WO2022160298A1

WO2022160298A1 - Time synchronization method, apparatus and system

Info

Publication number: WO2022160298A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/074519
Authority: WO
Inventors: 范强
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2021-01-29
Filing date: 2021-01-29
Publication date: 2022-08-04

Abstract

Disclosed are a time synchronization method, apparatus and system. According to the technical solution provided in the present application, the method comprises: a terminal device sending a first message to an access network device, wherein the first message is used for requesting the measurement of an air interface propagation delay, and an uplink reference signal and/or a downlink reference signal for measuring the air interface propagation delay can be sent according to requirements or periodically; and the terminal device receiving a second message from the access network device, wherein the second message is used for activating the measurement of the air interface propagation delay, or for activating the sending of the uplink reference signal for measuring the air interface propagation delay and/or the receiving of the downlink reference signal for measuring the air interface propagation delay. By means of the method of the present application, the occupation of air interface resources, and signaling overheads are reduced.

Description

Time synchronization method, apparatus and system

technical field

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

Background technique

As the main driving force of future communication development, mobile Internet and Internet of Things have a huge impact on people's living, working, leisure and transportation. At present, in order to achieve precise business control, high-precision time synchronization between terminal equipment and wireless network clocks is required in many fields such as industrial control, smart grid, and unmanned driving. The time synchronization accuracy reaches the microsecond level, or even nanosecond level. .

At present, in the long term evolution (LTE) and fifth generation (the 5th generation, 5G) communication systems (or called new radio (NR)), the base station transmits high Accurate time information to terminal equipment to achieve high-precision timing. Due to the transmission delay between the base station and the terminal device, the high-precision time of the terminal device is actually the result of the high-precision time of the base station superimposed on the air interface propagation delay.

How to delay and reduce the resource occupation of the air interface when acquiring the air interface propagation is a technical problem to be solved in the present application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present application provide a time synchronization method, apparatus, and system. According to the technical solution provided by the present application, a terminal device sends a first message to an access network device, and the first message is used to request air interface propagation delay measurement. The uplink reference signal and/or the downlink reference signal used for measuring the air interface propagation delay may be sent on demand or periodically. The terminal device receives the second message from the access network device, and the second message is used to activate the air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate the transmission of an uplink reference signal for measuring the air interface propagation delay and/or to measure the air interface propagation delay Delayed downlink reference signal reception. With the method of the present application, the occupation of air interface resources and signaling overhead are reduced.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. It can be understood that the method of the first aspect can be performed by a first apparatus, and the first apparatus can be a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the communication device to implement the functions required by the method, such as a chip, a chip system or a processor. The following description is given by taking the method being executed by a terminal device as an example.

The method includes: the terminal device sends a first message to the access network device, where the first message is used for requesting measurement of air interface propagation delay or RTT. The terminal device receives a second message from the access network device, where the second message is used to activate air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate uplink reference signal transmission (used to measure air interface propagation delay) and/or (used to measure air interface propagation delay) air interface propagation delay) downlink reference signal reception. The terminal device performs the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission and obtains a first measurement result, where the first measurement result includes the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device. The terminal device sends a third message to the access network device, where the third message includes the first measurement result. The terminal equipment receives the RTT or air interface propagation delay from the access network equipment. With the method of this aspect, the occupation of air interface resources and signaling overhead are reduced.

Optionally, the third message may be an RRC message or a MAC CE.

Optionally, the third message includes first time information, where the first time information indicates the time of acquiring the first measurement result, or the time of receiving the downlink reference signal, or the time of sending the uplink reference signal. The time can be coordinated universal time (UTC) time or global positioning system (GPS) time, or at least one of system frame number (SFN), slot number, and symbol number. The time value that the item consists of.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. It can be understood that the method of the second aspect may be performed by a first apparatus, and the first apparatus may be a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the communication device to implement the functions required by the method, such as a chip, a chip system or a processor. The following description is given by taking the method being executed by a terminal device as an example.

The method includes: the terminal device sends a first message to the access network device, where the first message is used for requesting to measure the time difference between receiving and sending, or for requesting to measure the air interface propagation delay or RTT. The terminal device receives a second message from the access network device, where the second message is used to activate air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate uplink reference signal transmission (used to measure air interface propagation delay) and/or (used to measure air interface propagation delay) air interface propagation delay) downlink reference signal reception. The terminal device performs the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission and obtains a first measurement result, where the first measurement result includes the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device. The terminal device receives a fourth message from the access network device, where the fourth message includes a second measurement result, and the second measurement result includes a measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device. The terminal device obtains the air interface propagation delay based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result. With the method of this aspect, the occupation of air interface resources and signaling overhead are reduced.

Optionally, the fourth message may be an RRC message or a MAC CE.

Optionally, the fourth message includes second time information, where the second time information indicates the time of acquiring the second measurement result, or the time of receiving the uplink reference signal, or the time of sending the downlink reference signal. The time can be UTC time or GPS time, or a time value consisting of at least one of SFN, slot number, and symbol number. The terminal device may determine the first measurement result corresponding to the second measurement result based on the second time information.

In the first aspect and the second aspect, optionally, when the first condition is satisfied, the terminal device sends the first message to the access network device. The first condition may include: the moving distance of the terminal device exceeds the first threshold, or the movement speed of the terminal device is higher than or not lower than the second threshold and lasts for a third period of time, or the change in the timing advance of the terminal device exceeds the fourth threshold. The threshold, or the variation of the cell signal strength measured by the terminal equipment exceeds the fifth threshold, or the variation of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal equipment exceeds the sixth threshold.

In the first aspect and the second aspect, optionally, the first threshold, or the second threshold and the third duration, or the fourth threshold, or the fifth threshold, or the sixth threshold may be configured by the access network device.

In the first aspect and the second aspect, optionally, before sending the first message to the access network device, the terminal device receives first indication information from the access network device, where the first indication information indicates that the air interface time synchronization uses the air interface Propagation delay compensation, or indicate the need for high-precision air interface time synchronization.

In the first aspect and the second aspect, optionally, when the first timer is not started or times out, a third message is sent to the access network device, and the first timer is started, and when the first timer is running , the third message is not sent to save signaling overhead.

In the first aspect and the second aspect, optionally, the first message may be a radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) message or a MAC CE.

In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. It can be understood that the method of the third aspect can be performed by a second device, which can be a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the communication device to implement the functions required by the method, such as a chip, a chip system or a processor. The following description will be given by taking the method being executed by an access network device as an example.

The method includes: the access network device sends a second message to the terminal device, where the second message is used to activate air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate uplink reference signal transmission (used to measure air interface propagation delay) and/or ( used to measure air interface propagation delay) downlink reference signal reception. The access network device performs the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission and obtains a second measurement result, where the second measurement result includes the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device. The terminal device receives a third message from the terminal device, where the third message includes a first measurement result, and the first measurement result includes a measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device. The access network device obtains the RTT or the air interface propagation delay based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result. The access network device sends the RTT or air interface propagation delay to the terminal device. With the method of this aspect, the occupation of air interface resources and signaling overhead are reduced.

Optionally, the third message may be an RRC message or a MAC CE.

Optionally, the third message includes first time information, where the first time information indicates the time of acquiring the first measurement result, or the time of receiving the downlink reference signal, or the time of sending the uplink reference signal. The time can be coordinated universal time (UTC) time or global positioning system (GPS) time, or at least one of system frame number (SFN), slot number, and symbol number. The time value that the item consists of. The access network device may determine the second measurement result corresponding to the first measurement result based on the first time information.

In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. It can be understood that the method of the fourth aspect can be performed by a second device, which can be a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the communication device to implement the functions required by the method, such as a chip, a chip system or a processor. The following description will be given by taking the method being executed by an access network device as an example.

The method includes: the access network device sends a second message to the terminal device, where the second message is used to activate air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate uplink reference signal transmission (used to measure air interface propagation delay) and/or ( used to measure air interface propagation delay) downlink reference signal reception. The access network device performs the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission and obtains a second measurement result, where the second measurement result includes the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device. The access network device sends a fourth message to the terminal device, where the fourth message includes the second measurement result. With the method of this aspect, the occupation of air interface resources and signaling overhead are reduced.

Optionally, the fourth message may be an RRC message or a MAC CE.

In the third aspect and the fourth aspect, optionally, when the second condition is satisfied, the access network device sends the second message to the terminal device. The second condition may include: the moving distance of the terminal device exceeds the first threshold, or the moving speed of the terminal device is higher than or not lower than the second threshold and lasts for a third period of time, or the change in the timing advance of the terminal device exceeds the fourth threshold The threshold, or the variation of the signal strength of the uplink reference signal measured by the access network device exceeds the seventh threshold, or the variation of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device exceeds the eighth threshold.

In the third aspect and the fourth aspect, optionally, before sending the second message to the terminal device, the access network device sends first indication information to the terminal device, where the first indication information indicates that the air interface time synchronization uses the air interface propagation delay Compensate, or indicate that high-precision air interface time synchronization is required.

In a possible implementation manner of any one of the first to fourth aspects, the downlink reference signal and/or the uplink reference signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay may be sent on demand, that is, when The air interface propagation delay needs to be measured, and these reference signals are sent. When it is not necessary to measure the air interface propagation delay, these reference signals are not sent to save the occupation of air interface resources. When the air interface propagation delay needs to be measured, the access network device sends a second message to the terminal device. The second message is used to activate the air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate the uplink reference signal transmission (used to measure the air interface propagation delay) and /or (for measuring air interface propagation delay) downlink reference signal reception.

In a possible implementation manner of any one of the first to fourth aspects, the uplink reference signal and/or the downlink parameter signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay may be sent periodically. When the air interface propagation delay needs to be measured, the access network device sends a second message to the terminal device, and the second message is used to activate the air interface propagation delay measurement, that is, trigger the terminal device to start the measurement.

In any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, optionally, the first indication information may include first resource information and/or second resource information, and the first resource information indicates the downlink used for measuring air interface propagation delay The time-frequency resource where the reference signal is located, and the second resource information indicates the time-frequency resource where the uplink reference signal used for measuring the air interface propagation delay is located. Optionally, the first indication information may include a first threshold, and/or a second threshold and a third duration, and/or a fourth threshold, and/or a fifth threshold, and/or a sixth threshold.

In any one of the first to fourth aspects, the second message may be downlink control information (DCI) or media access control (MAC) control element (CE) or RRC message.

In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided. It can be understood that the method of the fifth aspect can be performed by a first apparatus, and the first apparatus can be a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the communication device to implement the functions required by the method, such as a chip, a chip system or a processor. The following description is given by taking the method being executed by a terminal device as an example.

The method includes: the uplink reference signal and/or the downlink parameter signal used for measuring the air interface propagation delay may be sent periodically. The terminal device performs the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission and obtains a first measurement result, where the first measurement result includes the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device. When the first condition is satisfied, the terminal device sends a third message to the access network device, where the third message includes the first measurement result. The terminal equipment receives the RTT or air interface propagation delay from the access network equipment. Through the method of this aspect, signaling overhead is reduced. For descriptions related to the first condition, the third message, etc., reference may be made to the descriptions of the above aspects, and details are not repeated here.

In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device having a function of implementing the behavior in the method of the first aspect above. The functions can be implemented by hardware, or by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. The communication device may be a terminal device, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the functions in the method of the first aspect. For example, the communication device may be a chip, a chip system, or a processor.

In a possible design, the communication apparatus includes: a processing unit, configured to measure the time difference between reception and transmission and obtain a first measurement result, where the first measurement result includes a measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device; a sending unit, configured to send The first message, the first message is used to request to measure the air interface propagation delay or RTT, the sending unit is further used to send a third message to the access network device, and the third message includes the first measurement result; the receiving unit is used to receive from the access network device. The second message of the network access device. The second message is used to activate the air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate the uplink reference signal transmission (used to measure the air interface propagation delay) and/or (used to measure the air interface propagation delay). ) Downlink reference signal reception, the receiving unit is further configured to receive the RTT or air interface propagation delay from the access network equipment. These modules can perform the corresponding functions in the method examples of the first aspect. For details, please refer to the detailed descriptions in the method examples, which will not be repeated here.

In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device having a function of implementing the behavior in the method of the second aspect above. The functions can be implemented by hardware, or by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. The communication device may be a terminal device, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the functions in the method of the second aspect. For example, the communication device may be a chip, a chip system, or a processor.

In a possible design, the communication device includes: a processing unit configured to measure the time difference between receiving and sending and obtain a first measurement result, and the processing unit is further configured to obtain an air interface propagation delay based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result; The sending unit is used for sending a first message, and the first message is used for requesting to measure the time difference between receiving and sending, or for requesting to measure the air interface propagation delay or RTT; the receiving unit is used for receiving the second message from the access network device, the first message is The second message is used to activate air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate uplink reference signal transmission (for measuring air interface propagation delay) and/or downlink reference signal reception (for air interface propagation delay measurement), and the receiving unit also It is used for receiving a fourth message from an access network device, where the fourth message includes a second measurement result, and the second measurement result includes a measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device. These modules can perform the corresponding functions in the method examples of the second aspect. For details, please refer to the detailed descriptions in the method examples, which will not be repeated here.

In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device having a function of implementing the behavior in the method of the third aspect. The functions can be implemented by hardware, or by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. The communication device may be an access network device, or a device capable of supporting the access network device to implement the functions in the method of the third aspect. For example, the communication device may be a chip, a chip system or a processor.

In a possible design, the communication apparatus includes: a processing unit, configured to measure the time difference between reception and transmission and obtain a second measurement result, where the second measurement result includes the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device, and the processing unit further uses to obtain the RTT or air interface propagation delay based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result; the sending unit is used to send a second message to the terminal device, and the second message is used to activate the air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate (with (for measuring air interface propagation delay) uplink reference signal transmission and/or (for measuring air interface propagation delay) downlink reference signal reception, the sending unit is also used to send RTT or air interface propagation delay to terminal equipment; For receiving a third message from the terminal device, the third message includes a first measurement result, and the first measurement result includes a measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device. These modules can perform the corresponding functions in the method examples of the third aspect. For details, please refer to the detailed descriptions in the method examples, which will not be repeated here.

In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, and the communication device has a function of implementing the behavior in the method of the fourth aspect. The functions can be implemented by hardware, or by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. The communication device may be an access network device, or a device capable of supporting the access network device to implement the functions in the method of the fourth aspect. For example, the communication device may be a chip, a chip system or a processor.

In a possible design, the communication apparatus includes: a processing unit configured to measure the time difference between reception and transmission and obtain a second measurement result, where the second measurement result includes the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device; For sending a second message to the terminal device, the second message is used to activate the air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate the uplink reference signal transmission (used to measure the air interface propagation delay) and/or (used to measure the air interface propagation delay). The sending unit is further configured to send a fourth message to the terminal device, where the fourth message includes the second measurement result. These modules can perform the corresponding functions in the method example of the fourth aspect. For details, please refer to the detailed description in the method example, which will not be repeated here.

A tenth aspect provides a communication device, which may be a communication device implementing the method of any one of the first to fifth aspects above, or a communication device configured to implement any of the first to fifth aspects above. A chip in a communication device of the method of one aspect. The communication device includes a communication interface, a processor, and optionally, a memory. Wherein, the memory is used to store computer programs or instructions or data, and the processor is coupled with the memory and the communication interface, and when the processor reads the computer program, instructions or data, the communication device is made to perform various aspects of the terminal equipment or the access network. The method performed by the device.

It should be understood that the communication interface may be a transceiver in a communication device, for example, implemented by an antenna, a feeder, a codec, etc. in the communication device, or, if the communication device is a chip set in an access network device, the communication The interface may be an input/output interface of the chip, such as input/output pins and the like. The transceiver is used for the communication device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, when the communication device is a terminal device, the other device is an access network device; or, when the communication device is an access network device, the other device is a terminal device.

In an eleventh aspect, a chip system is provided, the chip system includes a processor for implementing the communication method of any one of the first to fifth aspects. In one possible design, the system-on-a-chip further includes a memory for storing program instructions and/or data. The chip system can be composed of chips, and can also include chips and other discrete devices.

A twelfth aspect provides a communication system, the system includes a communication device for implementing the method of the first aspect and an access network device, or a communication device for implementing the method in the second aspect and an access network device, or the first The communication apparatus and terminal equipment of the method of the third aspect, or the communication apparatus and the terminal equipment that implement the method of the fourth aspect, or the communication apparatus and the access network equipment that implement the method of the fifth aspect.

A thirteenth aspect provides a computer program product, the computer program product comprising instructions, when the instructions are executed, cause the method performed by the access network device in the above aspects to be executed, or cause the above aspects to be executed by The method performed by the terminal device is performed.

A fourteenth aspect provides a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instruction, when the computer program or instruction is executed, the method executed by the terminal device in the above aspects is implemented; Or implement the method performed by the access network device in the above aspects.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system to which an embodiment of the application is applied;

2a is a schematic diagram of a method for calculating air interface propagation delay provided by an embodiment of the present application;

2b is a schematic diagram of another method for calculating air interface propagation delay provided by an embodiment of the present application;

3 is a flowchart of an example of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

4 is a flowchart of another example of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

5 is a flowchart of another example of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

6 is a flowchart of another example of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is another schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. It can be understood that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, but not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application described below can be applied to the network architecture shown in FIG. 1 , wherein FIG. 1 is only an example of a communication system, and the communication system may include multiple terminal devices and multiple network devices. , Figure 1 takes the example of including 2 terminal devices and 2 network devices. Of course, the number of terminal devices in FIG. 1 is just an example, and may be less or more, and the network device may provide services for the terminal devices within the coverage.

In this application, a terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver function, which can be a fixed device, a mobile device, a handheld device, a wearable device, a vehicle, a vehicle-mounted device, or a device built into the above-mentioned device (for example, a communication module or system-on-chip, etc.). The terminal device is used to connect people, objects, machines, etc., and can be widely used in various scenarios. Also sometimes referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with a wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless device in industrial control Terminals, wireless terminals in IoT systems, wireless terminals in unmanned driving, wireless terminals in telemedicine, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, and wireless terminals in smart homes Wireless terminals, cellular telephones, cordless telephones, session initiation protocol (SIP) telephones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDA), wireless communication capable Handheld devices, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, in-vehicle devices, in-vehicle communication devices, in-vehicle communication processing chips, wearable devices, terminal equipment in 5G networks or future evolution of public land mobile communication networks network, PLMN) terminal equipment, etc. It should be understood that the present application does not limit the specific form of the terminal device.

A network device can be an access network device, and an access network device can also be called a radio access network (RAN) device. A communication device can also be regarded as a device that provides wireless communication functions for terminal devices. Access network equipment includes, but is not limited to, the next-generation base station (generation nodeB, gNB), evolved node B (evolved node B, eNB), baseband unit (baseband Unit, BBU), transceiver point (transmitting and receiving) in 5G, for example, but not limited to: point, TRP), transmitting point (transmitting point, TP), the base station in the future mobile communication system or the access point in the WiFi system, etc. The access network device may also be a wireless controller, a centralized unit (centralized unit, CU), and/or a distributed unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN) scenario, or a network The device may be a relay station, a vehicle-mounted device, and a network device in a future evolved PLMN network, and the like.

CUs and DUs can be physically separate or deployed together. Multiple DUs can share one CU. A DU can also be connected to multiple CUs. The CU and the DU can be connected through an interface, such as an F1 interface. CU and DU can be divided according to the protocol layer of the wireless network. For example, one of the possible division methods is: CU is used to execute the radio resource control (radio resouce control, RRC) layer, the service data adaptation protocol (service data adaptation protocol, SDAP) layer and the packet data convergence layer protocol (packet data convergence layer protocol). Protocol, PDCP) layer function, and DU is used to perform radio link control (radio link control, RLC) layer, media access control (media access control, MAC) layer, physical (physical) layer and other functions. It can be understood that the division of CU and DU processing functions according to this protocol layer is only an example, and may also be divided in other ways. For example, a CU or DU may be divided into functions with more protocol layers. For example, a CU or DU can also be divided into partial processing functions with a protocol layer. In one design, some functions of the RLC layer and functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer are placed in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are placed in the DU. In another design, the functions of the CU or DU may also be divided according to service types or other system requirements. For example, according to the delay, the functions whose processing time needs to meet the delay requirements are set in the DU, and the functions that do not need to meet the delay requirements are set in the CU. The network architecture shown in the figure above can be applied to a 5G communication system, which can also share one or more components or resources with an LTE system. In another design, the CU may also have one or more functions of the core network. One or more CUs can be set centrally or separately. For example, the CU can be set on the network side to facilitate centralized management. The DU can have multiple radio functions, or the radio functions can be set farther away.

The functions of the CU can be implemented by one entity or by different entities. For example, the functions of the CU can be further segmented, for example, the control plane (CP) and the user plane (user plane, UP) can be separated, that is, the CU control plane (CU-CP) and the CU user plane (CU -UP). For example, the CU-CP and the CU-UP may be implemented by different functional entities, and the CU-CP and the CU-UP may be coupled with the DU to jointly complete the functions of the access network device.

Terminal equipment can communicate with access network equipment of different technologies. For example, terminal equipment can communicate with access network equipment that supports long term evolution (LTE), and can also communicate with access network equipment that supports 5G. It can communicate with LTE-enabled access network devices and 5G-enabled access network devices at the same time. The embodiments of the present application are not limited.

In order to facilitate the understanding of the present application, the related technical features involved in the embodiments of the present application will now be explained. It should be noted that these explanations are for the purpose of making the embodiments of the present application easier to understand, and should not be regarded as limitations on the protection scope claimed by the present application.

In the LTE or NR system, the access network equipment sends high-precision time information to the terminal equipment through broadcast or unicast to achieve high-precision timing. Since there is a delay in transmission between the access network device and the terminal device, the high-precision time of the terminal device actually needs to superimpose the propagation delay to the high-precision time information of the access network device.

In one design, according to the time difference between the downlink reference signal received by the terminal device and the uplink reference signal transmission (hereinafter referred to as: the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device), and, the uplink reference signal received by the access network device and the downlink reference signal The time difference of signal transmission (hereinafter referred to as: the receiving and sending time difference measured by the access network equipment), determine the round trip time (round trip time, RTT), that is, RTT = (the receiving and sending time difference measured by the terminal equipment) + (the access network equipment measurement Receive and send time difference), so as to determine the air interface propagation delay, where the air interface propagation delay is equal to half of the RTT, that is, RTT/2. There are two different specific measurement methods for RTT in Figure 2a and Figure 2b. In Fig. 2a, the access network device sends the downlink reference signal at time t1, and receives the uplink reference signal at time t4, then the receiving and sending time difference measured by the access network device is (t4-t1). The terminal device receives the downlink reference signal at time t2 and sends the uplink reference signal at time t3, then the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device is (t2-t3), then RTT=(t2-t3)+(t4-t1). In Fig. 2b, the terminal device sends the uplink reference signal at time t1 and receives the downlink reference signal at time t4, and the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device is (t4-t1). The access network device receives the uplink reference signal at time t2 and sends the downlink reference signal at time t3, then the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device is (t2-t3), then RTT=(t2-t3)+(t4-t1 ). The air interface propagation delay accuracy obtained in this way is about 100 nanoseconds, and the accuracy is relatively high.

As mentioned above, the terminal equipment and the access network equipment obtain the RTT by measuring the relevant uplink reference signals and downlink reference signals. In order to obtain a more accurate air interface propagation delay, the downlink reference signal sent by the access network equipment and the uplink reference signal sent by the terminal device need to occupy larger frequency bandwidth resources, and the signaling process to obtain the air interface propagation delay also occupies the air interface resources. Also, since end devices are mobile, the RTT may change over time. When to acquire the RTT and how to delay and reduce the resource occupation of the air interface when acquiring the air interface propagation are technical problems to be solved in the present application.

In view of this, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application are provided. The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. Please refer to FIG. 3 , which is a flowchart of the method. The method can be performed by two communication devices, such as access network equipment and terminal equipment. The access network equipment may be a base station or a communication device (eg, a chip, a chip system or a processor) capable of supporting the functions required by the base station to implement the method. The terminal equipment may be various forms of terminal equipment described above or a communication device (eg, a chip, a chip system or a processor) capable of supporting the functions required by the terminal equipment to implement the method. For ease of introduction, in the following introduction, the method is taken as an example to be performed by the access network device and the terminal device.

S310. The terminal device sends a first message to the access network device.

Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first message from the terminal device. The first message is used to request measurement of air interface propagation delay or RTT, or to request activation of air interface propagation delay measurement.

The first message may be an RRC message or a MAC control element (control element, CE).

The terminal device sends the first message to the access network device, thereby triggering the process of acquiring the air interface propagation delay or the RTT. Since end devices are mobile, the RTT may change over time. Optionally, in this embodiment, the terminal device determines whether the first condition is satisfied, and when the first condition is satisfied, the terminal device initiates a process of acquiring the RTT or the air interface propagation delay, for example, when the first condition is satisfied , the terminal device sends the first message to the access network device. When the first condition is satisfied, the terminal device initiates the process of acquiring the RTT or the air interface propagation delay, which can reduce the frequent acquisition of the RTT or the air interface propagation delay (for example, the terminal device periodically sends the first message to the access network device) The resulting resource occupation and signaling overhead.

Optionally, the first condition may be that the moving distance of the terminal device exceeds the first threshold. When the terminal device moves over a certain distance, the air interface propagation delay may change over a certain range. For high-precision timing, the terminal device can initiate the process of obtaining the RTT or air interface propagation delay to obtain the latest RTT or air interface propagation delay.

Optionally, the first condition may be that the movement speed of the terminal device is higher than or not lower than the second threshold and lasts for a third time period. When the terminal device continues to move at a speed higher than a certain speed for a period of time, the variation of the air interface propagation delay may exceed a certain range. For high-precision timing, the terminal device can initiate the process of obtaining the RTT or air interface propagation delay to obtain the latest RTT or air interface propagation delay.

Optionally, the first condition may be that the variation of the timing advance of the terminal device exceeds a fourth threshold. Due to the propagation delay of the air interface, the terminal device needs to send the uplink data at a certain time in advance, so that the uplink data falls within the time range specified by the access network device. The timing advance can be thought of as a low-precision "RTT". If the change of the timing advance exceeds a certain range, the change of the air interface propagation delay may exceed a certain range. For high-precision timing, the terminal device can initiate the process of obtaining the RTT or air interface propagation delay to obtain the latest RTT or air interface propagation delay.

Optionally, the first condition may be that the variation of the cell signal strength measured by the terminal device exceeds the fifth threshold. The signal strength of the cell is related to the distance between the terminal equipment and the access network equipment. When the variation of the signal strength of the cell exceeds a certain threshold, the change of the air interface propagation delay may exceed a certain range. For high-precision timing, the terminal device can initiate the process of obtaining the RTT or air interface propagation delay to obtain the latest RTT or air interface propagation delay.

Optionally, the first condition may be that the variation of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device exceeds a sixth threshold. For high-precision timing, the terminal device can initiate the process of obtaining the RTT or air interface propagation delay to obtain the latest RTT or air interface propagation delay.

Optionally, the above-mentioned first threshold, and/or second threshold and third duration, and/or fourth threshold, and/or fifth threshold, and/or sixth threshold may be configured by access network equipment, It can also be determined by the terminal device itself.

Optionally, before sending the first message to the access network device, the terminal device receives the first indication information from the access network device, and correspondingly, the access network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device. The first indication information indicates that air interface time synchronization uses the air interface propagation delay for compensation, or indicates that high-precision air interface time synchronization is required. The first indication information may be broadcast in the system information of the cell, or may be carried in the RRC dedicated message and carried to the terminal device. The terminal device determines, based on the first indication information, that the air interface propagation delay needs to be used to compensate for air interface time synchronization. Optionally, the first indication information may include first resource information and/or second resource information, the first resource information indicates the time-frequency resource where the downlink reference signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay is located, and the second resource information indicates the The time-frequency resource where the uplink reference signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay is located. Optionally, the first indication information may include a first threshold, and/or a second threshold and a third duration, and/or a fourth threshold, and/or a fifth threshold.

S320. The access network device sends a second message to the terminal device.

Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second message from the access network device. The second message is used to activate air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate uplink reference signal transmission (for measuring air interface propagation delay) and/or downlink reference signal reception (for air interface propagation delay measurement). Optionally, when the terminal device receives a second message for activating uplink reference signal transmission (for measuring air interface propagation delay) and/or receiving downlink reference signal (for measuring air interface propagation delay), the terminal The device learns that the air interface propagation delay measurement needs to be activated.

As mentioned above, in order to obtain the air interface propagation delay, the terminal device needs to send an uplink reference signal, and the access network device needs to send a downlink reference signal. The downlink reference signal sent by the access network device and the uplink reference signal sent by the terminal device need to occupy larger frequency bandwidth resources. In a possible implementation manner, the uplink reference signal and/or downlink parameter signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay may be sent on demand, that is, when the air interface propagation delay needs to be measured, these reference signals are sent , when there is no need to measure the air interface propagation delay, these reference signals are not sent to save the occupation of air interface resources. When the air interface propagation delay needs to be measured, the access network device sends a second message to the terminal device. The second message is used to activate the air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate the uplink reference signal transmission (used to measure the air interface propagation delay) and /or (for measuring air interface propagation delay) downlink reference signal reception.

In another possible implementation manner, the uplink reference signal and/or the downlink parameter signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay may be sent periodically. When the air interface propagation delay needs to be measured, the access network device sends a second message to the terminal device, and the second message is used to activate the air interface propagation delay measurement, that is, trigger the terminal device to start the measurement.

The second message may be downlink control information (downlink control information, DCI) or a MAC CE or RRC message.

S330. The terminal device performs the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission, and acquires a first measurement result.

Before receiving the second message, the terminal device does not need to measure the air interface propagation delay or send an uplink reference signal (used for measuring the air interface propagation delay) or receive a downlink reference signal (used to measure the air interface propagation delay). After receiving the second message, based on the second message, the terminal device starts to measure the time difference between receiving and sending, or starts to send an uplink reference signal (used to measure air interface propagation delay) or starts to receive (used to measure air interface propagation delay) Downlink reference signal. Optionally, the downlink reference signal here may be a downlink reference signal corresponding to the first resource information. The uplink reference signal here may be an uplink reference signal corresponding to the second resource information.

The terminal device performs the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission. As shown in FIG. 2a, time points t2 and t3 are obtained, or as shown in FIG. 2b, time points t1 and t4 are obtained. The terminal device obtains the first measurement result, and the first measurement result includes the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device. As shown in FIG. 2a, the first measurement result is the value of t2-t3, or as shown in FIG. 2b, the first measurement result The result is the value of t4-t1. It should be noted that the air interface propagation delay measurement requires both the terminal equipment and the access network equipment to perform the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission. obtained measurement results. Similarly, "the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device" in this application refers to the measurement result obtained by the access network device performing the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission.

S340. The access network device performs the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission, and acquires a second measurement result.

The access network device performs the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission, as shown in FIG. 2a, and obtains time points t1 and t4, or as shown in FIG. 2b, obtains time points t2 and t3. The access network device obtains the second measurement result, and the second measurement result includes the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device, as shown in Figure 2a, the second measurement result is the value of t4-t1, or as shown in Figure 2b , the second measurement result is the value of t2-t3.

It should be noted that, the execution order of step S330 and step S340 is not limited and can be interchanged.

S350. The terminal device sends a third message to the access network device.

Correspondingly, the access network device receives the third message from the terminal device. The third message includes the first measurement result. The third message may be an RRC message or a MAC CE.

Optionally, the third message includes first time information, where the first time information indicates the time of acquiring the first measurement result, or the time of receiving the downlink reference signal, or the time of sending the uplink reference signal. The time can be coordinated universal time (UTC) time or global positioning system (GPS) time, or at least one of system frame number (SFN), slot number, and symbol number. The time value that the item consists of. Considering that the terminal device can obtain multiple first measurement results at multiple different time points, the access network device can obtain multiple second measurement results at multiple different time points, as can be seen from Figure 2a or Figure 2b Note that the first measurement result and the second measurement result need to be used in pairs. Therefore, the access network device may determine the second measurement result corresponding to the first measurement result based on the first time information.

Optionally, in order to save signaling overhead, the minimum transmission interval of the third message can be set, for example, a first timer is introduced, and when the first timer is not started or times out, the third message is sent to the access network device. message and start the first timer. When the first timer is running, the third message is not sent to save signaling overhead, and the third message can be sent again only after the timer expires.

S360. The access network device acquires the RTT or the air interface propagation delay based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result.

Add the two measurement results to obtain the RTT, and divide the RTT by 2 to obtain the air interface propagation delay. It should be noted that if both measurement results are represented by positive numbers, for example, for the convenience of transmission, negative numbers are transmitted by positive numbers, the two measurement results can be subtracted to obtain RTT.

Optionally, the access network device determines the second measurement result corresponding to the first measurement result according to the first time information in the third message. For example, according to the SFN included in the first time information, a measurement result within the SFN or the closest measurement result in time to the SFN is found as the second measurement result corresponding to the first measurement result.

S370. The access network device sends the RTT or air interface propagation delay to the terminal device.

Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the RTT or air interface propagation delay from the access network device. If the terminal device receives RTT, the air interface propagation delay is obtained according to "air interface propagation delay=RTT/2". The terminal device can use the air interface propagation delay to compensate for the air interface time synchronization, that is, the time of the terminal device is equal to the received time plus the air interface propagation delay. With the method of this embodiment, the occupation of air interface resources and signaling overhead are reduced.

Another implementation manner of the above method is that the terminal device and the access network device do not need to perform steps S310 and S320. The uplink reference signal and/or the downlink parameter signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay are sent periodically. The terminal device and the access network device respectively perform step S330 and step S340 to measure the time difference between reception and transmission. When the first condition is satisfied, the terminal device executes step S350, and sends a third message to the access network device. The third message may carry one or more recent first measurement results; the first condition is the same as that described in step S310 above. The first condition is the same and will not be repeated here. The access network device executes steps S360 and S370. In this implementation manner, the related signaling overhead is reduced by sending the third message to the terminal device when the first condition is satisfied, instead of sending it periodically.

An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. Please refer to FIG. 4 , which is a flowchart of the method. In the method of the previous embodiment, the terminal device sends the first measurement result to the access network device, and the access network device obtains the RTT or air interface propagation delay based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result. However, in the method of this embodiment, the access network device sends the second measurement result to the terminal device, and the terminal device obtains the RTT or the air interface propagation delay based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result. The method can be performed by two communication devices, such as access network equipment and terminal equipment. The access network equipment may be a base station or a communication device (eg, a chip, a chip system or a processor) capable of supporting the functions required by the base station to implement the method. The terminal equipment may be various forms of terminal equipment described above or a communication device (eg, a chip, a chip system or a processor) capable of supporting the functions required by the terminal equipment to implement the method. For the convenience of introduction, in the following introduction, the method is performed by the access network device and the terminal device as an example.

S410. The terminal device sends a first message to the access network device.

Reference may be made to the above-mentioned record in S310, which will not be repeated here. It should be noted that, the first message here may also be used to request to measure the time difference between receiving and sending.

S420. The access network device sends a second message to the terminal device.

Reference may be made to the record in the above S320, and details are not repeated here.

S430. The terminal device performs the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission, and acquires a first measurement result.

Reference may be made to the record in the above S330, and details are not repeated here.

S440. The access network device performs time difference measurement for receiving and sending, and acquires a second measurement result.

Reference may be made to the above-mentioned record in S340, which will not be repeated here.

S450. The access network device sends a fourth message to the terminal device.

Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the fourth message from the access network device. The fourth message includes the second measurement result. The fourth message may be an RRC message or a MAC CE.

Optionally, the fourth message includes second time information, where the second time information indicates the time of acquiring the second measurement result, or the time of receiving the uplink reference signal, or the time of sending the downlink reference signal. The time can be UTC time or GPS time, or a time value consisting of at least one of SFN, slot number, and symbol number. Considering that the terminal device can obtain multiple first measurement results at multiple different time points, the access network device can obtain multiple second measurement results at multiple different time points, as can be seen from Figure 2a or Figure 2b Note that the first measurement result and the second measurement result need to be used in pairs. Therefore, the terminal device may determine the first measurement result corresponding to the second measurement result based on the second time information.

S460. The terminal device acquires the air interface propagation delay based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result.

Optionally, the terminal device determines the first measurement result corresponding to the second measurement result according to the second time information in the fourth message. For example, according to the SFN included in the second time information, a measurement result within the SFN or closest in time to the SFN is found as the first measurement result corresponding to the second measurement result.

The terminal device calculates the air interface propagation delay based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result. The terminal device can use the air interface propagation delay to compensate for the air interface time synchronization, that is, the time of the terminal device is equal to the received time plus the air interface propagation delay. With the method of this embodiment, the occupation of air interface resources and signaling overhead are reduced.

An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. Please refer to FIG. 5 , which is a flowchart of the method. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4 , the terminal device triggers the acquisition process of RTT or air interface propagation delay. In this embodiment, the access network device triggers the acquisition process of RTT or air interface propagation delay. The method may be performed by two communication devices, such as access network equipment and terminal equipment. The access network equipment may be a base station or a communication device (eg, a chip, a chip system or a processor) capable of supporting the functions required by the base station to implement the method. The terminal equipment may be various forms of terminal equipment described above or a communication device (eg, a chip, a chip system or a processor) capable of supporting the functions required by the terminal equipment to implement the method. For ease of introduction, in the following introduction, the method is taken as an example that the method is executed by the access network device and the terminal device.

S510. The access network device determines that the second condition is satisfied.

This step is optional. Since end devices are mobile, the RTT may change over time. Frequent acquisition of RTT or air interface propagation delay will not only increase resource occupation of uplink reference signals and downlink reference signals, but also increase related signaling overhead. Optionally, the access network device may determine whether the second condition is satisfied, and when the second condition is satisfied, the access network device initiates a process of acquiring the RTT or the air interface propagation delay.

Optionally, the second condition may be that the moving distance of the terminal device exceeds the first threshold. When the terminal device moves over a certain distance, the air interface propagation delay may change over a certain range. For high-precision timing, the access network device can initiate the process of obtaining the RTT or air interface propagation delay to obtain the latest RTT or air interface propagation delay.

Optionally, the second condition may be that the moving speed of the terminal device is higher than or not lower than the second threshold and lasts for a third time period. When the terminal device continues to move at a speed higher than a certain speed for a period of time, the variation of the air interface propagation delay may exceed a certain range. For high-precision timing, the access network device can initiate the process of obtaining the RTT or air interface propagation delay to obtain the latest RTT or air interface propagation delay.

Optionally, the second condition may be that the variation of the timing advance of the terminal device exceeds a fourth threshold. Due to the propagation delay of the air interface, the terminal device needs to send the uplink data at a certain time in advance, so that the uplink data falls within the time range specified by the access network device. The timing advance can be thought of as a low-precision "RTT". If the change of the timing advance exceeds a certain range, the change of the air interface propagation delay may exceed a certain range. For high-precision timing, the access network device can initiate the process of obtaining the RTT or air interface propagation delay to obtain the latest RTT or air interface propagation delay.

Optionally, the second condition may be that the variation of the signal strength of the uplink reference signal measured by the access network device exceeds the seventh threshold. The signal strength of the uplink reference signal is related to the distance between the terminal equipment and the access network equipment. When the change of the signal strength of the uplink reference signal exceeds a certain threshold, the change of the air interface propagation delay may exceed a certain amplitude. For high-precision timing, the access network device can initiate the process of obtaining the RTT or air interface propagation delay to obtain the latest RTT or air interface propagation delay.

Optionally, the second condition may be that the variation of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device exceeds an eighth threshold. For high-precision timing, the access network device can initiate the process of obtaining the RTT or air interface propagation delay to obtain the latest RTT or air interface propagation delay.

Optionally, the above-mentioned first threshold, and/or second threshold and third duration, and/or fourth threshold, and/or seventh threshold, and/or eighth threshold may be determined by the access network device itself .

S520. The access network device sends a second message to the terminal device.

Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second message from the access network device. The second message is used to activate air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate uplink reference signal transmission (for measuring air interface propagation delay) and/or downlink reference signal reception (for air interface propagation delay measurement).

As mentioned above, in order to obtain the air interface propagation delay, the terminal device needs to send an uplink reference signal, and the access network device needs to send a downlink reference signal. The downlink reference signal sent by the access network device and the uplink reference signal sent by the terminal device need to occupy larger frequency bandwidth resources. In a possible implementation manner, the uplink reference signal and/or downlink parameter signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay may be sent on demand, that is, when the air interface propagation delay needs to be measured, these reference signals are sent , when there is no need to measure the air interface propagation delay, these reference signals are not sent to save the occupation of air interface resources. When the air interface propagation delay needs to be measured, the access network device sends a second message to the terminal device. The second message is used to activate the air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate the uplink reference signal transmission (used to measure the air interface propagation delay) and /or (for measuring air interface propagation delay) downlink reference signal reception. Before receiving the second message, the terminal device does not need to measure the air interface propagation delay or send an uplink reference signal for measuring the air interface propagation delay or receive a downlink reference signal for measuring the air interface propagation delay. After receiving the second message, based on the second message, the terminal device starts to measure the time difference between reception and transmission, or starts to transmit uplink reference signals for measuring air interface propagation delay or starts to receive downlink reference signals for air interface propagation delay measurement.

In another possible implementation manner, the uplink reference signal and/or the downlink parameter signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay may be sent periodically. When the air interface propagation delay needs to be measured, the access network device sends a second message to the terminal device, and the second message is used to activate the air interface propagation delay measurement. Before receiving the second message, the terminal device does not need to measure the air interface propagation delay. After receiving the second message, based on the second message, the terminal device starts to perform the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission.

Optionally, before the access network device sends the second message to the terminal device, the access network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information from the terminal device. The first indication information indicates that air interface time synchronization uses the air interface propagation delay for compensation, or indicates that high-precision air interface time synchronization is required. The first indication information may be broadcast in the system information of the cell, or may be carried in the RRC dedicated message and carried to the terminal device. The terminal device determines, based on the first indication information, that the air interface propagation delay needs to be used to compensate for air interface time synchronization. Optionally, the first indication information may include first resource information and/or second resource information, the first resource information indicates the time-frequency resource where the downlink reference signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay is located, and the second resource information indicates the The time-frequency resource where the uplink reference signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay is located.

S530. The access network device performs the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission, and acquires a second measurement result.

S540. The terminal device performs the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission, and acquires a first measurement result.

It should be noted that, the execution order of step S530 and step S540 is not limited and can be interchanged.

S550. The terminal device sends a third message to the access network device.

Reference may be made to the above-mentioned record in S350, which will not be repeated here.

S560. The access network device acquires the RTT or the air interface propagation delay based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result.

Reference may be made to the above-mentioned record in S360, which will not be repeated here.

S570. The access network device sends the RTT or air interface propagation delay to the terminal device.

Reference may be made to the above-mentioned record in S370, which will not be repeated here.

An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. Please refer to FIG. 6 , which is a flowchart of the method. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , the terminal device sends the first measurement result to the access network device, and the access network device obtains the RTT or air interface propagation delay based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result. However, in the method of this embodiment, the access network device sends the second measurement result to the terminal device, and the terminal device obtains the RTT or the air interface propagation delay based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result. The method can be performed by two communication devices, such as access network equipment and terminal equipment. The access network equipment may be a base station or a communication device (eg, a chip, a chip system or a processor) capable of supporting the functions required by the base station to implement the method. The terminal equipment may be various forms of terminal equipment described above or a communication device (eg, a chip, a chip system or a processor) capable of supporting the functions required by the terminal equipment to implement the method. For the convenience of introduction, in the following introduction, the method is performed by the access network device and the terminal device as an example.

S610. The access network device determines that the second condition is satisfied.

This step is optional. Reference may be made to the above-mentioned record in S510, and details are not repeated here.

S620. The access network device sends a second message to the terminal device.

Reference may be made to the above-mentioned record in S520, which is not repeated here.

S630. The access network device performs time difference measurement for receiving and sending, and acquires a second measurement result.

S640. The terminal device performs the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission, and acquires a first measurement result.

S650. The access network device sends a fourth message to the terminal device.

Reference may be made to the record in the above S450, and details are not repeated here.

S660. The terminal device acquires the air interface propagation delay based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result.

Reference may be made to the above-mentioned record in S460, which is not repeated here.

Another implementation manner of the above method is that the terminal device and the access network device do not need to perform step S620. The uplink reference signal and/or the downlink parameter signal used for measuring the air interface propagation delay are periodically sent by the terminal equipment and the access network equipment. The terminal device and the access network device respectively perform step S630 and step S640 to measure the time difference between reception and transmission. When the second condition is satisfied, the access network device executes step S650, and sends a fourth message to the terminal device, where the second condition is the same as the second condition described in the foregoing step S510. The terminal device executes step S660. The fourth message is sent to the terminal device when the second condition is satisfied, instead of being sent periodically, thereby reducing the related signaling overhead.

The apparatus for implementing the above method in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the above content can be used in subsequent embodiments, and repeated content will not be repeated.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 700 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 700 may correspondingly implement the functions or steps implemented by the terminal device or the access network device in the foregoing method embodiments.

In some possible implementations, the communication apparatus may include one or more of a sending unit 710 , a receiving unit 720 and a processing unit 730 . Optionally, a storage unit may also be included, and the storage unit may be used to store instructions (codes or programs) and/or data. The sending unit 710, the receiving unit 720 and the processing unit 730 may be coupled with the storage unit, for example, the processing unit 730 may read instructions (codes or programs) and/or data in the storage unit to implement corresponding methods. The above-mentioned units may be set independently, or may be partially or fully integrated.

In some possible implementation manners, the communication apparatus 700 can correspondingly implement the behaviors and functions of the terminal equipment in the foregoing method embodiments. For example, the communication apparatus 700 may be a terminal device, or may be a component (eg, a chip or a circuit) applied in the terminal device. The sending unit 710 and the receiving unit 720 may be respectively configured to perform the sending or receiving operations performed by the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments, such as S310, S320, S350 and S370 in the embodiment shown in FIG. S410, S420 and S450 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, or S520, S550 and S570 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, or S620 and S650 in the embodiment shown in FIG. other procedures of the described techniques. The processing unit 730 is configured to perform operations other than the transceiving operations performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments, and/or other processes used to support the techniques described herein.

In some possible embodiments, the processing unit 730 is configured to perform measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission and obtain a first measurement result, where the first measurement result includes a measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device.

The sending unit 710 is configured to send a first message, the first message is used to request to measure the air interface propagation delay or RTT, the sending unit 710 is further configured to send a third message to the access network device, and the third message includes the first measurement result.

The receiving unit 720 is configured to receive a second message from the access network device, where the second message is used to activate air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate uplink reference signal transmission (for measuring air interface propagation delay) and/or ( The downlink reference signal used for measuring the air interface propagation delay is received, and the receiving unit 720 is further configured to receive the air interface propagation delay or RTT from the access network equipment.

In some possible embodiments, the processing unit 730 is configured to perform receiving and sending time difference measurement and obtain the first measurement result, and the processing unit 730 is further configured to obtain the air interface propagation delay based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result.

The sending unit 710 is configured to send a first message, where the first message is used to request to measure the time difference between reception and transmission, or to request to measure the air interface propagation delay or RTT.

The receiving unit 720 is configured to receive a second message from the access network device, where the second message is used to activate air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate uplink reference signal transmission (for measuring air interface propagation delay) and/or ( (used for measuring air interface propagation delay) downlink reference signal reception, the receiving unit 720 is further configured to receive a fourth message from the access network device, the fourth message includes the second measurement result, and the second measurement result includes the access network device measurement Receive and send time difference measurement results.

It should be understood that the processing unit 730 in this embodiment of the present application may be implemented by at least one processor or a processor-related circuit component, and the sending unit 710 and the receiving unit 720 may be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component or a communication interface.

In some possible implementation manners, the communication apparatus 700 can correspondingly implement the behaviors and functions of the access network equipment in the foregoing method embodiments. For example, the communication apparatus 700 may be an access network device, or may be a component (eg, a chip or a circuit) applied in the access network device. The sending unit 710 and the receiving unit 720 may be respectively configured to perform the sending or receiving operations performed by the access network device in the foregoing method embodiments, for example, S310, S320, S350, and S370 in the embodiment shown in FIG. S410, S420 and S450 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, or S520, S550 and S570 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, or S620 and S650 in the embodiment shown in FIG. Other procedures for the techniques described herein. The processing unit 730 is configured to perform operations other than the transceiving operations performed by the access network device in the foregoing method embodiments, and/or other processes used to support the techniques described herein.

In some possible embodiments, the processing unit 730 is configured to measure the time difference between reception and transmission and obtain a second measurement result, where the second measurement result includes the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device, and the processing unit 730 is further configured to measure the time difference between reception and transmission based on the first measurement result. The first measurement result and the second measurement result obtain RTT or air interface propagation delay.

The sending unit 710 is configured to send a second message to the terminal device, where the second message is used to activate air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate uplink reference signal transmission (for measuring air interface propagation delay) and/or (for measuring air interface propagation delay) The downlink reference signal of the air interface propagation delay) is received, and the sending unit 710 is further configured to send the RTT or the air interface propagation delay to the terminal device.

The receiving unit 720 is configured to receive a third message from the terminal device, where the third message includes a first measurement result, and the first measurement result includes a measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device.

In some possible embodiments, the processing unit 730 is configured to perform the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission and obtain a second measurement result, where the second measurement result includes the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device.

The sending unit 710 is configured to send a second message to the terminal device, where the second message is used to activate air interface propagation delay measurement, or to activate uplink reference signal transmission (for measuring air interface propagation delay) and/or (for measuring air interface propagation delay) The sending unit 710 is further configured to send a fourth message to the terminal device, where the fourth message includes the second measurement result.

It should be understood that the sending unit 710 in this embodiment of the present application may be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component or a communication interface.

The storage unit in the above embodiment may be implemented by a memory.

As shown in FIG. 8 , in the communication apparatus 800 provided by this embodiment of the present application, the communication apparatus 800 may be an access network device, which can implement the functions of the access network device in the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, or the communication apparatus 800 may be is a terminal device, which can implement the functions of the terminal device in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application; the communication apparatus 800 may also be a device capable of supporting the access network equipment to implement the corresponding functions in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application, or a terminal device capable of supporting A device is an apparatus for implementing functions corresponding to the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application. Wherein, the communication apparatus 800 may be a chip system. In this embodiment of the present application, the chip system may be composed of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.

The communication apparatus 800 includes at least one processor 820, which is configured to implement or support the communication apparatus 800 to implement the functions of the access network device or the terminal device in the methods provided in the embodiments of this application. For details, refer to the detailed description in the method example, which is not repeated here.

Communication apparatus 800 may also include at least one memory 830 for storing program instructions and/or data. Memory 830 is coupled to processor 820 . The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units or modules. Processor 820 may cooperate with memory 830 . The processor 820 may execute program instructions and/or data stored in the memory 830 to cause the communication device 800 to implement the corresponding method. Optionally, at least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

The communication apparatus 800 may also include a communication interface 810 for communicating with other devices through a transmission medium, so that the devices used in the communication apparatus 800 may communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, when the communication device is a terminal device, the other device is an access network device; or, when the communication device is an access network device, the other device is a terminal device. The processor 820 may utilize the communication interface 810 to send and receive data. The communication interface 810 may specifically be a transceiver. For example, the above-mentioned transmitting unit 710 and receiving unit 720 constitute the communication interface 810 .

The specific connection medium between the communication interface 810 , the processor 820 , and the memory 830 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. Exemplarily, in the embodiment of the present application, the memory 830, the processor 820, and the communication interface 810 are connected through a bus 840 in FIG. 8, and the bus is represented by a thick line in FIG. A schematic illustration is provided, but not limited. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of presentation, only one thick line is used in FIG. 8, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

In this embodiment of the present application, the processor 820 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, which can implement Alternatively, each method, step, and logic block diagram disclosed in the embodiments of the present application are executed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the methods disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as executed by a hardware processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

In this embodiment of the present application, the memory 830 may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc., or a volatile memory (volatile memory), Such as random-access memory (random-access memory, RAM). Memory is, but is not limited to, any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. The memory in this embodiment of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing a storage function, for storing program instructions and/or data.

It should be noted that, the communication device in the above embodiment may be a terminal device or a circuit, and may also be a chip applied in the terminal device or other combined devices or components having the functions of the above-mentioned terminal device. When the communication device is a terminal device, the transceiver unit may be a transceiver, which may include an antenna and a radio frequency circuit, etc., and the processing module may be a processor, such as a central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU). When the communication device is a component having the functions of the above terminal equipment, the transceiver unit may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing module may be a processor. When the communication device is a chip system, the transceiver unit may be an input and output interface of the chip system, and the processing module may be a processor of the chip system.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic structural diagram of a simplified communication device. For the convenience of understanding and illustration, in FIG. 9 , the communication apparatus takes an access network device as an example. The access network device may be applied to the system shown in FIG. 1 , and may be the network device in FIG. 1 , and performs the functions of the access network device in the foregoing method embodiments. The access network device 900 may include one or more radio frequency units 910, such as a remote radio unit (remote radio unit, RRU) or an active antenna unit (Active Antenna Unit, AAU) and one or more baseband units (baseband unit, BBU) ) (also known as digital unit, digital unit, DU) 920. The radio frequency unit 910 may be referred to as a communication module, optionally, the communication module may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., which may include at least one antenna 911 and a radio frequency module 912 . The radio frequency unit 910 is mainly used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals to baseband signals. The BBU 920 is mainly used for baseband processing and control of access network equipment. The radio frequency unit 910 and the BBU 920 may be physically set together, or may be physically separated, that is, a distributed access network device.

The BBU 920 is the control center of the access network equipment, and can also be called a processing module. It is mainly used to complete baseband processing functions, such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulation, and spread spectrum. For example, the BBU 920 (processing module) may be used to control the access network device to perform the operation procedures related to the access network device in the above method embodiments.

In an example, the BBU 920 may be composed of one or more boards, and the multiple boards may jointly support a wireless access network (such as an LTE network or an NR network) of a single access standard, or may support different access standards respectively. The wireless access network (such as LTE network, NR network or other standard network). BBU 920 also includes memory 921 and processor 922. The memory 921 is used to store necessary instructions and data. The processor 922 is configured to control the access network device to perform necessary actions, for example, configured to control the access network device to perform the operation flow of the access network device in the foregoing method embodiments. Memory 921 and processor 922 may serve one or more single boards. That is to say, the memory and processor can be provided separately on each single board. It can also be that multiple boards share the same memory and processor. In addition, necessary circuits may also be provided on each single board.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus may be a terminal device or a circuit. The communication apparatus may be configured to perform the actions performed by the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments.

FIG. 10 shows a schematic structural diagram of a simplified terminal device. For ease of understanding and illustration, in Figure 10,

The terminal device takes a mobile phone as an example. As shown in FIG. 10 , the terminal device 1000 includes a processor, a memory, a radio frequency circuit, an antenna, and an input and output device. The processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the vehicle-mounted unit, execute software programs, and process data of software programs. The memory is mainly used to store software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for the conversion of the baseband signal and the radio frequency signal and the processing of the radio frequency signal. Antennas are mainly used to send and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as touch screens, display screens,

The keyboard and the like are mainly used to receive data input by the user and output data to the user. It should be noted that some types of equipment may not have input and output devices.

When data needs to be sent, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent, and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and sends the radio frequency signal through the antenna in the form of electromagnetic waves. When data is sent to the device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor, which converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data. For ease of illustration, only one memory and processor are shown in FIG. 10 . In an actual device product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device or the like. The memory may be set independently of the processor, or may be integrated with the processor, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In the embodiments of the present application, the antenna and the radio frequency circuit with a transceiving function may be regarded as the transceiving unit of the apparatus, and the processor having the processing function may be regarded as the processing unit of the apparatus. As shown in FIG. 10 , the apparatus includes a transceiver unit 1010 and a processing unit 1020 . The transceiver unit 1010 may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver, a transceiver, or the like. The processing unit 1020 may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, or the like. Optionally, the device for implementing the receiving function in the transceiver unit 1010 may be regarded as a receiving unit, and the device for implementing the transmitting function in the transceiver unit 1010 may be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the transceiver unit 1010 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The transceiver unit 1010 may also be sometimes referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver, or a transceiver circuit or the like. The receiving unit may also sometimes be referred to as a receiver, receiver, or receiving circuit, or the like. The transmitting unit may also sometimes be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, or the like.

It should be understood that the transceiving unit 1010 is configured to perform the sending and receiving operations on the terminal device side in the above method embodiments, and the processing unit 1020 is configured to perform other operations on the terminal device in the above method embodiments except the transceiving operations.

When the communication device is a chip-type device or circuit, the device may include a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit may be an input/output circuit and/or a communication interface; the processing unit may be an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, specifically, the communication system may include an access network device and a terminal device. Exemplarily, the communication system includes access network equipment and terminal equipment for implementing the above-mentioned functions related to FIG. 3 , or the communication system includes access network equipment and terminal equipment for implementing the above-mentioned functions related to FIG. 4 , or the communication The system includes access network equipment and terminal equipment for implementing the above-mentioned related functions in FIG. 5 , or the communication system includes access network equipment and terminal equipment for implementing the above-mentioned related functions in FIG. 6 .

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium, including a computer program or instruction, which when executed, for example, by a computer or a processor, enables the terminal device or the terminal device in any one of FIG. 3 to FIG. 6 . A method performed by an access network device is performed.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, including instructions, which, when executed, for example, by a computer or a processor, cause the terminal device or access network device in any one of FIG. 3 to FIG. 6 to execute method is executed.

An embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor, and may also include a memory, for implementing the functions of the access network device or the terminal device in the foregoing method. The chip system can be composed of chips, and can also include chips and other discrete devices.

It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application may be used interchangeably. "At least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. "And/or", which describes the association relationship of the associated objects, indicates that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and/or B, which can indicate: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A, B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the associated objects are an "or" relationship. "At least one item(s) below" or similar expressions thereof refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, at least one (a) of a, b or c may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or multiple. And, unless stated to the contrary, the ordinal numbers such as the terms "first" and "second" in the description, claims and drawings of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit multiple objects order, timing, priority, or importance. For example, the first message and the third message are only for distinguishing different messages, but do not indicate the difference in priority, sending order, or importance of the two kinds of messages. In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations or illustrations. Any embodiments or designs described in the embodiments of the present application as "exemplary" or "such as" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present the related concepts in a specific manner. "Based on" in the description and claims of the present application and the drawings may also mean "based on, at least in part".

It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a CPU, and may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (digital signal processors, DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (application specific integrated circuits, ASICs), off-the-shelf processors Field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically programmable Erase programmable read-only memory (electrically EPROM, EEPROM) or flash memory. Volatile memory may be random access memory (RAM), which acts as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (double data rate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM) ) and direct memory bus random access memory (direct rambus RAM, DR RAM).

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

It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

It should be understood that, in various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the sequence of execution, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by its functions and internal logic, and should not be dealt with in the embodiments of the present application. implementation constitutes any limitation.

Those of ordinary skill in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality using different methods for each particular application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the above-described systems, devices and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or Can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored, or not implemented. On the other hand, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution in this embodiment.

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

In the above-mentioned embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the procedures or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the present application are produced in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be downloaded from a website site, computer, server, or data center Transmission to another website site, computer, server, or data center is by wire (eg, coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (eg, infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, a data center, or the like that includes an integration of one or more available media. The usable media may be magnetic media (eg, floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (eg, DVD), or semiconductor media (eg, Solid State Disk (SSD)), and the like.

The above are only specific implementations of the present application, but the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes within the technical scope disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. Or alternatives, all should be covered within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A communication method, characterized in that the method comprises:

sending a first message to the access network device, where the first message is used to request measurement of air interface propagation delay;

receiving a second message from the access network device, where the second message is used to activate air interface propagation delay measurement;

Performing the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission and obtaining a first measurement result, where the first measurement result includes the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device;

sending a third message to the access network device, where the third message includes the first measurement result;

Receive air interface propagation delay from the access network device.
The method according to claim 1, wherein sending the first message to the access network device comprises:

When the first condition is satisfied, the first message is sent to the access network device, and the first condition includes: the moving distance of the terminal equipment exceeds a first threshold, or the moving speed of the terminal equipment is higher than the first threshold The second threshold lasts for a third period of time, or the change in the timing advance of the terminal device exceeds the fourth threshold, or the change in the cell signal strength measured by the terminal device exceeds the fifth threshold, or the terminal device measures The variation of the receiving and sending time difference exceeds the sixth threshold.
The method of claim 2, wherein:

The first threshold, or the second threshold and the third duration, or the fourth threshold, or the fifth threshold, or the sixth threshold are configured by the access network device.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein before sending the first message to the access network device, the method further comprises:

Receive first indication information from the access network device, where the first indication information indicates that air interface time synchronization uses air interface propagation delay for compensation.
The method of claim 4, wherein:

The first indication information includes first resource information and/or second resource information, the first resource information indicates the time-frequency resource where the downlink reference signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay is located, and the second resource information indicates The time-frequency resource where the uplink reference signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay is located.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein,

The second message is downlink control information DCI or medium access control MAC control element CE.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein sending the third message to the access network device comprises:

When the first timer is not started or times out, the third message is sent to the access network device, and the first timer is started.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein,

The third message includes first time information indicating the time at which the first measurement result was obtained.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein,

The first message is a radio resource control RRC message or a MAC CE, and the third message is an RRC message or a MAC CE.
It is characterised in that the method includes:

sending a first message to the access network device, where the first message is used to request to measure the time difference between receiving and sending;

receiving a second message from the access network device, where the second message is used to activate air interface propagation delay measurement;

Performing the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission and obtaining a first measurement result, where the first measurement result includes the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device;

receiving a fourth message from the access network device, where the fourth message includes a second measurement result, and the second measurement result includes a measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device;

The air interface propagation delay is obtained based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result.
The method according to claim 10, wherein sending the first message to the access network device comprises:

When the first condition is satisfied, the first message is sent to the access network device, and the first condition includes: the moving distance of the terminal equipment exceeds a first threshold, or the moving speed of the terminal equipment is higher than the first threshold The second threshold lasts for a third period of time, or the change in the timing advance of the terminal device exceeds the fourth threshold, or the change in the cell signal strength measured by the terminal device exceeds the fifth threshold, or the terminal device measures The variation of the receiving and sending time difference exceeds the sixth threshold.
The method of claim 11, wherein:

The first threshold, or the second threshold and the third duration, or the fourth threshold, or the fifth threshold, or the sixth threshold are configured by the access network device.
The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein before sending the first message to the access network device, the method further comprises:

Receive first indication information from the access network device, where the first indication information indicates that air interface time synchronization uses air interface propagation delay for compensation.
The method of claim 13, wherein:

The first indication information includes first resource information and/or second resource information, the first resource information indicates the time-frequency resource where the downlink reference signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay is located, and the second resource information indicates The time-frequency resource where the uplink reference signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay is located.
The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein,

The second message is downlink control information DCI or medium access control MAC control element CE.
The method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, wherein,

The fourth message includes second time information indicating the time at which the second measurement result was obtained.
The method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, wherein,

The first message is a radio resource control RRC message or a MAC CE, and the fourth message is an RRC message or a MAC CE.
A communication method, characterized in that the method comprises:

sending a second message to the terminal device, where the second message is used to activate air interface propagation delay measurement;

Performing the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission and obtaining a second measurement result, where the second measurement result includes the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device;

receiving a third message from the terminal device, where the third message includes a first measurement result, and the first measurement result includes a measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the terminal device;

obtaining air interface propagation delay based on the first measurement result and the second measurement result;

Send the air interface propagation delay to the terminal device.
The method according to claim 18, wherein sending the second message to the terminal device comprises:

When a second condition is satisfied, the second message is sent to the terminal device, where the second condition includes: the moving distance of the terminal device exceeds a first threshold, or the moving speed of the terminal device is higher than a second The threshold lasts for a third time period, or the change in the timing advance of the terminal device exceeds the fourth threshold, or the change in the signal strength of the uplink reference signal measured by the access network device exceeds the seventh threshold, or all The variation of the receiving and sending time difference measured by the access network device exceeds the eighth threshold.
The method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein before sending the second message to the terminal device, the method further comprises:

Send first indication information to the terminal device, where the first indication information indicates that air interface time synchronization uses air interface propagation delay for compensation.
The method of claim 20, wherein:

The first indication information includes first resource information and/or second resource information, the first resource information indicates the time-frequency resource where the downlink reference signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay is located, and the second resource information indicates The time-frequency resource where the uplink reference signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay is located.
The method according to any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein,

The third message includes first time information indicating the time at which the first measurement result was obtained.
The method according to any one of claims 18 to 22, wherein,

The second message is the downlink control information DCI or the medium access control MAC control element CE, and the third message is the RRC message or the MAC CE.
A communication method, characterized in that the method comprises:

sending a second message to the terminal device, where the second message is used to activate air interface propagation delay measurement;

Performing the measurement of the time difference between reception and transmission and obtaining a second measurement result, where the second measurement result includes the measurement result of the time difference between reception and transmission measured by the access network device;

A fourth message is sent to the terminal device, the fourth message including the second measurement result.
The method according to claim 24, wherein sending the second message to the terminal device comprises:

When a second condition is satisfied, the second message is sent to the terminal device, where the second condition includes: the moving distance of the terminal device exceeds a first threshold, or the moving speed of the terminal device is higher than a second The threshold lasts for a third time period, or the change in the timing advance of the terminal device exceeds the fourth threshold, or the change in the signal strength of the uplink reference signal measured by the access network device exceeds the seventh threshold, or all The variation of the receiving and sending time difference measured by the access network device exceeds the eighth threshold.
The method according to claim 24 or 25, wherein before sending the second message to the terminal device, the method further comprises:

Send first indication information to the terminal device, where the first indication information indicates that air interface time synchronization uses air interface propagation delay for compensation.
The method of claim 26, wherein:

The first indication information includes first resource information and/or second resource information, the first resource information indicates the time-frequency resource where the downlink reference signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay is located, and the second resource information indicates The time-frequency resource where the uplink reference signal used to measure the air interface propagation delay is located.
The method according to any one of claims 24 to 27, wherein,

The fourth message includes second time information indicating the time at which the second measurement result was obtained.
The method according to any one of claims 24 to 28, wherein,

The second message is downlink control information DCI or medium access control MAC control element CE.
A communication device for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, or for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 17, or for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 18 to 23 The method of any one of, or for carrying out, the method of any one of claims 24 to 29.
A communication device, comprising at least one processor coupled to a memory;

the memory for storing program codes;

the processor, configured to execute the program code, so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or executes the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17, Either perform a method as claimed in any one of claims 18 to 23, or perform a method as claimed in any one of claims 24 to 29.
A communication system, characterized in that the communication system includes a communication device and an access network device that implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or implements the communication method according to any one of claims 10 to 17. The communication apparatus and access network equipment, or the communication apparatus and terminal equipment implementing the communication method according to any one of claims 18 to 23, or the communication apparatus and terminal equipment implementing the communication method according to any one of claims 24 to 29 .
A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instruction, and when the computer program or instruction is executed, the computer program or instruction is executed as described in any one of claims 1 to 9. The method of the One of the described methods is performed.
A computer program product, characterized in that the computer program product includes instructions that, when executed, cause the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 to be implemented, or cause the method according to claim 11 to 18. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 24 is carried out, or the method according to any one of claims 19 to 24 is carried out, or the method according to any one of claims 25 to 30 is carried out.