Data transmission method, terminal device, and network device

Abstract

Embodiments of this application provide a data transmission method, a terminal device, and a network device. The method includes: receiving, by a terminal device, a first indication sent by a network device; receiving, by the terminal device, downlink data based on the first indication, and generating feedback information of the downlink data; receiving, by the terminal device, a second indication sent by the network device, where the second indication indicates a start location of an uplink time unit; determining, by the terminal device based on the first indication and the second indication, a resource location for sending the feedback information; and sending, by the terminal device, the feedback information at the resource location.

Claims

1. A data transmission method, comprising: receiving, by a terminal device, a first indication sent by a network device; receiving, by the terminal device, downlink data based on the first indication; generating, by the terminal device, feedback information of the downlink data; receiving, by the terminal device, a second indication sent by the network device, wherein the second indication indicates a start location of an uplink time unit; starting, by the terminal device, a first timer when the second indication is received; during running of the first timer, refraining, by the terminal device, from monitoring a downlink physical channel; determining, by the terminal device based on the first indication and the second indication, a resource location for sending the feedback information; and sending, by the terminal device, the feedback information at the resource location.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first indication comprises a valid time range, and the receiving, by the terminal device, a second indication sent by the network device comprises: receiving, by the terminal device within the valid time range, the second indication sent by the network device.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the method further comprises: when a discontinuous reception (DRX) mechanism is configured for the terminal device by the network device, if the second indication is received within the valid time range, refraining from monitoring the downlink physical channel from a reception moment to expiration of the valid time range.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein before the sending, by the terminal device, the feedback information at the resource location, the method further comprises: performing, by the terminal device, listen before talk (LBT) channel detection, and detecting that a channel is a clear channel.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: when the first timer expires, starting, by the terminal device, a second timer; and during running of the second timer, monitoring, by the terminal device, the downlink physical channel, to obtain retransmission indication information of the downlink data.

6. A data transmission method, comprising: sending, by a network device, a first indication to a terminal device, wherein the first indication is used by the terminal device to receive downlink data based on the first indication and generate feedback information of the downlink data; after obtaining an unlicensed channel, sending, by the network device, a second indication to the terminal device, wherein the second indication indicates a start location of an uplink time unit, wherein the second indication triggers the terminal device to start a first timer, and during running of the first timer, the terminal device refrains from monitoring a downlink physical channel; and receiving, by the network device, the feedback information sent by the terminal device at a resource location, wherein the resource location is determined by the terminal device based on the first indication and the second indication.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the first indication comprises a valid time range, and the sending a second indication to the terminal device comprises: sending the second indication to the terminal device within the valid time range.

8. A data transmission device, comprising at least one processor and one or more memories coupled to the at least one processor and storing programming instructions for execution by the at least one processor that cause the data transmission device to: receive first indication sent by a network device; receive downlink data based on the first indication; generate feedback information of the downlink data; receive a second indication sent by the network device, wherein the second indication indicates a start location of an uplink time unit; start a first timer when the second indication is received; during running of the first timer, refrain from monitoring a downlink physical channel; determine, based on the first indication and the second indication, a resource location for sending the feedback information; and sending the feedback information at the resource location.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the first indication comprises a valid time range, and the programming instructions instruct the at least one processor to: receive, within the valid time range, the second indication sent by the network device.

10. The device according to claim 9, wherein the programming instructions cause the data transmission device to: when a discontinuous reception (DRX) mechanism is configured for the device by the network device, if the second indication is received within the valid time range, refrain from monitoring the downlink physical channel from a reception moment to expiration of the valid time range.

11. The device according to claim 8, wherein the programming instructions instruct the at least one processor to, before sending the feedback information at the resource location, perform, listen before talk (LBT) channel detection, and detecting that a channel is a clear channel.

12. The device according to claim 8, wherein the programming instructions cause the data transmission device to: when the first timer expires, start a second timer; and during running of the second timer, monitor, the downlink physical channel, to obtain retransmission indication information of the downlink data.

13. A data transmission device, comprising at least one processor and one or more memories coupled to the at least one processor and storing programming instructions for execution by the at least one processor that cause the data transmission device to: send a first indication to a terminal device, wherein the first indication is used by the terminal device to receive downlink data based on the first indication and generate feedback information of the downlink data; after obtaining an unlicensed channel, send a second indication to the terminal device, wherein the second indication indicates a start location of an uplink time unit, wherein the second indication triggers the terminal device to start a first timer, and during running of the first timer, the terminal device refrains from monitoring a downlink physical channel; and receive, the feedback information sent by the terminal device at a resource location, wherein the resource location is determined by the terminal device based on the first indication and the second indication.

14. The device according to claim 13, wherein the first indication comprises a valid time range, and the programming instructions cause the data transmission device to: send the second indication to the terminal device within the valid time range.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprising a program, wherein when being executed by at least one processor, the program instructs the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: receiving first indication sent by a network device; receiving downlink data based on the first indication; generating feedback information of the downlink data; receiving a second indication sent by the network device, wherein the second indication indicates a start location of an uplink time unit; starting a first timer when the second indication is received; during running of the first timer, refraining from monitoring a downlink physical channel; determining, based on the first indication and the second indication, a resource location for sending the feedback information; and sending the feedback information at the resource location.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium to claim 15, wherein the first indication comprises a valid time range, and the the receiving a second indication sent by the network device comprises: receiving, within the valid time range, the second indication sent by the network device.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise: when a discontinuous reception (DRX) mechanism is configured by the network device, if the second indication is received within the valid time range, refraining from monitoring the downlink physical channel from a reception moment to expiration of the valid time range.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: before the sending, the feedback information at the resource location, performing, listen before talk (LBT) channel detection, and detecting that a channel is a clear channel.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: when the first timer expires, starting a second timer; and during running of the second timer, monitoring, the downlink physical channel, to obtain retransmission indication information of the downlink data.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprising a program, wherein when being executed by at least one processor, the program instructs the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: sending a first indication to a terminal device, wherein the first indication is used by the terminal device to receive downlink data based on the first indication and generate feedback information of the downlink data; after obtaining an unlicensed channel, sending a second indication to the terminal device, wherein the second indication indicates a start location of an uplink time unit, wherein the second indication triggers the terminal device to start a first timer, and during running of the first timer, the terminal device refrains from monitoring a downlink physical channel; and receiving the feedback information sent by the terminal device at a resource location, wherein the resource location is determined by the terminal device based on the first indication and the second indication.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 20, wherein the first indication comprises a valid time range, and the operations further comprise: sending the second indication to the terminal device within the valid time range.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario;

(2) FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a data transmission method according to an embodiment of this application;

(3) FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example according to an embodiment of this application;

(4) FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a data transmission method according to another embodiment of this application;

(5) FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a data transmission method according to still another embodiment of this application;

(6) FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a data transmission method according to another embodiment of this application;

(7) FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of another example according to an embodiment of this application;

(8) FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an example according to another embodiment of this application;

(9) FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application;

(10) FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of this application;

(11) FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device according to another embodiment of this application;

(12) FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device according to still another embodiment of this application;

(13) FIG. 13 is a structural block diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application;

(14) FIG. 14 is a structural block diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of this application;

(15) FIG. 15 is a structural block diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application; and

(16) FIG. 16 is a structural block diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application.

(17) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Six cases of whether to start a retransmission timer Whether to start the retx timer Uplink grant in the subframe N after an RTT Uplink in the sub- timer expires? feedback frame N UL Whether to start UL retx timer in a Grant In when RTT timer expires In case subframe N subframe N subframe N? 1 Acknowl- Indicating new No. Next new transmission has edgement transmission not yet been performed. ACK NDI with No, the next new transmission toggled has not been performed. 2 Acknowl- Indicating No. Next new transmission has edgement retransmission not yet been performed. ACK NDI without No, the next retransmission toggled has not been performed. 3 Acknowl- No grant No. Previous transmission edgement resource has been successfully decoded. ACK No grant No, the previous transmission has been decoded. 4 Negative Indicating new No. Next new transmission has acknowl- transmission not yet been performed. edgement NDI with No, the next new transmission NACK toggled has not been performed. 5 Negative Indicating No. Next new transmission has acknowl- retransmission not yet been performed. edgement NDI without No, the next retransmission NACK toggled has not been performed. 6 Negative No grant Yes. Monitor a PDCCH to obtain acknowl- resource a retransmission grant. edgement No grant Yes, monitor PDCCH for NACK retransmission grant

(18) It can be learned from Table 1 that, in the sixth case, the terminal device starts the retransmission timer, and monitors the downlink physical channel, to obtain a possible retransmission indication.

(19) Optionally, the retransmission timer may be a UL retransmission timer, or a UL retx timer for short.

(20) Optionally, in an embodiment, the method 500 may further include:

(21) if the terminal device receives indication information sent by the network device, and the indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform new data transmission, stopping, by the terminal device, monitoring the downlink physical channel.

(22) In other words, if the terminal device receives the indication information sent by the network device, and the indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform new data transmission (for example, the first HARQ process), the terminal device stops monitoring the downlink physical channel, or stops the retransmission timer. In this way, electric energy of the terminal device can be saved.

(23) Optionally, in an embodiment, when the feedback information of the uplink data is acknowledgement information, the method 500 may further include:

(24) when a retransmission timer is running, stopping, by the terminal device, the retransmission timer.

(25) Specifically, if the feedback information of the uplink data is the ACK information, the terminal device may consider that the network device has successfully decoded the uplink data. In this case, if the retransmission timer is running, the terminal device may stop the retransmission timer. In this way, electric energy of the terminal device can be saved.

(26) Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, a feedback mechanism is introduced into an uplink asynchronous HARQ, so that the terminal device can learn a decoding status of the network device.

(27) Currently, for a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) scenario, a terminal device performs, after obtaining semi-persistent scheduling configuration information, one uplink transmission (new transmission or retransmission) only on a same frequency domain resource in one subframe every other period based on the semi-persistent scheduling configuration information. Consequently, a resource location for data transmission in SPS cannot be flexibly determined. An asynchronous uplink HARQ mechanism is used for semi-persistent scheduling.

(28) Semi-persistent scheduling may be applied to services such as voice and data, or communications services such as an enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) service, an ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC) service, and a machine type communication (MTC) service.

(29) In view of the foregoing problem, an embodiment of this application provides a solution in which a second indication (a function of the second indication may be similar to that of the second indication in the method 200) is introduced into SPS so that a resource location for data transmission in SPS can be flexibly determined. The following describes the solution with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a data transmission method 600 according to another embodiment of this application. The method 600 may be applied to an unlicensed cell. The method 600 may be performed by a terminal device. For example, the terminal device may be the terminal device 11, the terminal device 12, or the terminal device 13 in FIG. 1. Correspondingly, a network device that communicates with the terminal device may be the base station 21 in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 6, the method 600 includes the following steps.

(30) S610: The terminal device obtains semi-persistent scheduling configuration information.

(31) Optionally, the semi-persistent scheduling configuration information includes at least one of semi-persistent scheduling period information, semi-persistent scheduling window length information (specifically, for example, duration in which at least one window is open), semi-persistent scheduling cell list information, or semi-persistent scheduling HARQ process information. The cell list information indicates a quantity of cells used for semi-persistent scheduling. Optionally, the semi-persistent scheduling configuration information may be sent by using an RRC message.

(32) Optionally, the semi-persistent scheduling configuration information may include a plurality of sets of semi-persistent scheduling configuration information, and each configuration set may be associated with a configuration identifier ID. Optionally, the plurality of sets of semi-persistent scheduling configuration information may differ in period and/or window length.

(33) S620: The terminal device obtains a first indication sent by the network device, where the first indication is used to indicate an uplink resource.

(34) Optionally, the first indication may indicate an uplink transmission resource. Optionally, the uplink transmission resource may include at least one of a quantity of physical resource blocks, a modulation and coding scheme, or a frequency domain resource.

(35) Similarly, the first indication or CRC of the first indication may also be scrambled by using a cell identity of the terminal device.

(36) Optionally, the terminal device may initialize (including starting or restarting) a semi-persistent scheduling configuration based on the first indication.

(37) S630: The terminal device determines at least one window based on the semi-persistent scheduling configuration information and the first indication.

(38) Optionally, the terminal device may determine a semi-persistent scheduling periodic window based on the semi-persistent scheduling configuration information and the first indication. For example, the terminal device may determine a window start location and a periodic window starting from the window start location.

(39) Optionally, a length of the semi-persistent scheduling periodic window may be indicated by using the first indication.

(40) S640: The terminal device generates at least one piece of uplink data.

(41) Herein, for the at least one window of semi-persistent scheduling, the terminal device needs to generate at least one piece of uplink data. This may also be understood as: Each of the at least one window may be corresponding to one piece of uplink data.

(42) Optionally, before a start time unit of each window, a MAC layer of the terminal device needs to prepare one piece of new data, and submit the one piece of new data to a physical layer. Herein, the one piece of new data is understood as one piece of uplink data that needs to be transmitted.

(43) Alternatively, specifically, the terminal device may make a plurality of copies of the generated one piece of new data, and submit the copies to HARQ buffers corresponding to HARQ processes of a plurality of cells, so as to determine, based on a received second indication, a HARQ process or HARQ processes used for sending the new data.

(44) S650: The terminal device receives, within the at least one window, at least one second indication sent by the network device.

(45) Optionally, the terminal device may monitor a downlink physical channel during a period in which the at least one window is open, so as to obtain the second indication.

(46) In other words, during the period in which the at least one window is open, the terminal device may obtain at least one second indication. One second indication may be corresponding to one window. In addition, duration in which each of the at least one window is open may be determined by the semi-persistent scheduling configuration information in S610, or may be determined in another proper manner. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

(47) Optionally, the second indication may be sent by the network device by using at least one cell in a cell list. Correspondingly, the terminal device may process the received second indication in chronological order. Alternatively, if the terminal device receives second indications of a plurality of cells in a same time unit, the terminal device may select one of the cells for sending. Optionally, when processing the second indication, the terminal device may select a cell according to a stipulation in a protocol, for example, select a cell with a smallest cell index, to send the uplink data. Alternatively, the terminal device may select a cell for processing, based on a cell identity indicated in the first indication or the second indication or a cell identity carried in an RRC message.

(48) S660: The terminal device determines, based on the first indication and the at least one second indication, a resource location for sending the at least one piece of uplink data, and transmits the at least one piece of uplink data at the resource location.

(49) For example, for one piece of uplink data, the terminal device may determine a time-frequency resource location for the one piece of uplink data based on the first indication and one second indication, and then send the one piece of uplink data at the time-frequency resource location.

(50) Optionally, for the at least one piece of uplink data, the terminal device may perform similar processing.

(51) Herein, a method for determining the “resource location” in the “determining a resource location for sending the at least one piece of uplink data” is similar to the method for determining the “resource location” mentioned above. For brevity, details are not described herein again.

(52) It should be understood that an action of generating the uplink data by the terminal device has no dependency relationship with whether the terminal device receives the second indication. In other words, even if the terminal device does not receive the second indication, the terminal device still generates the uplink data, but there may be no time-frequency resource for sending the uplink data. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

(53) Optionally, before the terminal device sends the uplink data at the resource location, the method further includes:

(54) performing, by the terminal device, listen before talk LBT channel detection, and detecting that a channel is a clear channel.

(55) In other words, before sending the uplink data, the terminal device may perform clear channel detection by using a first channel access solution (Channel Access Procedure) or first LBT (for example, 25 μs LBT), and detect that the channel is a clear channel. In this way, the terminal device needs to perform only 25 μs LBT instead of rollback-mechanism-based LBT (implementation of which is relatively time consuming), thereby reducing both a channel contention time and a data transmission delay. Optionally, the first indication may indicate an LBT type, specifically, 25 μs LBT.

(56) Optionally, the method 600 may further include:

(57) when a discontinuous reception DRX mechanism is configured for the terminal device by the network device, if the second indication is received during a period in which the window is open, stopping monitoring the downlink physical channel from a reception moment to a window closing moment.

(58) Herein, during the period in which the window is open, the terminal device may perform an operation of monitoring the downlink physical channel, whereas during a period in which the window is closed, the terminal device cannot perform a monitoring operation.

(59) Specifically, if the terminal device monitors the downlink physical channel and obtains the second indication during the period in which the window is open, the terminal device may not need to monitor the downlink physical channel throughout the entire window. In other words, if the terminal device obtains the second indication, the terminal device may choose not to continue monitoring the downlink physical channel.

(60) Optionally, the method 600 may further include:

(61) starting, by the terminal device, a first timer when the second indication is received; and

(62) during running of the first timer, stopping, by the terminal device, monitoring the downlink physical channel.

(63) Similarly, in a scenario in which the terminal device is configured with semi-persistent scheduling, the terminal device may also start the first timer, and during running of the first timer, the terminal device stops monitoring the downlink physical channel, to save power.

(64) Optionally, the method 600 may further include:

(65) when the first timer expires, starting, by the terminal device, a second timer; and

(66) during running of the second timer, monitoring, by the terminal device, the downlink physical channel, to obtain a retransmission indication of downlink data.

(67) Optionally, the method 600 may further include:

(68) obtaining, by the terminal device, a third indication, where the third indication is used for changing a current semi-persistent scheduling configuration; and

(69) changing, by the terminal device, the at least one of the semi-persistent scheduling period information, the semi-persistent scheduling window length information, the semi-persistent scheduling cell list information, or the semi-persistent scheduling HARQ process information based on the third indication.

(70) Optionally, the third indication may specifically indicate a configuration ID for changing. For example, the terminal device may update, based on the configuration ID, the current semi-persistent scheduling configuration to a semi-persistent scheduling configuration corresponding to the configuration ID.

(71) Optionally, the third indication may be sent by using a PDCCH message, a MAC message, or an RRC message.

(72) Specifically, the terminal device may change the current semi-persistent scheduling configuration based on the third indication. Specifically, the terminal device may update the at least one of the semi-persistent scheduling period information, the semi-persistent scheduling window length information, the semi-persistent scheduling cell list information, or the semi-persistent scheduling HARQ process information. For example, for changing of a window length, the window length is changed from one time unit to three time units. For another example, for changing of a window period, the window period is changed from 10 time units to 20 time units.

(73) Correspondingly, the third indication is sent by the network device based on a change in a load status of an unlicensed channel and/or a change in a real-time service status. In other words, the network device may flexibly adjust a semi-persistent scheduling configuration with reference to a current load status and/or a service status change, to adapt to a data transmission requirement.

(74) Herein, FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of another example according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 7, a terminal device may obtain an uplink grant, and then perform monitoring in an uplink UL semi-persistent scheduling SPS periodic window, to obtain a second indication, for example, an indication Trigger 1 in a first window and an indication Trigger 2 in a second window. Herein, descriptions are provided only by using an example in which the first window and the second window are a same semi-persistent scheduling configuration. The terminal device may perform 25 μs LBT and uplink data transmission based on the Trigger 1 and the Trigger 2, respectively. Optionally, the terminal device may further receive a third indication, for example, SPS switching information, and then change a semi-persistent scheduling window length, for example, update the current window to a third window (a window length of the third window is less than a window length of the first window or the second window), to perform subsequent data transmission.

(75) In conclusion, for a scenario in which a terminal device is configured with SPS, a data transmission method according to this embodiment of this application is still applicable, and can be used to flexibly determine a resource location for SPS data transmission. Further, the terminal device needs to perform only 25 μs LBT instead of rollback-mechanism-based LBT, thereby reducing a waste of time and a data transmission delay.

(76) Optionally, this embodiment of this application may be further used in a handover scenario. Herein, a difference from the scenario in which a terminal device is configured with SPS is that the first indication may be carried in a “connection reconfiguration message” in the handover scenario. It should be understood that, for brevity, some concepts, terms, or execution actions that are the same as those in the foregoing SPS scenario are not described again. For a network device handover scenario, an embodiment of this application provides a data transmission method. The method may include:

(77) obtaining, by a terminal device, a connection reconfiguration message (which may be specifically an RRC connection reconfiguration message) sent by a source network device, where the connection reconfiguration message includes at least one of semi-persistent scheduling period information, semi-persistent scheduling window length information (specifically, for example, duration in which at least one window is open), semi-persistent scheduling cell list information, semi-persistent scheduling HARQ process information, a quantity of physical resource blocks, a modulation and coding scheme, or a frequency domain resource, and the connection reconfiguration message is forwarded by a target network device to the source network device;

(78) determining, by the terminal device, at least one window based on the connection reconfiguration message;

(79) generating, by the terminal device, uplink data;

(80) receiving, by the terminal device within the at least one window, at least one second indication sent by the network device; and

(81) determining, by the terminal device based on the connection reconfiguration message and the second indication, a resource location for sending the uplink data, and transmitting the uplink data at the resource location.

(82) Optionally, before the terminal device transmits the uplink data at the resource location, the method further includes:

(83) performing, by the terminal device, listen before talk LBT channel detection, and detecting that a channel is a clear channel.

(84) In other words, before sending the uplink data, the terminal device may perform clear channel detection by using a first channel access solution or first LBT (for example, 25 μs LBT), and detect that the channel is a clear channel. In this way, the terminal device needs to perform only 25 μs LBT instead of rollback-mechanism-based LBT (implementation of which is relatively time consuming), thereby reducing both a channel contention time and a data transmission delay.

(85) In this embodiment of this application, the terminal device may obtain, in the RRC connection reconfiguration message, a transmission resource (for example, a first indication) required for transmitting the uplink data and a related configuration of semi-persistent scheduling; then determine the at least one window; generate the uplink data; and then, during a period in which the at least one window is open, obtain at least one second indication (a function of the second indication may be similar to that of the second indication in the method 200) sent by the network device. In this way, a resource location for data transmission in SPS can be flexibly determined. The terminal device may determine, based on the connection reconfiguration message and the second indication, the resource location for sending the uplink data, and transmit the uplink data at the resource location.

(86) Optionally, the RRC connection reconfiguration message is generated by the target network device.

(87) Optionally, the RRC connection reconfiguration message may carry a related configuration of DRX, or may carry no related configuration of DRX.

(88) Optionally, the terminal device may receive an acknowledgement indication of an RRC connection reconfiguration complete message, thereby avoiding excessive useless retransmission and reducing occupation of air interface resources.

(89) For example, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an example according to another embodiment of this application. It should be understood that only some steps in a handover scenario are described herein as an example, and actual steps should not be limited to steps shown in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, a source base station 81 and a target base station 82 may be base stations in the handover scenario. Uplink timing advances of the source base station 81 and a corresponding terminal device 80 are the same. Main steps include the following.

(90) S801: The source base station 81 sends a connection reconfiguration message to the terminal device 80.

(91) Optionally, the connection reconfiguration message may include at least one of semi-persistent scheduling period information, semi-persistent scheduling window length information (specifically, for example, duration in which at least one window is open), semi-persistent scheduling cell list information, semi-persistent scheduling HARQ process information, a quantity of physical resource blocks, a modulation and coding scheme, or a frequency domain resource. In other words, herein, a step of sending “a first indication” is omitted. A transmission resource (for example, the quantity of physical resource blocks, the modulation and coding scheme, or the frequency domain resource) indicated by the first indication may be included in the connection reconfiguration message.

(92) S802: The terminal device 80 performs a reconfiguration operation.

(93) Optionally, the terminal device 80 may perform the reconfiguration operation based on the connection reconfiguration message.

(94) S803: The terminal device 80 receives, within at least one window, at least one second indication sent by the source base station 81.

(95) Similarly, the terminal device 80 monitors a downlink physical channel during a period in which the at least one window is open, so as to receive the at least one second indication sent by the source base station 81.

(96) Herein, an execution order of S802 and S803 is not limited.

(97) S804: If the reconfiguration operation is completed, the terminal device 80 sends a connection reconfiguration complete message to the target base station 82.

(98) If the reconfiguration operation is completed, the terminal device 80 may send the connection reconfiguration complete message (this action may be alternatively understood as sending one piece of uplink data, where the one piece of uplink data includes the connection reconfiguration complete message) to the target base station 82 at a resource location determined based on the connection reconfiguration message and the at least one second indication (for a method for determining the resource location, refer to the foregoing embodiment, and details are not described herein again), to notify the target base station 82 that the reconfiguration operation is completed.

(99) Optionally, in this embodiment of this application, “the handover scenario” may alternatively be a handover from one cell to another cell, for example, a handover from a cell 1 to a cell 2 of a same base station, or a handover from a cell 1 of an eNB 1 to a cell 2 of an eNB 2, where the cell 1 and the cell 2 have a same uplink timing advance.

(100) For example, it is assumed that a primary cell of a current terminal device is a serving cell 1.

(101) A handover within a same eNB includes: (1) a handover from the serving cell 1 to a serving cell 2; and (2) a handover from the serving cell 1 to a non-serving cell 2.

(102) A handover between eNBs includes: (1) a handover from the serving cell 1 to a serving cell 2; and (2) a handover from the serving cell 1 to a non-serving cell 2.

(103) In conclusion, a data transmission method according to this embodiment of this application may also be applied to different handover scenarios.

(104) The foregoing has described the data transmission method according to the embodiments of this application. The following describes a terminal device and a network device according to the embodiments of this application.

(105) FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device 900 according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 9, the terminal device 900 includes:

(106) a receiving module 910, configured to receive a first indication sent by a network device;

(107) a processing module 920, configured to: receive downlink data based on the first indication received by the receiving module 910, and generate feedback information of the downlink data, where

(108) the receiving module 910 is further configured to receive a second indication sent by the network device, where the second indication is used to indicate a start location of an uplink time unit; and

(109) the processing module 920 is further configured to determine, based on the first indication and the second indication that are received by the receiving module 910, a resource location for sending the feedback information; and

(110) a sending module 930, configured to send the feedback information at the resource location determined by the processing module 920.

(111) Optionally, in an embodiment, the first indication includes a valid time range, and the receiving module 910 is specifically configured to:

(112) receive, within the valid time range, the second indication sent by the network device.

(113) Optionally, in an embodiment, the terminal device 900 further includes:

(114) a detection module, configured to: perform listen before talk LBT channel detection, and detect that a channel is a clear channel.

(115) Optionally, in an embodiment, the processing module 920 is further configured to:

(116) when a discontinuous reception DRX mechanism is configured for the terminal device 900 by the network device, if the second indication is received within the valid time range, stop monitoring a downlink physical channel from a reception moment to expiration of the valid time range.

(117) Optionally, in an embodiment, the terminal device 900 further includes:

(118) a starting module, configured to start a first timer when the second indication is received, where

(119) the processing module 920 is specifically configured to: during running of the first timer, stop monitoring the downlink physical channel.

(120) Optionally, in an embodiment, the starting module is further configured to:

(121) when the first timer expires, start a second timer, where

(122) the processing module 920 is specifically configured to: during running of the second timer, monitor the downlink physical channel, to obtain retransmission indication information of the downlink data.

(123) The terminal device 900 according to this embodiment of this application may perform the data transmission method 200 according to the embodiment of this application, and the foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules in the terminal device 900 are intended to implement corresponding procedures of the foregoing methods. For brevity, details are not described herein again.

(124) Therefore, the terminal device 900 according to this embodiment of this application receives the first indication sent by the network device; receives the downlink data based on the first indication, and generates the feedback information of the downlink data; then receives the second indication sent by the network device, where the second indication is used to indicate the start location of the uplink time unit; determines, based on the first indication and the second indication, the resource location for sending the feedback information; and finally, sends the feedback information at the resource location. In this way, the resource location for the feedback information can be flexibly determined.

(125) FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a network device 1000 according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 10, the network device 1000 includes:

(126) a sending module 1010, configured to send a first indication to a terminal device, where the first indication is used by the terminal device to receive downlink data based on the first indication and generate feedback information of the downlink data, where

(127) the sending module 1010 is further configured to: after an unlicensed channel is obtained, send a second indication to the terminal device, where the second indication is used to indicate a start location of an uplink time unit; and

(128) a receiving module 1020, configured to receive the feedback information sent by the terminal device at a resource location, where the resource location is determined by the terminal device based on the first indication and the second indication.

(129) Optionally, in an embodiment, the sending module 1010 is specifically configured to:

(130) send the second indication to the terminal device within a valid time range.

(131) The network device 1000 according to this embodiment of this application may perform the data transmission method 400 according to the embodiment of this application, and the foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules in the network device 1000 are intended to implement corresponding procedures of the foregoing methods. For brevity, details are not described herein again.

(132) Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, the network device 1000 may send the first indication to the terminal device, so that the terminal device receives the downlink data based on the first indication and generates the feedback information of the downlink data. Then, after obtaining the unlicensed channel, the network device 1000 may send the second indication to the terminal device, to notify the terminal device that the terminal device may share a transmission opportunity with the network device 1000 (a transmission opportunity is a usage time after the network device 1000 or the terminal device obtains a channel through channel detection), so that the terminal device needs to use only simple LBT (for example, 25 μs LBT) instead of LBT of a relatively long time (for example, rollback-mechanism-based LBT). The network device 1000 may receive the feedback information sent by the terminal device at the resource location (corresponding to a terminal device side), where the resource location is determined by the terminal device based on the first indication and the second indication. To sum up, the network device 1000 sends the second indication to the terminal device, so that the resource location for the feedback information can be flexibly determined.

(133) FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device 1100 according to another embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 11, the terminal device 1100 includes:

(134) an obtaining module 1110, configured to obtain a first uplink grant sent by a network device;

(135) a starting module 1120, configured to: transmit uplink data based on the first uplink grant obtained by the obtaining module 1110, and start a first timer; and

(136) a receiving module 1130, configured to: when the first timer expires, receive feedback information that is of the uplink data and that is sent by the network device.

(137) The terminal device 1100 according to this embodiment of this application may perform the data transmission method 500 according to the embodiment of this application, and the foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules in the terminal device 1100 are intended to implement corresponding procedures of the foregoing methods. For brevity, details are not described herein again.

(138) Therefore, the terminal device 1100 may receive the feedback information that is of the uplink data and that is sent by the network device, so as to learn a decoding status of the network device.

(139) FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device 1200 according to still another embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 12, the terminal device 1200 includes:

(140) an obtaining module 1210, configured to obtain semi-persistent scheduling configuration information, where

(141) the obtaining module 1210 is further configured to obtain a first indication sent by a network device, where the first indication is used to indicate an uplink resource; and

(142) a processing module 1220, configured to determine at least one window based on the semi-persistent scheduling configuration information and the first indication that are obtained by the obtaining module 1210.

(143) The processing module 1220 is further configured to generate at least one piece of uplink data.

(144) The obtaining module 1210 is further configured to receive, within the at least one window, at least one second indication sent by the network device.

(145) The processing module 1220 is further configured to: determine, based on the first indication and the at least one second indication, a resource location for sending the at least one piece of uplink data, and transmit the at least one piece of uplink data at the resource location.

(146) The terminal device 1200 according to this embodiment of this application may perform the data transmission method 600 according to the embodiment of this application, and the foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules in the terminal device 1200 are intended to implement corresponding procedures of the foregoing methods. For brevity, details are not described herein again.

(147) Therefore, the terminal device 1200 can flexibly determine a resource location for SPS data transmission by obtaining the second indication. Further, the terminal device 1200 needs to perform only 25 μs LBT instead of rollback-mechanism-based LBT, thereby reducing a waste of time and a data transmission delay.

(148) FIG. 13 shows a structure of a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application, and the structure includes at least one processor 1302 (for example, a CPU), at least one network interface 1303 or another communications interface, and a memory 1304. Optionally, a receiver 1305 and a transmitter 1306 may be further included. The processor 1302 is configured to execute an executable module, for example, a computer program, stored in the memory 1304. The memory 1304 may include a high-speed random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), or may further include a nonvolatile memory (non-volatile memory), for example, at least one magnetic disk storage. A communications connection to at least one other network element is implemented by using the at least one network interface 1303 (the connection may be implemented in a wired or wireless manner). The receiver 1305 and the transmitter 1306 are configured to transmit various signals or information.

(149) In some implementations, the memory 1304 stores a program 13041. The program 13041 may be executed by the processor 1302, and is used to perform the terminal-device-side method according to the foregoing embodiments of this application.

(150) FIG. 14 shows a structure of a network device according to an embodiment of this application, and the structure includes at least one processor 1402 (for example, a CPU), at least one network interface 1403 or another communications interface, and a memory 1404. Optionally, a receiver 1405 and a transmitter 1406 may be further included. The processor 1402 is configured to execute an executable module, for example, a computer program, stored in the memory 1404. The memory 1404 may include a high-speed random access memory RAM, or may further include a nonvolatile memory (non-volatile memory), for example, at least one magnetic disk storage. A communications connection to at least one other network element is implemented by using the at least one network interface 1403 (the connection may be implemented in a wired or wireless manner). The receiver 1405 and the transmitter 1406 are configured to transmit various signals or information.

(151) In some implementations, the memory 1404 stores a program 14041. The program 14041 may be executed by the processor 1402, and is used to perform the network-device-side method according to the foregoing embodiments of this application.

(152) FIG. 15 shows a structure of a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application, and the structure includes at least one processor 1502 (for example, a CPU), at least one network interface 1503 or another communications interface, and a memory 1504. Optionally, a receiver 1505 and a transmitter 1506 may be further included. The processor 1502 is configured to execute an executable module, for example, a computer program, stored in the memory 1504. The memory 1504 may include a high-speed random access memory RAM, or may further include a nonvolatile memory (non-volatile memory), for example, at least one magnetic disk storage. A communications connection to at least one other network element is implemented by using the at least one network interface 1503 (the connection may be implemented in a wired or wireless manner). The receiver 1505 and the transmitter 1506 are configured to transmit various signals or information.

(153) In some implementations, the memory 1504 stores a program 15041. The program 15041 may be executed by the processor 1502, and is used to perform the terminal-device-side method according to the foregoing embodiments of this application.

(154) FIG. 16 shows a structure of a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application, and the structure includes at least one processor 1602 (for example, a CPU), at least one network interface 1603 or another communications interface, and a memory 1604. Optionally, a receiver 1605 and a transmitter 1606 may be further included. The processor 1602 is configured to execute an executable module, for example, a computer program, stored in the memory 1604. The memory 1604 may include a high-speed random access memory RAM, or may further include a nonvolatile memory (non-volatile memory), for example, at least one magnetic disk storage. A communications connection to at least one other network element is implemented by using the at least one network interface 1603 (the connection may be implemented in a wired or wireless manner). The receiver 1605 and the transmitter 1606 are configured to transmit various signals or information.

(155) In some implementations, the memory 1604 stores a program 16041. The program 16041 may be executed by the processor 1602, and is used to perform the terminal-device-side method according to the foregoing embodiments of this application.

(156) A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that units and algorithm steps in the examples described with reference to the embodiments disclosed in this specification can be implemented by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are performed by hardware or software depends on particular applications and design constraints of the technical solutions. A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but it should not be considered that the implementation goes beyond the scope of the embodiments of this application.

(157) It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that, for ease and brevity of description, for detailed working processes of the foregoing described system, apparatus, and unit, reference may be made to corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

(158) 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 described apparatus embodiments are merely examples. For example, the unit division is merely logical function division and may be other division in actual implementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or may be integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not be performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communications connections may be implemented by using some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communications connections between the apparatuses or units may be implemented in electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

(159) The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected depending on actual requirements, to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.

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

(161) When the functions are implemented in a form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the functions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application essentially, or the part contributing to the prior art, or some of the technical solutions may be implemented in a form of a software product. The software product is stored in a storage medium, and includes instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, or the like) to perform all or some of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of this application. The foregoing storage medium includes any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.

(162) The foregoing descriptions are merely specific implementations of the embodiments of this application, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of the embodiments of this application. Any variation or replacement readily figured out by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the embodiments of this application shall fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of the embodiments of this application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Data transmission method, terminal device, and network device

Assignee

Inventors

Cpc classification

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H04W72/04

ELECTRICITY

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H04L1/1851

ELECTRICITY

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H04L1/1819

ELECTRICITY

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H04W72/23

ELECTRICITY

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H04W72/12

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H04W76/28

ELECTRICITY

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H04W16/14

ELECTRICITY

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H04L1/1858

ELECTRICITY

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H04L1/1896

ELECTRICITY

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H04W74/0808

ELECTRICITY

International classification

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H04L1/18

ELECTRICITY

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H04W76/28

ELECTRICITY

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H04W72/14

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H04W16/14

ELECTRICITY

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H04W74/08

ELECTRICITY

Abstract

Claims

Description