CN114503696A

CN114503696A - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN114503696A
Application number: CN201980100647.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 袁璞
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-09-29
Filing date: 2019-09-29
Publication date: 2022-05-13
Anticipated expiration: 2039-09-29
Also published as: WO2021056584A1

Abstract

The application relates to a communication method and device, which can be applied to the field of vehicle networking, such as V2X, LTE-V, V2V and the like, or can be used in the fields of D2D, intelligent driving, intelligent network networking and the like. The terminal device receives first information from the network equipment; the terminal device determines a device-to-Device Frame Number (DFN) corresponding to the current time according to the first information; and the terminal device carries out side link communication based on the DFN corresponding to the current time. Therefore, the terminal apparatus can perform the sidelink communication using the DFN, and therefore, the terminal apparatus within the coverage of the network device can normally perform the sidelink communication with the terminal apparatus outside the coverage of the network device.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of mobile communications technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus.

Background

Vehicle to electric (V2X) means that a vehicle can communicate with an external device. For example, the communication between the vehicle and the vehicle, between the vehicle and the base station, and between the vehicle and the pedestrian enables the vehicle to better obtain various traffic information such as real-time road conditions, road information, pedestrian information, and the like, thereby improving driving safety and traffic efficiency.

Currently, in a vehicle-to-outside (V2X) scenario based on Long Term Evolution (LTE), a terminal has two synchronization modes, specifically, as shown in fig. 1, for a terminal 1 within a coverage area of a base station, a synchronization signal is obtained from the base station, where the synchronization signal may carry a System Frame Number (SFN), and the terminal 1 synchronizes with the base station based on the SFN. For a terminal 2 out of the coverage of the base station, the terminal 2 cannot acquire a synchronization signal from the base station, so the terminal 2 acquires a GNSS signal in a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) time service manner, where the GNSS signal carries coordinated Universal Time (UTC), and the UE may calculate a device-to-device frame number (D2D frame number, DFN) based on the UTC and synchronize with other terminals using the GNSS time service using the DFN.

Therefore, the

terminals

1 and 2 using different synchronization methods may not communicate normally.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and a communication device, which are used for solving the problem that a terminal in the coverage area of network equipment and a terminal outside the coverage area of the network equipment can not normally communicate, ensuring that the terminal and other terminals in the communication range can carry out sidelink communication based on a uniform synchronous mode, and improving the communication efficiency.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is performed by a terminal device. The terminal device receives first information from the network equipment; the terminal device determines a device-to-device frame number DFN corresponding to the current time according to the first information; and the terminal device carries out side link communication based on the DFN corresponding to the current time.

In addition, according to the existing synchronization mechanism, the network device configures the terminal devices within the coverage area to communicate using the SFN. However, since terminal apparatuses outside the coverage area of the network device may be synchronized using DFN, which is GNSS time, terminal apparatuses based on SFN synchronization cannot normally perform sideline communication with terminal apparatuses based on DFN synchronization. Therefore, the embodiments of the present application propose that a network device can configure a terminal device within a coverage area to perform sidelink communication using DFN. In this case, it is possible to ensure that the terminal apparatus can perform sidelink communication with other terminal apparatuses within the communication range based on a uniform synchronization method, thereby improving communication efficiency.

It should be noted that the terminal devices described in the embodiments of the present application are synchronized in the same or uniform manner, which means that the terminal devices are synchronized to the same radio frame system, in other words, the frame number, subframe number, frame boundary, and the like determined by the terminal devices are synchronized.

In one possible design, the first information may include a current time based on a global navigation satellite system GNSS.

It can be appreciated that according to the existing synchronization mechanism, the network device configures the terminal devices in the coverage area to communicate using SFN, so that the terminal devices in the coverage area do not need to use DFN for sidelink communication, and thus, the current time (e.g., current UTC) based on GNSS is not acquired. In the application, the terminal device within the network device configuration coverage area may use the DFN to perform sidelink communication, and the terminal device may calculate the DFN based on the current time based on the GNSS in the first information sent by the network device, without using a GNSS timing method to calculate the DFN. Avoiding that in some cases the terminal device may not be able to receive GNSS signals.

In one possible design, the first information is carried in a system message block, SIB.

It should be noted that the first information may be carried in any downlink data that is sent by the network device to the terminal apparatus, and the SIB is only an example and is not limited.

Illustratively, the first information may be carried in a SIB 16. It should be noted that, according to the existing communication protocol, the current UTC based on GNSS is carried in SIB16, but since the terminal apparatuses within the coverage of the network device are configured to communicate using SFN, the terminal apparatuses do not analyze the current UTC in SIB16 when performing sidelink communication. In the present application, the network device configures the terminal apparatus to perform the sidelink communication using the DFN, so that when the terminal apparatus in the coverage performs the sidelink communication, the SIB16 is analyzed to obtain the current UTC, and then the DFN is calculated according to the current UTC.

In one possible design, a terminal device receives first indication information from the network equipment, the first indication information indicating that the terminal device is to perform sidelink communications based on the DFN.

Illustratively, the first indication information may be an index (index) of 1bit, and when the first indication information is set to 0, the terminal apparatus is instructed to perform the sidelink communication using the DFN, and when the first indication information is set to 1, the terminal apparatus is instructed to perform the sidelink communication using the SFN. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, the network device may configure the terminal device to perform the sidelink communication using the DFN, and may ensure that the terminal device and other terminal devices within the communication range can perform the sidelink communication based on a uniform synchronization manner, so as to improve the communication efficiency. In other words, it can be ensured that the terminal and other terminals within its communication range can normally communicate on the sidelink based on the same time reference to improve communication efficiency.

Of course, the first indication information may also be preconfigured, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited. It can be understood that the pre-configuration mode is simple and convenient, and the network device does not need to instruct the terminal device to use the SFN or DFN for the sidelink communication, thereby saving signaling cost.

In one possible design, the first indication information is carried in a first field in a system message block, SIB.

For example, the first indication information may be carried in SIB1 or SIB 16. It should be noted that the first information may be carried in any downlink data that is sent by the network device to the terminal apparatus, and the SIB is only an example and is not limited.

In one possible design, the first information includes a frame number offset, where the frame number offset is an offset between the DFN at the current time and a system frame number SFN, and the SFN is a radio frame number used for communication between the terminal device and the network device.

The network device transmits the frame number offset between the DFN and the SFN to the terminal apparatus. The terminal device determines the DFN corresponding to the current time based on the frame number offset, the DFN corresponding to the current time can be calculated without acquiring the current UTC, and the calculation is relatively simple.

In one possible design, the determining, by the terminal device, the DFN corresponding to the current time according to the first information includes: and the terminal device determines the DFN corresponding to the current time based on the frame number offset and the SFN corresponding to the current time.

It can be understood that the network device sends the frame number offset between the DFN and the SFN to the terminal device, and the terminal device determines the DFN corresponding to the current time based on the frame number offset, and does not need to obtain the current UTC or calculate the DFN corresponding to the current time according to the current UTC, thereby saving the calculation amount and improving the communication efficiency.

In one possible design, a terminal device transmits a sidelink synchronization signal block, S-SSB, at a first time, the S-SSB including a DFN corresponding to the first time.

It can be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal apparatus outside the coverage of the network device may receive the DFN corresponding to the current time transmitted by the terminal apparatus within the coverage, and then perform sidelink communication with the terminal apparatus within the coverage of the network device based on the DFN.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication method, where the method is performed by a network device. The method comprises the steps that network equipment determines first information, wherein the first information is used for determining a device-to-Device Frame Number (DFN) corresponding to current time; and the network equipment sends first information to a terminal device so that the terminal device carries out sidelink communication based on the DFN corresponding to the current time.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the network device may configure the terminal apparatus to perform the sidelink communication using the DFN. In this case, it is possible to ensure that the terminal apparatus can perform sidelink communication with other terminal apparatuses within the communication range based on a uniform synchronization method, thereby improving communication efficiency. In other words, it can be ensured that the terminal and other terminals within its communication range can normally communicate on the sidelink based on the same time reference to improve communication efficiency.

In the present application, the network device configures the terminal device to perform sidelink communication using the DFN, and the terminal device may calculate the DFN based on the current time based on the GNSS in the first information sent by the network device, without using the GNSS timing method to calculate the DFN.

In one possible design, the network device sends first indication information to the terminal apparatus, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal apparatus performs sidelink communication based on the DFN.

For example, the SIB sent by the network device to the terminal apparatus carries first indication information of 1bit, and when the first indication information is set to 0, the network device instructs the terminal apparatus to perform sidelink communication using the DFN, and when the first indication information is set to 1, the network device instructs the terminal apparatus to perform sidelink communication using the SFN. Therefore, the network device may configure different sidelink synchronization manners for different terminal devices, for example, for an unknown terminal device accessing a cell, the network device may configure the unknown terminal device to perform sidelink communication using the DFN, so that the unknown terminal device cannot perform sidelink communication with the terminal device configured to perform sidelink communication using the SFN, and the influence of the unknown terminal device on the network communication security within the coverage of the network device may be alleviated.

Of course, the first indication information may also be preconfigured, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited. It can be understood that the pre-configuration mode is simple and convenient, and the network device does not need to instruct the terminal device to use the SFN or DFN for the sidelink communication, thereby saving signaling cost. It should be appreciated that the manner in which the terminal devices are instructed to use SFN or DFN for sidelink communications by the first indication information is flexible relative to the preconfigured manner, e.g., the same terminal device may use different sidelink synchronization manners at different time periods. That is, the terminal device may conduct sidelink communications at different times and on different time references.

In one possible design, the first information includes a frame number offset, where the frame number offset is an offset between the DFN and a system frame number SFN at the current time, and the SFN is a radio frame number used for communication between the network device and the terminal apparatus.

It can be appreciated that the network device transmits the frame number offset between the DFN and the SFN to the terminal apparatus, and may not need to additionally transmit the current UTC. The terminal device can determine the DFN corresponding to the current time based on the frame number offset, and the calculation mode is simpler. Thus, the network device may save signaling overhead.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, including: a transceiving unit and a processing unit; the receiving and sending unit is used for receiving first information from the network equipment; the processing unit is used for determining a device-to-device frame number DFN corresponding to the current time according to the first information; the transceiver unit is further configured to perform sidelink communication based on the DFN corresponding to the current time.

In one possible design, the transceiver unit is further configured to: receiving first indication information from the network equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal device to perform side link communication based on the DFN.

In one possible design, the processing unit is specifically configured to: and determining the DFN corresponding to the current time based on the frame number offset and the SFN corresponding to the current time.

In one possible design, the transceiver unit is further configured to: and transmitting a sidelink synchronization signal block S-SSB at a first time, wherein the S-SSB comprises a DFN corresponding to the first time.

The communication apparatus provided in the third aspect may be a terminal device, or may be a chip applied to a terminal device, or other combined device, component, and the like that can implement the functions of the terminal device. When the apparatus is a terminal device, the transceiving unit may be a transceiver, and may include an antenna, a radio frequency circuit, and the like, and the processing unit may be a processor, for example: a Central Processing Unit (CPU). When the apparatus is a component having the functions of the terminal device, the transceiver unit may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing unit may be a processor. When the apparatus is a system on chip, the transceiving unit may be an input/output interface of the system on chip, and the processing unit may be a processor of the system on chip.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, including: a processing unit, configured to determine a first message, where the first message is used to determine a device-to-device frame number DFN corresponding to a current time, and the DFN corresponding to the current time is used for a terminal apparatus to perform sidelink communication; and the transceiving unit is used for sending the first information to the terminal device.

In one possible design, the receiving unit is further configured to: and sending first indication information to the terminal device, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal device to carry out side-link communication based on the DFN.

The communication device in the above embodiments may be a network device, or may be a chip applied to a network device, or other combined devices and components that can implement the functions of the network device. When the apparatus is a network device, the transceiver unit may be a transceiver, and may include an antenna, a radio frequency circuit, and the like, and the processing unit may be a processor, for example: a Central Processing Unit (CPU). When the apparatus is a component having the above-mentioned network device function, the transceiver unit may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing unit may be a processor. When the apparatus is a system on chip, the transceiving unit may be an input/output interface of the system on chip, and the processing unit may be a processor of the system on chip.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, including: a transceiver and a processor; the transceiver is used for receiving first information from the network equipment; the processor is used for determining a device-to-Device Frame Number (DFN) corresponding to the current time according to the first information; the transceiver is further configured to perform sidelink communication based on the DFN corresponding to the current time.

In one possible design, the transceiver is further to: receiving first indication information from the network equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal device to perform side link communication based on the DFN.

In one possible design, the processor is specifically configured to: and determining the DFN corresponding to the current time based on the frame number offset and the SFN corresponding to the current time.

In one possible design, the transceiver is further to: and transmitting a sidelink synchronization signal block S-SSB at a first time, wherein the S-SSB comprises a DFN corresponding to the first time.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, including: the terminal device comprises a transceiver and a processor, wherein the processor is used for determining a first message, the first message is used for determining a device-to-Device Frame Number (DFN) corresponding to the current time, and the DFN corresponding to the current time is used for the terminal device to perform sidelink communication; the receiver is configured to send first information to the terminal device.

In one possible design, the receiver is further configured to: and sending first indication information to the terminal device, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal device to perform side link communication based on the DFN.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device. The communication device may be a terminal device designed in the above method. Illustratively, the communication device may be a terminal device or a chip provided in the terminal device. The communication device includes: the communication interface is used for transmitting and receiving information or communicating with other devices; and a processor coupled with the communication interface. Optionally, the communication device may further comprise a memory for storing computer executable program code. Alternatively, the communication device may not include a memory, which may be external to the communication device. Wherein the program code stored by the memory comprises instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method of the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

Wherein, if the communication device is a terminal equipment, the communication interface may be a transceiver in the communication device, for example implemented by an antenna, a feeder, a codec, etc. in the communication device. Alternatively, if the communication means is a chip provided in the terminal device, the communication interface may be an input/output interface of the chip, such as an input/output pin or the like.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus. The communication device may be a network device designed in the above method. The communication device includes: the communication interface is used for transmitting and receiving information or communicating with other devices; and a processor coupled with the communication interface. Optionally, the communication device may further comprise a memory for storing computer executable program code. Alternatively, the communication device may not include a memory, which may be external to the communication device. Wherein the program code stored by the memory comprises instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method of the second aspect or any one of the possible embodiments of the second aspect.

If the communication device is an access network device such as a base station, the communication interface may be a transceiver in the access network device, for example, implemented by an antenna, a feeder line, a codec, and the like in the access network device. Alternatively, if the communication device is a chip provided in an access network device such as a base station, the communication interface may be an input/output interface of the chip, such as an input/output pin.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including: a network device, a terminal apparatus; the terminal device can implement all or part of the method steps of the terminal device in the technical scheme provided by the first aspect, and the network device can implement all or part of the method steps of the network device in the technical scheme provided by the second aspect.

In a tenth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored, and when the computer program runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method described in the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect, or when the computer program runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method described in the second aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the second aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application further provides a computer program product, where the computer program product includes a computer program that, when running on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method described in the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect, or that, when running on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method described in the second aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the second aspect.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a prior art application scenario;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a DFN for determining a current time by a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a DFN for determining a current time by a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a DFN for determining a current time by a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of another network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12-14 are schematic structural diagrams of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) mobile communication systems, evolved global radio access network (E-UTRAN) systems, next Generation radio access network (NG-RAN) systems, Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication systems, future Generation (5th rate, 5G) systems, such as new Generation radio access technology (NR), and future communication systems, such as 6G systems.

The service scenario (or application scenario) described in the embodiment of the present application is for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and does not form a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as a person having ordinary skill in the art knows, with the occurrence of a new service scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the word "exemplary" is used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or implementation described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or implementations. Rather, the term using examples is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.

Hereinafter, some terms in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

1) Terminal (terminal) comprising a device providing voice and/or data connectivity to a user, in particular comprising a device providing voice to a user, or comprising a device providing data connectivity to a user, or comprising a device providing voice and data connectivity to a user. For example, may include a handheld device having wireless connection capability, or a processing device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal may communicate with a core network via a Radio Access Network (RAN), exchange voice or data with the RAN, or interact with the RAN. The terminal may include a User Equipment (UE), a wireless terminal, a mobile terminal, a device-to-device communication (D2D) terminal, a vehicle-to-all (V2X) terminal, a machine-to-machine/machine-type communication (M2M/MTC) terminal, an internet of things (IoT) terminal, a subscriber unit (subscriber unit), a subscriber station (subscriber state), a mobile station (mobile state), a remote station (remote state), an access point (access point, AP), a remote terminal (remote terminal), an access terminal (access terminal), a user terminal (user terminal), a user agent (user agent), or a user equipment (user device), etc. For example, mobile telephones (or so-called "cellular" telephones), computers with mobile terminals, portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-included mobile devices, and the like may be included. For example, Personal Communication Service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and the like. Also included are constrained devices, such as devices that consume less power, or devices that have limited storage capabilities, or devices that have limited computing capabilities, etc. Examples of information sensing devices include bar codes, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), sensors, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), laser scanners, and the like.

By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal may also be a wearable device. Wearable equipment can also be called wearable smart device or intelligent wearable equipment etc. is the general term of using wearable technique to carry out intelligent design, develop the equipment that can dress to daily wearing, like glasses, gloves, wrist-watch, dress and shoes etc.. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the clothing or accessories of the user. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also realizes powerful functions through software support, data interaction and cloud interaction. The generalized wearable smart device includes full functionality, large size, and can implement full or partial functionality without relying on a smart phone, for example: smart watches or smart glasses and the like, and only focus on a certain type of application functions, and need to be used in cooperation with other devices such as smart phones, such as various smart bracelets, smart helmets, smart jewelry and the like for monitoring physical signs.

While the various terminals as described above may be considered to be vehicle mounted terminals, also referred to as e.g. on-board units (OBUs), if located on board the vehicle (e.g. placed in or mounted in the vehicle).

In this embodiment, the terminal may further include a relay (relay). Or, it is to be understood that all that can communicate data with the base station can be considered a terminal.

In the embodiment of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the terminal may be the terminal, or may be an apparatus capable of supporting the terminal to implement the function, such as a chip system, and the apparatus may be installed in the terminal. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system may be composed of a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices. In the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, a device for implementing a function of a terminal is taken as an example, and the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is described.

2) Network devices, including, for example, Access Network (AN) devices, such as base stations (e.g., access points), may refer to devices in AN access network that communicate with wireless terminals over one or more cells over AN air interface, or, for example, a network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology is a Road Side Unit (RSU). The base station may be configured to interconvert received air frames and IP packets as a router between the terminal and the rest of the access network, which may include an IP network. The RSU may be a fixed infrastructure entity supporting the V2X application and may exchange messages with other entities supporting the V2X application. The network device may also coordinate attribute management for the air interface. For example, the network device may include an evolved Node B (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system or an advanced long term evolution (LTE-a), or may also include a next generation Node B (gNB) in a New Radio (NR) system (also referred to as an NR system) of a fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G), or may also include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) in a Cloud RAN network (Cloud RAN) system, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

The network device may also include a core network device including, for example, an access and mobility management function (AMF), etc.

In the embodiment of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the network device may be a network device, or may be an apparatus capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, for example, a system on chip, and the apparatus may be installed in the network device. In the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, a device for implementing a function of a network device is taken as an example of a network device, and the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is described.

3) A user to network interface (Uu), referred to as Uu interface for short, defines a communication protocol between a terminal and a network device, and in a V2X scenario, the Uu interface is an interface between the terminal and the network device for wireless communication, the terminal accesses the network device through the Uu interface, and the Uu interface has main functions of broadcast, paging, and RRC connection.

4) Near field communication (PC), such as PC5, specifies a communication protocol between terminals, and in the V2X scenario, the PC5 interface is an interface between two V2X terminals for wireless communication, that is, in the V2X scenario, the terminals implement sidelink communication through the PC5 interface. Among them, the V2X terminal is a terminal having a V2X function.

5) The sidelink (sidelink) may also be referred to as a side link, a sidelink, or a secondary link (serving link, etc., and the name is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In the V2X scenario, the sidelink is a direct link connection between two V2X terminals. The two V2X terminals may establish a sidelink connection before data transmission of the sidelink. For example, the V2X terminal as the initiator sends a request for establishing a sidelink connection to the network device, and if the network device agrees to establish a sidelink connection with the V2X terminal, the network device sends configuration information for establishing a sidelink connection to the V2X terminal, and the V2X terminal establishes a sidelink connection with another V2X terminal according to the configuration information sent by the network device. The configuration information may include a frequency bandwidth, a radio frame used for performing sidelink communication, and the like.

6) The system frame number SFN is a radio frame for communication between the terminal and the network device, and specifically, the terminal implements synchronization with the network device based on the SFN and then communicates with the network device. Generally, a terminal in a coverage area of a network device (e.g., a base station) acquires a Synchronization Signal (SS) or a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) transmitted by the network device, and the terminal parses the SS or SSB to obtain an SFN and then communicates with the base station using the SFN.

7) The device-to-device frame number DFN is a timing frame acquired when the terminal uses GNSS grant. For example, the terminal acquires a GNSS signal including UTC, and the terminal may calculate a DFN based on the UTC and a predetermined formula, and then communicate with other terminals based on the DFN, and it should be understood that the other terminals also use a GNSS timing manner for timing. Wherein the preset formula will be described later.

8) The time unit, the time domain resource, includes one or more time units, and the time unit may be a radio frame, a subframe, a slot, a symbol, etc. One radio frame may include a plurality of subframes, one subframe may include one or more slots (slots), and one slot may include at least one symbol (symbol). For example, one radio frame is 10 milliseconds (ms), which includes 10 subframes, each subframe is 1ms, each subframe includes K slots, each slot is 1/K ms, and K is subcarrier spacing (subcarrier spacing)/15; each time slot includes one or more symbols. The time slots may have different time slot types, and the different time slot types include different numbers of symbols, such as a common time slot or a conventional time slot, a mini slot (mini slot), and the like. Wherein, the regular slot may contain 12 symbols (corresponding to regular cyclic prefix) or 14 symbols (corresponding to long cyclic prefix), etc.; a mini slot (mini slot) contains fewer symbols than a regular slot, e.g., a mini slot contains fewer than 7 symbols.

It should be noted that, time synchronization is required before two devices communicate, and in a communication system, time is represented in the form of radio frames, subframes, slots, symbols, and the like, so the time synchronization of the two devices may be radio frame synchronization, or subframe synchronization, slot synchronization, symbol synchronization, and the like. At present, in order to distinguish different times, the time is distinguished by using the frame number of the radio frame, the frame number of the sub-frame, the number of the time slot, etc., so, taking the radio frame synchronization as an example, the radio frame synchronization of two devices may be that the current time of the two devices is synchronous to the frame number of the radio frame, for example, the frame number of the radio frame corresponding to the current time of the sender is #0, and the frame number of the radio frame corresponding to the current time of the receiver is also # 0.

9) The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application may be used interchangeably. The "plurality" means two or more, and in view of this, the "plurality" may also be understood as "at least two" in the embodiments of the present application. "at least one" is to be understood as meaning one or more, for example one, two or more. For example, the inclusion of at least one means that one, two or more are included, and does not limit which is included. For example, at least one of A, B and C is included, then inclusion can be A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. Similarly, the understanding of the description of "at least one" and the like is similar. "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. In addition, the character "/" generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship, unless otherwise specified.

Unless stated to the contrary, the embodiments of the present application refer to the ordinal numbers "first", "second", etc., for distinguishing between a plurality of objects, and do not limit the sequence, timing, priority, or importance of the plurality of objects. For example, the first terminal and the second terminal are only for distinguishing different terminals, and the priority, the importance degree, and the like of the two terminals are not limited.

The existing synchronization mechanism is described below.

Taking fig. 1 as an example, for a terminal 1 in a coverage area of a base station, a synchronization signal is obtained from the base station, the synchronization signal carries an SFN, and the terminal 1 performs communication based on the SFN, where the terminal 1 performs communication with the base station based on the SFN, and the terminal 1 also performs sidelink communication with other terminals in the coverage area based on the SFN.

For the terminal 2 out of the coverage of the base station, the GNSS timing method, that is, the DFN method, may be used for synchronization. In such a scenario, the terminal 2 and the terminal 1 cannot normally perform the sidelink communication, and even if the terminal 2 is within the communication range of the terminal 1, the two cannot perform the sidelink communication. Because terminal 1 is based on SFN synchronization and terminal 2 is based on DFN synchronization. Therefore, in this scenario, the

terminals

1 and 2 cannot normally perform the sidelink communication.

For the terminal 2 out of the coverage of the base station, synchronization information may also be acquired from other terminals, and if other terminals also adopt the GNSS timing mode, the synchronization information acquired by the terminal 2 includes DFN, that is, the terminal 2 synchronizes based on the DFN mode. In this scenario, the terminal 2 and the terminal 1 cannot normally perform the sidelink communication. Because terminal 1 is based on SFN synchronization and terminal 2 is based on DFN synchronization. Therefore, in this scenario, the

terminals

1 and 2 cannot normally perform the sidelink communication.

Therefore, the network device according to the embodiment of the present application may configure the terminal device to perform the sidelink communication using the DFN, so as to ensure that the terminal device can perform the sidelink communication with other terminal devices within the communication range based on a unified synchronization method, thereby improving the communication efficiency.

It should be understood that the terminal devices described in the embodiments of the present application are synchronized in the same or uniform manner, which means that the terminal devices are synchronized to the same radio frame system, in other words, the frame number, subframe number, frame boundary, etc. determined by the terminal devices are synchronized.

The following describes application scenarios related to embodiments of the present application.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the application can be applied to a Vehicle-to-environment (V2X) scenario, wherein the V2X specifically includes four application scenarios, namely a Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V), a Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P), a Vehicle-to-roadside Infrastructure (V2I), and a Vehicle-to-Network (V2N). V2V refers to LTE-based inter-vehicle communication; V2P refers to LTE-based vehicle-to-person communication (including pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, or passengers); V2I refers to LTE-based vehicle to roadside device (RSU) communication, and V2N refers to LTE-based vehicle to base station/network communication.

Referring to fig. 2, a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown. The application scenario shown in fig. 2 is a V2N scenario, and the scenario includes a network device, a terminal 1, and a terminal 2. It should be noted that the network device in fig. 2 is, for example, an access network device, such as a base station. The access network device may correspond to different devices in different systems, for example, in the 4th generation (4G) system, the access network device may correspond to an eNB, and in the 5G system, the access network device in the 5G, for example, a gNB. The terminal in fig. 2 is an example of a vehicle-mounted terminal or a vehicle, but the terminal in the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

As shown in fig. 2, the terminal 2 is located outside the coverage of the base station, and the terminal 2 synchronizes with the GNSS time service, that is, the terminal 2 communicates with other terminals using DFN. The base station may configure the terminal 1 to perform the sidelink communication using the DFN, and specifically, the base station may transmit first information to the terminal 1, and the terminal 1 determines the DFN corresponding to the current time based on the first information, so the terminal 1 may perform the sidelink communication based on the DFN. Therefore, the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 can communicate based on the same synchronization method. Therefore, the communication method provided by the embodiment of the application can solve the problem that the terminal 1 in the coverage area of the base station and the terminal 2 outside the coverage area of the base station have different synchronization modes and cannot normally communicate. Specific implementation procedures will be described later.

As can be seen from the above description, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application unifies the synchronization modes of the terminals in different scenarios; the terminals in different scenes comprise a terminal 1 in the coverage area of the base station and a terminal 2 out of the coverage area. Specifically, the base station sends the first information for determining the DFN to the terminal 1, so that the terminal 1 can use the same synchronization method as the terminal 2 to solve the problem that the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 cannot normally communicate. Therefore, the communication method provided by the embodiment of the application can be applied to any scene in which the synchronization modes of the terminals in different scenes need to be unified. Wherein, the terminals under different scenes can be one in the coverage of the base station and one out of the coverage of the base station; or one is in the LTE system and the other is in the 5G system, and the LTE system and the 5G system have different synchronization modes for the terminals.

Of course, other scenarios than the above may also be applicable. For example, a terminal 1 within the coverage of a base station performs sidelink communication using DFN, and a terminal 2 outside the coverage of the base station can acquire a synchronization signal from the terminal 1 when GNSS timing cannot be realized, and the terminal 2 can acquire DFN when GNSS timing cannot be realized because the synchronization signal carries DFN. The "situation that GNSS timing cannot be implemented" may include that GNSS signals cannot be acquired, or the strength of the acquired GNSS signals is too small. That is to say, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application provides another synchronization method based on the DFN, which is different from the conventional GNSS timing method.

It should be noted that, as shown in fig. 2, the terminal 1 can communicate with the network device using the SFN, and communicate with other terminals using the DFN, and the terminal 1 has flexible synchronization mode, and can consider both the sidelink and the main link (i.e. the communication link between the terminal 1 and the network device).

Referring to fig. 3, a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown. The method may be applied to the application scenario shown in fig. 2, or any of the application scenarios mentioned above. The method comprises the following steps:

s301, the network device sends first indication information to the first terminal, where the first indication information is used to indicate the first terminal to perform the sidelink communication based on the DFN.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the first indication information may be from a network device or may be preconfigured. Therefore, S301 may not need to be performed, so S301 is indicated by a dotted line in fig. 3.

For example, SIB sent by the network device to the first terminal carries first indication information of 1bit (bit), and when the first indication information is set to 1, the first terminal is characterized to use SFN for sidelink communication, and when the first indication information is set to 0, the first terminal is characterized to use DFN for sidelink communication. For example, the first indication information may be an index (index). Illustratively, the first indication information may be carried in any type of SIB among SIB 1-SIBNs, such as SIB1, SIB16, and so on.

Wherein the pre-configuration may be that the first terminal uses DFN or SFN for sidelink communication by default. The pre-configuration may include OAM configuration or be preset in the terminal. For example, the provisioning information may be preset in a SIM card, the first terminal installs the SIM card, reads the provisioning information from the SIM card, and determines whether the first terminal uses DFN or SFN for the sidelink communication according to the provisioning information. For example, the preconfigured information includes an index of 1bit, when the index is set to 0, the first terminal determines to use the DFN for the sidelink communication according to the preconfigured information, and if the index is configured to 1, the first terminal determines to use the SFN for the sidelink communication according to the preconfigured information.

It should be noted that S301 may be periodically executed, that is, the network device periodically and actively sends the first indication information to the first terminal, or before the first terminal needs to perform the sidelink communication, the network device may send a request to the network device, and the network device sends the first indication information to the first terminal based on the request.

It should be noted that, before S301, the first terminal has not yet accessed the network device, for example, the first terminal receives a system message sent by the network device and then accesses the network device based on the system message. And carrying the first indication information in the system message. The first terminal accessing the network device may comprise first accessing the network device, or reconnecting to the network device. For example, when the terminal accesses the network device for the first time, the SIB sent by the network device may be acquired, where the SIB carries the first indication information; for another example, when the terminal reconnects to the network device, a reconnection response sent by the network device may be obtained, where the reconnection response carries the first indication information.

Another possible situation is that before S301, the first terminal has accessed to the network device, and in the process of the first terminal communicating with the network device, the first indication information sent by the network device is received, where the first indication information may be carried in any downlink data.

S302, the first terminal receives first information sent by the network equipment.

And S303, the first terminal determines a device-to-device frame number DFN corresponding to the current time according to the first information.

It should be noted that, in the foregoing, the first indication information may be carried in a first field of the SIB, and the first information may be carried in the first field, or carried in other fields of the SIB. For example, the first indication information may be carried in SIB1, and the first information may be carried in SIB 16.

In case 1, the first information carries a current GNSS-based time, which may be, for example, the current UTC.

Optionally, in this case, there may be at least two implementations of S304, and two possible implementations are listed below.

In the method 1, the first terminal may determine, according to the UTC and a preset formula, a DFN corresponding to the UTC, and when the first terminal performs sidelink communication at a certain time, may increase the number of corresponding subframes on the basis of the determined DFN, where the subframes obtained after the increase are the DFN corresponding to the certain time. Wherein, the preset formula can be as follows:

DFN＝floor(0.1*(Tcurrent-Tref-offsetDFN))mod 1024；

frame number (subframe number) floor (Tcurrent-Tref-offset dfn)) mod 10;

wherein Tcurrent is the current UTC carried in the first information, expressed in milliseconds. Tref is the reference UTC time, which is the greigan calendar time 1900-01-0100: 00:00, expressed in milliseconds. The offsetDFN is a configuration parameter that defaults to 0, expressed in milliseconds. Therefore, the starting time and the frame number of the DFN can be obtained by the above formula.

For example, referring to fig. 4, the current UTC carried in the first information is 00:00:10, the first terminal determines the starting time of the corresponding DFN as T1 according to the current UTC and the first preset formula, and then determines the frame number as subframe #1 according to the second formula, and then one subframe is obtained every 1ms from subframe # 1. Each subframe may be sequentially numbered. Since the number of each subsequent subframe is adjusted to the same number as that of the GNSS, the first terminal achieves synchronization by the DFN, and if the first terminal needs to perform sidelink communication at a certain time, the first terminal performs sidelink communication at a subframe corresponding to the time, for example, performs sidelink communication at subframe #3 shown in fig. 4.

In the mode 2, after receiving the first information and acquiring the current UTC in the first information, the first terminal may start timing based on the current UTC, and when the first terminal needs to perform sidelink communication at a certain time, the first terminal may determine a DFN corresponding to the certain time according to the timing based on the current UTC and the preset formula, and then perform sidelink communication using the DFN.

For example, referring to fig. 5, the current UTC carried in the first information is T1, and the first terminal performs timing based on T1. When the record is recorded to T2, the starting time and number of the DFN corresponding to T2 are calculated based on the recorded T2 and the preset formula. For example, referring to fig. 5, assuming that the starting time of the corresponding DFN calculated based on T2 is T3 and the frame number is subframe #1, every 1ms is a subframe from subframe # 1. Each subframe may be sequentially numbered.

It can be understood that, in the above mode 1, after the first terminal acquires the first information, the start time and the number of the DFN are determined according to the current UTC in the first information, and then frame synchronization is performed. In the method 2, after acquiring the first information, the first terminal does not perform frame synchronization temporarily, but counts a period of time based on the current UTC in the first information, and then determines the start time and the number of the DFN based on the current timing to perform frame synchronization.

In case 2, the first information includes a frame number offset, where the frame number offset is an offset between the DFN and the SFN corresponding to the current time.

A possible implementation manner is that after the network device obtains the current UTC, the network device may determine the starting time and the frame number of the corresponding DFN based on the current UTC and the preset formula, then determine the frame number of the SFN corresponding to the starting time, and then determine the frame number offset between the DFN and the SFN. Illustratively, referring to fig. 6, the network device determines, according to the UTC, that the starting time of the DFN is T1, the frame number of the DFN is #1, and the frame number of the corresponding SFN is # 3. The frame number offset between DFN and SFN is therefore delayed backwards by 2 frame numbers. When the first terminal needs to perform sidelink transmission at a certain moment, the SFN frame number corresponding to the moment can be determined, and then the DFN frame number corresponding to the moment is determined according to the SFN frame number and the frame number offset. For example, referring to fig. 6, if the first terminal determines that sidelink transmission is required on the SFN with frame number #4, sidelink communication is performed on the DFN with frame number # 2.

It can be understood that, in case 2, the first information carries a frame number offset between the DFN and the SFN, and after receiving the first information, the first terminal may directly perform frame synchronization according to the frame number offset, and the network device does not need to additionally send the current UTC, and the first terminal does not need to calculate a complex calculation to determine the DFN.

S304, the second terminal acquires a GNSS signal and calculates a DFN based on the current UTC in the GNSS signal.

It can be understood that the DFN frame synchronization is implemented by using GNSS timing for the second terminal out of the coverage of the network device. Specifically, the second terminal determines the DFN corresponding to the current time from the current UTC in the GNSS signal based on the current UTC and the preset formula, and for a specific implementation process, reference is made to the foregoing contents, which is not repeated herein.

S305, the first terminal performs the sidelink communication based on the DFN.

The present application does not limit the execution sequence between S304 and S301, S302, and S303.

In the above process, the first terminal is the DFN calculated by the current UTC sent by the network device. Therefore, the first terminal and the second terminal are synchronized in the same manner, and can perform sidelink communication.

In other embodiments, after a first terminal in the coverage of the network device is configured to perform sidelink communication using the DFN, the first terminal may transmit a synchronization signal to a second terminal out of the coverage of the network device, where the synchronization signal carries the DFN corresponding to the current time. In this way, the first terminal and the second terminal can also realize frame synchronization, thereby realizing communication. Referring to fig. 7, a schematic flow chart of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in fig. 7, the flow of the method includes:

s701, a first terminal receives first information sent by network equipment.

S702, the first terminal determines the DFN corresponding to the current time based on the first information.

The description of S701-S702 may refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3.

And S703, the second terminal receives the uplink synchronization signal block S-SSB of the sending side of the first terminal, wherein the S-SSB carries the DFN corresponding to the current time.

For example, the first terminal may periodically broadcast the S-SSB, where the S-SSB carries the DFN corresponding to the current time.

It should be noted that, for a second terminal outside the coverage of the network device, GNSS signal detection may be performed first, and when no GNSS signal is detected, or when the intensity of the GNSS signal is detected to be lower than a threshold, a synchronization signal or a synchronization signal block sent by another terminal may be received; of course, the second terminal may also detect the synchronization signal of another terminal first, and then perform GNSS detection, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

And S704, the first terminal and the second terminal perform sidelink communication based on the DFN corresponding to the current time.

Therefore, in the embodiment shown in fig. 7, a new synchronization manner is provided, that is, a terminal outside the coverage of the network device can obtain synchronization information from a terminal within the coverage of the network device, where the synchronization information carries a DFN corresponding to the current time; therefore, when the terminal out of the coverage area of the network device cannot acquire the GNSS signal or the acquired GNSS signal has low intensity, GNSS timing can be realized, and even the terminal does not need to acquire the GNSS signal, GNSS timing can be realized.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described above, and the communication apparatus provided by the embodiment of the present application will be described below.

Fig. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 800 according to an embodiment of the present application, where the communication device 800 may be the first terminal in the foregoing. As shown in fig. 8, the communication apparatus 800 includes:

a transceiving unit 810 for receiving first information from a network device;

a processing unit 812, configured to determine, according to the first information, a device-to-device frame number DFN corresponding to the current time;

the transceiver unit 810 is further configured to perform sidelink communication based on the DFN corresponding to the current time.

Optionally, the first information includes a current time based on a global navigation satellite system GNSS.

Optionally, the first information is carried in a system message block SIB.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 810 is further configured to: receiving first indication information from the network equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal device to perform side link communication based on the DFN.

Optionally, the first indication information is carried in a first field in a system message block SIB.

Optionally, the first information includes a frame number offset, where the frame number offset is an offset between the DFN at the current time and a system frame number SFN, and the SFN is a radio frame number used for communication between the terminal device and the network device.

Optionally, the processing unit 812 is specifically configured to: and determining the DFN corresponding to the current time based on the frame number offset and the SFN corresponding to the current time.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 810 is further configured to: and transmitting a sidelink synchronization signal block S-SSB at a first time, wherein the S-SSB comprises a DFN corresponding to the first time.

It should be understood that the processing unit 812 in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component, and the transceiver unit 810 may optionally include a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. For example, the transceiver unit 810 may be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuit components.

The communication apparatus 800 in the above embodiment may be a terminal device, or may be a chip applied to the terminal device, or other combined devices, components, and the like that can implement the above terminal function. When the apparatus is a terminal device, the transceiving unit may be a transceiver, and may include an antenna, a radio frequency circuit, and the like, and the processing unit may be a processor, for example: a Central Processing Unit (CPU). When the apparatus is a component having the functions of the terminal device, the transceiver unit may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing unit may be a processor. When the apparatus is a system on chip, the transceiving unit may be an input/output interface of the system on chip, and the processing unit may be a processor of the system on chip.

As shown in fig. 9, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus 900, where the communication apparatus 900 may be the first terminal in the foregoing. The communication device 900 comprises a processor 910, a memory 920 and a transceiver 930, wherein the memory 920 stores instructions or programs and the processor 910 is configured to execute the instructions or programs stored in the memory 920. When the instructions or programs stored in the memory 920 are executed, the processor 910 is configured to perform the operations performed by the processing unit 812 in the above embodiments, and the transceiver 930 is configured to perform the operations performed by the transceiver unit 810 in the above embodiments.

It should be understood that the communication apparatus 800 or the communication apparatus 900 according to the embodiment of the present application may correspond to the first terminal in the communication method shown in fig. 3 or fig. 7 according to the embodiment of the present application, and operations and/or functions of the respective modules in the communication apparatus 800 or the communication apparatus 900 are not repeated herein for brevity in order to implement the corresponding flows of the respective methods of the first terminal in fig. 3 or fig. 7, respectively.

Fig. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application, where the communication apparatus 1000 may be a network device in the foregoing. The communication apparatus 1000 includes:

a processing unit 1010, configured to determine first information, where the first information is used to determine a DFN corresponding to a current time, where the DFN corresponding to the current time is used for performing sidelink communication by a terminal device;

the transceiver unit 1012 is further configured to transmit the first information to the terminal device.

Optionally, the first information is carried in a system message block SIB.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 1012 is further configured to: and sending first indication information to the terminal device, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal device to perform side link communication based on the DFN.

Optionally, the first information includes a frame number offset, where the frame number offset is an offset between the DFN and a system frame number SFN at the current time, and the SFN is a radio frame number used for communication between the network device and the terminal apparatus.

It should be understood that the processing unit 1010 in the embodiment of the present application may be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component, and optionally, the transceiver unit 1012 may include a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. For example, the transceiving unit 1012 may be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuit components.

The communication apparatus 1000 in the above embodiments may be a network device, a chip applied to the network device, or other combined devices and components capable of implementing the functions of the network device. When the apparatus is a network device, the transceiver unit may be a transceiver, and may include an antenna, a radio frequency circuit, and the like, and the processing unit may be a processor, for example: a Central Processing Unit (CPU). When the apparatus is a component having the above-mentioned network device function, the transceiver unit may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing unit may be a processor. When the apparatus is a system on chip, the transceiving unit may be an input/output interface of the system on chip, and the processing unit may be a processor of the system on chip.

As shown in fig. 11, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus 1100, where the communication apparatus 1100 may be the network device in the foregoing. The communication device 1100 includes a processor 1110, a memory 1120, and a transceiver 1130, wherein the memory 1120 stores instructions or programs, and the processor 1110 is configured to execute the instructions or programs stored in the memory 1120. When the instructions or programs stored in the memory 1120 are executed, the processor 1110 may perform the operations performed by the processing unit 1010 in the above embodiments, and the transceiver 1130 may perform the operations performed by the transceiver 1012 in the above embodiments.

It should be understood that the communication apparatus 1000 or 1100 according to the embodiment of the present application may correspond to the network device in the communication method shown in fig. 3 or fig. 7 according to the embodiment of the present application, and operations and/or functions of each module in the communication apparatus 1000 or 1100 are not described herein again for brevity in order to implement the corresponding flow of each method of the network device in fig. 3 or fig. 7, respectively.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, where the computer program, when executed by a processor, can implement a flow related to a first terminal in a communication method provided in the foregoing method embodiments.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, where the computer program, when executed by a processor, can implement the process related to the network device in the communication method provided in the foregoing method embodiments.

When the terminal device is a terminal, fig. 12 shows a schematic configuration of a simplified terminal. For ease of understanding and illustration, in fig. 12, the terminal is exemplified by a mobile phone. As shown in fig. 12, the terminal includes a processor, a memory, a radio frequency circuit, an antenna, and an input-output device. The processor is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, controlling the terminal, executing software programs, processing data of the software programs and the like. The memory is used primarily for storing software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing the radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as touch screens, display screens, keyboards, etc., are mainly used for receiving data input by users and outputting data to the users. It should be noted that some kinds of terminals may not have input/output devices.

When data needs to be sent, the processor carries out baseband processing on the data to be sent and then outputs baseband signals to the radio frequency circuit, and the radio frequency circuit carries out radio frequency processing on the baseband signals and then sends the radio frequency signals to the outside in an electromagnetic wave mode through the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal, the radio frequency circuit receives radio frequency signals through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signals into baseband signals and outputs the baseband signals to the processor, and the processor converts the baseband signals into the data and processes the data. For ease of illustration, only one memory and processor are shown in FIG. 12. In an actual end product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. The memory may be provided independently of the processor, or may be integrated with the processor, which is not limited in this embodiment.

In the embodiment of the present application, the antenna and the radio frequency circuit having the transceiving function may be regarded as a transceiving unit of the terminal, and the processor having the processing function may be regarded as a processing unit of the terminal. As shown in fig. 12, the terminal includes a transceiving unit 1210 and a processing unit 1220. A transceiver unit may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiving device, etc. A processing unit may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, or the like. Optionally, a device in the transceiver unit 1210 for implementing a receiving function may be regarded as a receiving unit, and a device in the transceiver unit 1210 for implementing a transmitting function may be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the transceiver unit 1210 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. A transceiver unit may also sometimes be referred to as a transceiver, transceiving circuitry, or the like. A receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving circuit, or the like. A transmitting unit may also sometimes be referred to as a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

It should be understood that the transceiving unit 1210 is configured to perform the transmitting operation and the receiving operation on the terminal side in the above-described method embodiments, and the processing unit 1220 is configured to perform other operations on the terminal in the above-described method embodiments besides the transceiving operation.

For example, in one implementation, the transceiver unit 1210 is configured to perform step 301, step 302, step 305, and the like in fig. 3. Of course, the transceiver unit 1210 is further configured to perform other transceiving steps at the terminal side in the embodiment of the present application. The processing unit 1220 is configured to perform step 303 in fig. 3, and/or the processing unit 1220 is further configured to perform other processing steps at the terminal side in the embodiment of the present application.

For another example, in another implementation manner, the transceiver 1210 is configured to perform step 701, step 703, step 704, and the like in fig. 7. The transceiver unit 1210 is further configured to perform other transceiving steps at the terminal side in the embodiment of the present application. The processing unit 1220 is used for step 702 in fig. 7, or performing other processing steps at the terminal side in the embodiment of the present application.

When the terminal apparatus is a terminal, reference may be made to the apparatus shown in fig. 13. As an example, the device may perform functions similar to processor 910 of FIG. 9. In fig. 13, the apparatus includes a processor 1310, a transmit data processor 1320, and a receive data processor 1330. The processing unit 812 in the above embodiments may be the processor 1310 in fig. 13, and performs corresponding functions. The transceiver unit 1210 in the above embodiments may be the transmit data processor 1320 and/or the receive data processor 1330 in fig. 13. Although fig. 13 shows a channel encoder and a channel decoder, it is understood that these blocks are not limitative and only illustrative to the present embodiment.

Fig. 14 shows another form of the terminal of the present embodiment. The terminal 1400 includes modules such as a modulation subsystem, a central processing subsystem, and peripheral subsystems. The terminal in this embodiment may be a modulation subsystem therein. In particular, the modulation subsystem may include a processor 1403, an interface 1404. Wherein the processor 1403 completes the functions of the processing unit 812, and the interface 1404 completes the functions of the transceiver 810. As another variation, the modulation subsystem includes a memory 1406, a processor 1403, and a program stored on the memory 1406 and operable on the processor, and the processor 1403 when executing the program implements the method of the terminal in the above method embodiment. It should be noted that the memory 1406 may be non-volatile or volatile, and may be located within the modulation subsystem or within the processing device 1400, as long as the memory 1406 is connected to the processor 1403.

Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram of a network device 1500 according to an embodiment of the present application. The network device 1500 includes one or more radio frequency units, such as a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) 1510 and one or more baseband units (BBUs) (also referred to as digital units, DUs) 1520. The RRU 1510 may be referred to as a transceiver module, which corresponds to the transceiver unit 1012 in fig. 10, and optionally, the transceiver unit may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, which may include at least one antenna 1511 and a radio frequency unit 1512. The RRU 1510 is mainly used for transceiving radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals into baseband signals, for example, for sending indication information to a terminal. The BBU 1510 is mainly used for performing baseband processing, controlling a base station, and the like. The RRU 1510 and the BBU 1520 may be physically disposed together or may be physically disposed separately, i.e., distributed base stations.

The BBU 1520 is a control center of the base station, and may also be referred to as a processing module, and may correspond to the processing unit 1010 in fig. 10, and is mainly used for completing baseband processing functions, such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulating, spreading, and the like. For example, the BBU (processing module) may be configured to control the base station to perform an operation procedure related to the network device in the foregoing method embodiment, for example, to generate the foregoing indication information.

In an example, the BBU 1520 may be formed by one or more boards, and the boards may support a radio access network of a single access system (e.g., an LTE network) together, or may support radio access networks of different access systems (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks) respectively. The BBU 1520 also includes a memory 1521 and a processor 1522. The memory 1521 is used to store necessary instructions and data. The processor 1522 is configured to control the base station to perform necessary actions, for example, to control the base station to execute the operation flow related to the network device in the foregoing method embodiment. The memory 1521 and the processor 1522 may serve one or more boards. That is, the memory and processor may be provided separately on each board. Multiple boards may share the same memory and processor. In addition, each single board can be provided with necessary circuits.

It should be understood that the Processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present Application may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), and may also be other general purpose processors, Digital Signal Processors (DSP), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) or other Programmable logic devices, discrete Gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, and the like. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

It will also be appreciated that the memory referred to in the embodiments of the application may be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The non-volatile Memory may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable PROM (EEPROM), or a flash Memory. Volatile Memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache Memory. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static random access memory (Static RAM, SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic random access memory (Synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced Synchronous SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchronous link SDRAM (SLDRAM), and Direct Rambus RAM (DR RAM).

It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, the memory (memory module) is integrated in the processor.

It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

It should also be understood that reference herein to first, second, third, fourth, and various numerical designations is made only for ease of description and should not be used to limit the scope of the present application.

It should be understood that the term "and/or" herein is merely a kind of association relationship describing an associated object, and means that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the former and latter related objects are in an "or" relationship.

It should be understood that, in the various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not imply any order of execution, and the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Claims

A method of communication, the method comprising:

the terminal device receives first information from the network equipment;

the terminal device determines a device-to-Device Frame Number (DFN) corresponding to the current time according to the first information;

and the terminal device carries out side link communication based on the DFN corresponding to the current time.
The method of claim 1, wherein the first information comprises a current time based on a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).
The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first information is carried in a system message block, SIB.
The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the method further comprises:

the terminal device receives first indication information from the network equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal device to carry out side link communication based on DFN.
The method of claim 4, wherein the first indication information is carried in a first field in a system message block (SIB).
The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein the first information comprises a frame number offset, the frame number offset being an offset between the DFN and a system frame number, SFN, for communication between the terminal device and the network equipment at the current time.
The method of claim 6, wherein the determining, by the terminal device, the DFN corresponding to the current time according to the first information comprises:

and the terminal device determines the DFN corresponding to the current time based on the frame number offset and the SFN corresponding to the current time.
The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the method further comprises:

the terminal device sends a side-link synchronization signal block S-SSB at a first time, wherein the S-SSB comprises a DFN corresponding to the first time.
A method of communication, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that network equipment determines first information, wherein the first information is used for determining a device-to-Device Frame Number (DFN) corresponding to current time, and the DFN corresponding to the current time is used for a terminal device to carry out sidelink communication;

and the network equipment sends the first information to a terminal device.
The method of claim 9, wherein the first information comprises a current time based on a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).
The method of claim 9 or 10, wherein the first information is carried in a system message block, SIB.
The method of any of claims 9-11, wherein the method further comprises:

the network equipment sends first indication information to the terminal device, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal device to carry out side link communication based on DFN.
The method of claim 12, wherein the first indication information is carried in a first field in a system message block (SIB).
The method of any of claims 9-13, wherein the first information comprises a frame number offset, the frame number offset being an offset between the DFN at the current time and a system frame number, SFN, that is a radio frame number used for communication between the network equipment and the terminal device.
A communications apparatus, comprising:

a transceiving unit for receiving first information from a network device;

the processing unit is used for determining a device-to-device frame number DFN corresponding to the current time according to the first information;

the transceiver unit is further configured to perform sidelink communication based on the DFN corresponding to the current time.
The communications apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first information comprises a current time based on a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).
The communication apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the first information is carried in a system message block, SIB.
The communication apparatus according to any of claims 15-17, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to:

receiving first indication information from the network equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal device to perform side link communication based on the DFN.
The communications apparatus of claim 18, wherein the first indication information is carried in a first field in a system message block (SIB).
The communications apparatus of any of claims 15-19 wherein the first information comprises a frame number offset, the frame number offset being an offset between the DFN and a system frame number SFN at the current time, the SFN being a radio frame number used for communications between the terminal apparatus and the network device.
The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 20, wherein said processing unit is specifically configured to:

and determining the DFN corresponding to the current time based on the frame number offset and the SFN corresponding to the current time.
The communication apparatus according to any of claims 15-21, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to:

and transmitting a sidelink synchronization signal block S-SSB at a first time, wherein the S-SSB comprises a DFN corresponding to the first time.
A communications apparatus, comprising:

a processing unit, configured to determine first information, where the first information is used to determine a device-to-device frame number DFN corresponding to a current time, and the DFN corresponding to the current time is used for a terminal apparatus to perform sidelink communication;

and the transceiving unit is used for sending the first information to the terminal device.
The communications apparatus of claim 23, wherein the first information comprises a current time based on a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).
The communication apparatus according to claim 23 or 24, wherein the first information is carried in a system message block, SIB.
The communication device according to any of claims 23-25, wherein the transceiving unit is further configured to:

and sending first indication information to the terminal device, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the terminal device to perform side link communication based on the DFN.
The communications apparatus of claim 26, wherein the first indication information is carried in a first field in a system message block (SIB).
The communications apparatus of any of claims 23-27 wherein the first information comprises a frame number offset, the frame number offset being an offset between the DFN and a system frame number SFN at the current time, the SFN being a radio frame number used for communications between the network device and the terminal apparatus.
A computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 8.
A computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 9-14.