A communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and device, wherein the method comprises: a terminal side device performs uplink listen before talk (LBT) in a first cell; when the terminal side device determines that consistent LBT failure occurs, the terminal side device performs at least one of the following operations: performing a cell re-establishment process; performing cell reselection; performing cell selection; determining not to take the first cell as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection; reducing the frequency point priority of the frequency point of the first cell or setting the frequency point priority of the frequency point of the first cell to the lowest priority; determining that the timing advance (TA) corresponding to the first cell is invalid; clearing the configured grant or the random access resource corresponding to the terminal side device in the first cell; and clearing the radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) of the terminal side device in the first cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] With the continuous growth of mobile data traffic, spectrum resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Using only licensed spectrum for service transmission is no longer sufficient to meet the demand. Therefore, Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems and New Radio (NR) systems are considering transmitting services on unlicensed spectrum. Since unlicensed spectrum is shared and can be used by any device, to avoid interference between devices, devices must compete for a channel in the unlicensed spectrum through a channel access procedure before transmitting services. If channel access is successful, data transmission can proceed through the unlicensed spectrum; if channel access fails, data transmission is not possible.

[0003] Currently, there is no clear solution on how to proceed when a terminal device is in an idle or inactive state under radio resource control and determines that a channel access failure has occurred. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide a communication method and apparatus to solve the problem of how to further process a terminal device when it determines that a channel access failure has occurred while the terminal device is in an idle or inactive state.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides a communication method, the method comprising: a terminal-side device performing uplink listen-before-talk (LBT) in a first cell; when the terminal-side device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred, the terminal-side device performing at least one of the following operations: performing a cell re-establishment process; performing a cell reselection; performing a cell selection; determining that the first cell should not be considered as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection; lowering the frequency priority of the frequency point of the first cell, or setting the frequency priority of the frequency point of the first cell to the lowest priority; determining that the timing advance TA corresponding to the first cell has failed; clearing the configuration authorization or random access resource corresponding to the terminal-side device in the first cell; and clearing the radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) of the terminal-side device in the first cell.

[0006] In the above method, when the terminal device performs cell re-establishment, cell reselection, or cell selection, it can quickly access a suitable cell or a cell with better signal quality, thereby avoiding data interruption issues for the terminal device, improving the continuity and reliability of data transmission, and reducing latency. Furthermore, when the terminal device does not consider the first cell as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection, it can avoid the terminal device camping on the first cell again during cell reselection or cell selection, increasing the probability of camping on a cell with better channel quality.

[0007] Furthermore, when the terminal device lowers the frequency priority of the first cell, it can reduce the probability that the terminal device will camp in the first cell again during cell reselection or cell selection, and increase the probability that the terminal device will camp in a cell with better channel quality.

[0008] Furthermore, when the terminal device determines that the TA corresponding to the first cell has failed, it can prevent the terminal device from continuing to use the configuration authorization of the first cell to send data to the network device, thereby achieving the effect of energy saving.

[0009] Furthermore, when the terminal-side device clears the configuration authorization or dedicated random access resources corresponding to the terminal-side device in the first cell, it can prevent data transmission failure caused by the terminal-side device continuing to send data to the network-side device using the configuration authorization of the first cell.

[0010] Furthermore, when the terminal device clears the RNTI of the terminal device in the first cell, data transmission failure caused by the terminal device continuing to use the RNTI can be avoided.

[0011] In one possible design, when the terminal-side device determines that the first cell should not be used as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection, the method further includes: determining that a cell with the same frequency as the first cell should not be used as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection.

[0012] In one possible design, the terminal-side device determines that it will not consider the first cell as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection, including: the terminal-side device determines, within a first time period, that it will not consider the first cell as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection.

[0013] In one possible design, the terminal-side device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred by: within a second time period, when the number of uplink LBT failures that the terminal-side device experiences in the initial BWP of the first cell is greater than or equal to K, the terminal-side device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred, where K is an integer greater than 0.

[0014] In one possible design, the terminal-side device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred by: within a second time period, when the number of uplink LBT failures occurring in each of the N BWPs in the first cell is greater than or equal to K, the terminal-side device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred, where K is an integer greater than 0.

[0015] In one possible design, the terminal-side device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred by: within a second time period, when the terminal-side device determines that the number of uplink LBT failures in each of the M cells including the first cell is greater than or equal to K, the terminal-side device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred, where K is an integer greater than 0.

[0016] In one possible design, the method further includes: the terminal-side device sending failure feedback information to the network-side device; the failure feedback information includes the identifier of the first cell.

[0017] In one possible design, the failure feedback information may also include the total number of LBT failures that occurred in the first cell by the terminal-side device.

[0018] In one possible design, the terminal-side device is in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state.

[0019] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device that can execute any of the methods described above.

[0020] In one possible design, the device includes one or more processors and a communication interface. The one or more processors are configured to support the device in performing corresponding functions of the terminal-side device in the above method. For example, generating resource configuration information. The communication interface is used to support the device in communicating with other devices, implementing receiving and / or sending functions. For example, sending resource configuration information.

[0021] Optionally, the device may further include one or more memories coupled to the processor, which store program instructions and / or data necessary for the network device. The one or more memories may be integrated with the processor or disposed separately. This application is not limiting.

[0022] The device can be a terminal-side device, such as a mobile phone, a smart terminal, or a wearable device, and the communication interface can be a transceiver or a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the transceiver can also be an input / output circuit or an interface.

[0023] The device can also be a communication chip. The communication interface can be the input / output circuit or interface of the communication chip.

[0024] In another possible design, the aforementioned device includes a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The processor controls the transceiver to transmit and receive signals, the memory stores a computer program, and the processor runs the computer program in the memory, causing the device to perform the method performed by the network device in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0025] In one possible design, the device includes one or more processors and a communication unit. The one or more processors are configured to support the device in performing the terminal-related functions described in the above method. For example, determining the resources using the resource configuration information. The communication unit is used to support the device in communicating with other devices, implementing receiving and / or sending functions. For example, transmitting control information via the resources.

[0026] Optionally, the device may further include one or more memories for coupling with the processor, which store program instructions and / or data necessary for the device. The one or more memories may be integrated with the processor or disposed separately from the processor. This application is not limiting.

[0027] Thirdly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided for storing a computer program including instructions for performing the methods of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0028] Fourthly, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: computer program code, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0029] Fifthly, this application provides a communication device, the communication device including a processor and a memory, the memory being used to store computer programs or instructions; the processor being used to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory to cause the communication device to perform the method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0030] In a sixth aspect, this application provides a chip including a processor coupled to a memory for executing a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, wherein when the processor executes the computer program or instructions, the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect is performed. Attached Figure Description

[0031] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the methods of the embodiments of this application;

[0032] Figure 2 This is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0033] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a communication device structure provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0034] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a communication device structure provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0035] The embodiments of this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0036] The embodiments of this application can be applied to various mobile communication systems, such as: new radio (NR) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) systems, evolved long term evolution (eLTE) systems, future communication systems, and other communication systems. Specifically, no limitation is made here.

[0037] In this embodiment, "multiple" refers to two or more. Therefore, "multiple" can also be understood as "at least two". "At least one" can be understood as one or more, such as one, two, or more. For example, "including at least one" means including one, two, or more, without limitation on which ones are included. For example, including at least one of A, B, and C could mean A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. Similarly, the understanding of descriptions such as "at least one" is similar. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone. Additionally, the character " / ", unless otherwise specified, generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0038] In the embodiments of this application, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish multiple objects, but are not used to limit the order, sequence, priority or importance of multiple objects, and the description of "first" and "second" does not limit the objects to necessarily being different.

[0039] In this embodiment, the terminal-side device can be a device with wireless transceiver functionality or a chip that can be installed in any device. It can also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device. The terminal-side device in this embodiment can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver functionality, virtual reality (VR) terminal, augmented reality (AR) terminal, wireless terminal in industrial control, wireless terminal in self-driving, wireless terminal in remote medical care, wireless terminal in smart grid, wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart city, wireless terminal in smart home, etc.

[0040] Network-side equipment can be next-generation node B (gNB) in NR systems or evolutionary node B (eNB) in LTE systems.

[0041] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, let's first take... Figure 1 The communication system shown is a communication system applicable to the embodiments of this application. Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the methods of embodiments of this application is shown. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the communication system includes network-side equipment and at least one terminal-side device. For ease of description, Figure 1 Only one terminal device is shown.

[0042] Figure 1In the NR system, the terminal-side device and the network-side device can communicate through the licensed spectrum (also referred to as the non-shared spectrum) or the unlicensed spectrum (also referred to as the shared spectrum). Before the terminal-side device communicates with the network-side device through the unlicensed spectrum, the terminal-side device needs to perform uplink LBT (Listen Before Talk) in the unlicensed spectrum to compete for the channel. If the terminal-side device fails in the uplink LBT, the terminal-side device can continue to perform the uplink LBT until the channel is competed for. If more other devices are also competing for the channel, continuous uplink LBT failures can occur, in which case the terminal-side device cannot complete channel access and consumes a large amount of resources, thereby failing to ensure normal service transmission of the terminal-side device. To this end, the embodiment of the present application provides a method for indicating how the terminal-side device should handle the multiple uplink LBT failures in the unlicensed spectrum.

[0043] It should be noted that the LBT, also referred to as the channel access procedure, is uniformly referred to as LBT below for the convenience of description. There are two types of LBT: type one, fixed-time-based LBT. If the terminal-side device detects a signal with an energy lower than a preset threshold in the channel within the fixed time, it is considered that the channel is in an idle state, so that the channel can be occupied, otherwise the channel needs to be re-competited.

[0044] Type two is energy detection based on a backoff mechanism. The terminal-side device randomly selects a value A, A is an integer greater than 0, and only after detecting at least A idle energy detection time slots, it is considered that the channel is idle, otherwise it is considered that the channel is busy. The terminal-side device can only occupy the channel for data transmission when it is considered that the channel is idle.

[0045] For type one LBT, if the signal strength of the fixed time before the start point of data transmission does not meet the idle condition, it can be determined that the LBT fails. For type two LBT, if at least A idle energy detection time slots have not been detected before the start point of data transmission, it can be determined that the LBT fails. The start point of data transmission can refer to the start time of data transmission, for example, data is transmitted in a slot, which includes 14 symbols (symbol 0 to 13). If the data is transmitted from symbol 0, if at least A idle energy detection time slots have not been detected at symbol 0, it can be determined that the LBT fails.

[0046] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0047] Based on the preceding description, such as Figure 2 The diagram shown is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. See also... Figure 2 The method includes:

[0048] Step 201: The terminal-side device performs uplink LBT in the first cell;

[0049] For example, in step 201, the terminal-side device is in either a Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state. In the RRC idle state, both the core network bearers and the access network data bearers serving the terminal-side device are released. In the RRC inactive state, the core network bearers are retained, but some access network data bearers are released.

[0050] In step 201, before performing uplink LBT, the terminal device can determine whether to send uplink data to the network device. To send uplink data, the terminal device can compete for the channel via uplink LBT in unlicensed spectrum. The specific procedure for the terminal device to perform uplink LBT can be found in existing technologies and will not be repeated here.

[0051] For example, prior to step 201, the network-side device may send configuration information to the terminal-side device, the configuration information including one or more of the following:

[0052] 1. Configured grants (CGs) or random access resources for terminal devices in multiple cells;

[0053] The configured grant may include physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resources, which allow terminal devices to send uplink data to network devices. Other components of the configured grant are not detailed here but can be found in existing technologies.

[0054] 2. Configured grants or random access resources for terminal devices in multiple bandwidth parts (BWPs);

[0055] 3. The third timing duration and the first count value K, where K is an integer greater than 0.

[0056] The specific functions of the third timing duration and the first count value will be described later and will not be repeated here.

[0057] It should be noted that the specific way the network-side device sends configuration information is not limited in the embodiments of this application. For example, the network-side device can send configuration information through radio resource control (RRC) release messages.

[0058] Step 202: When the terminal device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred, the terminal device performs the first operation.

[0059] It should be noted that a consistent LBT failure can also be referred to as a "continuous uplink LBT failure", etc. For the sake of convenience, it will be referred to as a "consistent LBT failure" below.

[0060] The first operation includes at least one of the following operations:

[0061] 1. Perform the cell re-establishment process;

[0062] 2. Perform cell reselection;

[0063] When a terminal device in an RRC idle or inactive state camps on a cell, it may need to switch to a cell with higher priority or better signal strength as the terminal device moves. This is the cell reselection process. Cell selection is the process of finding a suitable cell as quickly as possible, while cell reselection is the process of selecting a more suitable cell.

[0064] 3. Perform cell selection;

[0065] When the terminal device is powered on or a re-establishment process is triggered, the terminal device will perform a cell search process and select a suitable cell to camp on as soon as possible. This process is called "cell selection".

[0066] During cell search, the terminal device reads the cell's system information, obtaining parameters such as Qrxlevmeas, Qrxlevmin, and Qrxlevminoffset. The terminal device then evaluates the cell's suitability based on the S criterion. Once a suitable cell (i.e., one that satisfies the S criterion) is found, the cell selection process is complete. If the cell is not suitable, the terminal device continues searching until a suitable cell is found and it camps on it.

[0067] For example, the S criterion formula can be: Srxlev>0 and Squal>0, that is, if the S value of a cell is greater than 0, it means that the cell is a suitable cell (a cell suitable for residence).

[0068] Where: Srxlev refers to the voltage level (dB) calculated during cell selection / reselection; Srxlev=Qrxlevmeas–(Qrxlevmin+Qrxlevminoffset)–Pcompensation–Qoffsettemp;

[0069] Squal=Qqualmeas–(Qqualmin+Qqualminoffset)–Qoffsettemp;

[0070] Qrxlevmeas refers to the received signal strength value measured by the terminal-side equipment. This value is the measured reference signal receiving power (RSRP) (dBm).

[0071] Qrxlevmin refers to the minimum received signal strength required for this cell, which is indicated in system information block 1;

[0072] Pcompensation is max(PEMAX–PUMAX, 0) (dB), where PEMAX is the maximum allowed transmission power set by the system when the terminal accesses the cell; PUMAX refers to the maximum output power specified according to the terminal level; and max is the maximum value calculation.

[0073] QrxlevminOffset is only effective when the device is normally camped on a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN) and periodically searches for a high-priority Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) for cell selection evaluation. This parameter biases Qrxlevmin to a certain extent.

[0074] In this embodiment, the terminal-side device may determine multiple candidate frequency points before cell selection or cell reselection. These multiple candidate frequency points may be configured by the network-side device or determined in other ways; this embodiment does not limit this approach.

[0075] The terminal-side device selects the frequency point with the highest priority from among the determined candidate frequency points, in descending order of frequency point priority. It should be noted that the frequency point priority can be configured by the network-side device, and the terminal-side device can also adjust the frequency point priority according to the actual situation. How to adjust it is not limited in this embodiment.

[0076] After selecting a frequency, the terminal device can search for cells based on that frequency. Once a cell is found, during cell selection, the terminal device can determine whether to camp on that cell according to the cell selection rules; during cell reselection, the terminal device can determine whether to change the cell to camp on according to the cell reselection rules.

[0077] 4. Determine whether to include the first cell as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection;

[0078] For example, the terminal-side device may determine, within a first duration, not to consider the first cell as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection. The first duration may be configured by the network-side device or determined by other means, such as those specified by the communication protocol. The specific value of the first duration is not limited; for example, it may be 300 milliseconds (ms).

[0079] For example, when the terminal device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred in the first cell, it can start a first timer, the duration of which is a first duration. Before the first timer expires, the terminal device determines not to consider the first cell as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection.

[0080] Optionally, the terminal device may determine not to use co-frequency cells of the first cell as candidate cells for cell reselection or cell selection. It should be noted that co-frequency cells refer to cells with the same center frequency.

[0081] Alternatively, the terminal device may, within a first time period, determine that it will not use the same frequency cell of the first cell as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection.

[0082] In the above method, by not using the first cell as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection, the terminal device can avoid camping in the first cell again during cell reselection or cell selection, thereby increasing the probability of camping in a cell with better channel quality.

[0083] 5. Reduce the frequency priority of the first cell, or set the frequency priority of the first cell to the lowest priority;

[0084] Since the higher the frequency priority of a frequency point, the more likely the terminal device will choose that frequency point, the terminal device can reduce the frequency priority of the frequency point in the first cell when the terminal device experiences a consistent LBT failure in the first cell.

[0085] The terminal-side device can reduce the frequency priority of the first cell's frequency point by at least one level each time, until it reaches the lowest priority; the terminal-side device can also directly reduce the frequency priority of the first cell's frequency point to the lowest priority, and this application embodiment does not limit this.

[0086] In the above method, by reducing the frequency priority of the first cell, the probability of the terminal device camping in the first cell again during cell reselection or cell selection can be reduced, and the probability of the terminal device camping in a cell with better channel quality can be increased.

[0087] 6. Determine that the timing advance (TA) corresponding to the first cell has failed;

[0088] Since the first cell experienced a consistency LBT failure, to prevent terminal devices from continuing to send data to network devices using the configuration authorization of the first cell, it can be determined that the TA of the first cell has failed, thereby achieving energy saving. The terminal device can stop the advance timer corresponding to the first cell. This advance timer was started when the TA command was received previously.

[0089] 7. Clear the configuration authorization or dedicated random access resources corresponding to the terminal-side device in the first cell;

[0090] Since the first cell experiences a consistency LBT failure, in order to prevent the terminal device from continuing to use the configuration authorization of the first cell to send data to the network device, the terminal device can clear the configuration authorization or dedicated random access resources corresponding to the terminal device in the first cell.

[0091] 8. Clear the radio network temporary identity (RNTI) of the terminal device in the first cell. The RNTI is used to schedule retransmissions.

[0092] Since a consistency LBT failure occurs in the first cell, in order to prevent the terminal device from continuing to send data to the network device using the configuration authorization of the first cell, the terminal device can clear its radio network temporary identity (RNTI) in the first cell.

[0093] 9. Perform conditional handover (CHO).

[0094] In scenarios involving single-base station carrier aggregation or dual connectivity, the condition handover includes condition handover of the primary cell, as well as condition changes or additions to the primary and secondary cells.

[0095] It should be noted that a handover technology called Cell Handover Activation (CHO) has been proposed in 5G systems. Existing regulations only specify the basic CHO process: the terminal device periodically reports measurement results; after receiving these results, the network device sends CHO configuration information to the terminal device. This CHO configuration information may include CHO trigger conditions and information about one or more candidate cells (e.g., the candidate cell's cell global identifier (CGI), physical-layer cell identity (PCI), and the corresponding frequency information). The CHO trigger conditions indicate under what conditions the terminal device can perform cell handover. The terminal device performs cell handover when the CHO trigger conditions are met.

[0096] In this embodiment of the application, the CHO triggering condition in the CHO configuration information may include: determining that a consistent LBT failure has occurred.

[0097] After receiving the CHO configuration information, the terminal device determines the occurrence of a consistent LBT failure based on the CHO triggering conditions in the CHO configuration information. It can then select a cell from the candidate cells as the target cell. The specific process will not be elaborated here.

[0098] In this embodiment, there are several ways for the terminal to determine that a consistent LBT failure has occurred. In the first possible implementation, if the terminal device determines that data transmission will occur in the initial BWP of the first cell before performing uplink LBT in the first cell, then within a second time period, if the number of uplink LBT failures in the initial BWP of the first cell by the terminal device is greater than or equal to K, the terminal device can determine that a consistent LBT failure has occurred, where K is an integer greater than 0.

[0099] For example, when the terminal-side device determines that data transmission is to be performed in the initial BWP of the first cell, it can execute uplink LBT in the initial BWP. When the terminal-side device determines that an uplink LBT failure occurs in the initial BWP, it can perform the following operations: 1. Increment the counter value by 1, where the initial value of the counter is 0; 2. Start or restart the timer, where the timer's timing duration can be a third timing duration, for example, the third timing duration is configured by the network-side device through configuration information.

[0100] If the counter value is greater than or equal to K before the timer expires, the terminal device can determine that a consistency LBT failure occurred in the first cell. If the timer expires, it indicates that the LBT was successful, and the terminal device can reset the counter value to 0.

[0101] In the second possible implementation, if the terminal-side device determines that N BWPs in the first cell will transmit data before performing uplink LBT in the first cell, then within the second time period, when the number of uplink LBT failures in each of the N BWPs in the first cell is greater than or equal to K, the terminal-side device can determine the number of consistency LBT failures.

[0102] For example, the terminal-side device can maintain a timer and a counter for each of the N BWPs. For any given BWP, when the terminal-side device determines that an uplink LBT failure has occurred in that BWP, it can perform the following operations: 1. Increment the counter value corresponding to that BWP by 1, where the initial value of the counter is 0; 2. Start or restart the timer corresponding to that BWP, where the timer's duration can be a third duration, for example, the third duration is configured by the network-side device through configuration information.

[0103] If the counter value is greater than or equal to K before the timer expires, the terminal device can determine that a consistency LBT failure occurred in this BWP. If so, the LBT was successful, and the terminal device can reset the counter value corresponding to this BWP to 0.

[0104] If the terminal-side device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred in the first cell before the timer corresponding to each of the N BWPs expires, and the counter value corresponding to each BWP is greater than or equal to K, then the consistency LBT failure has occurred.

[0105] In the third possible implementation, if the terminal-side device determines that data transmission will occur in M ​​cells including the first cell before performing uplink LBT in the first cell, then if the terminal-side device determines that the number of uplink LBT failures in each of the M cells is greater than or equal to K within the second time period, the terminal-side device can determine that a consistency LBT failure has occurred.

[0106] For details on the third possible implementation, please refer to the description in the second possible implementation; it will not be repeated here.

[0107] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this application, determining that an LBT failure has occurred in a BWP or cell can refer to any uplink transmission LBT failure in that BWP or cell. The uplink transmission channels or signals include, but are not limited to, PUSCH, physical random access channel (PRACH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0108] As can be seen from the above process, when the terminal device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred, it can promptly resume data transmission by performing the first operation, thus solving the data interruption problem, improving the continuity and reliability of data transmission, and reducing data transmission latency.

[0109] Furthermore, in this embodiment of the application, when the terminal-side device experiences multiple LBT failures in the first cell, it can send failure feedback information to the network-side device; the failure feedback information includes the identifier of the first cell.

[0110] Network-side equipment can optimize the network based on feedback information, avoiding configuring terminal-side equipment in cells with poor channel quality, i.e., avoiding configuring terminal-side equipment in cells where LBT failures have occurred multiple times for configuration grant transmission. Alternatively, if the network-side equipment determines from feedback information that the first cell is prone to consecutive LBT failures, it can either not configure CG for the terminal-side equipment in the first cell, or reduce the period of the configured CG, thereby compensating for LBT failures.

[0111] Optionally, the failure feedback information also includes the number of LBT failures among the consistency LBT failures that occurred in the first cell by the terminal-side device. The total number here can refer to the number of LBT failures among the consistency LBT failures that occurred within the time period from the moment the terminal-side device accessed the first cell to the moment it sent the feedback information.

[0112] Optionally, the failure feedback information can be sent via RRC signaling.

[0113] The various embodiments described herein can be independent solutions or combinations thereof based on their inherent logic, and all such solutions fall within the protection scope of this application.

[0114] It is understood that the methods and operations implemented by the terminal-side device in the above-described method embodiments can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) that can be used in the terminal-side device.

[0115] To implement the functions of the methods provided in the embodiments of this application, the terminal device may include hardware structures and / or software modules, implementing the functions in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or a combination of hardware structures and software modules. Whether a particular function is implemented in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or a combination of hardware structures and software modules depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0116] The module division in this embodiment is illustrative and represents only one logical functional division; in actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into a single processor, exist as separate physical entities, or be integrated into a single module. The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules.

[0117] Similar to the above concept, such as Figure 3 As shown, this application embodiment also provides an apparatus 300 for implementing the functions of the network device in the above method. For example, the apparatus can be a software module or a chip system. In this application embodiment, the chip system can be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. The apparatus 300 may include: a processing unit 301 and a communication unit 302.

[0118] In this embodiment of the application, the communication unit may also be called a transceiver unit, which may include a sending unit and / or a receiving unit, respectively used to perform the steps of sending and receiving by the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0119] The following, combined with Figures 3 to 4This application provides a detailed description of the communication device provided in its embodiments. It should be understood that the descriptions of the device embodiments correspond to the descriptions of the method embodiments; therefore, any content not described in detail here will be referred to the method embodiments above, and for the sake of brevity, will not be repeated here.

[0120] Communication unit 302 is used to perform uplink listen-before-speak (LBT) in the first cell;

[0121] Processing unit 301 is configured to perform at least one of the following operations when it is determined that a consistency LBT failure has occurred:

[0122] Perform the cell re-establishment process;

[0123] Perform cell reselection;

[0124] Perform cell selection;

[0125] Determine that the first cell should not be used as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection;

[0126] Lower the frequency priority of the first cell, or set the frequency priority of the first cell to the lowest priority;

[0127] It has been determined that the timed advance TA corresponding to the first cell has failed;

[0128] Clear the configuration authorization or random access resources corresponding to the terminal-side device in the first cell;

[0129] Clear the temporary wireless network identifier (RNTI) of the terminal device in the first cell.

[0130] In one possible design, when determining that the first cell should not be considered as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection, the processing unit 301 is further configured to:

[0131] It is determined that cells with the same frequency as the first cell will not be used as candidate cells for cell reselection or cell selection.

[0132] In one possible design, the processing unit 301 is specifically used for:

[0133] Within the first time period, it is determined that the first cell will not be used as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection.

[0134] In one possible design, the processing unit 301 is specifically used for:

[0135] Within the second time period, when the number of uplink LBT failures in the initial BWP of the first cell is greater than or equal to K, a consistency LBT failure is determined to have occurred, where K is an integer greater than 0.

[0136] In one possible design, the processing unit 301 is specifically used for:

[0137] Within the second time period, when the number of uplink LBT failures in each of the N BWPs in the first cell is greater than or equal to K, a consistency LBT failure is determined to have occurred, where K is an integer greater than 0.

[0138] In one possible design, the processing unit 301 is specifically used for:

[0139] Within the second time period, if the number of uplink LBT failures in each of the M cells including the first cell is greater than or equal to K, a consistency LBT failure is determined to have occurred, where K is an integer greater than 0.

[0140] In one possible design, the communication unit 302 is further used for:

[0141] Send failure feedback information to the network-side device; the failure feedback information includes the identifier of the first cell.

[0142] In one possible design, the failure feedback information may also include the total number of LBT failures that occurred in the first cell by the terminal-side device.

[0143] In one possible design, the device is in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state.

[0144] like Figure 4 The image shown is of the apparatus 400 provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 4 The device shown can be Figure 3 The illustrated device represents one hardware circuit implementation. This communication device can be applied to the flowchart shown above to perform the functions of the terminal-side device in the method embodiments described above. For ease of explanation, Figure 4 Only the main components of the communication device are shown.

[0145] Figure 4 The illustrated apparatus 400 includes at least one processor 420 for implementing any of the methods implemented in the network device according to the embodiments of this application.

[0146] The device 400 may further include at least one memory 430 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memory 430 is coupled to the processor 420. The coupling in this embodiment is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, and may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. The processor 420 may operate in conjunction with the memory 430. The processor 420 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 430. At least one of the at least one memories may be included in the processor.

[0147] It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of this application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiments can be completed by the integrated logic circuitry in the processor's hardware or by instructions in software form. The processor described above can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components.

[0148] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of this application may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0149] Device 400 may further include a communication interface 410 for communicating with other devices via a transmission medium, thereby enabling the devices in device 400 to communicate with other devices. In this embodiment, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface. In this embodiment, when the communication interface is a transceiver, the transceiver may include an independent receiver, an independent transmitter, or a transceiver with integrated transceiver functions, or an interface circuit.

[0150] The device 400 may also include a communication line 440. The communication interface 410, processor 420, and memory 430 can be interconnected via the communication line 440. The communication line 440 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The communication line 440 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Figure 4 The bus is represented by a single thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0151] Communication interface 410 is used to perform uplink listen-before-talk (LBT) in the first cell;

[0152] Processor 420 is configured to perform at least one of the following operations when it is determined that a consistent LBT failure has occurred:

[0153] Perform the cell re-establishment process;

[0154] Perform cell reselection;

[0155] Perform cell selection;

[0156] Determine that the first cell should not be used as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection;

[0157] Lower the frequency priority of the first cell, or set the frequency priority of the first cell to the lowest priority;

[0158] It has been determined that the timed advance TA corresponding to the first cell has failed;

[0159] Clear the configuration authorization or random access resources corresponding to the terminal-side device in the first cell;

[0160] Clear the temporary wireless network identifier (RNTI) of the terminal device in the first cell.

[0161] In one possible design, when determining that the first cell should not be considered as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection, the processor 420 is further configured to:

[0162] It is determined that cells with the same frequency as the first cell will not be used as candidate cells for cell reselection or cell selection.

[0163] In one possible design, the processor 420 is specifically used for:

[0164] Within the first time period, it is determined that the first cell will not be used as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection.

[0165] In one possible design, the processor 420 is specifically used for:

[0166] Within the second time period, when the number of uplink LBT failures in the initial BWP of the first cell is greater than or equal to K, a consistency LBT failure is determined to have occurred, where K is an integer greater than 0.

[0167] In one possible design, the processor 420 is specifically used for:

[0168] Within the second time period, when the number of uplink LBT failures in each of the N BWPs in the first cell is greater than or equal to K, a consistency LBT failure is determined to have occurred, where K is an integer greater than 0.

[0169] In one possible design, the processor 420 is specifically used for:

[0170] Within the second time period, if the number of uplink LBT failures in each of the M cells including the first cell is greater than or equal to K, a consistency LBT failure is determined to have occurred, where K is an integer greater than 0.

[0171] In one possible design, the communication interface 410 is also used for:

[0172] Send failure feedback information to the network-side device; the failure feedback information includes the identifier of the first cell.

[0173] In one possible design, the failure feedback information may also include the total number of LBT failures that occurred in the first cell by the terminal-side device.

[0174] In one possible design, the device is in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state.

[0175] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0176] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, generate instructions for implementing the flowchart illustrations. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0177] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means, which are implemented in a process Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0178] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the scope of this application. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: The terminal-side equipment performs uplink listen-before-speak (LBT) in the first cell. Within the second time period, when the number of uplink LBT failures of the terminal-side device in each of the N BWPs in the first cell is greater than or equal to K, the terminal-side device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred, where K is an integer greater than 0. When the terminal-side device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred, the terminal-side device clears the Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI), configuration authorization, and random access resources corresponding to the terminal-side device in the first cell, and performs conditional handover according to the conditional handover configuration information. The conditional switching triggering conditions in the conditional switching configuration information include: a consistency LBT failure occurs.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: It is determined that cells with the same frequency as the first cell will not be used as candidate cells for cell reselection or cell selection.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: Within a first time period, the terminal-side device determines that it will not use the first cell as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The terminal-side device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred, including: Within the second time period, when the number of uplink LBT failures of the terminal-side device in the initial BWP of the first cell is greater than or equal to K, the terminal-side device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred, where K is an integer greater than 0.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The terminal-side device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred, including: Within the second time period, if the terminal-side device determines that the number of uplink LBT failures in each of the M cells including the first cell is greater than or equal to K, the terminal-side device determines that a consistency LBT failure has occurred, where K is an integer greater than 0.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal-side device sends failure feedback information to the network-side device; the failure feedback information includes the identifier of the first cell.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The failure feedback information also includes the total number of LBT failures that occurred in the first cell by the terminal-side device.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The terminal-side device is in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle state or the RRC inactive state.

9. A communication device, characterized in that, include: The communication unit is used to perform uplink listen-before-talk (LBT) in the first cell; The processing unit is configured to determine that a consistency LBT failure has occurred within a second time period when the number of uplink LBT failures in each of the N BWPs in the first cell is greater than or equal to K, where K is an integer greater than 0; and to clear the Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI), configuration authorization, and random access resources corresponding to the communication device in the first cell when a consistency LBT failure is determined to have occurred, and to perform conditional handover according to the conditional handover configuration information. The conditional switching triggering conditions in the conditional switching configuration information include: a consistency LBT failure occurs.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that, The processing unit is also used for: It is determined that cells with the same frequency as the first cell will not be used as candidate cells for cell reselection or cell selection.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The processing unit is specifically used for: Within the first time period, it is determined that the first cell will not be used as a candidate cell for cell reselection or cell selection.

12. The apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The processing unit is specifically used for: Within the second time period, when the number of uplink LBT failures in the initial BWP of the first cell is greater than or equal to K, a consistency LBT failure is determined to have occurred, where K is an integer greater than 0.

13. The apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The processing unit is specifically used for: Within the second time period, if the number of uplink LBT failures in each of the M cells including the first cell is greater than or equal to K, a consistency LBT failure is determined to have occurred, where K is an integer greater than 0.

14. The apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The communication unit is also used for: Send failure feedback information to the network-side device; the failure feedback information includes the identifier of the first cell.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that, The failure feedback information also includes the total number of LBT failures that occurred in the first cell.

16. The apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The device is in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle state or the RRC inactive state.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, This includes a processor, transceiver, and memory; The processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, and when the computer program or instructions are executed, cause the communication device to implement the method described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

18. A communication device, characterized in that, Including processor and memory: The processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, wherein when the computer program or instructions are executed, the method described in any one of claims 1 to 8 is performed.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, It includes a computer program or instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

20. A chip, characterized in that, The method includes a processor coupled to a memory for executing a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, wherein when the processor executes the computer program or instructions, the method described in any one of claims 1 to 8 is performed.

21. A computer program product, characterized in that, Includes computer-readable instructions, which, when read and executed by the communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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