A multicast service data receiving method and communication device

Abstract

The present application discloses a method and a communication device for receiving multicast service data, wherein the method comprises: a terminal device sends a first indication information to an access network device, the first indication information is used to indicate a target multicast service; the terminal device receives at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device, the at least one downlink control information is used to schedule the target multicast service; when the terminal device receives the data of the target multicast service sent by the access network device in a first bandwidth part according to the at least one downlink control information, the bandwidth part activity timer is restarted. By means of the method, the multicast service data receiving process can be prevented from being interrupted.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a multicast service data receiving method and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] The Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) can broadcast multimedia video information directly to all users, and adopts the Single Cell Point To Multiploint (SC-PTM) mechanism to realize the independent scheduling of multicast service transmission in each cell. Among them, SC-PTM is a method of transmitting multicast services using the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0003] Currently, terminal devices can receive unicast services in the activated bandwidth part (Bandwidth Part, BWP). After the introduction of MBMS services, terminal devices usually only receive multicast services in the activated BWP, but the reception process can only be performed during the operation of the bandwidth part activity timer (bwp-InactivityTimer). Among them, during the operation of the bandwidth part activity timer, the terminal device can work in the activated bandwidth part, and when the bandwidth part activity timer times out, the terminal device needs to switch to other BWPs configured by the network, and may not be able to continue to receive multicast services on the BWP after switching. If the terminal device is receiving MBMS services and the bandwidth part activity timer times out, the terminal device will switch to the bandwidth part that does not support the reception of MBMS services, which will cause the reception of MBMS services to be interrupted, affecting the user experience. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application discloses a multicast service receiving method and a communication device, which can prevent the multicast service data receiving process from being interrupted.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for receiving multicast service data, the method comprising:

[0006] The terminal device sends first indication information to the access network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a target multicast service;

[0007] The terminal device receives at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device, where the at least one downlink control information is used to schedule a target multicast service;

[0008] When the terminal device receives data of a target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part according to at least one downlink control information, the bandwidth part activity timer is restarted.

[0009] In one embodiment, before sending the first indication information to the access network device, the terminal device receives a system message sent by the access network device, where the system message is used to indicate at least one multicast service broadcast by the access network device through the first bandwidth portion; and determines the target multicast service from the at least one multicast service.

[0010] In one implementation, after the terminal device sends the first service information to the access network device, the terminal device receives confirmation information sent by the access network device, where the confirmation information is used to indicate that the access network device has received the first indication information.

[0011] In one embodiment, based on at least one downlink control information, the bandwidth part activity timer is restarted each time the target multicast service is received in the first bandwidth part; or, based on at least one downlink control information, the bandwidth part activity timer is restarted once when the target multicast service is received in the first bandwidth part.

[0012] In one embodiment, when data of a target multicast service sent by an access network device is received in a first bandwidth part based on at least one downlink control information, before restarting the bandwidth part activity timer, a configuration signaling sent by the access network device is received, and the configuration signaling is used to instruct the terminal device application to restart the bandwidth part activity timer.

[0013] In one embodiment, before the terminal device sends the first indication information to the access network device, if the bandwidth part activity timer times out after the terminal device receives at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device, the terminal device continues to receive the target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part; and sends the second indication information to the access network device, the second indication information being used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0014] In one embodiment, before the terminal device sends the first indication information to the access network device, if the terminal device is operating in the second bandwidth part and the terminal device expects to receive the target multicast service, it switches to the first bandwidth part, and the terminal device cannot transmit the target multicast service in the second bandwidth part; and sends the third indication information to the access network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0015] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another method for receiving multicast service data, the method comprising:

[0016] If the bandwidth part activity timer times out when the terminal device receives at least one downlink control information for scheduling the target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part, the terminal device continues to receive the target multicast service in the first bandwidth part;

[0017] Send second indication information to the access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0018] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another method for receiving multicast service data, characterized in that the method includes:

[0019] If the terminal device is operating in the second bandwidth portion and the terminal device expects to receive the target multicast service, it switches to the first bandwidth portion to receive the target multicast service, and the terminal device cannot receive the target multicast service in the second bandwidth portion;

[0020] Send third indication information to the access network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0021] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including:

[0022] A processing unit, configured for a terminal device to send first indication information to an access network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a target multicast service;

[0023] A transceiver unit, configured for receiving, by a terminal device, at least one downlink control information sent by an access network device, wherein the at least one downlink control information is used for scheduling a target multicast service;

[0024] The processing unit is further configured to restart a bandwidth portion activity timer when the terminal device receives data of a target multicast service sent by an access network device in the first bandwidth portion according to at least one downlink control information.

[0025] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including:

[0026] a processing unit, configured to continue receiving the target multicast service in the first bandwidth part if the bandwidth part activity timer times out when the terminal device receives at least one downlink control information for scheduling the target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part;

[0027] The transceiver unit is used to send second indication information to the access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0028] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including:

[0029] a processing unit, configured to switch to the first bandwidth portion to receive the target multicast service if the terminal device is operating in the second bandwidth portion and the terminal device expects to receive the target multicast service, and the terminal device cannot transmit the target multicast service in the second bandwidth portion;

[0030] The transceiver unit is used to send third indication information to the access network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0031] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a processor, a memory and a user interface, wherein the processor, the memory and the user interface are interconnected, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, the computer program includes program instructions, and the processor is configured to call the program instructions to execute the multicast service data receiving method as described in the first aspect, or execute the multicast service data receiving method as described in the second aspect, or execute the multicast service data receiving method as described in the third aspect.

[0032] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores one or more instructions, and the one or more instructions are suitable for being loaded by a processor and executing the multicast service data receiving method as described in the first aspect, or executing the multicast service data receiving method as described in the second aspect, or executing the multicast service data receiving method as described in the third aspect.

[0033] In an embodiment of the present application, a terminal device sends a first indication message to an access network device, and the first indication message is used to indicate a target multicast service. The terminal device receives at least one downlink control message sent by the access network device, and the at least one downlink control message is used to schedule the target multicast service. When the terminal device receives data of the target multicast service sent by the access network device in a first bandwidth part according to the at least one downlink control message, the bandwidth part activity timer is restarted. By using this method, the multicast service data reception process can be prevented from being interrupted. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0035] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a network architecture of a method for receiving multicast service data provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a first bandwidth part provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 3 A flowchart of a method for receiving multicast service data provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 4 A flowchart of another method for receiving multicast service data provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 5 A flowchart of another method for receiving multicast service data provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 6 A unit schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 7 A simplified schematic diagram of the physical structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0043] In order to better understand the embodiments of the present application, the professional terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are introduced below:

[0044] Bandwidth Part (BWP): In the New Radio (NR) system, the maximum channel bandwidth of each carrier can be 400MHz, which is far more than the 20MHz bandwidth of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system. During initial access, if the terminal device directly accesses the 400MHz bandwidth, it will not only lead to high hardware costs for the terminal device, but also cause high power consumption. Therefore, BWP can solve this problem well. Each service cell can contain one or more BWPs, and each BWP occupies a limited bandwidth. In the NR system, the access network equipment can allocate different BWPs to different terminal devices and dynamically adjust network resources. Each BWP corresponds to a series of configuration parameters, such as the location parameters of the physical resource block occupied, and the control resource set (Control Resource Set, CORESET) configuration parameters, downlink physical shared channel (Physical Downlink Shared channel, PDSCH) configuration parameters, uplink physical control (Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH) configuration parameters, uplink physical shared channel (Physical Uplink Shared channel, PUSCH) configuration parameters, reference signals, random access channel (Random Access Channel, RACH) configuration parameters, etc. The terminal device can only apply the BWP after knowing the configuration parameters corresponding to the BWP. BWP can include initial BWP, activated BWP and default BWP. The activated BWP can be the initial BWP, the default BWP, or other BWP configured by the network.

[0045] Initial BWP: Mainly used for the initial access process, such as the reception of system message 1 (SIB1), the reception of random access response (RAR) and Msg4 during the random access process, and the transmission of preamble and Msg4.

[0046] Activated BWP: It is the BWP configured by the access network device for the terminal device after the initial access is completed. After the initial access is completed, the terminal device will have various service requirements. Therefore, for terminal devices with high requirements, the access network device can configure the bandwidth of its activated BWP to be larger than the initial BWP; for terminal devices with low requirements, the access network device can configure its activated BWP to have a smaller bandwidth than the initial BWP, or to be the initial BWP. For a service cell, the base station can configure multiple BWPs for the terminal device, such as up to 4 BWPs, but only one of them is an activated BWP, that is, the terminal device can only receive the downlink control information (Downlink Control Information, DCI) of the base station through the BWP, receive data from the activated BWP, and send data to the base station through the activated BWP. On the activated BWP, the terminal device detects its own DCI in one or more configured control resource sets (Control Resource Set, CORESET). For a CORESET, there can be two search spaces: a common search space and a UE-specific search space. The terminal device blindly detects DCI in the search space according to certain rules, detects its own DCI according to its own Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI), and then receives or uploads data according to the DCI. A terminal device can have one or more RNTIs. The idle terminal device receives system messages and paging messages through the initial BWP, thereby accessing the network to establish a radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) connection and data radio bearer. For the same terminal device, the base station can configure multiple BWPs for the terminal device based on the terminal device capabilities, business requirements, etc. Each terminal device can have at least one activated BWP. For example, for a UE in carrier aggregation, each service cell on multiple activated service cells can have an activated BWP.

[0047] Default BWP: When there is no service demand for a long time, the terminal device switches from the activated BWP with large bandwidth to a default BWP with a smaller bandwidth to reduce power consumption. Therefore, the UE usually cannot receive multicast services when working in the default BWP.

[0048] Single-cell multicast control channel (SC-MCCH): is a point-to-multipoint channel used for scheduling and control information transmission of MBMS services. Among them, SC-MCCH can transmit a list corresponding to all MBMS services sent by the access network equipment, which includes the temporary mobile group identity (Temporary Mobile Group Identity, TMGI) of each MBMS service, session (service) identity, G-RNTI and scheduling information, and the scheduling information may include scheduling time slot information. The session corresponding to the session identity is an MBMS service data. It should be noted that it is not ruled out that the NR protocol will adopt a new name for the single-cell multicast control channel in the future.

[0049] Single Cell Multicast Service Channel (SC-MTCH): is a point-to-multipoint channel used to transmit MBMS service data. It should be noted that it is not ruled out that the NR protocol will adopt a new name for the single cell multicast service channel in the future.

[0050] In order to better understand the embodiments of the present application, the network architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application is described below.

[0051] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a network architecture of a multicast service data receiving method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the network architecture of the multicast service data receiving method includes an access network device and a terminal device, and the terminal device establishes a connection with the access network device through a service cell. Among them, the service cell is configured with a first bandwidth part and a second bandwidth part, the first bandwidth part can be an activated bandwidth part, and the second bandwidth part can be a default bandwidth part. In actual applications, a service cell may include more than two bandwidth parts. The embodiment of the present application takes a service cell including two bandwidth parts as an example, and is not limited thereto. Please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a first bandwidth part provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 As shown, the first bandwidth part includes at least two channels, SC-MCCH and SC-MTCH, which can realize the transmission of MBMS services, that is, the terminal device can receive multicast services through the first bandwidth part. Of course, the first bandwidth part can also include other types of channels.

[0052] The access network device involved in the embodiments of the present application is an entity on the network side for transmitting or receiving signals, which can be used to convert received air frames to Internet Protocol (IP) packets, and serve as a router between the terminal device and the rest of the access network, wherein the rest of the access network may include an IP network, etc. The access network device can also coordinate the attribute management of the air interface. For example, the access network device can be an eNB in ​​LTE, a new radio controller (NR controller), a gNB in ​​a 5G system, a centralized unit, a new wireless base station, a radio frequency remote module, a micro base station, a relay, a distributed unit, a transmission reception point (TRP) or a transmission point (TP) or any other wireless access device, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0053] The terminal device involved in the embodiments of the present application is an entity on the user side for receiving or transmitting signals. The terminal device may be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, for example, a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. with a wireless connection function. The terminal device may also be other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The terminal device may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). The terminal device may also be referred to as a wireless terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a mobile station, an access point, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, a user device, or a user equipment (UE), etc. The terminal device may be a mobile terminal, such as a mobile phone (or a "cellular" phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal, for example, a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-built-in or vehicle-mounted mobile device, which exchanges language and / or data with a wireless access network. For example, the terminal device may also be a personal communication service (PCS) phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and other devices. Common terminal devices include, for example, mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile Internet devices (MIDs), vehicles, roadside equipment, aircraft, wearable devices, such as smart watches, smart bracelets, pedometers, etc., but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. The communication method and related equipment provided in the present application are described in detail below.

[0054] In the current technology, in order to allow terminal devices in idle and connected states to receive multicast services at the same time, access network devices usually broadcast multicast services in the initial BWP. The access network device can configure the activated BWP of the terminal device in the connected state to include the initial BWP, that is, the activated BWP can be the initial BWP (in this case, the first bandwidth part is the initial BWP), or the activated BWP includes the initial BWP, and the bandwidth of the activated BWP exceeds the bandwidth of the initial BWP (in this case, the first bandwidth part includes the initial BWP, and its bandwidth is greater than the bandwidth of the initial BWP). The terminal device in the connected state can receive the scheduling information of the multicast service of interest in the SC-MCCH on the activated BWP, and receive the corresponding multicast service data in the SC-MTCH according to the scheduling information. Among them, the terminal device can receive the multicast service in the first bandwidth part only when the terminal device is working in the first bandwidth part and the bandwidth part activity timer is in operation. If the above-mentioned bandwidth part activity timer times out while the terminal device is receiving data of the multicast service of interest, the terminal device needs to switch to the default BWP configured by the access network device. If the terminal device cannot receive the multicast service normally on the default BWP, the data reception of the multicast service of interest will be interrupted, affecting the user experience.

[0055] In order to prevent the multicast service data receiving process from being interrupted, the embodiment of the present application provides a multicast service data receiving method and a communication device. The multicast service data receiving method and the communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application are further introduced in detail below.

[0056] See also Figure 3 , Figure 3 A flow chart of a method for receiving multicast service data is provided for an embodiment of the present application.

[0057] 310. The terminal device sends first indication information to the access network device.

[0058] The terminal device may first send a first indication message to the access network device, and the first indication message may be an RRC signaling, which is used to indicate the multicast service of interest or the multicast service expected to be received, that is, the target multicast service, which may be one or more. The terminal device may first send the first indication message to the access network device through the service cell currently accessed. After receiving the first indication message, the access network device may send a confirmation message to the terminal device, and the confirmation message is used to indicate that the access network device has received the first indication message. When the terminal device confirms that the access network device has obtained the first indication message, the bandwidth part activity timer may be restarted when the terminal device receives the scheduling information of the multicast service of interest, so that the access network device side and the terminal device side can handle the bandwidth part activity timer consistently, thereby maintaining the stability of the terminal device operation.

[0059] In one possible implementation, the terminal device sends first indication information to the access network device, and the terminal device needs to confirm that the access network device has received the indication information. The terminal device may also determine that the access network device has obtained the first indication information in the following manner: the RLC layer of the terminal device has received confirmation information of the signaling of the target multicast service reported by the terminal device; or the physical layer of the terminal device has received confirmation signaling of the uplink transmission fed back by the access network device, and the content of the transmission includes the first indication information sent by the terminal device; or the MAC layer of the terminal device confirms that the first indication information has been sent to the access network device.

[0060] Before the terminal device determines that the access network device has obtained the first indication information, the terminal device may also receive a system message sent by the access network device, the system message being used to indicate at least one multicast service that the access network device is about to broadcast through the first bandwidth portion or at least one multicast service that is being broadcast. The terminal device may determine a target multicast service from the at least one multicast service indicated by the system message, and the target multicast service is the multicast service of interest to the terminal device. Among them, the target multicast service may be determined by the application layer of the terminal device in combination with the needs of the user, or may be determined by other means, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the terminal device learns through the system message sent by the access network device that the MBMS service to be sent by the access network device includes session1, session2, and session3. If the terminal device determines that session2 is the MBMS service of interest to it, it may determine session2 as the target multicast service, and generate the first indication information and send it to the access network device. As described above, the first indication information may indicate the target multicast service. Accordingly, after receiving the first indication information, the access network device may send confirmation information to the terminal device.

[0061] 320. The terminal device receives at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device.

[0062] After determining that the access network device has obtained the first indication information, the terminal device can receive at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device, and the at least one downlink control information can be at least one DCI for scheduling the target multicast service. Before receiving at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device, the terminal device also needs to obtain the G-RNTI (other names are not excluded, and the RNTI is used by the terminal device to identify the downlink control information DCI when receiving the multicast service) and scheduling time slot information related to the multicast service on the SC-MCCH, wherein the SC-MCCH is transmitted within the first bandwidth part. The terminal device can detect the DCI encrypted by the G-RNTI in the specified time slot according to the acquired G-RNTI and scheduling time slot information, and the DCI can instruct the terminal device to receive the target multicast service data scheduled by the DCI on a specific time-frequency resource. It should be noted that the reception of at least one downlink control information can be received by the terminal device on the physical downlink control channel. The terminal device can detect the above-mentioned DCI encrypted by the G-RNTI on at least one configured CORESET. The CORESET may include two search spaces, namely a public search space and a terminal device-specific search space. The terminal device may blindly detect the DCI in the search space according to specific rules. For example, the terminal device may detect its own DCI according to its own Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI), and may receive service data or upload service data according to the DCI.

[0063] 330. When the terminal device receives data of a target multicast service sent by an access network device in a first bandwidth part according to at least one downlink control information, the bandwidth part activity timer is restarted (including starting when not started).

[0064] After the terminal device receives at least one downlink control information corresponding to the target multicast service, that is, at least one DCI encrypted by G-RNTI, the terminal device can receive the data of the corresponding target multicast service on the time-frequency resource indicated by the at least one downlink control information. The time-frequency resource can be an SC-MTCH channel, which is mapped to the physical downlink shared channel. Because the terminal device expects to receive multicast services, the access network device can configure the terminal device to work in the first bandwidth part, that is, the activated BWP is the first bandwidth part. When the terminal device receives the data of the target multicast service sent by the access network device on the first bandwidth part, the bandwidth part activity timer is restarted (or started, if it has not been started before). Because in the prior art, if the bandwidth part activity timer times out, the terminal device needs to switch to the default BWP, which will cause the reception of the target multicast service data to be interrupted. In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device will restart (or start) the bandwidth part activity timer when it starts to receive the target multicast service data, so that the terminal device will continue to maintain the first bandwidth part and can continue to receive the target multicast service data. Usually, the DCI for scheduling multicast services and the transmission of multicast service data are located in the same time slot. At this time, the terminal device restarts (or starts) the bandwidth part activity timer when receiving the DCI or when receiving the multicast data, and the processing effect of the terminal device is the same. If the DCI for scheduling multicast services and the transmission of multicast service data are located in different time slots, such as the DCI is in time slot 1, and the multicast service data scheduled by the DCI is in time slot 2, at this time, the terminal device restarts (or starts) the bandwidth part activity timer when receiving the DCI, or restarts (or starts) the bandwidth part activity timer when receiving the multicast service data. Both are feasible solutions. Step 330 includes these two processing methods. The protocol will ultimately only select one processing mechanism. It is preferred that the terminal device restarts (or starts) the bandwidth part activity timer when receiving the DCI for scheduling multicast services.

[0065] In a possible implementation, in addition to restarting (or starting) the bandwidth portion activity timer when the terminal device starts to receive the target multicast service data on a specific time-frequency resource according to at least one downlink control information, the terminal device may also restart (or start) the bandwidth portion activity timer when the terminal device receives at least one downlink control information. This is because the terminal device may receive repeated transmissions of the target multicast data multiple times. Therefore, when the terminal device receives multiple repeated transmissions of a multicast data, each time it receives the downlink control signaling corresponding to the multicast data, it restarts (or starts) the bandwidth portion activity timer.

[0066] The terminal device may receive at least one downlink control information, wherein each downlink control information in the at least one downlink control information corresponds to a different transmission of a target multicast service. That is, one downlink control information may correspond to a transmission of a target multicast service, and a complete target multicast service may be transmitted at least once, and each transmission is scheduled by one downlink control information. For example, after receiving the system message sent by the access network device, the terminal device learns that the access network device will broadcast session1, session2 and session3 multicast services through the first bandwidth part, and the terminal device determines that session2 is the target multicast service. If the terminal device receives a DCI that schedules the session2, it may restart (or start) a bandwidth part activity timer when receiving session2 on the SC-MTCH. If the terminal device receives three DCIs that schedule the session2, session2 will be transmitted three times on the SC-MTCH. The terminal device may restart (or start) the bandwidth part activity timer each time session2 is transmitted, so that the terminal device can completely receive session2 every time. Receiving session2 multiple times in this way can ensure the decoding accuracy of the terminal device and increase the error tolerance of the transmission. The terminal device can also select one of the three session2 transmissions to restart (or start) the bandwidth part activity timer when the three transmissions are multiple transmissions of the same transmission block. When the duration of the bandwidth part activity timer is long, restarting the timer once can ensure that the terminal device maintains the first bandwidth part and continues to receive multicast services.

[0067] In a possible implementation, when the terminal device receives data of the target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part according to at least one downlink control information, before restarting (or starting) the bandwidth part activity timer, it can also receive a configuration signaling sent by the access network device, and the configuration signaling is used to instruct the terminal device to restart (or start) the bandwidth part activity timer when receiving the multicast service. In other words, the terminal device can restart (or start) the bandwidth part activity timer when receiving the target multicast service only after the access network device configures the terminal device, so that the access network device and the terminal device can handle the bandwidth part activity timer consistently. Specifically, when the terminal device indicates that it is interested in session 2, the access network device configures the terminal device to restart (or start) the bandwidth part activity timer when receiving session 2 data.

[0068] In a possible implementation, if the access network device has broadcast at least one target multicast service through the first bandwidth part before the terminal device sends the first indication information to the access network device, then at this time, since the terminal device does not send the first indication information to the access network device, the terminal device does not have the authority to restart the bandwidth part activity timer. If the bandwidth part activity timer times out after the terminal device receives the at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device, the process of the terminal device receiving the target multicast service data will be interrupted. In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can still maintain the first bandwidth in this case. That is to say, even if the bandwidth part activity timer has timed out, the terminal device can continue to receive the target multicast service data in the first bandwidth part. For the access network device, since it is known that the bandwidth part activity timer of the terminal device has timed out, the access network device will think that the terminal device has switched to other BWPs, such as the default BWP, and the terminal device needs to send a second indication information to the access network device, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located on the first bandwidth part. Among them, the terminal device can send the second indication information by random access, that is, the terminal device initiates a random access process in the first bandwidth part, and the access network device can know that the terminal device is still in the first bandwidth part, so the second indication information can be a specific signaling, or it can refer to a random access process. It should be noted that although the access network device has broadcast at least one multicast service through the first bandwidth part before the terminal device determines that the access network device has obtained the first indication information, the terminal device can still receive the system information sent by the access network device and determine the target multicast service based on the system message.

[0069] In a possible implementation, before the terminal device sends the first indication information to the access network device on the first bandwidth part, if the terminal device is working in the second bandwidth part and the terminal device determines the target multicast service, it can actively switch to the first bandwidth part. Among them, the terminal device cannot receive the target multicast service in the second bandwidth part. Usually, the premise for the terminal device to receive the multicast service is that the access network device configures the DCI search space for receiving the multicast service for the terminal device. When the terminal device works in the second bandwidth part, it can determine whether it can receive the target multicast service through the configuration of the search space. After the terminal device switches from the second bandwidth part to the first bandwidth part, it can receive the target multicast service on the first bandwidth part according to the above process. In addition, the terminal device can also determine the target multicast service in the second bandwidth part. The terminal device can determine the target multicast service based on the received system message or the previously saved multicast service information, and can then actively switch to the first bandwidth part. After switching to the first bandwidth part, the terminal device can send third indication information to the access network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part. This is because the access network device does not know that the terminal device has switched from the second bandwidth portion to the first bandwidth portion, and the third indication information can inform the access network device. In addition, the terminal device can indicate the third indication information in a random access manner.

[0070] Through the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can receive at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device after sending the first indication information to the access network device. And receive the target multicast service scheduled by at least one downlink control information. When the terminal device receives the data of the target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part according to at least one downlink control information, restarting (or starting) the bandwidth part activity timer can enable the terminal device to obtain sufficient time to receive the target multicast service data. Through the embodiments of the present application, the reception process of the target multicast service data can be prevented from being interrupted due to the timeout of the bandwidth part activity timer.

[0071] See also Figure 4 , Figure 4 A flowchart of another method for receiving multicast service data provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0072] 410. If the bandwidth part activity timer times out when the terminal device receives at least one downlink control information for scheduling a target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part, the terminal device continues to receive the target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part.

[0073] Before the terminal device sends the first indication information to the access network device, the access network device has broadcast at least one multicast service through the first bandwidth portion. After receiving at least one downlink control information, the terminal device still maintains receiving the target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth portion even if the bandwidth portion activity timer times out.

[0074] 420. Send second indication information to the access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0075] Through the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can, when the target multicast service is not reported to the access network device, still receive the target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part if the bandwidth part activity timer times out. Through this method, the reception process of the target multicast service data can also be prevented from being interrupted due to the timeout of the bandwidth part activity timer.

[0076] See also Figure 5 , Figure 5 A flowchart of another method for receiving multicast service data provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0077] 510. If the terminal device operates in the second bandwidth part and the terminal device expects to receive the target multicast service, it switches to the first bandwidth part to receive the target multicast service, and the terminal device cannot receive the target multicast service in the second bandwidth part.

[0078] The situation where the terminal device expects the target multicast service may be that the terminal device determines the target multicast service based on the received system message or the previously saved multicast service information, and the system message or the saved information. Then the terminal device can actively switch to the first bandwidth part. After the terminal device switches to the first bandwidth part, it can receive at least one downlink control information, and receive the corresponding target multicast service in the SC-MTCH of the first bandwidth part according to the at least one downlink control information.

[0079] For example, when the terminal device is in a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and is in an inactive BWP, it cannot receive MBMS services and may need to wait for the next On Duration period to send a scheduling request for MBMS services, which will result in a long delay. Therefore, the terminal device can actively switch to an active BWP during the DRX period.

[0080] 520. Send third indication information to the access network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0081] In a possible implementation, the terminal device may restart the bandwidth portion activity timer when receiving the target multicast service.

[0082] Through the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can actively switch to the activated BWP when expecting to receive the determined target multicast service, which can make the reception of the target multicast service more flexible and not completely limited to the state of the bandwidth part activity timer.

[0083] See also Figure 6 , Figure 6 A unit schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 The communication device shown can be used to perform the above Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 The described method embodiment includes some or all functions of the terminal device. The device may be a terminal device, or a device in the terminal device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the terminal device. The logical structure of the device may include: a processing unit 610 and a transceiver unit 620. Among them:

[0084] Processing unit 610, configured for a terminal device to send first indication information to an access network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a target multicast service;

[0085] The transceiver unit 620 is used for the terminal device to receive at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device, and the at least one downlink control information is used to schedule the target multicast service;

[0086] The processing unit 610 is further configured to restart a bandwidth portion activity timer when the terminal device receives data of a target multicast service sent by an access network device in the first bandwidth portion according to at least one downlink control information.

[0087] In a possible implementation, before the terminal device sends the first indication information to the access network device, the above-mentioned transceiver unit 620 is also used to receive a system message sent by the access network device, and the system message is used to indicate at least one multicast service broadcast by the access network device through the first bandwidth portion; the above-mentioned processing unit 610 is also used to determine the target multicast service from at least one multicast service.

[0088] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 620 is further used to receive confirmation information sent by the access network device after the terminal device sends the first service information to the access network device, where the confirmation information is used to indicate that the access network device has received the first indication information.

[0089] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 610 is further configured to restart the bandwidth portion activity timer each time the target multicast service is received in the first bandwidth portion according to at least one downlink control information; or, restart the bandwidth portion activity timer once when the target multicast service is received in the first bandwidth portion according to at least one downlink control information.

[0090] In one possible implementation, when data of a target multicast service sent by an access network device is received in a first bandwidth part based on at least one downlink control information, before restarting the bandwidth part activity timer, the above-mentioned transceiver unit 620 is also used to receive configuration signaling sent by the access network device, and the configuration signaling is used to instruct the terminal device application to restart the bandwidth part activity timer.

[0091] In one possible implementation, before the terminal device sends the first indication information to the access network device, the above-mentioned transceiver unit 620 is also used to continue to receive the target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part if the bandwidth part activity timer times out after the terminal device receives at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device; and send second indication information to the access network device, the second indication information being used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0092] In one possible implementation, before the terminal device sends the first indication information to the access network device, the processing unit 610 is also used to switch to the first bandwidth part if the terminal device is operating in the second bandwidth part and the terminal device expects to receive the target multicast service, and the terminal device cannot receive the target multicast service in the second bandwidth part; the transceiver unit 620 is also used to send the third indication information to the access network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0093] The processing unit 610 is further configured to continue receiving the target multicast service in the first bandwidth part if the bandwidth part activity timer times out after the terminal device receives at least one downlink control information for scheduling the target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part;

[0094] The above-mentioned transceiver unit 620 is also used to send second indication information to the access network device, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0095] The processing unit 610 is further configured to switch to the first bandwidth portion to receive the target multicast service if the terminal device is operating in the second bandwidth portion and the terminal device expects to receive the target multicast service, and the terminal device cannot receive the target multicast service in the second bandwidth portion;

[0096] The above-mentioned transceiver unit 620 is also used to send third indication information to the access network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0097] See also Figure 7 , Figure 7 A simplified schematic diagram of the physical structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, the device includes a processor 710, a memory 720 and a communication interface 730, and the processor 710, the memory 720 and the communication interface 730 are connected via one or more communication buses.

[0098] The processor 710 is configured to support the communication device to execute Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 The processor 710 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a hardware chip or any combination thereof.

[0099] The memory 720 is used to store program codes, etc. The memory 720 may include a volatile memory, such as a random access memory (RAM); the memory 720 may also include a non-volatile memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD); the memory 720 may also include a combination of the above-mentioned types of memory.

[0100] The communication interface 730 is used to send and receive data, information or messages, etc., and can also be described as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, etc. For example, the communication interface 730 is used for the terminal device to receive at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device, or to receive a system message sent by the access network device.

[0101] In the embodiment of the present application, when the communication apparatus is applied to a terminal device, the processor 710 may call the program code stored in the memory 720 to perform the following operations:

[0102] The processor 710 calls the program code stored in the memory 720. The terminal device sends first indication information to the access network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate the target multicast service.

[0103] The terminal device controls the communication interface 730 to receive at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device, where the at least one downlink control information is used to schedule the target multicast service;

[0104] The processor 710 calls the program code stored in the memory 720 to restart the bandwidth part activity timer when the terminal device receives data of the target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part according to at least one downlink control information.

[0105] In one possible implementation, before the terminal device sends the first indication information to the access network device, the control communication interface 730 receives a system message sent by the access network device, where the system message is used to indicate at least one multicast service broadcast by the access network device through the first bandwidth portion; the above-mentioned processing unit 610 is also used to determine the target multicast service from at least one multicast service.

[0106] In a possible implementation, after the communication interface 730 terminal device sends the first service information to the access network device, it receives confirmation information sent by the access network device, where the confirmation information is used to indicate that the access network device has received the first indication information.

[0107] In one possible implementation, the processor 710 calls the program code stored in the memory 720 to restart the bandwidth part activity timer each time the target multicast service is received in the first bandwidth part according to at least one downlink control information; or, based on at least one downlink control information, restarts the bandwidth part activity timer once when the target multicast service is received in the first bandwidth part.

[0108] In one possible implementation, when data of a target multicast service sent by an access network device is received in a first bandwidth part based on at least one downlink control information, before restarting the bandwidth part activity timer, the control communication interface 730 receives a configuration signaling sent by the access network device, and the configuration signaling is used to instruct the terminal device application to restart the bandwidth part activity timer.

[0109] In one possible implementation, before the terminal device sends the first indication information to the access network device, the control communication interface 730 continues to receive the target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part if the bandwidth part activity timer times out after the terminal device receives at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device; and sends the second indication information to the access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0110] In one possible implementation, before the terminal device sends the first indication information to the access network device, the processor 710 calls the program code stored in the memory 720. If the terminal device is operating in the second bandwidth part and the terminal device expects to receive the target multicast service, it switches to the first bandwidth part, and the terminal device cannot receive the target multicast service in the second bandwidth part; the control communication interface 730 sends the third indication information to the access network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0111] The processor 710 calls the program code stored in the memory 720 to continue receiving the target multicast service in the first bandwidth part if the bandwidth part activity timer times out after the terminal device receives at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device;

[0112] The control communication interface 730 sends second indication information to the access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0113] The processor 710 calls the program code stored in the memory 720 to switch to the first bandwidth part to receive the target multicast service if the terminal device is operating in the second bandwidth part and the terminal device expects to receive the target multicast service, and the terminal device cannot receive the target multicast service in the second bandwidth part;

[0114] The control communication interface 730 sends third indication information to the access network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

[0115] It should be noted that in the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own emphasis, and for parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0116] The steps in the method of the embodiment of the present invention can be adjusted in order, combined or deleted according to actual needs.

[0117] The units in the processing device in the embodiment of the present invention can be merged, divided and deleted according to actual needs.

[0118] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loading and executing computer program instructions on a computer, the process or function according to the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website site, a computer, a server or a data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website site, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server, a data center, etc. that contains one or more available media integrated. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, (e.g., a floppy disk, a storage disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid-state storage disk Solid State Disk (SSD)), etc.

[0119] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit it. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for receiving multicast service data, characterized in that: The method comprises: The terminal device sends first indication information to the access network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a target multicast service; The terminal device receives confirmation information sent by the access network device, where the confirmation information is used to indicate that the access network device has received the first indication information; The terminal device receives at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device, where the at least one downlink control information is used to schedule a target multicast service; When the terminal device starts to receive the data of the target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part according to the at least one downlink control information, the bandwidth part activity timer is restarted.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Before the terminal device sends the first indication information to the access network device, the method further includes: receiving a system message sent by the access network device, where the system message is used to indicate at least one multicast service broadcast by the access network device; The target multicast service is determined from among the at least one multicast service.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: When starting to receive the data of the target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part according to the at least one downlink control information, restarting the bandwidth part activity timer comprises: restarting the bandwidth portion activity timer each time the target multicast service starts to be received in the first bandwidth portion according to the at least one downlink control information; or, The bandwidth part activity timer is restarted once when the target multicast service starts to be received in the first bandwidth part according to the at least one downlink control information.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that When, according to the at least one downlink control information, the access network device starts to receive data of the target multicast service in the first bandwidth part, before restarting the bandwidth part activity timer, the method includes: Receive configuration signaling sent by the access network device, where the configuration signaling is used to instruct the terminal device application to restart the bandwidth portion activity timer.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Before the terminal device sends the first indication information to the access network device, the method further includes: If the bandwidth part activity timer times out after the terminal device receives the at least one downlink control information sent by the access network device, the terminal device continues to receive the target multicast service sent by the access network device in the first bandwidth part; Sending second indication information to the access network device, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Before the terminal device sends the first indication information to the access network device, the method further includes: If the terminal device operates in the second bandwidth part and the terminal device expects to receive the target multicast service, switching to the first bandwidth part, the terminal device cannot receive the target multicast service in the second bandwidth part; Send third indication information to the access network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device is located in the first bandwidth part.

7. A communication device, characterized in that: It comprises a processor, a memory and a user interface, wherein the processor, the memory and the user interface are interconnected, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, the computer program comprises program instructions, and the processor is configured to call the program instructions to execute the multicast service data receiving method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores one or more instructions, and the one or more instructions are suitable for being loaded by a processor and executing the multicast service data receiving method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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