CN107493603B

CN107493603B - Method for adjusting frame structure, network device, communication apparatus, storage medium, and communication system

Info

Publication number: CN107493603B
Application number: CN201610410857.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 权威; 陈雁; 李荣鹏; 徐修强; 王磊; 杜颖钢
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-06-13
Filing date: 2016-06-13
Publication date: 2021-03-30
Anticipated expiration: 2036-06-13
Also published as: CN107493603A; WO2017215368A1

Abstract

The invention discloses a method for flexibly adjusting a full-duplex frame structure, which is characterized in that in the process of communication, according to the changes of service requirements, positions, interference conditions, channel quality, loads of network equipment and the like of a terminal, the full-duplex network equipment and a half-duplex terminal negotiate and change the frame structure of the terminal so as to effectively optimize system resource allocation.

Description

Method for adjusting frame structure, network device, communication apparatus, storage medium, and communication system

Technical Field

The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method for dynamically adjusting a frame structure.

Background

Current wireless communication technology has been developed to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, which takes fig. 1 as an example, the existing LTE system includes multiple cells, each of which has a network device 11 and multiple terminals 12, and the network device 11 sends common control information and data to the terminals 12, and a reference signal for detecting the common control information and data. Generally, in order to prevent mutual interference, the network device sends signals to the terminal and the terminal sends signals to the network device both use independent resources, which may be Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) at the same Time but different frequencies, or Time Division Duplex (TDD) at the same Frequency but different times.

With the development of communication technology, Full Duplex (Full name: Full Duplex; abbreviated as FD) technology comes, and compared with FDD and TDD, Full Duplex can increase the spectrum efficiency by one time to the maximum because the same spectrum is used on the simultaneously operating transceiving channels, i.e. the same frequency. However, since the transmission signal of the network device overlaps with the signal transmitted by the terminal in the frequency spectrum and has much higher power than the signal of the terminal, the signal of the terminal is self-interfered. In the prior art, self-interference elimination technologies such as antenna isolation, analog elimination and digital elimination are used to effectively suppress self-interference signals.

Since self-interference cancellation is complex to implement and cost of implementation on the terminal side is too high, a common compromise scheme is to implement full duplex only on the network device, and to implement conventional half duplex on the terminal side. In order to utilize the full duplex processing capability of the network device, one conventional method is to set up a flexible subframe in the conventional frame structure, and place the flexible subframe after the uplink subframe and before the downlink subframe, where the flexible subframe can be used as both the uplink subframe and the downlink subframe, as shown in fig. 2, during the communication process, a special subframe S is used to indicate whether the flexible subframe is used as the uplink subframe or the downlink subframe. However, the flexible subframe in this manner requires that all terminals must be uplink or downlink simultaneously, and is therefore not flexible enough.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a method for adjusting a frame structure, network equipment and a terminal.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for adjusting a frame structure, including: a terminal sends a frame structure change request to network equipment, and the terminal serves the network equipment; the frame structure change request is used for requesting the network equipment to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal; in the case that the network device agrees to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal, the terminal receives response information from the network device, the response information including information indicating that the terminal uses the new frame structure. The response information is sent specially for the terminal, so that each terminal can independently and dynamically adjust the frame structure, and the communication efficiency is improved.

And after receiving the response information, the terminal uses the new frame structure to communicate with the network equipment.

In one possible design, the terminal sends the network device a frame structure change request that also includes information of a new frame structure that the terminal desires to use.

The network device can determine whether to approve the terminal to use the expected new frame structure after receiving the frame structure change request sent by the terminal, if yes, the response information carries information indicating that the terminal is approved to use the expected new frame structure, and if not, the response information carries information indicating that the terminal is not approved to use the expected new frame structure. For example, a bit in the response message indicates whether the terminal is granted the desired new frame structure. Further, when the one bit indicates that the terminal is not authorized to use the desired new frame structure, it may also indicate that the terminal is not authorized to change the frame structure. The advantage of this design is that the signaling is very simple and the overhead is small.

In one possible design, the response message further includes a frame structure change start time at which the terminal changes the frame structure to a new frame structure to communicate with the network device.

In one possible design, in a case where the network device does not agree to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal, the terminal receives another response information from the network device, where the another response information includes information indicating that the frame structure currently used by the terminal is not agreed to change. For example, the frame structure change request of the terminal is not granted by one bit in the other response information. And after receiving the other response message, the terminal uses the current frame structure to communicate with the network equipment.

In one possible design, the other response message includes information of a new frame structure, and the new frame structure is consistent with the frame structure currently used by the terminal. After the terminal receives the other response message, it knows that the network device does not agree to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal.

In one possible design, the information of the new frame structure is an index value of the new frame structure. Because the index value is concise, the flow can be saved.

In one possible design, the frame structure modification request sent by the terminal to the network device is sent when the terminal determines that the currently used frame structure does not meet the needs of the terminal. For example, the frame structure currently used by the terminal does not meet the requirement of the terminal specifically includes: the frame structure currently used by the terminal is not suitable for the service of the terminal, or one or more parameters of the service of the terminal, the position of the terminal, the interference suffered by the terminal and the channel quality of the terminal are changed. So that the terminal has more freedom to choose its own frame structure.

In a possible design, the new frame structure is determined for the terminal according to one or more parameters of a service type required by the terminal, location information of the terminal, channel quality, interference of the terminal, and a load of the network device after the network device receives a frame structure change request sent by the terminal. Therefore, the network equipment can independently schedule the frame structure for each terminal, so that each terminal can find the respective proper frame structure, and the system performance can be obviously improved.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for adjusting a frame structure, including: the method comprises the steps that a network device receives a frame structure change request sent by a terminal, wherein the terminal serves the network device, and the frame structure change request is used for requesting the network device to change a frame structure currently used by the terminal; and under the condition that the network equipment agrees to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal, the network equipment sends response information to the terminal, wherein the response information comprises information used for indicating the terminal to use the new frame structure.

In one possible design, the network device communicates with the terminal using the new frame structure after the terminal receives the response message.

In one possible design, the frame structure change request includes information of a new frame structure that the terminal desires to use. The response information carries information that agrees to a new frame structure that the terminal desires to use. For example: one bit in the response information indicates whether the terminal is granted the use of the desired new frame structure. Further, when the one bit indicates that the terminal is not authorized to use the desired new frame structure, it may also indicate that the terminal is not authorized to change the frame structure. The advantage of this design is that the signaling is very simple and the overhead is small.

In one possible design, the network device determines whether the new frame structure agrees to change the frame structure of the terminal to the new frame structure expected by the terminal, and if not, needs to determine other new frame structures.

In one possible design, the network device further determines a time when the frame structure modification starts, and the response message further includes the time when the frame structure modification starts, and the network device changes the frame structure to a new frame structure at the time when the frame structure modification starts to communicate with the terminal.

In one possible design, if the network device does not agree to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal, the network device communicates with the terminal using the current frame structure.

In one possible design, if the network device does not agree to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal, the network device sends another response message to the terminal, where the another response message includes information indicating that the terminal is not agreed to change the frame structure currently used. For example, the frame structure change request of the terminal is not granted by one bit in the other response information.

In one possible design, the other response message includes information of a new frame structure, and the new frame structure is consistent with the frame structure currently used by the terminal.

In a possible design, after receiving a frame structure modification request sent by a terminal, a network device determines whether to grant the frame structure modification request for the terminal according to one or more parameters of a service type required by the terminal, location information of the terminal, channel quality of the terminal, interference of the terminal, and a load of the network device, and if so, the network device also determines a new frame structure.

In one possible design, the information of the new frame structure is an index value of the new frame structure.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for adjusting a frame structure, where the method is initiated by a network device, and the method includes: the network equipment determines a new frame structure for a terminal, and the terminal serves the network equipment; the network device transmits information indicating that the terminal uses a new frame structure to the terminal. Therefore, the network equipment can actively schedule the frame structure for each terminal independently, so that each terminal can find the respective proper frame structure, and the system performance can be obviously improved.

In one possible design, the network device determines the new frame structure for the terminal when the network device determines that the current frame structure of the terminal does not meet the needs of the terminal or the network device.

For example, the specific steps that the current frame structure does not meet the requirement of the terminal or the network device include: the frame structure currently used by the terminal is not suitable for the service of the terminal, or one or more parameters of the service of the terminal, the position of the terminal, the interference of the terminal, the channel quality of the terminal and the load of network equipment are changed.

In one possible design, determining a new frame structure for the terminal specifically includes: the network equipment determines a new frame structure for the terminal according to one or more parameters of the service type required by the terminal, the position information of the terminal, the channel quality of the terminal, the interference of the terminal and the load of the network equipment.

The network device communicates with the terminal using the new frame structure after the terminal receives the information indicating that the terminal uses the new frame structure.

In one possible design, the network device further determines a frame structure change start time at which the network device communicates with the terminal by changing the frame structure to a new frame structure, and the information for instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure further includes the frame structure change start time.

In one possible design, the new frame structure information is an index value of the new frame structure.

In one possible design, the terminal sends a response message to the network device agreeing to adopt the new frame structure or refusing to adopt the new frame structure.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for adjusting a frame structure, including: and the terminal receives the information which is sent to the terminal by the network equipment and used for indicating the terminal to use the new frame structure, wherein the terminal is one terminal served by the network equipment. The terminal communicates with the network device using the new frame structure after receiving the information indicating that the terminal uses the new frame structure.

In one possible design, the information for instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure further includes a time at which the frame structure change is started, and the terminal communicates with the network device by changing the frame structure to the new frame structure at the time at which the frame structure change is started.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a terminal for initiating a change of a frame structure, wherein the terminal is a terminal serving a network device and includes an antenna, a transmitter, a receiver, a memory, and a processor, the antenna is coupled to the transmitter and the receiver, and the processor is coupled to the transmitter, the receiver, and the memory; the memory is used for storing program codes which can be executed by the processor; when the program code is executed by the processor, the processor is configured to generate and communicate a frame structure change request to the transmitter; the transmitter is used for transmitting a frame structure change request from the processor to the network equipment through the antenna, and the frame structure change request is used for requesting the network equipment to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal; under the condition that the network equipment agrees to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal, the receiver is used for receiving response information from the network equipment through the antenna and transmitting the response information to the processor, wherein the response information comprises information used for indicating the terminal to use a new frame structure; the processor is further configured to perform processing based on the response information when the program code is executed by the processor.

In one possible design, the processor configured to process based on the response information includes: the processor is configured to instruct the transmitter and the receiver to communicate with the network device via the antenna according to the new frame structure.

In one possible design, the frame structure change request includes information of a new frame structure that the terminal desires to use.

After receiving the frame structure change request sent by the terminal, the network device can determine whether to approve the terminal to use the expected new frame structure, and if yes, the response information carries information indicating that the terminal is approved to use the expected new frame structure. For example: one bit in the response information indicates whether the terminal is granted the use of the desired new frame structure. Further, when the one bit indicates that the terminal is not authorized to use the desired new frame structure, it may also indicate that the terminal is not authorized to change the frame structure.

In one possible design, the response message further includes a frame structure change start time, and the processor is configured to instruct the transmitter and the receiver to communicate with the network device via the antenna according to the new frame structure at the frame structure change start time.

In one possible design, if the network device does not agree to modify the frame structure currently used by the terminal, the receiver is configured to receive another response message from the network device through the antenna and transmit the another response message to the processor, where the another response message includes information indicating that the frame structure currently used by the terminal is not agreed to be modified; the processor is used for processing according to the other response information. For example: the other response information indicates a frame structure change request that does not agree with the terminal by one bit.

In one possible design, the processor is configured to process based on the another response information for the processor to instruct the transmitter and the receiver to communicate with the network device through the antenna according to a currently used frame structure.

In one possible design, the memory is further configured to store various frame structures and corresponding index values for the various frame structures.

In one possible design, the processor may be configured to generate the frame structure modification request when a frame structure currently used by the terminal does not meet the needs of the terminal, for example: the frame structure currently used by the terminal is not suitable for the service of the terminal, or one or more parameters of the service of the terminal, the position of the terminal, the interference suffered by the terminal and the channel quality of the terminal are changed.

In a possible design, the new frame structure is determined for the terminal according to one or more parameters of a service type required by the terminal, location information of the terminal, channel quality of the terminal, interference of the terminal, and load of the network device after the network device receives a frame structure change request sent by the terminal.

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a network device for changing a frame structure in response, including an antenna, a transmitter, a receiver, a memory, and a processor, the antenna being coupled to the transmitter and the receiver, the processor being coupled to the transmitter, the receiver, and the memory; the memory is used for storing program codes which can be executed by the processor; the receiver is used for receiving a frame structure change request from a terminal through an antenna and transmitting the frame structure change request to the processor, wherein the terminal serves the network equipment, and the frame structure change request is used for requesting the network equipment to change a frame structure currently used by the terminal; when the program code is executed by the processor, the processor is configured to generate a response message and to transmit the response message to the transmitter in case the processor agrees to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal; the response information comprises information used for indicating the terminal to use a new frame structure; the transmitter is used for transmitting the response information from the processor to the terminal through the antenna.

In one possible design, when the new frame structure coincides with a new frame structure that the terminal desires to use, the response information carries information that agrees to the new frame structure that the terminal desires to use. For example: one bit in the response information indicates whether the terminal is granted the use of the desired new frame structure. Further, when the one bit indicates that the terminal is not authorized to use the desired new frame structure, it may also indicate that the terminal is not authorized to change the frame structure.

In one possible design, the processor further determines a start time of the frame structure change, and the generated response message further includes the start time of the frame structure change, and the processor is configured to instruct the transmitter and the receiver to communicate with the terminal through the antenna according to the new frame structure at the start time of the frame structure change.

In one possible design, if the processor does not agree to modify the frame structure currently used by the terminal, the processor is configured to instruct the transmitter and the receiver to communicate with the network device via the antenna according to the currently used frame structure.

In one possible design, if the processor does not agree to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal, another response message is generated to be transmitted to the transmitter through the antenna to the terminal, and the another response message includes information indicating that the change of the frame structure currently used by the terminal is not agreed to. For example, the frame structure change request of the terminal is not granted by one bit in the other response information.

In one possible design, the processor is further configured to determine, after receiving a frame structure modification request sent by the terminal from the receiver, whether to grant the frame structure modification request for the terminal according to one or more parameters of a traffic type required by the terminal, location information of the terminal, channel quality of the terminal, interference of the terminal, and a load of the network device, and if so, the processor is further configured to determine a new frame structure.

In one possible design, the processor may determine whether the new frame structure agrees to change the frame structure of the terminal to a new frame structure desired by the terminal, and may need to determine other new frame structures if not.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network device for initiating a change of a frame structure, including an antenna, a transmitter, a memory, and a processor, where the antenna is coupled to the transmitter, and the processor is coupled to the transmitter and the memory; the memory is used for storing program codes which can be executed by the processor; when the program code is executed by the processor, the processor is configured to determine a new frame structure for the terminal, generate information indicating that the terminal uses the new frame structure, and communicate the information indicating that the terminal uses the new frame structure to the transmitter, the terminal being a terminal served by the network device; the transmitter is configured to transmit the information for instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure to the terminal through the antenna.

In one possible design, the processor determines the new frame structure for the terminal when the processor determines that the current frame structure does not meet the requirements of the terminal or the network device, for example, the frame structure currently used by the terminal is not suitable for the service of the terminal, or one or more parameters of the service of the terminal, the position of the terminal, the interference of the terminal and the channel quality of the terminal, and the load of the network device are changed.

In one possible design, the processor determines the new frame structure for the terminal specifically as follows: the processor determines a new frame structure for the terminal based on one or more parameters of a traffic type required by the terminal, location information of the terminal, channel quality of the terminal, interference of the terminal, and a load of the network device.

In one possible design, the network device further includes a receiver coupled to the antenna and the processor, the processor being configured to instruct the transmitter and the receiver to communicate with the network device via the antenna using the new frame structure after the terminal receives the information instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure.

In one possible design, the processor further determines a time at which the frame structure change starts, the generated information for instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure further includes the time at which the frame structure change starts, and the processor is configured to instruct the transmitter and the receiver to communicate with the terminal through the antenna according to the new frame structure at the time at which the frame structure change starts.

In one possible design, the network device further includes a receiver coupled to the antenna and the processor, for receiving response information from the terminal via the antenna and passing the response information to the processor, wherein the response information is a current frame structure granted or denied by the terminal.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a terminal for receiving a frame structure modification, including: the antenna is coupled with the receiver, and the processor is coupled with the receiver and the memory; the memory is used for storing program codes which can be executed by the processor; the receiver receives information which is sent by the network equipment and used for indicating a terminal to use a new frame structure through an antenna, wherein the terminal is one terminal served by the network equipment; the program code, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to process information conveyed by the receiver instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure.

In one possible design, the terminal further includes a transmitter coupled to the antenna and the processor, and the processor is configured to process information conveyed by the receiver to instruct the terminal to use the new frame structure including: the processor is configured to instruct the transmitter and the receiver to communicate with the network device via the antenna according to the new frame structure.

In one possible design, the information for instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure further includes a frame structure change start time, and the processor is configured to instruct the transmitter and the receiver to communicate with the terminal through the antenna according to the new frame structure at the frame structure change start time.

In one possible design, the terminal further includes a transmitter coupled to the antenna and the processor, and the processor is further configured to generate a response message granting adoption of the new frame structure or denying adoption of the new frame structure, and to pass the response message to the transmitter for transmission to the network device via the antenna.

The antenna in the above fifth to eighth aspects may be a single antenna or a multiple antenna.

The response information, the other response information, or the information for instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure in the above aspects may be independent messages, or may be carried by an uplink and downlink scheduling control channel or RRC signaling.

Interference for a terminal in the above aspects includes interference experienced by the terminal and/or interference to other terminals.

The network device in the above aspects may be a base station, or may be other network side device with similar functions to the base station.

In the above aspects, the current frame structure may be a default frame structure.

In the above aspects, the response information, the another response information, or the information for instructing the terminal to adopt the new frame structure is sent by the network device alone by the terminal serving the terminal, and if the network device changes a group of terminals (not all terminals) serving the terminal uniformly, the response information, the another response information, or the information for instructing the terminal to adopt the new frame structure may include the information for instructing the group of terminals or transmit a change indicating that the change is made uniformly by the group of terminals on a common resource corresponding to the group of terminals, and a method and a principle for changing the frame structure are consistent with a method and a principle for changing the frame structure by one terminal.

According to the embodiment of the application, each terminal can dynamically adjust the frame structure with the network equipment, and different terminals in the same network equipment can simultaneously communicate with the network equipment by using different frame structures, so that the requirements of different terminals can be met, the full-duplex processing capacity of the network equipment can be furthest exerted, the frame structure adopted by each terminal is more suitable for the requirements of the terminal, and system resources are effectively utilized.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an LTE system structure

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a flexible subframe

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a modification process of a terminal trigger frame structure

FIG. 4 is a diagram of adjacent terminal interference

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a modification flow of a trigger frame structure of a terminal (the modification request includes information of a desired frame structure)

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a modification process of a network device trigger frame structure

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of network device and terminal structure

Detailed Description

In the existing LTE-TDD, the uplink and downlink configurations of the network device and all terminals are consistent no matter whether a flexible subframe is used, that is, the same frame structure is used between the network device and each terminal. Generally, the network device is a base station, but may be other forms of network-side devices with similar functions, such as distributed antennas, distributed transmission points, and the like.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device adopts full duplex, the terminal adopts half duplex, different terminals served by the same network device can simultaneously communicate with the network device by using different frame structures, and uplink and downlink configuration can be independently performed on the frame structure used by each terminal, namely different uplink and downlink configurations can exist in the frame structures used by different terminals, and as the uplink and downlink have the same frequency, more reference can be made to the LTE-TDD mode. In such a scenario, how to negotiate and change the frame structure of the terminal to effectively optimize the system resource configuration is a problem to be solved by the present invention.

A default frame structure may be defined that does not require the network device to inform the terminal or a negotiation between the network device and the terminal, taking into account the initial access needs of the terminal. Under the default frame structure, the network device adopts a preset time slot and period to send a synchronization signal to the terminal, receive initial access of the terminal, negotiate the capability with the terminal, or confirm the capability with the terminal, etc., so as to ensure that the new terminal can be accessed at any time through the default frame structure under the condition that the new terminal is not negotiated with the network device, the default frame structure can be the frame structure specified by the existing LTE-TDD or can be newly defined, taking table 1 as an example, the default frame structure may be the frame structure corresponding to any index value in table 1, wherein the length of the frame can be the same as that of the frame in LTE-TDD (of course, a new frame length can be redefined as required), i.e. each frame comprises 10 sub-frames, both the network device and the terminal may store the frame structure and the index value corresponding to the frame structure as defined in table 1. Of course, different default frame structures may be set according to different frequency bands, which is not described herein again. Table 1 has n kinds of frame structures in total, and the largest frame structure index value is n-1. The index values 0-6 correspond to the existing frame structures of the existing LTE-TDD, the index values 7-1 correspond to n-7 frame structures which are possibly added in the future, and the frame structures x and x +1 represent any two adjacent frame structures in the n-1 frame structures. It should be noted that n does not necessarily need to be larger than 6, i.e. all frame structures in the existing LTE-TDD need not be adopted together, and in particular, n may also be 1, i.e. only one frame structure is specified and used as a default frame structure. Preferably, for better synchronization of the terminal, the subframes where the synchronization signal is transmitted are configured as downlink, for example, the synchronization signal may be configured to be transmitted in the 0 th subframe and the 5 th subframe. Without loss of generality, assuming that the frame structure x is a default frame structure and the synchronization signal is transmitted only in the #0 (where # represents the order, for example, #0 represents the number 0, i.e. the 0 th) subframe, the new terminal transmits the access request only in the #2 subframe of each frame, and after the access, the network device and the terminal may perform capability negotiation or requirement negotiation to confirm whether to adjust the frame structure. Thus, through negotiation, the network device can independently schedule the frame structure for each terminal, so that each terminal can find the respective proper frame structure, and the system performance can be obviously improved. Once the negotiation process is finished, the network device and the terminal communicate according to the frame structure determined by the negotiation result.

In the embodiment of the application, in a full-duplex mode and a half-duplex mode of the network equipment, the network equipment can flexibly adjust the frame structure of the terminal according to the requirement of the terminal. The network device may be a network side device, such as a base station, or a terminal, and for example, in D2D communication, the terminal serving as a transmitter assumes the role of a network device. For ease of understanding, the following description will be made by taking a network device as an example.

TABLE 1 uplink and downlink subframe configuration for full duplex frame structure

A method for flexibly adjusting a full-duplex frame structure comprises the following steps: after establishing a connection according to a default frame structure, or during the communication process, the network device and the terminal negotiate to change the frame structure of the terminal. For example, the current frame structure is a frame structure j (j is greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to n-1) in table 1, the frame structure may be a default frame structure or a frame structure that has been adjusted before, the network device and the terminal negotiate to change the frame structure of the terminal to a frame structure i (i is greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to n-1, i ≠ j) in table 1, and the change may be triggered by the network device or the terminal.

In the following, the specific description is made through different embodiments, and it should be noted that, in any embodiment, for any terminal that is served by the network device, different terminals may change the frame structure independently, and do not necessarily need to be consistent with each other. Since the frame structure is adjusted for each terminal individually, no matter whether the change is approved or disapproved, the response information or the information for instructing the terminal to adopt the new frame structure is transmitted individually to one terminal hereinafter, unless otherwise specified. Particularly, if the network device changes a group of terminals (not all terminals) served by the network device uniformly, the response information or the information for instructing the terminals to adopt a new frame structure may include information for instructing the terminal group or transmit a change indicating that the frame structure is changed uniformly for the group of terminals on a common resource corresponding to the group of terminals, and a method and a principle for changing the frame structure are consistent with a method and a principle for changing the frame structure for one terminal. Without loss of generality, the application takes one terminal as an example.

Example one

When the network device and the terminal negotiate to change the frame structure of the terminal, the terminal may initiate a frame structure change request. For example, referring to fig. 3, the terminal 100 in fig. 3 is any terminal served by the network device 200 (note that any terminal here, that is, different terminals served by the network device may perform respective independent processing), and in step 301, when the frame structure currently used by the terminal 100 does not meet the requirement, the terminal sends a frame structure change request to the network device 200, where the frame structure change request is used to request the network device 200 to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal, and may be named as another signaling name; in step 302, after receiving the frame structure change request sent by the terminal 100, the network device 200 determines whether to approve the change of the frame structure currently used by the terminal 100, and sends a response message to the terminal 100 in step 303, where the response message includes information for indicating that the terminal 100 uses a new frame structure if the network device 200 approves the change, and the response message includes information for indicating that the network device 200 does not approve the change of the frame structure currently used by the terminal 100 if the network device 200 does not approve the change. The network device 200 and the terminal 100 then communicate in accordance with the frame structure confirmed in the response message in step 304.

There are many situations where the current frame structure of the terminal does not meet the requirements of the terminal, for example, the default frame structure currently used by the terminal is not suitable for the service of the terminal, or one or more parameters of the service of the terminal, the location of the terminal, the interference suffered by the terminal and the channel quality of the terminal change during the communication with the network device of the terminal, and the like. As a specific example, if the default frame structure currently used by the terminal is a frame structure x +1, and most of subframes are allocated to the downlink under the frame structure x +1, but if the current service is a large-capacity service such as uploading a video or uploading a software package initiated by the terminal, it is obvious that more uplink resources are needed to transmit a larger data traffic, and the requirement on the downlink resources is not too high, at this time, the frame structure x +1 is not very suitable, and therefore, a frame structure of more uplink subframes, for example, a frame structure 0, needs to be configured, in this case, the terminal may send a frame structure change request to the network device, and request the network device to change the frame structure of the terminal to a new frame structure 0 desired by the terminal or other frame structures suitable for the current service of the terminal. As another example, as shown in fig. 4, if the frame structure currently used by terminal a is frame structure x +1, and the terminal a moves and is located very close to another terminal B communicating with frame structure 2, that is, a neighboring terminal in fig. 4, so that its special subframe is severely interfered by uplink communication of terminal B, that is, the location and interference of terminal a change, and accordingly, the 3 rd and 8 th downlink subframes of terminal B are also severely interfered by uplink communication of terminal a, and the subframes where terminal a and terminal B are severely interfered are marked in italics in the figure, at this time, terminal a and terminal B may send a frame structure change request to the network device, terminal a requests to change the frame structure to frame structure 2 or only requests to change the frame structure, and terminal B requests to change the frame structure to frame structure x +1 or only requests to change the frame structure, after receiving the requests of the terminal A and the terminal B respectively, the network equipment can select to uniformly adjust the frame structure to be the frame structure 2, also select to agree to adjust the frame structure to be the frame structure x +1, and also select a new same frame structure for the terminal A and the terminal B to respectively inform the terminal A and the terminal B, so that the terminal A and the terminal B can communicate with the network equipment by the notified frame structures, the frame structures can be synchronized, and the interference caused by the change of the position and the interference is reduced. In addition, the terminal may actively initiate a frame structure modification request to the network device according to the change of the service type, the interference of other terminals on the terminal itself, or the change of the channel quality, or the position change, or other situations.

In the above example, it is mentioned that the terminal may further include information of a new frame structure desired by the terminal in the frame structure change request sent to the network device, that is, the terminal may actively tell the network device which frame structure the terminal desires to use. For example, the terminal may find a suitable frame structure (i.e. a new frame structure desired by the terminal) in a frame structure index table similar to table 1, where the suitable frame structure is selected by the terminal according to interference conditions suffered by the terminal itself, traffic types, and other factors, and place information of the frame structure (e.g. an index value of the frame structure) in a frame structure change request and send the frame structure change request to the network device, as shown in fig. 5, similar to the flow shown in fig. 3, the terminal 100 in fig. 5 is any terminal served by the network device 200 (note that any terminal, i.e. different terminals served by the network device, may perform independent processing), the terminal 100 sends the frame structure change request including the desired frame structure to the network device 200 in step 401, the network device confirms whether to approve the request in step 402, and sends a response message to the terminal 100 in step 403, the response message may be a request acknowledgement (as shown in fig. 5, the response message or the request acknowledgement may be 1 bit, it should be noted that the request acknowledgement may also be carried by multiple bits, for example, more than 1 bit may be carried in consideration of coding and other factors, and the like, and then the terminal 100 and the network device 200 communicate according to a frame structure corresponding to the content of the request acknowledgement in step 404, that is, if the request is agreed, the terminal communicates according to a desired frame structure, and if the request is not agreed, the terminal communicates according to a current frame structure of the terminal. The terminal may not tell the network device what kind of frame structure is expected to use, and the network device determines a suitable frame structure for the terminal according to the service type of the terminal, for example, when the terminal initiates a service request, it already knows the service type required by the network device, so the terminal may only send a frame structure change request without carrying which kind of frame structure the terminal expects to use, after the network device receives the frame structure change request sent by the terminal, it may determine a suitable new frame structure for the terminal based on one or more of parameters such as the load of the network device, the service type required by the terminal, the terminal location information obtained by the network device, the channel quality, the interference of the terminal, and the like, and it needs to be noted that, unlike the terminal only needs to evaluate the interference itself, the network device needs to consider the interference received by the terminal when evaluating the interference situation, the interference of the terminal to other terminals is also evaluated, and is therefore referred to herein as 'interference of terminal' (same below). After receiving the frame structure change request sent by the terminal, the network device replies a response message to the terminal regardless of whether the change is approved, if the network device approves the change, the response message includes a message for indicating the terminal to use a new frame structure. If the network device does not agree with the change, or the newly determined new frame structure or the current frame structure, the response information includes information indicating that the frame structure currently used by the terminal is not agreed with the change.

After receiving a frame structure change request sent by a terminal, if the network device agrees to change, the following situations exist:

(1) if the frame structure change request does not contain a new frame structure expected by the terminal, the network equipment determines a new frame structure for the terminal, and the new frame structure is more suitable for the current service type or scene of the terminal;

(2) if the frame structure change request contains a new frame structure expected by the terminal and the network equipment agrees, the network equipment determines that the new frame structure expected by the terminal is taken as a new frame structure;

(3) if the frame structure change request contains a new frame structure expected by the terminal but the network equipment disagrees, the network equipment determines a new frame structure for the terminal; the new frame structure is more suitable for the current service type or scene of the terminal.

How the network device determines a new frame structure for the terminal has been described above, and therefore, the description thereof is omitted here.

And after determining a new frame structure for the terminal, the network equipment sends response information to the terminal. And after receiving the response information, the terminal uses a new frame structure to communicate with the network equipment.

If the frame structure change request sent by the terminal already contains the information of the expected new frame structure, the response information sent by the network equipment to the terminal can simply carry information indicating whether the terminal is allowed to use the expected new frame structure or Not, for example, the sending mode of an ACK/NACK (Chinese full name: acknowledge/Not-acknowledge; English full name: acknowledge/Not acknowledge) signal in the existing communication protocol is adopted, the ACK signal indicates the frame structure suggested by the terminal is allowed, and the NACK indicates that the terminal is Not allowed to use the expected new frame structure. Or put the new frame structure whether the terminal expects or not as a field into the existing downlink control channel, so that only one bit is needed, for example, 1 is used to indicate agreement, and 0 is used to indicate disagreement. In particular, there is a more simplified response mode, that is, the network device not only uses 0 to indicate that the frame structure desired by the terminal is not agreed, but also indicates that the terminal is not agreed to change the frame structure, that is, either a new frame structure desired by the terminal is adopted or the current frame structure is continued, and this response mode is shown in fig. 5.

If the change request sent by the terminal does not contain the expected new frame structure, or the new frame structure finally determined by the network equipment is different from the new frame structure expected by the terminal, the network equipment includes the new uplink and downlink frame structure or the index of the new uplink and downlink frame structure in the response information. The response information may be sent to the terminal through an independent message, or may be sent to the terminal in other messages, for example, directly included in an uplink and Downlink scheduling Control Channel such as a PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel; Radio Resource Control layer; Radio Resource Control) or RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling.

The network device can also reject the frame structure change request if the network device does not agree with the change after receiving the frame structure change request sent by the terminal. For example, if the network device determines that the frame structure cannot be changed according to one or more of the parameters of the current load condition, the service of the terminal, the location, the interference condition, or the channel information, the network device may reject the frame structure change request, and in this case, the terminal communicates with the network device according to the original frame structure. Or when the new frame structure confirmed by the network equipment is consistent with the original frame structure of the terminal, the network equipment also does not agree with the change request. In particular, even in this case, the network device may send the index of the frame structure currently used by the terminal to the terminal through the response information, and after receiving the message, the terminal finds that the index value of the frame structure in the response information is the same as the index value of the frame structure currently used by the terminal, thereby determining that the network device rejects the request for changing the frame structure by the terminal this time.

For the above-mentioned manner in which the terminal only sends a frame structure change request without specifying an expected new frame structure, the network device has more global information, which is beneficial to making a more appropriate scheduling for the system, and at the same time, the processing of the terminal can be simplified, which is beneficial to prolonging the life of the terminal.

For the way of specifying the expected new frame structure by the terminal, the processing complexity of the terminal is increased, but the terminal can obtain the most appropriate frame structure, and the user experience is improved.

Further, if the terminal finds that the new frame structure cannot meet the requirements yet, the frame structure change request may be initiated again.

Generally, the network device and the terminal change to a new frame structure in the next frame of transmitting and receiving the response information. In particular, the network device may further determine a time when the frame structure change starts and include the time when the frame structure change starts in the response message sent to the terminal, in which case the network device and the terminal may communicate that the frame structure change to a new frame structure at the time when the frame structure change starts.

Example two

In the above embodiment, the frame structure modification request initiated by the terminal is taken as an example for explanation, and in practical application, the frame structure modification request may also be initiated by the network device.

The network equipment determines a new frame structure for the terminal when the current frame structure does not meet the requirements of the terminal or the network equipment; and the network equipment sends information for indicating the terminal to use a new frame structure to the terminal. There are many cases where the current frame structure of the terminal does not meet the requirements of the terminal, and specific reference may be made to the description of the first embodiment. The fact that the current frame structure of the terminal does not meet the requirements of the network device mainly means that the load of the network device cannot well support the current frame structure of the terminal, for example, when the network device is fully loaded, a new service is added, at this time, the network device cannot well maintain the frame structures of all the original terminals, and the frame structure of one or a part of the original terminals needs to be actively adjusted to achieve new load balance. As to how the network device determines the new frame structure for the terminal, reference may also be made to the description of the first embodiment above.

For example, the frame structure of the current terminal a is frame structure 0, and most of subframes in the frame structure are allocated to uplink, but if the service of the network device for other terminals near the terminal a is a large-capacity service such as video transmission, in order to control interference of uplink transmission of the terminal a for other terminals, the network device may actively adjust the frame structure of the terminal a, and appropriately reduce uplink transmission thereof, for example, change the frame structure to frame structure 2.

As shown in fig. 6, the terminal 100 is any terminal served by the network device 200 (note that any terminal here, that is, different terminals served by the network device may perform respective independent processing), the network device 200 may determine, according to one or more of the current traffic type of the terminal 100 (e.g., a change in the traffic type), the location information of the terminal 100, the channel quality of the terminal 100, the interference of the terminal 100, the load of the network device 200, or other situations, that the current frame structure of the terminal 100 needs to be adjusted, and the network device 200 actively initiates changing the frame structure, for example, directly sending information (e.g., an index value corresponding to the new frame structure) to the terminal 100 in step 501, where the information is used to instruct the terminal 100 to use the new frame structure. In addition, the information for instructing the terminal 100 to use the new frame structure may be sent to the terminal 100 through a separate message, or may be sent to the terminal 100 by including in other messages, such as directly including in an uplink and downlink scheduling control channel such as a PDCCH or RRC signaling. Different from the requirement that the uplink and downlink frame structure change request initiated by the terminal needs the agreement of the network equipment, the change initiated by the network equipment can be directly notified to the terminal. Of course, the terminal may decide to approve or reject the modified response message, but considering that the network device has more global information and the network device performs resource scheduling, this step is not generally suggested, which is also the reason that the 'response of the terminal 100 to the information for instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure' is indicated by a dotted line in step 502 of fig. 6, which indicates that the terminal does not generally adopt this step, but directly accepts the modified uplink and downlink frame structure of the network device, and then the terminal 100 and the network device 200 communicate according to the modified new frame structure in step 503.

Generally, a network device and a terminal change a next frame to a new frame structure, which transmits and receives information for instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure. In particular, the information sent by the network device for instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure may further include a time of a start of frame structure change, in which case the network device and the terminal may communicate at the time of the start of frame structure change to change the frame structure to the new frame structure.

EXAMPLE III

Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal and a network device in the first embodiment of the present application, and only a part related to the first embodiment of the present application is shown for convenience of description. The terminal 100 shown in fig. 7 includes: antenna 110, transmitter 120, receiver 130, processor 140, memory 150. The antenna 110 is used for transmitting and receiving signals and is coupled to a transmitter 120 and a receiver 130. In particular, the transmitter 120 and the receiver 130 may also be combined into a transceiver 160. A memory 150 is coupled to the processor 150 for storing program code executable by the processor 140 and various frame structures and may also store an index table of various frame structures, and the processor 140 is configured to execute the code in the memory 150 to generate and deliver a frame structure modification request to the transmitter 120 when the frame structure currently used by the terminal does not meet the needs of the terminal. The transmitter 120 is configured to transmit a frame structure change request from the processor 140 to the network device 200 via the antenna 110. The receiver 130 is configured to receive response information from the network device 200 via the antenna 110 and to pass the response information to the processor 140. The response information comprises information used for indicating the terminal to use a new frame structure or information used for indicating that the terminal is not approved to change the currently used frame structure.

The processor 140 receives the response message and then performs processing according to the response message, for example, if the response message includes information indicating that it is agreed to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal, and when the response message includes information of a new frame structure (for example, an index value of the new frame structure or a frame structure expected by the terminal), the processor 140 reads the frame structure corresponding to the index value from the memory 150 and updates the frame structure. The processor 140 then informs the transmitter 120 and the receiver 130 to communicate with the network device 200 through the antenna 110 according to the new frame structure. The response message may also include a start time of the frame structure change, and the processor 140 instructs the transmitter 120 and the receiver 130 to communicate with the network device via the antenna 110 at the start time of the frame structure change in the new frame structure. On the contrary, if the response information includes information indicating that the modification of the frame structure currently used by the terminal is not approved, the processor 140 notifies the transmitter 120 and the receiver 130 to still communicate with the network device 200 through the antenna 110 according to the frame structure currently used. There are many cases where the current frame structure of the terminal does not meet the requirements of the terminal, and specific reference may be made to the description in the foregoing method embodiment. The specific contents of the frame structure modification request and the response message are consistent with the corresponding contents in the first embodiment of the method.

The network device 200 shown in fig. 7 includes: an antenna 210, a transmitter 220, a receiver 230, a processor 240, and a memory 250. The antenna 210 is coupled to the transmitter 220 and the receiver 230 for transmitting and receiving signals. In particular, the transmitter 220 and the receiver 230 may also be combined into a transceiver 260. Receiver 230 is operative to receive a frame structure change request from terminal 100 via antenna 210 and to pass it to processor 240. The frame structure change request may include the new frame structure desired by the terminal or may not include the new frame structure desired by the terminal, which may specifically refer to the description of the first method embodiment.

A memory 250 is coupled to the processor 240 for storing program code executable by the processor 240 and various frame structures, and may also store an index table for various frame structures. The processor 240 is configured to execute the codes in the memory 250, and the processor 240 generates a response message after the receiver 230 receives the frame structure change request from the terminal 100, and transfers the response message to the transmitter 220. Specifically, the processor 240 determines whether to approve the modification of the frame structure currently used by the terminal 100 after receiving the frame structure modification request; and generating a response message according to the determined result; if the frame structure currently used by the terminal 100 is agreed to be changed, the response message includes information for instructing the terminal 100 to use a new frame structure, and in addition, the response message may further include a start time of the frame structure change determined by the processor 240, and the processor 240 further instructs the transmitter 220 and the receiver 230 to communicate with the terminal in the new frame structure through the antenna 210 at the start time of the frame structure change. If the change of the frame structure currently used by the terminal 100 is not approved, the response information includes information indicating that the change of the frame structure currently used by the terminal 100 is not approved.

The transmitter 220 transmits the response information from the processor 240 to the terminal 100 through the antenna 210.

Wherein the processor 240 is further configured to determine whether to grant the frame structure change request of the terminal 100 according to one or more parameters of a traffic type demanded by the terminal 100, location information of the terminal 100, channel quality of the terminal 100, interference of the terminal 100, and a load of the network device 200, and if so, to determine a new frame structure for the terminal 100 according to one or more of the parameters. Processor 240 generates response information accordingly. The specific steps of how the processor 240 determines the new frame structure and the response information after receiving the frame structure change request can be referred to the description of the network device in the first embodiment of the foregoing method.

Example four

In this embodiment, the device structure diagram of fig. 7 is used, but the network device and terminal functions are different from those of the previous embodiment. The device of this embodiment is used to implement the method for adjusting the frame structure in the second embodiment of the present application. Also, for ease of illustration, only those portions relevant to embodiments of the present invention are shown: an antenna, a transmitter, a receiver, a processor, a memory.

The network device 200 shown in fig. 7 includes an antenna 210, a transmitter 220, a processor 240, and a memory 250. The antenna 210 is coupled to a transmitter 220 for transmitting signals. A memory 250 is coupled to the processor 240 for storing program code executable by the processor 240 and various frame structures, and may also store an index table for various frame structures. The processor 240 is configured to execute the codes in the memory 250, determine a new frame structure for the terminal 100 when the current frame structure of the terminal 100 does not meet the requirements of the terminal 100 or the network terminal 200, and transfer the information of the new frame structure to the transmitter 220. For example, when the current frame structure of the processor 240 does not satisfy the requirement of the terminal 100 or the network terminal 200, the processor 240 generates information for instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure, and transfers the information for instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure to the transmitter 220, and in addition, the information for instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure may further include the start time of the frame structure change determined by the processor 240, then the processor 240 further instructs the transmitter 220 and the receiver 230 to communicate with the terminal at the start time of the frame structure change through the antenna 210 according to the new frame structure.

The transmitter 220 is configured to transmit the information of the new frame structure to the terminal 100 through the antenna 210. As to how the processor 240 determines a new frame structure for the terminal 100 and how the transmitter 220 transmits information of the new frame structure to the terminal 100, reference may be made to the related description in the second embodiment of the foregoing method.

After receiving the new frame structure sent by the network device 200, the terminal 100 may feed back a response message to the network device 200, so as to notify the network device 200 that the terminal 100 agrees to change the current frame structure or does not agree to change the current frame structure. Accordingly, the network device 200 may further comprise a receiver 230, the receiver 230 being coupled to the antenna 210 and the processor 240 for receiving response information from the terminal 100 via the antenna 210 and for delivering the response information to the processor 240. In particular, the transmitter 220 and the receiver 230 may also be combined into a transceiver 260.

The information of the new frame structure may be an index value of the new frame structure. In this case, after determining a new frame structure for the terminal 100, the processor 240 may read an index value corresponding to the new frame structure from the memory 250 and transfer the index value to the transmitter 220 to transmit the index value to the terminal 100 through the antenna 210.

There are many cases where the current frame structure of the terminal does not meet the requirement of the terminal, and specific reference may be made to the relevant description in the first method embodiment or the second method embodiment.

The terminal shown in fig. 7 includes an antenna 110, a transmitter 120 and a receiver 130, a processor 140, and a memory 150. The antenna 110 is coupled to the transmitter 120 and the receiver 130 for transmitting and receiving signals. In particular, the transmitter 120 and the receiver 130 may also be combined into a transceiver 160. Receiver 130 is configured to receive information from network device 200 via antenna 110 instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure and pass it to processor 140. The memory 150 is coupled to the processor 150 for storing program codes executable by the processor 140 and various frame structures and may also store an index table of various frame structures, and the processor 140 is configured to execute the codes in the memory 150, generate response information when a terminal response is required and deliver the response information to the transmitter 120, and the transmitter 120 transmits the response information to the network device 200 through the antenna 110. The processor 140 is configured to, after receiving the information indicating that the terminal uses the new frame structure, analyze the information indicating that the terminal uses the new frame structure to obtain the new frame structure. The information for instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure may further include a start time of the frame structure change, and the processor 140 instructs the transmitter 120 and the receiver 130 to communicate with the network device through the antenna 110 at the start time of the frame structure change in the new frame structure. In addition, the processor 140 may be further configured to generate a response message indicating approval of the modification when the modification of the frame structure is approved, and to generate a response message indicating rejection of the modification when the modification of the frame structure is not approved.

The information of the new frame structure may be an index value of the new frame structure. In this case, the processor 140 may obtain the new frame structure from the memory 150 after obtaining the index value of the new frame structure.

The specific contents of the information for instructing the terminal to use the new frame structure and the terminal response information are the same as those in the second embodiment, and are not described herein again.

The antenna 110 or the antenna 210 in the third and fourth embodiments may be a single antenna or a multiple antenna.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed method and apparatus may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the devices is only one logical function division, and there may be other division ways in actual implementation, for example, a plurality of devices may be combined to form a new device. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form. The devices in the embodiments of the present application are physical units, and part of functions of the devices can be implemented by software or hardware, and those skilled in the art can select a corresponding implementation manner according to actual needs. The processor of the invention can be a general processor, an integrated circuit or a chip.

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

Claims

1. A method of frame structure adjustment, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a network device receives a frame structure changing request sent by a terminal, wherein the frame structure changing request is used for requesting the network device to change a frame structure currently used by the terminal, the frame structure changing request is sent when the terminal determines that the frame structure currently used does not meet the requirements of the terminal, and the terminal is a terminal served by the network device; wherein, the frame structure currently used by the terminal does not meet the requirement of the terminal, and includes any one or more of the following conditions: the frame structure currently used by the terminal is not suitable for the service of the terminal, the service of the terminal changes, the position of the terminal changes, the interference suffered by the terminal changes, and the channel quality of the terminal changes;

under the condition that the network equipment agrees to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal, the network equipment sends response information to the terminal; wherein,

when the frame structure change request does not contain information of a new frame structure expected by the terminal, the network equipment determines a new frame structure for the terminal as the new frame structure used by the terminal, and the response information contains an index of the new frame structure used by the terminal and/or information for indicating that the change of the frame structure currently used by the terminal is approved;

in the case that the request for changing the frame structure contains information of a new frame structure desired by the terminal and the network device agrees to use the new frame structure desired by the terminal as a new frame structure used by the terminal, the network device determines to use the new frame structure desired by the terminal as the new frame structure used by the terminal, and the response information contains an index of the new frame structure used by the terminal and/or information indicating agreement to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal and agreement to use the desired new frame structure by the terminal;

when the frame structure change request contains information of a new frame structure expected by the terminal, and the network device does not agree to use the new frame structure expected by the terminal as a new frame structure used by the terminal, the network device determines the new frame structure for the terminal as the new frame structure used by the terminal, and the response information contains an index of the new frame structure used by the terminal, and/or information used for indicating that the change of the frame structure currently used by the terminal is agreed, and/or information used for indicating that the terminal does not agree to use the expected new frame structure; the response information further includes a time at which the new frame structure change determined by the network device starts;

the method further comprises the following steps: for a plurality of terminals interfering with each other, after the network device receives frame structure change requests sent by a first terminal and a second terminal of the terminals, respectively, the network device changes the frame structures of the first terminal and the second terminal into a frame structure currently used by the first terminal, or changes the frame structures of the first terminal and the second terminal into a frame structure currently used by the second terminal, or changes the frame structures of the first terminal and the second terminal into a new frame structure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: and under the condition that the network equipment does not agree to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal, the network equipment sends another response message to the terminal, wherein the another response message comprises information for indicating that the network equipment does not agree to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal.

3. A network device comprising an antenna, a transmitter, a receiver, a memory, and a processor, the antenna being coupled to the transmitter and the receiver, the processor being coupled to the transmitter, the receiver, the memory;

the memory for storing program code executable by the processor;

the receiver is configured to receive, through the antenna, a frame structure change request from a terminal, where the frame structure change request is used to request the network device to change a frame structure currently used by the terminal, and the frame structure change request is sent when the terminal determines that the frame structure currently used does not meet the needs of the terminal, where the terminal is a terminal served by the network device; wherein, the frame structure currently used by the terminal does not meet the requirement of the terminal, and includes any one or more of the following conditions: the frame structure currently used by the terminal is not suitable for the service of the terminal, the service of the terminal changes, the position of the terminal changes, the interference suffered by the terminal changes, and the channel quality of the terminal changes;

said program code being executable by said processor, said processor agreeing to change a frame structure currently used by said terminal, said processor generating a response message and communicating said response message to said transmitter; wherein, in case that the frame structure change request does not include information of a new frame structure desired by the terminal, the processor determines, for the terminal, a new frame structure as a new frame structure used by the terminal, and the response information includes an index of the new frame structure used by the terminal and/or information indicating approval to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal;

in the case that the frame structure change request includes information of a new frame structure desired by the terminal, and the processor agrees to use the new frame structure desired by the terminal as a new frame structure used by the terminal, the processor determines to use the new frame structure desired by the terminal as the new frame structure used by the terminal, and the response information includes an index of the new frame structure used by the terminal, and/or information indicating agreement to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal and agreement to use the desired new frame structure by the terminal;

in the case that the frame structure change request includes information of a new frame structure expected by the terminal, and the processor does not agree to use the new frame structure expected by the terminal as a new frame structure used by the terminal, the processor determines a new frame structure for the terminal as the new frame structure used by the terminal, and the response information includes an index of the new frame structure used by the terminal, and/or information indicating that it agrees to change the frame structure currently used by the terminal, and/or information indicating that it disagrees to use the new frame structure expected by the terminal;

the response information further includes a time at which the new frame structure change determined by the processor begins;

the transmitter is used for transmitting response information from the processor to the terminal through the antenna;

for a plurality of terminals interfering with each other, after the processor receives frame structure change requests sent by a first terminal and a second terminal of the terminals respectively, the processor changes the frame structures of the first terminal and the second terminal into a frame structure currently used by the first terminal, or changes the frame structures of the first terminal and the second terminal into a frame structure currently used by the second terminal, or changes the frame structures of the first terminal and the second terminal into a new frame structure.

4. The network device of claim 3, wherein the memory is further configured to store the various frame structures and index values corresponding to the various frame structures.

5. The network device of claim 3, further comprising, when the program code is executed by the processor, the processor not agreeing to change a frame structure currently used by the terminal, the processor generating another response information and passing the other response information to the transmitter; the another response information includes information for indicating that the frame structure currently used by the terminal is not approved to be changed.

6. A communication apparatus, comprising a processor, a memory, and instructions stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed, cause the communication apparatus to perform the method of claim 1 or 2.

7. A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions, the method of claim 1 or 2 being performed when the computer-executable instructions are run on a computer.

8. A communication system comprising a network device and a terminal according to any of claims 3-5.