CN114762392B

CN114762392B - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN114762392B
Application number: CN201980102615.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 酉春华
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-12-30
Filing date: 2019-12-30
Publication date: 2024-05-03
Anticipated expiration: 2039-12-30
Also published as: CN114762392A; WO2021134151A1

Abstract

To improve transmission efficiency when configuring grants for transmission, a communication method is improved. In the method, the terminal receives a configuration parameter from the network device, wherein the configuration parameter is used for indicating the duration of a timer, and the duration of the timer is the minimum duration before the terminal expects to receive the downlink feedback information. The terminal performs configuration grant transmission on a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process, and the first timer of the first HARQ process is started by the configuration grant transmission, and the first timer has a timer duration indicated by a configuration parameter. Since the first timer of one HARQ process should be started by configuring grant transmission, after the minimum duration from the time when the uplink transmission to the time when the terminal expects to receive downlink feedback information, feedback for the configured grant transmission may only arrive, so if feedback of the HARQ process is received during the running period of the timer, the feedback is invalid, so that the terminal can determine whether the feedback is valid according to the feedback, thereby reducing the possibility of misjudgment of the feedback and improving communication efficiency.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communications method and apparatus using configuration authorization.

Background

In wireless communication technology, a terminal may transmit data to a network device through scheduled resources and non-scheduled resources. The scheduling resource may also be referred to as a scheduling grant or a dynamic grant (DYNAMIC GRANT, DG), and may be a resource allocated to the terminal by the network device when knowing that the terminal has a need to send data, for example, a resource allocated to the terminal by the network device at the request of the terminal, or a resource allocated to the terminal by the network device for retransmitting data when the terminal fails to transmit data. Non-scheduled resources, which may also be referred to as non-scheduled grants, configured resources or configured grants, are typically pre-configured by the network device to the terminal, and may be utilized for transmission when the terminal has data to transmit, without requiring a request to the network device to allocate resources to the terminal. Compared with scheduling resources, the non-scheduling resources can reduce interaction flow, so that scheduling time delay can be saved, and data transmission efficiency can be improved, and more applications are obtained.

When the terminal adopts the non-scheduling resource to send data to the network equipment, the non-scheduling resource and the associated hybrid automatic repeat request (hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ) information are provided to the HARQ entity so as to carry out uplink transmission on the corresponding HARQ process by adopting the non-scheduling resource. After the terminal sends the data and receives the feedback of the data, the terminal adopts the HARQ process to carry out the next transmission. If the feedback of the data is a negative acknowledgement (negative acknowledgement, NACK), the data is retransmitted. In the prior art, retransmission data is transmitted through resources scheduled by a network device, and as technology evolves, it is desirable that non-scheduled resources can also be used for retransmission. Therefore, there is a need to address the problems faced when non-scheduled resources are used for retransmissions.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method for improving transmission efficiency when configuration authorization is used for transmission.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, in which a terminal receives a configuration parameter from a network device, where the configuration parameter is used to indicate a timer duration, where the timer duration is a minimum duration before the terminal expects to receive downlink feedback information. The terminal performs configuration grant transmission on a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process, and the first timer of the first HARQ process is started by the configuration grant transmission, and the first timer has a timer duration indicated by a configuration parameter.

Correspondingly, the network device generates a configuration parameter and sends the configuration parameter to the terminal, wherein the configuration parameter is used for indicating the duration of a timer, and the duration of the timer is the minimum duration before the terminal expects to receive the downlink feedback information.

In the first aspect, the terminal may maintain, for a HARQ process used for configuration grant, a first timer having a duration that is a minimum duration before the terminal expects to receive downlink feedback information, and start the first timer when configuration grant transmission is performed on the HARQ process. Since the first timer should be started by configuring grant transmission, after the minimum duration from the uplink transmission to the time when the terminal expects to receive downlink feedback information, feedback for the configured grant transmission (i.e. feedback of the HARQ process) may only arrive, so if feedback of the HARQ process is received during the running period of the timer, the feedback is invalid, so that the terminal can determine whether the feedback is valid according to the feedback, thereby reducing possibility of misjudgment of the feedback and improving communication efficiency.

In the method provided in the first aspect, the terminal may further start a second timer of the first HARQ process when the first timer expires, wherein a duration of the second timer is configured by the network device. During the second timer running, the terminal will not automatically perform the configuration grant retransmission on the first HARQ process.

In the method provided in the first aspect, the terminal should configure the grant transmission, and may stop or not start the second timer of the first HARQ process.

In the method provided in the first aspect, if the terminal receives downlink feedback information, the downlink feedback information includes feedback of the first HARQ process; the terminal determines that the feedback of the first HARQ process is valid when the downlink feedback information is received during the running of the second timer of the first HARQ process; or when the downlink feedback information is received during the period that the second timer of the first HARQ process is not running, the terminal determines that the feedback of the first HARQ process is invalid or ignores the feedback of the first HARQ process.

Further, when the feedback of the first HARQ process is valid and is an Acknowledgement (ACK), the terminal may stop the third timer, wherein the third timer should be started by the uplink initial transmission of the first HARQ process. The duration of the third timer is configured by the network device. And when the third timer runs, the terminal does not perform configuration grant initial transmission on the first HARQ process.

In the method provided in the first aspect, the terminal should configure grant transmission, start the second timer of the first HARQ process, and stop the second timer of the first HARQ process when the first timer stops running. Wherein the duration of the second timer is configured by the network device. During the second timer running, the terminal will not automatically perform the configuration grant retransmission on the first HARQ process.

In the method provided in the first aspect, if the terminal receives downlink feedback information, the downlink feedback information includes feedback of the first HARQ process; then, when the downlink feedback information is received during the period that the first timer of the first HARQ process is not running, the terminal determines that the feedback of the first HARQ process is valid; or when the downlink feedback information is received during the first timer running of the first HARQ process, the terminal determines that the feedback of the first HARQ process is invalid or ignores the feedback of the first HARQ process.

Further, when the feedback of the first HARQ process is valid and is ACK, the terminal may stop the third timer, where the third timer should be started by the uplink initial transmission of the first HARQ process. The duration of the third timer is configured by the network device. And when the third timer runs, the terminal does not perform configuration grant initial transmission on the first HARQ process.

In the method provided in the first aspect, the terminal may stop the first timer and/or the second timer of the first HARQ process in any of the following cases:

receiving a deactivation command, wherein the deactivation command is used for deactivating configuration authorization;

reception of a scheduling grant for a first HARQ process;

The third timer of the first HARQ process expires, wherein the third timer should be started for an uplink initial transmission of the first HARQ process.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, including: the terminal receives an activation or deactivation signaling from the network device, wherein the activation or deactivation signaling is used for indicating activation or deactivation of a configuration grant, and the configuration grant is used for the HARQ process; and the reception of the signaling should be activated or deactivated, stopping the timer of the first HARQ process in an operating state, wherein the last transmission of the first HARQ process is a transmission authorized with the configuration.

In the method provided in the second aspect, when the configuration grant is activated or deactivated, if there is a running timer on the HARQ process for which the configuration grant is intended, the running timer is stopped. In this way, the HARQ process can be used for the next configuration grant transmission as soon as possible without waiting for the timer to run to stop, so that the transmission efficiency can be improved.

In the method provided in the second aspect, the timer in the running state includes at least one of the following timers:

A first timer that grants transmission start in response to configuration of the first HARQ process;

A second timer that is started by a configuration grant transmission of the first HARQ process or when the first timer expires;

And the third timer is started by the uplink initial transmission of the first HARQ process.

In the method provided in the second aspect, the terminal may further empty the buffer of the first HARQ process. Thus, preparation can be made for next configuration authorization transmission, and transmission of useless data is reduced, so that transmission efficiency is improved.

In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, including: the terminal sends first uplink data to the network equipment on a first HARQ process by using scheduling grant, and receives feedback information indicating that the first uplink data is correctly received from the network equipment; and the terminal sends the second uplink data on the first HARQ process by using the configuration grant.

In the method provided in the third aspect, after the initial transmission is performed by using the scheduling grant and the transmission is successful, the terminal can start the next transmission on the same HARQ process as soon as possible by using the configuration grant, regardless of whether the configuration grant timer is in an operating state, so that the data transmission efficiency is improved.

In the method provided in the third aspect, the terminal may determine that when a New Data Indication (NDI) corresponding to the first HARQ process is inverted, send the second uplink data on the first HARQ process using the configuration grant.

In the method provided in the third aspect, the terminal may stop the configuration grant timer of the first HARQ process in response to receiving feedback information indicating that the first uplink data is correctly received.

The method of the above aspects involves the activation or deactivation of a configuration grant, which is a type 2 configuration grant. The configuration grant may be other types of configuration grants as well, when other types of configuration grants may be activated or deactivated.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a communications apparatus comprising means for performing the steps of any of the above aspects.

In a fifth aspect, a communications device is provided, comprising a processor and interface circuitry, the processor being configured to communicate with other devices via the interface circuitry and to perform the method provided by any one of the implementations of the above aspects. The processor includes one or more.

In a sixth aspect, a communications apparatus is provided that includes a processor configured to invoke a program stored in a memory to perform a method provided by any of the implementations of the above aspects. The memory may be located within the device or may be located external to the device. And the processor includes one or more.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer program which, when invoked by a processor, performs the method provided by any one of the implementations of the above aspects.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium comprising a program which, when invoked by a processor, performs the method provided by any one of the implementations of the above aspects.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another network architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an HARQ feedback scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a scenario of repetition transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of another HARQ feedback scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of another HARQ feedback scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of yet another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

fig. 14 is a schematic diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic diagram of yet another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The described embodiments are only some, but not all, embodiments of the application. Based on the embodiments of the present application, other embodiments that may be obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without making any inventive effort are within the scope of the present application.

In the embodiments of the present application:

a terminal, also called a User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Terminal (MT), or the like, is a device that provides data connectivity to a user, for example, a handheld device or a vehicle-mounted device with a wireless connection function. Currently, examples of terminals are: a mobile phone), a tablet, a notebook, a palm, a mobile internet device (mobile INTERNET DEVICE, MID), a wearable device, a Virtual Reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in unmanned (SELF DRIVING), a wireless terminal in teleoperation (remote medical surgery), a wireless terminal in smart grid (SMART GRID), a wireless terminal in transportation security (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (SMART CITY), or a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), and the like.

A network device is a device in a wireless network, such as a RAN node that accesses a terminal to the wireless network. Currently, examples of RAN nodes are: a gNB, a transmission reception point (transmission reception point, TRP), an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (radio network controller, RNC), a Node B (Node B, NB), a base station controller (base station controller, BSC), a base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS), a home base station (e.g., home eNodeB, or home Node B), a baseband unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (WIRELESSFIDELITY, wi-Fi) Access Point (AP), etc. In one network architecture, the network device may be a centralized unit (centralized unit, CU) node, or a Distributed Unit (DU) node, or a RAN device including a CU node and a DU node.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the application. As shown in fig. 1, the terminal 130 accesses a wireless network to acquire a service of an external network (e.g., the internet) through the wireless network or to communicate with other terminals through the wireless network. The wireless network includes a radio access network (radio access network, RAN) 110 and a Core Network (CN) 120, wherein RAN110 is configured to access terminal 130 to the wireless network, and CN120 is configured to manage the terminal and provide a gateway for communication with an external network.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture according to an embodiment of the application. As shown in fig. 2, the network architecture includes a CN device and a RAN device. The RAN device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device, where the baseband device may be implemented by one node, or may be implemented by multiple nodes, and the radio frequency device may be implemented independently from the baseband device, or may be integrated into the baseband device, or a part of the radio frequency device may be integrated into the baseband device. For example, the radio frequency device comprises a remote radio unit (remote radio unit, RRU), the baseband device comprises a BBU, and the RRU is remotely arranged with respect to the BBU.

The communication between the RAN device and the terminal follows a certain protocol layer structure. For example, the control plane protocol layer structure may include functions of protocol layers such as a radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) layer, a packet data convergence layer protocol (PACKET DATA convergence protocol, PDCP) layer, a radio link control (radio link control, RLC) layer, a medium access control (MEDIA ACCESS control, MAC) layer, and a physical layer. The user plane protocol layer structure may include the functions of protocol layers such as PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, and physical layer; in one implementation, a service data adaptation (SERVICE DATA adaptation protocol, SDAP) layer may also be included above the PDCP layer.

The functions of these protocol layers may be implemented by one node, or may be implemented by a plurality of nodes; for example, in one evolution architecture, a RAN device may include a centralized unit (centralized unit, CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU), and multiple DUs may be centrally controlled by one CU. As shown in fig. 2, a CU and a DU may be divided according to protocol layers of a wireless network, for example, functions of a PDCP layer and above are set at the CU, and functions of protocol layers below the PDCP layer, for example, functions of an RLC layer and a MAC layer, etc. are set at the DU.

The division of the protocol layer is merely an example, and other protocol layers may be divided, for example, division in the RLC layer, where functions of the RLC layer and above are set in the CU, and functions of the protocol layer below the RLC layer are set in the DU; or divided in a certain protocol layer, for example, a part of functions of the RLC layer and functions of protocol layers above the RLC layer are set at CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and functions of protocol layers below the RLC layer are set at DU. In addition, the functions that require processing time to meet the latency requirement may be set in the DU and the functions that do not require processing time to meet the latency requirement may be set in the CU in other manners, such as time-lapse partitioning.

In addition, the rf device may be remote, not placed in the DU, or may be integrated in the DU, or a portion of the remote may be integrated in the DU, without any limitation.

With continued reference to fig. 3, with respect to the architecture shown in fig. 2, the Control Plane (CP) and the User Plane (UP) of the CU may also be implemented by separating the control plane CU entity (CU-CP entity) and the user plane CU entity (CU-UP entity), respectively.

In the above network architecture, the signaling generated by the CU may be transmitted to the terminal through the DU, or the signaling generated by the terminal may be transmitted to the CU through the DU. The DU may be passed through to the terminal or CU directly through the protocol layer encapsulation without parsing the signaling. In the following embodiments, transmission or reception of signaling by a DU includes such a scenario if such signaling is involved in the transmission between the DU and the terminal. For example, the signaling of the RRC or PDCP layer is eventually processed as the signaling of the PHY layer to be transmitted to the terminal or converted from the received signaling of the PHY layer. Under this architecture, the signaling of the RRC or PDCP layer can be considered as being sent either by the DU or by the DU and radio frequency.

In the above embodiments, the CU is divided into network devices on the RAN side, and in addition, the CU may be divided into network devices on the CN side, which is not limited herein.

The apparatus in the following embodiments of the present application may be located in a terminal or a network device according to the functions implemented by the apparatus. When the above CU-DU structure is adopted, the network device may be a CU node, or a DU node, or a RAN device including the CU node and the DU node.

The terminal may send data to the network device via the scheduled resources and the non-scheduled resources. The scheduling resource may also be called as a scheduling grant, and may be a resource allocated to the terminal by the network device when knowing that the terminal has a need to send data, for example, a resource allocated to the terminal at the request of the terminal, or a resource allocated to the terminal by the network device for retransmitting data when the terminal fails to transmit data. Taking the resource allocated for the terminal at the request of the terminal as an example, the terminal sends a scheduling request to the network equipment, and the network equipment should allocate the resource for the terminal at the scheduling request so as to enable the terminal to perform uplink transmission; in addition, the terminal may send a buffer status report (buffer status report, BSR) to the network device, from which the network device allocates resources for the terminal for uplink transmission by the terminal. Non-scheduled resources, which may also be referred to as non-scheduled grants, configured resources or configured grants, are typically pre-configured by the network device to the terminal, and may be utilized for transmission when the terminal has data to transmit, without requiring a request to the network device to allocate resources to the terminal. Compared with scheduling resources, the non-scheduling resources can reduce interaction flow, so that scheduling time delay can be saved, and data transmission efficiency can be improved. Non-scheduled resources are hereinafter referred to as configuration grants.

The configuration grant is typically a periodic resource that is configured to the terminal by the network device. Currently, there are two types of configuration grants (configured grant), type i configuration grant (configured GRANT TYPE 1) and type 2 configuration grant (configured GRANT TYPE 2), respectively. The network device may configure the configuration grant to the terminal through higher layer signaling, e.g., by sending parameters of the configuration grant to the terminal through a radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) message. For the type 1 configuration authorization, after the parameter of the type 1 configuration authorization is configured to the terminal through the RRC message, the terminal can use the type 1 configuration authorization; for the type 2 configuration authorization, the parameters of the partial configuration authorization are configured to the terminal through the RRC message, and the terminal can use the type 2 configuration authorization after receiving other parameters in the physical layer signaling, namely the type 2 configuration authorization can be used by the terminal after being activated through the physical layer signaling. In addition, type 2 configuration authorization is deactivated by physical layer signaling.

This configuration grant is used for uplink transmission and thus may be referred to as a configuration uplink grant.

In one example, the configuration message of the configuration grant is an RRC message that includes a cell ConfiguredGrantConfig, and the cell ConfiguredGrantConfig includes parameters of the configuration grant, i.e., parameters for uplink transmission using the configuration grant. For both type 1 and type 2 configuration grants, the cell ConfiguredGrantConfig may include parameters such as period and number of HARQ processes, and may also include other parameters such as power control, number of repetitions (repK), and redundancy version of repetition (repK-RV). In addition, for type 1 configuration grants, the cell also includes parameters such as time domain resources, frequency domain resources, and modulation and coding scheme (modulation and coding scheme, MCS); for type 2 configuration grant, the cell does not configure parameters such as frequency domain resource and MCS, and the parameters are sent to the terminal through downlink control information (downlink control information, DCI), and the terminal can use the type 2 configuration grant after receiving the DCI.

The network device may configure the terminal with the HARQ process for configuring grants, i.e. the HARQ process for which the configuration grant is applicable (without limiting whether the HARQ process may use scheduling grants) and also configure the terminal with a timer parameter (which may be referred to as timer parameter P1) according to which the terminal maintains a timer (which may be referred to as timer T1) for each configured HARQ process. This timer parameter P1 is for example referred to as configuredGrantTimer, which indicates the duration of the timer T1 maintained by the terminal for each HARQ process; this timer T1 is called, for example, a configuration grant timer (configured GRANT TIMER), the time of which is determined by the timer parameter P1. And the terminal does not use the configuration grant to perform initial transmission on the HARQ process during the running period of the timer T1 of the HARQ process, namely, the terminal can use the configuration grant to perform initial transmission on the HARQ process when the timer is not running.

When the terminal adopts the non-scheduling resource to send data to the network equipment, the non-scheduling resource and the associated hybrid automatic repeat request (hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ) information are provided to the HARQ entity so as to carry out uplink transmission on the corresponding HARQ process by adopting the non-scheduling resource. After the terminal sends the data and receives the HARQ feedback of the data, the terminal adopts the HARQ process to carry out the next transmission. If the HARQ feedback of the data is NACK, the data is retransmitted.

Configuration grants are initially used for new transmissions and not for retransmissions, but as technology evolves, it is desirable that configuration grants can also be used for retransmissions. For example, in the case of limited spectrum resources, unlicensed spectrum (or referred to as shared spectrum) is introduced to improve data throughput. Unlicensed spectrum, as a shared spectrum resource, may be used for multiple air interface technologies, such as part or all of the following: wiFi, unlicensed spectrum new wireless operation (new radio operating in unlicensed spectrum, NR-U), LTE licensed assisted access (LICENSED ASSISTED ACCESS, LAA), and MuLTEfire. In order to allow different air interface technologies to coexist on unlicensed spectrum, a listen before talk (listen before talk, LBT) mechanism is introduced, i.e. a terminal performs a channel access procedure before performing data transmission, if the channel access procedure passes (LBT is successful), data transmission can be performed, and if the channel access procedure does not pass (LBT fails), data transmission cannot be performed. When the LBT failure causes data to be unable to be transmitted, the terminal may continue to transmit the data using the configuration grant. When LBT is successful, the terminal transmits data, the network device sends HARQ feedback to the terminal according to the receiving condition of the data, and when the network device successfully receives the data, the HARQ feedback is Acknowledgement (ACK); when the network device fails to receive the data, the HARQ feedback is NACK, and at this time, the terminal may use the configuration grant to retransmit. The channel access procedure is a clear channel assessment (CLEAR CHANNEL ASSESSMENT, CCA) procedure, and may determine that the channel is clear or busy based on a fixed duration or based on energy detection by a backoff mechanism, and perform data transmission when the channel is determined to be clear.

When the grant is configured for retransmission, for the configured HARQ process, the network device may feedback the transmission state of the data on the HARQ process through DCI, i.e. send the HARQ feedback. The network device may configure the terminal with a plurality of HARQ processes for configuring grant, and in order to save air interface overhead, HARQ feedback (abbreviated as feedback) of the HARQ processes may be sent in the form of a bitmap (bitmap). For example, the network device configures HARQ processes 1-4 for configuration grants, the feedback of these HARQ processes being carried in DCI comprising downlink feedback information (downlink feedback information, DFI) comprising HARQ feedback information comprising feedback of HARQ processes 1-4 and being presented in the form of a HARQ bitmap. The HARQ bitmap includes a plurality of bits, each bit corresponding to one HARQ process, where the bit value is used to indicate feedback of the corresponding HARQ process, for example, the bit value is 1, indicating that feedback of the corresponding HARQ process is ACK, the bit value is 0, indicating that feedback of the corresponding HARQ process is NACK; otherwise, the bit value is 1, which indicates that the feedback of the corresponding HARQ process is NACK, and the bit value is 0, which indicates that the feedback of the corresponding HARQ process is ACK. Taking the network device configuration of 4 HARQ processes as an example, assuming that the HARQ bitmap is 1101, it indicates that feedback of HARQ process 1 is ACK, feedback of HARQ process 2 is ACK, feedback of HARQ process 3 is NACK, and feedback of HARQ process 4 is ACK. Other information may also be included in the DFI, such as one or more of the following: the present application does not limit information other than HARQ feedback information, such as uplink or downlink flags, carrier indication field (for cross-carrier scheduling), and transmission power control (transmit power control, TPC) commands.

In addition, for HARQ processes configured by the network device for configuring grants, the network device may also configure another timer parameter (referred to as timer parameter P2 with respect to the above timer parameter P1) for the terminal, and the terminal maintains one timer (referred to as timer T2 with respect to the above timer T1) for each configured HARQ process for configuring grants. The timer parameter P2 is for example referred to as cg-RetransmissionTimer, which indicates the duration of the timer T2 maintained by the terminal for each HARQ process; the timer T2 is called, for example, a configured grant weight timer (CG retransmission Timer, CGR timer), the time length of which is determined according to the timer parameter P2. And the terminal does not automatically use the configuration grant to retransmit in the HARQ process during the running period of the timer T2 of the HARQ process, i.e. the terminal can automatically use the configuration grant to retransmit in the HARQ process when the timer is not running.

The timer T1 is used to limit new transmissions on the corresponding HARQ process, and the timer T2 is used to limit retransmissions on the corresponding HARQ process, where new transmissions and retransmissions refer to new transmissions and retransmissions with configuration grants, that is, the timer T1 and the timer T2 do not limit the use of scheduling grants on the corresponding HARQ process. Furthermore, for one HARQ process, it may be configured for configuration grant, i.e. a configuration grant transmission may be performed on the HARQ process, which may include a configuration grant new transmission or retransmission, or may include a configuration grant new transmission and retransmission, which refers to a transmission performed with the configuration grant. Thus, the terminal may maintain the timer T1 and/or the timer T2 for one configured HARQ process.

The timer T1 on one HARQ process should be started by a new transmission on the HARQ process, i.e. when the terminal performs a new transmission on the HARQ process, the new transmission may include configuration grant new transmission or may include scheduling grant new transmission, i.e. new transmission performed by using the scheduling grant. The timer T2 on one HARQ process should be started or restarted by a new transmission of configuration grant on the HARQ process, or should be started or restarted by a retransmission of configuration grant on the HARQ process; that is, when the terminal performs configuration grant new transmission or retransmission on the HARQ process, the timer T2 of the HARQ process is started or restarted, and during the running period of the timer T2, the terminal expects to receive feedback of the HARQ process sent by the network device, or expects to receive scheduling grant for new transmission or retransmission sent by the network device. And stopping the timer T2 when the terminal receives that the feedback of the HARQ process sent by the network equipment is ACK.

The terminal sends data to the network equipment through configuration authorization, the data can reach the network equipment after a certain transmission delay, the network equipment receives the data and tries to decode the data, and if the decoding is correct, the network equipment correctly receives the data and generates feedback ACK; if the decoding is wrong, the network equipment does not correctly receive the data and generates feedback NACK, and the process needs a certain processing time delay, and sends the feedback ACK or NACK to the terminal and also needs a certain transmission time delay. In the above processing procedure, the influence of the transmission delay and the processing delay is not considered, so that the terminal may receive the wrong HARQ feedback, and further perform subsequent processing according to the wrong HARQ feedback, thereby reducing the transmission efficiency.

For example, please refer to fig. 4, which is a schematic diagram of an HARQ feedback scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 4, the network device configures the terminal to transmit on HARQ process 1 and HARQ process 2 using the configuration grant, and in slot (slot) 0, the terminal transmits first data on HARQ process 1 using the configuration grant, and starts the CGR timer of HARQ process 1; then at slot 2, a second data is sent on HARQ process 2 with a configuration grant and the CGR timer for HARQ process 2 is started. And in slot 3, the terminal receives the HARQ feedback information. The HARQ feedback information is presented in the form of the bitmap described above, including the corresponding bits of HARQ process 1 and HARQ process 2 (bits of other HARQ processes may also be included, for convenience of description, only HARQ process 1 and HARQ process 2 are taken as an example here). The feedback on each HARQ process should not reach the terminal until after the total delay of the transmission delay and the processing delay, which is denoted T, considering the transmission delay and the processing delay of the network device. As shown, the network device originally transmits DFI for feedback of HARQ process 1, but there are bits of HARQ process 2 in DFI, so that feedback of HARQ process 2 is resolved by the terminal, and feedback of HARQ process 2 is practically invalid, and subsequent operations performed by the terminal according to the invalid feedback may result in a decrease in transmission efficiency, for example, a transmission error or a transmission resource waste. For example, when the terminal analyzes that the feedback of HARQ process 2 is ACK, and in fact, the data on HARQ process 2 is not correctly received by the network device, this data may be lost; when the terminal resolves the feedback of HARQ process 2 to NACK, and in fact the data on HARQ process 2 is correctly received by the network device, the terminal performs unnecessary retransmissions.

In view of the above, the embodiments of the present application maintain a timer (referred to as timer T3 with respect to the above timers T1 and T2) for the HARQ process configured by the network device for configuring grants. The duration of the timer T3 is the minimum duration before the terminal expects to receive the downlink feedback information. The timer for one HARQ process should be started by a configuration grant transmission on the HARQ process. During the operation of the timer T3, feedback of the HARQ process received by the terminal is invalid; or during the period that the timer T3 is not running, the feedback of the HARQ process received by the terminal may be valid; or the timer T3 is used to influence the starting of the above timer T2 so that the feedback of the HARQ process received by the terminal is valid during the running period of the timer T2.

The following description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings:

please refer to fig. 5, which is a schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 5, the method includes:

s510: the network device generates a configuration parameter (hereinafter referred to as a first configuration parameter) and transmits the first configuration parameter to the terminal; accordingly, the terminal receives the first configuration parameter from the network device. The first configuration parameter is used for indicating a timer duration (hereinafter referred to as a first timer duration), where the first timer duration is a minimum duration before the terminal expects to receive downlink feedback information;

S520: the terminal performs configuration grant transmission on the first HARQ process, namely, the terminal uses the configuration grant to perform uplink transmission on the first HARQ process, namely, the terminal uses the configuration grant to send data to the network equipment on the first HARQ process; the configuration grant transmission includes a configuration grant new or configuration grant retransmission.

Correspondingly, the network equipment receives the data sent by the terminal. Further, the network device generates feedback of the first HARQ process according to the decoding condition of the data, and sends the feedback of the first HARQ process to the terminal, for example, the data is decoded correctly, and feedback ACK is generated, otherwise, feedback NACK is generated.

S530: the terminal should start the first timer (timer T3) of the first HARQ process with the above configuration grant transmission. That is, when the terminal adopts configuration grant for uplink transmission on the first HARQ process, the first timer is started. The first timer has a timer duration indicated by the first configuration parameter above.

During the timer running, the terminal may receive downlink feedback information, where the downlink feedback information includes HARQ feedback of multiple HARQ processes, and HARQ feedback for the first HARQ process should be invalid. As to whether the HARQ feedback of the other HARQ processes is valid, it is determined according to the operation condition of their respective first timers. The terminal may not receive the downlink feedback information during the running period of the timer, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

It can be seen that, in the above embodiment, the terminal maintains, for the HARQ process used for configuration grant, a first timer whose duration is the minimum duration before the terminal expects to receive the downlink feedback information, and starts the first timer when the configuration grant transmission is performed on the HARQ process. Since the first timer should be started by configuring grant transmission, after the minimum duration from the uplink transmission to the time when the terminal expects to receive downlink feedback information, feedback for the configured grant transmission (i.e. feedback of the HARQ process) may only arrive, so if feedback of the HARQ process is received during the running period of the timer, the feedback is invalid, so that the terminal can determine whether the feedback is valid according to the feedback, thereby reducing possibility of misjudgment of the feedback and improving communication efficiency.

In the above step S510, the first configuration parameter may be transmitted to the terminal through an RRC message. Optionally, the RRC message includes a cell ConfiguredGrantConfig, and the cell ConfiguredGrantConfig includes a first configuration parameter in addition to the parameters of the configuration grant. Namely, the network device carries the first configuration parameter in the configuration cell of the configuration authorization, namely, the configuration authorization and the configuration of the first timer are completed at the same time, and signaling is saved. An example of a cell ConfiguredGrantConfig is given below. Wherein cg-RTT-Timer is a first configuration parameter.

ConfiguredGrantConfig information element

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The above is only an example, alternatively, the first configuration parameter and the configuration grant parameter may be sent via different configuration messages.

In the above step S520, before performing configuration grant transmission, the terminal may determine one HARQ process, i.e., the first HARQ process, from HARQ processes configured by the network device, for the current uplink transmission. For example, the network device configures 4 HARQ processes for the terminal so that the terminal can use the configuration grant for uplink transmission in HARQ processes 0-3. The HARQ process configured by the network device is referred to as a HARQ process resource pool. Before transmitting with the configuration grant, the terminal selects one HARQ process (e.g., HARQ process 1) from the HARQ process resource pool as the first HARQ process for the present transmission.

The first timer may be referred to as a Round Trip Time (RTT) -timer (cg-RTT-timer), which is the minimum duration before the terminal expects to receive the downlink feedback information, and in particular, may be the minimum duration before the MAC entity of the terminal expects to receive the downlink feedback information. In other words, the first timer period is a time from when the terminal transmits data to when HARQ feedback of the data can be received earliest. The duration of the first timer, which may also be referred to as a configuration grant-round trip time (cg-RTT), may be determined based on a transmission delay, which includes a transmission delay for the terminal to send data to the network device and a transmission delay for the network device to send feedback of the data, and a processing delay, which includes a delay for the network device from receiving the data to generating the feedback of the data. The above designations are by way of example only and are not intended to limit the first timer.

In addition, the downlink feedback information in the minimum period before the terminal expects to receive the downlink feedback information refers to the downlink feedback of the uplink transmission on which HARQ process is not specified, for example, the feedback for configuring the grant transmission in step S520 is not specified.

In the above step S530, the terminal maintains a first timer for the HARQ process configured for configuration grant for each network device. The network device may configure only one first configuration parameter, according to which the terminal independently maintains a first timer of the same duration for each HARQ process used for configuration grant, and starting the first timer of each HARQ process is performed independently, for example, starting in response to configuration grant transmission on each HARQ process, so that each HARQ process will not incorrectly treat feedback of the HARQ process received during the running period of the first timer as valid feedback, thereby reducing the possibility of feedback misjudgment. In addition, under the condition of configuring a plurality of HARQ processes for configuring the authorization, the configuration of the first timers of all the HARQ processes is realized through one configuration parameter, so that air interface resources can be saved, and the configuration flow is simplified.

Optionally, the network device may configure the first configuration parameter independently for each HARQ process, and the terminal independently maintains the first timer for each HARQ process according to the first configuration parameter for the HARQ process.

In addition, the terminal starts the first timer of the HARQ process according to the configuration grant transmission of the HARQ process, and the first timer may be started in a first time unit after the configuration grant transmission. If a repetition function is configured, the terminal starts the first timer in a first time unit after the end of a first repetition of the configuration grant transmission. The time unit is, for example, a slot, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM) symbol or a subframe. The configuration grant transmission refers to an uplink transmission using a configuration grant, for example, a Physical Uplink SHARED CHANNEL (PUSCH) transmission, that is, the terminal may start a first timer of a HARQ process in a first time unit after the end of a first repetition of the PUSCH transmission, and the PUSCH transmission is a transmission performed on the HARQ process using the configuration grant. repetition is a technique introduced to improve transmission reliability, and is a transmission mode in which a packet is repeatedly sent multiple times, and this transmission mode can be understood as a blind retransmission, that is, a retransmission that does not need to wait for feedback. The repetition number may be configured by the network device to the terminal, for example, the network device may send, to the terminal, indication information for indicating the repetition number through an RRC message, where the indication information may be carried in a configuration message for configuring the grant, for example, in the cell ConfiguredGrantConfig. The first repetition is the first transmission of the multiple transmissions of the data packet.

For a flexible initial scenario, the terminal device may repeat for the first time (or called first transmission or new transmission) on any repetition resource, regardless of which repetition resource is used for the first repetition, and starts the first timer at the first time unit after the first time unit of the first repetition starting resource. For example, please refer to fig. 6, which is a schematic diagram of a scenario of repetition transmission according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 6, a box represents a bundle (bundle) comprising a plurality of configuration grant resources for repetition, where, for example, resources 1-4, LBT success is achieved before any one of resources 1-4, and the first repetition can be performed with the resource, and a first timer is started at a first time unit after the time unit of the resource. For example, if LBT was successful first before resource 3, then a first timer is started at the first time unit after the time unit of resource 3.

When the terminal maintains a first timer aiming at the configured HARQ process, the first timer is started by configuration authorized transmission on the HARQ process, and during the operation of the first timer, feedback of the HARQ process received by the terminal is invalid; or during the period that the first timer is not running, the feedback of the HARQ process received by the terminal is only possible to be valid; or the first timer may be used to influence the start of the above timer T2 (hereinafter referred to as the second timer) during which the feedback of the HARQ process received by the terminal is valid.

Several modes of maintenance are described below in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the first mode, the first timer is used to influence the start of the second timer, and the feedback of the HARQ process received by the terminal during the operation period of the second timer is valid.

Please refer to fig. 7, which is a schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 7, the method further includes, in addition to the steps S510-S530, the following steps:

s540: when the first timer expires, a second timer of the first HARQ process is started.

The duration of the second timer is configured by the network device, and in particular reference may be made to the configuration of the timer T2 above.

The terminal may start the second timer for one HARQ process in a first time unit after expiration of the first timer for that HARQ process, e.g., a slot, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM) symbol, or a subframe, as described above.

Wherein the second timer is the above timer T2, i.e. configured with an weight grant timer (CGR timer); the running of the second timer provides a duration that the terminal does not automatically perform configuration authorization transmission on the HARQ process where the second timer is located, i.e. during the running of the second timer of one HARQ process, the terminal does not automatically perform configuration authorization transmission on the HARQ process.

The duration of the second timer is a duration after the configuration grant transmission on one HARQ process, and the terminal does not automatically perform the configuration grant weight transmission on the HARQ process in the duration, i.e. the terminal does not automatically retransmit the HARQ process. That is, the terminal may use the configuration grant for retransmission on the HARQ process only when the second timer is not running. Wherein the configuration grant transmission refers to a transmission performed by using the configuration grant, and comprises a configuration grant initial transmission or retransmission.

Currently, the second timer for one HARQ process should be started with a configuration grant transmission (including a new transmission or retransmission) on that HARQ process. In this embodiment, the second timer is not started by the configuration grant transmission (including new transmission or retransmission) on this HARQ process, but is started when the first timer expires. Furthermore, if the second timer is already in operation prior to the configuration grant transmission for the HARQ process, the grant transmission may be configured at this point and the second timer may be stopped. That is, in the above method, the terminal should transmit the configuration grant in the above step S520, and may not start the second timer of the first HARQ process; or when the second timer of the first HARQ process is in the running state, the transmission should be authorized by the configuration in step S520, and the second timer is stopped.

If the terminal equipment receives the downlink feedback information, whether the feedback of the HARQ process in the downlink feedback information is effective can be judged according to whether the time for receiving the downlink feedback information is in the running period of the second timer of the HARQ process. At this time, the above method may further include:

s550: and the terminal receives the downlink feedback information sent by the network equipment.

S560: the terminal determines whether feedback in the downlink feedback information is valid.

The downlink feedback information may include feedback of at least one HARQ process. The terminal independently maintains a second timer of each HARQ process, and when downlink feedback information is received during the operation of the second timer of one HARQ process, the feedback of the HARQ process in the downlink feedback information is effective; when the downlink feedback information is received outside the second timer running period of one HARQ process (i.e., is received during the non-running period), the feedback of the HARQ process in the downlink feedback information is invalid, or the terminal ignores the feedback of the HARQ process. For example, the downlink feedback information includes feedback of the first HARQ process, and when the downlink feedback information is received during the operation period of the second timer, the terminal determines that the feedback of the first HARQ process is valid; when the downlink feedback information is received outside the second timer running period, the terminal determines that the feedback of the first HARQ process is invalid or ignores the feedback of the first HARQ process. Wherein the second timer is during operation means that the second timer has not timed out or is stopped.

Since the terminal independently maintains the first timer and the second timer of each HARQ process, when the downlink feedback information includes feedback of a plurality of HARQ processes, the feedback of the HARQ processes may be partially valid and partially invalid.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of another HARQ feedback scenario provided in the embodiment of the present application, with reference to fig. 4 and fig. 8. With respect to fig. 4, in fig. 8, the first timer of HARQ process 1 should be started with a configuration grant transmission on HARQ process 1, and the second timer of HARQ process 1 is started when the first timer of HARQ process 1 expires; the first timer of HARQ process 2 should be started with a configuration grant transmission on HARQ process 2 and the second timer of HARQ process 2 is started when the first timer of HARQ process 2 expires. The terminal receives downlink feedback information, wherein the downlink feedback information comprises HARQ feedback information, and the HARQ feedback information comprises feedback of the HARQ process 1 and feedback of the HARQ process 2. This downlink feedback information is received during the operation of the second timer of HARQ process 1 and during the non-operation of the second timer of HARQ process 2, and thus the feedback of HARQ process 1 is valid and the feedback of HARQ process 2 is invalid. Therefore, compared with fig. 4, the embodiment of the application can effectively reduce the possibility of misjudgment of the feedback information and improve the communication efficiency.

In the second way, the first timer is directly used to determine whether the feedback of the HARQ process is valid. Feedback of HARQ processes received by the terminal during non-operation of the first timer is valid. Accordingly, the feedback of the HARQ process received during the first timer run is invalid or the terminal ignores the feedback of the HARQ process.

At this time, the starting condition of the above second timer may not be changed, that is, the second timer may be started when the terminal performs configuration grant transmission (including initial transmission or retransmission) on one HARQ process. That is, the second timer for one HARQ process should be started with a configuration grant transmission (including a primary or retransmission) on the HARQ process.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 9, the method includes the following steps in addition to the above steps S510 to S530:

s910: and the terminal receives the downlink feedback information sent by the network equipment.

S920: the terminal determines whether feedback in the downlink feedback information is valid.

The downlink feedback information may include feedback of at least one HARQ process. The terminal independently maintains a first timer of each HARQ process, and if downlink feedback information is received during the operation of the first timer of one HARQ process (i.e. if the downlink feedback information is received during the operation of the first timer of one HARQ process), the feedback of the HARQ process in the downlink feedback information is invalid or the terminal ignores the feedback of the HARQ process; the feedback of the HARQ process in the downlink feedback information is valid if the downlink feedback information is received outside the first timer running period of the one HARQ process (i.e., the downlink feedback information is received when the first timer of the one HARQ process is not running). For example, the downlink feedback information includes the feedback of the first HARQ process, and when the downlink feedback information is received during the operation period of the first timer, the terminal determines that the feedback of the first HARQ process is invalid or ignores the feedback of the first HARQ process; when the downlink feedback information is received outside the first timer running period, the terminal determines that the feedback of the first HARQ process is valid. Wherein the first timer is during operation means that the first timer has not timed out or is stopped.

The starting condition of the second timer is not changed, so that the configuration of one HARQ process grants transmission, the terminal can also start the second timer of the HARQ process, and in addition, when the first timer stops running, the second timer is stopped, so that the HARQ process is used for the next configuration grant retransmission as soon as possible, and the transmission efficiency is further provided. At this time, the above step S530 further includes starting a second timer of the first HARQ process, and the above method further includes:

s930: when the first timer of the first HARQ process stops running, the second timer of the first HARQ process is stopped.

The second timer duration and the behavior of the terminal during the second timer running period are the same as those in the above embodiments, and are not described herein again.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of another HARQ feedback scenario provided in the embodiment of the present application, in which fig. 4 and fig. 10 are combined. With respect to fig. 4, in fig. 10, the first timer for HARQ process 1 should be started for configuration grant transmission on HARQ process 1; the first timer of HARQ process 2 should grant transmission initiation by configuration on HARQ process 2. The terminal receives downlink feedback information, wherein the downlink feedback information comprises HARQ feedback information, and the HARQ feedback information comprises feedback of the HARQ process 1 and feedback of the HARQ process 2. This downlink feedback information is received outside the first timer run period of HARQ process 1 and within the first timer period of HARQ process 2, and thus, feedback of HARQ process 1 is valid and feedback of HARQ process 2 is invalid. Therefore, compared with fig. 4, the embodiment of the application can effectively reduce the possibility of misjudgment of the feedback information and improve the communication efficiency.

Alternatively, the timer T1 (referred to herein as the third timer) may be started in response to the uplink transmission of one HARQ process, for example, when the configuration grant is an initial transmission in step S520, the third timer of the HARQ process may be started. In the first and second modes above, when feedback of one HARQ process is valid and the feedback is AKC, if the third timer of the HARQ process is still running, the third timer of the HARQ process may be stopped. So that the HARQ process can be used for the next initial transmission as soon as possible. That is, the above method further comprises: when the feedback of the first HARQ process is valid and is ACK, the third timer is stopped. The third timer is the same as the timer T1, and will not be described herein.

Alternatively, the first timer may be stopped after it has started and when its time expires. The first timer may also be stopped in any of the following cases, i.e. the stopping occasion of the first timer comprises one or more of the following:

first: the configuration grant should be deactivated to stop.

For a type 2 configuration grant, when the type 2 configuration grant is deactivated, the network device may consider the HARQ feedback for the configuration grant transmission as invalid, so the timer running on the HARQ process may be stopped for a faster use of this HARQ process for the next data transmission. The running timers include at least one of a first timer, a second timer, and a third timer.

For a scenario where there is only one active configuration grant (i.e. only one configuration grant is in a usable state at a time), the terminal may stop the timers running on all HARQ processes when receiving the deactivation command sent by the network device, and for a scenario where there are multiple active configuration grants (i.e. there are multiple configuration grants in a usable state at a time), see the following embodiments.

Second, when the terminal receives a scheduling grant from the network device, the scheduling grant is used for uplink transmission of one HARQ process, and if the first timer of the HARQ process is running, the first timer of the HARQ process may be stopped. The scheduling grant is sent through a physical downlink control channel (physical downlink control channel, PDCCH) scrambled by a cell radio network temporary identifier (cell radio network temporary identifier, C-RNTI), and the terminal receives the PDCCH by using the C-RNTI to obtain the scheduling grant. At this time, the above method may further include: receiving a scheduling grant for a first HARQ process; the reception of the grant should be scheduled, stopping the first timer of the first HARQ process. That is, the terminal receives an uplink grant, and if the uplink grant is for the C-RNTI of the MAC entity and the identified HARQ process is used for configuration grant, the first timer of the corresponding HARQ process is stopped if the first timer of the corresponding HARQ process is running. For uplink grant (scheduling grant or configuration grant), the HARQ entity identifies the HARQ process associated with the uplink grant, so that the identified HARQ process is the HARQ process determined by the terminal to be used for the uplink grant. The receipt of the scheduling grant indicates that the network device may schedule a new transmission, and thus the timer running from the previous transmission may be stopped to improve data transmission efficiency and reduce the impact between scheduling grant transmission and configuring grant transmission. When the timer T1 of a third, one HARQ process (which may be referred to as a third timer in order to distinguish between the first timer and the second timer) expires, the first timer of the HARQ process may be stopped if the first timer of the HARQ process is running. At this time, the above method may further include: when the third timer of the first HARQ process expires, the second timer of the first HARQ process is stopped, wherein the third timer should be started by an uplink initial transmission of the first HARQ process. When the transmission in the above step S520 is the initial transmission, the third timer may be started in response to the uplink transmission in S520. The third timer may be the configuration authorization timer, and the detailed description is referred to the above embodiments, which are not repeated herein.

The expiration of the configuration grant timer for one HARQ process indicates that the current data packet for that HARQ process does not need to be retransmitted, and the first timer is stopped at this time to perform the next data transmission (new transmission) more quickly, thereby further improving the data transmission efficiency.

Similarly, after the second timer is started, it is stopped when it expires until its time. The second timer may also include a similar stop opportunity as the first timer above, i.e. the first timer in the description of the stop opportunity above may be replaced by the second timer.

The embodiment of the application can stop the first timer, stop the second timer or stop the first timer and the second timer at any stop time.

The network device may configure multiple configuration grants for the terminal and there may be more than one (i.e. multiple) configuration grant in a scenario where the configuration grants are in a usable state (or active state). Referring to the description above regarding type 1 and type 2 configuration grants, for type 1 configuration grants, when the terminal receives a configuration message for the type 1 configuration grant, the type 1 configuration grant is in a usable state; for the type 2 configuration authorization, after receiving the configuration message of the type 2 configuration authorization, the terminal receives the activation signaling of the type 2 configuration authorization, and the type 2 configuration authorization is in an activated state, namely a usable state. The plurality of configuration grants in the usable state may include a type 1 configuration grant, a type 2 configuration grant, or both a type 1 configuration grant and a type 2 configuration grant.

When a Configuration Grant (CG) transmission is performed on a HARQ process, i.e. after an uplink transmission is performed using the configuration grant, the timer of the HARQ process should be started by configuring the grant transmission, and specifically, which timer or timers will be started, see the description of the first timer, the second timer, and the third timer in the above embodiments. The running of the timer for this HARQ process may affect the usage efficiency of multiple configuration grants, such that the transmission efficiency is reduced.

In view of the above, embodiments of the present application stop the running timer when the type 2 configuration grant is activated or deactivated if there is a running timer on the HARQ process for which the type 2 configuration grant is used. In this way, the HARQ process can be made available for the next configuration grant transmission as soon as possible, wherein a configuration grant transmission refers to a transmission with a configuration grant.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the application. As shown in fig. 11, the method includes the steps of:

S111: the network equipment sends an activation or deactivation signaling to the terminal, wherein the activation signaling is used for indicating activation type 2 configuration authorization, the deactivation signaling is used for indicating deactivation type 2 configuration authorization, and the type 2 configuration authorization is used for a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process;

accordingly, the terminal receives the activation or deactivation signaling from the network device. The first HARQ process may include one or more.

S112: the terminal stops the timer of the first HARQ process in an active state, wherein the last transmission of the first HARQ process is a transmission for which grants are configured with said type 2.

The type 2 configuration grant may be for one or more HARQ processes, where there may be one or more timers for one or more HARQ processes in an active state, i.e., one or more first HARQ processes having timers in an active state, when used for multiple HARQ processes, and embodiments of the present application are not limited.

Further, the timer in the running state includes one or more of a first timer, a second timer, and a third timer (configuration authorization timer). The descriptions of the first timer, the second timer and the third timer are the same as those described above, and are not repeated here.

The network device may send a configuration message to the terminal, where the configuration message includes a configuration cell for configuring the type 2 configuration authorization, and the content of the cell may be referred to the description of the above embodiment, which is not described herein. The network device may then send an activation signaling to the terminal to indicate that the terminal activates a type 2 configuration grant. When the type 2 configuration grant does not require further use, the network device may send a deactivation signaling to the terminal to instruct the terminal to deactivate the type 2 configuration grant.

Since there may be multiple configuration grants in a usable state, the configuration grants may share the HARQ process resource pool, i.e. the network device may configure multiple HARQ processes for the configuration grants, and the configuration grants share the HARQ processes, i.e. the HARQ process resource pool. Optionally, the network device may also configure one HARQ process for configuring grants. Thus, the HARQ process resource pool may include one HARQ process and also include a plurality of HARQ processes, which is not limited by the present application.

When a terminal can have a plurality of configuration grants in a usable state at the same time, and therefore when one type 2 configuration grant is activated or deactivated, the timer in an operating state of one HARQ process stops operating, so that the HARQ process can be used for the next configuration grant transmission as soon as possible, the utilization rate of the configuration grants is improved, and the transmission efficiency is further improved.

The activation and deactivation scenarios are described below, respectively.

In the activation scenario, before step S111 above, the terminal receives a configuration message and activation signaling of a type 2 configuration grant from the network device, and then uses the activated type 2 configuration grant for configuration grant transmission, after which the type 2 configuration grant is again deactivated. In the above step S111, the type 2 configuration grant is activated again, and since the last transmission of the first HARQ process is a transmission using the type 2 configuration grant, the first HARQ process is not occupied by other configuration grants, and the timer running on the first HARQ process is stopped, so that the first HARQ process is used for the next configuration grant transmission as soon as possible.

The terminal receives the activation signaling through the PDCCH, i.e., the content of the PDCCH indicates activation of the type 2 configuration grant. The last transmission of the first HARQ process is a transmission with this type 2 configuration grant, meaning that for the first HARQ process, the configuration grant last submitted to the HARQ entity is this type 2 configuration grant. Thus, the steps shown in fig. 11 may be expressed as stopping the timer running on the first HARQ process when the content of the PDCCH indicates the activation of a type 2 configuration grant, and the configuration grant last submitted to the HARQ entity for the first HARQ process is the type 2 configuration grant.

It can be seen that, when the terminal receives an activation signaling of a type 2 configuration grant, the terminal determines whether other configuration grants are in a usable state, and the other configuration grants share the HARQ process resource pool with the type 2 configuration grant to be activated currently, if the other configuration grants are activated, and when a first HARQ process in the HARQ process resource pool is occupied by the other configuration grants (i.e. the last transmission on the first HARQ process is performed by using the other configuration grants), the timer of the first HARQ process is not suitable for stopping, otherwise, the timer of the first HARQ process is stopped, so that the first HARQ process is used for the next configuration grant transmission as soon as possible on the premise that the packet loss rate of the transmission using the other configuration grants is reduced, so as to improve the transmission efficiency.

In the deactivation scenario, prior to step S111 above, the terminal receives a configuration message and activation signaling of a type 2 configuration grant from the network device, and thereafter uses the activated type 2 configuration grant for configuration grant transmission. In step S111 above, the type 2 configuration grant is deactivated, and since the last transmission of the first HARQ process is a transmission with the type 2 configuration grant, the first HARQ process is not occupied by other configuration grants, and the timer running on the first HARQ process is stopped, so that the first HARQ process is used for the next configuration grant transmission as soon as possible.

The terminal receives the deactivation signaling through the PDCCH, i.e., the content of the PDCCH indicates the deactivation of the type 2 configuration grant. The last transmission of the first HARQ process is a transmission with this type 2 configuration grant, meaning that for the first HARQ process, the configuration grant last submitted to the HARQ entity is this type 2 configuration grant. Thus, the steps shown in fig. 11 may be expressed as stopping the timer running on the first HARQ process when the content of the PDCCH indicates the deactivation of the type 2 configuration grant, and the configuration grant last submitted to the HARQ entity for the first HARQ process is the type 2 configuration grant.

It can be seen that when the terminal receives a deactivation signaling of a type 2 configuration grant, the terminal determines whether a certain HARQ process is occupied by the type 2 configuration grant, if so, for example, the first HARQ process stops the timer of the first HARQ process, so that the first HARQ process is used for the next configuration grant transmission as soon as possible, so as to improve the transmission efficiency. In addition, since the HARQ process occupied by the other configuration grant is not stopped by the timer, the packet loss rate of the transmission using the other configuration grant can be reduced.

If the buffer of the first HARQ process has not received the ACK due to the last transmission, after stopping the timer of the first HARQ process, the buffer may continue to transmit the buffered data when the first HARQ process is used for the next transmission, and the transmission of the current buffered data is useless because the stopping of the timer has ended, resulting in a decrease in transmission efficiency. At this time, the above method further includes step S113: the terminal empties the buffer of the first HARQ process.

In the above embodiments it has been described that during the running of the timer T1 of one HARQ process, that HARQ process is not used for configuring grant new transmissions. The timer T1 should be started by an uplink initial transmission on the HARQ process, where the uplink initial transmission may include a configuration grant initial transmission or may include a scheduling grant initial transmission. Therefore, the timer T1 limits the time that HARQ cannot be used for uplink initial transmission, and the embodiment of the present application hopes to reduce the time that HARQ process cannot be used for new transmission as much as possible, so as to improve transmission efficiency. Thus, another communication method is provided. In this method, when the timer T1 starts because of scheduling grant transmission, if an ACK is received, the HARQ process may be used for the next initial transmission.

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the application. As shown in fig. 12, the method includes the steps of:

s121: the network equipment sends scheduling authorization to the terminal; correspondingly, the terminal receives a scheduling grant from the network device.

S122: the terminal transmits first uplink data to the network device on the first HARQ process using the scheduling grant.

S123: and the network equipment receives the first uplink data sent by the terminal and sends feedback information to the terminal according to the receiving condition of the first uplink data. For example, upon correct reception, an ACK is sent; and feeding back NACK when receiving errors. Accordingly, the terminal receives feedback information from the network device.

S124: when the feedback information is ACK, that is, when the terminal receives feedback information indicating that the first uplink data is correctly received from the network device, the terminal transmits the second uplink data on the first HARQ process using the configuration grant.

The first uplink data and the second uplink data are sent as primary transmission, the first uplink data are sent by using scheduling authorization, and the second uplink data are sent by using configuration authorization. Therefore, after the primary transmission is performed by using the scheduling grant and the transmission is successful, the terminal can start the next transmission on the same HARQ process as soon as possible by using the configuration grant no matter whether the configuration grant timer is in an operating state, and thus, the data transmission efficiency is improved.

In the process of transmitting the second uplink data by using the configuration grant, it may be determined whether a new data indication (new data indicator, NDI) corresponding to the first HARQ process is inverted, and when the NDI is inverted, the second uplink data is transmitted.

Alternatively, the configuration grant timer for the first HARQ process may be stopped upon receipt of the ACK, so that the first HARQ process may be used for the next initial transmission as soon as possible.

During data transmission, a scheduling grant or a configuration grant is submitted to the HARQ entity so that the HARQ entity transmits on the corresponding HARQ process according to the scheduling grant or the configuration grant. Thus, the above method can be described as: for the same HARQ process, when the uplink grant last submitted to the HARQ entity is not configured uplink grant (i.e., scheduling grant) and the lower layer indicates ACK for the same HARQ process, it is considered that NDI bits of the HARQ process have been inverted, and the configured uplink grant and associated HARQ information are submitted to the HARQ entity. In this way, the HARQ entity may perform initial transmission. The lower layer refers to a protocol layer below the protocol layer performing the current processing, for example, the current protocol layer is the MAC layer, and the lower layer is the physical layer.

The timer in the embodiment of the application can be realized in a software form or a hardware form. There is no limitation in this regard.

The embodiment of the application also provides a device for implementing any of the above methods, for example, an apparatus is provided that includes a unit (or means) configured to implement each step performed by the terminal in any of the above methods. As another example, another apparatus is provided that includes means for performing the steps performed by the network device in any of the methods above.

For example, please refer to fig. 13, which is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus is for use in a terminal for performing any of the methods of the embodiments shown in fig. 5-10. As shown in fig. 13, the apparatus 1300 includes a receiving unit 1310, a sending unit 1320, and a timer control unit 1330, where the receiving unit 1310 is configured to receive a first configuration parameter from a network device, where the first configuration parameter is used to indicate a first timer duration, and the first timer duration is a minimum duration before a terminal expects to receive downlink feedback information. The transmitting unit 1320 is configured to perform configuration grant transmission on the first HARQ process. The timer control unit 1330 is configured to configure a first timer for authorizing transmission to start a first HARQ process, where the first timer has a first timer duration indicated by a first configuration parameter.

The receiving unit 1310 is configured to receive, from a network device, information sent by any one of the above method embodiments to a terminal, and the sending unit 1320 is configured to send, to the network device, any one of the transmissions made by the terminal in the above method embodiments.

The timer control unit 1330 also has a function of controlling a timer in any of the above method embodiments. For example, when the first timer expires, a second timer of the first HARQ process is started; a second timer for stopping or not starting the first HARQ process should be configured for authorized transmission; stopping the third timer when the feedback of the first HARQ process is valid and is an acknowledgement, ACK; the authorized transmission should be configured, a second timer of the first HARQ process is started, and when the first timer stops running, the second timer of the first HARQ process is stopped; or in any of the cases described in the above embodiments, the first timer and/or the second timer of the first HARQ process is stopped. And will not be described in detail herein.

The apparatus 1300 may further include a determining unit 1340 for determining whether feedback of the first HARQ process is valid. The specific determination method is the same as the above method examples, and is not described in detail here.

For another example, please refer to fig. 14, which is a schematic diagram of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus is used for a terminal for performing the method in the embodiment shown in fig. 11. As shown in fig. 14, the apparatus 1400 includes a receiving unit 1410 and a timer control unit 1420. The receiving unit 1410 is configured to receive, from a network device, activation or deactivation signaling, where the activation or deactivation signaling is configured to indicate activation or deactivation of a configuration grant, where the configuration grant is for a first HARQ process; the timer control unit 1420 is configured to stop the timer of the first HARQ process in the running state, where the last transmission of the first HARQ process is a transmission authorized by the configuration.

The timer in the running state includes at least one of a first timer, a second timer and a third timer. The description of these timers is the same as that of the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated.

The apparatus 1400 may further include a flushing unit 1430 configured to flush the buffer of the first HARQ process.

For another example, please refer to fig. 15, which is a schematic diagram of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus is used in a terminal for performing the method in the embodiment shown in fig. 12. As shown in fig. 15, the apparatus 1500 includes a transmitting unit 1510 and a receiving unit 1520. The sending unit 1510 is configured to send any transmission made by the terminal in the above method embodiment to the network device. The receiving unit 1520 is configured to receive, from a network device, information sent to a terminal by any one of the network devices in the above method embodiments. For example, the sending unit 1510 is configured to send first uplink data to the network device on the first HARQ process using the scheduling grant; the receiving unit 1520 receives feedback information indicating that the first uplink data is correctly received from the network device; the sending unit 1510 is further configured to send the second uplink data on the first HARQ process using a configuration grant.

The apparatus 1500 may further include a determining unit 1530 configured to determine that an NDI corresponding to the first HARQ process is inverted. The transmission unit 1510 transmits the second uplink data using the configuration grant on the first HARQ process when the determination unit 1530 determines that the NDI is inverted.

The apparatus 1500 may further include a timer control unit 1540 for stopping the configuration grant timer of the first HARQ process in response to receiving feedback information indicating that the first uplink data is correctly received.

For example, please refer to fig. 16, which is a schematic diagram of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus is for use in a network device for performing any of the methods of the embodiments shown in fig. 5-10. As shown in fig. 16, the apparatus 1600 includes a generating unit 1610 and a sending unit 1620, where the generating unit 1610 is configured to generate a first configuration parameter, where the first configuration parameter is used to indicate a first timer duration, and the first timer duration is a minimum duration before the terminal expects to receive downlink feedback information; the transmitting unit 1620 is configured to transmit the first configuration parameter to the terminal.

It should be understood that the division of the units in the above apparatus is merely a division of a logic function, and may be fully or partially integrated into a physical entity or may be physically separated when actually implemented. And the units in the device can be all realized in the form of software calls through the processing element; or can be realized in hardware; it is also possible that part of the units are implemented in the form of software, which is called by the processing element, and part of the units are implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit may be a processing element that is set up separately, may be implemented as integrated in a certain chip of the apparatus, or may be stored in a memory in the form of a program, and the functions of the unit may be called and executed by a certain processing element of the apparatus. Furthermore, all or part of these units may be integrated together or may be implemented independently. The processing element described herein may in turn be a processor, which may be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In implementation, each step of the above method or each unit above may be implemented by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor element or in the form of software called by a processing element.

In one example, the unit in any of the above apparatuses may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, for example: one or more Application SPECIFIC INTEGRATED Circuits (ASIC), or one or more microprocessors (DIGITAL SINGNAL processor, DSP), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (Field Programmable GATE ARRAY, FPGA), or a combination of at least two of these integrated Circuit forms. For another example, when the units in the apparatus may be implemented in the form of a scheduler of processing elements, the processing elements may be general-purpose processors, such as a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU) or other processor that may invoke a program. For another example, the units may be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

The above unit for receiving is an interface circuit of the device for receiving signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the receiving unit is an interface circuit of the chip for receiving signals from other chips or devices. The above unit for transmitting is an interface circuit of the apparatus for transmitting signals to other apparatuses. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the transmitting unit is an interface circuit of the chip for transmitting signals to other chips or devices.

Fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application. Which may be the terminal in the above embodiment, for implementing the operation of the terminal in the above embodiment. As shown in fig. 17, the terminal includes: an antenna 1710, a radio frequency portion 1720, a signal processing portion 1730. The antenna 1710 is connected to a radio frequency portion 1720. In the downstream direction, the radio frequency section 1720 receives information transmitted by the network device through the antenna 1710, and transmits the information transmitted by the network device to the signal processing section 1730 for processing. In the uplink direction, the signal processing section 1730 processes information of the terminal and transmits the processed information to the radio frequency section 1720, and the radio frequency section 1720 processes information of the terminal and transmits the processed information to the network device through the antenna 1710.

The signal processing section 1730 may include a modem subsystem for implementing processing of the various communication protocol layers of data; the system also comprises a central processing subsystem for realizing the processing of the terminal operating system and the application layer; in addition, other subsystems, such as a multimedia subsystem for enabling control of a terminal camera, screen display, etc., a peripheral subsystem for enabling connection with other devices, etc., may also be included. The modem subsystem may be a separately provided chip. Alternatively, the above means for the terminal may be located in the modem subsystem.

The modem subsystem may include one or more processing elements 1731, including, for example, a master CPU and other integrated circuits. In addition, the modulation and demodulation subsystem may also include a storage element 1732 and an interface circuit 1733. The storage element 1732 is used to store data and programs, but the programs used to perform the methods performed by the terminal in the above methods may not be stored in the storage element 1732, but in a memory external to the modulation and demodulation subsystem, which is loaded for use. Interface circuit 1733 is used to communicate with other subsystems. The above means for a terminal may be located in a modem subsystem which may be implemented by a chip comprising at least one processing element for performing the steps of any of the methods performed by the above terminal and interface circuitry for communicating with other means. In one implementation, the unit of the terminal implementing each step in the above method may be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, for example, the apparatus for a terminal includes a processing element and a storage element, and the processing element invokes the program stored in the storage element to perform the method performed by the terminal in the above method embodiment. The memory element may be a memory element where the processing element is on the same chip, i.e. an on-chip memory element.

In another implementation, the program for executing the method executed by the terminal in the above method may be a storage element on a different chip than the processing element, i.e. an off-chip storage element. At this time, the processing element calls or loads a program from the off-chip storage element on the on-chip storage element to call and execute the method executed by the terminal in the above method embodiment.

In yet another implementation, the unit of the terminal implementing each step in the above method may be configured as one or more processing elements, which are disposed on the modem subsystem, where the processing elements may be integrated circuits, for example: one or more ASICs, or one or more DSPs, or one or more FPGAs, or a combination of these types of integrated circuits. These integrated circuits may be integrated together to form a chip.

The units of the terminal implementing the steps of the above method may be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC) chip for implementing the above method. At least one processing element and a storage element can be integrated in the chip, and the processing element invokes the stored program of the storage element to implement the method executed by the terminal; or at least one integrated circuit may be integrated in the chip for implementing the method performed by the above terminal; or may be combined with the above implementation, the functions of part of the units are implemented in the form of processing element calling programs, and the functions of part of the units are implemented in the form of integrated circuits.

It will be seen that the above apparatus for a terminal may comprise at least one processing element and interface circuitry, wherein the at least one processing element is adapted to perform any of the methods performed by the terminal provided by the above method embodiments. The processing element may be configured in a first manner: that is, a part or all of the steps executed by the terminal are executed in a mode of calling the program stored in the storage element; the second way is also possible: i.e. by means of integrated logic circuitry of hardware in the processor element in combination with instructions to perform part or all of the steps performed by the terminal; of course, it is also possible to perform part or all of the steps performed by the terminal in combination with the first and second modes.

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

The memory element may be one memory or may be a collective term for a plurality of memory elements.

Fig. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. For implementing the operations of the network device in the above embodiments. As shown in fig. 18, the network device includes: antenna 1810, radio 1820, baseband 1830. The antenna 1810 is coupled to a radio frequency device 1820. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 1820 receives information transmitted by a terminal via the antenna 1810, and transmits the information transmitted by the terminal to the baseband device 1830 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 1830 processes information of the terminal and transmits the processed information to the radio frequency device 1820, and the radio frequency device 1820 processes information of the terminal and transmits the processed information to the terminal through the antenna 1810.

The baseband device 1830 may include one or more processing elements 1831, e.g., including a host CPU and other integrated circuits. Furthermore, the baseband device 1830 may further comprise a storage element 1831 and an interface 1833, the storage element 1832 being used for storing programs and data; the interface 1833 is used to interact with the radio frequency device 1820, such as a common public radio interface (common public radio interface, CPRI). The above means for network device may be located at the baseband means 1830, e.g., the above means for network device may be a chip on the baseband means 1830 comprising at least one processing element for performing the steps of any of the methods performed by the above network device and interface circuitry for communicating with other means. In one implementation, the units of the network device implementing the steps in the above method may be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, for example, an apparatus for a network device includes a processing element and a storage element, where the processing element invokes the program stored in the storage element to perform the method performed by the network device in the above method embodiment. The memory elements may be memory elements on the same chip as the processing elements, i.e., on-chip memory elements, or may be memory elements on a different chip than the processing elements, i.e., off-chip memory elements.

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

The units of the network device implementing the steps of the above method may be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC), e.g. the baseband device comprises the SOC chip for implementing the above method. At least one processing element and a storage element can be integrated in the chip, and the processing element invokes the stored program of the storage element to implement the method executed by the above network device; or at least one integrated circuit may be integrated within the chip for implementing the method performed by the above network device; or may be combined with the above implementation, the functions of part of the units are implemented in the form of processing element calling programs, and the functions of part of the units are implemented in the form of integrated circuits.

It will be seen that the above apparatus for a network device may comprise at least one processing element and interface circuitry, wherein the at least one processing element is adapted to perform any of the methods performed by the network device provided by the above method embodiments. The processing element may be configured in a first manner: that is, a part or all of the steps executed by the network device are executed in a manner of calling the program stored in the storage element; the second way is also possible: i.e. by means of integrated logic circuitry of hardware in the processor element in combination with instructions to perform part or all of the steps performed by the network device; of course, some or all of the steps performed by the above network device may also be performed in combination with the first and second modes.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes an association relationship of an association object, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, may represent: a exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. Furthermore, for elements (elements) that appear in the singular forms "a," "an," and "the," it does not mean "one or only one" unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, "a device" means a device for one or more of such devices. Further, at least one (at least one of),. The term "means one or any combination of subsequent association objects, e.g." at least one of a, B and C "includes a, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC. Determining Y from X does not mean determining Y from X alone, but may also determine Y from X and other information.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art will readily recognize that variations or substitutions are within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method performed by a terminal, comprising:

Receiving configuration parameters from network equipment, wherein the configuration parameters are used for indicating the time length of a timer, and the time length of the timer is the minimum time length before the terminal expects to receive downlink feedback information;

Performing configuration authorization transmission on a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process;

Starting a first timer of the first HARQ process according to the configuration authorization transmission, wherein the first timer has the timer duration;

If the first timer expires, a second timer of the first HARQ process is started;

receiving the downlink feedback information, wherein the downlink feedback information comprises feedback of the first HARQ process;

when the downlink feedback information is received during the operation of a second timer of the first HARQ process, determining that the feedback of the first HARQ process is valid; or alternatively

And when the downlink feedback information is received during the period that the second timer of the first HARQ process is not running, determining that the feedback of the first HARQ process is invalid or ignoring the feedback of the first HARQ process.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the duration of the second timer is configured by a network device.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, further comprising:

the second timer of the first HARQ process is stopped or not started in response to the configuration grant transmission.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

And stopping a third timer when the feedback of the first HARQ process is valid and is an Acknowledgement (ACK), wherein the third timer is started by the uplink initial transmission of the first HARQ process.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

if the configuration grant transmission is supposed, starting a second timer of the first HARQ process, wherein the duration of the second timer is configured by network equipment;

And stopping the second timer of the first HARQ process when the first timer stops running.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 5, further comprising:

Receiving downlink feedback information, wherein the downlink feedback information comprises feedback of the first HARQ process;

when the downlink feedback information is received during the period that the first timer of the first HARQ process is not running, determining that the feedback of the first HARQ process is valid; or alternatively

And when the downlink feedback information is received during the operation of the first timer of the first HARQ process, determining that the feedback of the first HARQ process is invalid or ignoring the feedback of the first HARQ process.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

8. The method according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized by stopping the first timer of the first HARQ process at least one of:

Receiving a deactivation command, wherein the deactivation command is used for deactivating the configuration authorization;

receiving a scheduling grant for the first HARQ process; and

A third timer of the first HARQ process expires, wherein the third timer is started upon an uplink initial transmission of the first HARQ process.

9. The method according to any of claims 2 to 5, characterized by stopping the second timer of the first HARQ process in at least one of the following cases:

receiving a scheduling grant for the first HARQ process; and

10. A method of communication, comprising:

The network equipment generates configuration parameters, wherein the configuration parameters are used for indicating the time length of a timer, and the time length of the timer is the minimum time length before the terminal expects to receive the downlink feedback information; a first timer of a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process has the timer duration, and the first timer is started by the terminal according to the configuration grant transmission;

the network equipment sends the configuration parameters to the terminal;

transmitting the downlink feedback information, wherein the downlink feedback information comprises feedback of the first HARQ process;

when the downlink feedback information is sent during the operation of a second timer of the first HARQ process, determining that the feedback of the first HARQ process is valid; or alternatively

And when the downlink feedback information is sent during the period that the second timer of the first HARQ process is not running, determining that the feedback of the first HARQ process is invalid or ignoring the feedback of the first HARQ process.

11. A communication device, comprising: a processor for communicating with other devices and an interface circuit for performing the method of any of claims 1 to 10.

12. A communication device, comprising: a processor for invoking a program in memory to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 10.

13. A computer readable storage medium storing a program which, when invoked by a processor, performs the method of any one of claims 1 to 10.

14. A computer program product, characterized in that the method according to any of claims 1 to 10 is performed when the computer program product is called by a processor.