US-12621785-B2 - Time synchronization techniques

US12621785B2US 12621785 B2US12621785 B2US 12621785B2US-12621785-B2

Abstract

Techniques are described to determine a time clock value by a communication device using information provided by a network device. An example wireless communication method includes receiving, by a communication device, a first signal in a first time period; transmitting, by the communication device, a second signal in a second time period later than the first time period to a network device; receiving, by the communication device, a third message comprising a timing information associated with the first time period, the second time period, or a propagation delay value; and determining, by the communication device, a time when the communication device receives the first signal based at least on the timing information.

Inventors

Shuaihua Kou
Peng Hao
Wei Gou
Junfeng Zhang

Assignees

ZTE CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20231208

Claims (12)

1 . A wireless communication method, comprising: receiving, by a communication device, a first signal in a first subframe, wherein the first signal is a tracking reference signal (TRS); transmitting, by the communication device, a second signal in a second subframe to a network device based on a valid timing advance value; receiving, by the communication device, a message comprising a timing information associated with the first subframe and the second subframe; and determining, by the communication device, a propagation delay based at least on the timing information, wherein the timing information in the message includes a first time difference value that is a difference between a transmission time of the first subframe and a reception time of the second subframe within which the second signal is received by the network device, wherein a value of the propagation delay is determined by the first time difference value and a second time difference value that is a difference between a reception time of the first subframe and a transmission time of the second subframe.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the message is included in a resource control (RRC) signaling.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second signal includes a sounding reference signal (SRS).
4 . A wireless communication method, comprising: transmitting, by a network device, a first signal in a first subframe, wherein the first signal is a tracking reference signal (TRS); receiving, by the network device, a second signal in a second subframe from a communication device that was transmitted based on a valid timing advance value; and transmitting, by the network device, a message comprising a timing information associated with the first subframe and the second subframe, wherein a propagation delay is based at least on the timing information, and wherein the timing information in the message includes a time difference value that is a difference between a transmission time of the first subframe and a reception time of the second subframe within which the second signal is received by the network device.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the message is included in a resource control (RRC) signaling.
6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the second signal includes a sounding reference signal (SRS).
7 . An apparatus for wireless communication comprising at least one processor and a memory having instructions stored thereupon, wherein the processor, upon execution of the instructions, configures the apparatus to: receive, by a communication device, a first signal in a first subframe, wherein the first signal is a tracking reference signal (TRS); transmit, by the communication device, a second signal in a second subframe to a network device based on a valid timing advance value; receive, by the communication device, a message comprising a timing information associated with the first subframe and the second subframe; and determine, by the communication device, a propagation delay based at least on the timing information, wherein the timing information in the message includes a first time difference value that is a difference between a transmission time of the first subframe and a reception time of the second subframe within which the second signal is received by the network device, wherein a value of the propagation delay is determined by the first time difference value and a second time difference value that is a difference between a reception time of the first subframe and a transmission time of the second subframe.
8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the message is included in a resource control (RRC) signaling.
9 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the second signal includes a sounding reference signal (SRS).
10 . An apparatus for wireless communication comprising at least one processor and a memory having instructions stored thereupon, wherein the processor, upon execution of the instructions, configures the apparatus to: transmit, by a network device, a first signal in a first subframe, wherein the first signal is a tracking reference signal (TRS); receive, by the network device, a second signal in a second subframe from a communication device that is transmitted based on a valid timing advance value; and transmit, by the network device, a message comprising a timing information associated with the first subframe and the second subframe, wherein a propagation delay is based at least on the timing information, and wherein the timing information in the message includes a time difference value that is a difference between a transmission time of the first subframe and a reception time of the second subframe within which the second signal is received by the network device.
11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the message is included in a resource control (RRC) signaling.
12 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the second signal includes a sounding reference signal (SRS).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2021/110701, filed on Aug. 5, 2021, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure is directed generally to digital wireless communications. BACKGROUND Mobile telecommunication technologies are moving the world toward an increasingly connected and networked society. In comparison with the existing wireless networks, next generation systems and wireless communication techniques will need to support a much wider range of use-case characteristics and provide a more complex and sophisticated range of access requirements and flexibilities. Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless communication for mobile devices and data terminals developed by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). LTE Advanced (LTE-A) is a wireless communication standard that enhances the LTE standard. The 5th generation of wireless system, known as 5G, advances the LTE and LTE-A wireless standards and is committed to supporting higher data-rates, large number of connections, ultra-low latency, high reliability and other emerging business needs. SUMMARY Techniques are disclosed for determining a time clock value by a communication device, such as a user equipment (UE), using information provided by a network device, such as a base station (BS). A first wireless communication method includes receiving, by a communication device, a first signal in a first time period; transmitting, by the communication device, a second signal in a second time period later than the first time period to a network device; and receiving, by the communication device, a third message comprising a timing information associated with the first time period, the second time period, or a propagation delay value. Operation 708 includes determining, by the communication device, a time when the communication device receives the first signal based at least on the timing information. In some embodiments, the timing information in the third message includes a transmission time of the first time period within which the first signal is transmitted by the network device, the third message includes a timing advance (TA) value, the communication device determines an updated TA value by using the TA value and a previous TA value or by using the TA value, and the communication device determines the time when the communication device receives the first signal by adding the transmission time of the first time period to one half of the updated TA value. In some embodiments, the timing information in the third message includes a transmission time of the first time period within which the first signal is transmitted by the network device, and the communication device determines the time when the communication device receives the first signal by adding the transmission time of the first time period to the propagation delay value. In some embodiments, the timing information in the third message includes: a transmission time of the first time period within which the first signal is transmitted by the network device, and a first time difference value that is a function of at least a difference between the transmission time of the first time period and a reception time of the second time period within which the second signal is received by the network device, the communication device determines the time when the communication device receives the first signal by adding the transmission time of the first time period to the propagation delay value, and the propagation delay value is determined by the first time difference value and a second time difference value that is a function of at least a difference between a reception time of the first time period and a transmission time of the second time period. In some embodiments, the first time difference value is a function of: (1) the difference between the transmission time of the first time period and the reception time of the second time period, and (2) a time offset that indicates a time difference between the first time period and the second time period, and the second time difference value is a function of: (1) the difference between the reception time of the first time period and the transmission time of the second time period, and (2) the time offset that indicates the time difference between the first time period and the second time period. In some embodiments, the timing information in the third message includes: a transmission time of the first time period within which the first signal is transmitted by the network device, and a reception time of the second time period within which the second signal is received by the network device, and the communication device determines the time when the communication device receives the first signal by subtracting or adding a time clock offset value from or to a first time associated with a first boundary of