may be a processing element separately set up, or may be implemented by being integrated into a chip of the apparatus, or may be stored in a memory in the form of a program, and a function of the unit may be called and executed by a processing element of the apparatus. The processing element, which may also be referred to herein as a processor, may be an integrated circuit having signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, the steps of the method or the units above may be implemented by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor element or in a form called by software through the processor element.

In one example, the units in any of the above apparatuses may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or one or more Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), or one or more Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. As another example, when a unit in a device may be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element may be a general-purpose processor, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or other processor capable of invoking programs. As another example, these units may be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

The various device embodiments described above may correspond exactly to the first node or MT unit and DU in the method embodiments, and the corresponding steps are performed by corresponding modules or units, for example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the receiving unit may be an interface circuit of the chip for receiving signals from other chips or devices. The above unit for transmitting is an interface circuit of the apparatus for transmitting a signal to other apparatuses, for example, when the apparatus is implemented in the form of a chip, the transmitting unit is an interface circuit of the chip for transmitting a signal to other chips or apparatuses.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including: the first node, the second node, the third node and the fourth node.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable medium for storing a computer program code, where the computer program includes instructions for executing the method for adjusting downlink transmission timing in the embodiments of the present application in the methods 200 to 1000. The readable medium may be a read-only memory (ROM) or a Random Access Memory (RAM), which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The present application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a first node, an MT unit and/or perform operations corresponding to the methods described above.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a system chip, where the system chip includes: a processing unit, which may be, for example, a processor, and a communication unit, which may be, for example, an input/output interface, a pin or a circuit, etc. The processing unit can execute computer instructions to make a chip in the communication device execute any one of the methods for adjusting downlink transmission timing provided in the embodiments of the present application.

Optionally, the computer instructions are stored in a storage unit.

Alternatively, the storage unit is a storage unit in the chip, such as a register, a cache, and the like, and the storage unit may also be a storage unit located outside the chip in the terminal, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or another type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM), and the like. The processor mentioned in any of the above may be a CPU, a microprocessor, an ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits for executing programs for controlling the transmission method of the feedback information. The processing unit and the storage unit may be decoupled, and are respectively disposed on different physical devices, and are connected in a wired or wireless manner to implement respective functions of the processing unit and the storage unit, so as to support the system chip to implement various functions in the foregoing embodiments. Alternatively, the processing unit and the memory may be coupled to the same device.

It will be appreciated that the memory in the embodiments of the subject application can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a ROM, a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable PROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be RAM, which acts as external cache memory. There are many different types of RAM, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synclink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct bus RAM (DRRAM).

In the present application, "of", corresponding "(compatible)" and "corresponding" (compatible) "may be sometimes used in combination, and it should be noted that the intended meanings are consistent when the differences are not emphasized.

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

In the present application, "at least one" means one or more. "plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of the singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c, may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or multiple. In addition, in order to facilitate clear description of 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 the same items or similar items having substantially the same functions and actions. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terms "first," "second," etc. do not denote any order or quantity, nor do the terms "first," "second," etc. denote any order or importance.

The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the former and latter related objects are in an "or" relationship.

The terms "upstream" and "downstream" appearing in the present application are used to describe the direction of data/information transmission in a specific scenario, for example, the "upstream" direction generally refers to the direction of data/information transmission from the terminal to the network side, or the direction of transmission from the distributed unit to the centralized unit, and the "downstream" direction generally refers to the direction of data/information transmission from the network side to the terminal, or the direction of transmission from the centralized unit to the distributed unit.

Various objects such as various messages/information/devices/network elements/systems/devices/actions/operations/procedures/concepts may be named in the present application, it is to be understood that these specific names do not constitute limitations on related objects, and the named names may vary according to circumstances, contexts, or usage habits, and the understanding of the technical meaning of the technical terms in the present application should be mainly determined by the functions and technical effects embodied/performed in the technical solutions.

In the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or conflicting with respect to logic, the terms and/or descriptions in different embodiments have consistency and may be mutually cited, and technical features in different embodiments may be combined to form a new embodiment according to their inherent logic relationship.

The methods in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions of the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in or transmitted over a computer-readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server that integrates one or more available media.

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

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

Claims

1. A method for adjusting downlink transmission timing, comprising:

a first node maintains a timer, wherein the timer is used for controlling the time interval between two times of downlink sending timing adjustment, and the downlink sending timing is the time when the first node sends a downlink signal to a second node;

if the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing and restarts the timer;

the first node is a relay node in a wireless relay system, and the second node is a child node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the first node receiving configuration information from a third node, the configuration information being used to configure the timer;

the third node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system or a host node in the wireless relay system.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the timer is used for controlling a time interval between two adjacent times of adjusting the downlink transmission timing.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the adjusting the downlink transmission timing twice comprises adjusting the downlink transmission timing a first time and adjusting the downlink transmission timing a second time; the method further comprises the following steps:

after the downlink sending timing is adjusted for the first time, the first node starts or restarts the timer;

if the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing and restarts the timer, including:

and if the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing for the second time and restarts the timer.

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

before the timer is overtime, the first node receives first indication information from a fourth node, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating to adjust the downlink sending timing;

before the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing according to the first indication information and restarts the timer;

the fourth node is a parent node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

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

after the timer is overtime, the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing according to the first indication information and restarts the timer;

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

after the timer is overtime, the first node receives first indication information from a fourth node, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating and adjusting the downlink sending timing;

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

and the first node receives timing adjustment amount information from the fourth node, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the downlink sending timing is adjusted according to the timing adjustment amount information.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising:

after the first node adjusts the downlink sending timing, the first node sends second indication information to the second node, where the second indication information is used to indicate one or more of the following: the first node has adjusted the downlink transmission timing, the adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing, the effective time of the downlink transmission timing, and the time at which the second node adjusts the downlink signal transmitted from the second node to the child node of the second node.

10. A method for adjusting downlink transmission timing, comprising:

a Mobile Terminal (MT) unit of a first node maintains a timer, wherein the timer is used for controlling a time interval between timing adjustment amounts of downlink sending timing determined twice;

if the timer is overtime, the MT unit determines the timing adjustment amount and restarts the timer;

the MT unit sends the timing adjustment information to a distributed unit DU of the first node;

the DU adjusts the downlink sending timing according to the timing adjustment quantity;

the downlink sending timing is a time when the first node sends a downlink signal to a second node, the first node is a relay node in a wireless relay system, and the second node is a child node of the first node in the wireless relay system.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

the MT unit receives configuration information from a third node, the configuration information being used to configure the timer;

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the timer is used to control the MT unit to determine the time interval between two adjacent determinations of the timing adjustment.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining the timing adjustment amount twice in adjacent pairs comprises determining a first timing adjustment amount and determining a second timing adjustment amount, the method further comprising:

the MT unit determining the first timing adjustment amount;

the MT unit sends the first timing adjustment amount to the DU unit, and starts or restarts the device;

if the timer is overtime, the MT unit determines the timing adjustment and restarts the timer, including:

if the timer is overtime, the MT unit determines the second timing adjustment amount and restarts the timer;

the adjusting, by the DU, the downlink transmission timing according to the timing adjustment amount includes:

and the DU unit adjusts the downlink sending timing according to the second timing adjustment amount.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that it comprises:

before the timer is overtime, the MT unit receives third indication information from a fourth node, where the third indication information is used to instruct the MT unit to determine the timing adjustment amount;

before the timer is overtime, the MT unit determines the timing adjustment amount according to the first indication information and restarts the timer;

15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, further comprising:

after the DU unit adjusts the downlink transmission timing, the DU unit transmits fourth indication information to the second node, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate one or more of the following: the DU unit has adjusted the downlink transmission timing, the adjustment amount of the downlink transmission timing, the effective time of the downlink transmission timing, and the time at which the second node adjusts the downlink signal transmitted from the second node to the child node of the second node.

16. A communications apparatus, comprising at least one processor configured to perform the method of any of claims 1-15 and interface circuitry.

17. A communications apparatus comprising a processor coupled to a memory, the memory storing a computer program or instructions, the processor being configured to execute the computer program or instructions such that the method of any of claims 1 to 9 or the method of any of claims 10 to 15 is performed.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized by comprising a program which, when executed, performs the method of any of claims 1 to 15.